Will they please stop publishing great books!

Quote from nitro:

What a fantastic book:

Proust Was a Neuroscientist (Hardcover)
by Jonah Lehrer (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Proust-Was-Ne...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203182761&sr=8-1

I was thrown out of Borders not realizing it was closed I was so enthralled.

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nitro
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There is a great article in the new Seed Magazine on the relationship between music and mathematics. It is hands down the best article I have ever read on it.

If you enjoy how art and science are one and the same, I strongly recommend you read that article.

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/07/the_shape_of_music.php

nitro
 
YES grasp the essence of quantum physics like the newbie grasps trading from..


"wow gotta read this one!!!"


ROFL

(you are wasting your time, you will NEVER understand it (as it needs be understood) unless you do it on the fundie level with those who do it)
 
The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler (Hardcover)
by Thomas Hager (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Air-J...=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223245639&sr=8-8

An absolute must read. This is a well done mix of history and science, but speaking to a modern audience on modern issues. It has a similar feel to James Burke "Connections", but far more readable and interesting, imo.

Imo, this book should win the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. It should be required reading.

nitro
 
I realized that the books I keep suggesting on these pages may be a little bit too complex for people not initiated in some mathematics.

At the heart of our search for unity in the laws of the universe is the concept of Symmetry.

Long ago, a great mathematician wrote a popular book that has interesting artistic bend, and is considered a classic:

http://www.amazon.com/Symmetry-Hermann-Weyl/dp/0691023743?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173966157&sr=8-2

Read it and you will have a better feeling for the other books.

In order to understand the next level (ok, a very small slice of the next level), you need to understand Sporadic groups. There is a great popular book on the subject that should be read next. It takes some detours (some would say the detours ARE the book), but mostly keeps it's eye on the prize:

http://www.amazon.com/Symmetry-Mons...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225038371&sr=8-1

This book is fascinating on many levels. You may have heard of the "surfer dude" that posted an article on the physics archiv claiming to unify the forces of the universe (not really):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/14/scisurf114.xml

At the heart of that (and most attempts) is the sporadic group E8, which you will learn about in the Ronan book.

nitro
 
The Seven Daughters of Eve (Paperback)
by Bryan Sykes (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Daughte...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228063760&sr=8-1

Helping my daughter do her home recently, I was reading her science book and found myself at a sixth grade level of understanding in biological sciences. For example, I had no idea that "...Mitochondrial DNA is present in every cell in the body, and it remains virtually unchanged (aside from random mutations) as it passes from mother to daughter." Our Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from our mothers. That means there is a direct route to "Eve" in all of us.

I will correct this in the coming year.

Note: This book mixes science with fiction, but it does so in an obvious and interesting way, imo.
 
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