I really enjoy learning, just for the sake of learning, but I wasn't always that way. There was a time when I didn't give a shit about anything except running around and playing video games. Oh, I always had an interest in the way things worked, astronomy and biology in particular, but when my parents bought me a telescope for my birthday I was as likely to break it pretending it was a bazooka than actually use it to look at stars. I never felt the need to learn, only an idle interest in it.
The turning point, I think, was when I started arguing on the internet. It made me realize how important it was to be right about things, and to correct my views when I was wrong.
On a related note, I recommend Godel, Escher, Bach.
Edit: Technically it's more math than science, but only kind've. It's not exactly a textbook listing formulae. Besides, there is a very small step between math and science. Vallo, the Second Coming fucked around with this message on 02-03-2012 at 08:06 AM.
Arguing on the internet has improved me too. I look back at some of my old posts here and holy crap I was a fucking asshole/moron.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Maradon! wrote this then went back to looking for porn:
So I finished reading The Greatest Show on Earth, a book on evolution by the nefarious Dawkins, and I was in the mood for a new science book to read (I am open to suggestions, by the way) when something odd occurred to me.I really enjoy learning, just for the sake of learning, but I wasn't always that way. There was a time when I didn't give a shit about anything except running around and playing video games. Oh, I always had an interest in the way things worked, astronomy and biology in particular, but when my parents bought me a telescope for my birthday I was as likely to break it pretending it was a bazooka than actually use it to look at stars. I never felt the need to learn, only an idle interest in it.
The turning point, I think, was when I started arguing on the internet. It made me realize how important it was to be right about things, and to correct my views when I was wrong.
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ACES! Another post by Tarquinn:
No, u.
tl;dr
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Bent over the coffee table, Callalron squealed:
tl;dr
qft
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Peanut butter ass Shaq Karnaj booooze lime pole over bench lick:
You should read Parce's books. They're a lot of fun. Of course, they're not science-y in any way, but nevertheless, fun.
I've read Parce's books.
I am into sci-fi and I haven't read Blindsight but I was more looking for non-fiction. I like to read one fiction book and one non-fiction at the same time, and I'm currently reading through the entire Discworld series (I'm at Men at Arms) so my fiction plate is full, but I'm hurting for a non-fiction.
I read it because I'm learning guitar and just started at a similar age. But I'm not able to take a year-long sabbatical to learn full time and write a book about it, so my mileage has definitely varied.
A quick read, with interesting points, but not overly pedantic or esoteric.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Maradon! wrote this stupid crap:
I've read Parce's books.I am into sci-fi and I haven't read Blindsight but I was more looking for non-fiction. I like to read one fiction book and one non-fiction at the same time, and I'm currently reading through the entire Discworld series (I'm at Men at Arms) so my fiction plate is full, but I'm hurting for a non-fiction.
Dawkin's other books are worth a read too.
Most other non-fiction books I've read are about strategy and tactics (von Clausewitz, Machiavelli etc.), which I am not sure you're interested in.
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Vallo, the Second Coming had this to say about Cuba:
To an extent, I rather agree.
Godel, Escher, Bach.
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I wish Tarquinn would say this more often:
Dawkin's other books are worth a read too.Most other non-fiction books I've read are about strategy and tactics (von Clausewitz, Machiavelli etc.), which I am not sure you're interested in.
A German reading about the craft of war? Well I'll be.
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Tarquinn got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
Better reading than practicing.
What's wrong with practicing?
I've enjoyed researching how marketing affects perception. Here's a somewhat NSFW example of a commercial that caused some people to completely rethink their idea of beauty.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java the thoughts aquire speed, the teeth acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
