blog.spathis.com

E. O. Wilson’s seminal work The Ants is a landmark in myrmecology (the study of ants). It deservedly won the Pulitzer in 1991 and stands as a hallmark to accessible scientific writing. Behavior, habitat, social norms are all presented in an engaging and very readable way. If you have some time its well worth the effort.

If you loved the book like I did you will want to check out Antweb’s Google Earth interface. Google is fundamentally changing how science is done. The endless hackability of google earth and of the entire web infrastructure bodes well for a vast number of fields. Myrmecology is only the latest.

JJ Garret is an icon in information architecture/information design. His book The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web is one of the clearest explanations of what needs to be done, in what order, and how. If your working on a site then definitely read this one.

Sites used to be on of two kinds, technology driven or designer driven. This resulted in either a convuluted mess for the user or a glossy magazine ad that was interesting only the first time it was encounterd. This book is the antidote to both those types of sites. Highly recommended if your in the “biz”…