https://arab.news/y3jnw
Author: Stephen J. Campbell
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand. He revealed next to nothing about his life in his extensive writings, yet countless pages have been written about him that assign him an identity: genius, entrepreneur, celebrity artist, outsider.
Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers, many of whom have filled in the gaps of what can be known of Leonardo’s life with claims to decode secrets, reveal mysteries of a vanished past, or discover lost masterpieces of spectacular value.
Authors: Tie Eipper & Scott Eipper
With more than 1,000 photographs, Snakes of Australia illustrates and describes in detail all 240 of the continent’s species and subspecies—from file snakes, pythons, colubrids, and natricids to elapids, marine elapids, homalopsids, and blind snakes. It features introductions to each family, species descriptions, type locations, distribution maps, and quick-identification keys to each family and genera.
It also covers English and scientific names, appearance, range, ecology, disposition, danger level, and IUCN Red List Category.
When many people think of bees, they are likely to picture the western domesticated honey bee, insects that live in large, socially complex societies inside a hive with a single queen and thousands of workers.
But this familiar bee is just one of more than 20,000 species of bees—and almost none of the others is anything like it. In “Bees of the World,” Laurence Packer, one of the world’s foremost experts on wild bees, celebrates the amazing diversity of bees—from size and appearance to nests and social organization.
Experimental cognitive psychology research is a hidden force in our online lives. We engage with it, often unknowingly, whenever we download a health app, complete a Facebook quiz, or rate our latest purchase.
How did experimental psychology come to play an outsized role in these developments?
“Experiments of the Mind” considers this question through a look at cognitive psychology laboratories.
Published in 2013, “The Truth About Everything” is a collection of personal experiences by Brianna Wiest which attempts to provide an understanding of love, loss and self-discovery.
One of the strengths of the publication is the author’s writing style. Wiest adopts a tone that provides a reflection of her views without lecturing.
Her straightforward language makes her insights digestible, offering the chance to connect with her, while encouraging personal introspection and growth.
Another fascinating aspect of the book is Wiest’s attempts to motivate readers to acknowledge their deepest feelings and imperfections. She considers this attitude critical to establishing genuine connections and achieve eventual healing.
Wiest wants to remind people of the importance of authenticity and self-acceptance in today’s often superficial, fast-paced world.
Judging from the online reviews, some readers prefer the structure of the book, with its short chapters and quotes.
Other reviewers were more critical and stated that some ideas were repeated or not grouped thematically.
Wiest challenges readers to re-examine what they thought to be true, and urges them to embark on their own spiritual journeys so that they can find their own truths to share with the world.
