Science and Inquiry discussion

Please use this thread to make nominations for our group read for June 2014.

When nominating a book, please use the "add book/author" link just above the comment box. This will create a link to the book page so others can easily check out your suggested book.

Please feel free to nominate a book that has been suggested before but hasn't won. However, please do not nominate books published in the last three months; they may not be available to all of our members.

Nominations will close on April 25 or when we have ten viable candidates, whichever comes first.

I'd like to read Earthquake Storms: The Fascinating History and Volatile Future of the San Andreas Fault.

I saw a TV show about earthquake storms in Turkey and thought it was fascinating, but I'd never heard that they were suspected along the San Andreas.

This is a fairly new book, but I hope will be widely available.

Is it still too early to look at 'the sport gene'? I think it was discussed in another post a few months ago and I liked the look of it.

Betsy wrote: "Please use this thread to make nominations for our group read for June 2014.

When nominating a book, please use the "add book/author" link just above the comment box. This will create a link to..."

I keep hearing about "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Would that be a good one?

I just finished reading Upside Of Irrationality by Dan Ariely, and overall it was a good read. It explains how we are not as rational and sensible as we think we are. The book investigates the various forces that influence our behaviour and decisions. Very readable,even for the general population.

I'd like to read your suggestion, Betsy. I live in Southern California close to the San Andreas and Rose faults and have always fount geology exciting. I'm also interested in Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel. I'd also like to read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. Thank you!

I'd like to read Betsy's suggestion too. I'm don't actively participate a lot but I get some of my favorite book ideas from all of you. I'm rereading The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins right now and just finished The Moral Animal, a truly wonderful book that looks at morality through the lens of evolutionary psychology.

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert Kolbert writes very well and the book is a collection of essays on animals that have gone into extinction and why. The book implies that the earth has entered the "anthropocene", or something approaching it.

I think The Sixth Extinction is too new; it was just published in February. Maybe in another month or two.

We already read Henrietta Lacks and Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, in April 2011 and November 2012.

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance is acceptable; it was published last August.

Elizabeth wrote: "I'd like to read Betsy's suggestion too. I'm don't actively participate a lot but I get some of my favorite book ideas from all of you. I'm rereading The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins right now a..."

Elizabeth, did you intend to nominate The Selfish Gene and/or The Moral Animal? You can.

Mea culpa! I thought Earthquake Storms would be okay since it was first published in January 2014, more than three months ago. But that publication was an e-book which may not have been widely available. All other editions did not come out until February 2014.

So, I must withdraw my nomination of Earthquake Storms. I promise I'll nominate it again.

In the meantime, how about Snowball Earth: The Story of the Great Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life as We Know It.

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach.

Predicting the Unpredictable: The Tumultuous Science of Earthquake Prediction bySusan Hough

Betsy wrote: "Elizabeth, did you intend to nominate The Selfish Gene and/or The Moral Animal? You can."

Wow, I just assumed The Selfish Gene had been longsince read by the group. Consider it nominated by me.

How about Nate Silver's The Signal And The Noise?

Betsy wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I'd like to read Betsy's suggestion too. I'm don't actively participate a lot but I get some of my favorite book ideas from all of you. I'm rereading The Selfish Gene by Richard D..."

I would also like to re-read The Selfish Gene. And to find out how to underline book titles on the computer keyboard.

Nancy....see the link above the comment box - 'add book/author' :)

Moral Animal is terrible. Not so much science as conjecture to justify the author's own prejudices with no source to back him up. Things like girls who are less pretty are more promiscuous and have sex earlier (again, no source, just his anecdotal "evidence").

That's disappointing, I've been meaning to read the Moral Animal for a while, I really hope its more than "anecdotal evidence".

Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain by Antonio R. Damasio
A neurologist shows how any rational decision is inseparable from our emotions.

Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History

David S. T. wrote: "That's disappointing, I've been meaning to read the Moral Animal for a while, I really hope its more than "anecdotal evidence"."

Your hope is right. The book is following the logic of certain theories to present them in a popular form, and maybe not so much of statistical evidence. Still, lots of references in the back of the book are available for further exploration. Although, by 2014, there must be much more evidence and/or counterevidence for those theories.
There are ‘anecdotes’ on C. Darwin’s life in the book, parallel to the scientific discussion. The book was written by a journalist after all:).

I enjoyed reading the book a lot. It was sort of challenging my observational habits.
Well, here we go again - tastes differ, of course..

Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott

We read Signal and the Noise in March 2013.

Nominations are now closed. Please vote for your preference at the following poll:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Voting will close on April 27.