In this spirited and irreverent critique of Darwin’s long hold over our imagination, a distinguished philosopher of science makes the case that, in culture as well as nature, not only the fittest survive: the world is full of the “good enough” that persist too. Why is the genome of a salamander forty times larger than that of a human? Why does the avocado tree produce a million flowers and only a hundred fruits? Why, in short, is there so much waste in nature? In this lively and wide-ranging meditation on the curious accidents and unexpected detours on the path of life, Daniel Milo argues that we ask these questions because we’ve embraced a faulty conception of how evolution—and human society—really works. Good Enough offers a vigorous critique of the quasi-monopoly that Darwin’s concept of natural selection has on our idea of the natural world. Darwinism excels in accounting for the evolution of traits, but it does not explain their excess in size and number. Many traits far exceed the optimal configuration to do the job, and yet the maintenance of this extra baggage does not prevent species from thriving for millions of years. Milo aims to give the messy side of nature its due—to stand up for the wasteful and inefficient organisms that nevertheless survive and multiply. But he does not stop at the border between evolutionary theory and its social consequences. He argues provocatively that the theory of evolution through natural selection has acquired the trappings of an ethical system. Optimization, competitiveness, and innovation have become the watchwords of Western societies, yet their role in human lives—as in the rest of nature—is dangerously overrated. Imperfection is not just good enough: it may at times be essential to survival.

Are you tired of the constant pressure to excel in high school and beyond? Are you struggling with accepting that you're not exceptionally talented or gifted? If so, this book is for you. "The Mediocrity Paradox" is not just another book about high school and societal expectations. It's a wake-up call to those struggling with the harsh reality of not being the best. This book explores: - Why mediocrity is often seen as negative and how society views it - The pressure to excel in high school and the reality of not being the best - The psychological journey of accepting that one is not exceptional or gifted - How society defines success and the unrealistic standards set by media and social expectations - Examples of cognitive biases that lead people to believe they are better than they actually are - The phenomenon where winning can actually be detrimental, especially in high school - The statistical theory of averages and its application to high school performance and life - Each person's strengths and weaknesses, and how they can be used effectively If you're ready to redefine your understanding of success and stop letting societal expectations dictate your self-worth, then "The Mediocrity Paradox" is the book for you. It's time to understand the reality of mediocrity and embrace it. Order your copy today.

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, an “illuminating” (New York Times Book Review) history of white male identity. What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of color, instead of by actual accomplishments? Through the last 150 years of American history -- from the post-reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys in the West, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics -- Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of color, and white men themselves. Mediocre investigates the real costs of this phenomenon in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism. As provocative as it is essential, this book will upend everything you thought you knew about American identity and offers a bold new vision of American greatness.

From the author of the award-winning The Master Switch, who coined the term "net neutrality”—a revelatory, ambitious and urgent account of how the capture and re-sale of human attention became the defining industry of our time. "Dazzling." —Financial Times Ours is often called an information economy, but at a moment when access to information is virtually unlimited, our attention has become the ultimate commodity. In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of efforts to harvest our attention. This condition is not simply the byproduct of recent technological innovations but the result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. Wu’s narrative begins in the nineteenth century, when Benjamin Day discovered he could get rich selling newspapers for a penny. Since then, every new medium—from radio to television to Internet companies such as Google and Facebook—has attained commercial viability and immense riches by turning itself into an advertising platform. Since the early days, the basic business model of “attention merchants” has never changed: free diversion in exchange for a moment of your time, sold in turn to the highest-bidding advertiser. Full of lively, unexpected storytelling and piercing insight, The Attention Merchants lays bare the true nature of a ubiquitous reality we can no longer afford to accept at face value.

Imagine a world without quality. That world is coming. Quality is being assassinated by mediocrity. We are told that a rising tide lifts all boats. A rising tide of mediocrity makes everything mediocre and drowns everything of quality. You can't find any quality because it is surrounded by so much mediocrity. Nietzsche said, "The higher we soar the smaller we seem to those who cannot fly." Mediocre people cannot recognize quality. For them, it's tiny, very far away, and irrelevant to their lives. Vicki Corona wrote, "Remember that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!" In the land of mediocrity, life is measured more and more by the former and features none of the latter. We live in a muzak world, a world of sanitized, sterilized elevator music, designed to be as innocuous as possible, forming a uniform background, a background of absolute, mind-wiping mediocrity. The whole world is becoming like that. What will you do about it?

From the TIME 100 author of the Sunday Times and number 1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, a subversive history of white male American identity -- now with a new preface. 'One of the most admired writers and "internet yellers" around... [Mediocre is] ever more vital... Oluo's meeting the time -- this movement against white supremacy and systems of oppression. But the question she keeps asking in her work: Are we?' IBRAM X KENDI 'Mediocre paints an urgent, honest picture of how white male identity has spawned unrest in the country's political ideology... It's a necessary read for the world we live in' CHIDOZIE OBASI, Harper's Bazaar '[Ijeoma's] books don't come from a place of hate, but of determination to make change... [Mediocre is] another amazing book' TREVOR NOAH on The Daily Show What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of colour, instead of actual accomplishments? Through the last 150 years of American history -- from the post-Reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics -- Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of colour, and white men themselves. As provocative as it is essential, Mediocre investigates the real costs of white male power in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism. '[An] analytical and compassionate book' New Statesman 'Deftly combines history and sociological study with personal narrative, and the result is both uncomfortable and illuminating' Washington Post 'Ijeoma's sharp yet accessible writing about the American racial landscape made her 2018 book So You Want to Talk About Race an invaluable resource . . . Mediocre builds on this exemplary work, homing in on the role of white patriarchy in creating and upholding a system built to disenfranchise anyone who isn't a white male' TIME

'I always keep a copy of Art & Fear on my bookshelf' JAMES CLEAR, author of the #1 best-seller Atomic Habits 'A book for anyone and everyone who wants to face their fears and get to work' DEBBIE MILLMAN, author and host of the podcast Design Matters 'A timeless cult classic ... I've stolen tons of inspiration from this book over the years and so will you' AUSTIN KLEON, NYTimes bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist 'The ultimate pep talk for artists. ... An invaluable guide for living a creative, collaborative life.' WENDY MACNAUGHTON, illustrator Art & Fear is about the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. Drawing on the authors' own experiences as two working artists, the book delves into the internal and external challenges to making art in the real world, and shows how they can be overcome every day. First published in 1994, Art & Fear quickly became an underground classic, and word-of-mouth has placed it among the best-selling books on artmaking and creativity. Written by artists for artists, it offers generous and wise insight into what it feels like to sit down at your easel or keyboard, in your studio or performance space, trying to do the work you need to do. Every artist, whether a beginner or a prizewinner, a student or a teacher, faces the same fears - and this book illuminates the way through them.