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	<title>Lstrblg &#187; science writing</title>
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		<title>The science version of the BBC booklist</title>
		<link>http://www.lstr.net/blog/2010/02/23/the-science-version-of-the-bbc-booklist/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lstr.net/blog/2010/02/23/the-science-version-of-the-bbc-booklist/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:25:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Grg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dumb thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science/Geek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science writing]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Curious Wavefunction has been thinking about what might constitute the science version of the BBC booklist you may have seen popping around places like Facebook, in particular. It is a great start to a list in need of expansion (great blog, too). I&#8217;ve read most of these, but the list suggests a few I hadn&#8217;t [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="top" /><a href="http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2010/02/alternative-bbc-list-for-educated-mind.html?utm_source=feedburner&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=Feed:+curiouswavefunction+(The+Curious+Wavefunction)">Curious Wavefunction</a> has been thinking about what might constitute the science version of the BBC booklist you may have seen popping around places like Facebook, in particular.</p>
<p>It is a great start to a list in need of expansion (great blog, too). I&#8217;ve read most of these, but the list suggests a few I hadn&#8217;t heard of or gotten around to. </p>
<p>My favorite book is on the list, De Kruif&#8217;s<em> Microbe Hunter</em>s, which is still very readable. </p>
<p>Both Popper and Kuhn are there, although neither are very fun reading. (I favor Kuhn, but I&#8217;ve always felt that he Kuhn missed the mark in some ways. Paradigm shifts happen rarely &#8212; and entire fields will only ever get one or two &#8212; but most progress in science is through relentless incrementalism. It seems to me the whole observation is in some ways reflective of a particular moment in time, as the various disciplines matured. Also, it is a fairly Western-oriented look at science. Also, also, I hold a grudge against Kuhn for popularizing the term &#8220;paradigm shift,&#8221; damn him.)</p>
<p>As I said, the list needs to grow some. Off the top of my head, here are a few that I&#8217;d consider candidates:<br />
<em>The Lives of a Cell</em> by Lewis Thomas<br />
<em>Six Easy Pieces</em> by Richard Feynman (or maybe <em>Surely You&#8217;re Joking, Mr. Feynman</em>&#8230;tough call&#8230;)<br />
<em>Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences</em> by John Allen Paulos<br />
<em>Consciousness Explained</em> by Daniel Dennett (It marks a particular moment in time when scientists really began to talk frankly and openly about consciousness. His <em>Darwin&#8217;s Dangerous Idea</em> is great as well.)</p>
<p>I&#8217;m sure there are more, but I&#8217;ll post them as I think of them.</p>
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