Chacmool Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 I finally got a copy of Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I'm about a third of the way through, and so far it's an interesting read. The translation seems a bit unidiomatic, though - I can't exactly put my finger on what is bothering me, but I wish I could have rather read it in the original Italian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 ____I never read that book, but some magazine or another published a nice piece on Focault a while back. He is a fascinating character & his work is as inspiring as it is cogent. The Rose Garden sports arena in Portland Or has a Foucault pendulum suspended from the roof of the atrium, complete with little hinged metal plates which it knocks down over the day's course.___Does this book talk about his work with gyroscopes as well? Nice book pick Chacmool. :rant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chacmool Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Does this book talk about his work with gyroscopes as well?So far it has focused mainly on the Templars and their history. The book hasn't yet gone into much detail about Foucault and his work (except for a brief mention of the pendulum). I'll have to do some background reading, it seems :rant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAHD Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 hehe, How to prove the world is round, Pendulum and sand... Most current on my reading list is "Casting Iron" by C. W. Ammen 1984 Oldish book, written in a very runabout, tell of personal experience kind of fashion. Refers to the practice as 'The Beast' a lot. It's a good book for anyone looking to learn how to operate, or even build a few types of blast-furnace. The techniques can be applied to melting a variaty of metals, but it has limited use in alloying or other such preactices. It is definatly not light on the practics of casting; with many examples of what can go wrong, explanations of why, and quick & easy fixes. It also goes into a lot of detail on mixing different 'Iron compositions', with everything from car engine blocks to Farm equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormod Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 hehe, How to prove the world is round, Pendulum and sand... Actually...wouldn't that only prove that it rotates? It could still be flat. Anyway, just finished reading "Diamond dogs, Turqiose days" by Alastair Reynolds. Two short novels in one book, set in his Revelation Space universe. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoa182 Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Reading: - The 120 Year Diet: How to Double Your Vital Years - Molecular Biology of the Cell Just finished reading: - The Longevity Diet: Discover Calorie Restriction - the Only Proven Way to Slow the Aging Process and Maintain Peak Vitality - More than human - The new quantum Universe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenprof Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Hi -How was the new quantum universe? I just finished Simon Winchester's The Map that Changed the World, excellent. Just before that, Hitler's Scientists, gripping and very thought provoking. Both were for different reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Mind Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Welcome aboard greenprof :). Maybe you could post an introduction in the Introductions Forum :D. I've thought about reading Hitler's Scientists' before, and with this positive input I'll probably have to pick it up :). Not sure if we're thinking about the same book though, as there are many books by this title, at least that I've seen :lol:... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigD Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Saints preserve me, I’m reading “The Shadow and the Flash: The Complete SF of Jack London Vol. 1”. From its afterwards: “… London’s racism is even stronger than his socialist beliefs … London’s belief in spiritualist ideas … London was not an innovator … had little effect on the main current of the genre …” They left out “London clearly had some unresolved issues with his father, and some strange ideas about women.” 212,496 words! And that’s just volume 1! If I make it through this, I’ll have demonstrated a stoical resolve I didn’t know I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 They left out “London clearly had some unresolved issues with his father, and some strange ideas about women.”You're brave Craig! My mom studied him when she was getting a masters in history (California), and the guy had more than a few problems: He made Hemingway look like a teetotaler... Its also hard for us today to get our heads around how white folks--even those that were incredibly liberal--talked about minorities with a sort of benevolent superiority that now sounds incredibly racist. I think this really comes out in London. Personally, I always though he was overrated, and that his best known stuff (e.g. Call of the Wild and White Fang), was his worst. What I liked best was his non-fiction-style stuff on the Klondike, but that's mainly personal-interest as I've got a bunch of gold-rush-types in my family going way back... Chilly,Buffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Oh and I just started re-reading "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles Mackay. I had an ancient copy of this long ago that I'd inherited but lost, and its one of my favorite books...a must read for everyone interested in popular culture, fads and why things go wrong.... Cheers,Buffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgrmdave Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 I always liked To Build a Fire by Jack London, but I didn't read much of his work. Currently, I'm reading Dust, by Charles Pellegrino. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-qu Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Im reading About Time by Paul Davies and Im really enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormod Posted September 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Im reading About Time by Paul Davies and Im really enjoying it! Is that a new one? I read his "How to build a time machine" which was cool (except it failed to tell you how to build a time machine :hihi: ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-qu Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 no, not really it was first published in 1995. Apparently his 'god and the new physics' is really good also - its on my reading list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwes99_03 Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 As always I'm reading the bible, but I'm also reading Einstein's Universe by Nigel Caulder. It's ok, not technical at all, though it has stirred up a few questions for me to look into on SR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockytriton Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Right now I'm on book 8 of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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