Random thoughts

[ultimatepsi]

I've been stuck sick in bed for a few days now (but I am getting better now!) and so all the thoughts that normally I might find someone to comment to about, and so clarify the notion and move on, are filling up my head and copulating with each other. Mix in a bit of sickness-induced fuzzy-headedness and this is what comes out. This gets a bit meta

Comments

books for the Kate

[happyfunpaul]

* The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau, 1982.
[My copy disappeared long ago. The Wikipedia entry provides a decent summary.]

* Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by Neil Howe and William Strauss, 1991, ISBN 0-688-11912-3
[Should be on my shelf, but seems to have disappeared. Wikipedia entry here.]

* Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos by M. Mitchell Waldrop, 1992.
[I will loan this book to you.]

While I'm at it, I'll also loan you:
* Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes by Stephen Jay Gould, 1984 (SJG is good in general, and while this probably isn't the absolute best example of his work, it's the best on my bookshelf :-)
* Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, 2005.

I'm hanging on to Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" for now, since I might want to use it for class.

I'm not in 100% agreement with any of these books, but they all made me rethink Big Issues in an entertaining way. If you like 'em, I'll throw some Steven Pinker at you, too. :-)

Re: books for the Kate

[ultimatepsi]

I've read a bit of Freakonomics at the library. It was pretty interesting.