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Lost in math: how beauty leads physics astray
By Sabine Hossenfelder. 2018
Physicist argues against the use of aesthetic criteria when developing and testing theories. Reflects on her career, the historical fascination…
with aesthetics in science, particle physics, meetings with fellow physicists, the difference between math and magic, the search for a unified theory, string theory, and other topics. Strong language. 2018They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School
By Bev Sellars. 2017
Like thousands of Aboriginal children in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars…
spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school. These institutions endeavored to ""civilize"" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. Perhaps the most symbolically potent strategy used to alienate residential school children was addressing them by assigned numbers only - not by the names with which they knew and understood themselves. In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family - from substance abuse to suicide attempts - and eloquently articulates her own path to healing. They Called Me Number One comes at a time of recognition - by governments and society at large - that only through knowing the truth about these past injustices can we begin to redress them. Bev Sellars is chief of the Xatsu'll (Soda Creek) First Nation in Williams Lake, British Columbia. She holds a degree in history from the University of Victoria and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. She has served as an advisor to the British Columbia Treaty Commission.Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: A Memoir
By Theodore Fontaine. 2010
“Too many survivors of Canada’s Indian residential schools live to forget. Theodore Fontaine writes to remember." - Hana Gartner, CBC's…
The Fifth Estate Now an approved curriculum resource for grade 9–12 students in British Columbia and Manitoba. Theodore (Ted) Fontaine lost his family and freedom just after his seventh birthday, when his parents were forced to leave him at an Indian residential school by order of the Roman Catholic Church and the Government of Canada. Twelve years later, he left school frozen at the emotional age of seven. He was confused, angry and conflicted, on a path of self-destruction. At age 29, he emerged from this blackness. By age 32, he had graduated from the Civil Engineering Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and begun a journey of self-exploration and healing. In this powerful and poignant memoir, Ted examines the impact of his psychological, emotional and sexual abuse, the loss of his language and culture, and, most important, the loss of his family and community. He goes beyond details of the abuses of Native children to relate a unique understanding of why most residential school survivors have post-traumatic stress disorders and why succeeding generations of First Nations children suffer from this dark chapter in history. Told as remembrances described with insights that have evolved through his healing, his story resonates with his resolve to help himself and other residential school survivors and to share his enduring belief that one can pick up the shattered pieces and use them for good.Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance
By Jesse Wente. 2021
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Unreconciled is one hell of a good book. Jesse Wente’s narrative moves effortlessly from the personal to the…
historical to the contemporary. Very powerful, and a joy to read."—Thomas King, author of The Inconvenient Indian and SufferanceA prominent Indigenous voice uncovers the lies and myths that affect relations between white and Indigenous peoples and the power of narrative to emphasize truth over comfort.Part memoir and part manifesto, Unreconciled is a stirring call to arms to put truth over the flawed concept of reconciliation, and to build a new, respectful relationship between the nation of Canada and Indigenous peoples. Jesse Wente remembers the exact moment he realized that he was a certain kind of Indian--a stereotypical cartoon Indian. He was playing softball as a child when the opposing team began to war-whoop when he was at bat. It was just one of many incidents that formed Wente's understanding of what it means to be a modern Indigenous person in a society still overwhelmingly colonial in its attitudes and institutions. As the child of an American father and an Anishinaabe mother, Wente grew up in Toronto with frequent visits to the reserve where his maternal relations lived. By exploring his family's history, including his grandmother's experience in residential school, and citing his own frequent incidents of racial profiling by police who'd stop him on the streets, Wente unpacks the discrepancies between his personal identity and how non-Indigenous people view him. Wente analyzes and gives voice to the differences between Hollywood portrayals of Indigenous peoples and lived culture. Through the lens of art, pop culture, and personal stories, and with disarming humour, he links his love of baseball and movies to such issues as cultural appropriation, Indigenous representation and identity, and Indigenous narrative sovereignty. Indeed, he argues that storytelling in all its forms is one of Indigenous peoples' best weapons in the fight to reclaim their rightful place.Wente explores and exposes the lies that Canada tells itself, unravels "the two founding nations" myth, and insists that the notion of "reconciliation" is not a realistic path forward. Peace between First Nations and the state of Canada can't be recovered through reconciliation--because no such relationship ever existed.A quantum life: My unlikely journey from the street to the stars
By Hakeem Oluseyi. 2021
In this inspiring coming-of-age memoir, a world-renowned astrophysicist emerges from an impoverished childhood and crime-filled adolescence to ascend through the…
top ranks of research physics. &“You&’ll encounter one extraordinary turn of events after another, as the extraordinary chess player, puzzle solver, and occasional grifter works his way from grinding poverty and deep despair to worldwide acclaim as a physicist.&”—Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society Navigating poverty, violence, and instability, a young James Plummer had two guiding stars—a genius IQ and a love of science. But a bookish nerd is a soft target, and James faced years of bullying and abuse. As he struggled to survive his childhood in some of the country&’s toughest urban neighborhoods in New Orleans, Houston, and LA, and later in the equally poor backwoods of Mississippi, he adopted the persona of &“gangsta nerd&”—dealing weed in juke joints while winning state science fairs with computer programs that model Einstein&’s theory of relativity. Once admitted to the elite physics PhD program at Stanford University, James found himself pulled between the promise of a bright future and a dangerous crack cocaine habit he developed in college. With the encouragement of his mentor and the sole Black professor in the physics department, James confronted his personal demons as well as the entrenched racism and classism of the scientific establishment. When he finally seized his dream of a life in astrophysics, he adopted a new name, Hakeem Muata Oluseyi, to honor his African ancestors. Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful , A Quantum Life narrates one man&’s remarkable quest across an ever-expanding universe filled with entanglement and choiceStories of Métis Women: Tales my kookum told me
By Oster Bailey. 2021
This book is a collection of stories about culture, history, and nationhood as told by Métis women. The Métis are…
known by many names — Otipemisiwak, "the people who own ourselves;" Bois Brules, "Burnt Wood;" Apeetogosan, "half brother" by the Cree; "half-breed," historically; and are also known as "rebels" and "traitors to Canada." They are also known as the "Forgotten People." Few really know their story. Many people may also think that Métis simply means "mixed," but it does not. They are a people with a unique and proud history and Nation. In this era of reconciliation, Stories of Métis Women explains the story of the Métis Nation from the women's own perspectiveIsaac Newton: the asshole who reinvented the universe (G - Reference, Information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
By Brian Taylor, Florian Freistetter. 2018
Astronomer presents a biography of Isaac Newton that is filled with both praise for his accomplishments as well as a…
harsh assessment of the effects of his abrasive personality on his personal and professional relationships. Translated from the 2017 German edition. Strong language. 2018Blood brothers: the story of the strange friendship between Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill
By Deanne Stillman. 2017
The story of the unlikely friendship of Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull in the 1880s while performing in Cody's…
Wild West show. Discusses, among other things, Annie Oakley's role in their relationship, the rise of the Native American rights movement, and Sitting Bull's assassination. 2017The elements: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions #Vol. 104)
By Philip Ball. 2004
Beginning with the ancient Greeks' earth, air, fire, and water, science journalist goes on to discuss the discovery of oxygen,…
the aesthetic and economic appeal of gold, the periodic table's origins, and practical uses of the elements in science, medicine, manufacturing, and technology. 2002Spaceman: an astronaut's unlikely journey to unlock the secrets of the universe
By Mike Massimino. 2016
An astronaut chronicles his life and the journey to his career. Discusses growing up in New York, figuring out how…
to achieve his dreams of working for NASA, his initial medical disqualification due to his eyesight, and his eventual training. Includes anecdotes of the other astronauts he has met over the years. 2016Tales of the quantum: understanding physics' most fundamental theory
By Art Hobson. 2017
Physicist explains the quantum, which is defined as a unified specific bundle of field energy and makes up photons, electrons,…
protons, atoms, and molecules. Pays particular attention to the resulting phenomena, including wave-particle duality, fundamental randomness, existence in two places simultaneously, quantum jumps, and more. 2017Black Elk: the life of an American visionary
By Joe Jackson. 2016
A biographical account of the life of the Native American holy man known for his 1932 testimonial Black Elk Speaks…
(DB 22552). Black Elk fought at Little Big Horn, witnessed the death of his cousin Crazy Horse, and traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, among many other things. 2016Why time flies: a mostly scientific investigation
By Alan Burdick. 2017
Journalist distills his ten years of research into the concept of time. Discusses time as a scientific concept, the ways…
time is experienced according to age and geographic location, and twenty-first century investigations into it--including those by neuroscientists. 2017Water: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By John Finney, J. L. Finney. 2015
Physics professor introduces the science of water, explaining that the structure of water molecules gives rise to its physical and…
chemical properties. Considers water in all of its states--ice and steam as well as liquid. Identifies the importance of the science of water in many fields, including chemistry, astrophysics, and environmental research. 2015Sound: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By Mike Goldsmith. 2015
Science writer explores the science of sound in different contexts, covering the audible and the inaudible, sound under the ground…
and under water, acoustic and electric sound, and hearing in humans and animals. Describes the physical basis of pitch and harmony and how sound waves are exploited in musical instruments. 2015Relativity: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By Russell Stannard. 2008
Physicist and professor sets out to make Einstein's special and general theories of relativity accessible and understandable, using minimal mathematics.…
Explores the theories' impact on science and our contemporary understanding of the universe. Explains the formula E=mc² and ventures into the concepts of curved space-time and black holes. 2008Newton: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By Robert Iliffe, Rob Iliffe. 2007
Professor of intellectual history provides a balanced appraisal of Isaac Newton (1642-1727), one of the most influential mathematicians and scientists…
who ever lived. Explains Newton's scientific discoveries, the forces that shaped his thinking, and his radical theology and controversial beliefs--including a keen interest in alchemy. 2007Nuclear power: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By J. M Irvine, Maxwell Irvine. 2011
Physics professor provides an overview of the development of nuclear science and the emergence of the nuclear power industry. Assesses…
risks, costs, and potential future prospects. Addresses anxieties provoked by reactor incidents such as those at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. Examines the possibility of nuclear fusion replacing nuclear fission. 2011Galaxies: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By John Gribbin. 2008
Astrophysicist explains how understanding of our galaxy and its place in the universe has increased dramatically due to technological advances.…
Indicates that discovery of the ages of the universe, galaxies, and stars appears to confirm twentieth-century physics and quantum mechanics. Explores black holes and dark matter. Includes glossary. 2008Nuclear physics: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By Frank Close, F. E. Close. 2015
Oxford physics professor describes the historical development of nuclear physics, beginning with J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron at the…
end of the nineteenth century. The field ranges from the study of heavy nuclei in supernova to applications in the world of medicine, including MRI and PET scans. 2015