Pines and Plains Libraries

An exploration of Western Civilization described through the creative works generated in art, architecture, sculpture, philosophy, poetry, music, science, and engineering.

"The Numerati" shows how a powerful new endeavor--the mathematical modeling of humanity--stands to transform everyone's daily life.

Robert Geroch builds on Einstein's work with commentary that addresses the ideas at the heart of the theory, bringing a modern understanding of relativity to the text. He elucidates how special relativity is a reconciliation of the contradictions between the nature of light and the principle of relativity; he expands on Einstein's treatment of the geometry of space-time and the fundamental notion of an "event"; he explains in detail, but without technical...

"The P-NP problem is the most important open problem in computer science, if not all of mathematics. The Golden Ticket provides a nontechnical introduction to P-NP, its rich history, and its algorithmic implications for everything we do with computers and beyond. In this informative and entertaining book, Lance Fortnow traces how the problem arose during the Cold War on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and gives examples of the problem from a variety...

Pearcey passionately argues that Christianity is truth about all reality, not just religious truth, and that to keep it privatized is stripping it of the power to challenge and redeem the whole of culture. - Publisher.

Surveys the history of human culture and civilization, identifying key themes from throughout five thousand years, with discussion of race, character, morals, religion, economics, government, war, and other topics, and addressing the question of whether progress is real.

The infinite mysteries and beauty of mathematics is unfolded, beginning millions of years ago with ancient 'ant odometers' & moving through time to our modern day quest for new dimensions. Among the numerous delights readers will learn about in this inviting anthology include cicada generated prime numbers.

MEDITATIONS (Medieval Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν Ta eis heauton, literally "to himself") is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium,...

Mathematics, that breathtaking invention of ours that reveals the tiniest particles of matter and takes us to the outermost reaches of the cosmos, is found by many people to be intimidating. In The Universe and the Teacup, K. C. Cole demystifies mathematics and shows us-with humor and wonderfully accessible stories-why math need not be frightening. Using the O. J. Simpson trial, the bell curve, and Emmy Noether, the nineteenth-century woman scientist...

"In the Nicomachean Ethics, which he is said to have dedicated to his son Nicomachus, Aristotle's guiding question is what is the best thing for a human being? His answer is happiness. 'Happiness,' he wrote, 'is the best, noblest, and most pleasant thing in the world.' But he means not something we feel, not an emotion, but rather an especially good kind of life. Happiness is made up of activities in which we use the best human capacities, both ones...