The thinker has no domain, and the walker has no boundary
The new year starts with reading
"Science is the exploration of new ways of thinking about the world, the ability to constantly question our existing concepts, the critical, forward-looking force that dares to defy authority, and the power to change its own conceptual foundations and redraw the world from scratch. ”
Carlo Rovelli begins his book How Quantum Physics Can Change the World by Writing about his understanding of science. In the process of reflecting on the implications of quantum mechanics, he concluded: "Do not be afraid of the unfathomable unknown, but dare to cast your eyes into the abyss." When something that is otherwise indestructible is questioned, it opens new paths and allows us to see further
The first popular science book list in 2024, the library of Xiaoguan United College, and selected some books from the fourth issue of "New Discoveries and Popular Science Book List" released by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Press and Publication Bureau, etc., to explore the fascinating unknown world with you.
How Quantum Physics is Changing the World
Author: [Italian] Carlo Rovelli Translator: Wang Ziang Publisher: Zhejiang Science and Technology Press.
From the perspective of quantum theory, there seems to be a magical connection between objects that are far apart. The strangeness of quantum theory is puzzling, but at the same time, it opens up a whole new perspective of cognitive reality, giving us a glimpse of a reality that is more profound and nuanced than the reality made of particles in space as seen from a purely materialistic perspective.
The author, Carlo Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to the physics of space-time, is the result of his thinking about "quantum": "Quantum theory offers us new ideas to rethink grand questions, such as the structure of reality, the nature of experience, metaphysics, and perhaps even the nature of consciousness. These are the topics he talks about in the book. Like books such as "Seven Lessons in Minimalist Physics" and "The Order of Time", he uses beautiful, easy-to-understand, poetic and philosophical language to lead everyone to understand the mysterious universe.
"The Clock That Never Stops".
Author: Jessica Riskin Translator: Lu Tianxue Publisher: CITIC Press.
Where does life come from? Does it have an intrinsic agency? When artificial intelligence and machine learning become a reality, the boundary between humans and machines is in**? The Never-Ending Clock: Machines, Life, Agency, and the Making of Modern Science revolves around a four-century-old debate: Is life a passive clock driven by external forces, or an active, never-ending clock?
The author examines the origins and history of this scientific controversy, starting with the automata of churches and courts in late medieval Europe. Reflecting on science in a historical way can not only revolutionize the original way of thinking, but also provide us with more possibilities for understanding the present and imagining the future.
Interstellar Records: Earth Archives for Extraterrestrial Life
Author: Carl Sagan Translator: Yang Peng Publisher: Shanghai People's Publishing House.
In the face of extraterrestrial life, how can humanity answer the question that has been difficult for thousands of years: Who are we? "This 1 billion years old record is a romantic greeting to humanity to the vast universe and a testament to our existence. ”
Commissioned by NASA and created by science writer Carl Sagan, the "Earth Archive" contains 118 images depicting the Earth and human civilizations, nearly 90 minutes from around the world, and an audio brief history of evolutionary history, "Voices of the Earth, greetings from different languages, and a whale's song." It follows two Voyager probes out of the solar system and roams the vast interstellar space. This book contains the full content of this golden record, and the original production team of the record tells the story of the record from their own perspectives as it went from idea to reality and finally flew into space.
"The Ultimate Question of Astronomy:
Who we are, where we come from, and where we will eventually go
Author: Neil DeGrass Tyson James Treiffel Translator: Fu Lei, Hu Fanghao, Wang Kechao Publisher: Jiangsu Phoenix Science and Technology Press.
Astronomy is the discipline with the largest span of space and time in natural science, and the entire space, space and universe are the objects of astronomical research. The so-called ultimate question of astronomy is to use physical principles to study the origin of celestial bodies, answering "who we are, where we came from, and where we will eventually go".
Neil DeGrass Tyson is an astrophysicist who, along with physicist James Treifel, has a deep understanding of cutting-edge science to unravel 10 fundamental questions about the universe – how the universe came to be, what the universe is made of, whether we are alone in the universe, and more, in astronomy, biology, philosophy, and more. While the answer to the ultimate question of astronomy is still inconclusive, as the author puts it, "we can also find joy in asking questions." ”
"The Beauty of Deep Time".
Author: Reilly Black Translator: Liu Xiaoou Publisher: Beijing Science and Technology Press.
The coal we burn today comes from an era when insects could grow into behemoths" and "5,000 years ago, one of the world's oldest trees took root" ......Deep time, the temporal scale that shapes the geological events of our planet, is so huge that it even challenges the limits of human understanding, but the evidence for it is everywhere.
The author, Reilly Black, is a scientific writer who studies paleontology, this book brings together cutting-edge research results and nearly 200 exquisite paintings, starting with "what is time", starting from the universe, focusing on the geological history of the earth for more than 4.5 billion years, telling the story from the formation of the earth to the emergence of human civilization, and also telling the story of time itself.
Regeneration: A Generation to End the Climate Crisis
Author: Paul Hawken Translator: Jin Wangming Publisher: China Science and Technology Press.
The climate crisis has become a global concern. The author of this book has been engaged in research in the field of climate ecology, and in the book he delves into important issues such as biodiversity, equity and climate, and forms a series of solutions to end the climate crisis through actions, policies and transformations. He not only looks at known solutions such as solar energy, electric vehicles, and reforestation, but also offers broader perspectives such as food indigenization, fire ecology, and forest farms.
Oceans and Civilizations
Author: Richard Hamblin Translator: Zhang Huanxiang Bai Yunqi Publisher: Zhejiang Education Press.
What is the difference between the sea and the ocean? In the waves, is it energy or seawater that flows? How did Spielberg's Jaws spark a shark hunting craze? How much impact a tiny marine creature like krill has on the global ecosystem ......The answers to these questions can be found in the book.
The author not only introduces the marine knowledge and historical stories related to it, but also shows the interactive relationship between human beings and the ocean, and extends to the understanding and use of the ocean by human beings and the culture created by human beings in the fields of science, literature, art, and film, and explores and explains the world of the ocean in a simple way.
Man from the Future: A Biography of Johann von Neumann
Author: Ananyo Batacharya Translator: Daigang Publisher: CITIC Publishing Group.
Johann von Neumann, a mathematician, computer scientist, physicist, meteorologist, and biologist, learned calculus at the age of 8 after reading the 45-volume General History of the World; At the age of 17, he published his first mathematics**; At the age of 18, he studied undergraduate and graduate courses in chemistry and doctoral courses in mathematics at three universities......At the age of 30, together with Albert Einstein and others, he became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
His "incredible brain" and its scientific contributions, far beyond the reach of his contemporaries, led to an inexplicable "von Neumann phenomenon". The author takes the reader on an exploration of how genius and a unique historical setting combine to allow a man to gallop through diverse fields and spark revolution wherever he goes.