Schrodinger's Kittens and the serach for Reality

John Cribbin explores the strange quantum world in a way that makes you feel you might just be able to understand it. At any rate you will enjoy the stories and explanations.

The kittens of the title are the metaphorical offspring of the famous though experimental cat who is both alive and dead at the same time. The book outlines some of the possibilities opened up by the consequences of the science - and how some of them have turned out to be true.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Bought for me as a Christmas present and I couldn't put it down.

Many others have written far more eloquently than me on this book - but I will add that it really does shed light on why the little things in life do matter!

In the blink of an eye: how vision kick-started the big bang of evolution

Andrew Parker gives a decryption of the Cambrian Explosion in evolutionary history and makes a very good argument that it was the evolution of vision that kick-started it.

How to dunk a Doughnut

A very entertaining book that looks at the science behind such things as how to boil the perfect egg, catch a ball, the physics of sex and why some vegetables absorb more gravy than others.

A Devil's Chaplain

A diverse collection of Dawkins essays from over 25 years covering a wide range of topics. A very good introduction to some of the underlyig themes that have enlightened hs work.

Fast Food Nation

You will never feel the same again when you eat one of the fast food meals after reading this book.

And the really disturbing thing is that the book explains why the food tastes so good and you do want to eat it (despite what is in it and what it is doing to you and the planet)

The Blank Slate

A seminal work on the Nature vs Nurture debate, that actually comes out to say it is around 50:50 but with much more nature than most would be prepared to admit.

Numerous examples from various studies to illustrate his points that challenge 'modern' thinking that we are all equal - we are not. On the other hand that doesn't mean we don't all have something to bring to society.

The Mind Made Flesh

A collection of Nicholas Humphrey's essays on the evolution of the mind touches on a wide range of apparently unrelated themes but his style serves to make each of them entertaining and enlightening.

A good book to read on a long journey.

Get Anyone to do Anything

A rather overhyped superficial book that summarises the work of others rather than offering much that is original. Nonetheless, it does offer insights into approaches that will bring results (most of the time) in certain situations.

Why do buses come in threes?

An enjoyable light read that opens the lid on teh mathematics of everyday life.

One of the examples - which is the best day of the week to buy a lottery ticket for a Saturday lottery?
The answer is Friday - if you buy it earlier in the week you are more likey to be run over by a car (1 in 10m) before you can collect your prize (1 in 14m)!

Sex, Drink and Fast Cars - The creation and consumption of images

Stephen Bayley explores the meaning of cars and looks at how these meanings are exploited by designers, advertisers and marketeers.

He looks at how the designs and associated meanings have evolved over the years.

I guarantee you will never look at the other cars in the traffic jam in the same way after reading thi sbook.

Fermat's Last Theorem

Simon Singh writes more of a history of a mathematical puzzle than about the puzzle itself (though he does explain that too in a clear and understandable way)

Unweaving the Rainbow

Richard Dawkins sets out in this book to arge that understanding the origin and evolution of life doesn't mean you have to wonder at it any less.

In fact he makes a very good argument for wondering at the beauty of it even more.

Designing Feedback

A rather obscure book, that focusses in just on the design of management performance measures. You might think you already know all there is to know on teh subject but I am confident that everyone will find something new in here.

In summary the messages are:
Measures should have their origins in customer needs
Measures should provide feedback to all those in the organisation who can make a difference
Measures need to be balanced and appropriate to the level of their audience
Report performance trends as well as externally benchmarked absolute results

How the Mind Works

Steven Pinker explains what the mind is, how it evolved and how it allows us to see, feel, interact and ponder the mysteries of life (such as what the mind is)

A thoughtful and provocative book.

Brainchildren

A broad range of essays from Dennett. Perhaps not teh best introduction to this great thinker but if you have enjoyed his other works then you will also like this too.

He explores can machines think, what would need to be different if they were to think, and what might such developments look like.

The Origins of Virtue

Matt Ridley explores how despite being constructed by 'selfish genes' we are built to be social, trustworthy and co-operative.

Why did virture come about?

How to Write Sales Letters That Sell

I got hold of this book years ago but that doesn't diminish its value. The lessons I learnt here have stuck with me though writing all sorts of documenst that need to get someones attention (and even more importantly get them to DO SOMETHING)

This link is to a newer edition

Kinds of Minds

Daniel Dennett explores what we know, what we don't know, and what we will probably never know about human and animal minds.

What makes human minds different from those of animals and how did our cognitive process machine evolve to the stage it is now?

I want you to cheat

A fight for common sense and against slavishly following quality 'systems'

Our own worst enemy

A study of human behaviour and how the traits that evolved over millions of years as vital for our survival in the African savannah are causing us great difficulties in modern life.

River out of Eden

Richard Dawkins gives a very readable account, as ever, of some rather abstract issues within evolutionary biology.

How we are all much more closely related to each other than some might care to think. The river of the title is the mitocondrial DNA that flows through teh generations on the maternal side.

How evolution actually works, how it has no purpose and doesn't necessarily select the 'best' organisms, just the best in the environment at the time (on average). In esscence how a blind, simple process of random mutation combined with selective reproduction can explain the wonderful diversity of life we see around us today.

Consciousness Explained

Daniel Dennett explores various models of consciousness, the strengths and weknesses of each before moving onto the philosophical conundrums that consciousness throws up.

As always his entertaining literary style makes a book on possibly a technically difficult subject a pleasure to read.

Dawn of a new Millennium

A summary of the chief issues viewed as facing humanity at the turn of the century and how our evolutionary design (as an ape for the African savanna) doesn't equip us very well for them.

Does God Play Dice

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.