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Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - pier4r - 08-11-2017 04:02 PM

Taking inspiration from this thread: http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-8315.html .

What is the book related to STEM subjects that you prefer the most?

Mine is in Italian (from French works). "Manuale di Matematica. Faure, Kaufmann, Denis-Papin" (Handbook of Mathematics) . I saw it once in the main library of my previous city. That library was full of books related to human sciences, very interesting, but once I was looking for math books (not many were there) and I see this one, half ignored, on a very isolated shelve. I checked it and I realized it is exactly what I wanted as "summary of mathematics that I'd like to know".

So I set a quest to find a copy (there were not many copies printed. The book has editions from 1971, 1973 and 1975. I got the 1971 edition). I found one for 43 euro (there are still some online).

Since then it is my most precious book about STEM subjects.

http://i.imgur.com/8xsJsBk.jpg
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http://i.imgur.com/4IJHekc.jpg
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Follow up: http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-9800.html

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Massimo Gnerucci - 08-11-2017 05:33 PM

Right from Milan!
:)

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Maximilian Hohmann - 08-11-2017 06:02 PM

Hello!

I can't decide on a single favorite Book, but those two here are high on the list:

[Image: 411P53VD18L._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg]
This is about the development and test flying of the Concorde - but it may be available in French only

[Image: 51FpX3N9YiL._SX387_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg]
And this is about the development and working principle of the Apollo Guidance Computer

Both are somewhat computer related. Concorde had very sophisticated early computer technology on board, especially for controlling the "ramps" that generated controlled shock waves inside the engine intakes that reduced the supersonic flow to subsonic in order not to stall the engines. And the Apollo Guidance Computer is so to say the mother of all small computers.

Regards
Max

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - pier4r - 08-11-2017 06:04 PM

Both looks interesting, thanks for sharing!

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Helix - 08-12-2017 11:53 PM

"Chaos and fractals", Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Hartmut Jürgens, Dietmar Saupe

[Image: 41Q%2BDKrYYNL._SX405_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg]

I've only read the first chapters, but I like it very much. It's easy to program the examples in the book to see the behavior of some simple chaotic systems. It's enligtning to do the calculations with variable precision, so for the HP 50g it's a perfect application for the LongFloat library, or NewRPL.

"Astronomical Algorithms", Jean Meeus.

[Image: 515OI83zB8L._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg]

Probably the best book on the subject. Interesting again with a calculator, especially a fast calculator. Wink

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - SlideRule - 08-13-2017 02:02 AM

My favorite book did not remain constant from my adolescence to my present, however, my current favorite is
[attachment=5113]
© 2009 Elsevier
from the PREFACE
"One of the most striking features of mathematics is the fact that we are much more certain about what mathematical knowledge we have than about what mathematical knowledge is knowledge of. Mathematical knowledge is generally accepted to be more certain than any other branch of knowledge; but unlike other scientific disciplines, the subject matter of mathematics remains controversial".
sound familiar?
BEST!
SlideRule

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - KeithB - 08-14-2017 11:04 PM

I have two:

Big Red, otherwise known as "Handbook of Mathematical Functions" by Abramowitz and Stegun. Printed by the US Government!

"Advanced Engineering Mathematics" by Wylie.

I second "Digital Apollo"

Another interesting pair: "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Rhodes (and the companion, "Dark Sun", both go into amazing detail.

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - SlideRule - 08-15-2017 12:01 AM

(08-14-2017 11:04 PM)KeithB Wrote:  ...Another interesting pair: "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Rhodes (and the companion, "Dark Sun" ...

Have both, I second

[attachment=5114]

[attachment=5115]

BEST!
SlideRule

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Jim Horn - 08-15-2017 03:45 PM

"The Feynman Lectures on Physics" - when I run across a mind-boggling concept such as the symmetries of physics proving the conservation of energy, momentum and angular momentum, I find that Feynman already explained it there 50+ years ago. And clearly. It deserves the praise it gets.

"Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" - warped my brain back in 1979 and has been referred to ever since.

"The Scientific American Book of Projects for the Amateur Scientist" - C.L. Stong's early columns from that once august magazine that led me to engineering as a child.

Martin Gardners "Mathematical Diversions" books (many) - again, from Scientific American, which taught me the love of Math and what I refer to as 'orthogonal thinking' to solve problems which has served me well. Lots of fun, too!

Too many others to include but the above have been pivotal for me. Enjoy!

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Luigi Vampa - 08-15-2017 04:24 PM

(08-15-2017 03:45 PM)Jim Horn Wrote:  "The Feynman Lectures on Physics" - when I run across a mind-boggling concept such as the symmetries of physics proving the conservation of energy, momentum and angular momentum, I find that Feynman already explained it there 50+ years ago. And clearly. It deserves the praise it gets.

1 +
Besides, in Android&iPhone platforms you can find a free application that lets you read all these Lectures. The ultimate bore killer. It is a must have!

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - rprosperi - 08-15-2017 06:56 PM

(08-15-2017 03:45 PM)Jim Horn Wrote:  "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" - warped my brain back in 1979 and has been referred to ever since.

1 +

This is always the first "math book" I recommend to anyone* that asks for a recommendation.

* Except Joe - I safely assumed he had read it. Joe got Knuth's Vol-2, Semi-Numerical Algorithms.

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Didier Lachieze - 08-15-2017 07:39 PM

Some of the books I've enjoyed to read:
  • Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick
  • A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
  • The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould
  • History of Mathematics: Highways and Byways by Amy Dahan-Dalmédico, Jeanne Peiffer


RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - pier4r - 08-15-2017 07:53 PM

"Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid"

I bought this one after many mentioned it, not yet read (since, I don't know, 6 years now? Damn me). Skimming through it randomly, it seems one of those layman books that are a nice read but not pointing interesting facts for those that already play around in the field. Did I get it wrong?

My 3 all-time favorites - striegel - 08-15-2017 09:12 PM

Bicycling Science by David Gordon Wilson
[Image: 415u32P2LcL.jpg]

On Size And Life by Thomas A. McMahon and John Tyler Bonner
[Image: 2003829650.jpg]

The Physics of Music: Readings from Scientific American
[Image: ssi7902.jpg]

Alan

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Luigi Vampa - 08-15-2017 10:10 PM

Another classic:

Numerical recipes in C: the art of scientific computing, W.H. Press, S.A. Teukolsky, W.T. Vettering, and B.R. Flannery (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 1992). This old version is now free, you can download the book from http://numerical.recipes/oldverswitcher.html .

[Image: 41Fjmxb2xAL._SX279_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg]

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Bill (Smithville NJ) - 08-15-2017 10:47 PM

One of my early favorite was

The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth.

I had the first three volumes and spent many hours with them.

Bill
Smithville, NJ

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - AlexFekken - 08-16-2017 01:21 AM

+1 for the Feynman lectures and for Martin Gardner's work.

By the way: did you know the Feynman lectures are avaiable through/as a free mobile app (at least for Android, don't know about those other phones :-))?

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Dave Frederickson - 08-16-2017 01:25 AM

(08-12-2017 11:53 PM)Helix Wrote:  "Chaos and fractals", Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Hartmut Jürgens, Dietmar Saupe

I have The Beauty of Fractals, also by H.-O. Peitgen (and P.H. Richter) and The Science of Fractal Images, edited by Peitgen and Saupe.

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - emece67 - 08-16-2017 09:53 PM

[Image: 51gWOsQe6-L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg].

For me it was a true mind opener.

RE: Your favorite book (genre: STEM )? - Joe Horn - 08-16-2017 10:31 PM

(08-15-2017 06:56 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  
(08-15-2017 03:45 PM)Jim Horn Wrote:  "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" - warped my brain back in 1979 and has been referred to ever since.

1 +

This is always the first "math book" I recommend to anyone* that asks for a recommendation.

* Except Joe - I safely assumed he had read it.

Not only read, but almost memorized it. My copy (a gift from my brother Jim in September 1979, before it won the Pulitzer Prize) is terribly dog-eared and full of hand-written annotations. LOVE that book to death! I never Meta-Genie that I didn't like! Ho! And on such a fine day!