Hi, I'm interested in some good reading material on science...

>Popper and Feyerabend.
Why even bother with Popper instead of just reading the one of the who was right?

To get a perspective

>textbooks

jesus i fucking hate you pseuds
like anyone on here has actually read a science textbook
stick to your mystic pretend thinking and leave the actual thinking to other people

as for >I am also very inspired by Carl Sagan, but I'm not sure which of his books, if any would be right for me to purchase.
i suspect this might be b8 but if it isn't then start with Demon Haunted World or Cosmos

and as for you just fucking kill yourself

I don't read science stuff at all because I have no interest in it.
But if I were to get into philosophy I wouldn't read pop philosophy, because it's shit, I read original works and textbooks.

>But if I were to get into philosophy I wouldn't read pop philosophy, because it's shit, I read original works

those things which you think of as "original works" are pop philosophy of their time
that is why they have survived

How is say Monadology pop philosophy exactly?
They've survived because they were good or because people wanted something like them to rationalize their already existing views.

>like anyone on here has actually read a science textbook
I have. It helps. Though OP would need to spend several years reading "science textbooks" to gain any actual knowledge about the subject in question. Compared to it, reading popsci is much less demanding, albeit useless.

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
A Universe from Nothing - Lawrence Krauss

I'm already an atheist. I remember when I was in college (before I dropped out) in the atheist club we read a chapter of this fucking book per week as an assignment for the club, it was kinda enriching in the sense that it gives you more juice to argue with against christians, but other than that I kinda bored reading it. Now, from what I have gathered, the selfish gene is a book that talks about how morality exists without atheism, which is actually an argument I'd like to be able to use against people. I already have a sense that it's uniquitous throughout nature, and I feel altruistism myself without the idea that religion hijacked it and is responsible for all of our society's morality or some bullshit, when the bible itself is obviously a very imperfect idea of what morality should be, proving that literally anyone can try to come up with a moral code the same way the bible did or whatever. Except religious people are so fucking dumb they never listen to any argument you make. I remember watching this debate with Lawrence Krauss on a panel with some religious people on different ends of the crazy spectrum, and he was talking about how homosexuality is present throughout many documented species of animal, so it's ubiquitous in nature, and the fucking religious tards were like "that's a bunch of crazy talk". It was so cringeworthy, I had to just turn it off, there's literally no getting through to the mind of someone who's mental faculties are so poor they actually become religious. Religion is just a reflection of the condition of a human mind that is incapable of nuanced skeptical thinking and a lack of willingness to open one's self up to new ideas. I am always looking for new ideas and questioning the ones I have, and I believe that's why I became an atheist by nature from a very young age.

>without atheism
without religion I mean.

>Ya hafta choose

No, read science AND philosophy. Better yet, DO science AND philosophy.

That's what Nietzsche did, not to mention Goethe and a shitload of other people. Apart from this, remember that Metaphysics is the Queen of Science - and without a Queen, all you have is a reckless and cold-hearted King.

Also, avoid positivism/empiricism at all costs.

Literally the only worthwhile post in this thread.

>positivism
what is this, some christian trying to bullshit me?

>Religion is just a reflection of the condition of a human mind that is incapable of nuanced skeptical thinking and a lack of willingness to open one's self up to new ideas. I am always looking for new ideas and questioning the ones I have, and I believe that's why I became an atheist by nature from a very young age.
*tips fedora*
True enough. But
>Also, avoid positivism/empiricism at all costs.
Why exactly? As a part of the philosophy of science, it works good.

Theoretical physicist that has a superb style for laymen, but with notes to help the more mathematically-inclined. He's also written a lot of other great books

This.

Why the fuck would a Christian quote Nietzsche in favour of his argument?

>string theorist
>2016

lurk Veeky Forums moar

Positivism is terrible, and empiricism was long ago rebuked.

There's a reason Nietzsche/Wittgenstein/etc poured so much scorn on each.

It's not just string theory, but a huge, comprehensive undertaking in lots of physics and quantum physics, you fkng English major

I said 'theorist' not 'theory'.

Pfft whatevs, it's just theorists tho not theory, so that doesnt make it true tho. Ancient astronauts are theorists too pfffft

>tfw muh evolution ""theory""

You missed the joke. String theoreticians are the jehovah's witnesses of the theoretical physics.

>read Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku stopped being a scientist and became an ancient aliens tier entertainer. And not in the black science man way. Kaku is into too much pseudo-science.

Don't waste your time with his stuff.

>Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality - Tegmark, Max

I'm reading this right now. It's ok. The information is good but the writing isn't. It's like he tried so hard to make it accessible it makes me feel like a retard for reading it. A whole lot of:

>This can't be, I thought to myself
>It's like -every day life based analogy-
>Anecdote involving colleagues
>So it is!

Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom is a great book. It's written with a non-expert audience in mind, but it won't make you feel stupid.

You missed my point in the beginning, and got fixated on one chapter in string theory to discredit the whole bunk. Read the fucking synopsis or something man. Or just stay in the dark and go back to dialetical studies or whatever tf it is you do, that works

learn some actual maths and physics, try taking online courses or something, don't waste your time with popularizatios

>on one chapter
I was talking about the author.

Yep. Many years of teaching theoretical physics written off because of his beliefs

>"Good evening, I came to your door to see if you wanted to let 'infinity possibilities in the finite' into your heart"

>tfw this guy hasnt even read Zizek and doesnt know what ideology is, heh

>caring this much about a joke on Veeky Forums
impressive really

I'm from the Bearenstein Bears/Chic Fil A universe man. Cant help it till all of ya let us interdimensional refugees in

Have to disagree about Kaku. The fact that he's a futurist makes his stuff more science fantasy than anything else. He has some interesting ideas, but who gives a shit.

You are, however, right about textbooks. OP, you should pick up 'Modern Physics' by Serway, Moses, and Moyer. It's pretty low-level. Physics undergrads will usually study it their second or third year, so with a little bit of effort you can understand everything in it. It is a historical approach that will walk you through relativity and baby quantum deep enough to give you a base understanding without plunging into all the technical detail that make advanced physics classes so difficutl. 5/5, one of my favorite books. Too bad most people don't care enough to put in the effort. There's so much beauty in the structure of the universe, and this book really brings it out.

The God Delusion is neither good nor is it a science text. If you want to read something good by Dawkins that coincidentally is also about science, then you should read 'The Greatest Show on Earth.' His description of the Lenski bacteria experiments are beautiful.

Great post

>Metaphysics is the Queen of Science
>Also, avoid positivism/empiricism at all costs.

yeah evidence don't mean shit in the real world, it's just something men invented so they could be right all the time. feelings are much more important

Is there a way to get free college classes or something? There's so many fields that I want to study, if the courses were available for free online. It would be even more awesome if you could take the classes for free but they also included some actual college credits.

There is Khan Academy, which, combined with wikipedia and other internet resources, can give you a pretty thorough understanding of science. There are lectures from various universities on youtube, Feynman's lectures, etc. Most famous textbooks are also available online. It's all there senpai, you just have to put enough effort to learn it.

yale/mit have online classes, itunes u etc

I would need to start off pretty basic, like high school level physics before I am ready to graduate to college level physics. I would also need to start at algebra, because I don't know what I remembered of math when I was in high school, I guarantee you it's all been forgotten by now.

Would recommend the singularity is near. Fuck the elegant universe because string theory is weak and you can't really understand anything about it without the math anyway. I am interested in a brief history of time but have not read it.

Fuck off, Aristotle. You're dead

Confirmed for not knowing what metaphysics is.

>Atheist club
That sounds fucking painful

Yeah it was fucking stupid, I stopped going to it and I still feel embarrassed to think about it.

Does anyone know any books on machine learning?

A universe from nothing by Lawrence Krauss is also a great book.
Although the author is.. lamentable in other areas :)

Thank you for making me feel better about doing a physics bachelors and a phil postgrad.

>kaku
topbaitmate

> doesn't believe in free will
> believes in consciousness

>Michio Kaku
no thanks

literal reddit post

>ctrl-f "Jackson"
>no results

pop science will leave you blind on both ends - Not only will you not understand the science you've read about, but you will also think that you do. it's a disaster.

Take an actual physics course on coursera, or (hardmode) buy The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

>implying no one on lit has a scientific degree