Re: OT - recommend me a book

On 2007-05-28, Deano <deano@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A popular science book to be specific. I can't think of a subject so
anything is ok I guess. I don't want something too cerebral but I don't
want to be patronised either.

Godel, Escher, Bach - Well, if you've got a couple of months you're not doing
anything with and are willing to have your brain pulled inside out and wrapped
in loops around itself, anyway. It's either madness or total genius. You decide
which.

Impossibility: The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits (John D Barrow)
Some good stuff about what we can (not very much) and can't (most things) know.
A bit dry in places, but really interesting.

Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos (Ian Stewart) - Very
accessible and interesting introduction to Chaos Theory. Some pretty pictures
too :)

Fermat's Last Theorem (Simon Singh) - pretty basic, concentrates more on the
story of how it was solved than any actual details (to be fair, if it did go
into details, the chances of more than about 10 people in the world
understanding it would be pretty remote) but Simon Singh is a good writer and
it's worth reading nonetheless.

The Mad Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos (Paul Hoffman) - Again,
more of a historical/autobiographical book than a science book per se, but the
subject is such a fascinating, brilliant character it's definitely worth
reading.

Why Don't Penguins Feet Freeze?/Does Anything Eat Wasps? (New Scientist) - If
you didn't get these in your stocking at Christmas, they're well worth seeking
out. More suited for reading on the loo than a good sit-down. A lot of fun,
though.

Chris
--
Gamertag: parm * BRING BACK BLUE SKY IN GAMES *

"Back when I was young, we had to travel back in time to put the tape in so
the game would load before we died."
.

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