Books for the Brain

Edward R. Tufte

Envisioning Information Hardcover (May 1990)
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information Hardcover (February 1992)
Visual Explanations : Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative Hardcover (March 1997)
Visual & Statistical Thinking : Displays of Evidence for Decision Making Paperback (April 1997)

I've only read one of these books, but it's an excellent series on how humans interpret graphs, and how to make graphs more effective in their job of communicating information.

Donald A. Norman

The Design of Everyday Things (Paperback - March 1990)
Things That Make Us Smart : Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine (Paperback - May 1994)
Invisible Computer : Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Applicances Are the Solution (Paperback - October 1999)

Again, I've only read one of these, but I plan on reading the others. My summary of Things That Make Us Smart: What are computers are good at, What are humans good at, and why do we keep using one in place of the other?!

Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner

Freakonomics: A rogue economisc explores the hidden side of everything

It basically is a collection of strange questions. The chapters in this book are titled:

What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?
How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?
Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?
Where Have All the Criminals Gone?
What Makes a Perfect Parent?
Perfect Parenting, Part II; or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

These questions are asked, and he provides correlations, but leaves the cause completely unanswered. It is very entertaining, yet distinctly avoids any moral judgements. Just enough facts to make it real enough. There are a few sections that are dubious, but several fundamentals still come through, such as digging into the real incentives that drive people to 'win', whatever their practice might be; whether it is a school teachers sumo wrestler, or a real estate agent.

This is a very quick and fun read.