On recommended readings

I strongly recommend the following readings:

• The art of travel by Alain de Botton: An awesome book on introspection while traveling. De Botton creates trips where the tour guides are thinkers or writers such as Baudelaire (one of my all time favorites), Flaubert, Van Gogh and Ruskin.

• The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing by Richard Dawkins: This is a collection of good writing by professional scientists, not excursions into science by professional writers. Contains very small, nontechnical articles.

• The disadvantages of an Elite Education by William Deresiewicz. "Our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers" This is a highly recommended reading.

• Truth and Beauty: Aesthetics and Motivations in Science
  by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He starts with Heisenberg's definition of beauty as “the proper conformity of the parts to one another and the whole”, and then ponders about the value this concept of beauty has in science. (Simplex sigillum veri. Pulchritudo splendor veritatis)

• Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. My rating for this book 5/5. I love reading it and writing important ideas on my moleskine.

I have gotten all the items from the list online for free: Google with patience (library.nu being a good site)