"The author’s conviction comes through every page of his writing. A good part of Vedanta is presented as a book of science. [He] does not hesitate to pick examples from the lives of actors, TV heroes, historical personalities, authors, expositors and stories..." From the Foreword by Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, former Professor of Mathematics and Dy. Director, BITS, Pilani, India, President of The Indian Mathematical Society, and Asst. Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Precious few have lived so complete a life as to encompass so many integral parts of our identity as Indians. Fewer still have had the foresight and generosity to document this journey for future generations to learn from. V. Krishnamurthy is such a unique soul. Hailing from South India, he absorbed the vital essences of the Vedas, Upanishads and sacred Hindu texts from his father at a very young age. This faith and spirituality was foundational in later life as he navigated raising a family, pursuing a PhD with limited means, travelling to- and working in America in the 1960's and playing a pivotal role in the herculean task of creating a world-class educational institution for a burgeoning India as the nation started to come into its own. For those who find this world fascinating, Krishnamurthy's narrative will give form and colour to what life was like over the last century. A veteran author, his latest work will give the reader a snapshot of his life, trials and time well spent on this earth.

In The Second Self, Sherry Turkle looks at the computer not as a "tool," but as part of our social and psychological lives; she looks beyond how we use computer games and spreadsheets to explore how the computer affects our awareness of ourselves, of one another, and of our relationship with the world. "Technology," she writes, "catalyzes changes not only in what we do but in how we think." First published in 1984, The Second Self is still essential reading as a primer in the psychology of computation. This twentieth anniversary edition allows us to reconsider two decades of computer culture-to (re)experience what was and is most novel in our new media culture and to view our own contemporary relationship with technology with fresh eyes. Turkle frames this classic work with a new introduction, a new epilogue, and extensive notes added to the original text. Turkle talks to children, college students, engineers, AI scientists, hackers, and personal computer owners-people confronting machines that seem to think and at the same time suggest a new way for us to think-about human thought, emotion, memory, and understanding. Her interviews reveal that we experience computers as being on the border between inanimate and animate, as both an extension of the self and part of the external world. Their special place betwixt and between traditional categories is part of what makes them compelling and evocative. In the introduction to this edition, Turkle quotes a PDA user as saying, "When my Palm crashed, it was like a death. I thought I had lost my mind." Why we think of the workings of a machine in psychological terms-how this happens, and what it means for all of us-is the ever more timely subject of The Second Self. Book jacket.

At a time when Steve Jobs was only a teenager and Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t even born, a group of visionary engineers and designers—some of them only high school students—in the late 1960s and 1970s created a computer system called PLATO, which was light-years ahead in experimenting with how people would learn, engage, communicate, and play through connected computers. Not only did PLATO engineers make significant hardware breakthroughs with plasma displays and touch screens but PLATO programmers also came up with a long list of software innovations: chat rooms, instant messaging, message boards, screen savers, multiplayer games, online newspapers, interactive fiction, and emoticons. Together, the PLATO community pioneered what we now collectively engage in as cyberculture. They were among the first to identify and also realize the potential and scope of the social interconnectivity of computers, well before the creation of the internet. PLATO was the foundational model for every online community that was to follow in its footsteps. The Friendly Orange Glow is the first history to recount in fascinating detail the remarkable accomplishments and inspiring personal stories of the PLATO community. The addictive nature of PLATO both ruined many a college career and launched pathbreaking multimillion-dollar software products. Its development, impact, and eventual disappearance provides an instructive case study of technological innovation and disruption, project management, and missed opportunities. Above all, The Friendly Orange Glow at last reveals new perspectives on the origins of social computing and our internet-infatuated world.

The Secrets of Self-Hypnosis is a ground-breaking, practical, step-by-step guide to harnessing the power of your unconscious mind. Using a structured and unique methodology, this book shows you how absolutely anyone can enter hypnosis easily, how to be in control of the state of hypnosis, how to deepen your experience of it and deliver powerful changes or make updates to your life, all by yourself! In addition, the Secrets of Self-Hypnosis has a wide range of advanced techniques and strategies. You will learn how to: * Increase confidence * Manage and overcome inertia * Distort your perception of time * Become a non-smoker * Achieve and maintain your ideal weight * Let go of pain * And much more This book also shows you how to learn and use the language of success and self-mastery and utilizes a great many techniques from a wide array of other fields to ensure that your experience of self-hypnosis is powerful, profound, and helps you achieve your dreams. "Adam Eason has written the ultimate book on self-hypnosis. An incredible resource for those with knowledge of hypnosis and those just beginning!" Kevin Hogan, Psy.D., Author of Psychology of Persuasion

When technologies, products, and services converge in radical, creative new ways, a killer app emerges-a new application so powerful that it transforms industries, redefines markets, and annihilates the competition. The steam engine, the cotton gin, and the Model T were all killer apps of their time. Today's killer apps spring from the digital realm: the personal computer, e-mail, and the World Wide Web. Tempted by the promise of such devastating power, companies large and small, from vast multinationals to lean entrepreneurial start-ups, are remaking themselves into organizations that nurture killer apps rather than succumb to them. How is it done? In this groundbreaking new book, strategists Downes and Mui identify the twelve fundamental design principles for building killer apps and offer a progressive guide to transforming your company into a place where killer apps are born. Unleashing the Killer App provides the tools, the techniques, and the proof that you need to incubate the killer app within your organization--and perhaps even release one.