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comment by tvirlip
tvirlip  ·  2949 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: February 29th: What are you reading this week?

"Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction" by Samir Okasha

Surprisingly deep book, while being very readable and very short. I knew for a long time that all the things humanity calls "science" are divided between "real science" and "collecting post stamps", and being mathematician by education I've always suspected that the only member of the "real science" club is mathematics. Now, after finishing most of the book, I'm convinced it's exactly like that!

Also I'm reading "The frigate Pallada" by Ivan Goncharov, which is basically a collection of very entertaining letters from an established writer traveling around the world to his friends; the time period is the middle of the 19th century. The letters are full of wit and are written in wonderful language (disclaimer: I have no idea if English translation is any good -- I read it in Russian as it is my mother tongue). Goncharov follows the idea that he should write primarily about his own impressions, not about facts which can be found in encyclopaedia, and it makes his travel log extremely interesting.