Thursday 5 August 2010

Some light reading

A quick post to recommend a couple of excellent books I read recently (hello my one follower ;) ):

Why Does E=mc²? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

First of all, what a great title! Why does E=mc²? Well as I'm sure everyone knows it's all part of Einstein's special theory of relativity which has always been a bit of a mind-bender. Once you learn about it though, it isn't all that weird. Ok, it is, but it's not too tough to get it - and this is probably the best book I've read in terms of explaining it all simply. You will feel about a million percent more cleverer once you've read it :)

From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time by Sean Carroll

If relativity doesn't trouble you then Sean Carroll's investigation into the nature of time will completely bake your noodle. The book deals in some depth with the concept of entropy, which seems straightforward at first but I still wake up with the sweats thinking about it. A big book with big ideas about not only time, but how the universe bagn and how it might end... brilliant.

2 comments:

  1. And hello from your one follower :)

    I've was eyeing up that Cox & Forshaw book in Waterstones recently, in their "3 for 2" offer, but I bought Ben Goldacre's "Bad Science", David David Aaronovitch's "Voodoo Histories" and Charlie Brooker's "The Hell of it All". Maybe when I've finished those, I'll give it a go.

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  2. Thanks Euan :) Got two of those three, missing 'Voodoo Histories', might give that a go also. Bad Science should be required reading!

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