I of the Vortex

Author: Rodolfo R. Llinas
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262296969
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
A highly original theory of how the mind-brain works, based on the author's study of single neuronal cells. In I of the Vortex, Rodolfo Llinas, a founding father of modern brain science, presents an original view of the evolution and nature of mind. According to Llinas, the "mindness state" evolved to allow predictive interactions between mobile creatures and their environment. He illustrates the early evolution of mind through a primitive animal called the "sea squirt." The mobile larval form has a brainlike ganglion that receives sensory information about the surrounding environment. As an adult, the sea squirt attaches itself to a stationary object and then digests most of its own brain. This suggests that the nervous system evolved to allow active movement in animals. To move through the environment safely, a creature must anticipate the outcome of each movement on the basis of incoming sensory data. Thus the capacity to predict is most likely the ultimate brain function. One could even say that Self is the centralization of prediction. At the heart of Llinas's theory is the concept of oscillation. Many neurons possess electrical activity, manifested as oscillating variations in the minute voltages across the cell membrane. On the crests of these oscillations occur larger electrical events that are the basis for neuron-to-neuron communication. Like cicadas chirping in unison, a group of neurons oscillating in phase can resonate with a distant group of neurons. This simultaneity of neuronal activity is the neurobiological root of cognition. Although the internal state that we call the mind is guided by the senses, it is also generated by the oscillations within the brain. Thus, in a certain sense, one could say that reality is not all "out there," but is a kind of virtual reality.

The Vortex

Author: Scott Carney
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062985434
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 528

Book Description
"[A] tremendous new book." —The Boston Globe "Carney and Miklian write vividly in the fashion of a cinematic disaster flick." —The Washington Post The deadliest storm in modern history ripped Pakistan in two and led the world to the brink of nuclear war when American and Soviet forces converged in the Bay of Bengal In November 1970, a storm set a collision course with the most densely populated coastline on Earth. Over the course of just a few hours, the Great Bhola Cyclone would kill 500,000 people and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war. The Vortex is the dramatic story of how that storm sparked a country to revolution. Bhola made landfall during a fragile time, when Pakistan was on the brink of a historic election. The fallout ignited a conflagration of political intrigue, corruption, violence, idealism, and bravery that played out in the lives of tens of millions of Bangladeshis. Authors Scott Carney and Jason Miklian take us deep into the story of the cyclone and its aftermath, told through the eyes of the men and women who lived through it, including the infamous president of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, and his close friend Richard Nixon; American expats Jon and Candy Rhode; soccer star-turned-soldier Hafiz Uddin Ahmad; and a young Bengali revolutionary, Mohammed Hai. Thrillingly paced and written with incredible detail, The Vortex is not just a story about the painful birth of a new nation but also a universal tale of resilience and liberation in the face of climate emergency that affects every single person on the planet.

The Vortex

Author: José Eustasio Rivera
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Detective and mystery stories
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description

The Vortex

Author: Noël Coward
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
ISBN:
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 78

Book Description
When Nicky arrives back from Paris to his London family home with new fiancée Bunty in tow, relations with his friends, family, and particularly his mother Florence seem as good as they ever were. Cracks, however, soon start appearing: Nicky has a new drug habit (and there are other hinted-at transgressions); Bunty is uncomfortable in her new role with Nicky’s friends and family; and the façade Florence is vainly putting up against her increasing age and dissatisfaction with life is starting to fail. The Vortex is an early play of Noël Coward’s, and was the first to reach large acclaim. Given the themes of drug abuse, the censors in the UK at the time nearly chose to block its staging, and even after it was passed Coward (as writer, director, and star) had trouble finding a venue. Eventually it was picked up by a small theater in north London, and after critical success and popular interest it moved to London’s West End. The play has been adapted for television, film and radio many times over the years, and is still a popular choice for theaters today. While the drug abuse and coded homosexuality has less shock value than when first performed, Nicky and Florence’s increasingly obvious difficulties in living outside the boxes created for them by society is a theme that stands the test of time. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Vortex Chronicles

Author: Elise Kova
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781949694215
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1028

Book Description
They should've never met. She's the crown princess. He's a mysterious sorcerer. But the unexpected happens when the world is ending. When Crown Princess Vi Solaris finds out she has a rare and deadly power, she must make a choice: Her magic or her throne. But the choice isn't as simple as it appears, because her magic is the key to saving the world. As her Empire falters from political infighting and a deadly plague, Vi trains in secret under a deadly sorcerer from a distant land. From his pointed ears to enchanting eyes and silver tongue, he's nothing like anyone she's ever met before. Vi knows she should fear him and his shadowed past, but he may just be the only one who really knows what's happening to her. Locked together with the fate of a dying world, Vi sets off to uncover the truth of a magic that wasn't made for mortal hands. But the ultimate triumph will require the ultimate sacrifice. Once Vi embarks on her epic journey of adventure, romance, family, and duty, there will be no turning back. This omnibus edition contains all five books in the Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles series by USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova.

The Vortex

Author: José Eustasio Rivera
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822371766
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
Published in 1924 and widely acknowledged as a major work of twentieth-century Latin American literature, José Eustasio Rivera's The Vortex follows the harrowing adventures of the young poet Arturo Cova and his lover Alicia as they flee Bogotá and head into the wild and woolly backcountry of Colombia. After being separated from Alicia, Arturo leaves the high plains for the jungle, where he witnesses firsthand the horrid conditions of those forced or tricked into tapping rubber trees. A story populated by con men, rubber barons, and the unrelenting landscape, The Vortex is both a denunciation of the sensational human-rights abuses that took place during the Amazonian rubber boom and one of the most famous renderings of the natural environment in Latin American literary history.

Vortex

Author: Robert Charles Wilson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9780765363206
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
"Vortex" tells the story of Turk Findley, the protagonist introduced in "Axis," who is transported 10,000 years into the future by the mysterious entities called "the Hypotheticals."

Escape the Vortex

Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0385386702
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Book Description
"The Alpha and Omega teams are in a race for the six essential elements that can fuse into a new source of clean energy, but the elements are scattered throughout the galaxy, and the teams are running out of time."--

The Vortex

Author: Esther Hicks
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
ISBN: 1401926665
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Book Description
AN INTERNATIONAL SENSATION FROM #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHORS OF THE LAW OF ATTRACTION, ESTHER AND JERRY HICKS A POWERFUL RELATIONSHIP BOOK TO UNDERSTAND EVERY RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED – FEATURING THE TEACHINGS OF ABRAHAM – INCLUDES A BONUS CD ON THE LAW OF ATTRACTION This motivational book uncovers a myriad of false premises that are at the heart of every uncomfortable relationship issue, and explain sthe powerful creative Vortex that has already assembled the relationships that you have desired. Abraham will show you how to enter that Vortex, where you will rendezvous with everything and everyone you have been looking for. Abraham says: “It is our desire to help you to solve the mystery of those seemingly impossible relationships; to sort out the details of joyously sharing your planet with billions of others; to rediscover the beauty of your differences; and, most of all, to reestablish the most important relationship of all: your relationship with the Eternal, Non-Physical Source that is really you. Sections of The Vortex Include: Your Vortex, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Joyous Co-creators Mating, and the Law of Attraction: The Perfect Mate – Getting One, Being One, Attracting One Sexuality, and the Law of Attraction: Sexuality, Sensuality, and the Opinions of Others Parenting, and the Law of Attraction: Creating Positive Parent/Child Relationships in a World of Contrast Self-Appreciation, and the Law of Attraction: Appreciation, the "Magical" Key to Your Vortex “Our intention here is to give you a more conscious awareness of the potential depth and breadth of the vast network of relationships that, on a practical, day-to-day basis, affect your swirling Vortex of natural Well-Being. At the hub of these teachings of Abraham is a profound concept: the basis of life is freedom; the result of life is expansion—and the purpose of life is joy. In this inspirational relationship book, Abraham focuses the light of their Broader Perspective to reveal a wide array of flawed premises (which most of us are living by) relative to our varied relationships. Esther and I are so pleased to participate in this co-creative adventure with you and with Abraham, and we look forward to the joy that you are about to receive as you play with the processes and perspectives embedded in these teachings. Love ya, Jerry Start using the Vortex to feel good about where you are now and your joyous path ahead!

The Vortex

Author: Noel Coward
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Book Description
Published in 1924, "The Vortex" is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the First World War. The son's cocaine habit is seen by many critics as a metaphor for homosexuality, then taboo in Britain. Despite, or because of, its scandalous content for the time, the play was Coward's first great commercial success.