Some of us do our best thinking in the shower, others do it while on the toilet. Renee Descartes, he pondered most deeply while ensconced in a baker's oven. The man simply needed to be convinced of the oven's existence before climbing in. Such are the quirks of the most monumental minds humanity has to offer. In the hilarious and enthralling new book, Edison's Ghosts: The Untold Weirdness of History's Greatest Geniuses, Dr. Katie Spalding explores the illogical, unnerving, and sometimes downright strange behaviors of luminaries like Thomas "Spirit Phone" Edison, Isaac "Sun Blind" Newton, and Nicola "I fell in love with a pigeon" Tesla. Little Brown and CompanyExcerpted from Edison's Ghosts: The Untold Weirdness of History's Greatest Geniuses by Dr. Katie Spalding. Published by Little, Brown and Company. Copyright © 2023 by Katie Spalding. All rights reserved.When René Descartes Got BakedRené Descartes, like Pythagoras before him and Einstein after, occupies that special place in our collective consciousness where his work has become … well, essentially a short-hand for genius-level intellect. Think about it – in any cartoon or sitcom where one character is (or, through logically-spurious means, suddenly becomes) a brainiac, there are three things they’re narratively bound to say: ‘the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides’ – that’s Pythagoras; ‘E = mc2’ – thank you, Einstein; and finally, ‘cogito ergo sum’. And that is... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2023-05-28 14:30:30 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 16:09 Kate Atkinson has knocked Jamie Oliver off the top of the charts, thanks largely to a spot in W H Smith's "£2.99 if you buy the Times" link-save promotion, with Started Early, Took My Dog (Black Swan) the new Official UK Top 50... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its ebooks using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for ebooks while the retailer takes a commission. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beginning in March, ebooks from HarperCollins may be lent by public libraries only 26 times before the license expires. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 08:45 The UK's big four publishing groupsPenguin, Hachette, Random House and HarperCollinscould be the worst hit in terms of exposure to the ANZ market according to Nielsen BookScan data, following REDgroup's collapse in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Laura Richards Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 11:39 A sketch from "Harry Hill's TV Burp" is to be the subject of a knitting book acquired by Anova. Katie Cowan, publisher for Anova's Collins & Brown imprint, bought world English-language rights for The K Factor from Avalon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 24/02/2011 - 09:42 Final preparations are underway for a medley of events planned to celebrate World Book Night, with independent and national retailers planning to host author readings, quizzes and book swaps. On 5th March, 20,000 participants... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 15:42 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 21/02/2011 - 08:47 Michael O'Mara has acquired an anthology about the writers of "Hancock's Half Hour" and "Steptoe and Son", dubbed "the fathers of the British sitcom". Commissioning editor Kate Moore bought world rights with Elly James of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 16:30 Book wholesaler Gardners has begun consulting with independent booksellers over the direction of its consumer website, with one option revealing that booksellers could earn as much as 30% when books are sold at their full RRP.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OverDrive Media Console--the iPhone app that lets users check out and read ebooks from their local libraries--has been upgraded to a universal app optimized for... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 08:49 The Book Hive in Norwich has been voted the best bookshop in Britain, according to a Daily Telegraph survey. More than 18,000 people voted across 10 categories in a bid to find the best small shops in Britain. The awards,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 14/02/2011 - 17:21 HarperCollins Childrens Books publishing director Helen Mackenzie Smith has bought her first books since joining the publisher from Random House earlier this year. She bought four books by picture author and illustrator Rachel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Easy downloads and convenient storage are the chief lures of a virtual library, but ownership has some irritating downsides that require your attention before you hit the ebook purchase button. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 08:00 Beautiful Books has acquired two "major" non-fiction titles for autumn 2011, with one revisiting Orwell's Wigan Pier and another looking at one of the first people to recognise the Young British Artists (YBA). Publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 07:55 Senior publicity manager Dominic Kingston is to leave Macmillan Children's Books (MCB) at the end of April. Kingston has been with the publisher since 2005, when he joined as publicity manager. Lauren Ace will join the team as publicity manager on 7th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 09/02/2011 - 20:05 Debut author Sita Brahmachari has won the Waterstones Childrens Book Prize for her coming-of-age novel about life, death, friendship and love. She was awarded the £5,000 prize this evening [9th February] for Artichoke Hearts, published by Macmillan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 09:20 Tim Waterstone is reportedly pondering a bid to buy the bookstore he founded in 1982 with HMV billionaire investor Alexander Mamut. In the recent past, Waterstone has distanced himself from a bid saying while he would be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 08:53 Sales of books in France fell by 1.5% in 2010 or 0.5% without taking account of book price inflation, according to French weekly Livres Hebdos indicators. After three years of increase, the decline came as retailing in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Analysis: Apple is modifying its licensing policy, raising doubts that ebooks bought elsewhere will be readable on Apple devices. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 16:42 Emma Hopkin, managing director of Macmillan children's books, is to leave the company on 21st April to "pursue an exciting new challenge elsewhere in children's publishing". Hopkin said: "It's been fantastic and I've... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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