Hitting the Books: How 20th century science unmade Newton's universe

Science is the reason you aren't reading this by firelight nestled cozily under a rock somewhere however, its practice significantly predates its formalization by Galileo in the 16th century. Among its earliest adherents — even before pioneering efforts of Aristotle — was Animaxander, the Greek philosopher credited with first arguing that the Earth exists within a void, not atop a giant turtle shell. His other revolutionary notions include, "hey, maybe animals evolved from other, earlier animals?" and "the gods aren't angry, that's just thunder."While Animaxander isn't often mentioned alongside the later greats of Greek philosophy, his influence on the scientific method cannot be denied, argues NYT bestselling author, Carlo Rovelli, in his latest book, Animaxander and the Birth of Science, out now from Riverhead Books. In in, Rovelli celebrates Animaxander, not necessarily for his scientific acumen but for his radical scientific thinking — specifically his talent for shrugging off conventional notion to glimpse at the physical underpinnings of the natural world. In the excerpt below, Rovelli, whom astute readers will remember from last year's There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important than Kindness, illustrates how even the works of intellectual titans like Einstein and Heisenberg can and inevitably are found lacking in their explanation of natural phenomena — in just the same way that those works themselves decimated the collective understanding of... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-03-12 14:30:52 UTC ]
News tagged with: #technological advances #penguin random house

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9 Historical Novels by 20th-Century Queer Writers

Queer people have been writing historical fiction since before queerness existed—by which I mean, since before it was hammered into an antithesis to heterosexuality during the long nineteenth century. By the turn of the twentieth, queers looking to write about the past had to grapple with new,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-09-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
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'Big Bang of Numbers' – The Conversation's book club explores how math alone could create the universe with author Manil Suri

A book-length thought experiment uses math to investigate some of life’s big questions. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-09-18 12:19:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big bang #big questions #book club


20 of the Most Thought-Provoking, Philosophical Science Fiction Books of All Time

Looking for a work of science fiction that will make you really think? Welcome to these philosophical sci-fi books! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-09-15 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction


Art Books Extraordinaire: 10 of Phaidon’s Most Innovative Titles of the Past Century

Phaidon’s publishing program has always been characterized by a fundamental belief in the intrinsic value of art, and the role that books can play in bringing art into our lives. Our hundred-year anniversary gives us an opportunity to look to our past and see the origins of the ideas and ideals... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-15 08:35:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #past century #bringing art #publishing program


Hitting the Books: Meet Richard Arkwright, the world's first tech titan

You didn't actually believe all those founder's myths about tech billionaires like Bezos, Jobs and Musk pulling themselves up by their bootstraps from some suburban American garage, did you? In reality, our corporate kings have been running the same playbook since the 18th century when... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-09-11 20:50:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #company insists #independent contractors #endemic culture #automating cloth-making #founders aim #artificial intelligence


Hitting the Books: Meet Richard Akrwright, the world's first tech titan

You didn't actually believe all those founder's myths about tech billionaires like Bezos, Jobs and Musk pulling themselves up by their bootstraps from some suburban American garage, did you? In reality, our corporate kings have been running the same playbook since the 18th century when... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-09-10 14:30:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #company insists #independent contractors #endemic culture #automating cloth-making #founders aim #artificial intelligence


The Bestselling Science Fiction Books of All Time

From classics to modern marvels to young adult adventures, here are the bestselling science fiction books of all time. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-08-08 10:31:00 UTC ]
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8 of the Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books To Read in August 2023

These new science fiction and fantasy books out August 2023, including More Perfect by Temi Oh, deal with everything from ghosts to aliens to war machines. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-08-03 10:33:00 UTC ]
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10 of the Best Historical Science Fiction Books

History and science fiction collide in these historical science fiction books like Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente, where the future is retro and retro is the future. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-07-20 10:34:00 UTC ]
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RIP to one of the great horny novelists of the 20th century, Milan Kundera.

I was surprised to read this morning that Milan Kundera, the eminent Czech novelist best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died yesterday at the age of 94. Mainly because I thought he was already dead. For a generation of literary types (Gen X in particular), Kundera was the cool,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:34:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #milan kundera #20th century #unbearable lightness #died yesterday #novelists


Hitting the Books: Why AI won't be taking our cosmology jobs

The problem with studying the universe around us is that it is simply too big. The stars overhead remain too far away to interact with directly, so we are relegated to testing our theories on the formation of the galaxies based on observable data. Simulating these celestial bodies on computers... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-18 15:30:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #existing laws #bear fruit #quantum mechanics #penguin random house


Hitting the books: Why you shouldn't blog about asking a cop to go shopping for you

You get free stuff, you get free travel, you get the nifty cool title of "brand ambassador," what's not to love about being an internet influencer? There's the consequences, for one. Not even just the warranted consequences of your actual actions, mind you, but also those arriving unbidden based... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-11 14:30:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ten minutes #devastating impact #penguin random house


Hitting the Books: Why we like bigger things better

We Americans love to have ourselves a big old time. It's not just our waistlines that have exploded outward since the post-WWII era. Our houses have grown larger, as have the appliances within them, the vehicles in their driveways, the income inequalities between ourselves and our neighbors, and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-06-04 14:30:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins


Hitting the Books: Renee Descartes had his best revelations while baked in an oven

Some of us do our best thinking in the shower, others do it while on the toilet. Renee Descartes, he pondered most deeply while ensconced in a baker's oven. The man simply needed to be convinced of the oven's existence before climbing in. Such are the quirks of the most monumental minds humanity... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-05-28 14:30:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #final act #great book


New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

New novels by Fonda Lee, Martha Wells, Nick Harkaway, Kelly Link and Emma Törzs. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-05-26 15:30:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fantasy books #martha wells #nick harkaway #kelly link #science fiction


Hitting the Books: The abrupt and ignoble downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried

Seemingly overnight, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, went from cryptocurrency wunderkind to wanted for questioning by the FBI. After years of unfettered success, the walls of SBF's blockchain empire came crumbling down around him as his tricky financial feats failed and his generalized... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-05-14 14:30:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dire straits #york magazine #ebooks


Illustrated children’s biography of King Charles hits No 1 on UK book chart

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s book, illustrated by Matt Hunt, is the first of the Little People, Big Dreams series to top the standingsA children’s biography of King Charles III has topped the UK book chart before the coronation on 6 May.Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s King Charles is part of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-05 09:57:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #illustrated children #king charles #stephen hawking #michelle obama #uk book


Love & Other Epic Adventures: Science Fiction Romance Books

Get your fill of space adventures, AI hunks, and shipworthy pairings with these science fiction romance books like The Red Scholar's Wake. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-04-28 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Hitting the Books: Sputnik's radio tech launched a revolution in bird migration research

"Birds fly South for the winter and North for the summer," has historically proven to be only slightly less reliable a maxim than the sun always rising in the East and setting in the West. Humanity has been fascinated by the comings and goings of our avian neighbors for millennia, but the why's... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-04-02 14:30:53 UTC ]
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9 of the Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books To Read In March 2023

This exciting mix of new science fiction and fantasy novels out in March 2023 will help you finish off the worst of the winter. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 11:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fantasy books #fantasy novels #science fiction