A sweeping new account of the role of power in the evolution of all life on Earth Power has many dimensions, from individual attributes such as strength and speed to the collective advantages of groups. The Evolution of Power takes readers on a breathtaking journey across history and the natural world, revealing how the concept of power unifies a vast range of phenomena in the evolution of life—and how natural selection has placed humanity and the planet itself on a trajectory of ever-increasing power. Drawing on evidence from fossils, living organisms, and contemporary society, Geerat Vermeij documents increases in power at all scales, from body size, locomotor performance, and the use of force in competition to efficiency in production and consumption within ecosystems. He shows how power—which he defines as the rate at which organisms acquire and apply energy—is tied to the emergence of cooperation, and how the modern economy, which for the first time has established a monopoly over the biosphere by a single species, is a continuation of evolutionary trends stretching back to the dawn of life. Vermeij persuasively argues that we can find solutions to the many problems arising from this extreme concentration of power by broadening our exclusively human-centered perspective. A masterful work by one of today’s most innovative and forward-thinking naturalists, The Evolution of Power offers a new understanding of our place in the grand sweep of evolutionary history.

This book uses rigorous mathematical analysis to advance opinion dynamics models for social networks in three major directions. First, a novel model is proposed to capture how a discrepancy between an individual’s private and expressed opinions can develop due to social pressures that arise in group situations or through extremists deliberately shaping public opinion. Detailed theoretical analysis of the final opinion distribution is followed by use of the model to study Asch’s seminal experiments on conformity, and the phenomenon of pluralistic ignorance. Second, the DeGroot-Friedkin model for evolution of an individual’s social power (self-confidence) is developed in a number of directions. The key result establishes that an individual’s initial social power is forgotten exponentially fast, even when the network changes over time; eventually, an individual’s social power depends only on the (changing) network structure. Last, a model for the simultaneous discussion of multiple logically interdependent topics is proposed. To ensure that a consensus across the opinions of all individuals is achieved, it turns out that the interpersonal interactions must be weaker than an individual’s introspective cognitive process for establishing logical consistency among the topics. Otherwise, the individual may experience cognitive overload and the opinion system becomes unstable. Conclusions of interest to control engineers, social scientists, and researchers from other relevant disciplines are discussed throughout the thesis with support from both social science and control literature.

Nuclear Energy and the Evolution of Fission to Fusion Power: The Role of Plasma and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Bridging Technologies by Ronald Legarski, Yash Patel, and Zoltan Csernus offers an authoritative exploration of the development and future of nuclear energy. The book traces the journey from the discovery of nuclear fission to the emerging promise of fusion power, highlighting the role of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and plasma technologies in advancing clean energy. Ronald Legarski, an expert in simplifying complex technical ideas, delves into how nuclear advancements, including SMRs and grid technologies, can revolutionize energy production. Yash Patel, an accomplished entrepreneur and trained Nuclear Engineer, contributes his extensive experience in project management and high-energy physics, providing insights into innovation and regulatory compliance in nuclear technology. Zoltan Csernus, with over 40 years of experience as a master electrician, specializes in power quality improvements and groundbreaking harmonics reduction technology, playing a key role in SMR and energy storage developments. This comprehensive guide is indispensable for energy professionals, engineers, and those looking to understand the future of nuclear power. It covers the scientific breakthroughs, reactor technologies, environmental considerations, and future prospects of nuclear energy, offering a thorough look at how fission and fusion technologies will help shape a sustainable energy future.

This is a monumental & epic work on India’s Military History. It seeks to answer the seminal question – ‘Is there an Indian Way of War-fighting and an Indian Strategic Culture?’ The author has traced the history of war-fighting in India from the Vedic & Mahabharatan period to the Mauryan & Mughal Eras and thereafter the British Period. It is a comprehensive audit of India’s combat performance in the ancient, medieval, modern and post-modern periods of Indian history. The focus of this work however, is on India’s Post-independence Military History. The author has analysed each of India’s wars with China & Pakistan as also its CI and CT campaigns in meticulous detail, to draw lessons for the future. The path-breaking contribution is the author’s thesis that there have been three local Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMAs) in India, which shaped the course & flow of her history. Each of these RMAs helped to unify India under a great Empire and transformed it from a civilisational entity to a strong empire state. The first was the Mauryan RMA of using War Elephants in mass to generate shock & awe. This politically unified the whole of India and Afghanistan for the first time. The next RMA came with the Mughals who introduced Field Artillery, Muskets and Horsed Cavalry Archers with stirrups and cross bows. The Mughal horsed cavalry and artillery helped spawn the mighty Mughal Empire. The Third RMA came with the British who raised local Infantry Battalions on the European Pattern and drilled them to shoot in disciplined rhythms, to defeat all cavalry charges. This Infantry-based RMA helped establish the British Empire in India. The present Republic is a successor entity of the British Empire. The author has traced the evolution of India’s Strategic Culture to the Arthashastra of Kautilya. The surprise finding is that in the 1971 War – India unconsciously returned to this Kautilyan paradigm of using information dominance, covert war and Shock- Action military campaigns to defeat its adversaries. In the post-independence phase he traces the evolution of India’s war-fighting from the tactical phase of 1947-1962 when India’s capacity was confined to use of 2-3 Divisions alone. The 1965 War saw the graduation to the level of Operational Art, wherein 12 Divisions and a bulk of the Indian Air Force (IAF) saw active combat. The apogee came in 1971 – when India fought a brilliant, Quasi-Total, Tri-Service Campaign that broke Pakistan into two, put 93,000 prisoners of war in the bag and for the first time after the Second World War, created a new nation state with the Force of Arms. He traces the impact of nuclearisation on South Asia and prognosticates about the Future. The time has come, he asserts, for India to create a Fourth RMA in South Asia; and decisively shape outcomes. For this, economic power must be rapidly converted into usable military power. India must field dominant war fighting capabilities in South Asia.

Volume 1 examines interrelations between sources of power from neolithic times up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England.

With the advent of mind-body medicine, it is now possible to combine the healing principles of both the medical and spiritual fields. To this end, Dr. Phil Shapiro has developed a ten-step, self-help model that he uses himself and teaches to his students and patients. After you have received your medication, surgery, or natural remedy and you are still in pain, there are a variety of psychosocial and spiritual methods that can help you manage that pain skillfully. The ten-step model described in this book is a composite of healing principles and methods extracted from the great wisdom traditions and organized into cognitive-behavioral practices. These techniques are designed to help the reader accomplish three goals: 1. Expand healing power: for body, mind, and soul 2. Become more skillful pain managers: for any pain, problem, disease, or disability 3. Evolve spiritually: feel better, become a better person, and experience higher states of consciousness To take advantage of the healing principles embedded in the religions, we need to solve the problem of toxic language and traumatic religious history. There is a way to do this. We can design healing models that serve people of all persuasions: Baptists, Sufis, ethical humanists, scientific atheists, true believers, true non-believers—all of us have the same magnificent healing power in every cell of our bodies, and we know how to make it grow. The ten steps do not declare answers to life’s big questions, such as why we are born, why there is so much suffering and evil, whether there is a God, and where we go after death. However, we can apply the wealth of healing wisdom in the great faith traditions to help us manage our pain and heal. This book is written for atheists, agnostics, religious or spiritual persons. Anyone can play in the expanded field of healing power.

This book investigates how states in both the West and Asia have responded to multi-dimensional security challenges since the end of the Cold War, focusing on military transformation. Looking at a cross-section of different countries, this volume assesses how their armed forces have responded to a changing international security context. The book investigates two main themes. First, how the process of military ‘transformation’- in terms of technological advances and new ways of conducting warfare - has impacted on the militaries of various countries. These technologies are hugely expensive and the extent to which different states can afford them, and the ability of these states to utilise these technologies, differs greatly. Second, the volume investigates the social dimensions of military transformation. It reveals the expanding breadth of tasks that contemporary armed forces have been required to address. This includes the need for military forces to work with other actors, such as non-governmental agencies and humanitarian organisations, and the ability of armed forces to fight asymmetric opponents and conduct post-conflict reconstruction tasks. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan exemplified how important the relationship between technological and social transformation has become. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, military innovation, Asian politics, security studies and International Relations.