A bold, visionary, and mind-bending exploration of how the geometry of chaos can explain our uncertain world—from weather and pandemics to quantum physics and free will Covering a breathtaking range of topics—from climate change to the foundations of quantum physics, from economic modelling to conflict prediction, from free will to consciousness and spirituality—The Primacy of Doubt takes us on a unique journey through the science of uncertainty. A key theme that unifies these seemingly unconnected topics is the geometry of chaos: the beautiful and profound fractal structures that lie at the heart of much of modern mathematics. Royal Society Research Professor Tim Palmer shows us how the geometry of chaos not only provides the means to predict the world around us, it suggests new insights into some of the most astonishing aspects of our universe and ourselves. This important and timely book helps the reader makes sense of uncertainty in a rapidly changing world.

As many critics and theorists have noted, non-pornographic films, documentaries, and quality television series have increasingly included explicit sex scenes since the 1990s, some of such scenes featuring the performance of actual sex acts. The incidence of sex in narratively powerful, resonant visual media can no longer be dismissed as a trend. What was once an aesthetic weapon in the arsenal of provocateurs is now frequently integrated seamlessly into the mise-en-scene and exposition of widely viewed and culturally significant films and television series. Intercourse in Television and Film: The Presentation of Explicit Sex Acts analyzes the aesthetic and narrative contexts for the visual media presentation of the sexual act, both those which are non-simulated and those which are explicit to that point that their simulation is brought into question by the viewer. In this book, questions involving the performance choices of actors, the framing and editing of the sex act, and the director's attempts at integrating sexuality into the overall narrative structure as well as their effects are explored.

The health of our nation is reflected in the health of our rivers. These flowing streams supply our drinking water and they sustain the biological wealth of the continent. Central to our past and vital to our future, rivers are the lifelines, yet they are constantly under siege. In Lifelines, Tim Palmer addresses the fate of our waterways. While proposals for destructive federal dams are no longer common, and some of the worst pollution has been brought under control, myriad other concerns have appeared-many of them more complex than threats of the past. Now we face increased diversion of flows, loss of riparian habitat, and pollution from toxic waste, feedlots, farms, and clearcuts. Palmer examines the alarming condition of rivers in today's world and reports on what people are doing to solve the challenging problems. In many stories of hope, he chronicles the success of citizens and government agencies working for better stewardship and pioneering new ways of caring for our waters and land. Finally, he considers what the future will hold for these critical lifelines. According to Palmer, caring for rivers as centerpieces of local ecosystems marks a hopeful starting point toward better care for the planet.

A dam proposal sparked the first great conservation battle in the United States when John Muir fought to safeguard Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Since then, people have worked to preserve free-flowing rivers from Florida to Alaska, and in doing so, they have changed the way natural resources are managed in America. In Endangered Rivers, Tim Palmer traces the growth of this movement and he chronicles the development of a national consciousness that values our rivers as lifelines for wildlife, fisheries, parks, wilderness, recreation, and communities. Based on careful research and hundreds of interviews, Palmer's information-packed narrative is regarded as a classic in the field of conservation. The first edition of this book is now updated and includes two new chapters that chart the course of conservation during the past twenty years and explore how the movement to protect rivers will likely change in the twenty-first century. This book will fascinate all who care about rivers and it will engage those who seek to understand environmental history, resources management, and the evolution of government programs in response to people's changing needs.

A bold, visionary, and mind-bending exploration of how the geometry of chaos can explain our uncertain world - from weather and pandemics to quantum physics and free will Covering a breathtaking range of topics - from climate change to the foundations of quantum physics, from economic modelling to conflict prediction, from free will to consciousness and spirituality - The Primacy of Doubt takes us on a unique journey through the science of uncertainty. A key theme that unifies these seemingly unconnected topics is the geometry of chaos: the beautiful and profound fractal structures that lie at the heart of much of modern mathematics. Royal Society Research Professor Tim Palmer shows us how the geometry of chaos not only provides the means to predict the world around us, it suggests new insights into some of the most astonishing aspects of our universe and ourselves. This important and timely book helps the reader makes sense of uncertainty in a rapidly changing world.

Artistic, intellectual, and appreciably avant-garde, the French film industry has, perhaps more than any other national cinema, been perennially at the center of international filmmaking. With its vigorous business and wide-ranging film culture, France has also been home historically to some of the most influential filmmakers and movements - and, indeed, the very first motion picture was screened in Paris in 1895.

This volume addresses the great directors and key artistic movements, but also ventures beyond these well-established films and figures, broadening the canon through an examination of many neglected but intriguing French films. Framing essays explore the salient stylistic elements, cultural contexts, and the various conceptions of cinema in France, from avant-gardes to filmmaking by women, from documentary and realism to the Tradition of Quality, as well as genres like comedy, crime film, and horror. Illustrated by screen shots, film reviews by leading international experts offer original approaches to both overlooked titles and acknowledged classics. Readers wishing to explore particular topics in greater depth will be grateful for the book's reading recommendations and comprehensive filmography.

A visually engaging journey through one of the most dynamic, variegated, and idiosyncratic film industries, "Directory of World Cinema: France "is a must-have for Francophiles and cinema savants.

The topic of predictability in weather and climate has advanced significantly in recent years, both in understanding the phenomena that affect weather and climate and in techniques used to model and forecast them. This book, first published in 2006, brings together some of the world's leading experts on predicting weather and climate. It addresses predictability from the theoretical to the practical, on timescales from days to decades. Topics such as the predictability of weather phenomena, coupled ocean-atmosphere systems and anthropogenic climate change are among those included. Ensemble systems for forecasting predictability are discussed extensively. Ed Lorenz, father of chaos theory, makes a contribution to theoretical analysis with a previously unpublished paper. This well-balanced volume will be a valuable resource for many years. High-calibre chapter authors and extensive subject coverage make it valuable to people with an interest in weather and climate forecasting and environmental science, from graduate students to researchers.

Children's comedy based on the book by comedian David Walliams. Ben (Reece Buttery) dreads staying at his gran (Julia McKenzie)'s house when his mum and dad drop him off, expecting the usual boring games of scrabble and knitting. But on his latest visit, his gran reveals a fascinating secret - that she was once a renowned jewel thief known as the 'Black Cat' - and shatters Ben's image of his boring old relative. Together they set out on a whirlwind adventure to pull off the one robbery that always eluded her, breaking into the Tower of London and stealing the crown jewels.

No other book combines the hiking-boots-on-the-ground guidance found here with spectacular photography and narratives that describe, motivate, and inspire the hiker in all of us. Featuring 100 outstanding hikes lasting from one day to several weeks, this photo-packed book is an inspirational bucket list for anyone looking to escape into America s finest areas of wild beauty and to experience both the excitement and serenity of being among the trees from armchair traveller to day hiker to experienced backpacker. America s Great Forest Trails introduces readers to 100 hikes of a lifetime, from legendary trails to some that are scarcely known. The trails included range across the country: from the ancient Appalachians and the Pacific Coast s uplift, to the Rockies, Desert Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Cascade Mountains, Olympics, and beyond to the wild terrain of Alaska and the islands of Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Readers get practical details about each trail and guidance on how to protect these special places so they remain alluring and rewarding to the generations ahead who seek both solace and adventure.

This is the first book to promote the use of stochastic, or random, processes to understand, model and predict our climate system. One of the most important applications of this technique is in the representation of comprehensive climate models of processes which, although crucial, are too small or fast to be explicitly modelled. The book shows how stochastic methods can lead to improvements in climate simulation and prediction, compared with more conventional bulk-formula parameterization procedures. Beginning with expositions of the relevant mathematical theory, the book moves on to describe numerous practical applications. It covers the complete range of time scales of climate variability, from seasonal to decadal, centennial, and millennial. With contributions from leading experts in climate physics, this book is invaluable to anyone working on climate models, including graduate students and researchers in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences, numerical weather forecasting, climate prediction, climate modelling, and climate change.

Award-winning author, naturalist, and conservationist Tim Palmer presents the world of California rivers in this practical and inspiring field guide. Loaded with tips on where to hike, fish, canoe, kayak, and raft, it offers an interpretive approach that reveals geology, plant and wild life, hydrologic processes, and other natural phenomena. Palmer reports on conservation with a perspective from decades of personal engagement. More than 150 streams are featured, 50 riparian species are illustrated, and 180 photos show the essence of CaliforniaOCOs rivers. Palmer brings a natural history guide, a recreation guide, and an introduction to river ecology together in one illuminating volume; it belongs in every river loverOCOs book collection, boat, and backpack.

This is the first book to promote the use of stochastic, or random, processes to understand, model and predict our climate system. One of the most important applications of this technique is in the representation of comprehensive climate models of processes which, although crucial, are too small or fast to be explicitly modelled. The book shows how stochastic methods can lead to improvements in climate simulation and prediction, compared with more conventional bulk-formula parameterization procedures. Beginning with expositions of the relevant mathematical theory, the book moves on to describe numerous practical applications. It covers the complete range of time scales of climate variability, from seasonal to decadal, centennial, and millennial. With contributions from leading experts in climate physics, this book is invaluable to anyone working on climate models, including graduate students and researchers in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences, numerical weather forecasting, climate prediction, climate modelling, and climate change.

First Published in 1984, this 40th Anniversary Edition of Youghiogheny is Revised and Expanded with a Beautiful New Cover Turbulent rapids and wild shorelines of the Youghiogheny River highlight natural wonders of the Appalachian Mountains, and midway on the stream’s revealing path, Ohiopyle State Park is a showcase of beauty and has become a recreational hotspot where the river thunders over its iconic falls and cascades through the wooded gorges of Pennsylvania. With deep reflection, a compelling sense of adventure, and family ties to the waterway going back many generations, author Tim Palmer wrote Youghiogheny: Appalachian River in 1984 as the essential biography of this river and region. Now, in this fortieth anniversary revised and expanded edition of his classic narrative on this special landscape and its people, he revisits the river, addresses the changes that have occurred since the book was first published, and poses the question: What will happen to this historic and cherished place?

In this magnificently illustrated book, conservationist and celebrated outdoors photographer Tim Palmer launches us on a revealing journey among the hemlock and beech trees that have for millennia towered over America's eastern woodlands. The eastern hemlock and North American beech once thrived from Maine to Georgia, casting shade on trout streams, nourishing wildlife large and small, and gracing uncounted valleys, mountainsides, parks, and backyards. These trees now face tragic decimation by exotic insects and pathogens. Palmer's photos record the splendor of the cherished hemlock and beech in the same way that pictures of iconic, historic buildings commemorate classic landmarks gone the way of the wrecking ball. And yet, as Palmer underscores in his final chapter, the lessons learned as we address the fate of these trees can help us chart a better course for all wooded landscapes in the years ahead. This story of loss, scientific inquiry, and prospective recovery is vital to understanding nature in our time. As an act of artistic preservation, a report on the science vital to the survival of these trees, and a call to action, Twilight of the Hemlocks and Beeches assures a lasting legacy for this irreplaceable forest community. With more than one hundred exquisite full-color photographs, this book is a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts, natural historians, ecologists, and all lovers of nature.