The Misconception
Автор: Owen Jones
Год издания: 0000
Megan is a psychic teen, who cannot find anyone to help her understand her powers… no-one living that is. 'The Misconception' is a short story about a young girl's growing realisation that she is able to do things that none of her family can, although some of her school friends say they have similar unusual psychic abilities. The girl's name is Megan and she is twelve years old in this, the first book. Megan has two seemingly insurmountable problems. The first is that her mother is frightened of her daughter's latent abilities and not only will not help her but actively discourages her and the second is that she cannot find a teacher to help her develop her supernatural, psychic powers. She tries to discuss them with her mother, but gets very short shrift and she does not even bother telling her father, because she knows that her mother would not approve and ultimately, Megan wants to stay on the right side of her mother. Megan feels that there is an unspoken bond between them both. Perhaps it is the bond that exists between all mothers and their daughters, but maybe it goes much deeper too. Who can tell, since Megan doesn't even know herself? All she knows is that her mother does not seem to be playing the part expected of her as the loving mother of a soon-to-be teenage daughter, who has anxieties that she wants, no, needs to discuss with someone she trusts. Megan is willing to give her mother time to get over her fear of the paranormal. She can wait and she can even put up with the horrible abuse that is metered out to her secretly without her father's knowledge. At least, she can for now. 'The Misconception' is the first of, so far, twenty-three short stories in this series about the continual enlightenment of Megan as she finds people to help her understand how best to proceed with her supernatural, spiritual and psychic development. For she has to be taught not only what it is possible to do and how to do it, but to what end she should put her special abilities. Megan is a good girl, so it would seem obvious that she would tend towards using her powers for good, but it is not always easy to do the right thing even if you know what that is. These stories about Megan will appeal to anyone who has an interest in psychic powers, the supernatural and the paranormal and is between the ages of ten and a hundred years old.
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior
Автор: John Ruscio
Год издания:
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience. Uses common myths as a vehicle for exploring how to distinguish factual from fictional claims in popular psychology Explores topics that readers will relate to, but often misunderstand, such as 'opposites attract', 'people use only 10% of their brains', and 'handwriting reveals your personality' Provides a 'mythbusting kit' for evaluating folk psychology claims in everyday life Teaches essential critical thinking skills through detailed discussions of each myth Includes over 200 additional psychological myths for readers to explore Contains an Appendix of useful Web Sites for examining psychological myths Features a postscript of remarkable psychological findings that sound like myths but that are true Engaging and accessible writing style that appeals to students and lay readers alike
Bad Medicine. Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O
Автор: Christopher Wanjek
Год издания:
"Christopher Wanjek uses a take-no-prisoners approach in debunking the outrageous nonsense being heaped on a gullible public in the name of science and medicine. Wanjek writes with clarity, humor, and humanity, and simultaneously informs and entertains." -Dr. Michael Shermer, Publisher, Skeptic magazine; monthly columnist, Scientific American; author of Why People Believe Weird Things Prehistoric humans believed cedar ashes and incantations could cure a head injury. Ancient Egyptians believed the heart was the center of thought, the liver produced blood, and the brain cooled the body. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was a big fan of bloodletting. Today, we are still plagued by countless medical myths and misconceptions. Bad Medicine sets the record straight by debunking widely held yet incorrect notions of how the body works, from cold cures to vaccination fears. Clear, accessible, and highly entertaining, Bad Medicine dispels such medical convictions as: * You only use 10% of your brain: CAT, PET, and MRI scans all prove that there are no inactive regions of the brain . . . not even during sleep. * Sitting too close to the TV causes nearsightedness: Your mother was wrong. Most likely, an already nearsighted child sits close to see better. * Eating junk food will make your face break out: Acne is caused by dead skin cells, hormones, and bacteria, not from a pizza with everything on it. * If you don't dress warmly, you'll catch a cold: Cold viruses are the true and only cause of colds. Protect yourself and the ones you love from bad medicine-the brain you save may be your own.
Misconceptions of Risk
Автор: Terje Aven
Год издания:
We all face risks in a variety of ways, as individuals, businesses and societies. The discipline of risk assessment and risk management is growing rapidly and there is an enormous drive for the implementation of risk assessment methods and risk management in organizations. There are great expectations that these tools provide suitable frameworks for obtaining high levels of performance and balance different concerns such as safety and costs. The analysis and management of risk are not straightforward. There are many challenges. The risk discipline is young and there area a number of ideas, perspectives and conceptions of risk out there. For example many analysts and researchers consider it appropriate to base their risk management policies on the use of expected values, which basically means that potential losses are multiplied with their associated consequences. However, the rationale for such a policy is questionable. A number of such common conceptions of risk are examined in the book, related to the risk concept, risk assessments, uncertainty analyses, risk perception, the precautionary principle, risk management and decision making under uncertainty. The Author discusses these concepts, their strenghts and weaknesses, and concludes that they are often better judged as misconceptions of risk than conceptions of risk. Key Features: Discusses common conceptions of risk with supporting examples. Provides recommendations and guidance to risk analysis and risk management. Relevant for all types of applications, including engineering and business. Presents the Author’s overall conclusions on the issues addressed throughout the book. All those working with risk-related problems need to understand the fundamental ideas and concepts of risk. Professionals in the field of risk, as well as researchers and graduate sutdents will benefit from this book. Policy makers and business people will also find this book of interest.
Dispelling Misconceptions About English Language Learners
Автор: Barbara Gottschalk
Год издания:
Nearly three-quarters of public schools in the United States enroll English language learners (ELLs). That means teachers at all grade levels need to know how to help these students achieve full academic English language proficiency. In Dispelling Misconceptions About English Language Learners , Barbara Gottschalk dispels 10 common misconceptions about ELLs and gives teachers the information they need to help their ELLs succeed in the classroom. From her perspective as a teacher of English as a second language, Gottschalk answers several key questions: *Just who is an English language learner? *Why is it important to support home language maintenance and promote family engagement? *What are the foundational principles for instruction that help educators teach ELLs across the content areas? *How can teachers recognize and incorporate the background knowledge and experiences ELLs bring to class? *Why is it important to maintain high standards and expectations for all students, including ELLs? *How can a teacher tell when an ELL needs special education versus special teaching? By answering these questions, and more, Gottschalk gives teachers a crystal-clear understanding of how to reach ELLs at each stage of English language acquisition. Her expert guidance reinforces for teachers what they are already doing right and helps them understand what they might need to be doing differently.