The Wisdom of History

<p>Do the lessons passed down to us by history, lessons whose origins may lie hundreds, even thousands of years in the past, still have value for us today? Is Santayana's oft-repeated saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," merely a way to offer lip service to history as a teacher - or can we indeed learn from it? And if we can, what is it that we should be learning? In this unflinching series of 36 lectures, a world-renowned scholar makes the case that we not only can learn from history, but must. Drawing on decades of experience as a classical historian, Professor Fears explores history's patterns to conclude that ignoring them - whether by choice or because we've never learned to see them - is to risk becoming their prisoner, repeating the mistakes that have toppled leaders, nations, and empires throughout time. In this personal reflection on history, Professor Fears has taken on the challenge of extracting the past's lessons in ways that speak to us today, showing us how the experience of ancient empires such as those of Rome and Persia have much to teach us about the risks and responsibilities of being a superpower. He shows how the study of those who left their impact on an earlier world - Caesar Augustus or Genghis Khan, George Washington or Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi or Josef Stalin - can equip us to make responsible choices as nations, citizens, or individuals in a post-9/11 world where those choices are more crucial than ever.</p>

The Teaching

The Industrial Revolution

<p>From electric lights to automobiles to the appliances that make our lives easier at work and at home, we owe so much of our world to the Industrial Revolution. In this course, The Great Courses partners with the Smithsonian - one of the world's most storied and exceptional educational institutions - to examine the extraordinary events of this period and uncover the far-reaching impact of this incredible revolution. Over the course of 36 thought-provoking lectures, longtime Great Courses favorite Professor Allitt introduces you to the inventors, businessmen, and workers responsible for transforming virtually every aspect of our lives and fueling one of the greatest periods of innovation in human history.  The technological achievements of this era are nothing short of astonishing. Thanks to inventions such as the steam engine and processes such as large-scale iron smelting, industrial entrepreneurs were able to mechanize labor, which allowed for a host of new efficiencies such as division of labor, mass production, and global distribution.  You'll discover the science behind some of the most astounding inventions in modern history, including the spinning jenny, the incandescent light bulb, and the computer processor. You'll learn how these inventions came about and consider what effects these technologies had on every aspect of human life.  Get an inside look at the history of industrial innovation and explore the lives of engineers, inventors, architects, and designers responsible for changing the world - as well as ordinary workers who lost their livelihoods to new technologies and suffered from unsafe working conditions. The story of the Industrial Revolution is complex, and these lectures will leave you with a new appreciation for the amazing human achievements all around us.</p>

Patrick Allitt

There's more to colors than just aesthetics. There's an actual science behind how colors work on your eyes and your brain. And the secrets that scientists are uncovering offer astounding revelations on how colors influence the way you think, feel, and behave-often without your conscious awareness. It's an exciting time in the scientific study of how colors affect us. Thanks to recent research, we now understand more richly how our brains are affected by color. And knowing how colors affect us informs how we tap into their power to create environments and achieve a breathtaking range of visual goals. It also allows us to dodge popular myths and misconceptions about color that can easily lead businesses and companies to make costly mistakes. Consider, for example, these scientific truths about color: Black uniforms tend to increase aggression and intimidation in conflict situations. Red ties can give you an edge in confrontational negotiations, while blue ties can express a desire to collaborate. Fire trucks increasingly are painted yellow because that's the color most visible to our eyes. Aligning the right colors to products, brands, and ads can make or break a business's success. That's only a small sampling of the increasingly detailed information we have about what colors mean. And what's truly surprising: The way our eyes perceive and our brains interpret reds, greens, blues, blacks, and other colors isn't a subjective experience, but a hard-wired one. It's a profound concept-one whose ramifications extend to everything from business and advertising to politics and entertainment to your personal diet and love life. 6 Lectures 1The Meanings of Color 2The Black and White Lecture 3The Red Lecture 4The Yellow Lecture 5The Green Lecture 6The Blue Lecture

How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals (Great Courses, No. 7022)

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the The Teaching publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by The Teaching

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the The Teaching publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Wisdom of History

The Industrial Revolution

How Colors Affect You: What Science Reveals (Great Courses, No. 7022)