What We Are Reading Today: ‘On Truth in Politics’

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Updated 19 October 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘On Truth in Politics’

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  • He shows why truth is an essential democratic value—a value we need to sustain our democratic way of life—and how it can be strengthened

Author: MICHAEL PATRICK LYNCH

Do any of us really care about truth when it comes to politics? Should we? In a world of big lies, denialism, and conspiracy theories, democracies are experiencing two interlocked crises: a loss of confidence in democracy itself and the growing sense among many that politics is only about power—not truth.

In this book, Michael Patrick Lynch argues that truth not only can—but must—matter in politics. He shows why truth is an essential democratic value—a value we need to sustain our democratic way of life—and how it can be strengthened.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Machine Learning for Physics and Astronomy’ by Viviana Acquaviva

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Machine Learning for  Physics and Astronomy’ by Viviana Acquaviva
Updated 29 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Machine Learning for Physics and Astronomy’ by Viviana Acquaviva

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Machine Learning for  Physics and Astronomy’ by Viviana Acquaviva

As the size and complexity of data continue to grow exponentially across the physical sciences, machine learning is helping scientists to sift through and analyze this information while driving breathtaking advances in quantum physics, astronomy, cosmology, and beyond.

This incisive textbook covers the basics of building, diagnosing, optimizing, and deploying machine learning methods to solve research problems in physics and astronomy, with an emphasis on critical thinking and the scientific method.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Data Science for Neuroimaging’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Data Science for Neuroimaging’
Updated 28 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Data Science for Neuroimaging’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Data Science for Neuroimaging’

Authors: Ariel Rokem & Tal Yarkoni 

As neuroimaging turns toward data-intensive discovery, researchers in the field must learn to access, manage, and analyze datasets at unprecedented scales.

Concerns about reproducibility and increased rigor in reporting of scientific results also demand higher standards of computational practice.

This book offers neuroimaging researchers an introduction to data science, presenting methods, tools, and approaches that facilitate automated, reproducible, and scalable analysis and understanding of data.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘A History of Biology’ by Michel Morange

What We Are Reading Today: ‘A History of Biology’ by Michel Morange
Updated 27 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘A History of Biology’ by Michel Morange

What We Are Reading Today: ‘A History of Biology’ by Michel Morange

This book presents a global history of the biological sciences from ancient times to today, providing needed perspective on the development of biological thought while shedding light on the field’s upheavals and key breakthroughs through the ages.

Michel Morange brings to life the dynamic interplay of science, society, and biology’s many sub-disciplines, enabling readers to better appreciate the interdisciplinary exchanges that have shaped the field over the centuries.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Renormalization Group and Condensed Matter Physics’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Renormalization Group and Condensed Matter Physics’
Updated 26 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Renormalization Group and Condensed Matter Physics’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Renormalization Group and Condensed Matter Physics’

Authors: David Nelson & Grace H. Zhang 

Renormalization group ideas have had a major impact on condensed matter physics for more than a half century.

This book develops the theory and illustrates the broad applicability of the renormalization group to major problems in condensed matter physics.

Based on course materials developed and class-tested by the authors at Harvard University, the book will be especially useful for students, as well as researchers. 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Prehistoric Textiles’

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Updated 25 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Prehistoric Textiles’

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  • “Prehistoric Textiles” made an unsurpassed leap in the social and cultural understanding of textiles in humankind’s early history

Author: E.J.W.BARBER

This pioneering work revises our notions of the origins and early development of textiles in Europe and the Near East.
Using innovative linguistic techniques, along with methods from paleobiology and other fields, it shows that spinning and pattern weaving began far earlier than has been supposed.
“Prehistoric Textiles” made an unsurpassed leap in the social and cultural understanding of textiles in humankind’s early history.