What are we reading?

[Sir Slash]

After Einstein met Marilyn Monroe, how could he NOT believe there is a God?

[Sir Slash]

"We March Against England: Operation Sea Lion 1940-41" by Robert Forczyk. May need  and wile I read this one.

[bobarossa]

"We March Against England: Operation Sea Lion 1940-41" by Robert Forczyk. May need  and wile I read this one.

I do wonder if they had any detailed plans beyond throwing soldiers on a beach.  Finished his Case White book last month. Learned the battle was nothing like I thought.

[Sir Slash]

I thought the same Bob. And I learned a lot about France 1940 that I'd never heard before in his Case Red. I really like the way Forczyk explores campaigns from different points of view and possible alternatives. He also doesn't hold back on the good and bad, as he sees it, from different authors past and present. I will throw-out some stuff he postulates on as I read it.

[JasonPratt]

For Einstein, the word "God" was a placeholder for unknown forces (the entirety of natural laws). His famous quote "God does not play dice with the Universe" is talking about Einstein's own resistance to the ideas presented by Quantum Physics (based on coincidence).

Yes I know; I'm sure the quip from my physics book was not meant to be taken theologically either. (Though speaking as a theologian, it could be.  ) The authors were making a clever wordplay to describe quantum mechanics being salted toward various probabilities and away from others, rather than being purely random in outcomes.

This leads, among other things, to a discussion of short-chain determinism and the paradoxical truth that even merely random behaviors still have merely deterministic outcomes -- thus for example random behavior cannot produce truly rational behavior per se, only perhaps an illusion of rational behavior. (Which helps explain the debates between reductionists, non-reductionists, and eliminativists, regarding how to account for or even acknowledge the existence of rational behavior.)

[JasonPratt]

I thought the same Bob. And I learned a lot about France 1940 that I'd never heard before in his Case Red. I really like the way Forczyk explores campaigns from different points of view and possible alternatives. He also doesn't hold back on the good and bad, as he sees it, from different authors past and present. I will throw-out some stuff he postulates on as I read it.

One of the books I got for Christmas, from the Bro, was Forczyk's "Where the Iron Crosses Grow", i.e. WW2 in Crimea. I could pretty easily set aside a year catching up on books of his I haven't read yet. 

[Pete Dero]

This leads, among other things, to a discussion of short-chain determinism and the paradoxical truth that even merely random behaviors still have merely deterministic outcomes -- thus for example random behavior cannot produce truly rational behavior per se, only perhaps an illusion of rational behavior. (Which helps explain the debates between reductionists, non-reductionists, and eliminativists, regarding how to account for or even acknowledge the existence of rational behavior.)

English is only my third language, but I'm sure I wouldn't understand this in my native language either    .

[ArizonaTank]

For Einstein, the word "God" was a placeholder for unknown forces (the entirety of natural laws). His famous quote "God does not play dice with the Universe" is talking about Einstein's own resistance to the ideas presented by Quantum Physics (based on coincidence).

Yes I know; I'm sure the quip from my physics book was not meant to be taken theologically either. (Though speaking as a theologian, it could be.  ) The authors were making a clever wordplay to describe quantum mechanics being salted toward various probabilities and away from others, rather than being purely random in outcomes.

This leads, among other things, to a discussion of short-chain determinism and the paradoxical truth that even merely random behaviors still have merely deterministic outcomes -- thus for example random behavior cannot produce truly rational behavior per se, only perhaps an illusion of rational behavior. (Which helps explain the debates between reductionists, non-reductionists, and eliminativists, regarding how to account for or even acknowledge the existence of rational behavior.)

I'll just say this one thing and then leave it alone. The implications of Pete's statement don't synch with Walter Isaacson's biography. Isaacson spent quite a bit of print, and presumably research, on Einstein's ideas on religion and God. Of course I realize that Isaacson could be wrong, but the biography felt compelling when I read it.

[Pete Dero]

The implications of Pete's statement.

To be clear, this aren't my statements (that would be something for R&P) but are Einstein's writings.

The comment with 'God as a placeholder' is the view of many Einstein experts.
I quoted one of them but I can't find the exact source today.

[Jarhead0331]

I started The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Heart of the Greatest Battle of World War II, by Iain MacGregor. Of course, it is the true story of Pavlov's House, the building held by a small garrison of Russian soldiers from the 13th Guards Rifle Division against everything the Germans of the Sixth Army could throw at it.

I'm about halfway through it right now and it has a laid a good foundation of the events leading up to the battle for the City, but I am yet to get into any real details about Pavlov's House or that specific part of the narrative yet. The backdrop of the overall battle, and the struggle on the eastern front, in general, has been very engrossing thus far.

I've always found it interesting for the sheer scale and scope of this theater of the war, which has always struck me as mind-blowing for its violence and destruction.

In any event, I came across this video on Youtube recently that tells the story nicely.

[Redwolf]

In any event, I came across this video on Youtube recently that tells the story nicely.

Excellent video.

[ArizonaTank]

Just finished a great military history of the Battle of Brandywine.

"Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777" by Micheal Harris.

Plenty of good maps. Detailed discussion of orders of battle and opposing forces. The author is a military historian, not a general writer. A great military history. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you should be able to "borrow" for free.

The Battle of Brandywine was one of the largest battles fought during the American Revolution. But it is not often discussed / written about, perhaps because British General Howe beat the pants off of Washington. Howe outflanked the Americans, and pretty much drove Washington's troops off the field (except for a valiant rear-guard action by the rebel's Nathanial Greene).

If the book has a drawback, it is more of a "feature and not a bug"; the narrative can be a little dry in places. It is a military history, not a "popular" history.

https://www.amazon.com/Brandywine-Military-History-Philadelphia-September/dp/161121162X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fkuymMtqxDybfzz6GySHqxI-DwwRvPFuRU1Qm655tmyuIvchyZm_dWRe1ji3-9LRDCnrzvcQ19oJCIuWJzOnuEyRfQl_k3XMg0XZv8And8eLaGWJpi0Ft0DdTIUpraJvhcM4gEcH8K7S4O4JclPjn2yHZUr3aqbkLvdOofml2ogU1qFa-FFKsLVuNNjuqRJWuHLnoxcAEED0Y8FPGJtkemenbVzWWAn_jwdqOL_I5pRBVBxW2TLv5FRemQkceNs9rwrop1J8qgRj3WzX15ccuyoPPG_4YGoWJVp2-UR9jVApZGTXe-VXLZS1vGcNayHzLemU_-9-IuQEgCWocYDaUV9bI5LfGIGWjaq3V2llYCDsBjFvxVwgEf_yRX9ycaNc-Wnk4QFSf8lCtQ3kJHLHhzqnPOg1hOVUGaV-NtGhki0JbMOs_Il0Rvm9dVLLLOhr.kVVs7lit0rm58kJw3ykRNoJu82pd-AttqSAePCfCMRs&qid=1738342421&sr=8-2

[ArizonaTank]

Just finished a great and entertaining read!

The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight by Winston Groom

I found this triple biography of founding American aviators to be highly entertaining. I recommend it for anyone.

Rickenbacker, Doolittle and Lindbergh contributed to aviation, more than many know. All three wore the Medal of Honor. Each of them flew combat missions and nearly lost their lives to enemy action. Little known fact; Lindbergh (as a civilian technical advisor) flew 50 combat missions in P-38s and Corsairs in the Pacific, even shooting down a Japanese light bomber (a Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia"). Rickenbacker single-handedly built Eastern Airlines in the 30s through the 50s. Doolittle had a PhD from MIT, and was the first pilot to fly completely blind using only instruments (in 1929).

At the same time, the book gave very entertaining descriptions of the more famous feats of the three; Doolittle's Tokyo Raid, Rickenbacker's WWI air combats, and Lindbergh's 1927 non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

The book also touches on their sometimes complicated personal and public lives. Lindbergh was most controversial. He hated the press, particularly after reporters hounded him and his wife when Lindy's toddler son was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. By the eve of WWII, Lindy had almost lost all the shine off his star. This was because before the war Lindy was briefly dazzled by the Nazis and their "organization," he also made some anti-Jewish statements, and he briefly joined the "America First" movement to try to keep the US out of the war. But then, once war did come to the US, Lindbergh was all in. He pushed to participate in combat in the Pacific, and he was horrified by what the Nazis had done to the Jews in Europe.

Anyway, highly recommended

https://www.amazon.com/Aviators-Rickenbacker-Doolittle-Charles-Lindbergh/dp/1426211562/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RPAEGY8FW09Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZAhWDGxQTMImROmrWLlzcsCzvt-7Nzj1xPiXVcTb7Tvb7MPyAveFtC4nrw7lq8rtmzJuRxJyc5tkz1VafrwidSQV20UUXTXbX0k5dYz2YPum1JM716Ft9B8TsqwjU66tkRDUN2XgpQdtRjnmGiKjfoEkFjcY7UfV8_NIUC5udeNHxieXhb8Y32XdSHTLdbZX.A6FQ48cifFcb_NLsNB3buoeJDI0A_uxF-3y68pPBT60&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+aviators+winston+groom&qid=1739143142&sprefix=the+aviators%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1

[Toonces]

I'm working through John Toland's biography of Hitler.  Pretty interesting so far.

[Redwolf]

Just got a wonderful book, and I expect the whole series to be equally good:



https://www.amazon.com/dp/1472832248?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

It only has 42 pages of blah blah.

The entire rest of the book are technical drawings and 3D shots of the layout and details of these ships. Very well made and good quality printing and paper, too.

I think I'll get the book on the Scharnhorst next.