Monday, March 20, 2023

How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion

David McRaney
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Amazon Best business and leadership books of 2022

A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart


What made a prominent conspiracy-theorist YouTuber finally see that 9/11 was not a hoax? How do voter opinions shift from neutral to resolute? Can widespread social change only take place when a generation dies out? From one of our greatest thinkers on reasoning, HOW MINDS CHANGE is a book about the science, and the experience, of transformation.

When self-delusion expert and psychology nerd David McRaney began a book about how to change someone’s mind in one conversation, he never expected to change his own. But then a diehard 9/11 Truther’s conversion blew up his theories—inspiring him to ask not just how to persuade, but why we believe, from the eye of the beholder. Delving into the latest research of psychologists and neuroscientists, HOW MINDS CHANGE explores the limits of reasoning, the power of groupthink, and the effects of deep canvassing. Told with McRaney’s trademark sense of humor, compassion, and scientific curiosity, it’s an eye-opening journey among cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists, from Westboro Baptist Church picketers to LGBTQ campaigners in California—that ultimately challenges us to question our own motives and beliefs. In an age of dangerous conspiratorial thinking, can we rise to the occasion with empathy?

An expansive, big-hearted journalistic narrative, HOW MINDS CHANGE reaches surprising and thought-provoking conclusions, to demonstrate the rare but transformative circumstances under which minds can change.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

石頭上的香港史

蕭國健
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人類文明發展至今,科技水平日新月異,但尚未發現任何一種比石頭更能長久保存信息的載體。這些沉默的見證者靜靜地立在香港的角角落落,無聲地講述屬於自己的往事。知名學者蕭國健教授多年間訪古探幽,足跡遍及港九、新界及各離島,深入查考本港碑刻及其背後的歷史。

全書分為史前石刻篇、摩崖石刻篇、棋盤石刻篇、界石篇、紀念碑石篇、奠基石篇共六部分,對讀者了解香港各區的歷史文化頗有助益。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, March 13, 2023

Flowers in Amber (Fascinating Life Sciences)

George Poinar
online access from Springer English/International eBooks 2022 - Full Set
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While much attention has been given to animal life in amber, the remains of a variety of plants, including angiosperm flowers, also exist in fossilized resin. Presented here is a pictorial synopsis of 94 flowers that occur in four major amber deposits around the world.                                   (Thumbnail images from the book)
The basic features of these flowers are presented and their relationship with existing plant lineages discussed. This work will be of interest to amber enthusiasts, plant taxonomists, plant morphologists, plant ecologists, plant evolutionists and plant paleontologists.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

“AMBER: BALTIC GOLD” Exhibition is being staged at the City University of Hong Kong until 11 April 2023. Amber is a beautiful and fascinating organic material which for centuries was believed to be a gemstone. Treated like a rare mineral, amber is simply a fossilized form of resin secreted by different plants.The exhibition traces amber’s diffusion across Europe from the Baltic regions to ancient Rome, and then down the famous Silk Road to China.

觀察的藝術 : 在日常生活中開發想像力的131個練習 (The Art of Noticing)

羅伯‧沃克 (Rob Walker)
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創新的第一步就是觀察。
用觀察力擴充想像力,在躁動的世界裡,把心留住。


歡迎來到白噪音的年代。我們的生活隨時被手機、電子郵件、社群媒體綁住。在這個分心的年代,人們通常失去了體驗當下、活在當下的能力,我們的思考能力、看與聽的能力也隨之消失。

專欄作家羅伯‧沃克將在這本書中喚醒大家的感官,更重要的是協助你以全新的方式看世界。沃克以一系列有趣的練習與沉思時刻,寫成這本引發思考的創意指南,刺激我們的好奇心,促使每個人以更透徹的方式思考,懂得用心聆聽,成為職場上更具創意的同事,最終還能重拾快樂的感受,觀察到真正重要的事物。

各界佳評

近半世紀前,藝評大師約翰‧伯格(John Berger)的經典之作《觀看的方式》改變了歷史,打破藝術僅屬於菁英階層的迷思,闡釋藝術與普羅大眾之間其實關係密切。如今羅伯‧沃克進一步以《觀察的藝術》一書為實踐指南,為當代身陷「白噪音」囹圄的凡夫俗子,提供有效開展五感的創意法門。──謝佩霓,藝評家/策展人

作者羅伯‧沃克的寫作永遠令人讚嘆。他用獨特的眼光看見其他人沒注意到的事。這本新書基本上就是把他所有的觀看祕訣傳授給大家。──萊恩‧霍利得(Ryan Holiday),《失控的自信》(Ego is the Enemy)與《障礙就是道路》(The Obstacle is the Way)暢銷作家

如果想過更趣味十足、更富創意的生活,第一步就是更加留意你的生活。羅伯‧沃克在這本書提供基本的引導,教大家探索自己的日常世界。我找到大量可以偷用的點子,你也一起來吧。──奧斯汀‧克隆(Austin Kleon),《紐約時報》暢銷著作《點子都是偷來的》(Steal Like an Artist)作者

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, March 6, 2023

HBR at 100: The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review's First Century

by Harvard Business Review, Michael E. Porter, Clayton M. Christensen, W. Chan Kim, Renee A. Mauborgne
online access from EBSCOhost Ebook
online access from iRead eBook (Chinese)
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The most definitive management ideas of the century, all in one place.

Harvard Business Review is the foremost destination for smart management thinking. Now, at its 100th anniversary, this commemorative volume brings together the most influential ideas since its inception.

With an introduction written by editor in chief Adi Ignatius, HBR at 100 features business publishing's most influential voices on innovative topics, including:

- Michael E. Porter on competitive strategy
- Clayton M. Christensen on disruptive innovation
- Tim Brown on design thinking
- Linda A. Hill on being a first-time manager
- Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence
- Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee on artificial intelligence
- Robert Livingston on racial equity at work
- Amy C. Edmondson and Mark Mortensen on psychological safety
- Robert B. Cialdini on the science of persuasion
- W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne on blue ocean strategy
- Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad on strategic intent
- Peter F. Drucker on managing yourself

Whether you're a longtime reader or you're picking up an HBR volume for the first time, this book offers all you need to understand the most critical ideas in management.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

這個世界運作的真相 : 以數據解析人類經濟和生存的困局與機會 (How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future)

瓦茲拉夫‧史密爾 (Vaclav Smil)
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全球百大頂尖思想家;橫跨能源、人口、科技領域的權威專家
「史密爾是我最喜歡的作者。」──比爾・蓋茲

病毒肆虐、晶片短缺、電力不穩、過度使用燃料……
我們必須看清撼動全球經濟根基的七大困局

何為全球經濟的大挑戰?絕對是能源、小麥、病毒和氣候。


能源概括整個世界的運作,使人類可以生產糧食和材料,
種植一顆溫室番茄需要5茶匙柴油,1公斤的麵包需要80毫升的柴油;
能滿足全球需求量的鋼鐵、塑膠、水泥需要多少燃料?

作者呼籲人類應從過於樂觀的預測、政策中甦醒:

各國的脫碳目標不可能實現,
人造食物取代不了農作物……

世界真正的現實面,影響經濟最主要的七大關鍵:
1.能源:人類有多依賴化石燃料?
2.食物生產:如何養活全球80億人口?
3.材料:氨、鋼鐵、混凝土和塑膠,如何主導世界經濟?
4.全球化:運輸和通訊如何讓世界緊密連結?
5.風險:病毒、飲食到天災,為何文明進步沒讓世界更安全、更健康?
6.全球暖化:脫碳言之過早?富裕國家正落實減緩氣候變遷?
7.生物圈退化:災難頻繁、資源匱乏、生育率低,如何面對作繭自縛的生存空間?

本書致力於減少人類對世界的理解缺陷,並針對人類生存和繁榮最基本的主要現實狀況做說明,以科學的角度,解釋世界究竟如何運作,提供主導世界經濟的七大關鍵,讓人類更能意識到未來的限制和機會。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)