How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
By: Per Bak
4.03
Format: 225 pages, Hardcover
Self-organized criticality, the spontaneous development of systems to a critical state, is the firs…
Want to Read $ 10.99"An unlikely event is likely to happen because there are so many unlikely events that could happen."-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
"An unlikely event is likely to happen because there are so many unlikely events that could happen."-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
"Why is it that you guys are so conservative in your views, in the face of the almost complete lack of understanding of what is going on in your field?"-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
"Why is it that you guys are so conservative in your views, in the face of the almost complete lack of understanding of what is going on in your field?"-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
If you liked the popular science plot in How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality by Per Bak , here is a list of 5 books like this:
1. Freshwater
By: Akwaeke Emezi
4.02
Format: 229 pages, Hardcover
An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self… read more
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"It wasn’t me,"-Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater
"The worst part of embodiment is being unseen."-Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater
"Sometimes, you recognize truth because it destroys you for a bit."-Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater
"The gods do not care. It is not them, after all, that will pay the cost."-Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater
2. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
By: James Gleick
4.03
Format: 527 pages, Hardcover
James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonis… read more
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- mathematics
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- popular science
- science
"At the end of 2006, people concerned with the “Cat"-James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
"Vengeful conquerors burn books as if the enemy's souls reside there, too."-James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
"Before Newton the English word gravity denoted a mood—seriousness, solemnity…."-James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
"Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace."-James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
3. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
By: Joshua Foer
3.88
Format: 307 pages, Hardcover
The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our con… read more
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- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
"learning texts is worth doing not because it's easy but because it's hard."-Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
"A meaningful relationship between two people cannot sustain itself only in the present tense."-Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
"If you want to live a memorable life, you have to be the kind of person who remembers to remember."-Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
"What better way to try to begin to understand the nature and meaning of human memory than to investigate its absence?"-Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
4. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
4.10
Format: 426 pages, Hardcover
From the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost philosophers of our time, Nas… read more
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- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- economics
- science
"Only the autodidacts are free."-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
"More data means more information, but it also means more false information."-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
"Convincing - and confident - disciplines, say, physics, tend to use little statistical backup, while political science and economics, which have never produced anything of note, are full of elaborate…"-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
"Further, in writing, I feel corrupt and unethical if I have to look up a subject in a library as part of the writing itself. This acts as a filter--it is the only filter. If the subject is not intere…"-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
5. Christianity: A Very Short Introduction
By: Linda Woodhead
3.52
Format: 184 pages, Paperback
At a time when Christianity is flourishing in the Southern Hempisphere but declining in much of the… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
6. Thinking, Fast and Slow
By: Daniel Kahneman
4.18
Format: 499 pages, Hardcover
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of th… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
- psychology
"A compelling narrative fosters an illusion of inevitability."-Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
"Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking of it."-Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
"Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it."-Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
"Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it"-Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
7. Complexity: A Guided Tour
By: Melanie Mitchell , Melanie Mitchell
0.00
Format: 194 pages, Hardcover
What enables individually simple insects like ants to act with such precision and purpose as a grou… read more
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- biology
- mathematics
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- physics
- science
8. In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays
By: Bertrand Russell
4.01
Format: 175 pages, Paperback
First published in 1984. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company. read more
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- philosophy
- economics
- nonfiction
9. The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision
By: Fritjof Capra , Pier Luigi Luisi
2.84
Format: 306 pages, Hardcover
Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of scien… read more
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- biology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- economics
- science
10. What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People
By: Joe Navarro , Marvin Karlins
3.67
Format: 364 pages, Paperback
He says that's his best offer. Is it? She says she agrees. Does she? The interview went great--or d… read more
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- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
11. Thinking in Systems: A Primer
By: Donella H. Meadows , None
3.57
Format: None pages, Paperback
Meadows' Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on… read more
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12. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
By: Carl Sagan , Ann Druyan
4.29
Format: 459 pages, Paperback
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t un… read more
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- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- popular science
- physics
- science
"Gullibility kills."-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
"Occasionally, I get a letter from someone who is in “contact"-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality."-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
"Not explaining science seems to me perverse. When you're in love, you want to tell the world."-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
13. Scale: The Search for Simplicity and Unity in the Complexity of Life, from Cells to Cities, Companies to Ecosystems, Milliseconds to Millennia
By: Geoffrey West
3.97
Format: 176 pages, Hardcover
The former head of the Sante Fe Institute, visionary physicist Geoffrey West is a pioneer in the fi… read more
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14. Cosmos
By: Carl Sagan
4.39
Format: 384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
The story of fifteen billion years of cosmic evolution transforming matter and life into consciousn… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
- popular science
- physics
- science
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."-Carl Sagan, Cosmos
"Civilization is a product of the cerebral cortex."-Carl Sagan, Cosmos
"Observation: I can't see a thing. Conclusion: Dinosaurs."-Carl Sagan, Cosmos
"We are star stuff which has taken its destiny into its own hands."-Carl Sagan, Cosmos
15. The Word for World is Forest
By: Ursula K. Le Guin
4.36
Format: 189 pages, ebook
Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named "New Tahit… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Word for World is Forest book and Per Bak's How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
16. The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy
By: Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
4.17
Format: None pages, Hardcover
Bayes' rule appears to be a straightforward, one-line theorem: by updating our initial beliefs with… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Sharon Bertsch McGrayne's The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy book and Per Bak's How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
17. Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity
By: Heather Mimnaugh , John H. Holland
4.03
Format: None pages, Paperback
Explains how scientists who study complexity are convinced that certain constant processes are at w… read more
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18. Letters from a Stoic
By: Seneca , Robin Campbell
4.75
Format: 118 pages, Paperback
The power and wealth which Seneca the Younger (c.4 B.C. - A.D. 65) acquired as Nero's minister were… read more
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19. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
4.40
Format: 184 pages, Hardcover
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable… read more
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20. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
By: David Epstein
4.14
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think. Plenty of experts… read more
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- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
"We learn who we are only by living, and not before."-David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
"Repetition, it turned out, was less important than struggle."-David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
"If we treated careers more like dating, nobody would settle down so quickly."-David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
"mental meandering and personal experimentation are sources of power, and head starts are overrated"-David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
21. Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3.90
Format: 272 pages, Paperback
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan, a bold new work that challenges many … read more
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- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- economics
- science
"The “persecution"-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
"Courage is the only virtue you cannot fake."-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
"If you do not take risks for your opinion, you're nothing."-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
"Freedom is always associated with risk taking, whether it leads to it or comes from it."-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
22. Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
By: Edmund Conway
4.52
Format: 512 pages, Hardcover
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. These fundamental materials have created empires, razed… read more
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- economics
- nonfiction
- science
"You can get anything you want from anywhere in the world at a bargain price, but don't [whatever you do] expect to understand how it was made or how it got to you."-Edmund Conway, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
"Brothers and sisters,’ said the man. ‘I want to tell you this. The greatest thing on earth is to have the love of God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house.’…"-Edmund Conway, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
"To say that concrete is everywhere is hardly an exaggeration. Despite the fact that we only began mass producing this mixture of sand, aggregates and cement just over a century ago, there are now mor…"-Edmund Conway, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
"A few years ago some geologists sifted through the data [and] estimated that the amount of sand, soil and rock we humans mine and quarry and dredge each year is some 24 times greater than the amount …"-Edmund Conway, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
23. The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
By: Albert-László Barabási
4.17
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
In this pioneering examination of the scientific principles behind success, a leading researcher re… read more
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- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
"The Third Law: Previous success × fitness = future success."-Albert-László Barabási, The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
"The Fifth Law: With persistence success can come at any time."-Albert-László Barabási, The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
"The Second Law: Performance is bounded, but success is unbounded."-Albert-László Barabási, The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
"The First Law: Performance drives success, but when performance can’t be measured, networks drive success."-Albert-László Barabási, The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
24. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
By: Ed Yong
4.47
Format: 464 pages, Hardcover
A grand tour through the hidden realms of animal senses that will transform the way you perceive th… read more
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- biology
- psychology
- nonfiction
- nature
- science
"It's ironic that we associate taste with connoisseurship, subtlety, and fine discrimination when it is among the coarsest of senses."-Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
"We are closer than ever to understanding what it is like to be another animal, but we have made it harder than ever for other animals to be."-Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
"Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal can only tap into a small fraction of realities fullness. Each is enclos…"-Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
"A striking pattern emerged on days with the most intense solar storms, grey whales were 4 times more likely to beach themselves. This correlation doesn't prove that whales have a compass but it stron…"-Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
25. The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World
By: Oliver Milman
4.07
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects ar… read more
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- biology
- nonfiction
- nature
- science
26. The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
By: Judea Pearl
3.95
Format: 432 pages, Hardcover
A Turing Award-winning computer scientist and statistician shows how understanding causality has re… read more
Want to Read $ 13.99Similar categories in Judea Pearl's The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect book and Per Bak's How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
- mathematics
- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- economics
- science
"Scientists should seek shielded mediators whenever they face incurable confounders."-Judea Pearl, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
"skepticism has its place. Statisticians are paid to be skeptics; they are the conscience of science."-Judea Pearl, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
"Fighting for the acceptance of Bayesian networks in AI was a picnic compared with the fight I had to wage for causal diagrams [in the stormy waters of statistics]."-Judea Pearl, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
"[T]he cultural shocks that emanate from new scientific findings are eventually settled by cultural realignments that accommodate those findings—not by concealment. A prerequisite for this realignment…"-Judea Pearl, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
27. The Immortality Key: Uncovering the Secret History of the Religion with No Name
By: Brian C. Muraresku
4.26
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
A groundbreaking, controversial dive into the role psychedelics have played in the human experience… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
"...there’s only one thing the Vatican finds more suspicious than drugs. And that’s women."-Brian C. Muraresku, The Immortality Key: Uncovering the Secret History of the Religion with No Name
"Over twenty-five hundred years into this experiment we call the West, is there any chance of reconciling the two competing worldviews that clashed so dramatically at the end of the fourth century AD?…"-Brian C. Muraresku, The Immortality Key: Uncovering the Secret History of the Religion with No Name
28. How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now
By: Stanislas Dehaene
4.33
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
“There are words that are so familiar they obscure rather than illuminate the thing they mean, and … read more
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- biology
- nonfiction
- psychology
- science
"Yann LeCun's strategy provides a good example of a much more general notion: the exploitation of innate knowledge. Convolutional neural networks learn better and faster than other types of neural net…"-Stanislas Dehaene, How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now
"Our brain is therefore not simply passively subjected to sensory inputs. From the get-go, it already possesses a set of abstract hypotheses, an accumulated wisdom that emerged through the sift of Dar…"-Stanislas Dehaene, How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now
"The moral here is that nature and nurture should not be opposed. Pure learning, in the absence of any innate constraints, simply does not exist. Any learning algorithm contains, in one way or another…"-Stanislas Dehaene, How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now
29. A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life
By: Stuart A. Kauffman
3.72
Format: 168 pages, Hardcover
How did life start? Is the evolution of life describable by any physics-like laws? Stuart Kauffman'… read more
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- biology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- popular science
- physics
- nature
- science
"The biosphere explodes in diversity, creating more and more cracks in the floor of Darwin’s nature until the cracks, ever expanding, become the very floor of nature, and nature herself."-Stuart A. Kauffman, A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life
30. How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
By: Per Bak
4.03
Format: 225 pages, Hardcover
Self-organized criticality, the spontaneous development of systems to a critical state, is the firs… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Per Bak's How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality book and Per Bak's How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
- biology
- mathematics
- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- popular science
- economics
- physics
- nature
- science
"An unlikely event is likely to happen because there are so many unlikely events that could happen."-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
"Why is it that you guys are so conservative in your views, in the face of the almost complete lack of understanding of what is going on in your field?"-Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality
31. Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI
By: Anil Ananthaswamy
4.30
Format: 480 pages, Hardcover
A rich, narrative explanation of the mathematics that has brought us machine learning and the ongoi… read more
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- mathematics
- nonfiction
- science
