To all those who received a book from me as a Christmas present... They are due back at the library today.
This Explains Everything: Deep, Beautiful, and Elegant Theories of How the World Works by John Brockman http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-explains-everything-john-brockman/1111821250?ean=9780062230171 Bite sized science at its best. Two pages each that will dazzle you
Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology, and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics [Hardcover] Mark Buchanan (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Forecast-Phys...eywords=economics+can+learn+from+weather+book I usually browse a book before I buy it. If within half an hour of that browsing it teaches me one thing, I usually buy it. This book didn't teach me anything I didn't already know (perhaps this stuff is getting rehashed a bit). But that doesn't mean it won't teach you something.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man [Paperback] John Perkins (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-E...essions+of+an+economic+hitman+by+john+perkins "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. I should know; I was an EHM."
Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion (Vintage) [Paperback] Alain De Botton (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Religion-Athe...5350701&sr=8-1&keywords=religion+for+atheists The best book I have ever seen on the subject, and imo a must read. As I have posted on ET on numerous occassions, I do not believe in God, but I do believe in GOD. The former is the biblical God, the latter a sort of designer or guiding "hand" in the physical universe. I have no idea what GOD is, only that random physical law makes no sense to me [although in a multiverse it does but that is so far out to me.] However, I find I am moved tremedously by traditional religion. For example, very little in this world has the power over me that a Gregorian Chant does, or traditional religous music in general. I am moved by the gentleness and tolerance of many religious people. I am moved by their selflessness. I understand a buddhist monk living on a mountain away from daily distractions, the total absence of anxiety. I have an kinship with Zen and other eastern art forms. I had always though that Philosophy and Psychology could be a replacement for spirituality and religion, but it never strikes me in the same way and I realized not too late that they are complementary, not either/or. Anyway, read the book, it may allow a psychological path to fulfill in you a genuine desire in completely non-contradictory way. It may seem hypochritical, but imo it is more of an admittance that man is what corrupts religion, not the other way around.
The Golden Ticket: P, NP, and the Search for the Impossible [Hardcover] Lance Fortnow (Author) http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Ticket-Search-Impossible/dp/0691156492/ref=pd_sim_b_1 Perhaps the best elementary introduction to P=NP.
Quantum Computing since Democritus [Kindle Edition] Scott Aaronson (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Compu...92978&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+computing+since Educational, entertaining and fun to read.
A World of Chance: Betting on Religion, Games, Wall Street [Paperback] Reuven Brenner (Author), Gabrielle A. Brenner (Author), Aaron Brown (Author) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521711576...gers.com/bond-market-as-a-casino-game-part-1/ One of my favorite books of the year, and one guaranteed to be enjoyed by everyone on ET. Must read.
Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking [Hardcover] Douglas Hofstadter (Author), Emmanuel Sander (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Surfaces-Esse...TF8&qid=1370886636&sr=8-1&keywords=hofstadter Ever since reading GEB as a kid, I have read everything that Hofstadter writes and I have always been enthralled. His books are also on the "just charge my credit card and ship it" category. Wonderful and highly recommended.