Recommended Science Books (updated)
Offline As freethinkers we can't accept the "God did it" explanation for nature's wonders. Thus, a decent knowledge of science is essential to appreciate the world for what it really is. Many people dislike science because of badly written school-books or onboxious teachers. I think that is truly sad... Here is a short list of my favorite scientific books:
Collins Petersen, Carolyn (an accomplished astronomy writer and researcher)
Visions of the Cosmos
Darwin, Charles (the man who got us a plausible explanation for the complexity of life):
The Origin of Species
The Descent of Man
Dawkins, Richard (there is another thread about him):
The Selfish Gene
The Blind Watchmaker
Unweaving the Rainbow
Richard Feynman (one of the most influential physicists):
Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein’s Relativity, Symmetry and Space-Time
Hawking, Stephen (the well-known physicist):
A Briefer History of Time
The Universe in a Nutshell
Pinker, Steven (a leading psychologist):
How the Mind Works
Sagan, Carl (the late great astronomer and skeptic):
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Smolin, Lee (another great theoretical physicist):
The Life of the Cosmos
Three Roads to Quantum Gravity
Most (if not all) of those scientists are atheists. As Steven Weinberg has said, "teaching of modern science is corrosive of religious belief".
I am an Information and Communications Technology student myself and know how boring science can be, but I promise that these books are compelling. These people (especially Dawkins) know how to write an interesting book.
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ooh, i actually have some of these books. amazing reads. but i havent read all of them. so i guess i have to get the ones i dont have. thanks for the suggestions.
Id also suggest anyone who likes Carl Sagan's books to buy the Cosmo videos.
what are the cosmo videos?
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene is really, really good and really, really interesting and not super hard to understand. I recommend that. I don't do much reading into science but I bought an introduction book on Quantam Physics and Chaos which are also pretty good.
i am not great at science either. I mean, i like it alot, but i need time to proccess some of the info sometimes, i think it might just be laziness actually. lol. but i will definately check into that.
Well, it comes in DVD form too, both of which I own so you can check out either one I suppose!
ofcourse i will, how much are they?
are they cheap on amazon?
Umm... I'm sure they are regular book and DVD prices. I would estimate you can get both for under $40 or $50.
By the way, once you're done reading and watching and all, let me know what you think of it.
ok, it may take a while, i am stuffed with school. i am always busy. so dont expect me to finish reading them soon, however i did add them to my list.
Science?
We even talking about the same thing?
I'm one of those people who finds it immensly interesting but that's just me.
-There is no sin save faith
if you are good at science, check out the homework help section in the forums.
Most of those books aren't that hard to understand... just try them :)
The Cosmos series by Carl Sagan is a fabulous journey through many subjects of science (mostly astronomy and evolution)...
here is the first episode:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5136506065534776449
I was never one who was too big for astronomy. It is cool and all. buuuut just not my cup o` tea. but i will still check it out
Astronomy as in constellations or astronomy as in origins of the universe?
astronomy as in constellations
Agreed!
ha agreed on what? i think the whole origins of the universe thing is cool, but i doubt we will know for a long time if any
The Cosmos series is about astronomy as a little bit of both, read [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage]this[/url] for more details.
oh i understand it now. thanks
By agreed I meant that I'm more into the origins of the universe than the constellations. My bad haha
oh i see, have you read anything by hermann hesse?
No sir, what should I look into?
You should read, Siddhartha, Demian, Steppenwolf, and Narcissus and Goldmund . all by hermann hesse. he is amazing. siddhartha is the best
Basically anything by Dawkins is pure genius. I've never been so enlightened in my life.
I remember this from Enviro Science:
1. All Organisms produce more offspring than can possibly surive.
2. The enivroment contains that kill organisms.
3. All organisms vary and differ in traits.
4. Organisms with trait that give an advantage, tend to surive longer and produce more offspring.
5. Indivuals with these advantgeous traits pass them to their offspring.
it was Darwins Natural Selection Law, I think.
I added some new books I got, from Richard Feynman and Carolyn Collins Petersen.
Gotta rep this, it's the last book I've read and a real page-turner! I couldn't put it down, gotta rip off the publisher's website on it here for people to check out. Let's talk about some of the exciting theories discussed in this book...anyone else read it yet?
THE SCIENCE OF EVOLUTION
AND
THE MYTH OF CREATIONISM:
KNOWING WHAT'S REAL - AND WHY IT MATTERS
by Ardea Skybreak
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In today's world, without the science of evolution there would be no science. Written for both the scientifically-minded as well as those who are not familiar with science at all, this book details the facts of the science of evolution. In one engrossing volume Ardea Skybreak looks at the diversity and complexity of life on this planet and how all life, including humans, evolved. She examines the many different lines of mutually reinforcing evidence that support and confirm the biological theory of evolution. At the same time, Skybreak dissects the myth of Creationism and the lies behind the thinly-veiled religiosity of Intelligent Design. There's urgency in this book. It comes at a time when evolution–and the very definition of science–is under concerted attack by religious fundamentalists, with backing from the highest levels of government. The reader will come away with a deepened appreciation of the beauty and wonders of nature, as well as an understanding of the basic scientific facts of evolution and a clear sense of why science and a scientific method make it possible to determine what's real–and why knowing what's real profoundly matters.
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I'd suggest some of Michael Shermer's books, like "Why People Believe in Weird Things." Skepticism is always a good thing, even when it's not directed squarely at theistic beliefs... Though it's easy to argue how things like UFOs and alternative medicine are very much linked or like theism.
Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct is good.
I think anything written by Carl Sagan should be on this list, but that's just me. Also, I know its not actually about science, but what about The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. I like it a lot. I also like Bad Astronomy, by Phil Plait, who debunks a lot of goofy claims about astronomy, and second whoever said we should add The Elegant Universe to this list. That is an awesome book (though the later chapters do get a bit... weird).
Cheers!
Kovash Tau'va!
per ardua ad astra
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
-Salvor Hardin, Foundation