Books
How to Solve It, by George Polya (ISBN 0-691-08097-6)
A short, concise, and insightful treatise on how to
solve problems. Polya was a great Mathematician and not
surprisingly, the problems considered here are
mathematical. The secret of this book's greatness is
that the technique helps in the solution of
problems of any kind that you might need to solve—it is
really a guide to critical thinking. While your copy of the
book is on order, refer to this
summary of Polya's method. Note the last step. It is
the most important.
The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand (ISBN
0-672-50669-6)
Atlas Shrugged, by
Ayn Rand (ISBN 0-525-93418-9)
These are important novels for everyone to read, and
many have—a 1991 Library of Congress survey found Atlas Shrugged
to be second only to the Bible as the most influential
book in America. Ms. Rand wrote, "My philosophy, in
essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with
his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with
productive achievement as his noblest activity, and
reason as his only absolute." Even those who differ with
this philosophy will be enlightened by the clarity
of her thinking and her perceptive insights about the motivations of people. Ever been
surprised by someone's actions? Read "Atlas Shrugged."
Diplomacy, by Henry Kissinger (ISBN 0-671-65991-1)
Dr. Kissinger explains his views on public and
private diplomatic activities behind historical events
and highlights the ways in which America's approach to
world affairs has always differed vastly from that of
other nations. From Bismarck and Napoleon to modern
events, Kissinger's insider view is absorbing and
enlightening. This book consistently provokes
constructive thought by its readers.
Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt (ISBN
0-930-07319-3)
A classic that very simply teaches how to think about
economics. It presents Hazlitt's Lesson, and then shows
how to apply it from simple to more complex scenarios.
It has been the springboard from which millions have
come to understand the basic truths about economics—and
the fallacies responsible for inflation, unemployment,
high taxes, and recession.
Anarchy, State and Utopia, by Robert Nozick (ISBN
0-465-09720-0)
This widely acclaimed winner of the 1975 National
Book Award challenges the most commonly held political
and social positions of our age—liberal, socialist, and
conservative. Nozick made his reputation on this book
and has done much subsequently to expand his critical
insights.
The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman (ISBN
0-385-26774-6)
Vehicles designed for speed have a characteristic
streamlined shape evocative of their function. In this
book, Norman analyzes ordinary objects to determine how
well or how poorly they were shaped to suit their
intended purpose. Through hundreds of examples, he illustrates
consistent perversities in design that are the source of
constant problem and inconvenience. The lesson here is
to understand the sense in which function must guide
form, and in the larger sense, in which our life goals
must guide our chosen path.
The Character of Physical Law, by Richard Feynman (ISBN
0-262-06016-7)
This small, concise book conveys the Messenger
Lecture series given by Dr. Feynman in November, 1964 at
Cornell University. What is so interesting in these
lectures is that he focuses not so much what physicists
know about Nature, but how Nature itself appears to have
a simple, elegant "world view." It could be said that
Feynman saw deeply into Nature's soul and through these
lectures he cheerfully shares with us just what he has
seen.
Grooks, by Piet Hein (ISBN 0-262-58007-1, also, Grooks
II and Grooks III, published by MIT Press)
Three volumes of "Grooks" (Piet Hein's poetic form)
offer deep and often profound commentary on life and
values in a terse, structured rhyming presentation. Hein
was a brilliant scientist, mathematician, poet, World
War II survivor, artist, and inventor. Among his
inventions are the
Soma Cube puzzle and the Super Egg—a superquadric of
degree 2.5 with unique stability properties in 3D. Here
is a sample Grook present in both Grooks and the Soma
Cube puzzle instruction sheet:
Problems worthy
of attack
prove their worth
by hitting back.
Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A.
Abbot (ISBN 0-738-20541-9, other editions)
People sometimes say "I'll believe it when I see it."
There are things like the wind, however, that can be seen
only by their effect, and yet deeper mysteries, which must be understood without reliance on
visualization. This delightful book, first
published in 1884, undertakes to teach the reader about
the geometry of four dimensional space. To do this,
Abbot takes readers, as three dimensional inhabitants of
"Spaceland" to visit people in the two dimensional
"Flatland" and endeavors to explain the character of 3D
space to a 2D inhabitant, who becomes confused. Abbot
then continues the journey to one dimensional Lineland and has a
similar discussion about 2D space with a 1D inhabitant.
Once the theme of understanding without directly
perceiving is in place, Abbot unwinds the whole
story back to 3D Spaceland and invites the reader to
understand 4D geometry for himself. Both a brilliant
teaching artifice and a witty social commentary on
English society of the 1800's, this book is to be
cherished.
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