Hatrack River Forum: Who wanted me to read Chaos?

This is topic Who wanted me to read Chaos? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :

Well I did. As I recall I posted a few things from Wolfram’s A New Kind of Science and was told that Chaos would make a great compliment to it. I think that overall, NKS is better written and more exciting, as well as being more revolutionary. However, the principles expressed in Chaos are for more useful as of this moment, and in terms of our current understanding of the universe, have actually been proven true as opposed to conjecture about the nature of the universe in NKS.

Hobbes [Smile]

[ March 22, 2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Hobbes ]

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

Hobbes,

You are the only person I know who has actually read that Wolfram book. I think a lot of people bought it, but nobody ever finished it.

Not even the author or the editor.

[Razz]

Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :

Hey! It's a great book!

[Razz]

Hobbes

Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :

You do know that every time you finish a book that isn't the one I loaned you, you're essentially spitting in my face.

Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :

Or perhaps, Celia, I didn't want to take the book you loaned me on 4 plane rides and a week long camping trip with the worry it may be damaged.

Hobbes [Smile]

Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :

If you don't want to read it, you can just give it back. I don't loan out the ones I can't afford to lose and you know it.

Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :

Actually, I desperatly want to read it. I made jokes about how I'll just skip around books, but in fact the only reason I read Chaos and the begining of Gravity's Rainbow before I finished Stranger was that Chaos was recommended to me a long time ago here and I've been completely unable to find any copies of it until one was given to me (and in poor enough shape already I didn't feel bad about taking it on the trip) and Rainbow was recommended to me even longer ago (over 3 years) and I just got a copy. I've actually gotten lots of new books since you loaned me that one, it's just that those two happened to have a longer recomendation period. Sorry, didn't mean to not appreciate the loan, I do, otherwise I would've took it on the trip and then permanently bent the cover like I did to Chaos. [Wink]

[EDIT: I know you don't loan out books that you would really miss, but that isn't an excuse for putting a loaned book through the kind of rough treatment that mine always go through on camping trips]

Hobbes [Smile]

[ March 22, 2004, 02:55 PM: Message edited by: Hobbes ]

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

I hate borrowing books. I'm so hard on books that I fear destroying a friendship along with the cherished tome.

Then I just relax about it and pull out my scissors and crayons.

[Big Grin]

Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :

*reminds self not to let Bob in to see our bookshelf*

We have a habit of loaning out books and forgetting about them. Especially since we loan out our books to out of town friends. Tom's friend still has his copy of Guns Germs and Steel, although why I remember that particular one, I haven't a clue.