The Dark Origins of Britain is a landmark series dealing with the
greatest unresolved mystery in our history - how the modern nations of
England, Wales and Scotland were born out of the chaos of the Dark
Ages. In 400 AD, when Roman power collapsed in Britain, we were a
province inhabited by Celtic peoples speaking a mixture of early Welsh
and Latin. But only two hundred years later, the foundations of a new,
Anglo-Saxon, English-speaking nation were being laid.
Ender and Valentine Wiggin are brother and sister who both share the gift of genius. The monstrous Starways Congress has sent a warfleet to their home planet of Lusitania, containing two alien species and the deadliest virus ever known. They have also issued the order to destroy the planet.
Xenocide is the third installment of the Ender series. On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequeninos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought. But Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus which kills all humans it infects, but which the pequeninos require in order to transform into adults. The Starways Congress so fears the effect of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way and a second Xenocide seems inevitable, until the Fleet vanishes.
There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of
success. In this fascinating book, based on brain and behavioral
research, Daniel Goleman argues that our IQ-idolizing view of
intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for
"emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human
success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness,
altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be
loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high
emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well
as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful
relationships. Because emotional intelligence isn't fixed at birth,
Goleman outlines how adults as well as parents of young children can
sow the seeds.
(36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Course No. 1600
Taught by John McWhorter
Manhattan Institute
Ph.D., Stanford University
"I never met a person who is not interested in language," wrote the bestselling author and psychologist Steven Pinker. There are good reasons that language fascinates us so. It not only defines humans as a species, placing us head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators, but it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries. For example:
How did different languages come to be?
Why isn’t there just a single language?
How does a language change, and when it does, is that change indicative of decay or growth?
How does a language become extinct?
Not registered yet? We'll like you more if you do!