Illuminated Book Recommendations

Resources For The Intellect

Mitchell M. Waldrop

Waldrop has his doctorate in elementary particle physics and is the author of Man-Made Minds. He spent ten years as a senior writer for Science magazine, where he is now a contributing correspondent.

Why did the stock market crash more than 500 points on a single Monday in 1987? Why do ancient species often remain stable in the fossil record for millions of years and then suddenly disappear? In a world where nice guys often finish last, why do humans value trust and cooperation? At first glance these questions don't appear to have anything in common, but in fact every one of these statements refers to a complex system. The science of complexity studies how single elements, such as a species or a stock, spontaneously organize into complicated structures like ecosystems and economies; stars become galaxies, and snowflakes avalanches almost as if these systems were obeying a hidden yearning for order.

Another recommendation by our friend, Kurt Jensen. This easy to read explanation of Complexity Theory is also interesting, thought provoking, and eye opening. You'll begin to see how almost everything in your life is affected by the theory of complexity, which (although not suggested by the author but oddly enough) may also help you to understand your own physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social development.

Edward O. Wilson

The biologist Edward O. Wilson is a rare scientist: having over a long career made signal contributions to population genetics, evolutionary biology, entomology, and ethology, he has also steeped himself in philosophy, the humanities, and the social sciences. The result of his lifelong, wide-ranging investigations is Consilience (the word means "a jumping together," in this case of the many branches of human knowledge), a wonderfully broad study that encourages scholars to bridge the many gaps that yawn between and within the cultures of science and the arts. No such gaps should exist, Wilson maintains, for the sciences, humanities, and arts have a common goal: to give understanding a purpose, to lend to us all "a conviction, far deeper than a mere working proposition, that the world is orderly and can be explained by a small number of natural laws."

Admittedly, this book was a bear to get through. One of our editors recommended that we take our time, reading line by line meaningfully. Lo and behold, it was one of the most wonderful books we've encountered! Wilson is a scientist of great philosophical depth who pulls together the loose ends of society, art, and science makes sense of them all through a kind of novel idea in the hard core scientific arena: the human experience.