Book Description
An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed—people whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed. Using these marvelous stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.
Customer Reviews:
Very interesting.......2007-10-05
Although this book gives a lot of valuable information, you will have to wade through the usual psychological jargon.
Superb writing on a complex and fascinating subject.......2007-09-12
What a fantastic and absorbing subject, so very well explained and defended by the author.
I believe this book to be a must read for everyone interested in, or subject to, some of the strange and intricate brain disorders we see developing and spreading in Amercian society.
Doctor Doidge has done an excellent job in brining this material to life while breaking down a complex subject into a highly readable format.
Great and easy to read.......2007-09-02
One of the best "brain" books out there.
Each chapter introduces it's own seperated brain related topic. Felt like I read many book--for my many interests, this is a good thing.
As an educator this helps explains many different behaviors and learning styles.
I have recomm this book to many.
When Change is Possible - Miracles Can Happen.......2007-08-27
If you're like me - a rank amateur in the field of brain science - you'll find that Dr. Doidge has authored an interesting and compelling text to explain the science of neuroplasticity. More importantly, you'll discover the implications of the "new" discoveries that show that the human brain is malleable throughout our lifetime.
While I sometimes got lost in the details, Dr. Doidge provided enough easy to understand nuggets to allow me to grasp that the science of neuroplasticity has life altering applicability to all human beings. The text provides many stories of personal triumph that could be seen as unimaginable miracles to those who have no background in this exciting science. The stories have not only been useful in my own life, they have shown themselves to be useful to others as I share these exciting discoveries with friends who have children who struggle with similar stories as those depicted in the text.
I would not classify this text in the self-help genre. It is a detailed exploration of the brains ability to change itself and it prepares the reader with sufficient knowledge and encouragement to seek solutions that just a few years ago were thought to be the stuff of miracles.
Fascanating.......2007-08-20
The Brain That Changes Itself is a collection of fascinating stories that shows the plasticity of the brain. For much of history, it was believed that the brain you were born with was hardwired and you were pretty much stuck with what you had at birth. Doidge has put together an interesting collection of stories that demonstrate that 1) the brain is indeed very plastic and 2) we have just begun to understand the capacity of the brain to change itself.
Woven in with the different stories is the history of the scientific and medical community theories about the brain. For most of history, it was accepted theory that the brain was hardwired. The scientists that advanced new theories were met with collective resistance. There was a real effort to cast the new theories as so much baloney.
Fortunately for everyone, the new theory about the plasticity of the brain has proven correct. There are stories of a woman who was born with half a brain but has learned to function in life. There are heart warming stories of stroke victims who had gone through traditional rehabilitation but after extensive rehab based on the theory of the brain's plasticity have made remarkable additional improvements.
It is well worth reading. We truly do need a better understanding of our brain, how it works and what can be done when it is not functioning properly. This book provides a great lesson in how the brain can change itself.
Book Description
Most people, when they contemplate the living world, conclude that it is a designed place. So it is jarring when biologists come along and say this is all wrong. What most people see as design, they say--purposeful, directed, even intelligent--is only an illusion, something cooked up in a mind that is eager to see purpose where none exists. In these days of increasingly assertive challenges to Darwinism, the question becomes acute: is our perception of design simply a mental figment, or is there something deeper at work?
Physiologist Scott Turner argues eloquently and convincingly that the apparent design we see in the living world only makes sense when we add to Darwin's towering achievement the dimension that much modern molecular biology has left on the gene-splicing floor: the dynamic interaction between living organisms and their environment. Only when we add environmental physiology to natural selection can we begin to understand the beautiful fit between the form life takes and how life works.
In The Tinkerer's Accomplice, Scott Turner takes up the question of design as a very real problem in biology; his solution poses challenges to all sides in this critical debate.
Customer Reviews:
Integration of physiology and evolution.......2007-01-15
Turner's first book (The Extended Organism) was interesting, and well written. The same is true of this book but I would add a third descriptor as well, ambitious. Turner acknowledges at the start that some readers may be inclined to throw the book across the room in disgust, so he asks the reader's indulgence to stay with him to the end of the book. I think persistence will be rewarded with some very intriguing insights and a very challenging thesis.
First, Turner is attempting an integration of physiology with evolution. Second, he is using his integration to explain what he sees as an ignored problem, obvious design in the form and functioning of animals. Turner refers, somewhat indirectly, to a frequently mentioned problem with the results of modern DNA sequencing of whole genomes. There aren't enough genes to specify all of the complex structure and function that we see in animals. So where does it come from if we are not going to just leave the problem for intelligent design advocates to exploit? Turner's answer is homeostatic mechanisms, the ability of organisms to regulate their internal structure and function within narrow limits. A really fun part of the book for me was his series of examples on muscle and bone structure, circulation, embryogenesis and development, and intestines. Turner is a wonderful writer as he models thinking like a physiologist. Tuner's point is that each of his examples can be thought of as a Bernard Machine, named after the French physiologist who first identified the central role of homeostasis in physiology. Each of his examples show how homostasis can produce (design) an adapted structure that is not directly a result of genes.
Then Turner wisely admits that the thesis of his next section is where the reader's irritation is likely to build. Homeostasis can be used as an explanation for the origins of consciousness. I told you that this book was ambitious. I will be very interested in seeing if anybody takes up Turner's hypothesis as the basis for a research program. This idea really needs some more data. I, for one, would like to see somebody try to flesh out this idea.
A year of two ago, a writer in the journal Science pointed out that comparative physiology had become something of a moribund research discipline. That writer's suggested solution was the use of gene expression patterns by using DNA chips. Turner may well have presented another way to energize the field, integrate physiology into evolution in a really deep way, similar to what has happened to developmental biology recently.
I am tentatively convinced by Turner's arguments; they are reasonable if speculative at times. Turner points out that he doesn't think that any of the ideas in his book originate with him. He is just trying to put them together in a coherent form. I hope that biologists don't just ignore him.
One problem that readers will face in this book has nothing to do with the ideas but rather the presentation. Sometimes the material is quite accessable and other times it can be challenging. The neurobiology can be slow going. The general reader may have difficulty in places; the trained biologist will not have significant difficulty. The conversational style of writing and Turner's obvious enthusiasm will carry any reader along.
Read this book and let the debate begin.
Book Description
For centuries, medicine aimed to treat abnormalities. But today normality itself is open to medical modification. Equipped with a new molecular understanding of bodies and minds, and new techniques for manipulating basic life processes at the level of molecules, cells, and genes, medicine now seeks to manage human vital processes. The Politics of Life Itself offers a much-needed examination of recent developments in the life sciences and biomedicine that have led to the widespread politicization of medicine, human life, and biotechnology.
Avoiding the hype of popular science and the pessimism of most social science, Nikolas Rose analyzes contemporary molecular biopolitics, examining developments in genomics, neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychopharmacology and the ways they have affected racial politics, crime control, and psychiatry. Rose analyzes the transformation of biomedicine from the practice of healing to the government of life; the new emphasis on treating disease susceptibilities rather than disease; the shift in our understanding of the patient; the emergence of new forms of medical activism; the rise of biocapital; and the mutations in biopower. He concludes that these developments have profound consequences for who we think we are, and who we want to be.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Book
- One of the best I've ever read!
- Fantastic book
- Comprehensive, well-organized, easy to read and understand!
- Couldn't put it down.
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Doctor Murray's Total Body Tune-Up: Slow Down the Aging Process, Keep Your System Running Smoothly, Help Your Body Heal Itself--for Life!
Michael Murray
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Amazon.com
Michael Murray is on a mission. A prominent naturopath, professor, and coauthor of the hugely popular Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, he's been teaching people for over 20 years to "harness the power of nature and achieve the highest level of health possible." In his Total Body Tune-Up, Murray outlines a plan to adjust the major organs of the body on a cellular level, using nutrition, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs--and the body's natural drive to heal itself. "Most cells in the body reproduce many times during your lifespan," he writes. "By tuning up, you can make sure that each new generation of cells is as fit and robust as its ancestors."
Murray opens each chapter with a symptom checklist, so readers can prioritize the needs of the various body systems--digestive, cardiovascular, reproductive, and so on--as high, medium, or low. He then explains how each system works when healthy, inspiring an odd affection for all the organs needing nutritional support, from the brain to the thymus. ("If the entire absorptive area of the small intestine were laid flat, it would be the size of a tennis court.") Because naturopaths practice holistic medicine, he covers stress, humor, and optimism, and gives dosages and brand names for hundreds of supplement regimens. Murray's book is so full of useful nutrition information, the occasional missing piece is forgivable. (Most Americans adults, he writes, eat 100 pounds of sugar and at least 40 pounds of "other sweeteners" a year--yet he fails to detail the health hazards of what's inside those ubiquitous blue and pink packets.)
The book's title notwithstanding--the body as car needing a tune-up is a bit rusty--Murray writes with a knack for metaphor. (Phase II detoxification in the liver is "like handcuffing the toxin so it can be escorted out of the body by the biological equivalent of security guards.") Citations for the clinical research articles he pulls from would have been useful for readers seeking more information. Still, this is a must-have reference for anyone who wants to move toward the promise of well-being, whether readers have a medical condition or want to prevent health problems. --Rebecca Taylor
Book Description
By the co-author of the bestselling
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine
Does your body need a tune-up?
In this remarkable new approach to holistic medicine, Michael Murray, N.D., one of the nation’s leading naturopathic doctors, shows you how to use the latest information in natural medicine to customize a program that will have every system in your body running like new.
Take Dr. Murray’s self-tests to pinpoint your health priorities. Then go on this fascinating guided tour to better health.
Circulatory system: lower your blood pressure without pills • keep your cholesterol in check with a vitamin derivative • stop varicose veins with a treatment that’s better than surgery
Immune system: foods that bolster your defenses against cancer and other life-threatening illnesses • herbs to stop a cold ... fast!
Digestive system: discover Germany’s number one natural remedy for digestive problems • what’s dangerous about antacids • how to stop heartburn with DGL
Brain and nervous system: natural remedies for memory loss and depression • brain-boosting vitamins and herbs
Detoxification system: cleanse your liver with an ancient herb • revitalize your system through safe fasting
Endocrine system: a no-cost way to burn fat • new ways to achieve crucial hormonal balance and reduce stress
Skeletal system: how to prevent — even reverse — osteoporosis with these simple natural supplements • new approaches to arthritis and chronic fatigue
Sexual system: how to bring more energy to your love life without dangerous drugs • ease menopausal hot flashes, and much more!
Here are the tools — and the knowledge — you need to put yourself in the best shape of your life.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2006-03-24
This is another excellent book by Dr. Murray. I highly recommend any of Dr. Michael Murray's books--he is an acclaimed naturopath who provides excellent insight into the workings of the human body. This book itself is very straightforward, well organized and contains loads of information. Well done!
One of the best I've ever read!.......2006-02-27
What can I say? Dr. Michael Murray is still one of the very best and most instructive of all Naturopaths I've ever seen live at health conventions. His books are pure gems of how to self-diagnose and heal yourself of all kinds of difficult health problems, including Phase I and Phase II detoxification problems in the liver...explained in great detail, actually. I loved Total Body Tune-Up because I already do a bit of health counseling and a LOT of study of natural health and healing. Dr. Murray filled in some blanks for me regarding some of the mystery health problems.
I am still working on healing the last 15-20% of a damaged immune system/environmental illness....so anything that can knock off the last few stubborn problems is WONDERFUL news to me. :-) There are only two things I do not intend to be without from now on: my beloved (organic, therapeutic) Young Living Essential Oils and natural healing advice from Dr. Michael Murray!
Since first reading this book about 7 weeks ago, I have purchased another 3 copies and given them as gifts. "Total Body Tune-Up" THAT significant of a book.:-)
Dr. Murray, please come back to the Syracuse area.. We want to hear you speak AGAIN!
Joyce E. Stotts
Newark, NY
Fantastic book.......2005-10-24
This is my favorite book on health, and I strongly recommend it to anyone wishing to improve their health in a effective and natural way. Its superbly written, and you have a hard time putting it down. Its a easy read and you will feel like implementing it right away. And it works!!! I have used it for everything from curing colds fast to loosing weight. My parents have received a copy for lowering cholesterol and blood presure ...in the natural way!
Comprehensive, well-organized, easy to read and understand!.......2000-07-21
Dr. Murray really has written a "whole body" book. By coming from the naturopathic viewpoint, he has made achieving and maintaining optimum health an obtainable goal without a lot of side-effect inducing prescriptions. He does not just list a series of steps to follow, but makes the reader a participant and advocate for his or her own health by providing explanations as to why the procedures work. He also provides rating scales so that the reader can prioritize the steps by personal need. If I can only have one health book, this is the one.
Couldn't put it down........2000-07-20
Last night I sat on the floor of my local bookstore enthralled in this book. As it is not yet payday and cheaper on Amazon, I didn't buy it. But, what a book. It is so easily organized. Besides the basic and known aging issues, Murray addresses others as well. He gives several "tune-up tiips" for each concern. He weaves in the words of Norman Cousins. He gives facts as well as suggestions for herbal, botanical and lifestyle treatments. I don't want to get too obsessed with aging, but I do want to know which supplements I can be incorporating into my diet. This book really helps me do that.
Customer Reviews:
It explains nearly everything.......2006-10-14
This book is brilliant. Its perspective on time, matter, the universe, our lives, and aliens is all interesting and clear. What's funny about Francis Crick is that he's insanely clear while insanely deep and intelligent. He comes up with great metaphors for complex and abstract thoughts that make them simple and fun to read. This book will blow your mind and make you think. I am not totally sold on this book's wisdom, but it sure beats the religious takes on how we got here. "And god said, 'Let there be Crick!'"
Favourite quote, do you have the next paragraph to hand?.......2001-12-30
``An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have to have been satisfied to get it going.'' Does anyone have the next paragraph to hand? A friend of mine wants to know. (-:
A grad student discovers the structure of DNA.......2001-10-14
While many advances have been made in molecular biology/genomics since it's release in 1981, Life Itself gives any reader a unique, entertaining overview and perspective on the problem of how we got here. In short, an excellent and thought provoking book that even I (your average molecular biology student) can understand and recomend to your average creationist.
ARE WE ALIENS?.......2000-04-05
Many theories have been proposed for the origin of life on earth. All are highly speculative. Some are silly and others, more interesting, are perhaps even capable of being tested. In a class of its own, and at first glance a cop-out, is the hypothesis that life did not originate on earth at all, but was 'seeded' from outer space. First put forward seriously by the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius about 100 years ago and generally known as 'panspermia', the hypothesis is explored with wit and style in this book by Francis Crick. What it achieves is that it solves the embarrassing problem of how, within a few billion years after the earth cooled, extraordinary complex forms of self-reproducing entities appeared on earth. The price paid for this achievement is, of course, is that it begs the question entirely of how reproduction and metabolism could arise in the first place. Overall, I would rate the book as informative and thought-provoking. I recommend reading this book along with 'Origins' by Shapiro: that reviews, also wittily, the case for and against various theories for the origin of life ON earth.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Book on How to Get Truly Healthy.......2007-09-12
This is a great book. It is written by a naturopath who grew up as a child in Yugoslavia and lived very close to nature as a child. She calls 'em as she sees 'em and I find her perspective and approach very refreshing and very needed in today's over-medicated and over-processed world. One could use just this one book to become well from almost any malady. However I would not buy it here unless Amazon.com starts selling it again because the people who are selling it used are selling it for over 20 bucks more than the author sells the book for on her own website.
A must read for any who want to be healthy.......2006-11-15
A book that should be made required reading in High School and then taught as a class on health and how the body works. Health is one of the worlds greatest resources and it is being stolen in the name of profit and ingnorance of Natures laws. Read it and then give a book to someone who needs it. Jake
Great strart!.......2006-10-15
This is a very pleasant and quick read on the true cause of disease and illness. It's a great place to jump off from and explore more about how the human body works in accordance with nature and what happens when humans go off track. Written in simple language one gets an understanding of how to heal oneself and become free of the lies and diseases of mainstream society (including cancer). Having implemented these practices over 5 years ago, I can personally attest to the truths spoken of in this book and highly recommend them to everyone. Health and happiness are yours by following the instructions outlined in this work.
Book Description
-- Choice
Why are living things alive? As a theoretical biologist, Robert Rosen saw this as the most fundamental of all questions-and yet it had never been answered satisfactorily by science. The answers to this question would allow humanity to make an enormous leap forward in our understanding of the principles at work in our world.
For centuries, it was believed that the only scientific approach to the question "What is life?" must proceed from the Cartesian metaphor (organism as machine). Classical approaches in science, which also borrow heavily from Newtonian mechanics, are based on a process called "reductionism." The thinking was that we can better learn about an intricate, complicated system (like an organism) if we take it apart, study the components, and then reconstruct the system-thereby gaining an understanding of the whole.
However, Rosen argues that reductionism does not work in biology and ignores the complexity of organisms. Life Itself, a landmark work, represents the scientific and intellectual journey that led Rosen to question reductionism and develop new scientific approaches to understanding the nature of life. Ultimately, Rosen proposes an answer to the original question about the causal basis of life in organisms. He asserts that renouncing the mechanistic and reductionistic paradigm does not mean abandoning science. Instead, Rosen offers an alternate paradigm for science that takes into account the relational impacts of organization in natural systems and is based on organized matter rather than on particulate matter alone.
Central to Rosen's work is the idea of a "complex system," defined as any system that cannot be fully understood by reducing it to its parts. In this sense, complexity refers to the causal impact of organization on the system as a whole. Since both the atom and the organism can be seen to fit that description, Rosen asserts that complex organization is a general feature not just of the biosphere on Earth-but of the universe itself.
Customer Reviews:
A review of Life Itself.......2007-05-01
While it is possible to write a short journal article while citing
only half a dozen to a dozen references Rosen attempted to write
a whole book on a huge topic and half the references are to his
own works! Rosen believes in a clean distinction between semantics
and syntax and that whereas machines can only involve syntax living
things involve semantics. I disagree. I would refer the reader to
Margaret Boden's "escaping from the chinese room" (The Philosophy of
Artificial Intelligence, Oxford Univ. Press, 1990). In abstracting
away from our observations of the world we never fully free ourselves.
We never create pure syntax, fully free of semantic content. Even our
math is an idealization of and abstraction away from observation.
I also believe that some of Rosen's terminology is at least nonstandard
(if not out and out erroneous). Again, we need those references.
THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN YEARS.......2006-07-03
Although many influential scientists (Steven Weinberg, Francis Crick, and Richard Dawkins, for example) claim - and most members of general public believe - that all of reality can "in principle" can be expressed as the dynamics of its constitutive elements (atoms, genes, neurons), some have intuitively felt that this reductive tenet is wrong, that life and the human mind are more complex phenomena. Critics of reductionism have pointed to Kurt Goedel's 1931 "incompleteness theorem" (which shows that in any axiomatic formulation of, say, number theory there will be true theorems that cannot be established) as a contrary example, but this paradigm-shattering result has been largely ignored the scientific community, which has blithely persisted in its reductive beliefs.
How is one to understand this curious situation? In Kuhnian terms, it seems that reductionism persists because this old paradigm has not yet fallen out of favor. Leaders in physics have not yet taken the public stance required by Goedel's theorem and assertions in their textbooks have not changed. Why not? Perhaps because Goedel's theorem relates to mathematics rather than reality, or perhaps because recognizing its import diminishes the status of physics as the primary science.
With the publication of Robert Rosen's LIFE ITSELF, the other shoe has dropped. In a carefully constructed exposition developed over eleven reader-friendly chapters, Rosen shows how something akin to Goedel's theorem applies to the natural world, and in particular to biology. Thus Rosen shows that all dynamical systems can be divided into two broad classes: "simple systems" for which the reductive paradigm holds and "complex systems" for which it does not hold. Note, however, that by the term "complex system" Rosen means something more specific than the way that the same term is used in chaos theory. Low-dimensional dynamical systems that exhibit chaos are "simple" to Rosen, whereas the term "complex" is reserved for those systems that cannot be simulated. Thus a Turing machine is "simple" as is the weather system proposed by Edward Lorenz as a model weather system that exhibits "irregular" (i.e., chaotic) solutions and the well-known "butterfly effect." "Complex systems" - Rosen proves in the sense that mathematicians use the term "prove" - comprise natural systems that cannot be simulated.
As a physicalist whose intuition has long suggested that reductive perspectives are too narrow to encompass living organisms and human consciousness (see my STAIRWAY TO THE MIND), the discovery of this book has been an illuminating experience for me. Having just read it word for word over three increasingly exciting days, I strongly recommend LIFE ITSELF to all who would understand the limits of science as it is currently practiced and preview the ways that linguistics, biology, cognitive science, and the social sciences (psychology and cultural anthropology) can be expected to develop in the present century.
Alwyn Scott
[...]
One of the most important science books of the 20th century.......2002-10-03
The other reviewers have already described the contents of Rosen's work sufficiently well that I will not bother to restate it all.
Instead, I want to stress that this book and his "Essays on Life Itself" are so profound and intelligently argued that anyone interested in any of the physical sciences, not just theoretical biology, will gain a great deal of insight and appreciation for the limitations of the current state of physics, upon which so much science is now based, as well as offering insights into ways of enriching physics, and the sciences in general.
The use of category theory and similar math should not deter any astute layperson, for although the math supports the arguments brilliantly, the arguments are well-described. What will be more difficult, in fact, is successfully grasping the results of the arguments in their full profundity.
This book rightfully deserves to have as widespread paradigm-shattering impact on physical science as Godel's "On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems" had on mathematics.
Rosen showed that, in fact, biology is not merely a trivial subcategory of physics; but instead that biology displays physical systems that are beyond the limited scope of current physics. And that enriching physics to encompass biological systems would enhance all of physics in very profound ways.
Sadly, I can only assume that it was (and still is) the ideological view of biology as a mere curiosity of physics that has allowed so many in science to fail to read Rosen's work.
Groundbreaking..........2002-04-24
It is hard to believe this book is not better known considering the nature of its views. At least, one wonders why so few who are "experts" in the area seem unaware of it since it appears to stand unrefuted. But then again, we are talking about a book that points out the serious limitations inherent in our whole scientific framework that has become today's religion.
Rosen starts by discussing concepts of life: what is it? He then runs through the reasons why it is considered a "hard" problem with the present Newtonian-based framework. He covers the difference between syntax and semantics, Godel, causality and complexity in a very informative yet also accessible manner.
He then gets to the meat of his thesis, the discussion of the fundamental axioms inherent in our present scientific viewpoint. This section has enough of an overview that I believe most people will grasp what he is driving at. That is, the concepts of modeling and entailment that are to be formally dissected in later chapters are very well explained so that there limitations may be understood.
It is the true nature of our models and their methods of encoding the world that Rosen is primarily exposing. Rosen goes back to Taylor's Theorem and demonstrates how Newton's "Laws of Nature" built in fundamental constraints on the nature of the whole scientific enterprise. Unfortunately I suspect the math here may be beyond some people although it really is only slightly more advanced that what is typically learned in high school - this is, in fact, the way it should be taught in the first place.
After laying this groundwork Rosen returns to his discussion of why the type of entailment specified through Newton's fundamental constraints limits any applicability to the "real" world. He introduces Rashevsky's ideas and then develops excellent methods of notation in order to delve more deeply into relational biology.
Then he moves to Analytic and Synthetic models which are compared and contrasted. The uses these ideas to introduce the concept of a machine (loosely based on Turing's ideas). And finally he delves into the relational limits of machines. All this work leads to:
"The picture we have painted looks bleak indeed, if we insist on identifying science with mechanism. But we must recall that there is no basis for such an identification."
And there we have it - just what many have been saying for quite a while just without the full technical details provided by Rosen.
There probably is enough evidence to finally convince the die-hards that this view is correct now that we have the spectacular failure of the genome-mapping project (well, it isn't a failure in some ways but it is for those fanatics of Dawkins and Crick) and the even more spectacular failure of the new priests of complexity. It should be more obvious that we need a new framework, not more shaky models built on axioms that are the problems in the first place.
Let us hope more people read this book so that some of the arrogance may be dispelled...
Deep and complex, like the topic.......2001-05-26
This is an deep and complex book. Rosen addresses what he considers to be the core theme of biology, "What is Life?" from a relational biology perspective. Although the book requires close reading and intense concentration, the journey is highly rewarding. Rosen's work is intricately constructed and addresses core foundations regarding modeling and the representation of living systems.
Written from a biological perspective with a fair amount of mathematics in the form of category theory, Rosen builds up the concepts of formalism, semantics, models and modeling relations, the concept of state, entailment, relational biology, simulations and machines. Rosen discusses the historical notion of recursive state in Newtonian science and the concept of functions entailing functions (and closed systems of entailment) in living systems.
Despite the biological perspective, this is intriguing stuff for systems researchers and systems theorists as well. Although the material relies heavily on mathematics, I'm no mathematician so there is hope for those who are merely comfortable with mathematical expression. Rosen does proceed very carefully through these topics, giving the non-mathematician a chance to keep up, although I suspect that a previous familiarity with abstract algebra, topology, set theory, or category theory would make the journy all the easier.
So, overall it is a challenging read. I have never really read anything quite like it. The exposition is tightly controlled and not a moment is wasted. My hardbound is well broken in and many a valuable nugget has been extracted on numerous successive readings of the material.
Book Description
The House That Cleans Itself is a true housekeeping guide for the housekeeping–impaired! It boldly takes on the reasons behind chronic messiness and why ordinary home–organization books won’t work. Using the methods of “horizontal thinking,” this book teaches readers how to set up a home so efficiently and logically that it seems to clean itself.
More than a how–to book, The House That Cleans Itself also looks at what God has to say about cleanliness and order, and how He can inspire order in every reader’s life in a fresh and unique way. For added fun, some of the tips Mindy uses come from research for her popular novels, The Trouble with Tulip, Blind Dates Can Be Murder, and Elementary, My Dear Watkins.
Customer Reviews:
A Little Complicated for the Cleaning Impaired.......2007-09-24
This book is aimed at people who are cleaning impaired. As someone who struggles with keeping a clean house I knew this book was written for someone like me. I really enjoyed the cleaning tips and especially liked the embarrassing house cleaning stories at the end of each chapter.
However, I do think it is a little complicated of a system for someone who really struggles with keeping a house clean. I personally like Flylady's (Marla Cilley) plan for helping the cleaning impaired as it keeps things simple and helps you to start a small foundation and build upon it until you find your house is running itself. This system starts out with the big picture first and it was too overwhelming to even think about doing all the planning and work it required.
The book was worth reading and it did include useful information on cleaning a house (and keeping it clean).
House Hazards.......2007-08-20
I am really enjoying this book. I bought it because of the title knowing full well that my house won't literally clean itself--but it's fun to dream. I love the true tales at the end of each chapter helping me to realize there are other people out there at least as messy or worse than I am. Right now we are trying to locate movie tickets that were put somewhere...? I'm already thinking of ways to put Mindy's tips to work for me. I don't think my family will like it much! You can tell that Mindy has been there and knows how it feels to be embarrased by the cluttered mess. This book is chocked full of information and inspiration.
Jacque Fessenden
Housekeeping Challenged? .......2007-08-07
Housekeeping is not my forte. Like Mindy Starnes Clark I feel drawn to helpful hints, but alas, they end up becoming part of my clutter rather than part of my solution.
This book is designed for the housekeeping impaired or challenged. What an amazing idea...restructuring the house rather than attempting to rewire the brains of the household members.
Eureka! If you have struggled with waves of stuff, or a house that seems to explode contents randomly and without warning, this book may be "the one!"
The very Christian message of prayer and persistance is within the pages along with encouragement.
Though I may not begin tomorrow, the ideas and tips are going to be swirling in my mind for weeks, and I'll end up taking a highlighter to the book and then I'm going to get to work.
Two of my housekeeping nightmares are printed in the book and it was no surprise to my friends and family that my stories were chosen.
The House that Cleans Itself and I are going to become very close. I think I can smell lemony fresh freedom.
Nothing new, not much help.......2007-08-03
This book can be summed up in one sentence: Analyze where your clutter comes from, then figure out a way to prevent it.
The rest of the book is gives some practical examples, some amusing anecdotes, and some strange biblical quotations that don't seem apropos of anything. It's as if the author did a computer search for "house" in the bible, and then stuck them in as chapter headings. In the end, the house doesn't clean itself, but being less cluttered maybe makes it easier for you to do it yourself.
This book is another example of the Christian publishing industry's opinion that any topic is improved by throwing in references to God and prayer, and those references take the place of substance.
Book Description
Donald G. Shockley's work is an earnest advocacy for recognizing and strengthening campus ministry as essential to the church's mission -- a "why to" rather than a "how to."
He presents a theology of campus mission based on the growing need for the church to reach beyond itself to renew its mission in the college community. The campus community offers a unique opportunity and setting for the church to practice evangelism, Christian education, and ethnic ministry.
He covers campus ministry from three major perspectives: History, Theology, and Mission. His threefold approach examines the power of past campus ministries (Christian societies, associations, movements), recognizes the possibilities for growth and learning in the campus environment, and explores campus ministry as an expression of the church in mission, emphasizing the unique opportunities available to the church on campuses. His work is a stimulating discussion of a vital area of the church in mission.
Books:
- The Data Modeling Handbook : A Best-Practice Approach to Building Quality Data Models
- The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
- The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
- The Everything College Survival Book: From Social Life To Study Skills--all You Need To Fit Right In (Everything: School and Careers)
- The Ghost Brigades (Sci Fi Essential Books)
- The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
- The Layguide: How to Seduce Women More Beautiful Than You Ever Dreamed Possible No Matter What You Look Like or How Much You Make
- The Meaning of Life: Reflections in Words and Pictures on Why We Are Here
- The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed
- The Physiology and Biochemistry of Prokaryotes
Books Index
Books Home
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