Science All books
Henri Atlan
Postgenomic Life, or What is Self-organisation?)
We spontaneously associate the idea of organisation with that of human production: the fruit of artistic endeavour or rational planning...
Serge Bahuchet
Nature’s Gardeners What kind of nature do we want?
A new view of the ties between man and nature. Covers a wide array of subjects, full of interesting details - a real pleasure to read
Philippe deBaleine
Conversations on the Sky
What are the origins of the universe? Besides human beings, are there other conscious living creatures in the universe? If there are, do they resemble humans? Could their appearance be entirely different? If Christian teachings are true, could they also apply to such extraterrestrial creatures? What are Good and Evil? What is Gods role? How did nature take on the forms it has? In a relaxed, conversational tone, Philippe de Baleine addresses some of the major metaphysical, theological and cosmological issues that are being asked today. Philippe de Baleine is a journalist, essayist and novelist.
Éric Baratay
And Man Created the Animal History of a Condition
In this book, Baratay holds a mirror up to humanity. He reviews the changing status of animals throughout human history: from ancient myths about animal domestication to the invention of bullfighting, from the great pastoral epics to modern slaughterhouses, from the ancient role played by animals in the human imagination to modern laboratory testing. Eric Baratay is a historian specialising in the contemporary world and in the status of animals.
Robert Barbault
Whales, Bacteria and Man
The most prodigious mystery of life might well be in the means it has used to create so much diversity with so little matter. However, taking the risk of destroying the most precious ecosystems, Man inflicts to Nature deforestation, pollution, sea walls and many other acts of violence. This book explores this profusion of life of which human beings are one of the components as well as one of its pivots.
Stella Baruk
Si 7 = 0. Quelles mathématiques pour l'école ?
Stella Baruk is known for her uncompromising criticism of the way mathematics is taught at school. She sees children's frequent aversion to the subject as a clear demonstration of the failure of current methods. Following her earlier book, L'Age du Capitaine, in which she denounced the meaningless mathematical problems that children were burdened with and enjoined to solve, she now addresses the difficulties encountered by the new generation of the captain's children. She has reproduced pages from the exercise books of primary school pupils, with a commentary underlining the confusion created by modern maths in the minds of children who are not yet familiar with mathematics. Her message is clear: the fault lies not in modern maths, but in the fact that the cart has been put before the horse. Modern maths was created to generalise operations and structures that recur in every aspect of mathematics, and modern maths cannot be correctly understood without the full mastery of those operations and structures. Yet, the teaching of mathematics has been turned on its head, with the abstract being taught before the concrete and the general before the specific - with the result that empty formalism is all that is being passed on. Baruk's very precise analyses, illustrated with specific examples, will help parents understand their children's mistakes and difficulties, so that they can help them overcome them. Stella Baruk is a mathematics teacher and pedagogical researcher.
