Readings

Several of my friends have started putting their reading lists or movie diaries online, and I think that's a great idea. There are millions of books, papers, movies and television shows circulating in our civilization, and no-one currently has the werewithal to read them all. So it is important that those of us who do read do more than just read; we should reflect upon what we read, evaluate it for content, pass along the gems of wisdom contained within, and when something rises above the froth, recommend it to others.

Current Reading List

• Essential C++ by Stanley Lippman
• Smalltalk 80: Bits of History, Words of Advice edited by Glen Krasner
• The Alef Programming Manual by Phil Winterbottom
• Xxxholic, Vol. 1 by Clamp

Upcoming Titles

• Common Lispcraft by Robert Wilensky
• Quantum Mechanics: Principles and Formalism by Roy McWeeny
• The C Programming Language, Second Edition by Kernighan and Ritchie
• Common LISPcraft by Robert Wilensky

To Be Reviewed

• The Alef Programming Manual by Phil Winterbottom
• Xxxholic, Vol. 1 by Clamp
• Essential C++ by Stanley Lippman
• The Design and Evolution of C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup
• V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
• Supergirl: Superman/Batman vol 2. by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner
• The Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
• Discovering Knowledge in Data by Daniel LaRose
• Judy Arrays

Reviews

Physics and Beyond by Werner Heisenberg

An amazingly human book about physics. In deeply personal terms, Heisenberg tells how he grew from a war-tossed youth to an elder statesman of physics. His thesis is that physics is more than just experiments, numbers and math; instead, it is a deeply social process of discussion among physicists trying to understand the world experiment reveals around them. He weaves an idyllic picture of the interchange among the physicists of his generation, portraying the quantum mechanics as emerging not from dry scientific discussions but from vigorous literary, philosophical and religious interchanges, shared excitement and brassy poker games, and invigorating hiking, mountain climing and sailing adventures. Heisenberg carefully picks out key conversations during his life that ultimately led to the Uncertainty Principle that bears his name, interwoven with key turns of events that illuminate the slow disintegration of Germany leading up to World War II. We watch the idealistic, musical Youth Movement of his childhood degenerate into an edgy conversation with a Hitler Youth member who overhears Heisenberg playing. We see his despair as he is conscripted into the atomic bomb program and tries to steer it towards nuclear piles, rather than nuclear bombs. And we follow him through harrowing bike rides through the lines, the rescue of an old man from a burning house, the shock of an avalanche and an encounter with an unexpectedly friendly American bear.

Truly an amazing book.

Other Historical Readings