BARBARA OAKLEY Explorations in mind and place
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One of the nicest things I've learned is that it's possible to bring fresh perspectives to fascinating subjects by applying knowledge from many different disciplines. I think it's as important to use the latest breakthroughs from science as it is to use real world insights.
I've gotten my real world insights by working in lots of different places and doing very different things: serving as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers up in the Bering Sea, teaching in China, going from US Army private to Regular Army Captain, and working as a radio operator at the South Pole Station in the Antarctic. (I met my husband there—I had to go to the end of the earth to meet that man!) I'm very excited about my next book: A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel in Math and Science (Even if You Flunked Algebra), to be published by Tarcher-Penguin in 2014. This book is intended for college and high school students, to give insights based on neuroscience about how to learn math and science more easily and with less frustration. It features insights from many of the world's leading scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, and from my own decades of teaching in math and science. A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) through Coursera based on the book is also in development. And did I mention A Mind for Numbers also features zombies? Latest news--I was happy to win the 2013 Oakland University Teaching Excellence Award! 
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