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Nature and Science February 2020
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| Heaven on Earth: How Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo Discovered the Modern... by L.S. FauberWhat it's about: four 16th-century astronomers -- Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and Galileo Galilei -- whose work transformed our understanding of the cosmos.
Why you might like it: This engaging collective biography reveals its subjects' feet of clay without shortchanging their scientific achievements.
Want a taste? "[Tycho Brahe] became the dean of astronomers, not by virtue of brilliance, but by hard work, constant reading, independent wealth, and the forced enslavement of a couple hundred peasants." |
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The math of life & death : 7 mathematical principles that shape our lives
by Kit Yates
What it is: A first book by an Oxford-trained mathematician illuminates seven mathematical principles that shape our lives, from the controversies of DNA testing to the probabilities that shaped the Chernobyl disaster.
Is it for you: "Readers with backgrounds in math should particularly enjoy the heavier chapters, covering topics such as optimization and the seven Millennium Prize Problems...However, any inquisitive and open-minded reader can enjoy this valuable primer on the use and abuse of numbers in the everyday world." (Publishers Weekly)
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The ecology book : Big Ideas Simply Explained
by Tony Juniper
What it is: Using a bold, graphic-led approach, The Ecology Book explores and explains over 90 of the key ideas, movements, and acts that have defined ecology and ecological thought.
What it covers: The book has a simple chronological structure, from the ideas of classical thinkers to attempts by Enlightenment thinkers to systematically order the natural world,all the way through to the political and scientific developments of the modern era, including the birth of the environmental movement and the Paris Agreement.
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Humble pi : when math goes wrong in the real world
by Matt Parker
What it's about: This tour of real-world mathematical disasters reveals the importance of math in everyday life. All sorts of seemingly innocuous mathematical mistakes can have significant consequences.
What can go wrong: Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team.
Reviewers call it: "...an entertaining and essential read for both math whizzes and those who consider themselves mathematically challenged." (BookPage)
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Scientists Who Changed History
by Inc. Dorling Kindersley
What it's about: Profiles trailblazing individuals from Greek mathematicians Archimedes and Hipparchus, through physicists of the early 20th-century, such as Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, to modern greats such as Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee.
Reviewers say: "This is an excellent resource to both browse and to serve as a launch pad for further research." (Booklist)
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| The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha MukherjeeWhat it's about: Describing the concept of heredity as a form of information transmission, physician and science writer Siddhartha Mukherjee considers the gene, its long and winding road to discovery, and its future as bioengineering becomes more common.
Why you might like it: From Mendel and Darwin to the Human Genome Project, this sweeping, thought-provoking book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of Maladies artfully explores both the scientific and cultural significance of genes. |
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| A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold through Our Genes by Adam Rutherford; foreword by Siddhartha MukherjeeWhat it's about: "Geneticists have suddenly become historians," observes author Adam Rutherford, citing discoveries that have transformed our understanding of human evolution.
Contains: the (roughly) 2 million year history of the Homo genus, an accessible primer on genomics, and a discussion of what DNA can (and can't) tell us about ourselves.
About the author: Geneticist and journalist Adam Rutherford is the author of Humanimal: How Homo Sapiens Became Nature's Most Paradoxical Creature. |
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| She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl ZimmerWhat it is: a comprehensive yet accessible examination of heredity that "masterfully blends exciting storytelling with first-rate science reporting" (Publishers Weekly).
Why it's important: In addition to exploding common myths and misconceptions about the science of biological inheritance, science writer Carl Zimmer also discusses its (often unsavory) cultural history.
Did you know? It wasn't until the 1830s that the word "heredity" acquired its present meaning of a biological inheritance (as opposed to a material one). |
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