Social Reality

A pandemic in the 21st century creates a technical elite class which shuns physical contact and depends on virtual reality for all social interactions. Duke Landon is among the top echelon of the Royal World Commonwealth and poised for success. His life is a privileged orchestra of politics, finance, and leisure pursuits which rarely intersect with the framework of boring reality. The elite rule the world and rarely bother with the primitive humans who eke out a minimal existence in the hot, violent climate that has reclaimed the earth.

Extended reality (XR for short) - which encompasses virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality - is one of the biggest business trends of today. It refers to the use of technology to create more immersive digital experiences that are promising to transform many businesses and industries. In this book, best-selling author, strategic business advisor, and respected futurist Bernard Marr explains the role of XR in providing innovative businesses solutions for companies of varying sizes and across different industries.

On the surface, Iron Man appears to be a straightforward superhero, another rich guy fighting crime with fancy gadgets. But beneath the shiny armor and flashy technology lies Tony Stark, brilliant inventor and eccentric playboy, struggling to balance his desires, addictions, and relationships with his duties as the Armored Avenger. Iron Man and Philosophy explores the many philosophical issues that emerge from the essential conflicts found in the decades of Iron Man stories in comics and movies.

In this uproarious memoir/tongue-in-cheek guide to leaving the cool city in which you "found" yourself and moving somewhere far more ordinary, author Erin Clune regales listeners with priceless stories of her own experiences leaving New York for her hometown in Wisconsin and provides a jocular but useful guide - for anyone leaving, or thinking about leaving, their own personal mecca - to finding contentment while staying true to yourself in a place far, far away from The City.

In Appearance in Reality, John Heil addresses a question at the heart of metaphysics: How are the appearances related to reality, how does what we find in the sciences comport with what we encounter in everyday experience and in the laboratory? Objects, for instance, appear to be colorful, noisy, self-contained, and massively interactive.

This is the must-listen book for those who want to truly understand divided America. Learn the who, how, when, what, and why events and motivation that have and will continue to further divide and deepen the uncivil cultural war taking place in our country.

Is there such a thing as a fundamental reality, something which was around before our universe came into existence and which will still remain when all matter, time, and space itself ultimately disappear? Something fundamental which, in turn, can make space and time and matter arise from seemingly nothing? Under most cosmological and physical models, the last known remnants of reality are the disembodied laws of mathematics - beyond which it is extremely difficult to probe further.

Ever wondered why a rich Athenian who died 2,400 years ago still dominates Western thought? Or why your professor keeps talking about invisible triangles and prisoners staring at shadows? "Plato's Cave: Philosophy's First Reality Show" is the hilarious guide to Plato you never knew you needed. In this irreverent takedown of philosophy's founding father, author Sophia Blackwell translates Plato's lofty ideas into actual human language while mercilessly mocking his metaphysical obsessions, aristocratic biases, and suspicious fondness for "perfect forms."

Set in 2014-16, and in the fictional town of West York, KY, All Lies Begin with Truth dramatizes the complexities of natural gas extraction, its legalities and impact on a small town's economy, infrastructure, and surrounding environment. Split into three distinctive perspectives, the novel begins with Eris Carroll, the outsider, a young and energetic activist negotiating her place in a world where societal rules and cultural norms cater to and support patriarchy. Later, the perspective changes to Lionel Boone, whose past indifferences and mounting guilt over surviving a kettle bottom ...

Two authors with decades of experience promoting human rights argue that, as the world changes around us, rights hardly imaginable today will come into being.

Diary of Psycho: My Faults Part 1 – Friendship and Love is a fictional autobiography that explores the emotional and moral turmoil of Deb, a teacher entangled in a controversial relationship with his former student, Piya. Blending themes of love, betrayal, and societal judgment, the novel follows Deb's descent into crisis after being falsely accused of misconduct. As he battles internal guilt, addiction to emotional intimacy, and the strain of family responsibilities, the story delves into the fragility of reputation and the struggle between personal desires and ethical boundaries. ...

This DIA report examines a resurgent Russia’s military power to foster a deeper understanding of its core capabilities, goals, and aspirations in the 21st century. The resurgence of Russia on the world stage - the Crimean Peninsula, destabilizing Eastern Ukraine, intervening on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and shaping the information environment to suit its interests - poses a major challenge to the United States. Moscow will continue to aggressively pursue its foreign policy and security objectives by employing the full spectrum of the state’s capabilities.

Terrorism expert Erick Stakelbeck pulls back the curtain on ISIS, the violent terrorist organization spreading death and hate in the Middle East. The rise of ISIS took the White House by complete surprise: President Obama called the group "JV" then was forced to reassess when ISIS began executing innocent American journalists. Now radicalized Americans and Europeans are joining ISIS' ranks.

Why have Israelis and Palestinians failed to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict that has cost so much and lasted so long? In Paradigm Lost, Ian S. Lustick brings 50 years as an analyst of the Arab-Israeli dispute to bear on this question and offers a provocative explanation of why continued attempts to divide the land will have no more success than would negotiations to establish a one-state solution.

In 1972, philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn threw an ashtray at Errol Morris. This book is the result. At the time, Morris was a graduate student. Now we know him as one of the most celebrated and restlessly probing filmmakers of our time, the creator of such classics of documentary investigation as The Thin Blue Line. Kuhn was—and, posthumously, remains—a star in his field and author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a landmark book that introduced the concept of "paradigm shifts" to the larger culture. And Morris thought the idea was bunk.

Delving deeply into each of these major focuses, Consciousness Reality & Purpose sets the listener upon a journey into themselves, the reality around them, and towards a fulfilling sense of purpose in the lives we each have to experience.

Organizational consultant Adrian Pei describes key challenges ethnic minorities face in majority culture organizations. He unpacks how historical forces shape contemporary realities and what both minority and majority cultures need to know in order to work together fruitfully.

Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.

What does it mean to be human in the 21st century? How do we be real people in a world of online personas and "authentic" simulated experiences? In this innovative examination of our present reality, award-winning writer Laurence Scott charts the ways our traditional mental models of the world have started to fray. Effortlessly applying philosophy to the quotidian, Scott "makes banal things shimmer with meaning" (Guardian).

Those of you living through the next 30 years will become the most powerful creatures that have ever existed. You will have the opportunity and the duty to create a decidedly better world. Experience and maturity alone cannot provide the required wisdom fast enough. You will need to maximize your innate potential to accelerate wisdom. The Potentialist: Your Future in the New Reality of the Next Thirty Years explains the first steps to achieve your potential and accelerate wisdom. You will discover how forces of change create a New Reality by breaking down the one we know.