The Great Courses
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
If the human brain is the result of evolutionary processes, then many shared psychological traits must have adaptive advantages. Explore this intriguing view, known as evolutionary psychology. See how it can be illustrated by a simple logic problem, which perplexes most people until they tap into their innate skill for detecting cheaters.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
Begin the first of three lectures on winter weather by pinning down the cause of ice storms, which are beautiful but also dangerous and destructive. Professor Snodgrass demonstrates how supercooled water is the source of the freezing rain behind these perilous storms.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 4
Language
English
Description
See how events that began in revolutionary Paris inspired the expressive content of Haydn's Mass in the Time of War. Delve into the dramatic unfolding of the French Revolution, the subsequent rise of Napoleon, and the impending threat his war machine posed to Vienna. Hear the dramatic, martial character of Haydn's mass as a triumphant musical exhortation to victory against Napoleon's army.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
The mountainside complex of Machu Picchu was a royal estate of Pachacuti, the 9th Inca. Walk the site, entering at the Sun Gate, and explore the causeways, terraces, and many rooms of undetermined function. Study the solar-aligned Torreon and other astronomical structures of the site, and their significance in Inca cosmology.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 20
Language
English
Description
From the American dust bowl of the 1930s to the relentless expansion of the Sahara in Africa, drought represents severe weather that can stretch out for years. Explore what's going on in the atmosphere to create extreme drought, which is associated with heat waves and dust storms.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
To capture a moment, you have to be ready. Mr. Block shares how he stays prepared as he walks you through various ways to approach people and produce pictures with impact, including going for less obvious shots and photographing from different angles. Learn how to find the "right" image once you return home.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Contemplate one of the most mesmerizing sculptures in the world. Beyond the emotional expressiveness, the writhing snakes, and the doomed children, "Laocoön" has a complicated history that reflects its importance and its genius. As a hallmark of Hellenistic art, the beauty of this piece lies not only in its composition, but in its many interpretations.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
Explore the 19th-century Hungarian nationalist movement, highlighting the revolutionary initiatives of Lajos Kossuth, icon of the 1848 revolt against Austrian domination. Witness how Brahms's meeting with the Hungarian refugee and violinist Eduard Reményi ignited the composer's longtime love affair with Hungarian gypsy music, epitomized in the electrifying finale to his G Minor Piano Quartet.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
In his two overtly Arthurian operas, observe how Richard Wagner adapted and modified the Arthurian legend to dramatize social and religious ideals, linking these ideals with Germany itself. On our own shores, grasp how Mark Twain satirized the saga in Connecticut Yankee, critiquing both European aristocracy and American society.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 10
Language
English
Description
What does a sustainable economy look like? Take an in-depth look at the core concepts necessary for an economy that meets people's material needs while respecting the hierarchy of sustainability and working in service to humanity and nature. Such ideas include a steady state economy and the movement for degrowth.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Language
English
Description
While there are an infinite number of exercise strategies to choose from, only a few are scientifically proven to help you lose body fat. New studies examining the effects of exercise at the cellular level reveal the value of adding specific types of resistance training to any long-term fitness regime.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
Think about what constitutes good teaching, and look at the ways teachers teach in the U.S., Finland, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Begin your comparison by looking at some of the school factors that influence teaching, including how teachers are trained and the degree to which they routinely collaborate.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Continue touring the site at Qumran, with a focus on three distinctive features of the settlement. These are animal bones found in pots; an elaborate water system that channeled flash floods into pools used for ritual bathing; and a vast cemetery containing more than 1,000 graves.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Probe the ongoing research into the effects of musical training on the microstructure of the brain, which points to cognitive benefits in areas such as speech processing. Focus on how learning to play a musical instrument influences language acquisition and reading ability in children.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Language
English
Description
Trace Beethoven's increasing animosity toward the French, and observe the unfolding debacle of Napoleon's Peninsular War against Portugal and Spain. Learn how Beethoven came to compose Wellington's Victory, celebrating the British commander's triumph over the French at Vitoria, which was both a phenomenal success for Beethoven and a major aberration in his musical output.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Why does emotion emerge in mammalian evolution and what role does the emotion of awe play in human development? Dr. Dacher Keltner takes you on an exploration of what scientists have discovered about the cross-cultural universality of awe and its physical, mental, and social benefits - and specific ways in which you can experience awe more often in your own life.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Clustering is a powerful way to discover new relationships in data by sorting it into groups, called clusters. Explore this family of techniques by searching for clusters in the Million Song Dataset. Then try other examples that show the exceptional flexibility of clustering.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
At the end of his career, Shakespeare developed the form of drama known as his Late Romances. Here, learn how The Tempest exemplifies the three-part structure of the Romances, as the magical figure Prospero 'stages' a series of trials for the shipwrecked characters, leading them through suffering to ultimate reconciliation.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Advancements in modern robotics have made robots useful, safe, reliable, easy to use, and affordable to have in our homes. So how exactly do different home robots-such as vacuum cleaners like Roomba, gutter cleaners like Looj, and lawn mowers like MowBot-adjust to the unique demands of their respective tasks?
20) Big Data: How Data Analytics Is Transforming the World: Data Compression and Recommendation Systems
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
Data compression is crucial for storing and transmitting digital images at a fraction of their original size. See how compression also improves online recommendations, as shown by the Netflix million dollar competition, which led to a new algorithm for personalized recommendations.
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