<p>So now that I actually don't have reading assignments, I feel like doing just that. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for some good books to read? Preferably nonfiction.</p>
<p>My current summer reading list:
Richard Gott - Time Travel in Einstein's Universe - FINISHED
Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion - FINISHED
Brian Greene - The Fabric of the Cosmos - FINISHED
Brian Greene - The Elegant Universe - FINISHED
MIT Press - Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software - IN PROGRESS
Bill Bryson - Short History of Nearly Everything - IN PROGRESS
Christopher Hitchens - The Portable Atheist - IN PROGRESS</p>
<p>Wow. I'm reading a couple of books on that list, but I will definitely look into the others. Have you read any of Stephen Hawking's books? They're pretty good reads. Not to difficult to understand; he wanted to make them readable for common people so that they can understand the wonders of the universe.</p>
<p>YOU OWN! Dude you are one of the few truly intelligent people I've seen on here. Go atheism, physics, and open source(ubuntu user)! Dawkins is my hero as is Einstein. Great books my friend i've read every single one of them. Might I suggest the Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam by Michel Onfray.</p>
<p>Though not at all science-y, I found both of Obama's books very interesting and I'm not usually interested in politics. Highly recommend them, especially the second one (The Audacity of Hope).</p>
<p>@Invoy: Yes, I'm a scientist.. and yes, I'm atheist =D However could you tell?</p>
<p>@Liizt: Ah, I've heard of that book; haven't read it yet, so I'll definitely add it to my list of future reads!</p>
<p>@spaceranger: Stephen Hawking was what originally got me hooked on astrophysics in the first place. I have the coloured illustrated edition of Brief History of Time c/w Universe in a Nutshell, and the volume has earned a prized place on my bookshelf =D</p>
<p>@teenage: Haha, I think the presidential race this year was what got me interested in politics in the first place. Obama's getting my vote this November, so I suppose I should pick up some of his reading. Thanks!</p>
<p>@Swallowed: Ooh, I've read Atheist Manifesto; another one of my favourites. And damn, Dawkins and Einstein are my heroes as well (Hawking too, hehe). I run Debian, so I'm glad to see we've got other FOSS supporters running around this forum. Haha, and you're from my state too. Isn't that uncanny?</p>
<p>^ You know the show "Mythbusters" on Discovery Channel? The hosts of the show are trying to convince Discovery Channel to bust the myth of creationism but Discovery Channel won't let them lol</p>
<p>^ You can't really prove the Big Bang or how exactly abiogenesis occurs. Even my biology teacher said that those two topics are best left for a theology or philosophy class.</p>
<p>You might find neuroscience books interesting. Understanding behavior in terms of science is a key part of understanding the physical world and helps close some of those mysterious gaps that people resort to the metaphysical to explain (e.g. "souls".) Some good introductory books are Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks, the latter of which I haven't read yet. The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge is also good if you want to explore the power of thought (in a purely scientific manner.)</p>
<p>Another neuroscience book: The Body Has a Mind of Its Own by Sandra and Matthew Blakeslee. It's pretty interesting. I also second the Freakonomics suggestion. </p>
<p>If you end up liking *A Short History of Nearly Everything<a href="one%20of%20my%20favorites,%20by%20the%20way">/i</a> I would suggest Bill Bryson's other books--most are about travel, but they're hysterical. I really like his style.</p>
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^ You can't really prove the Big Bang or how exactly abiogenesis occurs. Even my biology teacher said that those two topics are best left for a theology or philosophy class.
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<p>Maybe about the big bang, but abiogenesis can probably be explained scientificially. Non-living clumps of chemicals can obey the laws of heredity, too, and ribozymes have helped clear the field up a lot (as, of course, has the Miller-Urey experiment). The Origins of Life by John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary helped clear some of the current theories up for me.</p>
<p>Try The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell. It's not very scientific, but Russell was an atheist, if that helps at all. A good introduction to philosophy, especially epistemology.</p>
<p>Abiogenesis to date hasn't been "proved" yet, but that's not to say we won't in the future ;)</p>
<p>@Poseur + elven: neuroscience, my goodness <3 that's another love of mine, in addition to psychology/sociology, so I'll definitely check out the books you've recommended!</p>
<p>@stone: Michio Kaku, another one of my heroes. I haven't read any of his works yet, though, so I'll put those on my list as well!</p>
<p>Thanks for being so helpful, everyone! I'll definitely have enough reading to last me quite a while, haha. Continue suggesting for everyone if you all want, though =)</p>
<p>^No. Unless one believes in creation, intelligent design, or his own pet theory, it must have happened at some point in time, but we don't know how. There is good evidence supporting Smith's theory (which isn't really his, but I don't really know whose it is). Of course, it can be disproven at any point, but that's how theories work. I don't think there's anywhere near enough evidence to teach it as fact anyway, and there've almost certainly been new developments since that book was written.</p>