Lincoln, a high energy physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), has an infectious love for physics. He also occasionally demonstrates a humorous writing style that successfully engages the reader. On the whole, however, his efforts to explain the basics of quantum physics to the lay reader do not succeed because the material he covers is often too complex to be presented in such a superficial manner, despite the book's 600-plus pages.
This Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the multidisciplinary field of discourse processes.
The editors hope to foster a more interdisciplinary approach to discourse processing with this Handbook, while simultaneously developing an appreciation within the field for multiple methods of establishing rigorous scientific claims.
The field of discourse processes is currently fueled by seven dominant approaches:
* discourse psychology;
* corpus analysis;
* computational discourse;
* discourse technologies;
* conversation analysis;
* hybrid qualitative and quantitative approaches; and
* cultural foundations.
The contributors also discuss future trends in research, including corpus analyses, the integration of neuroscience with discourse research, and the development of more advanced computer technologies for analyzing discourse.
'Philosophy for Linguists: An Introduction' is an informative, easy-to-read introduction to linguistics within the sphere of philosophy. From Plato, through Frege and Russell, past Tarski and Davidson, addressing Austin, Ryle and Grice as well as taking time out to consider Whorf, Sapir, Saussure and Chomsky (amongst many others), Siobhan Chapman's book is a deceptive gem for the philosophy of language student or "interested reader" in the subject. It's deceptive because it's a sweet, modest but, above all, informative book (not quite what one would expect from a "philosophy of language" book) and manages to condense potentially hundreds of pages into a short, persuasive read. Unlike other publications, the information provided seeks not to elevate itself above its reader (thus confusing and confounding him or her with multi-syllable words only a lexicographer would be familiar with) but instead revels in being the reader's companion, explaining numerous concepts and ideas within five clearly-defined chapters (Words and things, Propositions and logic, Truth and reality, Speakers and hearers, Language and mind). The style and presentation of each of the chapters is non-threatening and easily accessible and even the involvement of arguably irrelevant and unrelated data, in the form of biographical information (for example did you know that Wittgenstein spent part of his time as a teacher and gardener?) is a welcome addition.
This book examines how people understand utterances that are intended figuratively. Traditionally, figurative language such as metaphors and idioms has been considered derivative from more complex than ostensibly straightforward literal language. Glucksberg argues that figurative language involves the same kinds of linguistic and pragmatic operations that are used for ordinary, literal language.
A to Z of Mathematicians contains the fascinating biographies of 150 mathematicians: men and women from a variety of cultures, time periods, and socioeconomic backgrounds, all of whom have substantially influenced the history of mathematics. Some made numerous discoveries during a lifetime of creative work; others made a single contribution.
The mathematical ideas are presented in simple terms that cut to the core of the matter.
After each entry, a short list of additional references for further reading is provided.
