Humbling at indexed.
Observation: Jessica’s plots vary as either 1/r, r or r2, but I can’t recall any that had an actual inflection point (in my semi-random sampling). There could be some subtle implications in inflection points. No asymptotic functions I can recall, either.
Why “Daisy” in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Possibly because a Bell Labs computer sang it years earlier, in a demo of voice synthesis and voice recognition.
Pangolins is practically chickens.
Jennifer has started the great pop-sci book project, a natural evolution (and yet intelligently designed progression) of The Big Read
The rules are familiar
1. Highlight those you’ve read in full
2. Asterisk those you intend to read
3. Add any additional popular science books you think belong on the list
4. Link back to me (leave links or suggested additions in the comments, if you prefer) so I can keep track of everyone’s additions. Then we can compile it all into one giant “Top 100” popular science books list, with room for honorable mentions. (I, for one, have some quirky choices in the list below.) Voila! We’ll have awesome resource for general readers interested in delving into the fascinating world of science!
I don’t read tremendous amount of pop-sci, and not much in physics since A Brief History of Time, as I’ve gone to grad school since then and really don’t need much prose on how weird quantum mechanics and relativity are. (I had to put my foot down on getting pop-sci books as gifts after getting a pop-up book of cosmology; I felt a bit like John Cleese in a Monty Python sketch
Do you like your rattle? Do you like your rattle?
Ah, yes, the rattle.
Ooh, he’s talkin’ already
Of course I can talk, I’m the Minister for Overseas Development
But I digress.)
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