Top ten educational books, the topics of which range from astrophysics and microbiology to literary criticism and philosophy.
1. Stephen Pinker, Blank Slate
The American psychologist and bestselling author explains what human nature is and why many tend to deny its existence.
This book was first published in 2002, but only now it has reached the Russian-speaking reader. It is dedicated to the eternal dispute between "nature" and "education." Scientists have no doubt that the intermediate position is rather correct: not nature or upbringing, but their interaction. But when it comes to politics and mass consciousness, many tend to deny the meaning of "nature". Even John Locke argued that the consciousness of a newborn is a blank slate on which the environment draws a human personality. Pinker uses data from behavioral psychology and evolutionary genetics to explain who is wrong and why.
Despite the seriousness and depth of the topic, the book was written witty and even fun, so after 15 years it is still not outdated.
2. Stanislav Drobyshevsky, "The Reaching Link"
The leading Russian anthropologist, lecturer and scientific editor of the Antropogenesis.ru portal talks about where people came from.
This large book - in fact, a whole two-volume - could continue the popular science work of Alexander Markov on evolution. Drobyshevsky tells about the origin of man not only to those who regularly visit the site "Anthropogenesis" and know everything about the differences between Homo erectus and Homo habilis , but also to those who have little interest in these scientific subtleties. It's enough just to love well-told stories and sometimes wonder where we come from.
What connects us with the history of the development of species, why it was man who became intelligent and whether that "reaching link" has already been found - you will hardly be able to find the best book on these issues.
3. Michael Gazzaniga, "Who's in charge?"
An American neuroscientist explores the idea of free will and explains how we make decisions.
When we reach out, who does it - we or thousands of complex connections, "tails" in our head? Are our actions free or are they determined by some external logic? The question itself is not new, but now it is not only philosophers and theologians who are engaged in it, but also people like the neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga. His answer is quite predictable: there are innate decision-making mechanisms, but this does not deprive us of responsibility for our actions. Consciousness is always late, but what would we do without consciousness? We are not only our brains. We need to look at the issue more broadly.
What matters is not the conclusion itself, but the way of thinking about these deep issues. The efforts of the reader, not used to thinking about free will, in the process of reading the book will pay off more than once.
4. Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein, Nudge. Architecture of choice"
A behavioral economist and Nobel laureate talks about the conditions in which people are able to make the best decisions.
Another book on decision making - this time from the perspective of behavioral economics and psychology. If you translate the word "nudge" into Russian, you get "push" or "push". This may not be the best title for a book, but it captures the main point of Thaler and Sunstein. Most of us make choices automatically, our predictions are biased and inaccurate - whether they are about buying an apartment, driving or voting in elections. But the optimal solution can be "nudged" by creating suitable conditions for this. This is the architecture of choice.
The authors address not only personal solutions, but also large-scale problems such as health and environmental protection. Even if you are not leading anyone, knowing about the architecture of choice is still useful - if only to lead your own life.
5. Alex Korb, The Rising Spiral
American neuroscientist explains how to get rid of depression and negative thinking.
Our actions, thoughts and the way we manage them can lead us on a downward spiral - to isolation, anxiety and depression. These emotions are rooted in the way our brains work, but they can be overcome. Even a small change in thinking habits and behavior can reverse this spiral. The book by Alex Korb is not only a practical guide to combating depressive conditions. It is also a journey through the human psyche that will help improve relationships with others and get rid of destructive thought patterns.
6. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics at Cosmic Speed
The famous astrophysicist and popularizer of science talks on his fingers about the origin and structure of the Universe.
The headline "Astrophysics at Cosmic Speed" refers to the constant reality of our day - haste. Tyson's book is intended for those who want to understand the mysteries of the Universe, the Big Bang theory, quarks and antiparticles, but are in a great hurry. Therefore, the book has only 240 pages - and it seems that this is quite enough. The talent of the popularizer once again did not disappoint the famous author.
7. Peter Watson, "The Age of the Void"
The British historian talks about "how people began to live without God, how they replaced religion, and what came out of it all."
This thick book is actually a summary of the history of 20th century metaphysical thought. Of course, Nietzsche is not to blame for the "death of God", but Watson's book begins with him. Then the chapters begin to jump from thinker to thinker - Freud, Bergson, Valerie, Heidegger, Camus, Malraux, Dennett, Christian theologians ... There are no fewer writers here: Kafka, Proust, Joyce, Shaw, Beckett, beatniks and postmodernists ... There was even a place for New Age figures and jazz musicians.
What happened to the idea of God in the 20th century? Watson's book contains many answers to this question. The author himself does not offer any answer. But the reader will be satisfied with what is in the book - a lot of new names and interesting information.
8. Michael Baskar, "The Curatorial Principle"
A book theorist and practitioner talks about how curating can help you survive in an era of overabundance.
If before we suffered from a lack, now we suffer from an overabundance: we have too many things, too much information, too many reasons to distract ourselves from business and too many things themselves. The only drawback is in time. Baskar's book invites you to turn to the principles of curation in order to optimally manage your choices. Curatorship is observation and selection, the law of authoritative opinion, which the author calls "the interface of the modern consumer economy."
Even if we don't know it, curation is already shaping our reality. Baskar's book is a good reason to understand how it works.
9. Harold Bloom, Western Canon
The American literary critic explains what the Western literary tradition is and gives a deeper feel for classical authors.
Literary scholars' books rarely attract the attention of the general public. Bloom's Western Canon is one such rare exception. The original edition of the work was published in 1994 and became a bestseller in the United States. Despite the complexity and encyclopedic coverage of the book - all Western literature from Dante to Beckett and a little further - the book is read with great interest even with minimal reading. It's all about the passionate, polemical tone that permeates almost every sentence.
The Western canon, according to Bloom, is inexhaustible. 26 essays, which are collected in his book, will allow the reader to look in a new way and more deeply not only at literature, but also at his own life.
10. Ed Yong, "How Microbes Control Us"
An American science journalist talks about how microbes help us and many other living organisms live.
"I am enclosing sets" (I of Contain Multitudes) - so this book is in the original edition, which quickly became an international bestseller. We think that it is necessary to get rid of germs, but in our body itself there are one and a half times more microbial cells than our own. We, like any other organism, are in constant symbiosis with millions of tiny creatures. These creatures influence how we digest food for us, complement our immune system and even influence our thinking.
Summarizing thousands of scientific publications, Yong unobtrusively and ironically invites you to look at the world in a different way. “This book changes you in the same way as all outstanding literature: you find yourself disoriented and look at the world around you with a completely new look,” wrote Karl Zimmer about it.
Ed Yong, science journalist.
1. Stephen Pinker, Blank Slate
The American psychologist and bestselling author explains what human nature is and why many tend to deny its existence.
This book was first published in 2002, but only now it has reached the Russian-speaking reader. It is dedicated to the eternal dispute between "nature" and "education." Scientists have no doubt that the intermediate position is rather correct: not nature or upbringing, but their interaction. But when it comes to politics and mass consciousness, many tend to deny the meaning of "nature". Even John Locke argued that the consciousness of a newborn is a blank slate on which the environment draws a human personality. Pinker uses data from behavioral psychology and evolutionary genetics to explain who is wrong and why.
Despite the seriousness and depth of the topic, the book was written witty and even fun, so after 15 years it is still not outdated.
Stephen Pinker, psychologist and popularizer of science.
2. Stanislav Drobyshevsky, "The Reaching Link"
The leading Russian anthropologist, lecturer and scientific editor of the Antropogenesis.ru portal talks about where people came from.
This large book - in fact, a whole two-volume - could continue the popular science work of Alexander Markov on evolution. Drobyshevsky tells about the origin of man not only to those who regularly visit the site "Anthropogenesis" and know everything about the differences between Homo erectus and Homo habilis , but also to those who have little interest in these scientific subtleties. It's enough just to love well-told stories and sometimes wonder where we come from.
What connects us with the history of the development of species, why it was man who became intelligent and whether that "reaching link" has already been found - you will hardly be able to find the best book on these issues.
Stanislav Drobyshevsky, anthropologist.
3. Michael Gazzaniga, "Who's in charge?"
An American neuroscientist explores the idea of free will and explains how we make decisions.
When we reach out, who does it - we or thousands of complex connections, "tails" in our head? Are our actions free or are they determined by some external logic? The question itself is not new, but now it is not only philosophers and theologians who are engaged in it, but also people like the neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga. His answer is quite predictable: there are innate decision-making mechanisms, but this does not deprive us of responsibility for our actions. Consciousness is always late, but what would we do without consciousness? We are not only our brains. We need to look at the issue more broadly.
What matters is not the conclusion itself, but the way of thinking about these deep issues. The efforts of the reader, not used to thinking about free will, in the process of reading the book will pay off more than once.
Michael Gazzaniga, neurophysiologist.
4. Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein, Nudge. Architecture of choice"
A behavioral economist and Nobel laureate talks about the conditions in which people are able to make the best decisions.
Another book on decision making - this time from the perspective of behavioral economics and psychology. If you translate the word "nudge" into Russian, you get "push" or "push". This may not be the best title for a book, but it captures the main point of Thaler and Sunstein. Most of us make choices automatically, our predictions are biased and inaccurate - whether they are about buying an apartment, driving or voting in elections. But the optimal solution can be "nudged" by creating suitable conditions for this. This is the architecture of choice.
The authors address not only personal solutions, but also large-scale problems such as health and environmental protection. Even if you are not leading anyone, knowing about the architecture of choice is still useful - if only to lead your own life.
Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein, behavioral economists.
5. Alex Korb, The Rising Spiral
American neuroscientist explains how to get rid of depression and negative thinking.
Our actions, thoughts and the way we manage them can lead us on a downward spiral - to isolation, anxiety and depression. These emotions are rooted in the way our brains work, but they can be overcome. Even a small change in thinking habits and behavior can reverse this spiral. The book by Alex Korb is not only a practical guide to combating depressive conditions. It is also a journey through the human psyche that will help improve relationships with others and get rid of destructive thought patterns.
Alex Korb, neurophysiologist.
6. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics at Cosmic Speed
The famous astrophysicist and popularizer of science talks on his fingers about the origin and structure of the Universe.
The headline "Astrophysics at Cosmic Speed" refers to the constant reality of our day - haste. Tyson's book is intended for those who want to understand the mysteries of the Universe, the Big Bang theory, quarks and antiparticles, but are in a great hurry. Therefore, the book has only 240 pages - and it seems that this is quite enough. The talent of the popularizer once again did not disappoint the famous author.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist.
7. Peter Watson, "The Age of the Void"
The British historian talks about "how people began to live without God, how they replaced religion, and what came out of it all."
This thick book is actually a summary of the history of 20th century metaphysical thought. Of course, Nietzsche is not to blame for the "death of God", but Watson's book begins with him. Then the chapters begin to jump from thinker to thinker - Freud, Bergson, Valerie, Heidegger, Camus, Malraux, Dennett, Christian theologians ... There are no fewer writers here: Kafka, Proust, Joyce, Shaw, Beckett, beatniks and postmodernists ... There was even a place for New Age figures and jazz musicians.
What happened to the idea of God in the 20th century? Watson's book contains many answers to this question. The author himself does not offer any answer. But the reader will be satisfied with what is in the book - a lot of new names and interesting information.
Peter Watson, historian.
8. Michael Baskar, "The Curatorial Principle"
A book theorist and practitioner talks about how curating can help you survive in an era of overabundance.
If before we suffered from a lack, now we suffer from an overabundance: we have too many things, too much information, too many reasons to distract ourselves from business and too many things themselves. The only drawback is in time. Baskar's book invites you to turn to the principles of curation in order to optimally manage your choices. Curatorship is observation and selection, the law of authoritative opinion, which the author calls "the interface of the modern consumer economy."
Even if we don't know it, curation is already shaping our reality. Baskar's book is a good reason to understand how it works.
Michael Baskar, book publisher.
9. Harold Bloom, Western Canon
The American literary critic explains what the Western literary tradition is and gives a deeper feel for classical authors.
Literary scholars' books rarely attract the attention of the general public. Bloom's Western Canon is one such rare exception. The original edition of the work was published in 1994 and became a bestseller in the United States. Despite the complexity and encyclopedic coverage of the book - all Western literature from Dante to Beckett and a little further - the book is read with great interest even with minimal reading. It's all about the passionate, polemical tone that permeates almost every sentence.
The Western canon, according to Bloom, is inexhaustible. 26 essays, which are collected in his book, will allow the reader to look in a new way and more deeply not only at literature, but also at his own life.
Harold Bloom, literary critic.
10. Ed Yong, "How Microbes Control Us"
An American science journalist talks about how microbes help us and many other living organisms live.
"I am enclosing sets" (I of Contain Multitudes) - so this book is in the original edition, which quickly became an international bestseller. We think that it is necessary to get rid of germs, but in our body itself there are one and a half times more microbial cells than our own. We, like any other organism, are in constant symbiosis with millions of tiny creatures. These creatures influence how we digest food for us, complement our immune system and even influence our thinking.
Summarizing thousands of scientific publications, Yong unobtrusively and ironically invites you to look at the world in a different way. “This book changes you in the same way as all outstanding literature: you find yourself disoriented and look at the world around you with a completely new look,” wrote Karl Zimmer about it.
Ed Yong, science journalist.
