Science and Inquiry discussion

Does it sometimes seem that we read a preponderance of one subject, especially at the expense of another? I wondered about that and decided to check. Since February 2009, through August 2013, we will have read 51 books. The breakdown by subject is below.

This is not a scientifically accurate breakdown, because the categorization of our books has been rather haphazard. If I add a book, I categorize it as well as I can, but I may not always understand fully what it's about. And other people have added books and I don't know how accurate their categorizations have been.

However, I still think this is interesting:

science history ..........12
astronomy..................6
cosmology..................6
mathematics................6
medicine...................5
neuroscience...............5
physics....................5
biography..................4
chemistry..................4
biology....................3
philosophy.................3
science policy.............3
artificial intelligence....2
geology....................2
psychology.................2
anthropology...............1
archaeology................1
botany.....................1
epidemiology...............1
evolution..................1
forensics..................1
space science..............1
zoology....................1

Interesting!

Betsy, is there a place where you have an actual list of all the names of the books read? I'd love to try to catch up. thanks!

Bridget wrote: "Betsy, is there a place where you have an actual list of all the names of the books read? I'd love to try to catch up. thanks!"

Look at the Book Club shelf in the group bookshelves. Here's the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...

thanks!

I have a funny question - is there any kind of way to look at a group and see what books the most people have read? That's how I came to this thread - looking at group discussion posts. I was thinking about books I've heard recommended, books I might consider nominating, etc. - and wondered - for example - who in this group has read X (the example I thought of happened to be Arrival of the Fittest: Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle - but could be anything) - and I thought - hm, is there some way to see what book is most read by people in this group? Anyway, I know there are also some good discussions of books that people here have read!

laurena wrote: "I have a funny question - is there any kind of way to look at a group and see what books the most people have read? That's how I came to this thread - looking at group discussion posts. I was think..."

Yes. Well, it doesn't really tell you what books the most people have read, but it displays the ratings and reviews by members.

Go to the group bookshelves. At the top of the very left column listing the various shelves there is a small search box (labeled Add Books). Type in the name of the book you're interested in (e.g. Arrival of the Fittest) and press enter. This brings up a list of books that might meet your search name. If the entry is greyed out, it means that the book is already in our bookshelves and doesn't need to be added again. But greyed out or not, you can access other information. At the bottom of the entry on a book, just below your rating, is a link to "View Group Reviews". Click on that and it will bring up a list of all ratings and reviews by group members. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but it can be interesting information.

laurena wrote: “I have a funny question—is there any kind of way to look at a group and see what books the most people have read? That’s how I came to this thread—looking at group discussion posts. I was think...”

Things like this are why I wish GR still had an API. As a mod (elsewhere), I would love to provide this stat for my groups, but there’s really no effective way to do it. Betsy’s approach is the best I’ve found, and obviously it’s not scaleable. And can’t really be used to find the most read book among the group’s members.

Betsy wrote: "laurena wrote: "I have a funny question - is there any kind of way to look at a group and see what books the most people have read? That's how I came to this thread - looking at group discussion po..."

O interesting! Yes not what I was thinking of, partly just curious in cumulative interests of the group and what fun directions that might point me. But in a way I'm much more interested in what reviews some members might have written than just whether or not they read it.... overall I'm guessing people bother to write reviews most often if they especially love or dislike a book, or have something that feels pertinent about it... I'll try that!

How about an update of what topics we read most?

For January 2023 through April 2025 (28 months), we have read:

Evolution ...........................8
Biology ...............................7
Astronomy ........................5
Ecology ..............................5
Mathematics ....................5
Cosmology ........................4
Medicine ...........................4
Psychology .......................4
Oceanography .................3
Chemistry .........................3
Nature ...............................3
Botany ...............................3
Geology .............................2
Climate ..............................2
Energy ...............................2
Science History ...............2
Public Health ...................2
Sociology ..........................2
Neuroscience ...................2
Food Science ....................2
Physics ...............................2
Philosophy ........................2
Materials Science ............1
Economics .........................1
Zoology .............................1
Space Science ..................1
Technology .......................1
Genetics ............................1