Recently read: The Meaning Of It All
The Meaning Of It All, by Richard P. Feynman
This is essentially a transcript of three talks that Feynman gave, on the topic of science, scientific reasoning, and unscientific reasoning.
As expected, he's clear and insightful, discussing how science works, the limits of how it can be applied, and when other approaches are appropriate. Like much of his work intended for a general audience, he avoids scientific jargon. This can be slightly frustrating: He has a wonderful discussion on hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and the problem (temptation?) of using the same data that inspired a hypothesis as a test. Having recently reviewed the appropriate parts of probability, I know exactly what math he's talking about; but the general reader won't. (They may not need it either, of course.)
Recommended
This is essentially a transcript of three talks that Feynman gave, on the topic of science, scientific reasoning, and unscientific reasoning.
As expected, he's clear and insightful, discussing how science works, the limits of how it can be applied, and when other approaches are appropriate. Like much of his work intended for a general audience, he avoids scientific jargon. This can be slightly frustrating: He has a wonderful discussion on hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and the problem (temptation?) of using the same data that inspired a hypothesis as a test. Having recently reviewed the appropriate parts of probability, I know exactly what math he's talking about; but the general reader won't. (They may not need it either, of course.)
Recommended