4th Estate How Innovation Works Ridley Matt

‘If there is one dominant myth about the world, one huge mistake we all make … it is that we all go around assuming the world is much more of a planned place than it is.’ • From the industrial revolution and the rise of China, to urbanisation and the birth of bitcoin, Matt Ridley demolishes conventional assumptions that the great events and trends of our day are dictated by those on high. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the ground up. In this wide-ranging and erudite book, Matt Ridley brilliantly makes the case for evolution as the force that has shaped much of our culture, our minds, and that even now is shaping our future • As compelling as it is controversial, as authoritative as it is ambitious, Ridley’s deeply thought-provoking book will change the way we think about the world and how it works

What goes into creating art? How can we learn to "read" paintings? What are the key elements of composition? • If you've ever found yourself seeking the answers to the above questions and more, then this may be the book for you! An art book like no other, How Art Works uses practical graphics to demonstrate the techniques, styles, materials, and concepts that lie behind great art. It shows you how to interpret paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and reveals how art is made, laying out the key techniques and materials in visual detail. It also explains the nuts and bolts of the technical aspects behind art, such as perspective and composition, and shows how to identify major artistic styles and movements • This awe-inspiring art history book features • - Oil and watercolour painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and more • - Explains the technical aspects of visual arts including perspective, light, colour, form, and texture • - A selection of major art movements such as Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and more • - Shows how information, messages, and emotion can be conveyed through art • - Highlights key inventions and developments • Providing all you need to know to build on your artistic understanding and appreciation, this is the perfect book for art lovers of all kinds, whether you're an art student, or you're simply a lover of visual art and are looking to discover more about art but aren't sure where to begin

Have you ever listened to an incredible piece of music and wondered exactly why it makes you want to dance or cry? Are you mystified by how musicians just 'know' what notes to play next when they're improvising? Or why certain notes sound great together and others clash? • Discover the answers in this ear-opening tour of how music works. John Powell, a classically-trained composer and a physics professor, decided to write this entertaining, pain-free guide to the ingredients of music when he discovered that all the other books on the subject gave him a headache. Here he reveals the often little-known facts and fascinating science behind what we listen to, explaining the basics of harmony, scales, chords, keys and rhythm in a way that's easy for everyone to understand

This enticing introduction to art appreciation for children looks at art history, themes in art, and art techniques - from cave paintings to modern art • Children will learn to step back, think, and look at art in a new way. This fabulous book explores themes in art, including women in art and symbolism in art. Kids will be encouraged to look closely at a painting and understand why and how it was made • By tapping into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths), Art ... And How it Works helps with the understanding of colour and the materials artists use. The mathematical side of art will be highlighted and kids will learn about patterns and shapes in art • The book looks at the history of art for kids - from prehistoric paintings, Impressionism, abstract art, through to the art of today

How To Talk To Robots, is your girls guide to Artificial Intelligence. Entrepreneur Tabitha Goldstaub welcomes you into the AI world with a warm embrace. She brilliantly breaks down the tech-bro barriers offering a straightforward introduction and makes clear the enormous benefits of understanding AI • If your social feed defines your spending habits or you’ve downloaded the latest filter to see what you’ll look like when you are old or now connect with your doctor using an app, have applied for a job online or used your phone to arrive at work in record time, AI is playing a part in how you live, work and play. We live in an era where machines are taught to learn and act without human intervention and there are infinite possibilities to their applications

Understanding how Covid-19 started is more important than we know for the future of humankind • Determining whether the virus came from nature or from a lab will help us to safeguard against the next pandemic • This disease will forever punctuate modern history. It has led to the deaths of millions, sickened hundreds of millions and affected the lives of almost every person on the planet. We now know that Covid is here to stay • Genetic engineering expert Dr Alina Chan and renowned science writer Matt Ridley examine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, using their formidable skills to scrutinise arguments and rigorously analyse the sprawling data. Viral is a fascinating account that takes in pangolins, horseshoe bats, internet sleuths and misleading scientific papers

Acclaimed author Matt Ridley's thrilling follow-up to his bestseller Genome. Armed with the extraordinary new discoveries about our genes, Ridley turns his attention to the nature versus nurture debate to bring the first popular account of the roots of human behaviour • What makes us who we are? • In February 2001 it was announced that the genome contains not 100,000 genes as originally expected but only 30,000. This startling revision led some scientists to conclude that there are simply not enough human genes to account for all the different ways people behave: we must be made by nurture, not nature • Matt Ridley argues that the emerging truth is far more interesting than this myth. Nurture depends on genes, too, and genes need nurture. Genes not only predetermine the broad structure of the brain; they also absorb formative experiences, react to social cues and even run memory

Valorie Fisher explores how things work with bright, simple kid-friendly graphics so readers will fall in love with learning about the world around them • Valorie Fisher takes infographics to a new level with bright, colourful visuals that are perfect for young, inquisitive minds. Her eye-catching mix of photographs and illustrations compels readers to dive in and explore how things work — from paper airplanes to straws, crayons to kites, pencils to boats • This book will answer questions kids have long wanted answers to, and go on to answer questions they didn't even know they had! Do you know why your shadow changes shape throughout the day? Do you know how a whistle makes that trilling sound? How about why a rubber ball bounces? All of these questions and more are explained in this exciting book, the first of two in the Now You Know series

Discover an all-in-one encyclopedia that takes you on an explanatory tour of the world from your own body to outer space • Have you ever wondered how an email gets to someone on the other side of the world in just a few seconds or why it's a bad idea to stand under a tree during a thunderstorm? Discover the answers to all these questions and more with this mind-boggling how things work books for children! • Each page of this mind-blowingly detailed and ambitious encyclopedia will guide you through the natural world and the technology that surrounds you. Giant, page-filling illustrations take objects apart - or take the roofs and walls off buildings - to show you how they work, explaining both basic principles, such as photosynthesis, as well as broader concepts, like how all the living things in a rainforest interact

Take a visual journey through the world of music and learn the science behind it, too • Budding music fans will love discovering musical geniuses of every era, from Mozart and classical music to Bowie and pop, as well as finding out how music is created and what links it all together • The book looks at music throughout history, beginning with the first known melody from the Fertile Crescent and covering modern music phenomena, from K Pop to hip-hop. Instruments and genres from across the world are featured, with "playlists" of key pieces encouraging kids to look up pieces to hear for themselves. STEAM spreads delve into the psychology and math behind music, from how it affects our mood to how it can improve our minds • Covering India's Ragas, Indonesia's Gamelan, Japan's city pop, and more, this book will help children discover a love of music

Helen Russell is an expert on the pursuit of happiness. In How to Be Sad she combines her powerful personal story with surprising research and warm advice to reveal the secret of finding joy: allowing sadness to enrich your life and relationships • Timely and essential, this book is about how we can better look after ourselves and each other, simply by getting smarter about sadness