Fun Math, Science Blunders and Space: Some Reading for the Winter

With the end of the year upon us, it is good time to change gear and indulge in some relaxing reading. Here is a book selection just for that (it also makes for great gifts if you are falling short). So, sit back and enjoy (and leave a comment if you have more suggestions).

The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz.

Steven Strogatz is professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell and his book is truly entertaining. It's mathematics in its most enjoyable form and very easy read.

This book is full of short stories and it is never boring. Did you know, for example, that one and 0.999999 are equal, that they are just two representations for the same number? In this book you will also discover how many people one needs to date before settling down, a better way to cut bagels, that there are sine waves in the zebra strips, the birth of calculus (although this might not help you solve any calculus problem) and many more fascinating stories about mathematics.

Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein by Mario Livio.

This is a refreshing book to read. Not that it helps to cope with one's own blunders, no. The stories in this book are not the simple blunders. They are of the brilliant kind, blunders of true significance. This book tells how Linus Pauling, Albert Einstein, Kelvin, and many more got it terribly wrong. It is written by Mario Livio, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute which operates the Hubble Space Telescope.

Let's start with Linus Pauling, for example, who was recognized as one of greatest chemist of all time and come up with the structure of proteins. However, his structure of the DNA was wrong in many ways. It had 3 stands instead of 2, the structure and repartition of charges was such that it couldn't hold, but most of all it was an alien when it came to the basics of chemistry. Although, to his defence, he only put little time developing his model and excess of confidence may have contributed to this failure.

Another example is about Einstein when he tried to apply his theory of general relativity to the universe. He came up with the right answer, but eventually took it all back. Its decision was made in light of what was known at the time, but we only know now that he was right. A blunder, yes, but that of a genius.

The Space Book: From the Beginning to the End of Time by Jim Bell.

At the time where the Curiosity rover is finding out about possible microbial life on Mars and Jade Rabbit is roving the Moon (in search of the bunny?), this book will be a nice reminder of the milestones achieved in space exploration.

Actually, it is much more than about space exploration, it is also about the history of the universe, from the Big-Bang to the end of time. With this book, Jim Bell, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University, tells the story of both space and time in some 250 stages full of amazing photographs and stories. It is a truly amazing adventure.