Ok, then sounds like they enjoy a mix of hard science and absurd humor. If they’re anything like I was, then one way to get someone like that to pay attention to stories and people involves choosing ones that have a good amount of worldbuilding with well-designed, comprehensible systems and technologies you can think about as you read, and that reward paying close attention with details that turn out to matter way later.
Ian Stewart’s fiction has a similar vibe as Randall Munroe’s books, but using the math and humor to tell stories instead of teach science.
The Robert and Ellen Kaplan books are not fiction, but they’re half trying to teach math through creative play with concepts (they were also the founders of The Math Circle) half history of math. If you want them to start applying what they’re learning in real life, this is a good bit of nonfiction to suggest.
And I’d definitely try Asimov, especially the Foundation books as others have mentioned, for a hard sci-fi story that’s really about the people and civilization and the forces that move and shape them.
The stuff I put in #4 pushes more towards being story-forward, but again with a mix of hard sci-fi and playful absurdity.
#10 has that too, but really appreciating those relies a lot on being at least familiar with the general tropes and plots of classic literature and famous authors. Then again, it’s a great book for someone who likes to randomly stop reading and look things up when there’s a reference they don’t know. Lots of potential for pointing towards other interests and gaining cultural literacy.
I’d recommend Terry Pratchett to anyone. You don’t have to read Discworld in order, you can focus on the arcs that you like. The witch-focused books are really centered on individual responsibility and critical thinking. The wizard-focused books have a recurring theme of the limitations of academic research and high technology. The Death-focused books have a theme of unpacking myth and culture. And the Moist von Lipwig books are about how new technologies reshape society. They’re the kind of books you can just read for fun and then, months and years later, you think back on and have a-ha! moments. And if you’re at all worried about this kid needing to understand that other people aren’t always open and honest about their intentions (good or not), petty much every storyline has characters acting for complex reasons you have to read between the lines at first to see.
I’d hold off on Godel Escher Bach for a couple of years, but when they’re ready for it, it basically alternates between math and comp sci, philosophy of math and comp sci, and absurdist humor.
Doesn’t sound like Ra would be a good fit. Maybe in another 5-7 years.
And if you don’t mind pushing a video game, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri is basically a fictional encyclopedia of the future. I haven’t tried that remake, but if it’s far enough along to run well, someone like you described would probably really enjoy it and learn a lot from it. Take a look at this list of quotes from the game and you’ll see what I mean. The Civ games have nations as the factions, but in SMAC each faction has a core philosophy, and you have freedom to create your own units by mixing and matching technologies.
Ok, then sounds like they enjoy a mix of hard science and absurd humor. If they’re anything like I was, then one way to get someone like that to pay attention to stories and people involves choosing ones that have a good amount of worldbuilding with well-designed, comprehensible systems and technologies you can think about as you read, and that reward paying close attention with details that turn out to matter way later.
Ian Stewart’s fiction has a similar vibe as Randall Munroe’s books, but using the math and humor to tell stories instead of teach science.
The Robert and Ellen Kaplan books are not fiction, but they’re half trying to teach math through creative play with concepts (they were also the founders of The Math Circle) half history of math. If you want them to start applying what they’re learning in real life, this is a good bit of nonfiction to suggest.
And I’d definitely try Asimov, especially the Foundation books as others have mentioned, for a hard sci-fi story that’s really about the people and civilization and the forces that move and shape them.
The stuff I put in #4 pushes more towards being story-forward, but again with a mix of hard sci-fi and playful absurdity.
#10 has that too, but really appreciating those relies a lot on being at least familiar with the general tropes and plots of classic literature and famous authors. Then again, it’s a great book for someone who likes to randomly stop reading and look things up when there’s a reference they don’t know. Lots of potential for pointing towards other interests and gaining cultural literacy.
I’d recommend Terry Pratchett to anyone. You don’t have to read Discworld in order, you can focus on the arcs that you like. The witch-focused books are really centered on individual responsibility and critical thinking. The wizard-focused books have a recurring theme of the limitations of academic research and high technology. The Death-focused books have a theme of unpacking myth and culture. And the Moist von Lipwig books are about how new technologies reshape society. They’re the kind of books you can just read for fun and then, months and years later, you think back on and have a-ha! moments. And if you’re at all worried about this kid needing to understand that other people aren’t always open and honest about their intentions (good or not), petty much every storyline has characters acting for complex reasons you have to read between the lines at first to see.
I’d hold off on Godel Escher Bach for a couple of years, but when they’re ready for it, it basically alternates between math and comp sci, philosophy of math and comp sci, and absurdist humor.
Doesn’t sound like Ra would be a good fit. Maybe in another 5-7 years.
And if you don’t mind pushing a video game, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri is basically a fictional encyclopedia of the future. I haven’t tried that remake, but if it’s far enough along to run well, someone like you described would probably really enjoy it and learn a lot from it. Take a look at this list of quotes from the game and you’ll see what I mean. The Civ games have nations as the factions, but in SMAC each faction has a core philosophy, and you have freedom to create your own units by mixing and matching technologies.