Download or read book Brilliant Blunders written by Mario Livio and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on the lives of five great scientists, this “scholarly, insightful, and beautifully written book” (Martin Rees, author of From Here to Infinity) illuminates the path to scientific discovery. Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein all made groundbreaking contributions to their fields—but each also stumbled badly. Darwin’s theory of natural selection shouldn’t have worked, according to the prevailing beliefs of his time. Lord Kelvin gravely miscalculated the age of the earth. Linus Pauling, the world’s premier chemist, constructed an erroneous model for DNA in his haste to beat the competition to publication. Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle dismissed the idea of a “Big Bang” origin to the universe (ironically, the caustic name he gave to this event endured long after his erroneous objections were disproven). And Albert Einstein speculated incorrectly about the forces of the universe—and that speculation opened the door to brilliant conceptual leaps. As Mario Livio luminously explains in this “thoughtful meditation on the course of science itself” (The New York Times Book Review), these five scientists expanded our knowledge of life on earth, the evolution of the earth, and the evolution of the universe, despite and because of their errors. “Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written” (The Washington Post), Brilliant Blunders is a wonderfully insightful examination of the psychology of five fascinating scientists—and the mistakes as well as the achievements that made them famous.

Download or read book Rob Neyer s Big Book of Baseball Blunders written by Rob Neyer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-11-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS. BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME. Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why? Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders. · Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series? · What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal? · Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant? · How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"? · How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really? · Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst? · Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? · What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime? · Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking? These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.

Download or read book Blunder written by Zachary Shore and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-07-15 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone whose best-laid plans have been foiled by faulty thinking, Blunder reveals how understanding seven simple traps-Exposure Anxiety, Causefusion, Flat View, Cure-Allism, Infomania, Mirror Imaging, Static Cling-can make us all less apt to err in our daily lives.

Download or read book Blunders and How to Avoid Them written by Angus Dunnington and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experienced chess player and writer Angus Dunnington takes a look at why the good, the bad and the indifferent all make errors, from small positional misjudgements to simply leaving a queen en prise.

Download or read book The Blunders of Our Governments written by Anthony King and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony, distinguished political scientists Anthony King and Ivor Crewe open our eyes to the worst government horror stories and explain why the British political system is quite so prone to appalling mistakes.

Download or read book Who Blunders and How written by Robin Banerjee and published by Penguin Random House India Private Limited. This book was released on 2024-05-30 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many big companies—famous brands, once loved and revered—often disappear into oblivion mainly due to their own follies. Look at the once invincible Kodak or the seemingly unfailing Premier Padmini cars. In the unforgiving world of modern business they failed to adapt, only to perish. Many businesses fail to address and wisdom from their trying experiences. Even the infallible Nokia, BlackBerry, Woolworths and Lehman Brothers buckled. Companies such as Bethlehem Steel, Atari, Xerox, NCR, Mafatlal and Kingfisher Airlines this basic truth. Every business is tested for endurance and accomplishment but only a few extract strength once considered as the great ones to emulate, all failed to live up to their repute. Instances of business blunders and bloopers are many. They could include compromising quality to cut costs, lack of professionalism in management, botched up mergers and acquisitions, customers being taken for granted, bad leadership, family squabbles, corporate fraud, unmanageable debts and numerous others. This book will help you understand many famous, frequent and common mistakes committed by businesses over time. The lessons learnt should enable you to run your businesses with lesser hiccups and maximize stakeholder returns.

Download or read book Blinders Blunders and Wars written by David C. Gompert and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2014-11-26 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of wars caused by misjudgments, from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia to America’s invasion of Iraq, reveals that leaders relied on cognitive models that were seriously at odds with objective reality. Blinders, Blunders, and Wars analyzes eight historical examples of strategic blunders regarding war and peace and four examples of decisions that turned out well, and then applies those lessons to the current Sino-American case.

Download or read book Scientific Blunders written by R. M. Youngson and published by Carroll & Graf Pub. This book was released on 1998 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the flat earth theory, the Piltdown Man, the Tay bridge collapse, Chernobyl, cold fusion, and the Hubble space telescope mistake.

Download or read book Errors Blunders and Lies written by David S. Salsburg and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in a world that is not quite "right." The central tenet of statistical inquiry is that Observation = Truth + Error because even the most careful of scientific investigations have always been bedeviled by uncertainty. Our attempts to measure things are plagued with small errors. Our attempts to understand our world are blocked by blunders. And, unfortunately, in some cases, people have been known to lie. In this long-awaited follow-up to his well-regarded bestseller, The Lady Tasting Tea, David Salsburg opens a door to the amazing widespread use of statistical methods by looking at historical examples of errors, blunders and lies from areas as diverse as archeology, law, economics, medicine, psychology, sociology, Biblical studies, history, and war-time espionage. In doing so, he shows how, upon closer statistical investigation, errors and blunders often lead to useful information. And how statistical methods have been used to uncover falsified data. Beginning with Edmund Halley’s examination of the Transit of Venus and ending with a discussion of how many tanks Rommel had during the Second World War, the author invites the reader to come along on this easily accessible and fascinating journey of how to identify the nature of errors, minimize the effects of blunders, and figure out who the liars are.

Download or read book World s Dumbest Crooks written by Allan Zullo and published by . This book was released on 2004-07-23 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You won't believe some of the bird-brained things people have done. This book is packed with stories that are ridiculous, outrageous--and true!

Download or read book Avoiding Data Pitfalls written by Ben Jones and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Avoid data blunders and create truly useful visualizations Avoiding Data Pitfalls is a reputation-saving handbook for those who work with data, designed to help you avoid the all-too-common blunders that occur in data analysis, visualization, and presentation. Plenty of data tools exist, along with plenty of books that tell you how to use them—but unless you truly understand how to work with data, each of these tools can ultimately mislead and cause costly mistakes. This book walks you step by step through the full data visualization process, from calculation and analysis through accurate, useful presentation. Common blunders are explored in depth to show you how they arise, how they have become so common, and how you can avoid them from the outset. Then and only then can you take advantage of the wealth of tools that are out there—in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, the right tools can cut down on the time, labor, and myriad decisions that go into each and every data presentation. Workers in almost every industry are now commonly expected to effectively analyze and present data, even with little or no formal training. There are many pitfalls—some might say chasms—in the process, and no one wants to be the source of a data error that costs money or even lives. This book provides a full walk-through of the process to help you ensure a truly useful result. Delve into the "data-reality gap" that grows with our dependence on data Learn how the right tools can streamline the visualization process Avoid common mistakes in data analysis, visualization, and presentation Create and present clear, accurate, effective data visualizations To err is human, but in today's data-driven world, the stakes can be high and the mistakes costly. Don't rely on "catching" mistakes, avoid them from the outset with the expert instruction in Avoiding Data Pitfalls.

Download or read book Military Intelligence Blunders written by John Hughes-Wilson and published by Kings Road Publishing. This book was released on 2023-03-30 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A cracking good read... I will recommend this book to anyone' - Professor Richard Holmes, CBE 'The Falklands, Yom Kippur, Tet and Pearl Harbor? Avoidable intelligence blunders or much worse? Altogether a compelling read from someone who knows the business' - Nigel West This book is a professional military-intelligence officer's - and controversial insider's - view of some of the greatest intelligence blunders of recent history. It includes the serious developments in government misuse of intelligence in the US-led coalition's 2003 war with Iraq, as well as failures of intelligence in Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022. Colonel John Hughes-Wilson analyses not just the events that conspire to cause disaster, but why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike. This book analyses: how Hitler's intelligence staff misled him in a bid to outfox their Nazi Party rivals; the bureaucratic bungling behind Pearl Harbor; how in-fighting within American intelligence ensured they were taken off guard by the Viet Cong's 1968 Tet Offensive; how overconfidence, political interference and deception facilitated Egypt and Syria's 1973 surprise attack on Israel; why a handful of marines and a London taxicab were all Britain had to defend the Falklands; the mistaken intelligence that allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power until the second Iraq War of 2003; the truth behind the US failure to run a terrorist warning system before the 9/11 WTC bombing; and how governments are increasingly pressurising intelligence agencies to 'spin' a party-political line.

Download or read book Blunders in International Business written by David A. Ricks and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-02-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition of Blunders in International Business is significantly updated and revised, full of interesting anecdotes, including dozens of new international business blunders. David Ricks has uncovered many informative and entertaining blunders that will make this book hard to put down. Features blunders from well-known corporations American Express, McDonalds, Toyota, GM, Sharwoods, Jolly Green Giant, Bacardi, Puff, AOL, BMW, and many others. Conserves its well-liked, concise format. Several well-known blunders from previous editions have been replaced in order to update the lessons learned.

Download or read book Social Blunders written by Tim Sandlin and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wild , wonderful, and wickedly funny...Highly recommended." - Library Journal One of five men could be Sam Callahan's father. Is knowing the truth worth the havoc he'll cause trying to find out? Laid low by divorce-the result of an endless stream of poor choices-Sam decides it's time he met his dad. But his quest to meet the men and discover the truth does more than just shake up the five likely suspects-it pretty much napalms the lives of everyone he meets. A comic novel of dysfunctional family and raucous debauchery, fans of Nick Hornby, Jack Kerouac, Tom Robbins, Larry McMurtry, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, Carl Hiaasen will appreciate Sandlin's humor and Sam's journey. Other books in Tim Sandlin's GroVant Trilogy: Skipped Parts, Book 1 Sorrow Floats, Book 2 Social Blunders, Book 3 Lydia, Book 4 What readers are saying about Social Blunders: "one of the funniest writers alive." "I am a huge fan of Nick Hornby and Richard Russo, and Tim Sandlin belongs in their club." "Besides being hilarious and lewd (a very good start), the novel is quite touching." "Sandlin's narrative voice combines the absurdity of Tom Robbins, the pithy social observation of Douglas Coupland, the male sexual wanderlust of Phillip Roth." "Rollicking raunchy raucous debaucherous dysfunctional good time fun-- with genuine heart and emotion mixed in for good measure" "absolutely hysterical and touching. I haven't looked at treadmills the same way since!" What reviewers are saying about Social Blunders: "A story of grand faux pas and dazzling dysfunction...a wildly satirical look at the absurdities of modern life." -The New York Times Book Review "Ribald... comic and bawdy...oddly endearing...an effective blend of flippancy and compassion." -Publishers Weekly "Tim Sandlin only gets better. Social Blunders is an affecting book...It is fiction to be savored." -Larry McMurtry "A weird, funny, raunchy novel that veers wildly from pathos to slapstick and back again, and it's surprisingly effective." -Booklist What everyone is saying about Tim Sandlin: "Tim Sandlin's stuff is as tight and funny as anyone doing this comedy novel thing." -Christopher Moore "His prose, his characters, all amazing." "A story of grand faux pas and dazzling dysfunction...a wildly satirical look at the absurdities of modern life." -The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Drinking and Tweeting written by Brandi Glanville and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 New York Times bestseller, now in paperback The brutally honest breath of fresh air on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, known for her dramatic divorce, her barely there clothing, and her inability to keep her mouth shut, tells all in this hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir that's "the best piece of celeb literature we've ever come across." (LAWeekly.com) It's impossible not to love Brandi Glanville, the unapologetically filter-free breath of fresh air on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She spills all her secrets in this sassy, raunchy, and compulsively readable #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, dishing about everything from her DUI and her cheating ex to her one-night stands and the secret plastic surgery that made her "seventeen" again. Clear your schedule, grab a comfy seat, your favorite cocktail . . . and maybe a Xanax. #BestAfternoonEver.

Download or read book Evolution s Blunders Frauds and Forgeries written by Jerry Bergman and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Amy Binegar Kimmes Lyle Book of Failures written by Amy Lyle and published by Amy Lyle. This book was released on 2017-05-03 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE AMY-BINEGAR-KIMMES-LYLE BOOK OF FAILURES is for anyone who has experienced their own disasters OR takes pleasure in the failures of others.