Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Difference Engine by Doron Swade

Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer. A wonderful book about an interesting man and an idea before its time. The main question is whether it would work and if it wasn't made because machining of that day wasn't adequate. Based on the book it seem the design definitely worked and the machining was very satisfactory. It was logistics, expense, and some greed that caused its failure, and also really lack of crucial need for it and the fact that Babbage invented the analytical engine which was far superior, more flexible, and elegant. Now we wait for the book on that, which tells us whether that machine works and could have been built or can be built even now! I also was curious about the "method of differences," which is the mathematical basis of the difference engine.

Project Orion by George Dyson

An amazing book about engineering unleashed in the heady days of nuclear successes. A story about how the possible almost becomes the actual and in retrospect seems unbelievable. A giant spaceship powered by nuclear bombs going off each second raising a ship the size of a small town at unbelievable speed leaving a trail of fallout behind. As a thought experiment it perhaps is the father of plasma propulsion and other out-of-the-box thinking. In any case an interesting book.

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

Good read, enjoyable.

Pendulum by Amir D. Aczel

This is a great book about an interesting character. Many interesting historical references. A book I would like to own and a good gift. Revealing about scientific snobbery. The "reference space" of a swinging pendulum is still in dispute from Newton to Einstein. We know it is "fixed" but to what, or in what sense? The discussion of Arago is especially interesting.

The Carpet Wars - from Kabul to Baghdad: A Ten-Year Journey along Ancient Trade Routes by Christopher Kremmer

Going across the middle east through rugged terrain and war zones, culture and carpets are a common thread along with hard life, hate, history, and religion. Tribes and migrations and dominating chiefs and trade routes and rules of hospitality and cruelty and revenge. Every place he goes is full of interest. He travels in the footsteps of similar treks by others such as Byron (see above). I didn't know Iran was named for an Aryan migration.

The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley

A story of growing up in Africa and returning as a war journalist. A story of beauty and wonderful setting with unimaginable horror and cruelty and chaos. The dangerous life of a war journalist and seeing things no one should have to see and trying to tell a world not interested and trying to be objective. Self-medicating with drink, sex, and cynicism, the author is doing a job no one should have to do but he is drawn to it and half-destroyed by it. The sections on Rwandan genocide are particularly valuable as history, I expect. A painful read.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Darwinism under the Microscope by James P. Gills, M.D. and Tom Woodward, Ph.D.

A good compendium and accessible chapters about design and weakness of evolutionary theories. A good resource book.

Time for Truth by Os Guiness

An excellent short book on truth and a simple but powerful critique of post-modernism and its dangers. The illustrations of the three umpires, I calls 'em as they are, I calls 'em as I sees 'em, and there's balls and there's strikes and they ain't nothing till I calls 'em. He has some interesting passages about Nietzsche.

The Honors Class: Hilbert's Problems and their Solvers by Yondell

I read most of this but not all, the math being daunting. I note it to remember high points in this well-written work. Poincaré was interesting and the section on Kolmogorov was great and very interesting. He seems like Teddy Roosevelt in his youthfulness and vigor.

Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel beyond the West by Lamin Sanneh

This is a rich, stimulating book about Christianity and translation. We don't know the language of Jesus. The Gospel is translated from the outset. At the birth of the Church at Pentecost, we all heard the truth of the Gospel in our own language. As such the gospel is for all cultures. No culture is superior in the sense of availability. Christianity comes to a culture and uses its conceptions and name for God and the gospel expressed in that culture has a certain inherent validity. Sanneh thinks this is not syncretism but I think he would have a more tolerant view to what others would call syncretism and his case is made quite convincingly.

Antichrist by Nietzsche (palm)

A completely opposite look at Christianity. Radical atheism taken to its end and with a radical consistency that makes its lesser forms appear weak and inconsistent. It portrays the beliefs of Christianity as vain hopes and its practices as weakness and its priests as evil exploiters. Only Jesus is sincere and consistent but deluded.

Black Mischief: Language, Life, Logic, Luck by David Berlinski

An intriguing, somewhat disjointed but stimulating series of essays seemingly separate but slowly moving toward a mathematical critique of evolution. With interesting explanation of typology, probability, differential equations, language. He always is interesting and very candid. He is a skeptic and looking for false premises in every theory. I like his style.

The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr

About Luca Turin, an abrasive brilliant specialist on smell who has proved to his satisfaction that the nose smells by sensing the vibrational resonances of the molecult being smelled and not the shape of the molecules. Unfortunately he can get no distinguished journal to publish him or expert in the field to endorse him. Instead he goes around the world convincing people in various fields and offending everyone in general, including apparently the author.

Often profane, the book presents the wonders of the perfume industry and the personality and personalities of this chic arena.

Even his arguments are plausible but after agonizing with Luca so long the book ends with the reader still uncertain how we smell - vibration or shape!?

Was read aloud doing dishes.

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart

A gem about love of pianos and piano music and a glimpse into a Paris no one sees. Discussing special knowledge of pianos and music without being elitist. Showing special understanding of Parisians without being snobbish. Don't try this at home or when you go to Paris!

History of the Westminster Assembly of Divines by William M. Hetherington

An old account, not contemporaneous, of the writers of the confession and catechisms. The most surprising aspect of the book is that it is largely about the internal debate about church government and the role of church and state - not about separation of church and state but about which authority is superior. The Erastians felt the civil was above, arguing from O.T. structure of Israel. Though almost the antithesis of Theonomy, it seems to have close to the same effect. The political situation at the time of the Divines was almost unimaginably unstable. The king was imprisoned, tried, and beheaded. Cromwell was in ascendance. Also notable is the integrity and patience and quality of debate and the erudition of the theologians. Somewhat boring writing.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio

Section on Fibonacci is very good and the end about the platonic view of mathematics is good but he cops out really in the end. Fractals and tiling is accessible, early sections on history and pyramids a little boring.

Deception Point by Dan Brown

Fast-paced, fun, fairly interesting, not profound. Small mosquito-sized flying spy cams.

Imagining Numbers by Barry Mazur

Very good and interesting book with lots of excursions into the idea of imagination and clever illustrations about how we think abstractly with interspersed chapters about "i" (the square root of -1) which if given in one string would be overwhelming but as presented almost are imaginable.

Euler - The Master of us All by William Dunham

Interesting discussion of a genius. Lots of math well-explained. Just a little beyond me but most probably understandable with more work. Of course the originality and insight is inimitable but Dunham is a master of choosing representative proofs and making the points needed.

Translating the Message - The Missionary Impact on Culture by Lamin Sanneh

This book gives much weight to the argument that the missionary enterprise while not perfect was not a colonizing movement (in fact it was opposed by the colonizing countries) but by its support of the vernacular led to nationalism and increased local self esteem.

He argues that Christianity is inherently translated and translatable. That the vernacular is how Christianity is best propagated. Christianity goes into a culture where God has already been! It is translated into the vernacular both linguistic and cultural.

Islam by contrast is not translated and destroys or supplants the vernacular.

This book is full of data and examples. Missionaries should read this. Those who resent missionaries should read this book also. Immensely valuable.