I came out to Seattle to visit my sister and attend her oldest's high school graduation. Being the resident Reader-Geek in the extended family (otherwise full of engineers or math whizzes who are also serious athletes), and knowing she liked math and science, I asked if she had ever read an novel about a scientist? She couldn't think of one, but I remembered Flatland, Edwin Abbots' quirky, 1880 novella subtitled "A Romance in many dimensions," the story of a two-dimensional world. I instantly downloaded the 99 cent classic to her mother's Kindle.
Now, I know there's not necessarily any better chance that she will read the book (after finals) than if I had mailed a print copy to her, but at least she knows it's at hand while she may still remember our conversation. I did think it was hopeful that when I described the story, she immediately asked, "How do they pass each other in only 2 dimensions?" I had probably read it more for the romance than the geometry, and the question would never occur to me.
Do you have favorite novels about science, math, and non-English major subjects you would recommend to a 16-year old? Let me know.
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Novels about science/math not immediately springing to mind, but all the teenage tech geeks I know loved Godel, Escher, Bach; the Hitchhiker's Guide books; Brief History of Time; and Ender's Game. (Admittedly I read the latter 3 of those at 13 so maybe she's already read them too.)
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