regentrude Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 DS asked for books for his birthday: readable non-fiction, not textbooks, about mathematical philosophy (he is currently reading Bertrand Russel's Mathematical Philosophy) and astrophysics (he was eyeing the Neil de Grass Tyson book Astrophysics for people in a hurry which is not yet out). Help me out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 I am not sure if this will fit the bill, but has he read Gödel, Escher, Bach? Also, Stephen Hawking's books are very readable and excellent books if he hasn't already read them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 (edited) I am not sure if this will fit the bill, but has he read Gödel, Escher, Bach? Also, Stephen Hawking's books are very readable and excellent books if he hasn't already read them. Thanks! We had just thought of the Goedel, Escher, Bach, too and put it in the shopping cart. I think that will be perfect. Edited March 26, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 It's been a long time, but I remember enjoying Flatterland by Ian Stewart. I read through quite a few "sequels" way back when and that was the only one I liked. I do remember it being a bit silly in parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 The Crest of the Peacock is about the non-Eurpoean roots of mathematics. It has some interesting proof in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Adding Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Adding Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne. That made me think of The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind. Ds really enjoyed that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Flatland is a classic; Flatterland pretty good. Gelfand's books are fantastic. They aren't really mathematical philosophy, and not really textbooks - something inbetween. There are also lots of classics to pick from, but they can cause some issues if not read for historical context - the ancient Greeks, Newton, Hilbert, Descartes, et al. Good list of these on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_important_publications_in_mathematics. Seam Carroll and Brian Greene have good books on cosmology - not technically astrophysics, but then again, neither is Black Holes and Time Warps (another book I really enjoyed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Has he been introduced to Courant? What is Mathematics? https://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Elementary-Approach-Ideas-Methods/dp/0195105192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491130256&sr=8-1&keywords=what+is+mathematics Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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