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Welcome behzad! Ever involved in any cases that required physics knowledge?

Yes, I've had some cases involving forensics where my background was helpful to understanding the technical issues.

Hello,

Currently, I'm going to start medical school and I'm very interested in neuroscience and oncology.

I just have superficial notions about these areas and since the other participants seem to be experienced, I'm really looking forward to learn new subjects.

Hi Sara--welcome to the group! Feel free to start a thread/discussion on the subject of neuroscience or oncology!

Behzad wrote: "Yes, I've had some cases involving forensics where my background was helpful to understanding the technical issues."

Welcome to the group, Behzad. Your background reminded me of a very interesting , given by forensic psychologist Scott Fraser.

Hi folks

I recently finished Lawrence Krauss' new book, "A Universe from Nothing" and wanted to talk about it a bit with like-minded people, which is how I ended up here. This is one of the few science related groups here that seem to function and have a fair number of people.

So about me, I'm originally from Sri Lanka, though now I live and work in Tokyo as a Software Engineer, in Canon's digital camera team. I took the 'Who are you' poll here and looks like I'm one of the 8 SE engineers here.

However from a very early age I had (and still have) a keen interest in science. These days, I'm particularly interested in Evolutionary Biology and Cosmology, although anything interesting goes.

~Sach

Welcome Sach!....there's a poll?...oh wait I found it, I guess I already answered. :)

Thank you Kenny.

Yes I found the following poll when I went through the topics before posting.

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/62...

Hello! I'm a student of Physics, currently doing the bachelor, and I work as programmer. I'm very interested in Physics, Neuroscience, AI, Computer Science and everything correlated. I also look forward to have a deegree in Medicine after my master (I would love to study such a fascinating topic).
Cheers!

Welcome Luca. Good luck with your studies.

Betsy wrote: "Welcome Luca. Good luck with your studies."

Thank You, Betsy! I really like the group! :)

Hello Folks! I'm in Medical Device Sales, Majored in Biotech with emphasis in molecular biology and genetics. My science Loves are: Neuroscience, relativity, trying to wrap my head around Quantum physics. I love the mysteries at the borderlands of science! Just recently identified myself as an atheist after spending a year or so involved with scientific skepticism.

I am a Computer Science major at Truman State University. I like reading about science because it helps me improve my ability to perceive things and how to solve things in a different way and build computer programs in a smarter way.

Welcome Mark and Nguyen.

Hi. I'm a former public policy analyst, newspaper reporter/copy editor, free-lance writer, disability rights/health-care reform advocate and, most recently, science fiction novelist.

I don't have any formal training or experience in science myself, although my husband is an electronics engineer. I have a long-time love of science fiction, and in researching my science-fiction novel ("The Reality Matrix Effect"), I read Gary Zukav's "The Dancing Wu Li Masters." I found Zukav's book both informative and fascinating.

Several of the books I've seen mentioned on this and some other Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ groups look interesting to me, but for reasons I won't go into here, I have some problems reading in the conventional way. As a result, I prefer getting audio editions (from libraries, if at all possible). There may be others who need or just prefer audio books. So it might be a good idea for posts recommending books to mention whether audio versions are available.

I look forward to seeing more from this group.

Welcome Laura.

A number of people in the group read / listen via audio book. I know David (co-moderator) does a lot of audio books. I'm currently reading Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, our September selection, partly on kindle and partly via audio, since Amazon has a way to sync them.

You can pretty easily check whether a recommended book is available in audio format. Just go to the book page, then partway down where it has details about the book, it will show if there are other editions. One or more of the editions listed would be some kind of audio edition, if they are available.

One reason we ask that people not nominate group reads that are too recently published is that we want to allow time for them to become available in a variety of formats and locales.

Addendum to my introduction:

First, since I didn't mention it in my introductory message, I guess I should mention it here. My name is Laura Remson Mitchell.

Because of my background in disability rights (and my personal experience with disability), I am very interested in assistive technology and how that can help people with disabilities live as full participants in all aspects of life. I'm also interested in how such technology might affect social and political institutions, including but not limited to how people with disabilities would be able to obtain such technology. I'm not sure how that fits into the focus of this group, but I think it's always important to look at how science and technology interact with society and vice versa.

Welcome, Laura!

Betsy is right, in that I do "read" a lot of books by listening to audiobooks. I don't have to--it's just that it's an enjoyable way to pass the time while on long drives, or while taking walks or exercising. It is not easy to find good science books in an audiobook format, but there are some.

Also, I am reminded that some authors of excellent science books have disabilities. For example, Geerat Vermeij wrote a number of excellent books--I've read his superb book The Evolutionary World: How Adaptation Explains Everything from Seashells to Civilization. And Vermeij is blind. Also, the well-known neurology/psychiatry author Oliver Sacks--author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales, and The Mind's Eye writes primarily about interesting disabilities, perhaps because he himself has a disability. And, many of us are familiar with Stephen Hawking.

Mark wrote: "...I love the mysteries at the borderlands of science! ..."

Welcome, Mark! Yes, the borderlands of science are the most interesting areas. That is why I like this Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ group--it has encouraged me to read about topics that I would not otherwise have considered. Please dive right into the various discussion forums!

Nguyen wrote: "I am a Computer Science major at Truman State University. I like reading about science because it helps me improve my ability to perceive things and how to solve things in a different way and build computer programs in a smarter way. "

Welcome, Nguyen! That is an interesting remark about science helping you write computer programs. Could I ask, how it has helped you? I am just curious! :-)

Has this group discussed any books that deal with the nature of reality? I'm thinking about things like the Many Worlds Theory of quantum physics and the Copenhagen Interpretation. I'm *not* a scientist, but I'm fascinated by "what if" ideas, whether or not they're scientifically provable. I tried to incorporate some of these concepts into my science fiction novel, The Reality Matrix Effect.

I get the feeling after reading some of the comments about the current book that I'm in way over my head in this group. I need something more like an update of The Dancing Wu Li Masters. Intriguing ideas, but explained for the layman.

Laura, we read a variety of books, some for the knowledgeable, some for the layman. I'm not trained in science, and many of the books are over my head, but the ones I can manage are very worth it. You can see a list of all the books we've read as a group in the group bookshelves, book club shelf.

You can also check all the various book discussions by reviewing the different threads in the group.

Laura wrote: "Has this group discussed any books that deal with the nature of reality? I'm thinking about things like the Many Worlds Theory of quantum physics and ..."

Laura,
Yes, back in March of 2012 we had a group read of
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. The book has good reviews. I personally thought it got a little silly, but you might find in it what you are looking for.

Thanks for adding me to the group. I am Karen, age 50ish, and I usually don't read well in groups. I am, however, interested in well-written science non-fiction and would appreciate the guidance and expertise available here. I am a registered health information technologist and am completing courses in cancer tumor registry. I am interested in evolution , evolutionary psychology, physical anthropology, neuroscience, and anatomy. While taking anatomy courses recently, I was particularly fascinated by cell machinery and would welcome direction to recent works on this topic - both the biochemical particulars and the historical process of their discovery.

Welcome to the group, Karen! You have a wide range of interests. Please feel free to add to our discussions here. And, take a look at our newest poll for the Book of the Month for December:
/poll/list/1...

David wrote: "Hi everybody. I am a new member to this group, so I guess I should introduce myself.

I am a physicist, and my specialty is physical oceanography. Once every year or two I go out to sea on a smal..."


I just noticed that you are interested in music, and I saw your intro to MIDI music. Sure wish I'd seen your guide when I started doing MIDI music in 1996! I couldn't find anything about it back then and had to learn most of it by trial and error. Eventually, I learned enough to start recording my music as wave files, then converting them to mp3 format. I have a music website as well, though I'm self-taught and certainly no expert. My most ambitious pieces are "As Heaven Weeps," a tone poem in honor and remembrance of the heroes and victims of the 9-11 attack, and "London Bridge Piano Variations. If you're interested, my music website is at .

Thanks, Laura--I'll check it out.

Howdy All!

I just joined the group. I am a PhD. Student in Geology, with a focus on Quaternary Tectonics. I study an alternative dating technique to radiocarbon dating called Optically Stimulated Luminescence, which I want to apply to look at reoccurrence intervals of earthquakes. I also sometimes work as a technician, building spacecraft sensors called Magnetometers, which are used to study the Earth's magnetic fields.

I have a very broad range of interests in Science books, but typically I focus on Physics.

Hi Michael--welcome to the group!

Hi all. I am not a scientist, nor do I have an educational background in science (except for the college course on meteorology and climatology and the one course in entomology and one in biology). However, I have always had an interest in science as a layperson.

Of particular interest is natural history and physics but I enjoy what I am able to grasp of most all branches of science.

In your last poll I voted for one book except that there were at least 5 books I would be interested in reading. It was a tough choice.

Welcome, Daisy. You are right--every month is a rather tough choice among all the nominations.

Please feel free to get into some of the forum discussions going on.

David, Thanks, I'm looking forward to the group reads.

Michael wrote: "Howdy All!

I just joined the group. I am a PhD. Student in Geology, with a focus on Quaternary Tectonics...."

Welcome, Michael. I'm jealous. I minored in Geology back in the mid-60s, when Plate Tectonics Theory was just taking hold. I wish I could have been a part of it, but fate took me in another direction.

Hey Steve,

Well, you can always come back! We always could use more Geologists! Where did fate take you?

Michael wrote: "Hey Steve,

Well, you can always come back! We always could use more Geologists! Where did fate take you?"

Down the road "more" traveled...to easier money, less interesting work--software.

Cool! Computational modeling is big in Geophysics. Good to meet you!

Hello! I'm a trainee science teacher, a compulsive thinker, and (I'm not selling anything, so I hope that link doesn't fall foul of the no-self-promotion rule?). I also make generative art, and puppets, and web sites, and really quite a lot of other things. I sometimes suspect that on some level, I decided to be a science teacher so that I would have an easy answer when people ask me 'what I do'...

Welcome Fergus. I don't understand what the link is. Is that supposed to be a list of your writings? We actually don't prohibit self-promotion in this group, provided the book being promoted is science or math related, the promotion is in the proper folder, and it's done with respect for the other members. In any event you're welcome here.

Michael wrote: "Cool! Computational modeling is big in Geophysics. Good to meet you!"

Have you seen this music video about plate tectonics? I think it's a hoot.

Hello! My name is Judy. I'm an Editorial Assistant at a Cancer Research Office. I'm deeply interested in all things oncological, but I also enjoy books on physics and biology, specifically genetics.

I'm currently going through two phases, medical history and space biology. Does anyone have any recommendations for either? I'm trying to find a good history book on asylums...

Oh, I'm also 23 and still making up my mind on going to grad school. Ahhhh, working full time is so nice, but I miss academia so much...

Welcome aboard, Judy. One suggestion would be Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life. This was a past book-of-the-month for us and it was quite popular with the group.

Welcome, Judy. For space biology, a while back our group read the book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach.

Nice to meet you all. My name is Brian Hanley and I have had a 20 year career in software that included factory automation, robotics, AI and CASE, this took me to Central Asia. Work in biological warfare and terrorism led to a doctoral program in microbiology at UC Davis, where I completed my PhD with honors from the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honors Society.

My book, "Radiation - Exposure and its treatment: A Modern Handbook" has been lauded as one of the most easily understood on the subject.

Welcome Brian.

Hi my name is Samaya and I am trying to create an online educational networking program through goodreads, amazon, and YouTube. Follow me at SamayasWisdomWeb.wordpress.com to see my recommendations, amazon deals, and daily documentaries! Twitter- @SamayaWisdomWeb

Welcome Samaya. Good luck with your endeavor.

Cool !

Steve wrote: "Michael wrote: "Cool! Computational modeling is big in Geophysics. Good to meet you!"

Have you seen this music video about plate tectonics? I think it's a hoot.

..."

Hi everyone, I'm a web developer currently living in Buenos Aires. I'm 21 years old and I'm kind of addicted to exploring and learning everything I can. Particle physics, cosmology, computer science, biology, physics and different theories of science are my main interests.
What an awesome group it is!

Welcome, Ekin.

Betsy wrote: "Welcome, Ekin."

I've found lots of books that I'm excited to read asap in the groups bookshelf. Thanks :)