[HN Gopher] Quanta to publish popular math and physics books by ...
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Quanta to publish popular math and physics books by Terence Tao and
David Tong
Author : digital55
Score : 96 points
Date : 2025-12-08 17:39 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.simonsfoundation.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.simonsfoundation.org)
| srean wrote:
| I might be unusual in the sense that in my teens I absolutely
| adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather than as a sci-fi
| author.
|
| For the current generation, I never miss a chance to mention
| Gamow's non-fiction.
|
| It's unfortunate that works of great non-fiction writers
| evaporate away from our cultural consciousness after their death.
|
| It makes me sad that there will be a generation, or maybe it's
| already upon us, one that has not delighted in Martin Gardner.
| asimoff wrote:
| > I absolutely adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather
| than as a sci-fi author.
|
| I am the same, though frustratingly he still somehow managed to
| weave his casual misogyny into even his non-fiction works.
| falcor84 wrote:
| I don't know if it says good or bad things about me, but I
| never noticed that.
|
| But maybe it's just because I started reading his works long
| after their initial release. In particular, I was quite
| surprised to later learn that "Asimov's New Guide to Science"
| was originally published as "The Intelligent Man's Guide to
| Science".
| sam_lowry_ wrote:
| Says an account created just to post this horseshit.
| asimoff wrote:
| Clearly you and I have different definitions of
| "horseshit".
|
| Is this your immature way of asking for an example of what
| I am addressing in my comment?
| veqq wrote:
| Which of Gamow's do you recommend? Physics Foundation and
| Frontiers looks nice.
| srean wrote:
| My favorite is one two three ... infinity.
| akashshah87 wrote:
| >> I might be unusual in the sense that in my teens I
| absolutely adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather than
| as a sci-fi author.
|
| That's because he was only the second-best sci-fi writer but
| the best science writer in the world at the time [Clarke-Asimov
| Treaty of Park Avenue|https://sfandfantasy.co.uk/php/the-
| big-3.php]
| srean wrote:
| Ha!
|
| I did not know about this. Arthur C Clarke was indeed my
| favourite at that time (even now).
|
| Asimov, however, killed it with his two goosebump-good
| shorts, Nightfall and Last Question.
| pavel_lishin wrote:
| I don't remember reading any Clarke short stories, though I
| do remember a few books favorably - but Asimov's stories
| were incredible, and stick with me to this day. I should
| get a few more of his short story collections for the
| kiddo, I think I have a few of his non-fiction ones on a
| bookshelf somewhere.
| lo_zamoyski wrote:
| If Lem was there, he would likely have agreed to dedicate his
| books to "the best third-rate scifi writers", given his
| generally critical view of American/Western scifi as naive,
| "commercial trash", and shallow entertainment.
| srean wrote:
| Too bad that I wouldn't be able to read Lem in the
| original. It's not an easy language to learn, is what I
| hear.
| the__alchemist wrote:
| Sagan's books are still very popular, long after his time.
| thekevan wrote:
| Dr David Tong is great ad his talk really created my interest in
| quantum physics.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNVQfWC_evg
| adolph wrote:
| I had the thought that maybe the Australian airline had started a
| book side business, a la Stripe, but no, the airline is actually
| Quanta _s_. Still seems like an imprint to follow.
| Launched by Thomas Lin, the founding editor of Quanta Magazine,
| in partnership with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Quanta
| Books is an editorially independent subsidiary of the
| Simons Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
| advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic
| sciences.
|
| https://www.quantabooks.org/
| quickthrowman wrote:
| The Simons Foundation was started by Jim Simons of Renaissance
| Tech, someone who seemingly isnt actively trying to poison
| public discourse with his billions of dollars, which I respect.
| We need more Jim Simons types and less Bezos/Musk/Ellison-type
| narcissistic psychopaths.
| prof-dr-ir wrote:
| Since May 2024 he isn't actively trying anything at all.
| auntienomen wrote:
| His foundations are still doing good work.
| homarp wrote:
| If you're curious about Simons, and the wikipedia page is
| not enough, I found "The Man Who Solved the Market" by
| Gregory Zuckerman an interesting read.
| molticrystal wrote:
| From the Quanta Books website [0] it seems it will be a while
| before anybody can read them, the article lists a couple dates
| but all the dates are on its website.
|
| Everything Is Fields By David Tong (Early 2027)
|
| Six Math Essentials By Terence Tao (November 2026)
|
| The Proof in the Code By Kevin Hartnett (June 2026, Preorder
| Available)
|
| [0] https://www.quantabooks.org/
| marhee wrote:
| I will definitely reads these books when they come out.
|
| For a historic overview of mathematics with (accessible) formulas
| I highly recommend "Journey through genius: The great theorems of
| mathematics".
| the__alchemist wrote:
| Fantastic! Quanta is a treasure. The only news site I read; got
| too tilted with how violence-oriented and vulgar most news
| sources have become.
| shric wrote:
| > The only news site I read
|
| If you haven't tried it already I highly recommend Hacker News.
| apnorton wrote:
| It's interesting to see Quanta make a foray into print
| publishing. I've long-wished for a print form of Quanta math
| articles in a monthly magazine, so maybe there is some hope for
| that eventually?
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