Monday, October 4, 2010

Tools of Thinking: Understanding the World Through Experience and Reason

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English | Audio MP3 (24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture) + Guide Book PDF | 174 Mb
What is the best way to prove a case, create a rule, solve a problem, justify an idea, invent a hypothesis, or evaluate an argument? In other words, what is the best way to think?

Everyone has to think in order to function in the world, and this course will equip you with the tools to reason effectively in your pursuit of reliable beliefs and useful knowledge. Whether you are a budding philosopher searching for ultimate truths, a science student grappling with the nature of scientific proof, a new parent weighing conflicting childrearing advice, or a concerned citizen making up your mind about today's issues, Tools of Thinking will help you cut through deception and faulty reasoning to get closer to the essence of a matter.

An "Amiable, Humorous, Clear, and Interesting" Teacher

Your teacher is Professor James Hall, an award-winning educator who was hailed as "amiable, humorous, clear, and interesting, and, thankfully, never pedantic" in an AudioFile magazine review of his previous course for The Teaching Company, Philosophy of Religion.

In Tools of Thinking, Professor Hall turns his friendly but intellectually rigorous approach to the problem of thinking, introducing you to a range of effective techniques, including:

* Deduction: This form of reasoning reaches a conclusion based on a set of premises; if the premises are true, then the conclusion necessarily follows. The classic case of deduction is the Euclidean proof in geometry.
* Induction: Less ironclad than deduction, this approach surveys the evidence and then generalizes an explanation to account for it; the conclusion may be probable, but it is not certain. Scientists typically use inductive reasoning.
* Syllogism: This is a simple but powerful deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion. An example: "All Greeks are mortals. All Athenians are Greeks. Therefore, all Athenians are mortals."
* Boolean Algebra: Invented by George Boole in the 19th century, this system, also known as Boolean logic, gave new flexibility to logical analysis and contributed to the development of the computer.
* Avoiding Fallacious Reasoning: Inferences and explanations that rely on irrelevant "evidence" fail, being guilty of the fallacy of non sequitur. An example of this is ad populum, which amounts to inferring that a point of view or opinion must be true because it is widely held.

"The Magic is in the Mix"

"There is no one tool for thinking," says Professor Hall. "The magic is in the mix." You explore that mix through the ideas of some of history's greatest philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, RenĂ© Descartes, Isaac Newton, David Hume, and John Stuart Mill, among others. You also review the rudiments of logic, an unrivalled technique for separating ideas that don't make sense from those that do. And you learn how to recognize some notoriously egregious—and common—errors of thought.

What You Will Learn
The course is divided into five sections:

Lectures 1 and 2, Introduction: You begin by investigating how our minds make sense of the world. Then you focus on eight fundamental tools of thought: experience, memory, association, pattern discernment and recognition, reason, invention, experimentation, and intuition.

Lectures 3–9, Ancient Views: Plato and Aristotle laid the foundation for rational inquiry, each emphasizing different tools of thought. Aristotle's focus on what we can infer from observation led him to formulate the rules of logic. You explore these developments and the modern treatment of ancient logic by George Boole and John Venn.

Lectures 10–14, Early Modern Views: You investigate RenĂ© Descartes' program of "systematic doubt." Then you look at the ideas of David Hume, who carried doubt even further. After studying examples of fallacious reasoning, you move to John Stuart Mill, who proposed a method for dealing with one of Hume's most intractable quandaries: the problem of induction.

Lectures 15–22, Modern Rational Empiricism: The scientific approach to reasoning is called modern rational empiricism. You start with Isaac Newton's contributions to this amazingly productive mode of inquiry and then delve into the logical underpinnings of science. You end this section with three lectures on formal logic.

Lectures 23 and 24, How Do Things Stand Today? You explore the objections to modern rational empiricism by movements such as postmodernism. In the final lecture, you reach an understanding of thinking as open-ended. "The more we think," says Professor Hall, "the more things to think about we think of."

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The Art of Posing: Techniques for Digital Portrait Photographers - 2010

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Amherst Media, Inc. (April 1, 2010) | ISBN: 1584289910 | Pages: 128 | English | PDF | 11 MB
From facial expression and body angles to camera optics and ideal lighting, this invaluable photography reference discusses all the facets of posing. Featuring 10 acclaimed photographers and their exceptional images, this detailed guidebook illustrates how each artist approaches the practice of posing and offers his/her advice on how to achieve more successful and visually appealing portraits. Business-related concerns are also addressed, ensuring that the professional photographer remains relevant and marketable in terms of composition and style.

About the Author
Lou Jacobs Jr. is a professional photographer, the author of more than 30 photography books, including Photographers Lighting Handbook, Professional Children's Portrait Photography, and Studio Lighting, and regular contributor to Rangefinder magazine. He lives in Cathedral City, California.

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The 25% Cash Machine: Double Digit Income Investing

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Publisher: Wiley | ISBN 0470095520 | PDF | 224 pages | ENGLISH

Praise for THE 25% CASH MACHINE
I've been using great income-investing ideas from Bryan Perry for a long rime, always with exceptional results. Whether you run hundreds of millions of dollars or a few thousand dollars of your own, I guarantee you'll find new ideas you can use in The 25% Cash Machine."
— Dan Frishberg, CEO, BizRadio Network

"Bryan Perry's book is a must-read for anyone that invests their own money and knows the value of a dollar. The 25% Cash Machine isn't alchemy; it is sound financial advice from someone that doesn't just talk the talk; Bryan walks the walk. he breaks down in pain English how to achieve 25% returns by running with the sectors that are outperforming the market. By dynamically moving into the sectors that have the most favorable business conditions rather than sticking with dead sectors or dead stocks, Bryan shows how and why his proven system can work for any investor, in any environment........................

"Our national radio audience always reacts strongly and positively when Bryan Perry is a guest on our programs. They want high-yield strategies, and Bryan has knowledge, experience, and integrity to generate a 25% cash machine. All investor should consider this maximizing yields minimizing risk strategy, I highly recommend this book; it's terrific!".
-- Steve Crowley, Executive Producer and host, American Scene radio, WallStreetCast Television

"A bird in the hand and two in the bush. That's what many have achieved. Here is your chance to be one of them with Bryan Perry's new book, The 25% Cash Machine."
-- Gabriel Wisdom, syndicated radio host, Business Talk Radio Network, and founder, American Money Management LLC

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The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day - 2010

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Wiley | 2010-01-12 | ISBN: 047040924X | 256 pages | PDF | ENGLISH | 11.9 MB
From a top cardiologist-simple stress-reduction techniques to prevent and reverse the four major kinds of heart disease The 15 Minute Heart Cure shows how stress can harm our cardiovascular system and offers practical, easy ways to dispel stress naturally, without spending a lot of time or money. It explains the stress-heart disease connection for the four major types of heart disease-heart attack, arrythmia, congestive heart failure, and cardiac valve disease-and equips you with the author's proven BREATHE technique to help you stop stress in its tracks.

* Teaches the BREATHE (beginning, relaxation, envision, apply, treatment, heal, end) technique to help you heal and protect your heart
* Gives you specific stress-reducing breathing and guided imagery exercises you can do anywhere, anytime
* First book by a leading cardiologist on the stress-heart disease connection-Dr. Kennedy is the former director of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and director of Inpatient Cardiology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Rafael, CA and the current medical director of Preventive Cardiology and Wellness, Marina Del Rey Hospital, Marina Del Rey, California, and member of the Board of the American Heart Association
* Includes real-life case examples from the author's extensive clinical experience.

Don't let stress hurt your heart. Unleash the healing benefits of The 15 Minute Heart Cure and discover the wonderful sense of focus and calm it will bring to your life.

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Take Yourself to the Top: Success From Inside Out

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256 pages | English | ISBN: 1585424471 | PDF | 8.42 MB
An updated and expanded edition of the classic career book from a pioneer in the personal-coaching field.
If you're looking for job search advice, this book is not for you. If you want to know about writing a risumi, creating a cover letter, honing interview skills, or dressing for success, you're in the wrong place. But if you're willing to take charge of your career like never before, if you're prepared to be responsible for the choices you make and have the guts to ask for what you really want, then get ready to take yourself to the top.

In this updated and expanded edition of Laura Berman Fortgang's exemplary business/self-help book, readers will learn:
* how to leap out of that mid-career rut
* how to completely and honestly assess your career's progress
* how to identify obstacles that keep you from reaching your goals
* how to turn your back on what many people might call "success" to discover your true life calling.

About the Author
Laura Berman Fortgang is an internationally renowned speaker and the president and owner of InterCoach, Inc., a full-service career and life-satisfaction consulting business that works with individuals, small businesses, and corporations. She is the author of Living Your Best Life and Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction.

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All Hands on Deck: 8 Essential Lessons for Building a Culture of Ownership - 2010

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Wiley | 2010 | ISBN: 047059912X | 192 pages | PDF
In the stormy seas of today's world economy, organizations need all hands on deck

In the stormy seas of today's world economy, organizations need people to own their work, not just rent a spot on the organization chart. All Hands on Deck is a fun-to-read story that is both a business strategy book about creating competitive advantage through corporate culture, and a personal development book that will inspire readers to be more committed and engaged with their work and their organizations. Drawing upon the wisdom of some of the greatest and most beloved business leaders of the 20th century, this essential guide:

• Creates a virtual roadmap for building a culture of ownership where so workers are inspired to think and act like partners in the enterprise, and not just hired hands
• Shares practical and proven strategies for earning employee buy-in and commitment to the values, vision, and purpose of the organization
• Features the real-world wisdom of some of the most successful and beloved business leaders of the 20th century, including Walt Disney, Ray Kroc, Mary Kay Ash, Bill Hewlett, and Dave Packard

A stirring resource for today's business environment, All Hands on Deck shares the tools you need to create an organization that competes and succeeds in today's turbulent world, and the inspiration that your people need to put those tools to work.

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