tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post6005436364065650556..comments2024-01-10T17:36:15.040-07:00Comments on The Lippard Blog: Science booksLippardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-40794516399753487102008-08-29T10:37:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:37:00.000-07:00I just remembered that Discover did a list of top ...I just remembered that Discover did <A HREF="http://discovermagazine.com/2006/dec/25-greatest-science-books/" REL="nofollow">a list</A> of top science books about year and a half ago.Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-4128395215424912902008-08-28T21:07:00.000-07:002008-08-28T21:07:00.000-07:00Here are my additions to the list (some are alread...Here are my additions to the list (some are already listed by PZ):<BR/><BR/>Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner<BR/>Chance in the House of Fate by Jennifer Ackerman<BR/>Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner<BR/>Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond<BR/>Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees<BR/>Reinventing Darwin by Niles Eldredge<BR/>The Dinosaur Heresies by Robert Bakker<BR/>The God Particle by Leon LedermanDanny Boy, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05188779170739251410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-81033775911800077892008-08-28T19:57:00.000-07:002008-08-28T19:57:00.000-07:00Added to my wish list. Thanks!Added to my wish list. Thanks!Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-54119143304812938882008-08-28T15:35:00.000-07:002008-08-28T15:35:00.000-07:00D'oh! I forgot to mention The Scientists. And I ev...D'oh! I forgot to mention <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Scientists-History-Science-Greatest-Inventors/dp/1400060133" REL="nofollow">The Scientists</A>. And I even made that my Book of the Year for 2007 (that being the best Doubter related book I read during the course of the year.)Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-2769334363629843212008-08-28T15:22:00.000-07:002008-08-28T15:22:00.000-07:00I was in the library today to return a book and co...I was in the library today to return a book and could not resist checking out a copy of Zimmer's Microcosm that was featured on the New Books shelf.<BR/><BR/>I also noticed that my library has a new service that allows you do check out on-line editions of books which you can then burn onto cds. I'm hoping they eventually get plenty of public domains books available this way. I jogged my way through Plato's Republic on my IPod earlier this year.Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-42912725757345444062008-08-28T14:02:00.000-07:002008-08-28T14:02:00.000-07:00I picked up Soul Made Flesh again. I'm six chapte...I picked up Soul Made Flesh again. I'm six chapters in, and came across this sentence that I'm not happy with: "Boyle was impressed by the way that a dead man's nails could keep growing for months, long after the rational soul had left his body." (p. 144)<BR/><BR/>Sure, that's what Boyle *thought* he was seeing, but Zimmer doesn't note that <A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/blog/lastword/2007/06/life-after-death.html" REL="nofollow">this is a myth.</A>Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-53799320123135508922008-08-28T12:20:00.000-07:002008-08-28T12:20:00.000-07:00It's amazing how quickly that stuff goes. I aced m...It's amazing how quickly that stuff goes. I aced my first semester of calculus a couple years ago (I even helped proofread a few chapters of <A HREF="http://www.hardycalculus.com/CalculusBook/CalculusBook.html" REL="nofollow">this text</A>) but I'd be lucky if I could find the limit of a function today.Einzigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06406227217230727209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-81675564904200650882008-08-28T11:19:00.000-07:002008-08-28T11:19:00.000-07:00college intro level physics, of course.college intro level physics, of course.Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-39785184361661155122008-08-28T11:18:00.000-07:002008-08-28T11:18:00.000-07:00I mispoke about Road to Reality. I should have sai...I mispoke about Road to Reality. I should have said "demanding" rather than "engaging." The book has practice problems in it to help you learn the math and science - I had planned on working out the problems - graded easy, intermediate, and difficult. They all seemed fairly difficult to me despite having once been decent at calculus based physics.Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-34100860507094839592008-08-27T17:08:00.000-07:002008-08-27T17:08:00.000-07:00Soul Made Flesh, like Zimmer's other books, is wel...Soul Made Flesh, like Zimmer's other books, is well written and very engaging. As for the list, I think I've read only seven. Shameful, I know.Danny Boy, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05188779170739251410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-81692086472374883542008-08-27T15:10:00.000-07:002008-08-27T15:10:00.000-07:00I've not had a chance to read any more of Soul Mad...I've not had a chance to read any more of Soul Made Flesh since I started it during my vacation, but so far it's been excellent. I think I'm about four or five chapters in.Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-45059892183532445262008-08-27T13:22:00.000-07:002008-08-27T13:22:00.000-07:00I've got a gorgeous Barnes and Noble HC edition of...I've got a gorgeous Barnes and Noble HC edition of all five of Darwin's books that I've been meaning to read but haven't gotten around to yet ... I'm pretty sure I read Voyage of the Beagle in the 7th grade and did a report on it but I'm not sure.<BR/><BR/>Another book I'd add to the list is The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose. I started reading it last year and had to stop because the material was too engaging for me to do the usual 3-4 books at a time deal.<BR/><BR/>When I post this I think I'm going to add some more philosophy of science books in, too.<BR/><BR/>How has Soul Made Flesh been? I've wanted to read that for years now.Hume's Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551684109760430351noreply@blogger.com