Reddit mentions: The best educational & nonfiction graphic novels

There's a ton of advice I could give you - and I'll try to throw a bunch of it at you - but keep in mind I've barely begun this process myself. This is what I can tell you based on what I've observed, take it as you will.

My first piece of advice is to do the thing you said you never do. Put them down to paper. These little scenes and random thoughts you have swimming through your head are exactly where "we all find ideas to start from." It could be a simple scene in the middle of a larger story, it could be the very last words you want to someone to hear. Regardless of what it is, put it down on paper. I always carry a small moleskin notebook with me and have gotten into the habit of just jotting down something whenever it goes through my head. When you're used to just thinking of things, it's a little jarring at first to stop and write it down, but believe me - it will be worth it. This is the fountain of ideas you're looking for.

Arguably the most important thing I can tell you, is to write. Don't worry about whether it's formatted right, if you've structured your characters enough, or if you've done a good outline. Write. Whenever, wherever, as much as you can. You're only going to get better at writing by writing.

That being said, worry about format, structure, and outlines. And what I mean by that, is look back on the work you did, figure out where you could have done better and the next time try to do that. The first thing I ever wrote, I did without thinking about my characters, what they really meant, their back story, the environment they lived in, and said to hell with an outline. After it was finished, I knew for my next project that this had to change.

Consume the media you want to create. Not only should you actively read comics, you should try to consume anything that gives you insight to the business and how other people work. This is a list of books I bought and think have been extremely helpful. They give insight into the importance of creating characters, environments, etc before you even begin a script. I've listed them in the order I personally liked from best to still pretty damn good

• Writing Comics & Graphic Novels by Peter David
  
• Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative by Will Eisner
  
• Writing for Comics by Alan Moore
  
• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
  
• Making Comics by Scott McCloud
  
• Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers by various
  
  The last one is great because you get to see the various script styles of in-the-business writers. For comics, I also actively listen to these podcasts:
  
  
• The Process - great podcast centered directly on writing for comics. I honestly cannot recommend this enough, and have yet to find one I like better than this.
  
• Nerdist Writers Panel - while this isn't for comics, it gives you great insight on writing in general. It's geared for TV, which I think translates to comics relatively well (in some respects).
  
  In addition to all that, I follow /r/writing and try to stay active on this subreddit. We've done a few writing prompts, which I think are great ways to get you writing - though I wish more people would take part.
  
  JoshLees has compiled a larger list of resources, definitely take a look at that. The above listed things are what I consume personally.
  
  That's all I have for now, and the community can feel free to correct me or add to it, but other than that good luck!

No problem!

Philosophy of time is an enormous area!

Not only are there many distinct positions that attempt to address the scientific and philosophical questions in different ways, there are different positions regarding the very method by which we should attempt to answer these questions! Some of these certainly overlap.

What do I mean by this?

Putting it roughly:

There are those who tend to think that we should use science to answer these questions about time. All we should care about is what observations are made; we should only care about the empirical data. These people might point to the great success of our best scientific theories that refer to 'time', such as those in physics, including; Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Entropy (The Arrow of Time), and even Quantum Theory, but also those in neuroscience and psychology, where our perception of time becomes relevant (such as the Inference Model of Time and the Strength Model of Time). So we have notions of physical/objective time, and subjective/mental time. We may talk about time slowing down around a massive body such as a black hole, or time slowing down when a work-shift is boring or when we're experiencing a traumatic event.

But there are also those who tend to think that we should use not just science, but also uniquely philosophical methods as well. Conceptual analysis is one such method; one that involves thinking very carefully about our concepts. This method is a distinctically a priori method (A priori is just philosophical jargon meaning; "Can be known without experience," for example, the statement "All triangles have three sides"). These people think we can learn a great deal about time by reflecting on our concepts about time, our intuitions about time, and the laws of thought (or logic) and how they relate to time. This philosophical approach to answering questions about time is distinctively metaphysical opposed to the former physical and cognitive theories about time.

Of course there are many who may see the use in all of these different approaches!

Recommendations:

Physics:

Hawking, S 1988, A Brief History of Time: From The Big Bang to Black Holes, Bantam Books, Toronto; New York. [Chapters 2, 9 & 10. Absolute Classic, little dated but still great read]

Gardner, M 1988, Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments, W.H. Freeman, UK. [Chapter 1]

Greene, B 2010, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, W. W. Norton, New York. [Chapter 2 is a great introduction for Special Relativity]

Physics and Metaphysics:

Dainton, B 2010, Time and Space, 2nd edn, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal; Ithaca N.Y. [Chapters 1-8, 18, 19 & 21. This book is incredible in scope, it even has a chapter on String Theory, and it really acknowledges the intimate connection between space and time given to us by physics]

Metaphyics:

Hawley, K 2015, Temporal Parts, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/temporal-parts/>. [Discussion of Perdurantism, the view that objects last over time without being wholly present at every time at which they exist.]

Markosian, N 2014, Time, The Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2016/entries/time/>.

Hunter, J 2016, Time Travel, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/timetrav/>.

Callender, C & Edney, R 2014, Introducing Time: A Graphic Guide, Icon Books Limited, UK. [Great book if you want something a bit less wordy and fun, but still very informative, having comprehensive coverage. It also has many nice illustrations and is cheap!]

Curtis, B & Robson, J 2016, A Critical Introduction to the Metaphysics of Time, Bloomsbury Publishing, UK. [Very good recent publication that comes from a great series of books in metaphysics]

Ney, A 2014, Metaphysics: An Introduction, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London; New York. [Chapters 5 & 6 (Chapter 4 looks at critiques of Metaphysics in general as a way of answer questions and Chapter 9 looks at Free-will/Determinism/Compatiblism)]

More advanced temporal Metaphysics:

Sider, T 2001, Four-Dimensionalism: An Ontology of Persistence and Time, Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, Oxford New York. [Great book defending what Sider calls "Four-Dimensionalism" (this is confusing given how others have used the same term differently) but by it he means Perdurantism, the view that objects last over time without being wholly present at every time at which they exist.]

Hawley, K 2004, How Things Persist, Clarendon Press, UK. [Another great book: It's extremely similar to the one above in terms of the both content and conclusions reached]

Some good Time travel movies:

Interstellar (2014)

Timecrimes (2007)

Looper (2012)

Primer (2004) [Time Travel on drugs]

12 Monkeys (1995)

Donnie Darko (2001)

The Terminator (1984)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Predestination (2014)

Back To the Future (1-3) (1985-1990)

Source Code (2011)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Computer scientist here... I'm not a "real" mathematician but I do have a good bit of education and practical experience with some specific fields of like probability, information theory, statistics, logic, combinatorics, and set theory. The vast majority of mathematics, though, I'm only interested in as a hobby. I've never gone much beyond calculus in the standard track of math education, so I to enjoy reading "layman's terms" material about math. Here's some stuff I've enjoyed.

Fermat's Enigma This book covers the history of a famous problem that looks very simple, yet it took several hundred years to resolve. In so doing it gives layman's terms overviews of many mathematical concepts in a manner very similar to jfredett here. It's very readable, and for me at least, it also made the study of mathematics feel even more like an exciting search for beautiful, profound truth.

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth I've been told this book contains some inaccuracies, but I'm including it because I think it's such a cool idea. It's a graphic novelization (seriously, a graphic novel about a logician) of the life of Bertrand Russell, who was deeply involved in some of the last great ideas before Godel's Incompleteness Theorem came along and changed everything. This isn't as much about the math as it is about the people, but I still found it enjoyable when I read it a few years ago, and it helped spark my own interest in mathematics.

Lots of people also love Godel Escher Bach. I haven't read it yet so I can't really comment on it, but it seems to be a common element of everybody's favorite books about math.

I've been a big fan of Icon Books' "Introducing" series. They're sorta like intellectual comic books, but are able to give you a good precis of a given author or subject quite efficiently. I prefer them to Paul Strathern's 90 Minutes series because they go into better depth on the theoretical aspects of a thinker, whereas Strathern spends more time in biographical detail and only briefly dips into the theory. If you buy used, and look around for older editions you can usually find them going for about between a penny and a buck or less on Amazon, and with $3.99 shipping, it's a pretty cheap way to get a good start in a subject. The upside is their more recent books like the ones on Derrida and Zizek come with approval from the author they're covering. Derrida reportedly loved his, and Zizek was apparently quite excited about the medium and had many ideas for how to communicate with it.

Consciousness, Time, Ethics


But yeah, the best thing you can do for yourself though after or while sating your interests is to get a solid foundation in the Greeks, because EVERYBODY references them, everybody. They are great in and of themselves, but you will literally save yourself years of your own time that would have been spent trying to pin down this that or the other thing that so and so said if you don't have a solid basic understanding of the Greeks.

I don't really think so. The whole point of Cortex Plus, especially Marvel Heroic, was they fixed the balance so that a lone secret agent without any powers (Black Widow) really COULD become a match for a super hero like Wolverine or Cyclops or Spiderman.

Because the game wasn't based on amount of power so much as amount of narrative control. So it's very easy to play a group of secret agents, just normal well trained people, who could take on thugs and maybe a super hero or two.

But FATE is a good system, I'm not saying to use Marvel Heroic. I'm just saying that the Marvel books had a large list of heroes and characters from all over. They have SHIELD and HYDRA, they have everyone from New Warriors (which is still sort of low level) to even Great Lakes Avengers (Squirrel Girl!). The Annihilation books cove cosmic stuff and the Civil War covered a lot of lesser known, weaker characters. But it's your opinion, if you don't want to touch the already completed work Margaret Weis did good justice on before they lost the license, that's your choice.

For other material to draw from, I bought both the Marvel and DC Encyclopedias from DK. Cortex Plus and FATE are both extremely easy to generate stats for. So these books add all the flavor and atmosphere I need in supers game.

But if you are really just want conspiracy level action I suggest a few non super hero works. The Blacklist on NBC is a phenomenal show about agents, double agents, politics, and conspiracy. Which is what the Winter Soldier film was and how the AoS show has changed. As well, I just watched the Raid 2 and it's fucking amazing. You can just switch out a couple of the characters in that movie with super villains and it would fit so well to marvel. Lastly, there is all the other Whedon productions like Doll House and Buffy which can all read very similar, as well as shows like La Femme Nikita and Alias. Anything that has investigators who cannot reveal their identity and are trying to deal with super villains or terrorist plots. So anything from True Detective to Believe or The Following or Crisis all are ample ground for stories.

In fact, I work in television and I am forced to watch about 30 hours a week of crime shows with agents doing investigations. Outside of work I watch a few shows that I actually like. I read a lot too. So all I can suggest is to pull from everywhere that seems right. Anything about someone breaking the law, even if they think it's righteous, and the agencies that are trying to protect the public.

It's all about the kids.

Your kids deserve a great education. Don't force them into an environment where they get nothing but one-sided indoctrination. Teach your kids about religion (not just your own, although that's a great start.) Learning stories about different religions is great http://www.amazon.com/God-His-Creations-Tales-Testament/dp/0763622117/ is wonderful, so are similar books about Greek myths http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Myths-Marcia-Williams/dp/0763653845/ Indian gods, etc. It's an important part of our culture, current events, literature, world news and history, etc. to understand different faiths.

If your 12 year old is old enough to be into a book like http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046 that could be great, too... or tell him/her about cool stuff on reddit, related to any given interest. Internet access does wonders for broadening people's horizons.

>There are times when I wish my world was a bit larger

Your kids might wish this as well. Think about what you could do for them -- are there options for student exchange, travel, getting involved in anything, anywhere that broadens their circle of friends and acquaintances outside of a homogenous community? That should be a goal in raising your kids.

Some help:

Maybe Yes, Maybe No (LINK)

by Dan Barker

In today's media-flooded world, there is no way to control all of the information, claims, and enticements that reach young people. The best thing to do is arm them with the sword of critical thinking.

Maybe Yes, Maybe No is a charming introduction to self-confidence and self-reliance. The book's ten-year-old heroine, Andrea, is always asking questions because she knows "you should prove the truth of a strange story before you believe it."

"Check it out. Repeat the experiment. Try to prove it wrong. It has to make sense." writes Barker, as he assures young readers that they are fully capable of figuring out what to believe, and of knowing when there just isn't enough information to decide. "You can do it your own way. If you are a good skeptic you will know how to think for yourself."

Another book is "Me & Dog" by Gene Weingarten.

And Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story : Books 1, 2, 3

Here Comes Science CD + DVD

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

Bang! How We Came to Be by Michael Rubino.

Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution
Grandmother Fish, free in PDF form online

Also:

Greek Myths – by Marcia Williams

Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs – by Marcia Williams

God and His Creations – by Marcia Williams

"I Wonder" by Annaka Harris

"From Stardust to You: An Illustrated Guide to The Big Bang" by Luciano Reni

"Meet Bacteria!" by Rebecca Bielawski

See also Highlights for Children - this has materials for younger children.

Atheism books for children by Courtney Lynn

"It Is Ok To Be A Godless Me", "I'm An Atheist and That's Ok", "I'm a Freethinker", "Please Don't Bully Me" and "I'm a Little Thinker" etc.

Courtney Lynn has a couple more for grown ups as well.

Grandmother Fish, free in PDF form online

A child's first book of evolution.

15 Holiday Gift Ideas for Secular Families

Bedtime Bible Stories by Joey Lee Kirkman - for mature teens only

Coming up: TINY THINKERS is a series of books introducing popular scientists to children, by telling their stories as if the scientists themselves were kids!

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True does a good job, but it's hefty and can feel like a textbook. The original release has a nicer dust jacket. It's something a parent could read with their not-a-toddler child over many bedtimes.

>"I am often asked to recommend good books on science for young people. From now on, I will not have to hesitate. "The Magic of Reality" provides a beautiful, accessible and wide ranging volume that addresses the questions that all of us have about the universe, separating often too-little known facts from too-frequently believed fictions. For this reason it should be a powerful resource for people of all ages, written with the masterful and eloquently literate style of perhaps the best popular expositor of science, Richard Dawkins, and delightfully illustrated by Dave McKean. What more could anyone ask for?"

>--Lawrence Krauss is Foundation Professor and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University and the author most recently of "Quantum Man", and "A Universe from Nothing"

I can identify with many of the replies to this post, so I wanted to share some personal insights that have helped me tremendously with these existential anxieties/depression (although I still struggle with them). Please excuse me if I'm not as well-spoken as others here, but I'm not a native speaker and... even worse, I'm an engineer.

First, you have to realize that this kind of existential anxiety has been recognized as part of the human condition by many philosophers and thinkers from almost the beginning of our recorded history. So, even though it is true that it can be hard to find peers to whom you can talk openly about these problems, and who will understand you from personal experience, this is not true if you count the experiences of the thousands of persons who had exactly the same feelings and have written about them. Of course they all had their own experiences, insights and solutions which may not apply to you, but it would be stupid to think that there is not some valuable wisdom to be gained from these thousands of years of tradition of thinking about these issues.

I don't want to elaborate too long about all the things out there, neither do I want to force my own opinions on others, but here are some personal recommendations:

• Albert Camus (as mentioned numerous times in this thread)
  
• Herman Hesse - Siddhartha
  
• I recommend reading any good book on the history of philosophy that sticks to a few pages per school/person to get a good overview of how people have been approaching these issues throughout history. You can just skip all the guys who where thinking about irrelevant shite that has long become obsolete because of modern science. I have used Joachim Storig's excellent book for this, although I think it is only available in German, Dutch and Spanish.
  
• If you consider yourself more of a deep physical/metaphysical thinker and you think these practical philosophies are not relevant to your issues or too superficial, try the following approach:
  
  • get at least a limited understanding of the following fields of science: quantum physics, systems theory/cybernetics, some neuroscience, the problems of mathematics (i recommend the graphic novel logicomix as an easy to read and interesting introduction)
    
  • read about Buddha's (Siddhartha Gautama's) life and how he developed his philosophy/doctrine. This guy is extra relevant because he made existential anxiety the core of his practical philosophy (This is often misunderstood because 'dukkha' is somewhat misleadingly translated as just 'suffering'). I highly recommend Osamu Tezuka's graphic novel, Wikipedia's Buddhism template, Alan Watts talks on Buddhist philosophy, or any basic introduction to buddhist concepts such as this one. While doing this keep in mind that he was just a regular spoiled-ass prince who was really smart, had too much time on his hands and was suffering from the same existential anxieties as you are. Try to really understand his philosophy (especially non-self, impermanence and nirvana) in the context of modern science, and be amazed at how well it holds up (hence the interest in Buddhist thought among physicists and neuroscientists).
    
  • ???
    
  • Profit!
    
    Peace and good luck y'all.

No, you don't have to. That's something you really need to put your foot down. Explain that it's unethical and morally wrong to deceive kids about the nature of reality. I don't lie to my kids about Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Fairytales are fine in the context of it being a fun story that we know isn't real. If being presented with evidence and reality is enough to shake your faith, were those beliefs worth having in the first place? Truth withstands scrutiny.


Gravity is just a theory, but that seems to work pretty well. It's not just a "guess". You can tell her you're happy to tell them that "some people like to believe a story about a magic man in the sky that made everything. Other people believe the world is carried on the back of a giant turtle." It can be a good teachable moment that leads into asking them how we can figure out what stories are true and what ones are just for fun.


This is a really great book:
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046

I would love this as well because I'm geeky like that. Books that I found interesting that you might as well:

-The Comic Book Story of Beer: A fun way to learn more about the history of beer as beverage. It goes into I'd say a medium amount of detail, enough that if you wanted to go deeper you'd have the right search terms. Plus it's a comic book...bonus! Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Book-Story-Beer-Revolution/dp/1607746352

-National Geographic Atlas of Beer: Another medium level detail book about beer all over the world for a more global perspective plus it's National Geographic so the photography is gorgeous. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Atlas-Beer-Globe-Trotting/dp/1426218338/

-Radical Brewing: Even if you don't homebrew I feel like this book is worth picking up, especially early on in your beer journey because it gives you an idea of what wide range of styles and ingredients can make up a "Beer" (with a capital B). Also, it's a good introduction to Randy Mosher who is a Beer Geek (with a capital B and a capital G). Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Brewing-Recipes-World-Altering-Meditations/dp/0937381837

If anyone has any other books along the same lines they enjoy, feel free to share them.

Cheers!

Start with a good algorithms book like Introduction to algorithms. You'll also want a good discrete math text. Concrete Mathematics is one that I like, but there are several great alternatives. If you are learning new math, pick up The Princeton Companion To Mathematics, which is a great reference to have around if you find yourself with a gap in your knowledge. Not a seminal text in theoretical CS, but certain to expand your mind, is Purely functional data structures.

On the practice side, pick up a copy of The C programming language. Not only is K&R a classic text, and a great read, it really set the tone for the way that programming has been taught and learned ever since. I also highly recommend Elements of Programming.

Also, since you mention Papadimitriou, take a look at Logicomix.

Sorry for the delayed response! The professor that helped me the most in terms of career was Dr. Kristen Syrett. I was a research assistant in her laboratory. All of the profs are great. Dr. Ken Safir is another person who helped me. There are a few others, but a few have moved to different universities. If you take profs multiple times for different courses and get yourself involved in any of their research, they really get to know you and will be great resources. The department is really pretty small, so it sorta becomes a nice tight-nit linguistics family.

My current career is as a school administrator where I supervise bilingual programs and design ESL curriculum. I do love what I do. I chose an applied linguistics route, so I use a lot of what I learned studying language acquisition in curriculum decisions. Other linguistics grads from my cohort either work for companies like Google as computational linguists, or are doing post-doctoral work related to the field.

As for how I got interested in linguistics, when I was in high school, my school's library had a "graphic novel" type book called Introducing Linguistics by R.L. Trask. It was a short read, but it made me think about how much I don't know about language and how it works and I decided to take it as my college major. Coming into my education-related job was a development that came later on when studying language acquisition and language pedagogical theory.

If your science education to date (sorry, you haven't given us any clues!) came from Fundamentalist home schooling or the equivalent, then The Magic of Reality is an instructive an entertaining introduction into how we evidence-and-reason based people think and work.

Dawkins' The God Delusion and many similar oft-recommended books make a point of showing you how religious belief is wrong and harmful. Not that they're wrong about this, but my own journey to atheism came via a more positive route: I discovered that there is a natural explanation for everything we experience in the world around us, and that this system of explanations is very consistent and credible. It's not so much that science attacks or disproves God as that a person with a decent understanding of the scientific world view doesn't need God as an explanation for anything. God was an explanation back when humanity was ignorant; although lots of people don't realize this yet, God is now out of that job. His only remaining function is to allow people to tell themselves they will live forever. That's a nice fantasy but there's no sensible reason for believing it.

Anyway, please forgive the ramble! The idea was to get you to look at books about naturalism rather than against religion. My top recommendation here is Sense and Goodness Without God. Unfortunately, it's not a simple text. It's challenging for a High School student because it gives you a whirlwind tour of all the philosophy, science, ethics, history and more related to a naturalist world view. Highly recommended but it will put hair on your intellectual chest.

Hi, I have a degree in Philosophy and teach Philosophy/English to high schooler. The following advice and recommendations are what I give my students who are interested in philosophy. I would not recommend Kant as an introduction (not that he's bad, but he is difficult to understand). Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar is a book that explains philosophical topics and questions through humor and uses jokes to illustrate the concepts. It is accessible and thought provoking. If you are interested in logic you might enjoy Logicomix. It is a graphic novel that gives a biographical narrative of Bertrand Russell, an English philosopher whose work is the basis of all modern logic. It is not a book about logic per se, but it does give a good introduction to what logic is and how it can be used. Also, Russell's book A History of Western Philosophy is a good place to start your education in philosophy. If you are interested in atheism, read Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion. This book goes through the most common arguments for the existence of God, and debunks them using logic and reasoning. Good luck and read on!

Thank you!

Any support is greatly appreciated; I'm an 18 year old headed into my freshman year, and I'm hoping that when my student loan payments start I won't regret the decision to work on this comic rather than getting a traditional summer job, haha. Shameless link to the amazon page.

But really the reason I've poured so many hours into this is because I love history and want to share that love with others. So again, thank you for reading it!

I would recommend "The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True" by Richard Dawkins. It isn't overtly atheist, but is certainly written with that viewpoint. Dawkins wrote it specifically for kids around that age, but the illustrations are so beautiful and the message is so clean and straight-forward that I bought a copy for myself. It is an awesome book, I hope you'll check it out!

Also, I'd like to add: any books which addresses philosophy can also greatly expand her mind. Learning about Descartes "I think therefore I am" had a role in my choice in religious belief (or lack of).

Lastly, kudos on letting her have her own choice in the matter. Truly rare.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Reality-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398130139&sr=8-1&keywords=the+magic+of+reality

> She is wanting to learn more about Atheism and I was hoping to get some information from anyone that is willing to help me/us out.

(Be aware: atheism is spelled with a lower-case a. It's not a proper noun.)

A few book recommendations that aren't terribly anti-religion (or even pro-atheism) but are instead pro-skepticism:

• The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Basically introduces the reader to scientific skepticism. A brief synopsis is available here. This is often a very cheap book and can be found at most used bookstores. Even if she continues to be religious, she'll be better equipped to identify pseudo-science in many forms. If you only get her one book, make it this one.
  
  
• The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins. A beautifully illustrated book aimed at teens, it contains a whole bunch of myths from around the world and explains how science has shed light on what actually is happening. It acknowledges that myths and legends aren't completely useless and are good for teaching things like moral lessons, but that when it comes to actually knowing the nature of reality, such myths usually fall short.
  
  Really, though, any book on world religions or mythology, like this one, would be appropriate. Examining what others believe and why they believe it is an important hurdle in becoming confident with your own beliefs.
  
  
  

>http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Marxism-Graphic-Rupert-Woodfin/dp/1848310587

This is an AMAZING book on marxism. Like none I've ever seen. Starts at ground level and will give you marx's most important ideas, along with the history of marxism, lenin, stalin, and trotsky, as well as marxism in the post-ussr world that we have today.

Also this is something you ought to read before Das kapital

http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm


here's something I posted a little while ago, too

In response to: "Relatively new to communism":
-
Here's something written by Engels. Sort of a questionaire about communism:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm

For something a bit more complicated, check Engels' Synopsis of Capital: http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/1868-syn/index.htm

You're probably not going to understand Marx's Capital for a while. It's an extremely complex book, written in a way very different from the time (It models itself in a way that looks like Freud's Psychoanalysis. It talks about what things look like on the outside, and then talks about how they are on the inside, comes back up to the surface of capitalism, and talks about how the inside workings of capitalism create this outer image of capitalism)

Read the manifesto also. It's a very very basic, brief introduction to marx's thoughts. If you don't get it at first, re-read it over and over again. I guarantee you'll start to understand his language. Also read a lot of introductions to the manifesto; it's always good to have another opinion on it.

A couple wikipedia links for you:

How marx accounts for the "Human's are naturally greedy" argument. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_human_nature

The basic algorithm for how marx believed society evolved and moved along http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_philosophy_of_nature

(a bit more complicated) Marx's core theory of metaphysics and how society acts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_materialism

Once you think you've got the basic components of marx down, you can start on his economics.

Wage Labour and Capital. A bunch of speeches Marx gave talking about capitalism in general. these are some intermidiate concepts which are later elaborated in Capital. http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm

Marx talks about a lot of his core ideas here. http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/index.htm and here http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/preface.htm

Once you've finally decided to take on the task of slaying the dragon (reading capital), it can help to have a bunch of resources with you.

First off I would greatly recommend Mr. David Harvey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBazR59SZXk (lecture one. The others are not hard to find at all on youtube)

Next would be this document which helps explain basic components in the first parts of capital (which is undoubtedly the most cryptic and confusing part of Capital) and the language that marx used (which a lot of people complain about as being archaic and very complex) http://www.econ.utah.edu/~ehrbar/akmc.pdf

Some reading guides for capital:

Read it multiple times after having read it the first time. you will most likely not understand it the first time, or probably misunderstand it.

Keep reading. You will, by the 3rd chapter at the latest, be 100% disheartened from reading it, believing it to be too complex for you. Just keep reading.

Make an engagement to the book. as if you are married to it.

Realize that this all seems overly complex, but at the end of it, you will have an all new, more rich perception of the political and economic world around you, and will see things in ways that most people don't see them. The simple knowledge of key Marxist economic vocabulary often brings the respect of your peers (if you're into that).

While you're at it, this is always a good read:

Marx's writings about the american civil war http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1861/us-civil-war/index.htm

Letters written about the US, including a letter written to abraham lincoln himself (replied to by the Ambassador to Great Britain). http://marxists.org/archive/marx/letters/subject/america.htm http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/iwma/documents/1864/lincoln-letter.htm Always interesting to see how world politics affects your own country's history (if you ARE american that is)

But anyways, stick with it. Marxism will be a journey that will take you a long time, and will probably never finish; constantly in a state of learning. Just know that studying Marx and Communism will never do you wrong.

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it." ~Karl Marx

I'm not the biggest fan of Richard Dawkins Twitter presence, but he has a very good illustrated children's book The Magic of Reality which you could go check out of your local library.

I suggest signing your kids up for sports, activities, or classes that they're interested in that take place on Sundays, like football, ballet, music, sciences, arts et cetera. Ask them what they're interested in. When they've made commitments with their Sunday time, have a social group surrounding their activities, and see how much more fun what they're doing is than church, they won't be tempted back in. Don't be like parent that just snatches a child's plaything away and then expects them to sit silently. Actually give them a better and more appropriate toy to play with.

Books were my best friends, growing up, and I developed a deep, abiding appreciation for what being a reader can do for a person. I read to both of my kids, even in utero, and they both became very avid readers. My daughter has developed a talent for writing, and a desire to be a doctor. She knows I am unlikely to be able to pay her tuition, so she's worked really hard. She's a straight-A student, and the only freshman at her school taking the advanced math and science classes.

She'll be taking AP Chemistry and Calculus, as a sophomore, next year, and she really wants to get a head start. She wants Wonderful Life With the Elements, which is on her wishlist, here. She doesn't really care if it's new or used, but it would need to be a hard copy, rather than an e-book.

My son still hasn't figured out what he wants to be, yet, but he's only almost-eleven. Right now, I think he's vacillating between engineering and video game design. :o)

He's seen me laughing at the Terry Pratchett Discworld series, and is dying to read Wee Free Men, also in hard-copy. His list is here.

You might enjoy the "Math Girls" series by Hiroshi Yuki: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00YYJYP2C
In particular, the third book does a pretty nice job covering the Peano axioms and some of Gödel's results. They don't have too much of a plot (its more math than fiction) but I would still recommend reading them in order.

Another fun one on foundations is Logicomix, its a graphic novel: https://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-search-truth-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521

Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" is another really excellent book on foundations.

James Gleick's "Chaos: Making a New Science" is really fantastic in describing both the history and content behind chaotic dynamical systems, I highly recommend it.

A book that blew my mind in high school was Manfred Schroeder's "Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws: Minutes from an Infinite Paradise"; it might be a little harder to find.

The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry is an excellent and entertaining introduction. It's a fun read, and it explains topics that may have been otherwise dull or difficult in a very entertaining and easy to grasp manner. A good friend of mine who has taken a few chemistry courses was pretty impressed with it, and said it contained much of the material you lean in your first two college classes.

First of all, buy your daughter this book: The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, by Richard Dawkins. Highly recommended. I think the hardcover has illustrations, and there's tons of used ones. Dawkins is to religion like garlic is to a vampire.

Contact the school, and remind them that 1) religion is a private matter, and 2) Jesus belongs in church. Ask them if they think it's appropriate for you to go to their church and talk about evolution.

You might also remind them that the real world out there expect your daughter to have a certain set of knowledge in order to get a good job. Creationism, true or not, kills a lot of job opportunities. Is that what they want?

Threaten them by telling them that you intend to invite your daughter's entire class on all her birthdays and hand out the Dawkins book to everyone. Bring the book and show it to the teacher/principal. Wax lyrical.

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, but I am not 100% speculating either. I cannot provide deep explanations, but I hope I can steer you in the right track.

Mutations occur randomly.

Some mutations are easy to come by and occur many times, but others are more complicated and may have occurred only once or only a handful of times.

For example, photosynthesis is present in certain bacteria and in plants, but apparently only evolved once: the plants simply incorporated the photosynthesis bacterias in their cells to have that advantage (I read that in the Evolution comic book, a great read).

Now, back to reproductive organs, initially, all life was sexless: reproduction was via mitosis and at some point, the genes for sexual reproduction occurred.

It may have occurred only once, or at least, was passed down to us only once.

It is quite possible that all of the genes which decide where the sexual organs are placed are actually from the same common ancestor, the common ancestor to all creatures which reproduce sexually.

You see, sexual reproduction improves the selective process (again, same book as reference), so that first common ancestor would have had quite an advantage compared to the non sexual living creatures.

From that point, evolution will still work. That's why genitals differ from animal to animal, but unless it provides an selective advantage to have genitals in a different place, such a mutation will die out.

Edit: this is the book with a NON-REFERAL link: http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Story-Earth-Jay-Hosler/dp/0809043114

>I want to spend the rest of my life with this man.

Then there's no dilemma. It's about your lives for as long as you live. And you will very probably live longer than your parents(in-law).

>It was assumed

This is always bad. They will assume all kinds of things. They already assume that you want to be married in a ritual Catholic weddingzilla ceremony. Will they then not also assume that your children will be properly indoctrinated into Catholicism? Baptism, confirmation, Sunday school, church every weekend, Catholic school? Though the last one is apparently not so bad.

>I've heard we must meet with a priest and a married couple who will ask us questions to make sure we can get married.

I've heard that as well. But marriage advice from a man who has never been and never will be married? Marriage advice from random people? Being married doesn't magically grant expert knowledge of marriages, just as being a mother doesn't grant expert knowledge of child-rearing. Jenny McCarthy is a perfect example of this.

>I've heard things like couples having to sign a purity agreement, having to lie about living together

I'm not sure about that, but in a word, don't. Sign nothing, be honest, do not lie to please anyone, retain your dignity and integrity. Tell the priest outright that you're doing this only to please one set of parents. You have and will continue to live in sin, you don't and probably never will believe in any gods, you will never attend church voluntarily, and your children will grow up reading Darwin and Dawkins instead of the bible.

I assume you will use contraception, no matter what the pope thinks about it. Let them know. Fun fact: The Catholic church is firmly against contraception, but 96% of U.S. Catholic women has used contraceptives at some point in their lives.

>having to promise to raise future kids in the church, etc.

Aaand there's the indoctrination angle.

I wonder, would a Satanic church be acceptable? Could you postpone the church-going until after the age of reason because you want your children to be critical thinkers?

>So my question is, on a scale from "We're atheists, but doing this to please our parents" to "We love god and worship daily from our separate apartments" what do we need to say to the priest to get through these hoops?

Stand tall and proud, do not crawl through any hoops. Do not live a lie to please other people. Other people suck and you can't please them all.

But by all means meet with the priest and whoever else might be involved. Just don't agree with anything you don't want to do. Ask uncomfortable questions, reject unreasonable demands, and present yourselves as freethinking open-minded atheists who (I assume) would rather read Harry Potter to your children than the bible.

You don't want to live a life with all the Catholic trappings. Catholicism is all about authority. Obey, listen, always respect people that are older than you, have longer titles, or wear bigger hats. No critical thinking, please. Follow the rules!

Is that what you and your children want to do?

Also: In case any of your future children are boys, know that there are very few non-religious reasons for circumcision. The two main reasons boys are (more or less automatically) circumcised in the US are 1) it's in the bible, and 2) it supposedly prevents masturbation. Both reasons are from the dark ages of puritanism.

There is a series of graphic guides to some of the political ideologies that I enjoyed. You can buy the titles as part of a broader set or individually.

Marxism - available free on Kindle. Or a bigger guide.

Capitalism - currently free on Kindle. Or a bigger guide.

Fascism - free on Kindle.

There is also a free sampler available for free on Kindle ATM.

Along with Cosmos, there is a fantastic episode of Stephen Hawking's "Genius" that is a great intro to evolution. https://youtu.be/Gcaep3KER-o

My favorite entry level book is Dawkins "The Magic of Reality". https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046

The best youtube series is this one https://youtu.be/zZlrNtB1NXU, episodes 6 through 12 cover evolution.

The best overall documentary showing how it all comes together is this,
https://youtu.be/RQm6N60bneo

This doesn't really have a lot to do with answering your question, but for a fun take on Russell's life, read the graphic novel Logicomix (http://www.amazon.ca/Logicomix-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301008590&sr=8-1). The author takes some liberties with Russell's life, but a lot of the story is accurate and does give a fun romp through the world of philosophy and mathematics at the turn of the last century.

I would recommend getting a copy of Richard Dawkin's The Magic Of Reality out of the library for your mom and going through the chapter explaining evolution with her. There should be some great illustrations and it's written very clearly for people who have no prior science knowledge. The explanation given there makes total sense even if you've never taken a science class before!


Also, it's not necessarily a children's book, so it won't insult your mother's intelligence. It's just a very easy read with illustrations for people who are just starting to explore basic science.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Reality-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046

If you're willing to spend money on the book, I heard the Kindle version is really cool and well-illustrated.

If you're not willing to spend money and your local library doesn't have a copy, they should be able to have it sent in from another branch, or you can try visiting a local university to see if the university system has a copy you can borrow.

If you're interested in this area and only have a layperson's understanding of these things, I strongly, STRONGLY recommend this graphic novel biography on the life of Bertrand Russell, famous mathematician and logician. In it, they go over in simple terms some of his and his peers' more powerful findings and theories about the underpinnings of math, including this question you're asking here. Really, really good book.

You said in another comment below that others were treating you as a troll or an idiot. I don't think that's necessarily the case: many of us are just trying to present the facts, and may be a little bit frustrated due to how YECs typically react. For example, my earlier comment about how creation science does not count as science, and how Geocentrism is incorrect, I did not set out to treat you like an idiot (and if I did, I'm sorry). I did treat you as ignorant, which isn't as bad as it sounds. I'm ignorant to a lot of things. Everyone is. But I love to learn, because I love to expand my knowledge.

Ignorance can be cured. Stupidity can't. We encounter wilful ignorance a lot, and it gets very frustrating, so that colours what we say.

If you're genuine about your desire to learn more, I'll drop some suggestions for further inquiry. Some of the language may be abrasive, but please keep an open, skeptical mind:

• AronRa's Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism, a 17-video series just shy of 3 hours in total.
  
• potholer54's Our Origins Made Easy, 14 videos, about two hours. Includes the history of the universe, origin of life, the age of our world, natural selection, human evolution, and more.
  
• AndromedasWake's Creationist Astronomy Propaganda Debunked, just over an hour.
  
• Lawrence Krauss' A Universe From Nothing
  
  I'll give you fair warning on this next one: it may have a profound effect on you. At the very least, it will help you understand our philosophical position better as atheists.
  
  
• Evid3nc3's Why I Am No Longer A Christian, 22 videos, 3 hours and 45 minutes. Describes his journey from an evangelical Christian to atheist.
  
  For reading:
  
  
• Jerry Coyne: Why Evolution is True
  
• Richard Dawkins: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True
  
  Hopefully that gets you started.

I take drugs for that (ssri nonsense). Works a treat. I used to find if I had mochas and panadol (tylenol?) I could go back to normal for a while, but soon the caffeine caused too much anxiety. Also quit drinking.

Ah also, graphic novels. Jesus does reading help with depression, but if you're too far gone to read a page, start with graphic novels, reread Enders Game or other young adult stuff, then go back into fantasy and scifi. Ease yourself into a new time sink.

Also, at the moment One Punch the anime is really good. I don't know if that's related. If anime is your thing, shinsekai yori is the best. Followed by Berserk.


EDIT: graphic novels I like: If you're into philosophy or science you might too http://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-An-epic-search-truth/dp/1596914521 http://www.amazon.com/Feynman-Jim-Ottaviani/dp/1596438274

I might be downvoted but forget the philosophy part; that is mostly subjective and they are like two sophisticated twitter trolls are discussing a never ending topic. don't waste your time by pondering on such fruitless texts .

However, if you really want to read some philosopher, my pick would be "bertrand russell", who was also an expert mathematician , especially the book of "Religion and Science" is right for your taste : https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Science-Bertrand-Russell/dp/0195115511 his other books are worth reading as well.

as for science books, just pick any richard dawkins book and continue immersing them . but if you lack scientific background, I would advise "magic of reality" : https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046 I can assure you that your perception of the world will totally change in a scientific way. this book is targeted for all people from 7 to 70, and although I have a science degree I learnt a lot from it. the language of the book is simple, yet quite effective.


also, you should watch richard dawkins's documentaries, I learnt a lot watching them, they are just as beneficial as his books; here, "root of all evil" is my favorite one:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVy-0E1x620 (part 1)
  
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nAos1M-_Ts (part 2)
  
  
  
  I repeat, stay away from philosophy books, they will suck your passion and you will have left disappointed after reading their vague, and subjective, never-ending discussions. instead, lean towards science books written by atheist authors, they already cover enough philosophy when need arises. besides, these books are much more concrete than the abstract philosophy books.

Neat "coffeetable" books in a subject they're into-- examples from my wishlist are The Wonderful Life of the Elements, The Where, Why and How, and 100 Diagrams that Changed the World
Little useful items related to their hobby-- things like stitch markers, blocking mats/pins, a charm for a bracelet, a tool they need/want, cuticle oil, etc.
A used book they've been looking for or one in a genre they're into
Stuff that involves their favorite animal(s)

To keep current you could pick up a few weekly podcasts.

~ Something like the iFanboy pick of the week

~ 11 O'Clock Comics This is probably my favourite one. Great discussions and a wide range of topics from new comics to old.

~ If you want a good history of Comics you could pick up Comic Book History of Comics. This is really great because the history is told as a comic!

The Comic Book Story of Beer. Super easy read, very fun and informative. I have this book permanently on my coffee table at home. Beautiful artwork too.

https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Book-Story-Beer-Revolution/dp/1607746352

Look for Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology.

Awesome graphic novel about Cope and Marsh. About 98% accurate, but the writer actually details what changes he made at the end of the book, something I've never seen in this sort of adaptation.

The cover is awesome, too. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Sharps-Cowboys-Thunder-Lizards/dp/0966010663/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381429284&sr=1-4&keywords=cope+and+marsh

!ping READING

Zach Weinersmith, the man behind Neoliberal Genghis Khan and Why NIMBYism is human kind's greatest asset, has illustrated a book about open borders with libertarian economist Bryan Caplan, and it goes on sale today.

If that sounds vaguely interesting to you, I highly recommend you read his short essay Immigration as a Civil Right. It's one of the most persuasive arguments I've read in favor of open borders, so I have very high hopes for the book.

You can order the book here on Amazon or go to the official website for more purchasing options and info.

There is such an unbelievable universe of comics outside of super hero comics.

Logicomix, about Bertrand Russell, Wittgenstein, and the history of the philosophy of mathematics

[Asterios Polyp](http://www.amazon.com/Asterios-Polyp-David- Mazzucchelli/dp/0307377326), about art, reality, duality, etc. Incredible book

I love anything by Kevin Huizenga, Dash Shaw, Michael DeForge, Julia Wertz, and others

There's something for everyone

If you want something cute and not too heavy, there is a pretty nice Graphic Guide to linguistics. It won't be as technical, of course, but it will get the ideas across.

The Dummies book is also decent, surprisingly, from the quick glances I've taken through it. Though I don't think it does a good job covering many theories in syntax, that shouldn't be too much of your focus anyway if you just want gist.

Beyond this, any basic textbook will do. Fromkin et al is a popular one, though I don't think I can comment on a 'best.' Buy an older edition of one for a couple of bucks and ask questions on here when you feel stuck.

Not actually a proper academic source, but logicomix is a great graphic novel for an entertaining first overview.

Logicomix is more biographical than purely educational, but it goes into some depth about 20th century developments in mathematical logic. Really entertaining and informative.

The Manga Guide to Databases is something I keep on the shelf mostly for its absurdity, but it was pretty useful in starting out to learn databases. There are a bunch of other entries in the series, too.

Google is your friend, friend :

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/01/immigration-wall-open-borders-trillion-dollar-idea/

https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Science-Ethics-Immigration/dp/1250316960

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/opinion/open-borders-immigration.html

Just type "open borders". The information superhighway is easy and fun.

Introducing Marxism: A Graphic Guide is a handy little book that covers the growth of Marxism from early socialism up through the modern day, explaining the key points of both the history and the theory. I think it's less than 100 pages but packs a lot of great information in there. It certainly helped me grasp some stuff early on when I was still trying to figure the basics out.

Here's the Amazon listing for it

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud is probably the best, most comprehensive book out there about the evolution of comics through history. The Comic Book History of Comics is a really good tour through the history of the American comics industry. The Ten-Cent Plague is another good book about the evolution of American comics.

"Action Philosophers" by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey.
A collection of comic strips about various famous historical philosophers. Great for familiarizing kids with the great thinkers in a fun way.
http://www.amazon.com/Action-Philosophers-Fred-Van-Lente/dp/0977832937

I should caution that in a conservative school setting there may be some parts that parents might consider inappropriate, such as Diogenes public behavior.

Peter David has one that I love and I use the advice from it all the time. It's called Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels. It's really good and has some great workshop exercises that you can do.

Batman exists, and I am him, if and only if grass is green

If Batman exists, then I am him.

Therefore, Batman exists if and only if grass is green.

Technically valid, though the soundness of it could be debated =)

Man, I miss my old logic classes. Those were the best! Out of curiosity, where are you taking said class? I took mine at Rutgers, but one of my teachers (a PhD candidate at the time) moved on to become a professor at Notre Dame.

As for items related to logic on Amazon, I got this some time ago, I believe as a gift, and I liked it a lot.

Oh, just saw the part about writing it symbolically, so I guess that would be:

P1: (P ^ Q) <--> R

P2: P -> Q

C: P <--> R

Or you can do:

P1: [Exists(batman) ^ Iam(batman)] <--> Green(grass)

P2: Exists(batman) -> Iam(batman)

C: Exists(batman) <--> Green(grass)

Not sure I did this part right, it's been about 3 years since my logic classes. I was going to do some predicate logic statements, but can't do the upside down A or the backwards E, and didn't feel like doing them at the moment anyway. Maybe I'll edit later and do some.

I love getting science books for my religious niece and nephew for Xmas. I do it every year and love their annual look of frustration when they see I spent money on something they never plan to read. I'm ever hopeful though as they are approaching that rebellious age where kids question everything.

I think the best book is probably Richard Dawkins Magic of Reality but I'm sure the author's name alone will turn off a longtime religious person. One of my other favorites is a Short History of Almost Everything by Bill Bryson. It is very approachable as he is not a scientist but the book is not as rigorous as Dawkins. Both books are written for a pre-teen reading level for maximum readability.

I did, yes. And economists much smarter than you tend to agree. If that's a bit above you though, here's an excellent picture book that can explain it to you.

Your “facts” about who is a net drain could use some citations. Children coming here that learn English and graduate high school are a net benefit. The only net drain category are older people that don’t have a high school education.

Kaplan and Weinersmith have a bunch of data here: Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250316960/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XDjWDb83N8VV1. Though I’m
not sure about their thesis, their data on that point is pretty sound.

There is decent info just a google search away, I found this for example https://econofact.org/do-immigrants-cost-native-born-taxpayers-money

If you’re going to say “facts,” citations are pretty helpful.

> Any book recommendations that really stand-out on the subject (or tangents) of beer history etc.

I don't know why this book is rarely part of the beer library conversation, but The Comic Book Story of Beer is great! Not only does it cover the history of most beer styles, it goes over the brewing process and zymurgy. Highly recommend.

Excellent. I recently read Open Borders and it felt like a manifesto for our age. Brilliantly argued and presented in a very original way (it's a collaboration between an academic economist and the guy behind SMBC comics).

Logicomix: An epic search for truth

Here's the description:

> This exceptional graphic novel recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. In his agonized search for absolute truth, Russell crosses paths with legendary thinkers like Gottlob Frege, David Hilbert, and Kurt Gödel, and finds a passionate student in the great Ludwig Wittgenstein. But his most ambitious goal-to establish unshakable logical foundations of mathematics-continues to loom before him. Through love and hate, peace and war, Russell persists in the dogged mission that threatens to claim both his career and his personal happiness, finally driving him to the brink of insanity.

It sounds like you two are discussing the basics of epistemology.


>I told her that I would have to think about it, but that you can't be scared to learn about things that disagree with your beliefs. I told her that a lot of times it feels bad to have your beliefs challenged, and that this can cause you to avoid learning things that you don't like or immediately discounting them.

That's a very good place to start.

>At this point she basically said "Yeah you have to make sure you aren't just accepting something because it agrees with what you already think."



She seems to have discovered confirmation bias on her own. Well done her!

Maybe introduce her to some information on critical thinking.


Given her parents and your desire not to ruffle their feathers too muck, I'd avoid The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True for now. Maybe have a copy at your place that she might accidentally find on your bookshelf?

Perhaps The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark would be a good choice?

As a philosophy major, I am trying to get my younger brother (11 years old) more interested in philosophy, or at least more knowledgable about philosophy so I got him a copy of Action Philosophers. Its a big comic book, and its super easy to read and I just answer questions for clarifications and explanations. I was actually thinking about this yesterday.

I've been looking at this book as a way to introduce my kids to logic and critical thinking: The Fallacy Detective.

Also, if you haven't seen the philosophy comics, they are worth a look. These are really more for teenagers I think, but they look really good.

• Action Philosophers!
  
• Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
  
  There are a lot more than just these if you look around, but I think these are a good start.

Good old Richard Dawkins does what he does best.

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

It says 12 years and upwards, but I don't think we should write off the younger readers so quick. They soak up information like sponges. The hardback is illustrated according to a customer review, which might make it more accessible for the younger readers.

>The hardback is profusely--almost to excess--illustrated with colorful pictures and diagrams all over every single page, often under the text. The paperback has NO pictures. None at all. It's on cheap paper too, the kind that will discolor in a few years. The hardback is, I suggest, much more appealing to younger readers. The paperback, perforce, focuses entirely on the text.

Religion has discovered that it's better to get them young to indoctrinate and brainwash them, which is why they're so hell-bent(!) on getting into schools for children. But that can go both ways. The younger the better, to lay good skeptical foundations for later life.

>It is a graphic science book aimed primarily at children and young adults. Dawkins has stated that the book is intended for those aged around 12 years and upwards, and that when trialling the book prior to publishing, younger readers were able to understand its content with additional adult assistance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_of_Reality

Congratulations!
Since I just recently was looking into what's out there to help parents raise kids to think critically, I'll pass on some of the books I found that you might find helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046/

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Freethinkers-Practical-Parenting-Beyond/dp/0814410960/

http://www.grandmotherfish.com

You might be interested in Dawkin's book for children. I haven't read it myself, but knowing Dawkin's other books and the glowing reviews on Amazon, I bet its great.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Know-Whats-Really/dp/059306612X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Wonderful work. Kind of reminded me Florent Chavouet's stuff as well!

Logicomix (https://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-search-truth-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521) is a really cool graphic novel about math and the search for truth :)

I found this comic book to be pretty informative and entertaining on the subject. Not 100% historical, but probably as close as Crichton gets.

EDIT: Nice, it's referenced in this wikipedia article, and has its own page as well.

You might want to try "Logicomix". Don't get fooled by the fact that it is a comic. It provides great contextual information regarding mathematics/philosophy. Fascinating read.

Looks like Dr. Pritchard is still getting set up, and it's a quiet morning, so I'll throw in a few suggestions.

There are two different approaches. To deal with the creationist questions/objections, an excellent source of information is Talk Origins, which has an extensive collection of Creationist claims and debunking.

For more general information, the original Origin of Species is a good source, though it's rather out of date and doesn't address genetics.

What age group were you looking at for books? For the 8-13 year old range, Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be is decent, though a bit simplistic. For somewhat older audiences (high school/undergraduate) Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth is very approachable and a fun read. I can suggest others, but that should get you started.

hey, if you want to soak it in with some light reading, i'd suggest LOGICOMIX
http://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-An-Epic-Search-Truth/dp/1596914521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413849778&sr=8-1&keywords=logicomix
I'm 15 and soaked it in pretty well I'd say. Enjoy!

The Magic of Reality This book is by Richard Dawkins, very well-known scientist (if you've somehow never heard of him). It's written for a younger audience with pictures and looked really beautiful when I saw it in a bookstore.

EDIT: The hardback version comes with beautiful illustrations, not the paperback one.

Haven't had a chance to read it myself yet, but the reviews have been pretty good.

Also, the link I provided is to the paperback. Apparently the illustrations are essential, and found only in the hardback. Link here.

https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Science-Ethics-Immigration/dp/1250316960/

😍😍😍

I borrowed "The Magic of Reality" by Richard Dawkins (https://amzn.com/1451675046) from our local library and devoured it. It made me realize just how much religion had shut off my brain when thinking about people, history, science, and the natural world around me. The beauty and wonder of the real world as described in the book drove me to tears. There is so much left to learn and discover!

Now I can't shut up about it. I now talk about science and history with more passion than I EVER did about the Church. :D

You were categorizing people. Everybody you classified would describe themselves with a "originality and personal individuality".

(i just pasted your wording so my sentence probably is bit awkward).

I was trying to expand on your notice that all of us can be 'grouped' which emphasizes the same-ness and non-originality of everybody.

"In a class by himself" actually becomes the set of "class by himself" (old philosophical problem...).

I was just playing with your (unintentional?) point that "people are easier to portion-out than to dig for their "original personality", which then could be further typed-out until, really, no one is 'in a class by himself'.

This is an Amazon post for a graphic novel you will probably get through a library (if you dig that sort of thing) that touches on the problems with "sets".

Thanks.

I know a great book for you but it's not manga!
It's kind of a picture book, everything is drawn by the artist Florent Chavouet who was in Tokyo for a few months with his girlfriend. He drew maps and illustrations of stuff he saw while he was there. Everything is so detailed, I think you and your girlfriend will enjoy it! It's called Tokyo on Foot

For manga, I would probably recommend <Gin no Saji>

> However I was asked to contribute something else to the baptismal service.

What were you asked to contribute?

> I'd really like to do something not necessarily linked to Christianity, though I don't know what's normal in this service. Does anyone have an idea?

I'm godparent to three children, although I wasn't asked to participate in a religious ritual; the parents just wanted to know if I would commit to looking after them when opportunity permits or if the parents are unable to fulfill their obligations. If you were asked to serve as godparent in a religious capacity knowing that you're an atheist, then you have the choice to either refuse or to participate in a secular manner. This site offer some secular alternatives. You could try reading a short passage from The Magic of Reality.

I just ordered this book its a cartoon book about calculus. I know I have to go over new concepts again and again. I can't memerize everything in one day either. Im hoping that a cartoon book about calculus every weekend for a month will help. I know I can't re read a dry calc book just for fun.

Mine is honestly on my coffee table right now, for what that's worth, always attracts attention when people come over, it's easy to flip to a random page and get sucked in by the character art and highlights.

There is a version that was created covering most events up to Flashpoint, very similar in quality, though a small step behind this book in terms of paper quality and level of detail.
https://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Encyclopedia-Updated-Expanded/dp/0756641195

I recommend reading Logicomix. It's an excellent graphic novel about the life of Bertrand Russell and his "epic search for truth".

I'm a big fan of The Magic of Reality.

It's a children's book, but it does a great job talking about religious myths and how they compare to real life.

In that vein, you might like Annotated Turing, if you have any interest in Computer Science. It's an annotated version of Turing's most famous paper (the one that basically establishes the basis for computers and computer science), but it can be a little dry if you're not inherently interested in the topic.

Also, the much more fun Logicomix (yes, a math comic book :D), about Bertrand Russel's quest to establish a logical basis for all of mathematics.

The cartoon Guide to Chemistry by Larry Gonick. Yes, it looks like it is geared towards kids, but it is funny and makes chemistry very accessible!

https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Chemistry-Larry-Gonick/dp/0060936770/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cartoon+guide+to+chemistry&qid=1569849903&s=gateway&sr=8-1

OP, if you can get hold of it, I'd recommend reading Richard Dawkins' book "The Magic of Reality", which has an excellent explanation of how evolution works and looks at why religious explanations of natural phenomena cannot be trusted.

Never teach your children that one or the other worldview is right and never to be questioned, be that religion or atheism. Inform them about everything and let them figure it out themselves. Don't think for them, let them do the thinking. Lie to them and do it so blatantly that they recognize it's a lie. Then be increasingly subtle about it, though always have some kind of "Simon says" safe word that tells them that you're not fucking around when they really need your honesty.

"Is there a god/Santa Claus/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy?"

"What do you think?"

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

I haven't read it, but maybe this book might be the best choice.

The graphic novel, Logicomix, gives a good treatment of all of this (with a little poetic license).

Anyway, it seems that Russell, along with Frege, Hilbert and others, were searching for rock-solid foundations from which all of mathematics could be rigorously derived. There was even hope that the foundations themselves could be proven consistent.

But Kurt Godel wrote a paper, On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems which showed that no formal system, such as Russell's Principia could capture all mathematical truth.

There's lots more to say about this, of course. But "Logicomix" will give you background for further investigations.

If you're interested in this sort of thing I would highly recommend Logicomix. It's a graphic novel that follows the development of Bertrand Russell's life and work.

AMAZON LINK to the book itself:

https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Science-Ethics-Immigration/dp/1250316960/

The pre-orders (comes out Oct 2019) are currently #1 Best Seller in Educational & Nonfiction Graphic Novels.

The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution

I really enjoyed this graphic novel about the history of beer and different brewing methods.

Here's a decent graphic novel about it:

https://www.amazon.com/Bone-Sharps-Cowboys-Thunder-Lizards/dp/0966010663

But the real deal is this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Bonehunters-Revenge-Dinosaurs-Fate-Gilded/dp/0618082409

I've read both a couple times, love this subject.

reminds be of the art in this book, but yours is much more sophisticated

great work, as others have said. i think you underestimate its value. this is one of my favorite travel books and while it doesn’t have tons of “where to go” information, it served as a great reminder of the feel of tokyo (and your work reminded me of):

https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Foot-Travels-Colorful-Neighborhoods/dp/4805311371

that said, there are numbnuts who gave it lower ratings because of the lack of it being a true guide book, but they need to understand that is not what it is about, not to mention there are more than enough of those out there.

Batman Encyclopedia (NOT a list of stories):
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Batman-Encyclopedia-Robert-Greenberger/dp/0345501063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422692616&sr=8-1&keywords=batman+encyclopedia&pebp=1422692629398&peasin=345501063

Another Batman Encyclopedia:
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Comic-Book-Heroes-Original/dp/1401213553/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1422692616&sr=8-5&keywords=batman+encyclopedia

The DC Encyclopedia:
http://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Encyclopedia-Updated-Expanded/dp/0756641195/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1422692616&sr=8-7&keywords=batman+encyclopedia


Batman: The World of the Dark Knight (has overview entire run, plus story synopsis for some stories)
http://www.amazon.com/Batman-World-Knight-Daniel-Wallace/dp/0756692490/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1422692616&sr=8-3&keywords=batman+encyclopedia

I don't particularly recommend any of these books, but you kept saying that word encyclopedia so, well, those three may interest you.

People who liked this quote also liked logicomix

You might find Logicomix of interest. It's not a formal text, but a interesting look at the early history of the subject.

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins. An easy read describing some of the most fundamental forces in the world. Don't think for a second the world is any less amazing without spirituality or God. This book will show you exactly how disbelief in a creator can open your mind to the wonders of the universe.

If you ever think you're losing something, this book will convince you otherwise without even mentioning religion.

In the same vein as Understanding Comics, you may want to check out Fred Van Lente's Comic Book History of Comics, a graphic novel summary of the history of the medium, it takes a fun-natured look at some of the major moments and influential creators.

if she still wants to stay within christianity, I suggest UU or TEC (the episcopal church) both are fairly progressive non-indoctrinational churches. We go to TEC, and my girls love it the two oldest got to go to their first sleep away camp and they loved it, they are even open to the fact that even tho I am still Christian, my spirituality is more closely align with agnostic theist and my hubby is Secular humanist/agnostic atheist. but as with everything it would also depend on your parish, not all churches are made equal even within a particular denomination. also I suggest helping her develop her own critical thinking. have her read [the magic of reality] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Reality-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406185178&sr=8-1&keywords=magic+of+reality), and [Philosophy for kids] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882664701/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) also read [Raising Freethinkers] (http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Freethinkers-Practical-Parenting-Beyond/dp/0814410960/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406185579&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=raisin+free+thinkers).. Edited: for grammar and to add one more book suggestion..

Pre-ordering Open Borders: The Ethics and Science of Immigration so it can beat Ben Shapiro and that fake historian Rutger Bergman on the best seller list is the only ethical consumption under capitalism.

If this is something you want to pursue further, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of The Magic of Reality. It is beautifully illustrated, and a surprisingly light read for being so science filled, but it takes a look at common religious stories and myths (along with other environmental and social phenomenon that tend to be mysticised), gives them a bit of historical context for why we think people of the time may have believed that, then digs into what science can tell us about that thing. It is fairly unopinionated, for the most part, just taking the stance of here's a thing people claimed, here's what we can prove about that thing.

Consider: Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, by Richard Dawkins

The concepts are presented with clear details and language that should be understandable to an average teenager. While not directly anti-YEC, many of the ideas presented provide logical paths where the YEC position, or Gods in general, are not needed.

With a quick search, you should be able to find a digital copy online for your review to support a purchase decision.

Logicomix is really cute if you're looking for something fun and human.

An advisor I worked with when studying formal methods recommended it to me. I got through it in about 20 minutes, but it reminded me to be considerate of things I normally would ignore in the domains of computation.

Not OP, just helping out with some formatting (and links!) because I like these suggestions.

> 1) The Magic Of Reality - Richard Dawkins
>
> 2) The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
>
> 3)A Brief History Of Time - Stephen Hawking
>
> 4)The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking
>
> 4)Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari (Any Book By Daniel Dennet)
>
> 5)Enlightenment Now - Steven Pinker
>
> 6)From Eternity Till Here - Sean Caroll (Highly Recommended)
>
> 7)The Fabric Of Cosmos - Brian Greene (If you have good mathematical understanding try Road To Reality By Roger Penrose)
>
> 8)Just Six Numbers - Martin Reese (Highly Recommended)

Just thought this was a good spot to mention Zac Weinersmith’s Open Borders book: https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Science-Ethics-Immigration/dp/1250316960/ref=nodl_

Goes into a lot of detail about the risks and benefits of immigration (and falls strongly on the benefits side.)

I loved this one!

https://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-search-truth-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521

Let me add Logicomix and in fiction the excellent Asterios Polyp to your list.

I recommend The Cartoon Guide to Calculus. It breaks down hard to grasp concepts such as infinitesimals in a very visual way. I unfortunately came across the book after I had finished my Calculus series but regardless, I found it to be very entertaining all while teaching the subject.

The Cartoon Guide to Calculus

Gonick also has a History of The U.S., by the way.

Van Lente and Dunlavey's Action Philosophers is also a candidate if you're into the history of philosophy. In fact, while I'm at it, let me recommend the "For beginners" series about different philosophers and philosophic traditions. Examples: Marx, Freud, Existensialism etc. For a preview of the series, check out Philosophy for beginners at Google Books.

Edit: They even have reddit favourite Noam Chomsky for beginners!

Three graphic novels that you might enjoy: there is this one on enlightenment figures, this one on Bertrand Russell, and this one about contemporary physics.

My Open Borders book is arriving Tuesday!! Can’t wait! 🤗


https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250316960/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_S22SDbBJZB6VS

I was also given this book for Christmas. I'm not looking forward to reading it, but I said I would--on the condition that the giver read the book I sent to him.

I had read a similar book years ago, The Case for Christ, back when I was still working through my doubts but hadn't yet made a full secular transition. A book like that...I think it works mostly to reaffirm those who already believe the premise on some level.

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins. I know his name carries quite a stigma but this book is pro-science and skepticism not anti-religion.

Also I'm pretty sure Carl Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan wrote some children's books together, but I don't know the names of the books and amazon is a mess for searching for stuff you don't already know.

Dawkins Magic of Reality

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Reality-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046

I think for the most part, the other books recommended are at least as challenging to read as the God Delusion.

It sort of reminds me of Action Philosophers in that it presents philosophical concepts in the least boring way possible. I like it.

This might be a little more offbeat than what you're looking for but Tokyo On Foot is really cool.

Here is a fun start.
https://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-search-truth-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521

You might want to check out The Cartoon Guide to Calculus. It does unfortunately expect you to know some Trig, but if you're just looking for an overview of the topic this is a great place to start. It's written and drawn in a very straightforward and humorous way and it's about as far as you can get stylistically from a text book.

Limits (the foundation of calculus) are described in an intuitive way, as are derivatives and integrals. So even if you couldn't do any of the actual math yet, you'd still be able to understand the concepts.

Nice! Själv ska jag snart köpa

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494309572/

http://www.historycomic.com/media/image/_sample/chap4/img4-3.jpg

Not so much Evolution, as reality inself:

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

I don't often read graphic novels, especially since they tend to be fantasy/superhero based, but LOGICOMIX is one is the best things I've ever read.

It's such a finely-crafted book, not to mention I love the old, almost Hergé-esque (the guy who wrote Tintin) art style. It's a partially-fictitious biography of the Logician/Philosopher Bertrand Russell. The story is framed within the context of him telling his own autobiography, then all that is framed within the context of the people actually drawing the comic. It's filled with analyses of logic and the whole thing is very meta and inception-like.

I'm probably doing a terrible job explaining it and butchering it, but just give it a try. If you have any affinity for history, mathematics, or philosophy, I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-An-Epic-Search-Truth/dp/1596914521

Edit: Hergé not Hergè. Thanks man.

If you're into graphic novels, may I suggest: The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution

I’m sorry I linked you to that page as it seems to say little about his philosophical and logical work (I’m confused as to why that is the case and it is my fault for not reading the page and assuming there was relevant information there when there isn't). He is probably most noted for Russell’s paradox. You may be interested in reading Logicomix. One of the coauthors is a computer scientist, and it will give you a better understanding of his work and also introduce you to some other philosophers interested in logic and its limits.

I think your question has been addressed in the other comments nicely. Defining "species" is one of the biggest discussions in biology. Most species we see today (extant) have gotten to that point gradually. There was no point at which a switch suddenly turned the chimpanzee-like primate ancestor into a human. If we could have access to all the forms in between, it would have been very difficult where to start calling it a human. (This is very nicely illustrated -literally, great illustrations by Dave McKean- in Richard Dawkins' book The Magic of Reality).

I only want to add this: given enough time and the right conditions, the human species can split into different species. Imagine a scenario in which we establish a human colony on Mars bu then loose access to this planet for a long long time. So, the two human populations (Earth and Mars) are isolated from each other for so long and they become different from each other (diverge) so much that, when they meet again hundreds of thousands of years later, they cannot breed anymore. This is when we might start calling the Mars population a different species.

If people want to check out a really cool comic about comic book history, go check out "Comic Book History of Comics". Its from the same team that did "Action Philosophers".

http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Book-History-Comics-Lente/dp/1613771975

You would definitely dig these. They might seem basic, but you'll remember it all, see how it all moves through history, and know what you want to dig into further:

Postmodernism

Critical Theory

Marxism

Philosophy in General

If he likes comic books, try Logicomix.

Also, A Mathematician's Apology.

Read Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to Chemistry like I did! You'll learn as much as a high school level course. www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Chemistry-Larry-Gonick/dp/0060936770

There is an illustrated version which I'd recommend. I have both, I'm saving the illustrated one for when my son is a bit older!

Amazon Link

The three first results when searching for "open borders" on Amazon.

Guys, I'm confused, which one should I pick?

https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Science-Ethics-Immigration/dp/1250316960/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=open+borders&qid=1572618411&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Open-Borders-Inc-Funding-America/dp/1621579719/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=open+borders&qid=1572618411&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/Why-God-Hates-Open-Borders/dp/1732785902/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=open+borders&qid=1572618411&sr=8-3

Surprisingly it goes on like this, there is a balance between pro and anti in the following results.

Might help: http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Reality-Whats-Really/dp/1451675046

I got Logicomix, a graphic novel about logician Bertrand Russell!

my flatmate got this Bertrand Russell graphic novel, it's damn good.
amazon link

guardian review

Your kid might like this book:

Wonderful Life with the Elements: The Periodic Table Personified https://www.amazon.com/dp/1593274238/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bB42DbRNE0RDN

You'll never make money unless you get into Diamond and they take a decent chunk.

Here's some links:

https://www.amazon.com/Alan-Moores-Writing-Comics-1/dp/1592910122
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Comics-Graphic-Novels-Peter/dp/1600616879

There's a graphic novel about exactly this called Logicomix.

Read Logicomix.

It is a graphic novel based on Russell's life and his search for logic/truth.

I'm not sure that's a good analogue. Do you think a kid reading The Chronicles of Narnia is going to have their beliefs as strongly influenced as a kid reading The Illustrated Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True?

Here's a link to the Amazon page.

Were you really surprised? They're adults who have invisible friends.

Time to shop.

Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

Get the hardcover, it's illustrated.