What are you reading at the moment?

[The Bear]

1 hour ago, MattP said:

Try some of the classic American literature if you can @TheBear

 

Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are great by Twain, Catcher in the Rye by Salinger, Great Gatsby if you haven't seen one of the films (ruins the imagination) are all good places to start.

I remember reading Catcher In The Rye when I was a teenager. Twain is also a good shout cheers. 

[swanlee]

 

Blue sky thinking, leveraged with a healthy dose of scientific reasoning. Kaku details how AI, genetic engineering, robotics & nanotechnology could be used to aid space exploration in the future. Within the space of a few short passages Kaku will discuss 1950's sci-fi literature and Quantum Mechanics, Star Trek and the Theory of Relativity.

 

And as for his explanation of String Theory, who have thought. We live in a bubbly 10 dimensional multiverse! All makes sense now.

[The Bear]

I like Michio Kaku. He always appears on the physics/space programs on Discovery channels. 

 

Oh and last time I read a book on string theory (yes really...) it had 11 dimensions!! We've lost one! 

[swanlee]

15 hours ago, The Bear said:

Oh and last time I read a book on string theory (yes really...) it had 11 dimensions!! We've lost one! 

You are quite right (but then again you could be quite wrong!)

 

After a quick consultation with google - superstring theory is 10-dimensional. While M-theory is the 11-dimensional model.

 

tbh though I am new to string theory and I could be wrong. But I'm sure in the book Kaku focused more on superstring theory for some reason.

 

He is however is only presenting a layman overview of the topic, explaining the tie up with the Theory of Relativity & Quantum Mechanics.

 

Believe it or not he is addressing the issue of time-travel and the creation of wormholes. He's attempting to explain, so a numptie like me can understand, the physics behind what you'll see watching Star Trek. Ultimately he's outlining how future generations of humankind might manipulate the spacetime continuum and colonise the multiverse. 

 

Good book, if you're are into reading pages of words, I'd heartily recommend.      

Edited 3 October 2019 by swanlee
time travel

[The Bear]

I also have an old book called "The Physics Of Star Trek" which is quite good for explaining that stuff, and what is possible, if not right now. 

 

The string theory one is The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene.

 

And of course one of the best physics books for the layperson - A Brief History Of Time. 

[swanlee]

On 05/10/2019 at 00:20, The Bear said:

The string theory one is The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene.

Cheers - I'll think I'll give the above a bash. I was quite taken with the concept of string theory as Kaku presented it. I tell myself with regards these topics that the best human minds in this field are still just scratching around in the dark. The fact that the theory unifies however work done around the Theory of Relativity & Quantum Mechanics, and presents and picture of a multi-dimensional bubbly multiverse, is very intriguing and certainly requires further reading.

 

I'm also going to read (or at least add to my extensive list of books to be read) Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon. I am not really into SF, but Kaku referenced it a number of times as a work of SF literature that closely correlated to his own concept of what the multiverse could look like. Incredibly it was written in 1937, Kaku is obviously a big fan and quite possibly has been for some time.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Steve Jones auto biography Lonely Boy, good read and different to Lydons take on things.

[The Bear]

2 hours ago, swanlee said:

Cheers - I'll think I'll give the above a bash. I was quite taken with the concept of string theory as Kaku presented it. 

Be aware that book is quite old now so a lot of it may be outdated by now. Not that string theory has moved on much I'd imagine. 

[PAULCFC]

4 hours ago, Mark 'expert' Lawrenson said:

Steve Jones auto biography Lonely Boy, good read and different to Lydons take on things.

Really enjoyed Lydons book.Anger is an energy was it?Have to have a look at Steve Jone's one.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

10 hours ago, PAULCFC said:

Really enjoyed Lydons book.Anger is an energy was it?Have to have a look at Steve Jone's one.

No Irish, no Blacks, no Dogs was the Lydon book I really enjoyed as it concentrated a lot more on his days in the Pistols, Matlock has one as well I might look at that next.

[ozleicester]

Half way through this (not up to Trump yet)... so far, one of my favourite books ever...Inspiring and eyeopening

 

[ozleicester]

Very very interesting....lol not sure i believe all he says

 

[HybridFox]

Phillip Pullman fans! Watching His Dark Materials on TV has really made me want to go and read all the books.

 

So I went mad and ordered them all! The question is I've heard the Book of Dust (Volumes 1 & 2) are set earlier than His Dark Materials. Should I read these first and start in chronological order? 

 

Or go with the normal order of release?

 

Thanks!

[MC Prussian]

A collection of X-Files related interviews with creator Chris Carter, as well as writers Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz among others.

 

Handy.

[The People's Hero]

I'm reading the Looming Tower currently; a very interesting and shocking read.

 

It's probably the tenth book on terrorism I've read this year.. and all ordered from Amazon. I'll be amazed if I'm not on a list somewhere.

 

I do recommend the book.

[oakman]

Only 40 odd pages in but it's an impressive autobiography so far.

 

[Jon the Hat]

7 hours ago, The People's Hero said:

I'm reading the Looming Tower currently; a very interesting and shocking read.

 

It's probably the tenth book on terrorism I've read this year.. and all ordered from Amazon. I'll be amazed if I'm not on a list somewhere.

 

I do recommend the book.

You are.  I mean err, you might be right there, be careful.  Who knows.

[swanlee]

Democracy Hacked: Political Turmoil and Information Warfare in the Digital Age

 

Explaining the development & rise of social media and the impact on the democratic process across the world. Moore starts by explaining the rise of 4chan, the alt-right and Breitbart. He then discusses how political parties, from Obama to Trump, and from Estonia to the Philippines, have used Facebook and big data to successfully campaign.

 

The general thesis is that the system as it has evolved is open to gaming & exploitation by plutocrats, 3rd party state actors & nefarious groups of fringe hackers. I’ve so far found it very interesting. And in my opinion, whatever your political persuasion, the changing & fragmenting political landscape is something that should concern us all.  

 

During the chapter discussing Twitter, there's a paragraph that mentions the Leicester Mercury. In 1996, Moore writes, it was a decent sized paper, employing 600 people and serving a city of 300,000. By 2011 it was selling fewer than 30,000 copies a day (down from over 150,000 in the mid-1980's) and was down to 107 staff. He is using the Mercury as an example about how people no longer get the (local) news from traditional sources and highlighting the impact the decline of local journalists is having on political debate. 

 

Edited 12 November 2019 by swanlee

[swanlee]

On 11/11/2019 at 09:10, The People's Hero said:

I'm reading the Looming Tower currently; a very interesting and shocking read.

 

It's probably the tenth book on terrorism I've read this year.. and all ordered from Amazon. I'll be amazed if I'm not on a list somewhere.

 

I do recommend the book.

As long as you are not also online downloading bomb-making manuals. I'd also recommend steering clear of any neo-nazi or jihadist content. This, just to be on the safe-side, given your generally unhealthy interest in all-things terrorism. 

 

Did you watch the TV series btw - The Looming Tower was on the BBC iPlayer earlier this year. I enjoyed it, but was not sure how it differed from the book nor indeed how much it had been dramatised for TV?

[The People's Hero]

38 minutes ago, swanlee said:

As long as you are not also online downloading bomb-making manuals. I'd also recommend steering clear of any neo-nazi or jihadist content. This, just to be on the safe-side, given your generally unhealthy interest in all-things terrorism. 

 

Did you watch the TV series btw - The Looming Tower was on the BBC iPlayer earlier this year. I enjoyed it, but was not sure how it differed from the book nor indeed how much it had been dramatised for TV?

I watched a bit of it; but had already started the book so never watched the full thing. I enjoyed the book. May review the series at some point.

 

[Dr The Singh]

38 minutes ago, swanlee said:

As long as you are not also online downloading bomb-making manuals. I'd also recommend steering clear of any neo-nazi or jihadist content. This, just to be on the safe-side, given your generally unhealthy interest in all-things terrorism. 

 

Did you watch the TV series btw - The Looming Tower was on the BBC iPlayer earlier this year. I enjoyed it, but was not sure how it differed from the book nor indeed how much it had been dramatised for TV?

Reading Mein Kampf

[Tommo220]

1 hour ago, Dr The Singh said:

Reading Mein Kampf

great book.

 

he dies at the end though (spoiler)

[TheLittleBigMan]

David Foster Wallace "Infinite Jest". Bloody long read but worth the effort.

[leicsmac]

On 11/11/2019 at 07:23, TK95 said:

Phillip Pullman fans! Watching His Dark Materials on TV has really made me want to go and read all the books.

 

So I went mad and ordered them all! The question is I've heard the Book of Dust (Volumes 1 & 2) are set earlier than His Dark Materials. Should I read these first and start in chronological order? 

 

Or go with the normal order of release?

 

Thanks!

Hmmm...I would go with TBoD first, yes, and then the HDM trilogy.

 

Enjoy.

[leicsmac]

And just picked up the Lord of The Rings once again - try to reread once every couple of years. Still remains, in terms of narrative and worldbuilding, the greatest story ever told IMO.