If you’re running short of gift ideas I have some recommendations that might help (either to delight or annoy your friends). These are my fantastic four of 2007:

1. 1)The Thing
   

The Black Swan: The Impact Of The Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Only by favoring experimentation over storytelling, experience over history and clinical knowledge over theories is that you’ll be able to see you are surrounded by Black Swans, those highly improbable events that are impossible to predict. Even though we like to think we live under the cozy dome of the bell curve, the truth is that we inhabit a world of inconceivable accidents (positive and negative) waiting to happen. Taleb’s musings about this simple realization are scary and profound yet practical, so expect a happy ending to this narrative non-fallacy.

2. 2)The Human Torch
   

Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard

Both a biologist and Buddhist monk reside inside the body of Matthieu Ricard. But if you think this is one of those boring books about how science and religion can live together in harmony, you’ll have to reread the title. It’s as simple as that. Nevertheless, if you are a scientist or an atheist, this book could also be about learning to prioritize between truth and happiness. Of course, they are not mutually exclusive, but sometimes they collide and, depending on your aims in life, you’ll need to learn the art of selective ranking. In those cases, considering that Buddhist monks seem quite happy and that there are many unhappy scientists, it’s probably not a bad idea to listen to the former when searching for your own happiness and to the latter when looking for the truth.

3. 3)Mr. Fantastic
   

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker

It’s not just the amusing stories and the sharp humor characteristic of Pinker’s style, in this book most of his ideas come together and crystallize into a single theoretical model. However, the most amazing aspect of the book isn’t the theory, but how Pinker always manages to give substance to the ethereal. Through the study of language he neatly pins down the physical and biological roots of the mental and of human nature. After reading it you’ll feel as if you could actually touch names, actions and concepts.

4. 4)The Invisible Woman
   

The Private Life of the Brain by Susan Greenfield

Just as after reading The Stuff of Thought you feel as if you could actually touch it, when finishing The Private Life of the Brain you realize you’ve just glimpsed the backbone of consciousness. From the physical processes that underlie specific thoughts and emotions to the creation of a subjective unique experience, neuroscientist Susan Greenfield puts together a provocative and innovative theory that deserves way more attention than it has gotten.

Related Articles In ChiliConDarwin:

1. 
   

2. Living In Extremistan
   

3. Extremistan is the republic of the black swans where the improbable is always there, waiting to break into your destiny at the turn of any corner. The modern human tragedy is that we think we live ...
   

4. More On The Stuff Of Thought
   

5. In case you’re interested, there’s a new video over at TED Talks showing an early preview of Steven Pinker’s new book. Talks Steven Pinker: The stuff of thought From TED In an exclusive preview of ...
   

6. The Stuff Of Thought
   

7. Steven Pinker’s new book “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature” is finally out! Abbas Raza wrote this excellent review in 3 Quarks Daily...
   

8. Leave The Future Behind
   

9. Most cultures see the future as something ahead and the past as behind. But the Aymara of the Andean highlands have the reverse perspective. For them, the past is in front (because you can see it) ...
   

10. Is Optimism Possible In An Unpredictable World?
    

11. From the World Question Center at Edge.com here’s Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s answer to the 2007 question: “What are you optimistic about?” His views on the future of America are particularly interesti...
    

12. The Happiness Fad
    

13. Goodbye misery, hello happiness. Of course, despite our obsession with sadness, happiness has never gone completely out of fashion. But a recent flood of scholarly books about it (Happiness by Darr...
    

14. The Science of Joy
    

15. I think it was Ingrid Bergman who said that happiness is good health and a bad memory. Scientists studying the emerging research topic of happiness seem to agree. The Science of Lasting Happiness B...
    

Subscribe to our FREE weekly Newsletter