B U R E A U O F P U B L I C S E C R E T S |
Most of the works recommended here are not very difficult or technical. They should be understandable even if you have little science background.
Tobias Dantzig, Number, the Language of Science
[1954]
Good introductory
exposition of the nature and development of mathematics.
E.T. Bell, Men of Mathematics
[1937]
Short biographies of the greatest mathematicians of the past.
James R. Newman (ed.), The World of Mathematics (4 vols.)
[1956]
Excellent collection of the literature of mathematics over the ages —
articles on different areas of mathematics, historical vignettes, biographical
sketches, philosophical ramifications. Most of the pieces assume some elementary
mathematical awareness, but not much more.
Clifton Fadiman (ed.), Fantasia Mathematica; The Mathematical Magpie
[1958, 1962]
Two lighter collections of essays, short stories, humor, fantasy,
puzzles, etc., selected by the well-known literary critic.
Martin Gardner, Aha! Insight; Aha! Gotcha
[1978, 1982]
Gardner is well known for his numerous
collections of mathematical games and
puzzles drawn from his Scientific American columns. Those
collections may
sometimes be a bit too specialized for nonmath people, but the two Aha!
books are easily understandable by anybody. They require no
mathematical background, only an open and alert mind.
Raymond Smullyan, What Is the Name of This Book?
[1978]
Smullyan is a magician, a musician, a mathematician, a logician, and a
delightful writer. What Is the Name of This Book? is a
series of logical puzzles and
paradoxes in various fantasy settings (e.g. an island where
some people always tell the truth and others always lie).
If you like it, you will also
enjoy his Alice’s Adventures in Puzzleland and The Riddle of Scheherazade. Smullyan
has written several other similar books, though some of them get rather difficult
toward the end. If you are a chess player, try his The Chess Mysteries of
Sherlock Holmes.
Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach
[1979]
If you like Smullyan, this immense “metaphysical
fugue . . . in the spirit of Lewis Carroll” offers much more about similar and
related topics, examined with a similarly wry humor, including delightful
dialogical interludes by Achilles and the Tortoise dramatizing the ramifications
of infinity, self-reference paradoxes, etc., as well as their connections with
computers and the mind.
Edwin Abbott, Flatland
[1885]
A popular Victorian-era story about a visit to a world that has two
dimensions instead of three.
Ian Stewart, Flatterland
[2001]
A lively sequel to the above,
traversing the wildest concepts of modern
mathematics — topology, fractals, multiple dimensions, etc.
Martin Gardner, The Relativity Explosion
[1976]
There have been several popular introductions to relativity, including one by
Einstein himself and another by Bertrand Russell, but Gardner’s is probably the best.
Heinz Pagels, The Cosmic Code
[1982]
Of the many recent books that attempt to explain quantum physics to the
layperson, this is one of the best.
Richard Feynman [1918-1988]
Besides being a
renowned physicist, Richard Feynman was an amusing character and
a delightful writer. There are numerous collections of his popular lectures
(many on videotape as well as in print form). Six
Easy Pieces is the most accessible; some of the others may be rather challenging
if you are not already pretty familiar with science and math. His two autobiographical
volumes — “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” and “What Do You
Care What Other People Think?” — can be understood and enjoyed by anyone.
Stephen Hawking,
A Brief History of Time [1988]
Recent findings and speculations on the cutting edge of physics and
cosmology, from the Big Bang to black holes.
There are several books about Hawking and his ideas, partly due to the
significance of his work, partly due to the intriguing fact that he has
accomplished it despite being almost totally paralyzed.
Timothy Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way
[1988]
An excellent survey of the progressive broadening of humanity’s conceptions
of the universe.
Timothy Ferris, Galaxies
[1982]
The history, nature, forms and varieties of galaxies, illustrated with 143
superb photos. The latter make this a fine coffee-table book.
Incidentally, here are two
excellent online sources of astronomy photos:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod (presents a new photo
each day, with brief commentary) and http://hubblesite.org/gallery
(has lots of new photos from the Hubble telescope).
Isaac Asimov
Asimov has written dozens of excellent books on physics and astronomy —
Understanding Physics, Asimov on Physics, Asimov on Astronomy, Asimov’s Guide to
Earth and Space, The Universe: From Flat Earth to Quasar, Exploring the Earth
and the Cosmos, etc. See the “ISAAC ASIMOV”
section below.
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
[1859]
One of the most important books ever written.
It is thorough and meticulous,
but not all that difficult. (Darwin lived in the era when scientists still
knew how to write readable prose and addressed their works to the general
public, not merely to their fellow professionals.)
The followup volume, The Descent of Man, though historically more
controversial due to its subject, is less crucial as it simply applies the same
types of arguments to human evolution.
Stephen Jay Gould [1941-2002]
Gould manages to convey relatively sophisticated points without speaking down
to his readers. Of his twenty or so books, ten are collections of his monthly
essays on the odd, fascinating and endlessly variegated byways of natural
history and evolution,
with titles such as The Panda’s Thumb, Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes, The
Flamingo’s Smile, Bully for Brontosaurus, Eight Little Piggies, and
Dinosaur in a Haystack. All are highly recommended.
Richard Dawkins, Climbing Mount Improbable
[1996]
Illuminating explanations of seemingly problematic aspects of evolution, such
as how did something so complicated as the eye evolve?
Jean-Henri Fabre, The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre
[1823-1915]
Selections from the French entomologist, noted for his patient observation
and genial style.
Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man; Through a Window: My Thirty Years with
the Chimpanzees of Gombe [1971, 1990]
These two volumes, the first reporting on Goodall’s first decade of research, the second looking back twenty years later, recount one of the
most fascinating and exemplary scientific ventures of the century.
Donald Johanson and Maitland Edey, Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind
[1981]
First-hand account of the discovery of the famous hominid skeleton, with a
good general discussion of its implications for the various theories of early
human evolution.
Lewis Thomas [1913-1993]
Thomas wrote several volumes of interesting essays, primarily on biology and
medicine, but branching off at times into psychology, language, and other social
and cultural issues.
John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra
[1911]
By the great outdoorsman, initiator of the national parks program and
inspirer of Rexroth, Snyder and countless other explorers of the
California mountains.
I recommend the slightly abridged edition entitled Gentle Wilderness,
which is illustrated with superb photos of the places and things Muir is writing
about. If you like this sort of thing you may also
enjoy Muir’s
other books, The Yosemite and The Mountains of California.
[Rexroth
guidebook, Camping
in the Western Mountains]
Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac
[1949]
Quiet observations of nature in the tradition of Thoreau and Gilbert White.
This book was a major influence on the development of an ecological ethic.
Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl, Our Angry Earth
[1991]
Brief but comprehensive account of the
continually increasing threats to the global
ecology. There have been numerous books that examine one or another
environmental problem, but this is one of the few that consider the situation
and its possible solutions as a whole.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) is the greatest popularizer of science, bar none. A
few others, such as Carl Sagan or Martin Gardner or Stephen Jay Gould, may have
written a few better books in their particular fields, but Asimov covered
virtually every area so lucidly that almost anyone should be able to understand
just about any of his writings. And he did this not in a few dozen books, but in
nearly 500! Admittedly many of them are very short volumes for children, or
anthologies that he merely edited; but that still leaves well over 200 “real”
books.
I’ve read more than a hundred of them. I’ve never been very excited by
Asimov’s science fiction, but I love his nonfiction. My favorites are the 27
volumes collected from the monthly science articles he wrote for The Magazine
of Fantasy and Science Fiction. These are mixed bags of essays on any
scientific topic that appealed to him at the moment, always put across with a
light touch — What would a sunset look like from one of Jupiter’s moons? What
would sex be like in a zero-gravity space station? Since they were directed to
regular science-fiction readers, they tend to be slightly more chatty and
freewheeling than some of his other works of popularization (he doesn’t have to
stop and explain that the earth goes around the sun). There is a one-volume
selection of these essays entitled Asimov on Science: A Thirty-Year
Retrospective.
He wrote numerous other books that systematically explore general areas of
science (astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology) or some specific topic (novas,
black holes, atomic particles, DNA, etc.). I particularly recommend Asimov’s
New Guide to Science, a comprehensive introduction to every aspect of
science that can also serve as a useful reference work. If you are going to own
just one book on science, this would be a good one to choose.
He also wrote on a variety of nonscience topics — Asimov’s Guide to the
Bible, Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare, Isaac Asimov’s Treasury of
Humor, annotated editions of Gulliver’s Travels, Byron’s Don Juan,
and Gilbert and Sullivan, a couple dozen volumes of history, and three volumes
of autobiography.
When his publisher urged him to write an autobiography he at first shied away
from the idea, protesting that when you write hundreds of books, what time do
you have for an adventurous life that people would want to
read
about? Eventually he gave in and wrote a huge two-volume narrative. I remember
checking out the first volume, thinking that its 700+ pages would keep me
occupied for quite a while. Three days later I had to go back to the library to
get the second volume. Yet apart from a few amusing anecdotes about the
science-fiction scene, there’s not much out of the ordinary that happens in it.
I don’t know how he does it, but somehow he has a knack of making anything he
writes about both informative and entertaining. For me, Rexroth is the only
writer who can match him in this respect. Perhaps this is because both of them
had so thoroughly assimilated the things they wrote about that they could rattle
off an essay without any research or rewriting, making it seem effortless and
conversational.
There are far too many excellent Asimov books to list individually. I can
only suggest that you browse the Asimov titles in your local library catalog for
whatever topics interest you.
As an experiment, someone advertised himself as an astrologer in a major
newspaper. Several hundred people sent him their birth dates. He sent each of
them a horoscope, along with a form letter asking them to let him know how
accurate they found it. More than 90% responded that the horoscope showed
astonishingly accurate insights into their particular personalities and
problems. In reality, he had sent every one of them the same horoscope.
Some people will say, “So what? Astrology and things like that are just
harmless entertainment, like getting your fortune told at a county fair.”
Unfortunately, irrational beliefs are not always so harmless. Countless people,
for example,
have died because they trusted themselves to faith healers or “psychic
surgeons” instead of seeking proper medical treatment. But more generally, if
people are incapable of seeing through the most crude “paranormal” cons, they
are likely to be just as gullible when it comes to judging social and political
questions.
It’s an uphill battle. Publishers and mass media tend to promote the most
sensationalistic material because it sells, whereas skeptical refutations are
ignored or relegated to the background. (“And now here’s our token sound bite
by one of those boring arrogant scientists with closed minds. . . .”)
But lest I sound too grim, let me assure you that the following works are
highly entertaining. The shrewd investigative work of people like Joe Nickell is
as intriguing as a good detective story. It is both fascinating and gratifying
to see how James Randi manages to expose a renowned psychic or faith healer as a
con man. And it is amusing (though also sad) to learn how gullible most people
are, and how they will continue to cling to the most ridiculous and discredited
beliefs rather than admit that someone has made a fool of them.
[Rexroth
article on pseudoscience]
James Randi, Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and Other Delusions
[1982]
As a professional
magician, James Randi has known how to discover and expose the tricks
used by supposed psychics of all kinds. And he has put his money where his mouth
is: The Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge is a standing offer of $1,000,000 to
anyone who can demonstrate evidence of any “paranormal, supernatural, or
occult power or event” under scientifically controlled conditions. Over the
last three decades hundreds of self-proclaimed psychics, clairvoyants, dowsers,
aura-viewers, etc., have tried to do so. So far not one has succeeded.
Flim-Flam! is the most comprehensive collection of Randi’s debunkings.
I also recommend his The Faith Healers and The Truth about Uri Geller.
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World
[1995]
Carl Sagan was noted for his widely popular books and television programs
about astronomy, space travel and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. In
this book, written shortly before his untimely death, he deplores the increasing
prevalence of irrationalism and superstition and examines several recent
instances. He does this in a more gentle and tactful manner than Randi, making
it clear that he realizes that people are drawn to these beliefs through partly
legitimate or at least understandable reasons — e.g. a justifiable tendency to
distrust “authorities,” or a natural desire to retain a sense of wonder.
Regarding the former issue, he
shows how science includes more automatic self-questioning and
self-testing procedures than any other field of human endeavor. In response to
the latter concern, he shows how science continues to
reveal far more wonders in the world than the banal sensationalism of paranormal
claims.
Kendrick Frazier (ed.), The Skeptical Inquirer
The Skeptical Inquirer is the journal of the Committee for the Scientific
Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), the organization that Isaac Asimov called “an island
of sanity in a sea of nonsense.” It has been appearing since
1976, and is by far the most important international forum for news and commentary
on purported paranormal phenomena.
Frazier has also edited several anthologies of selections from the journal:
Paranormal Borderlands of Science; Science Confronts the Paranormal; The
Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal; Encounters with the
Paranormal.
Martin Gardner, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science; Science: Good,
Bad, and Bogus [1957, 1981]
Fads and Fallacies, a ground-breaking work of skeptical inquiry published
back in the 1950s, is a fascinating account of the Flat Earth Society,
Velikovskian astronomy, Atlantis cultists, Pyramidology, Dianetics
(Scientology), Lysenkoism, Reichian orgone boxes, and “the search for Bridey
Murphy.” Gardner’s later book, Science: Good, Bad and Bogus,
examines ESP, psychokinesis, faith healing, precognition, psychic surgery, etc.,
as well as various fringe-science topics — areas that are serious science but
where findings remain questionable (e.g. chimpanzees’ use of sign language) or
where scientific concepts are widely misunderstood and misinterpreted (e.g.
quantum physics).
M. Lamar Keene, The Psychic Mafia
[1976]
A former professional psychic reveals some of the tricks of the trade that
enable these con men to seem to know things they “could not possibly have known
unless they were really psychic,” raking in huge amounts of money from their
gullible clients.
Joe Nickell, Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal
[2001]
The latest collection by the former private detective who has turned his
skills to the investigation of supposedly “unexplainable” phenomena, from
poltergeists and haunted houses to crop circles and the Shroud of Turin.
Kendrick Frazier et al. (ed.), The UFO Invasion
[1997]
Anthology of articles explaining the realities behind UFO sightings, the
supposed Roswell coverup, alien abductions, the “alien autopsy” film, etc.
John Allen Paulos, Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its
Consequences [1988]
Paulos’s book isn’t exactly about pseudoscience, but the widespread
“innumeracy” he discusses (notably people’s ignorance of how statistics and
probability work) is one of the factors that make people susceptible to being
fooled by fallacious statements of all kinds (e.g. misjudging
how likely some coincidence is, or being panicked by some
media-generated bogey while ignoring other problems that represent a thousand
times more actual risk).
Paulos elaborates on the same theme is his subsequent volumes, Beyond
Numeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper.
Section from Gateway to the Vast Realms: Recommended
Readings from Literature to Revolution, by Ken Knabb (2004).
No copyright.
Bureau of Public Secrets, PO Box 1044, Berkeley CA 94701, USA
www.bopsecrets.org knabb@bopsecrets.org