Most Recommended Science/Mathematics/Philosophy Reads.

[Ozymandyus]

'A Briefer history of time' that was released recently looked like it might be a little bit more for a layperson. Perhaps that would be the better one to suggest, although I haven't read it and I found A Brief history of Time fascinating and informative.

 

[DracoInfernis]

I'm surprised Dennett hasn't made the list yet -- I'd recommend Consciousness Explained, which is fairly accessible (3.5 - 4 / 5, I'd say) for a book attempting to bridge the gap between neurology and the experience of consciousness. He starts at a relatively simple level and builds upward toward the more complex issues, which will be helpful to the lay reader, He also saves the truly difficult philosophical arguments for an appendix rather than breaking the flow of the main text with them, which again will help average readers. While I think it stops somewhat short of its title, and Dennett admits as much at the end of the book (and I have to point out the alternate title for the book one of my major professors uses: Consciousness Not Explained But Talked About at Great Length), it's a pretty solid overview of the current state of the philosophy of mind and cognitive science with regards to the conscious experience question.

 

[Otokogoroshi]

I was wondering when someone would mention Hawkins. He's my personal hero <3

 

[PsycoDad]

A good "work-book" on astronomy is Diana Prialnik,´s "Stellar Structure and Evolution" although it,´s quite hard math (at least for my taste).
Another book I can recommend is Martinus Veltmans"Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics" with an easy to digest math contingent.