Award-winning features writer Bryan Appleyard draws on past interviews and research to examine today's IT cloud, or "the various networked devices that have insinuated their ways into our daily lives".
A gadget man himself, he isn't advocating binning your iPad but rather, warns against oversimplifying oneself in order to fit within the limitations of today's technology.
"On the one hand, they [new technologies] seduce us, we want them to contain, include and involve us; on the other hand, they demand that we become more 'machine readable'." He cites phone trees, the automated systems that when calling an organisation, only ever seem to offer ill-fitting options.
The title The Brain is Wider than the Sky borrows from the Emily Dickinson poem, which celebrates the infinite capaciousness of the brain. In the tradition of limitlessness, Appleyard allows his train of thought to wander from scientific studies to the arts to popular culture, picking out examples that demonstrate our unrelenting complexity.
His skill lies in his ability to present each topic as equally accessible, while driving the point home that we are bigger than our Facebook status.
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Jawan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
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