Recommendations based on The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinityby Steven H. Strogatz

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    by Daniel Kahneman
    An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.

    In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't

    by Nate Silver
    An exploration of the art and science of prediction, examining why some predictions succeed while others fail.

    Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair's breadth. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political ... (Goodreads)

  3. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

    by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    An exploration of how disorder and chaos can lead to strength and resilience.

    From the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost philosophers of our time, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a book on how some systems actually benefit from disorder. In The Black Swan ... (Goodreads)

  4. A Short History of Nearly Everything

    by Bill Bryson
    A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.

    In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

    by Steven Pinker
    The exploration of the science of human nature, including the implications for society.

    In The Blank Slate , Steven Pinker explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature by ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

    by Siddhartha Mukherjee
    A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.

    An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

    by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    A study of the role of randomness in life, and how it can lead to unexpected events.

    A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

    by Carl Sagan
    A critical look at superstition and pseudoscience, advocating for the power of science and reason.

    How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

    by Sam Kean
    Fascinating tales of discovery and exploration of the elements of the periodic table.

    Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

    by James Gleick
    A comprehensive history of the development of information technology, from ancient times to the digital age.

    James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius , now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: a revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the ... (Goodreads)

  11. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

    by Roger Lowenstein
    The story of the hedge fund that almost brought down the financial system in 1998, and the hubris and greed that led to its downfall.

    With a new Afterword addressing today’s financial crisis A BUSINESS WEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In this business classic—now with a new Afterword in which the author draws parallels to the recent ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

    by Charles Duhigg
    Uncovering the science of habit formation and how to use it to achieve success.

    A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns ... (Goodreads)

  13. A Brief History of Time

    by Stephen Hawking
    Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.

    In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)

  14. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

    by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    A critical examination of the impact of randomness/chance in life and financial markets.

    Fooled by Randomness, is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a ... (Goodreads)

  15. Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors

    by Matt Parker
    A humorous exploration of mathematical errors and their consequences in real life situations.

    #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER , , ,, AN ADAM SAVAGE BOOK CLUB PICK,The book-length answer to anyone who ever put their hand up in math class and asked, “When am I ever going to use this in the real ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Chaos: Making a New Science

    by James Gleick
    Investigation of complex systems and the impact of chaos on scientific understanding.

    A work of popular science in the tradition of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, this 20th-anniversary edition of James Gleick’s groundbreaking bestseller Chaos introduces a whole new readership to ... (Goodreads)

  17. How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

    by Jordan Ellenberg
    A journey through the power of mathematical thinking, and how it can be applied to everyday life.

    The, Freakonomics, of math — a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

    by Brian Greene
    An exploration of space and time in the physical world, looking at the fundamental laws of the universe.

    From Brian Greene, one of the world’s leading physicists and author the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Elegant Universe , comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely ... (Goodreads)

  19. The C Programming Language

    by Brian W. Kernighan
    Classic guide to the C programming language, covering syntax, data types, control flow, and more. A must-read for any aspiring programmer.

    This book is meant to help the reader learn how to program in C. It is the definitive reference guide, now in a second edition. Although the first edition was written in 1978, it continues to be a ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Selfish Gene

    by Richard Dawkins
    A study of evolutionary biology, exploring how genes act and how they impact behavior.

    Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The ... (Goodreads)

  21. How the Mind Works

    by Steven Pinker
    Exploration of the human mind, understanding the elements that make us think and act.

    In this extraordinary bestseller, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading cognitive scientists, does for the rest of the mind what he did for language in his 1994 book, The Language Instinct . He ... (Goodreads)

  22. The God Delusion

    by Richard Dawkins
    Scientific exploration of the evidence for and against religious belief.

    A preeminent scientist - and the world's most prominent atheist - asserts the irrationality of belief in God, and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. With ... (Goodreads)

  23. Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics By Its Most Brilliant Teacher

    by Richard P. Feynman
    Exploring the fundamentals of physics, from the perspective of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.

    Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher is a publishing first. This set couples a book containing the six easiest chapters from Richard P. Feynman's landmark ... (Goodreads)

  24. A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing

    by Lawrence M. Krauss
    A scientific exploration of the origins of the universe, proposing that it could have arisen from nothing.

    Bestselling author and acclaimed physicist Lawrence Krauss offers a paradigm-shifting view of how everything that exists came to be in the first place. “Where did the universe come from? What was ... (Goodreads)

  25. Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

    by Sam Quinones
    Exposé of the opioid crisis in America, from its origins to its devastating effects.

    In fascinating detail, Sam Quinones chronicles how, over the past 15 years, enterprising sugar cane farmers in a small county on the west coast of Mexico created a unique distribution system that ... (Goodreads)

  26. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

    by Christopher McDougall
    A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.

    Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Universe in a Nutshell

    by Stephen Hawking
    A concise and accessible explanation of the most complex theories in physics, from the Big Bang to black holes.

    Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A Brief History of Time, introduced the ideas of this brilliant theoretical physicist to readers all over the world. Now, in a major ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

    by Kelly McGonigal
    A scientific approach to understanding and improving self-control, with practical exercises and real-life examples.

    The first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. After years of watching her students struggling with their ... (Goodreads)

  29. Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

    by Giulia Enders
    Exploration of the human gut, its impact on our health, and its importance.

    “Everything you ever wanted to know about the gut (and then some).” —SELF In this, New York Times, bestseller, scientist Giulia Enders reveals the secrets of your digestive system—including new ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

    by Apostolos Doxiadis
    A historical exploration of the development of logical thinking, from ancient Greece to the 20th century.

    Set between the late 19th century and the present day, the graphic novel Logicomix is based on the story of the so-called "foundational quest" in mathematics. Logicomix intertwines the philosophical ... (Wikipedia)