never-ending pseudoscience probabilities biotechnology

books:

Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins

19 reviews
Robert Hazen

Joseph Henry Press, 2005

An interesting book for the layman about an exciting scientific question
As Robert Hazen explains, the complexity we see in the world is not at odds with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. What happens is that in the presence of an energy flow, patterns form in systems which help dissipate that energy. We need complexity and patterns for life to evolve. Once life begins, evolution can produce more and more complex life forms. But how do we get to the first life ...

Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere

11 reviews
Peter Ward

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

An Evolutionary Unified Field Theory?
Several previous reviewers have mentioned the awkwardness of Ward's prose, so I'll simply associate myself with their comments in that regard. What for me makes this book a "must" read in comparison to Ward's other books (and most books in the field of palaeontology, for that matter) is that while it may be weak in specific parts of its technical argument, overall the pieces fit together so well ...

Darwin's Gift: to Science and Religion

6 reviews
Francisco Ayala

Joseph Henry Press, 2007

The Heart Of The Matter: What Does God Do?
[reproduced from my blog, EXPLORING OUR MATRIX, at the author's request] I've been reading several books on evolution, intelligent design, and related subjects, as I seek to decide on representative readings to assign for my religion and science course this Fall. It seems to me that the differences between many viewpoints centers around the question of what God does. Naturalistic ...

A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

7 reviews
Tom Siegfried

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

Far-Reaching Theory Now Accessible
The movie "A Beautiful Mind" was inspiring and touching. But, it really did not explain Nash's contributions to the world in the form of game theory. Now readers have a chance to understand the theory and practice behind this Nobel Prize winning discovery in Tom Siegfried's book, "A Beautiful Math." This thorough, historical, mathematical, and metaphorical description of game theory really ...

Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element

9 reviews
Jeremy Bernstein

Joseph Henry Press, 2007

Excellent read
I am a fan of high end engineering and science topics. Nuclear engineering and achievements are one of those topics I enjoy learning about. The author focuses on the historical discovery, and race to find and learn about Plutonium, and its applications/hazards. The end of the book has an excellent while brief take on Hanford and Rocky Flats locations and proliferation concerns. A whole ...

Glut: Mastering Information Through The Ages

5 reviews
Alex Wright

Joseph Henry Press, 2007

excellent look at information
I am a graphic designer working on a thesis in information graphics. This book is easily the best book I have read in the course of my research. The style is quick and engaging. The information moves from a biologic look at how evolution may have driven the way we separate and categorize information - To historic looks at how information has been used. It is not specifically targeted at ...

Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction : Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins

5 reviews
Charles M. Wynn, Arthur W. Wiggins, ...

Joseph Henry Press, 2001

Excellent Science/Pseudoscience Primer
The real value of this book is in the first three chapters, which contain a simple yet powerful description of how science works, and why pseudoscience is, well, pseudoscience. The remainder of the book covers a variety of pseudosciences grouped into five major categories. While detail is a bit thin on the individual entries, the authors do an excellent job of showing why pseudoscientific ...

Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities

5 reviews
Jeffrey S. Rosenthal

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

A Great Practical Book on Probability in the Everyday World
I love books like this! I saw this one, browsed through it a bit and bought it right away because it looked very good - it was. I can confidently say that this is one of the best books of its type. The author explains, in very clear language, the nature of probability and its use in understanding some of the many areas in everyday life that could otherwise remain very obscure or misunderstood. ...

The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World

19 reviews
Phillip F. Schewe

Joseph Henry Press, 2007

Fantastic
I read this book while I was working at a nuclear power plant. It really opened my eyes to the world of electricity - who makes it and how it get transferred to our homes. This book opens the eyes to the past, present and future of an industry everyone in developed countries is dependent on. It's not dry or technical, but delightfully relates the people and the events in a way which is ...

The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine

10 reviews
Ann B. Parson

Joseph Henry Press, 2004

Unique treatment of an important subject
I have been active in biomedical research advocacy for many years, and in stem cell advocacy for the past four years , and Ann Parson's book is, without a doubt, the best treatment of this subject I have seen yet. Whether you have a science background, are a patient or patient's family member, or just wondered what Ron Reagan was doing at the Democratic convention, you have probably struggled to ...

A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

The Secret Life of Numbers: 50 Easy Pieces on How Mathematicians Work and Think

3 reviews
George G. Szpiro

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

masterpiece of accessible math popularization
These are the kind of articles I wish the NY Times Science section would have, but it rarely has any math. Swiss-German people are lucky to be able to enjoy these journalistic light yet often profound "easy" pieces, and now they are all available in beautiful English prose! Perfect present to the math-lover as well as the math-hater, and of course the math-indifferent. In other words, to ...

Nature's Machines: The Story of Biomechanist Mimi Koehl (Women's Adventures in Science)
Deborah Parks

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

Mimi Koehl tinkers with machines. Some are so tiny they can't be seen by the naked eye, and some disappeared millions of years ago. But Mimi isn't a mechanic. She's a biomechanist, a scientist who uses engineering and physics to study the designs of living things that fly, swim, drift, and crawl. She loves solving riddles about how creatures—from feathered dinosaurs to flying frogs—live and move. Mimi's curiosity has led her into ...

The Culture of Our Discontent: Beyond the Medical Model of Mental Illness
Meredith F. Small

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

By many estimations, the Western medical model of mental health is dangerously incomplete. If we step outside of current disease model, there are many new and different ways to understand, treat, and even accept negative mental conditions. Culture - how we collectively live, interact, and view the world - frames our mental outlook. Arguably, it even creates it. Western culture, for example, has completely embraced the medical model of ...

Extreme Waves

3 reviews
Craig B. Smith

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

Smith Does It Again
Craig Smith has produced another great book. His previous work, "How The Great Pyramid Was Built," analyzed the original construction of the Great Pyramid in Egypt using modern engineering principles and tools. His explanations and conclusions in that book were crisp and credible. Reading it was a pleasure. His new book,"Extreme Waves," demonstrates again his ability to take a complex subject ...

The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Never-Ending Universe

16 reviews
Marcus Chown

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

Not a well-thought-out story
In the "real" world, the one we can see and feel, things are generally predictable. Rain doesn't fall from a cloudless sky, and the sun rises at the eastern horizon. Down in the invisible world of atoms and their components, things are less organised. The story doesn't flow like a good novel, it skips around, chapters are out of sequence, and the conclusions aren't just illogical, they're ...

Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries, Second Edition

7 reviews
Sharon Bertsch McGrayne

Joseph Henry Press, 2001

stories of women who loved science
Why so few? This is the question which the author put on the first page of the book. More than 300 scientists have won the Nobel Prize since its establishment,however, only 10 of them are women. Why? Why have so few women won the Nobel Prize in science? Some people might say this small number could be evidence for old prejudices. But the author tried to find a different answer through this book. ...

Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra

26 reviews
John Derbyshire

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

Fascinating History of Algebra
Fascinating History of Algebra "Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra" by John Derbyshire Readers who enjoyed "Prime Obsession" will find "Unknown Quantity" irresistible. In this very readable text John Derbyshire covers the broad history of modern algebra. The history starts four thousand years ago in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The author tells the lives of the men and ...

Biotechnology Unzipped: Promises and Realities, Revised Second Edition

7 reviews
Eric S. Grace, A Joseph Henry Press book

Joseph Henry Press, 2006

compelling
BIOTECHNOLOGY UNZIPPED is the most compelling evaluation of biotechnology I have read since Harsanyi & Hutton's GENETIC PROPHECY of almost 20 years ago. What makes this book so insightful is the "tradeoffs" perspective that Grace brings to the subject. In every instance where a particular technique is either in development or on the market, the possibilities for ...

Chaos Theory Tamed

14 reviews
Garnett P. Williams, A Joseph Henry Press book

Joseph Henry Press, 1997

Brilliant
Garnett Williams is my hero. He takes what seems like a complicated topic and makes it seem simple. Williams never assumes anything about the reader's prior understanding of any topic - he patiently and carefully explains what you need to know to understand his point. He reiterates, summarizes and gives examples so that even when you are occaisionally feeling like you might get lost, he reels ...

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