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There is an ill-concealed skeleton in the closet of physics: "As they are currently formulated, general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot both be right." Each is exceedingly accurate in its field: general relativity explains the behavior of the universe at large scales, while quantum mechanics describes the behavior of subatomic particles. Yet the theories collide horribly under extreme conditions such as black holes or times close to the big bang. Brian Greene, a specialist in quantum field theory, believes that the two pillars of physics can be reconciled in superstring theory, a theory of everything.
Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate.
Though Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study is in many ways the human hero of The Elegant Universe, it is not a human-side-of-physics story. Greene's focus throughout is the science, and he gives the nonspecialist at least an illusion of understanding--or the sense of knowing what it is that you don't know. And that is traditionally the first step on the road to knowledge. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
"[Greene] develops one fresh new insight after another...In the great tradition of physicists writing for the masses,
The Elegant Universe sets a standard that will be hard to beat." --George Johnson, The New York Times Book Review
In a rare blend of scientific insight and writing as elegant as the theories it explains, Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of 11 dimensions where the fabric of space tears and repairs itself, and all matter-from the smallest quarks to the most gargantuan supernovas-is generated by the vibrations of microscopically tiny loops of energy.
Green uses everything from an amusement park ride to ants on a garden hose to illustrate the beautiful yet bizarre realities that modern physics is unveiling. Dazzling in its brilliance, unprecedented in its ability to both illuminate and entertain,
The Elegant Universe is a tour de force of science writing-a delightful, lucid voyage through modern physics that brings us closer than ever to understanding how the universe works.
Customer Reviews:
Anyone who is curious about the horizons of theoretical physics will enjoy this book.......2007-08-30
In this brilliantty articulated and refreshingly clear book, Greene, a leading string theorist, relates the scientific story and the human struggle behind the search for the ultimate theory. String theory, as the author vividly and easily describes, reveals a vision of the universe that is sending shock waves through the world of physics. Thrilling and revolutionary ideas such as new dimensions hidden within the fabric of space, black holes transmuting into elementary particles, rips and puncutures in the space time continuum, gigantic universes interchangealbe with minusclule ones, and a wealth of others are playing a pivotal role as physicists use string theory to grapple with some of the deepest questions of the ages.
Almost 5 Stars.......2007-07-19
Although I felt this book was excellent and covered all the bases there were a few areas that lacked for me and I couldn't quite give it 5 stars. The book started out phenomenally and the section on quantum mechanics was the best that I've read. The analogies that Mr. Greene used made the concepts clear and comprehendable but there were a few chapters in the middle where he used no analogies and I found myself completely lost even after re-reading the chapters. I might be too much of a layman for this book and that would certainly not be Mr. Greene's fault. There were additional parts of the book where I found myself easily destracted and those chapters were almost a chore to finish. Over all I think parts of this book are great for readers who are just begining to study this subject but other whole chapters are definately not.
First half zipped along with insight after insight........2007-07-19
First half zipped along with insight after insight. Second half got a bit heavy and bogged down. Overall I'm glad I made it through.
science or science fiction? .......2007-07-08
"Theoretical physicist is the one whose experiments don't work".
So says my friend, an engineer by profession, and The Elegant Universe fully confirms this view - more, since we learn that the theories of modern physics are beyond our technological ability to test them experimentally.
The theories themselves are indeed very elegant, composed with great care for estetics and symmetry, and well illustrated by pictures. Nonetheless, we are left with an impression that most of it is the stuff of phantasy, and just as one calculation will "prove" some idea, another set of equations will "disprove" it with identical claim to "scientific truth". I've put all this terms in quotes because the maybe factor of all proofs is too strong to take the presented theories seriously. The author admits that all the calculations are based on approximations and numerous assumptions, raising from still more approximations and probabilities. And when the result is absurd, the theorists quickly solve the problem by inventing one more spatial dimention, not accessible to our perceptions because it never expanded from its initial state.
Actually, the whole string theory deals with aspects of reality not accessible to our perceptions, and not provable by any experiments. Is it still reality or already a fiction? We don't know, and chances are will never know.
With all this, it is indeed an extremely elegant text, beautifully written and holding our attention all the way to the end. I just wish the author did not say all of the time that string theory had been "discovered", since for all we know theories are not material reality, such as a continent of America or a rare species of a butterfly, and so they cannot be discovered, theories can only be conceived, invented, or created. This lexical misuse is eye-catching due to the prevalence of hypotheses over the facts so stronly visible in string theory.
Crackling and sizzling ! - This one requires some attention and tenacity though........2007-06-27
A good book which covers the below topics
1) Requirement of single physical law which brings together all the four fundamental forces: Electromagnetic, Strong nuclear, weak nuclear and gravity.
2) Disparity between theory of relatively (the world of the big) with quantum mechanics (world of the very small)
2) The need of a higher theory to explain the standard model (Explanation for the disparate mass and charges of the subatomic particles)
3) The concept of 11 dimensional space; Mass and charge of the numerous particles found in atom smashers being a result of frequency of vibrations of strings (closed or open) in different dimensions. Meaning a string vibrating with a certain frequency along one of the hidden 7 pinched up spatial dimensions (also termed calabi Yau spaces) will represent a subatomic particle
4) Membrane theory (2 branes, 3 branes etc)
5) M theory unifying the 5 known strings theories (by the addition of another spatial dimension)
6) Thus everything in this universe including the keyboard you are right now typing on is made up of tiny vibrating strings and below this level there is nothing. A string would be the last divisible entity beyond which it is not possible to divide anymore.
Basically everthing stripped down to strings. This is a book for the reader who doesn't know anything about string theory but wants to learn something. As a general reader, you are not in a position to take a stand for or against string theory, because the person picking up this book will be layman and hence rightly there are no equations, so you have to accept things at face value. If you were more deeply interested you would be a physicist doing his PHD and hence will read more dense and technical books as college courses.
But as a layman, you will also appreciate the paucity of physical evidence to support string theory. Particle physicists consider it the right theory because of its mathematical elegance in it's equations. As a layman, you and I are not able to see this elgance as we dont read equations. So I cant form a real opinion about this but I can say that this book will provide the uninitiated a quick cursory primer on string theory with the help of analogies. But this book wont make you believe or disbelieve string theory but you will become more aquainted with what this hype is all about.
regards, Vikram
Average customer rating:
- A book in search of an editor...
- impressive and insightful
- Commercialized, pulped ancient truths - only for those desperate to find the point in life
- The Book Of Secrets Unlocking the Hidden Dmensions of Your life
- Chopra's Take on Deep Reality
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The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life (Chopra, Deepak)
Deepak Chopra
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
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ASIN: 1400098343
Release Date: 2005-09-27 |
Book Description
Every life is a book of secrets, ready to be opened. The secret of perfect love is found there, along with the secrets of healing, compassion, faith, and the most elusive one of all: who we really are. We are still mysteries to ourselves, despite the proximity of these answers, and what we most long to know remains lodged deep inside.
We all want to know how to find a soul mate, what career would be most fulfilling, how to live a life with meaning, and how to teach our children well. We are looking for a personal breakthrough, a turning point, a revelation that brings with it new meaning. The Book of Secrets--a crystalline distillation of insights and wisdom accumulated over the lifetime of one of the great spiritual thinkers of our time--provides an exquisite new tool for achieving just that.
Because answers to the questions at the center of life are counterintuitive, they are often hidden from view, sequestered from our everyday gaze. In his ongoing quest to elevate our experience, bestselling author Deepak Chopra has isolated fifteen secrets that drive the narrative of this inspiring book--and of our lives. From "The World Is in You" and "What You Seek, You Already Are" to "Evil Is Not Your Enemy" and "You Are Truly Free When You Are Not a Person," The Book of Secrets is rich with insights, a priceless treasure that can transport us beyond change to transformation, and from there to a sacred place where we can savor the nectar of enlightenment.
"The Book of Secrets is the finest and most profound of Deepak Chopra’s books to date. Want the answers to the secrets of life? Let me recommend that you start right here." -- Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
A book in search of an editor..........2007-10-01
Deepak Chopra has made a fortune on his personal musings about life and existence. This work represents the most current book after the death of his beloved father. Chopra attempts to link the secrets for a fufilling life into a "users manual" for the masses. However, rather than sticking to the strictly metaphysical, he delves into science to justify his own version of faith. This is the latest gimmick of new thought philosophers. Phrases like "quantum mechanics" are tossed around like tomatoes at a salad bar. Deepak has moved away from his old standby of "synchrodestiny" in favor of the phrases popular among current adherents.
For someone to undertake this text requires them to subscribe to the basic tenets of Deepak's faith. Although he claims not to espouse any specific belief, there is a clear line back to his early days with transcendental meditation. One of the most frustrating elements of his book is his reluctance to name names or cite source material, save for the ancient texts of spiritual wisdom he references. He makes both profound and pointless statements almost on the same page. He waxes philosphical at the unique properties of water and ignores basic chemistry.
Many of his recommendations are very useful and arguably beneficial. "Live in the now" and "take time to meditate" will only help a person reduce their stress and improve their life. The disdain he heaps upon "science" and non-believers is hardly masked however. I have been privileged to see Deepak live on three occassions. He is a compelling speaker and his writings echo his oratory skills. In this instance he needs help. There is so much free flow and repetition, that one begins to lose the messages contained within his work.
Fans of Chopra will love the book. There is nothing here I can say to dissuade them. However, prospective followers would be advised to seek out something more palatable - Ageless Mind for example.
impressive and insightful.......2007-08-09
I found the book to be a really insightful and a thoughtful account written in easy language with good analogues and anecdotes. This book was quite unlike many other spiritual texts that sometimes delve into hard to comprehend philosophies. This seemed to be a more general account on the principles of good and content living. I really enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to other readers looking for spiritual texts.
Commercialized, pulped ancient truths - only for those desperate to find the point in life.......2007-07-29
Chopra's "Book of Secrets" is definitely an example of a typical New Age, self-help book. Chopra describes how the power to change anyone's life lies within them and gives a few simple statements, which should help the readers realize that.
I bought this book because of my interest in yoga and meditation, and hoped that Chopra, who, after all, is an MD and a founder of the renowned Chopra Center, would give some deep insights, some real methods of meditation and way to get united with the world. Instead, this is a book, which, frankly, anybody could write. Based loosely on the ancient Indian philosophical and religious systems, exploits them without even acknowledging that the simplified thoughts expressed there are not original. And, in fact, they are not really helpful - could you not get to these spiritual truths by yourself? Besides, the biological "evidence" Chopra tries to connect with his advice is far from true; example: according to Chopra, typically, cells store no more than 8 seconds (I wonder where this number comes from) worth of nutrients and oxygen within their boundaries - well, what about adipocytes, which, after all, are quite typical... This was for me really surprising - many New Age books provide far better scientific explanation with references to original articles, allowing the reader to verify the information.
Undoubtedly, the story of Chopra's attitude change upon his father's death is the most appealing moment in the whole book (and no doubt deliberately chosen to impress the American readers, who like personal accounts)
Maybe I am not at the point of my path, where I would need this type of text and I cannot appreciate it, and therefore find it rather pathetic. I earnestly believe that there are readers, who need this type of advice and will treat Chopra's work as life-changing, but for me one reading was more than enough. To those interested in the theoretical foundations of yoga, in Indian mysticism and in its influence, but presented with the Western flavor, I would recommend the works of Mircea Eliade (including his diaries); Those who are very serious should rather dive into the original texts, like the Upanishads, or Patanjali's Yoga Sutras; to those who like everyday advice based on yogic principles, The Yoga Journal will do a great job.
The Book Of Secrets Unlocking the Hidden Dmensions of Your life.......2007-07-19
I found deep pleasure in reading this book. I always find that reading on his level of enlightenment brings a sense of "Oh yeah ,I know what he's expressing or gee I have felt the same way.and always a wow! I can now look at this from a diffrent perspective. Is always a joy to spend time with his thoughts. thank you.
Chopra's Take on Deep Reality.......2007-07-09
In "The Book of Secrets," Deepak Chopra gives us his vision of spirituality and of the reality we find ourselves wedded to. Chopra (page 15) writes: "Every secret in this book goes back to the existence of an invisible intelligence that operates beneath the visible surface of life. The mystery of life is an expression not of random accidents but of one intelligence that exists everywhere."
Chopra (page 21) tells us: "You are not in the world; the world is in you. The only reason that rocks are solid is that the brain registers a flurry of electrical signals as touch; the only reason the sun shines is that the brain registers another flurry of electrical signals as sight. There is no sunlight in my brain, whose interior remains as dark as a limestone cavern no matter how bright it is outside."
I found the best way to read Chopra is in small 30 minute mini-reads, ideally sitting outside in the park with birds chirping in the background, a mere rest spot within my hour long walks that may occur daily. Chopra has a poetic style to his spiritual advice that can be enhanced significantly by background conditions that are beyond the book. A good example is provided by Chopra's (page 43) remarks: "Thinking points the way whenever your mind stops being restless and speculative. On this path, you silence your internal dialogue in order to find clarity and stillness. It takes clarity for your mind to see that it doesn't have to be so driven. Thinking can turn into knowing, which is to say wisdom. With greater clarity your intellect looks into any problem and sees the solution. As your knowingness expands, personal questions fade. What your mind really wants to know is the mystery of existence. Questions knock on the door of eternity, at which point only the Creator can answer them for you. The fulfillment of this path comes when your mind merges with the mind of God."
Chopra (page 31) writes: "An infinite, silent energy field flickered for an instant, experiencing an object (the rose) and the subject (you the observer) without going anywhere. Awareness simply took look at one aspect of its eternal beauty. Its only motive was to create a moment of joy. You and the rose stood at opposite poles of that moment, yet there was no separation. A single creative stroke took place, fusing you both."
Chopra (page 25) reminds us that ego is not the enemy: "Throwing the ego into the dark, making it the enemy, only creates more division and fragmentation. If there is one reality, it must be all-inclusive. The ego can't be thrown out any more than desire can be thrown out." Yet even Chopra's forgiving outlook can confuse the ego when it is genuinely needed; e.g., when "you are stopped at a red light on the way home, but the car behind you doesn't stop and rear-ends you," (page 116). Chopra recommends these personal identifications of self: "This accident was no accident; it's a reflection of myself. This stranger is a messenger. When I find out why this event happened, I will uncover some aspect of myself." When the other driver is discovered to be intoxicated, for example, Chopra's critics will point to his gullibility with the issue of ego surrender. Even if some events are found to be random occurrences among many meaningful events, Chopra is not so gullible to accept the advice of a guru without the ever critical ego (at least I hope not). He (page 84) does admit that "manipulators use charm, persuasion, coaxing, trickery, and misdirection." Chopra (page 79) recommends taking the attitude that: "I will put a distance between myself and those who want to hurt me. I do not have to confront them, guilt-trip them, or make them the cause of my self-pity. But I cannot afford to absorb their toxic effect on me, and if that means keeping my distance, I will."
Chopra (pages 111) plays up the term "wholeness", writing that: "Wholeness means including everything, leaving nothing out. At the present we each experience life sliced up into bits of time, bits of experience, bits of activity. We clings to our limited sense of self to protect the slices from falling apart. But it's impossible to find continuity in this way, hard as the ego tries in its struggle to make life hang together. Wholeness is a state beyond personality." But "wholeness" carries the connotation of web of life, the dynamic flux unto itself, and of system theory, and these views can only be a misplaced caricature if taken literally. For example, Ken Wilber called these views a "flat land" perspective, while having been critical of Chopra in particular. I think Chopra can find a way beyond this criticism, by sticking to his poetic spirituality in its simpleness, and while leaving system thinking in its proper place.
One of the high points in Chopra's book is his treatment of evil. He (page 126) tells us that "evil depends completely on one's level of consciousness." And Chopra (page 138) writes of the repressed shadow: "the shadow has grown used to being repressed, to access this region of the mind doesn't happen easily. Nor is direct assault effective. The shadow knows how to resist; it can slam the door and hide its dark energy even deeper." He (page 141) writes: "The fleeting gap between sensation and interpretation is the birthplace of the shadow. When you go into the gap and see how intangible everything is, the ghosts begin to disperse... Evil is born in the gap. The gap isn't anyone's private possession. The gap contains collective responses and collective themes. When an entire society accepts the theme of `the outsiders' who cause all the trouble [us versus them], then evil has everyone for a father and mother." Chopra (page 142) writes, "I don't accept that evil people exist, only people who have not faced their shadows."
The shadow, in fact, is found to be our lover and helper. Chopra (page 146) tells us: "That's why the words don't matter. Once you access the feeling, the real work of release can begin. You need to go on and feel it completely, ask for release, and keep going until you get a new bit of self-understanding. It may take practice before any real deep release comes to you, but step by step the walls of resistance will come down. The shadow is subtly involved in everyday life. It is never so hidden that you cannot bring it to light."
Chopra (page 183) writes: "In clarity you know that you are not a puppet - you have released yourself from the unconscious drives that once fooled you into thinking that you were acting spontaneously."
Chopra (page 198) writes on being mindful: "You catch the present moment without words or thought. Few things are easier to describe and harder to do. The crux of the matter is time. Time is as slippery as that blessed moment before you say `I'm happy right now.' Was that moment really fleeting or is it eternal? "
Trinity: The Scientific Basis of Vitalism and Transcendentalism
Book Description
The universe has its secrets. It may even hide extra dimensions, different from anything ever imagined. A whole raft of remarkable concepts now rides atop the scientific firmament, including parallel universes, warped geometry, and threedimensional sink-holes. We understand far more about the world than we did just a few short years ago -- and yet we are more uncertain about the true nature of the universe than ever before. Have we reached a point of scientific discovery so advanced that the laws of physics as we know them are simply not sufficient? Will we all soon have to accept explanations that previously remained in the realm of science fiction?
Lisa Randall is herself making these extraordinary breakthroughs, pushing back the boundaries of science in her research to answer some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature. For example, why is the gravitational field from the entire Earth so defenseless against the small tug of a tiny magnet? Searching for answers to such seemingly irresolvable questions has led physicists to postulate extra dimensions, the presence of which may lead to unimaginable gains in scientific understanding. Randall takes us into the incredible world of warped, hidden dimensions that underpin the universe we live in, describing how we might prove their existence, while examining the questions that they still leave unanswered.
Warped Passages provides an exhilarating overview that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of today's particle physics and string theory, unweaving the current debates about relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity. In a highly readable style sure to entertain and elucidate, Lisa Randall demystifies the science and beguilingly unravels the mysteries of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond the one we are only now beginning to know.
Customer Reviews:
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT!!!.......2007-09-28
You really don't need my opinion because there are already over 100 reviews. I don't have a serious review to offer because the serious ones have already been done. I will agree with the best of them because this lady author has many great talents in putting such an amazing book together with such STYLE!!!! Many points of praise. I got this book in hardcover and decided I needed another one so I got two.
You go scientists!!!! Please continue writing books like this one that are so so delicious to read and well put together in SO many ways. Keep them (books) real long like this one (or even longer) and packed with lots of goodies. Brian Greene, I still LOVE your work also--ESPECIALLY The Fabric of the Cosmos, so Lisa Randall, Briane Greene and other talented scientists--keep on dishing out books like these that keep us wanting more more more!!!
SOME speculation is HEALTHY SCIENCE. Always know that there is A BEYOND EVERYTHING! Be certain of that. You scientists have now acquired an audience of the MASSES. We will be there to hail you or boo you like the jury of Q in Star Trek The Next Generation. We want more and better and more and better. Ha Ha Ha. Great work!
The Problem With Math.......2007-09-26
Randall, along with many other, such as Susskind The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design makes a serious mistake in leaping to the conclusion that reality corresponds to her mathematical models. Along with other string theorists, they assume that if the math they use to build their models contains some number of additional dimensions, then the real world must contain those dimensions. I see this in much of the literature, including, for example Woit Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory And the Search for Unity in Physical Law who debunks string theory, but nevertheless seems to accept the idea that if the math contains extra dimensions, reality must also contain those extra dimensions.
A mathematical model is just that - a model. It is the best math we can construct at this point in time to describe the reality we are trying to model. It is not the reality itself. If the string theorists are successful in constructing a model that includes six or seven tiny dimensions, that does not mean that those dimensions actually exist. All it means is that the best model we can currently construct has to include those dimensions in the math. Susskind really goes off the deep end with this. We must remember that much more math will come along. Someday, we may have a math that describes the same reality without the additional dimensions.
That said, if the string theorists can make a prediction that absolutely, positively depends upon those extra dimensions and if that prediction is confirmed by experimental results, then they may have a case. So far, the string theorists have failed utterly to make such a prediction. Even here, a different math may come along. The night is young.
Readable!.......2007-09-24
In order to keep this short and sweet, this is a very readable book about string, superstring theory, and branes! An excellent job by the author! Also contains references to nice music lyrics and quotes! Fantastic book, highly recommended!
Randall re where we are........2007-08-24
Superb summary of contemporary cosmological crucial questions. Not not for the novice, but she writes so clearly--who knows?
Interesting, the idea is similar to the experiences left by some Buddists and Taoists.......2007-08-10
1.
Why not use any possible monitoring system to collect the local variatons in space as beings dying, being born and fertilizing? We may find something come from and go to some other dimensions or layers.
2.
According to some old chinese books of Buddhism and Taoism,(a) some Buddhists and Taoists could see the future, but they could not change the future, (b) the space is layered, (c) there is something called "the singular door and the invisible armour" in Taoism.
3.
The results of some experiments, such as experiments described in the book authored by "SHE DING MING", in hypnosis are seemly relevant to this dimensional idea.
Book Description
No blacks allowed, especially after dark. This was the unwritten rule in a "sundown" town. In his trademark revelatory style, bestselling author James W. Loewen explores one of America's best-kept secrets as he unearths the making of sundown towns and discloses the fact that many white neighborhoods and suburbs are the result of years of racism and segregation. Anna, Illinois; Darien, Connecticut; and Cedar Key, Florida, are just a few examples of the thousands of all-white towns established between 1890 and 1968, many of which still exist today. White residents of these towns used any means possible -- including the law, harassment, race riots, and even murder -- to keep African Americans and other minority groups out.
Powerful and unprecedented, Sundown Towns tells the story of how these towns came into existence, what maintains them, and what to do about them. It also deepens our understanding of the role racism has played and continues to play in our society.
Customer Reviews:
I grew up in a "Sundown Town".......2007-09-20
I am African American and I grew up in one of the towns in the northeast mentioned in the book (I didn't read the book, my sister told me about it, she said it was very good so that's where my rating comes from.) This town was EXTREMELY RACIST. My siblings and I were the only African American kids in the local school and we went through hell. We were called "nigger" so many times that we lost count. I heard that this town "opened up" in the 1980's, but I still cannot bring myself to go back there.
Nevertheless, I don't hate white people or anyone else for that matter. I try to judge people as individuals, and have raised my children to do the same. In fact, I feel sorry for the people who were so hateful to us. What kind of person gets pleasure or satisfaction from inflicting pain on others?
I live in a large city that has its share of racial problems. However, I live in a very nice, integrated neighborhood. There are blacks, Asians, and Latinos. Many of the residents (including myself) are city workers. I have to admit that I would have not moved there if there were no other people of color there. At the risk of contradicting myself, I just would not feel comfortable being the only black person in an all-white neighborhood. Been there, done that, and it wasn't fun.
I just can't bring myself to read this book, though, because it would bring back too many painful memories.
Could have been so much better........2007-07-31
After the first one hundred pages, I was ready to give this five stars. I have lived or worked in most of the towns mentioned in Southern Illinois, and the book correctly presents a great deal of information. On the other hand, some of the oral histories were quite incorrect. Eldorado has not had a "sundown sign" since 1960 at least, if ever. But the author claims it had such a sign into the 1980's. The mayor of Benton, Illinois remarks were taken out of context and totally misrepresented her, and her comments. These errors and several similar ones could have easily been avoided, making the book much better. The tragedy is that his points are well made and accurate generally, but when errors creep in it allows those who are racist in their attitudes to mount a defense that the book is filled with inaccuracies. If this were the only problem, I would still give the book four and one half to five stars.
The greatest problem with this book is when the author allows his own political views to overshadow reality in assuming that race was the motivation for many southern whites to vote Republican for the past forty years. Saline County (Eldorado, IL), Franklin County (Benton, West Frankfort and Ziegler, IL) and Union County (Anna, IL) are some of the most racist communities in the United States. Yet, these communities rarely even have Republican candidates on the ballot for local elections. The Democrat Party reigns supreme in these communities. Party affiliation is not reflective of racist attitudes. This is the great blemish on what could have been a truly great book. It does shine light on a horrible problem. It is a common reality throughout the United States. Much of the analysis is excellent. But the author's personal biases tarnished the final product.
Get Over the Guilt!.......2007-05-26
More liberal hand-wringing about human nature. More guilt over the supposed special evil of white people.
First, if a group of white people wants to live by itself without seeing a black face after dark, why is that bad? Who does it hurt? Why would a black person WANT to be in that town,anyway? Second, I can name several "sundown towns" that exist today, where WHITE people are not allowed: Harlem, South Central Los Angeles, etc. And that's okay with me; that's their turf, and they deserve a white-free space and are welcome to it. Third, the idea that white people are especially racist, which this book promotes, is absurd in the extreme. India is 99% Indian. China is 99% Chinese. Mexico is 99% mestizo. Most sub-saharan African countries are 99% black. These appear to be "sundown countries." Very, very few European countries are today 99% white, or even 90% white, if that. Non-whites are flooding into Europe and America, a curious thing to do if whites there are so notoriously racist. Slavery is an ages-old institution which Europeans and Americans led the way in ending. We should be PROUD of our past, not ashamed of it. Books such as this try to exploit white guilt for various reasons, including envy for white success and and excuse for black failure; that's the agenda behind the "history." Ultimately this strategy will fail because it is contra human nature. My prediction is that in the future "sundown towns" will be back in America in a big way, and with no apologies.
Racism: Solving the Problem.......2007-05-21
Not only is this a book about the many subtle and not-so-subtle ways that minority groups (African-Americans, and to a lesser degree Asian- and Hispanic-Americans) have been kept segregated, it is a book about possible remedies that are practical in nature. There are many surprising facts, both to those who thought certain states were immune to the virus of racism that created segregated communities ("sundown rules in sundown towns") but also to those who felt some areas of the country had to be more frequently guilty of the practice of warning minorities to get out of town by sundown.
The author takes a sociologist's view of census reports about residential patterns. Some towns that might not appear to be "sundown towns" turn out in fact to be because the accidents of having a large minority population do not exempt a town from scrutiny (the presence of a prison system within city or county limits might skew the numbers, for example). This skewing effect might give one a false impression about the history and present practices of a particular community.
Reading this book is a real challenge to the assumption that housing and residential patterns in the U. S. are/were created through voluntary choices made by consenting adults. Some of the unlikeliest of places were sundown towns. Many readers may be surprised to find their own communities listed (I won't give away the real surprises). This is must reading for those who care about equality of treatment for all minorities.
A must-read for every American!!.......2007-02-13
This book is absolutely fascinating for anyone interested in our country's racial history, or race-relations today. After reading this book, I believe it should be required reading in high school government/politics/social classes. I cannot believe I was so ignorant of this entire dimension of our country's history, and many, many other people are, too. I am also amazed that it has never been comprehensively studied or written about before. Kudos to Loewen for bringing this to our attention!!
Book Description
Every life is a book of secrets, ready to be opened. The secret of perfect love is found there, along with the secrets of healing, compassion, faith, and the most elusive one of all: who we really are. We are still mysteries to ourselves, despite the proximity of these answers, and what we most long to know remains lodged deep inside.
We all want to know how to find a soul mate, what career would be most fulfilling, how to live a life with meaning, and how to teach our children well. We are looking for a personal breakthrough, a turning point, a revelation that brings with it new meaning. The Book of Secrets--a crystalline distillation of insights and wisdom accumulated over the lifetime of one of the great spiritual thinkers of our time--provides an exquisite new tool for achieving just that.
Because answers to the questions at the center of life are counterintuitive, they are often hidden from view, sequestered from our everyday gaze. In his ongoing quest to elevate our experience, bestselling author Deepak Chopra has isolated fifteen secrets that drive the narrative of this inspiring book--and of our lives. From "The World Is in You" and "What You Seek, You Already Are" to "Evil Is Not Your Enemy" and "You Are Truly Free When You Are Not a Person," The Book of Secrets is rich with insights, a priceless treasure that can transport us beyond change to transformation, and from there to a sacred place where we can savor the nectar of enlightenment.
"The Book of Secrets is the finest and most profound of Deepak Chopra’s books to date. Want the answers to the secrets of life? Let me recommend that you start right here." -- Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything
Customer Reviews:
A VERY ENLIGHTENING BOOK AND CD--ONE TO READ OVER AND OVER AGAIN!.......2007-07-05
Every Deepak Chopra CD or book is very inspiring to me! This one is one of Dr. Chopra's best. Is is a CD that I listen to from time to time and never get tired of listening to it. In fact, each time, there is more meaning to me than the time before. It seems that listening to this CD gets better and better each time. This is a keeper for me! I was so inspired by the CD, I also bought the book. Both are superb!
Another Chopra classic.......2007-05-07
This is great. In the last few years (give or take) I still prefer:
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence
Still. Much here. If you like Chopra already, get this either in book form or cd.
The power to link anything to anything.......2007-03-06
Deepak has this incredible ability to link spirituality to quantum physics or any serious scientific research to superstition. If you shut down your critical thinking, Deepak will let you believe that time can be stopped. His pseudo-logic example is the following: He took a plane to London and chatted with his neighbor. Time "flew" and he was in London before he knew it. This proves he was able to stop time. I am not sure this is just the track of time that his mind lost. I would beg any reader to pay a visit to the critical thinking section before reading Deepak Chopra's material.
Beautiful and Mind Expanding.......2007-01-05
There is more helpful information packed into the
cds that comprise THE BOOK OF SECRETS than I could have imagined. I've listened to the whole set at least 6 times and to individual discs more than a dozen already, yet I know there is still more there for me to ponder. My life is becoming less stressful and more beautiful daily as I have incorporated these discs, a Quantum physics/ Quantum healing tape of Deepak Chopra's loaned to me by a friend and Deepak's friend, Wayne Dyer's THE SECRETS OF THE POWER OF INTENTION. If you have difficulty listening to a recording done with a foreign accent and have been putting off getting Deepak Chopra's THE BOOK OF SECTETS: UNLOCKING THE HIDDEN DIMENTIONS OF YOUR LIFE,then get Deepak's book by the same title. I found the recordings clear, and easy to understand but accents different from my own don't bother me.
Simply Mind Blowing.......2006-12-29
This really is a special book. I've read a lot of new age stuff, including many of Chopra's other work and this is book is absolutely amazing. It transforms you as you read it. You can almost feel your being touching other levels of consciousness as you read. I highly recommend this book for just about anyone. It doesn't use a lot of jargon. In fact, people of any spritual or scientific background would enjoy it. Meaning, even a non-new ager would get a lot out of this book, if they are open to the wonderousness of the universe at all. This is worth the investment.
Book Description
Organizational change initiatives often fail because they focus exclusively on the rational, overt aspects of change, overlooking the powerful role played by concealed or irrational factors. It's well known that these covert processes—such as hidden agendas, blind spots, office politics, tacit assumptions, secret hopes, wishes and fears—frequently sabotage change efforts, but up until now nobody has offered a rigorous, consistent way of identifying and dealing with them.
Drawing on over thirty years of experience as an organizational change consultant to global corporations and government agencies, Robert J. Marshak shows precisely how to bring these hidden processes to light and deal with their negative impact. Marshak identifies five different dimensions of covert processes, presents an integrated model to explain the ultimate source of all of them, and shows how to diagnose whether any covert processes might be at work in your organization. He then offers specific tools and techniques for engaging and managing these "under-the-table" processes and for creating the kind of organizational environment in which such hidden dynamics are unable to flourish. Covert Processes at Work is a comprehensive and practical guide that managers, leaders, and consultants can use to deal with the hidden dynamics that are often at the root of many organizational problems.
Customer Reviews:
Change Derailed.......2007-08-30
If you've been working with organizational change for decades, as I have, and have been frustrated by trying to convince upper management of the importance of the human factor in change processes, this book goes a long way to relieving that frustration. In fact,I'm planning on stocking up on copies to give as gifts.
Marshak makes it very clear why applying yet another logical argument will not reduce resistance to change. The prism model he and Judy Katz developed makes it easier to identify multiple perspectives and entry points into any change.Clear examples, lists, and processes for understanding and incorporating the human face of change round out this well-written book.
Any business manager needs COVERT PROCESSES AT WORK........2006-12-11
Hidden agendas, office politics and underlying assumptions can all work against attempts to restructure an organization to be more effective, so you need Covert Processes at Work: Managing the Five Hidden Dimensions of Organizational Change to understand these processes. Each chapters offers specific tools addressing specific processes and typical problems, blending case history examples with surveys of covert blocking factors, problems in addressing them, and maintaining focal points of change. Any business manager needs COVERT PROCESSES AT WORK.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
TACKLES THE CHALLENGE OF UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING HIDDEN ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS!.......2006-09-23
Explores the unseen, unspoken and unacknowledged processes and psychodynamics of organization behavior at the individual and group levels, including hidden agendas, blind spots, politics, mindsets, values, and individual reasoning and motivation, both conscious and unconscious, that account for behaviors, particularly regarding organizational change.
Beyond explaining, the author also tackles the challenge of identifying and addressing these hidden processes. Central to the book is an integrated framework or model for identifying overt and covert dimensions of organizational change and behavior and revealing the sources and manifestations of covert processes.
Much emphasis is placed on diagnosis of these covert processes, but over half the book focuses on how to engage, manage and address these hidden dynamics. Additionally, a chapter is devoted to reframing the reader's ideas about organizational politics. All of this rich content provides the 'thinking tools' needed to achieve desired results.
Anyone involved in leadership, or organizational analysis and change--which, as change consultants as well as reviewers, we are--will find this a fascinating, outstanding book that sheds much light upon the dark undercurrents of organizational life.
A stunning book that will transform the field of organizational consulting.......2006-09-20
For the first time, we have a road map to help consultants and managers make discussable anything and everything that has long been considered undiscussable. Move over Chris Argyris. In deceptively simple prose, grounded in the best academic thinking on change management, Marshak presents a brilliant yet amazingly practical model of covert processes at work. No organizational change initiative can afford to ignore the power of unconscious dynamics among executives, managers, and employees. With this book in hand, your chances of success have just shot up a hundred fold.
Dr. Marshak uncovers covert dynamics..........2006-08-26
Ah, if only the global leaders would read Marshak's book, Covert Processes at Work. Anyone who is a change agent, and that includes managers, consultants, community organizers, CEOs, and yes, Prime Ministers/Presidents should read this book. Why? Have you ever lived in an organization where you are being so rational but can't understand why no one is following your suggestions? This book explains how to go about seeing what is not there (under the table). Have you ever thought that the metaphors people use could be a gateway to gaining clarity? Dr. Marshak explains how this can be done. It provides a framework on how to handle politics and much more. In the chaotic and terrifying world we live in, Bob provides a roadmap to help us to become better interveners with an emphasis on ethics and experience. Every chapter has an application on how it is done in the real world. Buy this book now!
Average customer rating:
- Just as good the second time
- Scholarly writing
- All things are revealed within
- Badly dated
- Down the drain
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The Hidden Dimension
Edward T. Hall
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Similar Items:
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The Silent Language
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Beyond Culture
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The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time
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Human Dimension and Interior Space: A Source Book of Design Reference Standards
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A Geography of Time: The Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist, or How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently
ASIN: 0385084765
Release Date: 1990-09-01 |
Book Description
An examination of various cultural concepts of space and how differences among them affect modern society. Introducing the science of "proxemics," Hall demonstrates how man's use of space can affect personal business relations, cross-cultural exchanges, architecture, city planning, and urban renewal.
Customer Reviews:
Just as good the second time.......2007-01-10
I read this book in the 70's and loved it. It was eye-opening, and I was astounded by his level of perception. I owned it, lost it in a move, and finally couldn't stand to be without it. So after 20 years, I got this book and a number of his other books. Edward T. Hall is an American gem, and all of his books are worth reading. His greatest works are roughly 30 years old, but I think the information stands up to the test of time.
Scholarly writing.......2006-04-24
A captivating scholarly writing on how human beings react to and make use of spatial distance from a physical and psychological viewpoint, i.e.. the study of Proxemics. The book also deals with cultural differences in the use of space. Hall examines the French, German, English, Japanese, and Arab world comparing each with the American context and with one another. The concluding chapters look at the world of 1950's and 1960's and seek to explain the ways in which we must design our cities to reflect proxemics values.
Many readers would immediately disagree with Hall's claims that there are inherent differences between the races that could not be overcome but Hall is rather persuasive. Though this is an old classic it is not outdated. This book is very different from "Management Science" books, as it requires broader general cultural knowledge from the reader by venturing into the domains of art, classical history and psychology. Students of international management and cross cultural studies should read this book.
All things are revealed within.......2005-10-11
This book serves as an introduction to the field of proxemics. Hall exams how people interact and how they live together. He begins with an examination of the animal world and how animals share space. Although not directly related to humans it is interesting to know that crowding among rats leads to massive population decline.
The book also deals with cultural differences in the use of space. Hall examines the French, German, English, Japanese, and Arab world comparing each with the American context and with one another. The concluding chapters look at the modern world and seek to explain the ways in which we must design our cities to reflect proxemics values. This is even more valuable advice today as American seeks to integrate more and more immigrants from very different cultures.
Although a little dated this book is worth a read.
Badly dated.......2004-08-07
It had been required reading when I was in college, but I found it hadn't aged very well on a second reading. Hall tried to make his case against urban overcrowding, citing the "behavioral sinks" that were being created in the 1960's. He presented numerous examples, starting with mice, that showed the debilitating effects overcrowding has on animals, and applied this to the overpopulated urban environments.
More interesting was the study he did on the way persons from different culture perceive space, drawing from American, European, Arab and Asian societies. Even between Americans and English the differences were startling, but it seemed to me that he made too much of these differences, that affluence has as much a role in shaping the way people perceive space as does culture, which Hall did not touch upon.
Hall was pessimistic of the modern cities in America, noting that the race riots, in his mind, resulted from the cultural differences between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. I think it had more to do with social inequalities than it did race, but Hall seemed convinced there are inherit differences between the races that could not be overcome, which I found to be too deterministic.
Down the drain.......2003-05-05
Edward T. Hall's The Hidden Dimension, perhaps the scariest book (even scarier than 1984) I ever read. Scary, because it isn't fiction, but a rather elaborate essay on anthropology and proxemic behaviour. If Hall's right, things as disregard for other cultures, mindless urban development and demographic growth have generated a behavioral sink in which stress, crime, intolerance and physical and psychic disease grow everyday, and to make things worse, our governments take measures that only accelerate the process. We are all going down the drain.
Book Description
Theosophia traces the long-hidden esoteric stream of Christian gnostic theosophy, revealing a "chivalric" religion of the Holy Spirit at the heart of Christianity. It shows that all three major branches of Christianity bear within them interrelated esoteric traditions.
A deeply affirmative book, Theosophia introduces wholly unexpected aspects of Christian tradition. Where mainstream Christianity seems "anti-nature," Christian theosophy affirms a profound nature-mysticism; where it seems anti-erotic, theosophy affirms a powerful religious eroticism; and where it is portrayed as rigidly patriarchal, theosophy affirms a mysticism founded in the divine Sophia, the feminine personification of wisdom. Theosophia reveals hidden dimensions of our spiritual heritage that speak directly to our current social, ecological, and religious crises.
Customer Reviews:
A Treasure of a Book.......2006-11-27
Arthur Versluis does a remarkable job here. He informs the mind while moving the heart in the direction of what it longs for. This book goes beyond Christian concerns while doing them deep justice. It's a special book in my library and I highly recommend it. In many ways it's alive with the breath of Sophia.
Open doors to gnosis.......2000-06-26
Arthur Versluis has penned a book which will open doors for anyone seeking a more meaningful experience of the essence of Christianity. The writing is masterful, compelling, convincing, and inspiring. Not to be confused with the theosophical movement of Blavansky, Besant, etc., Dr. Versluis' "Theosophia" takes the reader through a journey of esoteric Christian thought. The work of Jacob Boehme is perhaps the most significant "eye-opener" here, for it is in this study that one may begin to appreciate the "inner dimensions" inherent in the Christian faith, allowing the seeker to remain faithful to doctrinal elements of Christianity while not succumbing to "new age" so-called theologies. For this reader, a totally new world was unveiled thanks to the author's perceptions of gnosis.
Book Description
This textbook teaches all those who interview adults for professional purposes how do "dig deeper," by probing the respondents adult-developmental level, or meaning making. Knowledge about respondents' level of meaning making allows for effectiveness in interventions with clients, and also heightens the benefit for the client whose self awareness is boosted. The techniques presented derive from research in adult development over the lifespan at the Kohlberg School at Harvard. The book contains 9 chapters, letting you steadily accumulate knowledge to the point where you can try your own developmental interview. It contains an Appendix with exercises, case studies of individuals and teams, and an introduction to assessing large groups developmentally through Capability Metrics.
Customer Reviews:
Provocative Proposition.......2006-03-21
The underlying premise of Otto Laske's new book, Measuring Hidden Dimensions: The Art and Science of Fully Engaging Adults, is that most coaches don't know enough about their clients in a developmental sense, and our clients can't tell us directly what we're missing. Regardless of our skillfulness in listening for content, content alone won't reveal the missing information.
The two missing elements, in Laske's view, are 1) a well grounded knowledge of the research into how adult humans develop, learn, and grow over a lifetime and 2) skillfulness in listening beyond the content of our client's conversation to its structure. Listening for structure, beyond content, is the only way to discern the client's developmental level. These topics are not part of the training and education most coaches receive.
In this book he seeks to remedy that situation, and he does so in a rigorous and comprehensive way. He outlines developmental theories refined over decades of research and describes how coaches can acquire skillfulness in listening for the structure of our clients' conversations using those theories and models.
In addition to making the case for the "why" of developmental listening, this book has a lot of the "how" and a number of examples, exercises, and case studies through which the reader can strengthen his or her mastery of the concepts. Though this book does an excellent job of introducing and explaining these concepts, mastery of their application is another story. This reviewer's learning journey to acquire those skills has shown that a significant amount of supervised practice is required to master those skills. Reading any book alone about human development and developmental listening will not suffice.
So what is this different kind of listening called developmental listening? At its simplest, it is the difference between listening for content and listening for structure. Content, as Laske uses the term, describes behavior and often includes the client's explanation of it. Structure explains behavior in a developmental sense rather than the client's narrative of the "why" he or she is conscious of. This is what Laske calls the hidden dimension. The client is unaware of it, and unless the coach is trained in developmental listening, he or she will remain unaware, too.
A simple, familiar example may illustrate this distinction. When offered the choice of a nickel or a dime, children below a certain age (and developmental level) will consistently select the nickel. Children beyond that age (and developmental level) will select the dime when offered the same choice.
The structure beneath the first child's choice is an unstated belief that larger items are worth more than smaller ones. The structure beneath the second child's choice is an awareness that size and value can vary other than directly. In fact, in the case of nickels and dimes, they vary inversely, thereby accounting for the smaller dime being worth more than the larger nickel. No two or three year old will describe the reasoning behind their differing decisions in quite that way. It is our knowledge of the different thought processes and ways of determining value that children develop at different ages that explains each child's choice and points to the shift that has to occur beneath the surface for the child to become capable of making the new choice of dime over nickel.
The stages of child development are much more evident than those of adults, which are more subtle and reveal themselves through the structure of conversations more than they do through observable actions. Hence the need for coaches to develop an ability to listen for and discern the underlying structure that the client cannot see themselves and consequently can't describe. That's what this book is all about. A coach who is able to listen for structure in the client's story has a much more expanded capability to help clients develop in more strategic, even principled, ways, with the principles being integrity, self authoring, and service orientation vs. ego orientation. To do any less is to shortchange the client and miss the full possibilities of coaching for development.
The approach to coaching Dr. Laske advocates in this book focuses on increasing the coach's understanding of the clients developmental capabilities in a very rigorous, scientifically based way. For those who want to take their coaching to a higher level of insight and impact, this book is an excellent primer.
Measuring Maturity .......2006-03-15
This is not a book for the faint of heart; just as it purports to show how to "fully engage adults," it will fully engage the reader.
Maturity can be measured. As astounding as it is somewhat outrageous, Otto Laske takes us down a revealing and somewhat scary path to uncover our capacities, and our limitations. Encountering such exact measurement of human capacity and limitation could lead some to feel overwhelmed. For others it will uncover a new horizon full of potential, clarity and hope. You can run, but you cannot hide from this analysis.
This first of four volumes presents the latest advance in the school of developmental psychology initiated in Geneva by Jean Piaget in the mid-20th century. Laske's focus here is not on cognitive but rather social-emotional development. Building primarily on the work of Robert Kegan and his collaborators at the Harvard Univ. School of Education, Laske makes three substantial contributions to the literature.
First, this volume presents a more exacting methodology of analyzing adult developmental levels. Where Kegan built on Piaget's and Kohlberg's work in describing the socio-emotional stages of adult development in subject-object theory, and with his collaborators also created the initial analytical methodology for identifying developmental stages through semi-structured interviews, Laske refines this theory and method by introducing additional precision in measuring developmental risk, potential, and embeddedness.
Second, whereas to date this knowledge has been used in the context of pedagogy and education policy and much less so in clinical psychology and leadership education, Laske makes this knowledge accessible, relevant and usable for a wider professional audience. While demonstrating the art of developmental interviewing and listening, he relates the scientific scoring of interviews to the world of work, thus challenging the fields of human resources management, organizational development and particularly coaching, to lay the groundwork for perceiving and quantifying human capacity at a new depth.
Finally, in applying the results to a consulting environment, Laske adds a fourth stage to the stages of consultation developed by Edgar Schein. Where Schein shows the stages of "helping" to advance in complexity and influence from (1) the delivery of expertise and (2) the doctor-patient model, to (3) a more engaged process consultation model, Laske adds (4) the developmental aspect to deepen and extend the effectiveness of consultative engagements, calling this "developmental process consultation."
When the current volume and the three volumes to come are digested by the helping professions, OD professionals in particular who have since 1990 been working to introduce "learning" into organizations (see Peter Senge "The Fifth Discipline"), may find themselves working to create models of engagement that challenge organizations to take yet another evolutionary step to become truly developing organizations.
Given the looming and increasingly critical global challenges we face, this guide on how to add depth and dimension to personal and organizational change processes is timely, and should attract a wide reading public.
A new way of thinking about "best fit" matching of people and organizations.......2006-03-06
Here, finally, is a book addressing profound issues in HR/OD, such as why focusing on workforce "competencies" is necessary but NOT SUFFICIENT for formulating and implementing human capital strategies. Digging into developmental research, the author shows in minute detail that performance stems from capability, not competencies, and that capability is anchored in people's level of adult maturity and their systems thinking capacity.
This solid introduction to developmental interviewing and analysis, equips the reader with new tools for re-thinking mission-critical workplace issues: the human capital scorecard, succession planning, leadership development, team building, and recruitment, to name but a few.
The Appendix, in particular, shows the concrete applications of what the book is really about: creating effective interventions based on DEEP rather than the typical shallow inferences about how people make sense of their world, and what this means for individual employees, teams and the entire organization.
Book Description
The author of the bestselling The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life explores the profound social implications of emerging scientific principles and provides an innovative framework for using them to understand and solve some of the most important issues of our time.
For most of history, scientific investigation was based on linear thinking. But the 1980's brought a revolutionary change. With the advent of improved computer power, scientists could apply complexity theory--nonlinear thinking--to scientific processes far more easily than ever before. Physicist Fritjof Capra was at the forefront of the revolution, and in The Web of Life he extended its scope by showing the impact of complexity theory on living organisms. In The Hidden Connections he breaks through another frontier, this time applying the principles of complexity theory to an analysis of the broad sphere of all human interactions.
Capra posits that in order to sustain life in the future, the principles underlying our social institutions must be consistent with the organization that nature has evolved to sustain the "web of life." In a lucid and convincing argument, Capra explains how the theoretical ideas of science can be applied to the practical concerns of our time. Covering every aspect of human nature and society, he discusses such vital matters as the management of human organizations, the challenges and dangers of economic globalization, and the nature and the problems of biotechnology. He concludes with an authoritative, often provocative plan for designing ecologically sustainable communities and technologies as alternatives to the current economic globalization.
A brilliant, incisive examination of the relationship between science and our social systems, The Hidden Connections will spark enormous debate in the scientific community and inspire us to think about the future of humanity in a new way.
Customer Reviews:
A tour de force.......2006-02-27
A fine book, as are all of Capra's. The discussion ranges far and wide, with many interesting insights. He has obvious researched it thoroughly. The way in which he moves between topics such as globalization, gene-manipulated food, the latest results of the Human Genome project, consciousness etc. is admirable. His treatment of each of the topics, though not always in as much depth as I would have liked, is clear and readbale. Capra again champions system thinking as he did in `Web of Life' - and this is certainly an improvement on the linear reductionism that characterizes the old fashioned mind-sets of most establishment biologists, mostly in the pay of the GM consortium or with other vested interests in supporting the status quo that says that "genes cause behavior". However, I feel that he stops short at mechanisms such as emergence - his adherence to Maturana & Varela's autopoetic version of cognitive processes is still too mechanist-materialist for my liking. I think he could have gone further, e.g. with consciousness, to the hard problem of how subjective awareness arises from objective processes - and emergence is not enough here, as all other examples are of the emergence of a greater level of objective complexity from simpler components. The hard problem is how can a qualitatively different thing such as subjective consciousness arise from any objective process, no matter how complex.
Similarly in his discussion of genes, he points out that viewing the epi-genetic network as a non-linear system gets to higher levels of complexity. But still, for my money that doesn't explain the loaves and fishes effect of the 11 physiological sub-systems of the body, it's coherent form and stability as well as the complexity of the brain arising from between 2 and 10 Megabytes of data in the genome. The upper limit of 10 MB is including tricks with shuffling round sub-sections of large genes to give other combinations. Anyway, the discussion of all that will go into my book. I hope mine will be as clear and readable as this masterpiece.
Another good point in my view is his inclusion of meaning as one of the pillars of his 4-fold integral vision - the choice of the others: matter, form and process - is somewhat different to other integral systems - e.g. that of Wilber - but equally interesting.
Finally, he paints a black picture of the horrors of globalisation and the ugly face of modern capitalism whose linear vision of greed and gluttony is the driving force behind the vampire computerised financial system that sucked the lifeblood out of many small countries and even the poor in rich countries like America. Capra righly calls for more controls on this system of mind-numbing stupity and linear evil. At least some rays of hope are described - mainly the way in which Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) via the internet succeeded in stopping the World Bank & co. from forcing furhter brutal ravages on the third world as part of their nightmare vision of Globalisation. Also, he shows how grass-roots revulsion at the horrible effects of genetically engineered food has pushed back the blindly linear thinking that was leading attacks on the delicate balance of the ' web of life'.
So, just read it...
A fine study on the dynamics of life, culture, and meaning........2005-04-14
The Hidden Connections employs inductive and deductive processes that includes the predominate traits in the character and cognition of individuals and the notion of life, the effective character of influential groups, and the coalescence of individual and group desires when people respond to various stimuli. Capra refers to this as `The Dynamics of Culture'. It is a very well researched, primarily academic treatise on the science of sustainability.
"Our ability to hold mental images and project them into the future not only allows us to identify goals and purposes and develop strategies and designs, but also enables us to choose among several alternatives and hence to formulate values and social rules of behavior...The social network also produces a body of knowledge-including information, ideas, and skills-that shapes the culture's distinctive way of life in addition to its values and beliefs...This meaningful knowledge, continually modified by the network of communications, is passed on from generation to generation together with the culture's values, beliefs, and rules of conduct." Pp 85-87.
There are numerous worthwhile lessons that can be gleaned from this work. Capra's study improves the analyst's ability to understand various peoples and to apply the concept of character to practical problems in intelligence and security relations and helps to avoid the common pitfalls of `mirror imaging'.
Among others, those who are interested in national security and law enforcement intelligence gain a clearer understanding on the meaning of the term `sustainability' and of related terms and concepts so often encountered in organizational studies and in intelligence readings. This should also serve to turn the light on for policymakers. ..."the original meaning of `authority' is not `power to command,' but `a firm basis for knowing and acting' ...the origin of power, then, lies in culturally defined positions of authority on which the community relies for the resolution of conflicts and for decisions about how to act wisely and effectively. In other words, true authority consists in empowering others to act." P 89.
"It is common to hear that people in organizations resist change. In reality, people do not resist change; they resist having change imposed on them. ...Moreover, it will help us design business organizations that are ecologically sustainable, since the principles of organization of ecosystems, which are the basis of sustainability, are identical to the principles of organization of all living systems." P 100.
Excellent read!.......2003-09-11
This book was really a true pleasure to read! This book provides us with a very beautiful picture of how all matter (both organic and non-organic) including ourselves is connected and related to each other. Even though the author tries to illuminate us on how we are destroying ourselves, he has a positive vision that is still realizeable if we allow our consciousness to evolve more. I believe we are in desparate need of writers like this at this day and age where we are closing in on the extinction of our own species. If you'd like to learn about how all of this relates to the human mind and why we do some of the terrible things we do to ourselves, read "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is an absolutely incredible book that will further your understanding of nature (including ourselves) immensely.
Universal networks underlying existence.......2003-09-06
Capra attempts to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the physical, cognitive and social dimensions in order to present a unified view of consciousness, society and life and also to develop a coherent and systemic approach to addressing the world's most pressing problems.
In the first part he constructs a new theoretical framework by looking at the nature of life, the nature of consciousness and the nature of social reality. He deals extensively with networking that has become an important social phenomenon and a critical source of power in the world.
The second part explores the management of human organisations, i.e. why and how these are living systems; economic globalisation; a systemic analysis of the ethical and scientific problems of biotechnology, with reference to the human genome project, and; the major problems facing the world today.
The author does a good job of pointing out the unified systems that integrate the biological, cognitive and social aspects of life and of explaining how a new vision of reality is unfolding, together with the social implications of this transformation.
Hidden Connections is a great read. The book contains explanatory notes, a bibliography and an index. Other interesting books dealing with this subject include Small World by Mark Buchanan and Beyond Chaos by Mark Ward.
Something for Everyone.......2003-02-16
This book has something for almost everyone. It extends complexity theory into social networks, bringing in discussion of communication and the making of meaning. It addresses cognition and consciousness, even touching on spirituality, in Chapter 2. It moves into organizational practice beginning in Chapter 4 that includes a vision of leadership, then moves to the larger world stage, addressing global capitalism, biotechnology, the new civil society, and eco-sustainability. He even suggests a new tax structure!
There is a lot in this book, and Capra models the web of interconnectedness throughout. Because there is so much, sometimes I would like to see more depth in areas that interest me particularly, but he gives hints of where to look for deeper information for those interested. This book clearly builds on his previous work "The Web of Life" and while still theoretical, brings in a great deal more practical application. I highly recommend the book.
Books:
- The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics
- The Intelligent Inv
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
NOVA - The Elegant Universe
The Universe in a Nutshell
A Brief History of Time
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe
