Science Books

[JJFinch]

I've just finished reading Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" which I thought was brilliant food for thought, and I definitely want to read some more of his books (particularly "the Extended Phenotype"). Has anyone else read it?

[JJFinch]

Since my last post I've read his books "Evolution:The Greatest Show on Earth", "The Blind Watchmaker" and "The God Delusion", which are all phenomenally brilliantly fantastic!

[MmeBergerac]

Since I'm tutoring a couple of girls in Math and Physics I got Euler's Letters to a German Princess. Now I'm reading it, I'd wish all my college teachers had done so.

[gelowo93]

I've read "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins, I can't say I enjoyed it much but I do prefer reading fiction so I'm not too surprised by that. It was definitely interesting, just not my type of book, and it doesn't help that I have a stubborn hatred of Richard Dawkins ever since one of my teachers made us watch a video of him practically every other lesson.

[xhanax315]

I recently stocked up on astronomy books for cheap. I was reading one last night and when I turned the page it changed to a completely different language. It left me mid-sentence and rambled in French for ten pages.

[Quickquill]

Originally Posted by JJFinch

Since my last post I've read his books "Evolution:The Greatest Show on Earth", "The Blind Watchmaker" and "The God Delusion", which are all phenomenally brilliantly fantastic!

I'm in the middle of "the God Delusion". I think his main problem with the concept of God is with the way the definition of God has evolved over time. Ancient pagan religions never claimed that the gods were the primal cause of everything. They were merely responsible for various parts of the natural world. Abraham's innovation in god theory was postulating a single god that was creator of the Universe. Which brings us back to the old question of where did God come from? And whence came the unformed material he used to create the world?
Assuming that I choose to believe in God, there are definitely problems with our definition of God. Perhaps he evolved somewhere outside our universe or something. Since He is "unknowable", are we sure our theory defines him/her/it accurately?

[CheddarTrek]

I second whoever suggested reading "A Brief History of Time." You can also read "A Briefer History of Time" if you desire instead.

[xhanax315]

I'm currently involved with Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Diabolical Disease. It's really interesting so far. When I purchased it from the boostore, the employee saw the title and picture and asked why I would read something like this. I'm a biologist, so I find things like this very interesting.

[Dedalus Diggle]

I heard the authors of Rabid being interviewed on the radio. I plan on reading it - er, eventually. I would recommend anything by Isaac Asimov - he worte a lot more nonfiction than fiction, and he is marvelously clear. Stephen Jay Gould's essays are really good too. More math than science are Flatland and Flatland Revisited, and I think there is a Sphereland as well - really good for understanding dimensionality.

Another favorite of mine is Godel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter. It takes you through, in a very entertaining series of chapters, how artificial intelligence can be developed from a multitude of deterministic pieces, rather much as the brain is so much more than just a bunch of neurons.

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by CheddarTrek

I second whoever suggested reading "A Brief History of Time." You can also read "A Briefer History of Time" if you desire instead.

I'm a fan, personally, of A Brief History of Nearly Everything though it's not a "serious" science book.

[Wab]

It's serious enough to win the Royal Society Prize for a general science book which has also been awarded to the likes of Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould and the EU Science Communication Prize.

[MmeBergerac]

Originally Posted by CheddarTrek

I second whoever suggested reading "A Brief History of Time." You can also read "A Briefer History of Time" if you desire instead.

I tried the Brief Story a few months ago. It was very interesting, but I didn't understand much. Most of it keeps looking more like Philosophy than Physics to me...