In this, the first of two ground-breaking volumes on the nature of language in the light of the way it evolved, James Hurford looks at how the world first came to have a meaning in the minds of animals and how in humans this meaning eventually came to be expressed as language. He reviews a mass of evidence to show how close some animals, especially primates and more especially apes, are to the brink of human language. Apes may not talk to us but they construct rich cognitive representations of the world around them, and here, he shows, are the evolutionary seeds of abstract thought - the means of referring to objects, the memory of events, even elements of the propositional thinking philosophers have hitherto reserved for humans.
'Sir Frank Kermode's effortless learning, lucid intelligence and wry, self-deprecating style prove that, at its best, literary criticism itself is a lively art.' - Al Alvarez 'In this extremely important book of speculative and scholarly criticism, Mr Kermode is setting out to redefine the notion of the Romantic tradition, especially in relation to English poetry and criticism.' - Times Literary Supplement
Visual Math has been designed to allow learners to "see" why math makes sense. By combining logical math concepts with pictures, previously unclear images will fade and math will suddenly click for you. Pictures, graphs, and diagrams help you understand math questions in the areas of number concepts and properties, fractions and decimals, ratios and proportions, percents, algebra, geometry, and much more. Designed especially for students who have difficulty with conventional math rules, this book gives you step-by step instructions with pictures to help you solve math problems.
Written and compiled by British film critic Ronald Bergan, the DK Eyewitness Companion book is much more cursory, but the organization is also more amenable to the casual browser looking for a few film factoids. That's because the 500-plus-page soft-cover book mimics the same pleasing graphics, easy-to-follow organization, and abbreviated observations of the extensive Eyewitness guidebook line. This one is divided into six discrete sections - The Story of Cinema, How Movies Are Made, Genres, World Cinema, A-Z of Directors, and Top 100 Movies. Each provides interesting tidbits of a thumbnail variety, especially the first chapter which dares to cover the history of movies in such an expeditious fashion. The second section gives a solid look at the entire process of filmmaking from development to release.
Offering insight into the life and experiences of the world’s oldest culture, this account of Australia’s Aboriginal history spans the mythologies of the Dreamtime through the modern-day problems within the community. Culture and history enthusiasts will get answers to such questions as Where did the Aborigines come from and when? How did they survive in such a harsh environment? and What was the traditional role of Aboriginal women? This story emphasizes the resilience and adaptability of the Aboriginal people, especially throughout their relationship with the Europeans who eventually colonized the continent. Ms Flood has set herself the challenge of avoiding the political diktat of our times and trying to give an honest and thorough account of what aboriginal culture and life was like at the time of first contact with whites and following. my own interest is to look at a 50,000 year old culture - the oldest on earth - as the human roots of us all, and learn more about the basics of being human. it should come as no surprise to any sensible and honest person, that the picture is one of violence, mistreatment of all who are physically weaker, especially women. there is also a harsh lesson on the fruits of supernatural belief insisting on no change, no innovation, no learning, no progress. isolation and stasis bear terrible fruits.
