Well World

Here is P. T. Barnum's insightful review of humbugs, scams, deceits (and self-deceits) in culture, economics, entertainment, religion, medicine, and more.

Elinor Cleghorn became an unwell woman 10 years ago. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after a long period of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy. As Elinor learned to live with her unpredictable disease, she turned to history for answers, and found an enraging legacy of suffering, mystification, and misdiagnosis. In Unwell Women, Elinor Cleghorn traces the almost unbelievable history of how medicine has failed women by treating their bodies as alien and other, often to perilous effect.

Darwin developed the theory of sexual selection to explain why the animal world abounds in stunning beauty, from the brilliant colors of butterflies and fishes to the songs of birds and frogs. He argued that animals have "a taste for the beautiful" that drives their potential mates to evolve features that make them more sexually attractive and reproductively successful. But if Darwin explained why sexual beauty evolved in animals, he struggled to understand how.

In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-19th-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome - a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.

From foraging and hunting for food to (more recently) finding solace and peace in a beautiful vista, humans have long interacted with the natural world. Though a connection to nature runs deep in our DNA, however, people of the modern age are indoors almost 93 percent of the day. With that said, there is a growing evidence suggests that the natural world promotes mental and physical well-being, including stress relief, improved mood, and neurological benefits.

H. G. Wells examines the origins of the Earth, and the development of life upon the planet, as it was understood in his era, and then explores the history of human civilization from its earliest beginnings, through the various empires of world history, up to the aftermath of the First World War, and the League of Nations.

What guides us when our world is changing? Discover the path to deeper meaning and purpose through depth psychology and classical thought.

What terrible secret was buried in Shi Huangdi's tomb? Did nomads like lizard stew? What happened to Anansi the Spider in the Village of the Plantains? And how did a six-year-old become the last emperor of Rome? Told in a straightforward, engaging style that has become Susan Wise Bauer's trademark, The Story of the World series covers the sweep of human history from ancient times until the present. Africa, China, Europe, the Americas—find out what happened all around the world in long-ago times.

In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church.

A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were - and still are. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book.

Through this book Rujuta tackles pretty much every myth and fad to do with exercise, demystifies exercise for everyone, and presents it as not a brainless activity but a science which has the potential to combat all lifestyle disorders, including diabetes and obesity, way better than any drug. Strength training, cardio and yoga get a detailed chapter each along with their pre- and postworkout meals, an often neglected but crucial aspect.

With her groundbreaking audiobook All the Time in the World, researcher Lisa Broderick reveals the new science of time so you can master it for yourself. Drawing from physics, quantum law, and psychological theory, Broderick will help you shift your fixed constructs around time into something more fluid and malleable. Then, with dozens of step-by-step practices, you’ll learn to put theory into action and become the master of your own experience of time.

Humans are born to create theories about the world - unfortunately, they're usually wrong, and keep us from understanding the world as it really is. Why do we catch colds? What causes seasons to change? And if you fire a bullet from a gun and drop one from your hand, which bullet hits the ground first? In a pinch, we almost always get these questions wrong. Worse, we regularly misconstrue fundamental qualities of the world around us.

In what many refer to as one of the first and greatest science fiction thrillers, a mysterious stranger wanders into an inn, wrapped head-to-toe in bandages. What lies beneath the bandages is something even more mysterious. As Wells tackles issues of identity, deception, and the deterioration of the human mind, listeners will be drawn into the story of the mysterious man, whose own mistakes end up whisking him into a whirlwind of deceit, terror, and even murder. In the end, the question will be asked: when your sense of self and identity vanish, who will you become?

Dale was still a baby when his parents realised that something wasn't right. Worried, his mother Nuala took him to see several doctors, before finally hearing the word 'autism' for the first time. Dale's autism was severe and violent and family life was a daily battleground. But the Gardner's lives were transformed when they welcomed a gorgeous golden retriever into the family.

When people try to meditate or relax, they find that their mind wanders and they get more stressed. Use the power of sound to bring balance, relaxation, and a sense of well-being to your mind, body, and spirit. This unique collection of singing bowls, OM mantra chants & healing sounds gives you.

We’ve been taught that resilience is the secret to navigating life’s most difficult moments. According to New York Times bestselling author and organizational psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich, there is just one problem with this assumption. Scientifically, resilience isn’t an unlimited resource, especially with the growing pressure, uncertainty, and chaos we’re experiencing today. But what if, instead of merely “bouncing back” from stressors and setbacks, we could harness them for forward growth?

The nutritionist who taught us that simply eating (pun intended) is the key to a fab body is back with a comprehensive book on women, food and everything in between. From puberty to marriage, from pregnancy to menopause, Rujuta explains in detail the changes women go through (and, God knows, as Indian women, we go through way beyond those just hormonal - husband, in-laws, children, career, etc) and how what we do (or don't) during these phases affects our overall well-being.

Sitting can wreak havoc on your health, and not just in the form of minor aches and pains. Recent studies show that too much sitting contributes to a host of diseases—from obesity and diabetes to cancer and depression. The typical seated office worker suffers from more musculoskeletal injuries than those workers who do daily manual labor. It turns out that sitting is as much an occupational risk as is lifting heavy weights on the job. The facts are in: sitting literally shortens your life. Your chair is your enemy, and it is murdering your body.

Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Either you have an allergy or you know someone who does. Billions of people worldwide—an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the global population—have some form of allergy. Even more concerning, over the last decade the number of people diagnosed with an allergy has been steadily increasing, placing an ever-growing medical burden on individuals, families, communities, and healthcare systems. Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting, set out to understand why.