Science and Inquiry discussion

It's time to nominate what you'd like to read for May 2013. Please post your suggestions below and be sure to use the "add book/author" link just above the comment box. That makes it much easier for others to evaluate your suggestion.

Please don't nominate a book that was just released in the last few months. Such a book may not yet be available to all our members.

Feel free to nominate something that has been nominated before.

The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity

Has the group read Connected by Nicholas Christakis and James D. Fowler? It made me think differently about social science research and the brain's social networking mechanisms.

I know this is sometimes frowned upon but why not try Icarus Rising (by me) - Climate Change and how to fix it using geoengineering.

I'm assuming that's Icarus Rising, and not the one about Elves. Though it looks to be a novel?

The one recommended by Elizabeth is Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives.

Also, fiction is not forbidden: if the members want to read it, why not?

No, I was just trying to figure out what kind of book it was.

Here is a link to the NYTimes book review of Connected:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/boo...

If someone within 3 degrees of separation from you loses weight, the probability that you will lose weight increases. Ditto for voting and many other behaviors. While the research is rigorous, the book reads very well and requires no more than general knowledge to comprehend.

I'm new to the group so I don't know if this one has already been done...but "The Wizard" by Marc Seifer is a biography of Nikola Tesla. I've already started on it, but thought I would put it on the table. Thanks!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49...

I would like to suggest The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba.

I can second NOVA's proposal of Spillover by David Quammen. Quammen is a wonderful writer. The central thesis is that the combination of globalization and incursions into previously wild animal habitat make future pandemics likely.

I would like to read Why Beauty Is Truth: The History of Symmetry by Ian Stewart

I second Michael's suggestion: Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. Tesla was an interesting man who had indebted mankind enormously, and it would be fitting to have one of our monthly reads about him.

Nominations have been closed. Please vote for your choice at the following poll:

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/81...