Recommended reads:
Click on the links for further info.
Books by Carl Sagan
I love Carl Sagan, he has reminded so many of us to look up in wonder at the stars. He answers your burning questions about the universe with poetry, patience and reason. His explanations make difficult concepts, like extra dimension, much easier to imagine. You should also check out his video series Cosmos which aired on tv in the eighties.
Pale Blue Dot: a Vision of the Human Future in Space (we all know the speech from the start of the book since gore ripped it off.)
“The Dragons of Eden:speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence”
“The Varieties of Scientific Experience; a personal view for the search for god” ,
“The Deamon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”,
“Brocas Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science”, etc
Books by Richard Dawkins.
“The Selfish Gene” Want to know about genes, adaptation and natural selection? This is the book to get on genetic evolution.
“The Ancestors Tale” The evolution guide from human being all the way back to single cell. A big, thick, informative book that links all of life here on earth.
Books by Ursula K LeGuin
“The Telling” (I think kids should read this one in school! The “Corporation state’ in this sci-fi is timely.)
“A Fisherman of the Inland Sea” short stories
“The Left Hand of Darkness”
“The Dispossessed: an Ambiguous Utopia”
“A Wizard of Earthsea” and the rest of the Earthsea novels
“The Planet of Exile” etc.
Ursula K leGuin is a wonderful author whose speciality is sci-fi and fantasy. Her books are rich with wisdom and insight. Her stories tell the human story better than most I have read. I highly recommend any of them. (She’s also won the Hugo and the Nebula award a bunch of times if awards mean anything to you.)
A few more interesting things:
“Headtrip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness” by Jeff Warren
a quirky book about neuroscience, psychology, the various states of human mind and the subject of consciousness. I found it illuminating and amusing, it also has great footnotes. It has helped also me be more mindful of my own mind and it’s patterns. Lots of great stuff on the subject of dreams as well. The website above is worth checking out if you are curious. It will give you a quick overview of the states and appropriate Wikipedia links. Neat-0.
Proust was a Neuroscientist - Jonah Lehrer
Entertaining read, lots of scientific tidbits paired with artistic insights. This book introduces the reader to several creatives and speculates on how their methods might relate to the neurosciences, the senses, the body and self concept. I didn’t agree with all of the authors ideas, but I couldn’t resist any book that illustrates links between arts and science. This book inspired me to look up more information on the artists within and has led to some good discussions with friends.
Poets:
Edna St.Vicent Millay listen to her on librivox or read her poems at Project Gutenberg.
