Monday, July 23, 2012

Reading update

Some good books I read recently.

The information by James Gleick - The book accessibly traces the history of the technology and the concept of Information, and how it came to dominate our present times. You will see the rise of writing (Plato was no fan to it), the first dictionaries and encyclopedias, telegraphs and African talking drums. And you will meet the work of Shannon and Chaitin and Kolmogorov. Quite fascinating.

In praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell - It's a collection of essays on various socio-political topics. For example in the title essay he discusses the benifits that might accrue if work hours were to be reduced, giving people more leisure. He presents the case for Socialism, and philosophical history of fascism. And he talks about the delights of 'useless' knowledge, which enriches our experience of the world, despite having no practical application. In some cases you might find yourself disagreeing with Russell, but the concern, clear thinking and quality that are present will surely impress you.

The man who loved only numbers by Paul Hoffman - A biographical sketch of eminent number theorist Paul Erdős. One of the most prolific mathematicians ever, he published 1475 papers in his lifetime, with 485 collaborators. He organized his life to maximize his time for mathematics, which meant no wife or children or family, no home, no permanent job either. He lived his life out of a suitace, always moving and finding new collaborators. What little money he earned almost entirely went to needy students, relatives or charities. A warm, delightful book about an extraordinary life.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The counter expires

When you have waited long enough and hard enough for something, it is hard to be objective when you actually get it. Watched 'The Dark Knight Rises' today. And due to this absence, I will refrain from swaying your opinion one way or another, by ending this post right here.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Couple of updates

Read 'The old man and the sea'. A touching little story. Written as a single section so a little hard to read. Plus some of the fishing/sailing references were hard to figure out. By the way this is the book that won Hemingway (the author) the Nobel.

Watched first episode of 'Sherlock' the TV series. Loved this modern interpretation. Wondered if the precision logic that Holmes employed was somehow an overgrowth of certitude of Victorian science in general. If so, one cannot write a Holmes today.

Friday, July 13, 2012

A first

What do you do when you finish a novel and are all touched by it and pondering it and only in the afterword you come to realize that it is based on actual events? Not much I guess, except being swept in the thought storm that follows. This is exactly what happened with me and Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. It holds the world record for a bestseller for number of times it was turned down by publishers (121). And it has some poignant and pertinent and wise things to say. And you might find part of your own journey reflected there. Worth a second read I think.

P.S.
Wikipedia fetched this good interview with the author.