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Topic: IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ (Read 1159 times) |
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Drakeo Vortex
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IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« on: 2003-07-03 11:22:04 » |
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I have to go to IRAQ 3-9 months I leave next week. The have internet access but you only have
5 minutes at a time. I have ordered many books. I have been told there is not much to do down
there but occupy space in the middle of the desert. My email is nateingermany@hotmail.com
If anyone would like to send me a list of some good nonfiction books to order I would appreciate it.
Recommendations now may prove to be invaluable.
Books (that I can remember) I have read or are on order include:
Lucifer Principle, the Global brain
3 Disinfo Books
Germs Guns Steel
The Spike
Nanosystems
The fabric of reality
Consciousness explained
Engines of Creation
How the mind works
The Blank Slate
Invariance
Darwin's DAngerous Idea
The Nature of Rationality
I am interested in everything (I mean everything) I will have an almost endless amount of time to read.
Any Suggestions? nateingermany@hotmail.com
Good Evolutionary Psych books? Sociology? Sciences? Philosophy? Anything? Thanks Nate
(Long lists would be great, I know some of you read habitually)
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Hermit
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Prime example of a practically perfect person
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Re:IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« Reply #1 on: 2003-07-03 14:53:07 » |
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Have fun, but watch your back and keep your powder dry. Things are going to get a lot worse before they improve,
As to books, here is a "light-hearted" list of very readable books which are worth their weight in gold in providing both information and context. A person who had read all of the following could lay claim to having a well rounded basic education. If I think of more, I'll add them to the list as time goes on and I have a little more time available.
Kindest Regards
Hermit
History:
H.G. Well's Outline of History (buy a second hand set) and anything by Arnold Toynbee but particularly his A Study of History (even in the abridged form referenced here). Both of these are breathtaking in their scope and scholarship and provide an unrivalled context for the analysis of current events.
Then, Arthur Goddard's Harry Elmer Barnes Learned Crusader: The New History in Action in order to counter a US-centric education. Review here - http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard27.html - and the review itself is well worth wading through for the gems which it includes (and which are not all in the book).
Will Durant's Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers
Maths:
Lancelot Hogben's Mathematics for the Million
Science:
Lancelot Hogben's Science for the Citizen
Steven Weinberg's The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe
Logic:
Marilyn Vos Savant's The Power of Logical Thinking: Easy Lessons in the Art of Reasoning...and Hard Facts About Its Absence in Our Lives
Engineering:
J.E. Gordon's Structures: Or, Why Things Don't Fall Down and The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor Note the special deal where you can purchase both books together for a lower price.
Literature (Humorous):
E.O. Parrott's How to become ridiculously well read in one evening
Matthew Parris' Scorn With Extra Bile
James Abbott McNeill Whistler's The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Good collected works of the writings (and poetry) of Dean Swift, Lewis Carrol and Mark Twain (no recommendation on Amazon yet - I'll keep hunting)
Fiction:
SF: The Sector General series by James WhiteThe Sector General series by James White[/url] Do a search on the author, there are many buy together deals.
SF: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (and anything else by him, but this book was the foundation of the Libertarian movement.).
Hist: World from Rough Stones by Malcolm MacDonald A story of Canal Building in Victorian England. Provides a taste of people who would not accept that some things were impossible.
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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Drakeo Vortex
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Re:IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« Reply #2 on: 2003-07-05 07:20:49 » |
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Thanks for the list, Hermit. That will be a big help in keeping me busy. You came up with that
list fast too. I need some less complex information before I try and tackle some
of the books that I have already ordered. The books am waiting on may be a little over my head
but I figure have plenty of time to try to figure them out. I can see myself trying to figure out "Invariance"
or "Nanosystems" in the middle of the desert. 120 degrees out, blurry vision, can't concentrate and
continually question what does this mean and what does that mean and why everything?
I'm not worried about going crazy though as long as I'm busy learning and thinking about
something. When I get back the first thing I will do is buy a new computer and get dsl connected.
I can't wait to back chatting again on IRC and participating in the CoV.
Till they grant me wings and fly me back,
Nate - "The Desert Peon"
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Hermit
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Re:IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« Reply #3 on: 2003-07-05 13:19:26 » |
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Speaking of the heat (and mugginess):
Assuming ice is available, look at thinkgeek's "Desktop Personal Air Conditioner" for use in quarters.
Also look at Sharper Image Design. They have succeeded in turning the icepack around the neck into an high-tech object d’art. The original personal air-conditioner, the Personal Cooling System ($49.95), used a small water chamber and fan to blow cooled air onto your neck. Trekking in the desert, in maximum sun, this little space age gizmo is definitely a welcome companion.
Also look at the products here: http://www.safetycentral.com/batopfanspra.html and here: http://www.safetycentral.com/ulpercoolpro.html
I bet that you could sell some of this stuff to your fellow sufferers.
Kind Regards
Hermit
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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David Lucifer
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Enlighten me.
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Re:IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« Reply #4 on: 2003-07-09 09:20:18 » |
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Freedom Evolves - Dan Dennett
anything by Michael Shermer (e.g. The Borderland of Science)
anything by Richard Dawkins (e.g. Unweaving the Rainbow)
anything by Douglas Hofstadter (e.g. GEB)
anything by Richard Feynman (e.g. Surely You're Joking)
anything by Carl Sagan (e.g. The Demon-Haunted World)
for Ev. Psych. I often hear The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture recommended
I'm enjoying a transhuman sf novel now called The Golden Age by John Wright
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Drakeo Vortex
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Re:IRAQ: Have to go to IRAQ
« Reply #5 on: 2003-07-09 11:42:47 » |
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Thanks for the list Lucifer. I definitely will read most of the books that are recommended to me. I ordered
Nanosystems that you were talking about when we talked. Very interested in that field. I follow many
emails my favorite, Nanoapex . I remember some talk about brain chemistry.I know the very basics.
I had some interesting thoughts but I wasn't sure how they added up.
Would anyone like to recommend books about brain chemistry. Ie)chemical pathways,nuerotransmitters
and all that other good stuff. I need a thorough background in this. No matter how many hours of tedious
details. It is important to me. Thanks N8 (otherwize I'll just search amazon and pick and choose)
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