小編導(dǎo)讀:蓋茨是個(gè)不折不扣的書蟲,今夏力推以下書目,經(jīng)濟(jì)歷史社科人文一應(yīng)俱全,先睹為快。

How Not to be Wrong, by Jordan Ellenberg

喬丹?艾倫伯格《如何避免錯(cuò)誤》

Ellenberg, a mathematician and writer, explains how math plays into our daily lives without our even knowing it. Each chapter starts with a subject that seems fairly straightforward—electoral politics, say, or the Massachusetts lottery—and then uses it as a jumping-off point to talk about the math involved.

艾倫博格是名數(shù)學(xué)家,同時(shí)身為作家,他向我們解釋了緣何數(shù)學(xué)潛移默化地在我們生活中發(fā)揮作用。每一章節(jié)的開頭都相當(dāng)直接,如,從政治選舉說開去,然后蕩開一筆談?wù)撈渲械臄?shù)學(xué)。

The book’s larger point is that, as Ellenberg writes, “to do mathematics is to be, at once, touched by fire and bound by reason”.

這本書的亮點(diǎn)在于,如同艾倫博格所寫道的,“數(shù)學(xué)就是忽然觸及火焰,又為理性所約束。“

The Vital Question, by Nick Lane

尼克?雷恩《致命問題》

It’s not just theoretica. Nick is trying to right a scientific wrong by getting people to fully appreciate the role that energy plays in all living things. He argues that we can only understand how life began, and how living things got so complex, by understanding how energy works.

這本書不是僅僅關(guān)乎理論。尼克試圖更正一個(gè)科學(xué)誤區(qū),讓人們充分認(rèn)識(shí)到能量在一切有生命事物中扮演的角色。他主張,我們只有理解了能量是如何運(yùn)作的才能理解生命的起源及生命是如何變復(fù)雜的過程。

The Power to Compete, by Ryoichi Mikitani and Hiroshi Mikitani

良一谷浩史和三木谷浩史合著《完成的力量》

Why were Japan's companies—the juggernauts of the 1980s—eclipsed by competitors in South Korea and China? And can they come back? Those questions are at the heart of this series of dialogues between Ryoichi, an economist who died in 2013, and his son Hiroshi, founder of the Internet company Rakuten. The Power to Compete is a smart look at the future of a fascinating country.

緣何20世紀(jì)80年代叱咤風(fēng)云的日本公司,如今相較韓國和中國黯然失色了?日本還能回歸嗎?這些問題是糾纏經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家良一于其子三木的問題;良一于2013年過世,三木是網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司日本樂天市場(chǎng)的創(chuàng)始人?！锻瓿傻牧α俊芬灾腔鄣囊暯莵砜创@一神奇國家的未來。

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Noah Yuval Harari.

哈拉瑞《智人:人類簡史》

Harari takes on a daunting challenge: to tell the entire history of the human race in just 400 pages. He also writes about our species today and how artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and other technologies will change us in the future. I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species.

赫拉提擔(dān)起驚人的挑戰(zhàn)任務(wù):用區(qū)區(qū)400頁講述整個(gè)人類史。他還寫了我們的如今的人類種族,還有人工智能、基因工程和其它科技是如何在未來改變我們的。我會(huì)向所有對(duì)人類歷史和未來感興趣的人推薦《智人》這本書的。

Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson

尼爾?史蒂芬森《Seveneves》

The plot gets going in the first sentence, when the moon blows up. People figure out that in two years acataclysmic meteor shower will wipe out all life on Earth, so the world unites on a plan to keep humanity going by launching as many spacecraft as possible into orbit.

從第一句話開始就有故事,月亮爆炸了。人們預(yù)測(cè),兩年后會(huì)有一場(chǎng)流星雨災(zāi)難毀滅地球上一切生命。于是全世界聯(lián)合計(jì)劃維護(hù)人類,向宇宙軌道盡可能多發(fā)射飛船。