GENERATIVE GENOMICS<\/b><\/p>\n
The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by William Poundstone<\/p>\n Looks at the development of cellular automata and John Conway\u2019s Game of Life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A New Kind of Science<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by Stephen Wolfram<\/p>\n The physics of Galileo and Newton seeks to describe nature through mathematics. Wolfram contends that it is better described by simple programs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lifebox, the Seashell, and the Soul: What Gnarly Computation Taught Me About Ultimate Reality, the Meaning of Life, and How to Be Happy<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>\u2028by Rudy Rucker<\/p>\n The world as computation and an expansion of some of Wolfram\u2019s ideas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos<\/a>,\u00a0by Seth Lloyd<\/p>\n Proposes that the universe is a quantum computer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2028<\/b>NANOTECHNOLOGY AND FABRICATION<\/b><\/p>\n Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology<\/i><\/a>\u2028by Eric Drexler<\/p>\n The pioneering work that presented molecular nanotechnology. A popular presentation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by Eric Drexler<\/p>\n A more technical presentation of nanotechnology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>\u2028Eric Drexler et. al., editors<\/p>\n How molecular manufacturing can happen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop\u2014from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication, \u2028<\/i><\/a>by Neil Gershenfeld<\/p>\n Architects and designers are familiar with rapid prototyping or 3D printing. Gershenfeld expands the idea to the point where he can go anywhere with a minimum of equipment and make anything from a bicycle to a water pump to a cellphone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by Wil McCarthy<\/p>\n Looks at quantum dots that make designer atoms possible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n COMPUTATION<\/b><\/p>\n The Pattern On The Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by W. Daniel Hillis<\/p>\n Presents the basics of computing in understandable terms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse: The Quest for the Quantum Computer\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by Julian Brown<\/p>\n Describes quantum computing, but more importantly, provides the latest on information theory, which has had tremendous developments in the past twenty years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n DNA<\/b><\/p>\n DNA: The Secret of Life<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by James D. Watson and Andrew Berry<\/p>\n The whole story of understanding heredity and DNA. Focuses on biology and medicine, but presents the principles that we now apply to generative genomics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by J. Craig Venter<\/p>\n Venter\u2019s story of his role in sequencing the human genome.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by James Shreeve<\/p>\n An overview of the race between Venter and the government\u2019s project in sequencing the human genome.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SCIENCE<\/b><\/p>\n Quantum Reality: Beyond the New Physics\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by Nick Herbert<\/p>\n Although now over twenty years old, this is the clearest basic presentation of quantum theory available.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by David Deutsch<\/p>\n Presents a new view of reality based on Hugh Everett’s many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, Karl Popper’s epistemology, Alan Turing’s theory of computation, and Richard Dawkins’s refinement of Darwinian evolutionary theory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY<\/b><\/p>\n Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible, \u2028<\/i><\/a>by Arthur C. Clarke<\/p>\n Old but never dated, instructs us on how to think about the future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by Marshall McLuhan<\/p>\n The essential book on the influence of technology on culture and consciousness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The New Humanists: Science at the Edge\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by John Brockman<\/p>\n Brockman proposes that scientists today are the new humanists, doing the work of understanding psychology and society.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Microcosm: The Quantum Revolution In Economics And Technology,\u2028<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>by George Gilder<\/p>\n Gilder observes that in the macrocosm (the realm of big industrial machines), when a device become more powerful, it becomes larger, more prone to breaking down, more expensive, and more energy consuming. But in the microcosm (the realm of the computer chip), when a device becomes more powerful, it becomes smaller, less prone to breaking down, less expensive, and less energy consuming.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century\u2028<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>by Thomas L. Friedman<\/p>\n The guide to understanding economics and society in a world of globalization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer<\/i><\/a>\u2028, by Neal Stephenson<\/p>\n Imaginative science fiction by a master. Covers issues a world of nanotechnology and genomics might face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n