C.E. Petit at Scrivener’s Error writes with a supplement to my reading lists for incoming law students (here and here).
* Penguin’s COLLECTED ESSAYS OF GEORGE ORWELL, which has all of the critical
ones–Why I Write, Politics & the English Language, and so on; this is an
especially critical area for ALL American undergraduates, who get little (if
any) practice at persuasive writing
* Brian Silver, THE ASCENT OF SCIENCE; this is a very good introduction to
the interrelationship between methods of reasoning and scope of knowledge
(and it’s better-written than Kuhn, which may be important for people from
business schools who aren’t used to a lot of reading, either)
* Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld, THE EVOLUTION OF PHYSICS; this would be
my second choice introduction to scientific-method progression for
nonscientists, with Kuhn coming in third
* John Keegan, THE FACE OF BATTLE; although the applications aren’t real
obvious, one of the things that this book has going for it is a great
attention to the immediate perceptions of opposing sides in conflict
Do tech manuals count? Posner? (asks a Trackbacker) If you like to read them, read them; no one’s keeping score. The point is to explore new intellectual habits. Don’t stick to what you’re used to. It’s hard for me to see that tech manuals teach you as much about reading the world as literature does, but maybe I don’t see them in the right light. If you’re comfortable reading tech manuals, though, I’d suggest finding something completely different between now and August. Posner doesn’t hurt, but I don’t recommend boning up on legal theory right now if the choice is between that and something else. Try some Virginia Woolf, or Dante.
Link to Welcome to Law School, Part III.