January 18, 2006
Across the universe:
technica q&a: simon singh (big bang)
technica q&a: robert scoble and shel israel (naked conversations)
technica q&a: scott machaffie (palm and treo hacks)
linus pauling memorial lectures: gibor basri
20% off the demystified series
and the winner of our ipod contest is....
new: medical and life science books
history of science
ebooks
doug brown's science factoid
geek corner
bestsellers
"Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it."
—Richard Feynman
What does one of the world's great physics and math writers do for relaxation? Where does he go for his favorite buzz? And what, pray tell, pushed him into the British Reincarnation Society? All will be revealed within. The author of Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe and Fermat's Enigma worries about the woeful lack of interest for science in American and European youth, but sees great hope in India, the next probable mecca for science and technology. Read our Technica Q&A with Simon Singh and save 30% on The Big Bang.
Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, co-authors of Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, both took time to answer the Technica Q&A for this issue. As might be obvious, blogs are very much on their minds, though you may be surprised to know their favorite books, best school subjects, and the people they emulate, or, at least, would like to. Find out more and save 30% on Naked Conversations.
If Scott Machaffie, author of Palm and Treo Hacks, wasn't Scott Machaffie, who would Scott Machaffie be? What was his favorite book to read during junior high math classes? Save 30% on Palm and Treo Hacks, and learn the answers to these and other fascinating facts about the man who has deconstructed PDAs like no one's business.
With billions and billions of stars similar to our own Sun, there are likely millions of planets which have life support conditions similar to Earth's. Thus, the chance of our being the only "intelligent" beings in this great and ever-expanding universe is somewhat remote. Dr. Gibor Basri, University of California professor of astronomy will present the lecture "Alien Worlds: The Search for Other 'Earths'" on February 9, 2006. Click here and use the password "Discovery" to get tickets at 25% off.
Physiology, robotics, statistics, accounting, biology, business, earth science, nanotechnology... any and all imaginable topics are one user-friendly touch away in the very popular Demystified Series. And just in time for the new semester, every one of the Demystified titles is 20% off.
"The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language."
—Donald Knuth
A late season visit from Santa Claus, a prayer shot in the right direction, plain dumb luck... however you want to look at it, one fortunate Technica reader is the winner of a black nano iPod. And that winner is (drumroll) Graeme from Waltham, Massachussetts. Congratulations, Graeme!
It's a known fact that reading science and medical books expands your mind. At Powell's, it's all about choice, and our new, larger selection was created with both professionals and amateurs in mind. Widely acclaimed titles such as The Essential Atlas of Botany, Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia 2006 Shirt-Pocket Edition, Thieme Atlas of Anatomy, Tarascon Adult Emergency Pocketbook, Evolution of the Insects, The Evolution of Plants, Invertebrate Zoology, First Aid for the Wards: Advice for the Clinical Years, and The Biology Coloring Book offers the merest taste of what's in store.
On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz received the first patent for a gas-fueled car. He started developing a two-stroke engine, based on Nikolaus Otto's design of the four-stroke engine, and added it to a three-wheeler, first driven in Mannheim in 1885. The Benz Velo became the world's first inexpensive mass-produced car. This patent is also considered the official birth certificate of the motor car.
When he's not turning his Palm device into a flashlight, camera, or remote control device, perhaps Scott MacHaffie gets his sci-fi and fantasy fix with eBooks from Powells.com! If Palm isn't your style, we've got them in Microsoft and Adobe format, as well.
A commonly quoted myth is that humans only use ten percent of their brains. It is true that at any one point in time only some of the neurons in our brains are firing. But over time, the neurons that are being used constantly changes (depending on what you are doing or thinking about), so eventually all of your brain does get used. For instance, as you sit here reading this, you are accessing neural pathways associated with written language, as well as memory and image processing pathways. You mostly ignore what your nose is telling you, because you are concentrating on what your eyes are telling you (although I bet the moment you read that sentence you became aware of your nose).
Though he's not going so far as to send out his shirts to Paris for laundering, Ben Hammersley has declared 2006 "The Year of Outsourcing." Read more in our exclusive Geek Corner essay.
1. Mathematics in Action by Ralph Bertelle (Mathematics)
2. The Graphic Designer's Digital Toolkit by Allan Wood (Desktop Publishing)
3. Photoshop CS2 for Windows and Macintosh by Elaine Weinmann (Graphics)
4. Maya 6 for Windows and Macintosh by Danny Riddell (Multimedia)
5. Python Programming by John M. Zelle (Computer Languages)
6. Discovering the Essential Universe by Neil F. Comins (Physics)
7. New Perspectives on Computer Concepts by June Parsons (Personal Computers)
8. The Codes Guidebook for Interiors by Sharon Harmon (Construction)
9. InDesign CS2 for Windows and Macintosh by Sandee Cohen (Desktop Publishing)
10. How Computers Work by Ron White (Personal Computers)
more tech bestsellers
By Steven and Amber
Copyright 2006 Powells.com
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