RE: Canonical list of texts, across disciplines.

O'Regan, Emlyn (Emlyn.ORegan@actew.com.au)
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 17:46:12 +1000

Thanks for the reply. Yet again, does such a thing exist yet anywhere else?

Emlyn

> I think this is a great idea. Why don't we begin a list? I'll post it on
> a
> web page.
>
> All we need is people to submit the works crucial to their development in
> their fields of expertise.
>
> Send 'em,
>
> Leonardo Gonzalez
> President, Extropian Technologies
>
> magos@extropian.net
> Cellular: (831) 840-0433
> Fax: (831) 840-0420
> http://extropian.net
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-extropians@extropy.com
> > [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.com]On Behalf Of O'Regan, Emlyn
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 12:34 AM
> > To: 'extropians@extropy.com'
> > Subject: Canonical list of texts, across disciplines.
> >
> >
> > Ladies & Jellybeans,
> >
> > I came across the idea of a canonical list of texts a while back (on
> > Transhumantech)? The idea is to set up a centralised database on
> > the web, of
> > reading lists for every conceivable discipline/science/area of
> > interest. It
> > would need to be updated by netizens as they saw fit; people with
> specific
> > knowledge of a particular area would be able to
> > add/update/criticize reading
> > lists regarding their area(s) of specialty.
> >
> > Anyone who has studied anything (bookish) has had the experience
> > of finding
> > useless books on subjects, finding mediocre books, and finding
> > the essential
> > (canonical) texts to which one will refer as the final arbiter on that
> > subject. For instance, I have a shelf full of computer science & maths
> > texts, some of which I cannot live without (in a professional sense).
> >
> > What I find irritating is that when I want to move into a different
> field
> > (say physics), how do I begin? What is the definitive "introduction"
> book?
> > Where do I go from there. How about if I know a bit about
> waves/particles,
> > and a bit of maths, what would be the best book(s) to get me up
> > to speed on
> > nuclear physics? Often, if you haven't gone into the subject in
> > enough depth
> > (true by definition for the beginner), you don't even know what
> > questions to
> > ask to find out where to start, so a web search for this hazy grail is
> > incredibly lengthy and probably fruitless.
> >
> > What would be useful is something like an annotated master catalog of
> > university course reading lists. Sometimes the texts are inferior
> > or hard to
> > come by, but its a good approximation to a canonical texts list. Also I
> > notice there are lists kicking around the net, but they seem quite
> > specialised, and without much annotation (just a list of books).
> >
> > Does anyone know if the canonical texts database exists? If so, where?
> If
> > not, how close an approximation is out there?
> >
> > Thanks all & sundry
> > Emlyn
> >
>