Monday, November 19, 2007

Hiking and Science

Yeah, did some more hiking. My legs are really sore from riding on Saturday, and my arms for some reason. Usually my arms aren't sore but there was a lot more muscling around of the horse. Today Cheryl and I hiked 2nd and 3rd peaks of the Chief. It was a perfect day that started cloudy but soon there were blue skies. I was surprised how much of the trail I remembered since it has been several years since I've hiked it. I guess we'll see just how many more leg muscles will be sore tomorrow.

As for the science, here are some books that have really shaped my views. I highly recommend because of course you came here for science book recommendations:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Not really a science book but does a good job teaching you why I am getting a Doctor of Philosophy and not a Doctor of Science.

The Selfish Gene: A classic which taught me to think about selection at the level of the gene and not 'for the good of the group'.

Godel, Escher, Bach: A difficult book that talks about self-reference, rules about systems and those conversations between the tortoise and Achilles.

The Ancestor's Tale: This is one of my favorite reads, not too heavy because it is split into separate entertaining tales (hmmm, entertaining if you're a biology nerd that is). Can you tell I'm a Dawkin's fan...

Endless Forms Most Beautiful: A book about developmental biology and how many different body shapes can be formed from the same toolkit.

And if you're looking for something else, Genome was a nice light intro to genetics, Flatterland about math and strange mathematical landscapes and Singularities in Biology about a lot of relevant biology stuff that doesn't get covered in class.

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