RE: Whats your favourite book and why?
November 20, 2016 at 6:35 pm
(This post was last modified: November 20, 2016 at 6:52 pm by Alex K.)
Oof, choosing one is difficult. Those who follow my comments here know that I do not read a lot of fiction.
The book of fiction that I think about most often because of its philosophical angle is probably "Solaris" by Lem. The whole idea of humanity utterly failing to even find a way to think about the thoughts of, let alone understand the seemingly bizarre behavior of a superior intelligence, is very fascinating, add to that the setting, it's great.
The non-fic book that left the strongest impression in recent years would be Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. It's a unique travelogue mainly through 1830s south america, the atlantic and galapagos, and we follow the thoughts of still unknown budding young naturalist CD on his grand tour, as the idea of evolution begins to dawn on him, but long before he actually understands it. Lots of wry comments about how to cook various animals.
When it comes to actual scientific books, John Bell's collection Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics is a contender. It's a seminal work. One of the (to the public) virtually unknown Giants of 20th century physics, manages to clarifiy the essential nature of quantum theory in just a handful of classic, comparably simple arguments.
It's a bit of a shlep tbh
He bases his arguments on a gazillion geometric constructions and uses, for today's standards, unusual nomenclature, and that makes it difficult to read. He should have used Leibnitz calculus
The book of fiction that I think about most often because of its philosophical angle is probably "Solaris" by Lem. The whole idea of humanity utterly failing to even find a way to think about the thoughts of, let alone understand the seemingly bizarre behavior of a superior intelligence, is very fascinating, add to that the setting, it's great.
The non-fic book that left the strongest impression in recent years would be Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. It's a unique travelogue mainly through 1830s south america, the atlantic and galapagos, and we follow the thoughts of still unknown budding young naturalist CD on his grand tour, as the idea of evolution begins to dawn on him, but long before he actually understands it. Lots of wry comments about how to cook various animals.
When it comes to actual scientific books, John Bell's collection Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics is a contender. It's a seminal work. One of the (to the public) virtually unknown Giants of 20th century physics, manages to clarifiy the essential nature of quantum theory in just a handful of classic, comparably simple arguments.
(November 2, 2016 at 5:32 pm)ApeNotKillApe Wrote: Never actually read it, but 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy' by Newton.
It's a bit of a shlep tbh
He bases his arguments on a gazillion geometric constructions and uses, for today's standards, unusual nomenclature, and that makes it difficult to read. He should have used Leibnitz calculus
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
