A good introductory text on chaos theory and the mathematics of unpredictability.
The book follows the thread of the historical development of the theories and gives numerous real-life examples of studies where apparently complex or random behaviour can be modelled by beautifully simple equations.
Friday, 1 June 1990
Wednesday, 1 June 1988
The Blind Watchmaker
Richard Dawkins seminal work on the way evolution operates blindly with no purpose and creates the wonderful incredibly diverse world we see around us.
If you read no other book by Dawkins (and many of his later works tend to become more polemical) then you should read this one.
If you read no other book by Dawkins (and many of his later works tend to become more polemical) then you should read this one.
Monday, 1 June 1987
Metamagical Themas
Douglas Hofstader develops his ideas further from Godel, Escher and Bach in this book.
Again he starts from the strange philosphical twists and turns one discovers in self-referential systems and the essays take you on a wonderful 'Alice in Wonderland' journey.
Again he starts from the strange philosphical twists and turns one discovers in self-referential systems and the essays take you on a wonderful 'Alice in Wonderland' journey.
Sunday, 1 June 1986
The Mind's I
What is the mind?, Who am I?, Can Machines think?
A book that is a series of essays and studies on consciousness and what does it mean when I talk about I. Written as a series of self contained chapters that make it ideal to dip in and out of.
Includes the famous essay on What is it like to be a bat and reflections on the interpretation of said essay., amongst many others.
Despite it's age, a fine book and a good introduction to questions of philosophy and consciousness.
A book that is a series of essays and studies on consciousness and what does it mean when I talk about I. Written as a series of self contained chapters that make it ideal to dip in and out of.
Includes the famous essay on What is it like to be a bat and reflections on the interpretation of said essay., amongst many others.
Despite it's age, a fine book and a good introduction to questions of philosophy and consciousness.
Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal Golden Braid
A book I read many years ago but that started me off on my journey of discovery about consciousness and philosophy. First published in 1979 but still as fresh and relevant today.
Douglas Hofstadter attempts to explore how consciouness can arise in inanimate matter (our brains). Written in the style of Lewis Carol there are actually three books entwined within each other.
Godel: who wrote on the theorem of incompleteness of any logically consistent mathematical system and explored such paradoxes as the liars paraodx - "This statement is false"
Escher: who drew wonderfull self-referential etchings
Bach: who investigated canons and fugues (tunes that are played against themsleves such as three blind mice)
Throughout the book he explores strange loops - where successive jumps up (or down) heirarchical levels eventually bring you back to what appears to be where you started.
If all this doesn't make your head hurt but rather piques your interest then I strongly urge you to read the book, after all it could be the start of a wonderful journey down a rabbit hole from which you might (or might not) reappear.
Note: I own an earlier edition of this book
Douglas Hofstadter attempts to explore how consciouness can arise in inanimate matter (our brains). Written in the style of Lewis Carol there are actually three books entwined within each other.
Godel: who wrote on the theorem of incompleteness of any logically consistent mathematical system and explored such paradoxes as the liars paraodx - "This statement is false"
Escher: who drew wonderfull self-referential etchings
Bach: who investigated canons and fugues (tunes that are played against themsleves such as three blind mice)
Throughout the book he explores strange loops - where successive jumps up (or down) heirarchical levels eventually bring you back to what appears to be where you started.
If all this doesn't make your head hurt but rather piques your interest then I strongly urge you to read the book, after all it could be the start of a wonderful journey down a rabbit hole from which you might (or might not) reappear.
Note: I own an earlier edition of this book
Wednesday, 25 December 1985
Which book of plumbing and central heating
A little outdated now but all you need to know about your plumbing and central heating is here. I received it as a Christmas gift many years ago an dit still deserves a place on my bookshelf (though I must admit I can't remember the last time I actually looked at it)
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