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Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
2012-The Return to Critical Thought
We're only two-thirds of the way thru the KJV Bible, but I'm trying to think about what will be demanding too much of my time in the coming year.
The subject is easy. Critical Thought. While the KJV has been very interesting at times, my blood pressure is suffering from the contant acceptance of the super natural and magic. I crave evidence.
I want to read 3 or 4 books, depending on when we finish up here. I DON'T want to post every day. Maybe once a week. How and what I post about the books I haven't yet decided. I don't how the dialogue will work.
The one book I will definitely do is Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World. There isn't a better book on the subject of why science is important to mankind.
A strong contender is James Burke's Connections. He does an incredible job of laying out how mankind builds on previous knowledge to advance civilization, and how quickly the world can change.
Burke did a great video series based on his Connections books. You can probably find them at the library.
The other books will likely be ones that I own but haven't read yet. These are only a few of the books on my shelf.
Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things
Thomas Gilovich's How We Know What isn't So
James Kakalios' The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics. James makes tough science fun and easy to understand. He also has a great book titled The Physics of Superheroes.
I was thinking of doing a book by Michio Kaku or Stephen Hawking but I think they may be a little heady and require that people have more then a passing knowledge of physics. They are also theoretical physicists and I want to keep the reading grounded in evidence based knowledge.
I do recommend their books though. They present some fun and compelling ideas.
So, what are your thoughts? You in or out? What books would you like to read?
As a bonus, are there any TV shows, movies or documentaries that we should try to tackle on the side?
The subject is easy. Critical Thought. While the KJV has been very interesting at times, my blood pressure is suffering from the contant acceptance of the super natural and magic. I crave evidence.
I want to read 3 or 4 books, depending on when we finish up here. I DON'T want to post every day. Maybe once a week. How and what I post about the books I haven't yet decided. I don't how the dialogue will work.
The one book I will definitely do is Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World. There isn't a better book on the subject of why science is important to mankind.
A strong contender is James Burke's Connections. He does an incredible job of laying out how mankind builds on previous knowledge to advance civilization, and how quickly the world can change.
Burke did a great video series based on his Connections books. You can probably find them at the library.
The other books will likely be ones that I own but haven't read yet. These are only a few of the books on my shelf.
Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things
Thomas Gilovich's How We Know What isn't So
James Kakalios' The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics. James makes tough science fun and easy to understand. He also has a great book titled The Physics of Superheroes.
I was thinking of doing a book by Michio Kaku or Stephen Hawking but I think they may be a little heady and require that people have more then a passing knowledge of physics. They are also theoretical physicists and I want to keep the reading grounded in evidence based knowledge.
I do recommend their books though. They present some fun and compelling ideas.
So, what are your thoughts? You in or out? What books would you like to read?
As a bonus, are there any TV shows, movies or documentaries that we should try to tackle on the side?
You can enjoy Carl Sagan's Cosmos for free on Hulu. Knowing the science of the universe makes it all the more beautiful and amazing.
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