Jäsendanrk

My library is filled with technical books and a smattering of literature. The central topic is clearly math, but I don't believe that math is an end-all. It is only a small component of life, and one I enjoy greatly as an art.

I strive to find books that are not "psychologically identical" like Feynman describes:

"Theories of the known... may be equivalent in all their predictions and hence scientifically indistinguishable. However, they are not psychologically identical when trying to move from that base into the unknown. For different views suggest different kinds of modifications which might be made and hence are not equivalent in the hypotheses one generates from them in one's attempt to understand what is not yet understood."
- Richard Feynman, 1966

In other words, just because an explanation "works" doesn't mean that it offers the most creative potential.

I love books -- what they stand for and even their physical presence. Books liberate ideas from time, place, and person. In an age of cheap, quick, and time-consuming filler media, books stand the test of time and deliver lucid thought at a slower pace.

I discovered LibraryThing at the end of college and cataloged some of the more important books that I owned throughout my studies. Thanks to the site, I could part with some of those books physically. Now, I use it to answer the question, "What is the bibliography of my life?". I continue to add to the catalog at varying levels of commitment, and more recently, I have been using it to pace myself through my reading list.

To improve my memory of books that I read, and to enhance international/interpersonal goodwill, I made a deal with myself to write reviews on each book I catalog and then finish. If I do, I treat myself to another book!