Topic
Science books recommended by physicists, writers and builders
Popular science and a few genuine textbooks. Physicists Sean Carroll and Carlo Rovelli contribute expert picks on cosmology and time, while Long Now contributors add reference works meant to help rebuild knowledge from scratch.
154 books · 194 recommendations from 62 people
Where to start
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Chosen by both Stewart Brand and Maria Popova — the friendliest entry point here.
Powers of Ten
A picture book about scale, picked by both Brand and Kevin Kelly.
Black Holes and Time Warps
One of Sean Carroll's picks for general readers curious about relativity.
Every science book in the directory
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4recommendersA Short History of Nearly Everything 4 recommendersStewart Brand, Maria Popova, James Clear, Mark Manson
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4recommendersIn Search of Lost Time 4 recommendersCarlo Rovelli, Mona Simpson, Mark Manson, Tyler Cowen
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4recommendersSurely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! 4 recommendersPeter Attia, James Clear, Scott H. Young, Tim Ferriss
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4recommendersThe Sixth Extinction 4 recommendersBeth Shapiro, Bill Gates, Mark Manson, Barack Obama
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3recommendersThe Discoverers 3 recommendersStewart Brand, Kevin Kelly, Brian Eno
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3recommendersThe Happiness Hypothesis 3 recommendersDerek Sivers, David Brooks, Mark Manson
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3recommendersThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 3 recommendersCarl Zimmer, James Clear, Mark Manson
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3recommendersThe Nicomachean Ethics 3 recommendersA. C. Grayling, Mark Manson, Martha Nussbaum
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2recommendersA Brief History of Time 2 recommendersJames Clear, Mark Manson
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2recommendersA Random Walk down Wall Street 2 recommendersMark Manson, Thomas Frank
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2recommendersFactfulness 2 recommendersBill Gates, Mark Manson
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2recommendersGuns, Germs, and Steel 2 recommendersJames Clear, Daniel Ek
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2recommendersHomo Deus 2 recommendersTom Bilyeu, Matt Mullenweg
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2recommendersInto Thin Air 2 recommendersJames Clear, Mark Manson
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2recommendersOn the Origin of Species 2 recommendersA. C. Grayling, Jerry Coyne
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2recommendersPowers of Ten 2 recommendersStewart Brand, Kevin Kelly
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2recommendersThe Beginning of Infinity 2 recommendersPatrick Collison, Naval Ravikant
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2recommendersThe Blank Slate 2 recommendersDavid Brooks, Mark Manson
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2recommendersThe Blind Watchmaker 2 recommendersJames Randi, Jerry Coyne
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2recommendersThe Checklist Manifesto 2 recommendersDavid Allen, James Clear
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2recommendersThe Demon-Haunted World 2 recommendersDaniel Suarez, James Randi
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2recommendersThe Fabric of the Cosmos 2 recommendersSean Carroll, Walter Isaacson
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2recommendersThe Glass Bead Game 2 recommendersMarcus du Sautoy, Tyler Cowen
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2recommendersThe Great Influenza 2 recommendersBill Gates, Ryan Holiday
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2recommendersThe Precipice 2 recommendersWill MacAskill, Chris Williamson
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2recommendersThe Selfish Gene 2 recommendersKevin Kelly, Mark Manson
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2recommendersThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions 2 recommendersKevin Kelly, Mark Manson
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2recommendersThing Explainer 2 recommendersBill Gates, Naval Ravikant
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A Disappearing Number Picked by Marcus du Sautoy
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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Picked by Amy Chua
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A Mathematician’s Apology Picked by Marcus du Sautoy
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A Voice for Now Picked by Athene Donald
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A Walk in the Woods Picked by James Clear
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American Prometheus Picked by Ben Carlson
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An Elegant Defense Picked by Bill Gates
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Anthropic Bias Picked by Patrick Collison
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Apocalypse Never Picked by Mark Manson
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Arctic Dreams Picked by Robert Macfarlane
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Beautiful Evidence Picked by Jeff Atwood
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Better Picked by James Clear
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Black Holes and Time Warps Picked by Sean Carroll
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Breath from Salt Picked by Bill Gates
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Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Picked by James Clear
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Caveman Chemistry Picked by Kevin Kelly
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Charles Darwin Picked by Jerry Coyne
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Citizens Picked by Lynn Hunt
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Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches Picked by Derek Sivers
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Dark Sun Picked by Neal Stephenson
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Darwin's Dangerous Idea Picked by Mark Manson
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Descartes' Error Picked by David Brooks
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Desert Solitaire Picked by Robert Macfarlane
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Dorothy Hodgkin Picked by Athene Donald
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Einstein Picked by Mark Manson
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Einstein in Love Picked by Walter Isaacson
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Einstein’s Clocks, Poincaré’s Maps Picked by Walter Isaacson
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Einstein's Telescope Picked by Sean Carroll
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Endless Frontier Picked by Bruce Sterling
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Engineering in Plain Sight Picked by Bill Gates
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Eradication Picked by Bill Gates
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Every Living Thing Picked by The Pulitzer Prizes
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Evolution Picked by Jerry Coyne
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Evolution of Physics Picked by Walter Isaacson
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Galileo at Work Picked by Dava Sobel
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Genome Picked by Naval Ravikant
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Group Picked by Reese Witherspoon
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Growth Picked by Bill Gates
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High Tide Picked by Mary Robinson
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Homicide Picked by Steven Pinker
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Hope and Help for Your Nerves Picked by Matt D'Avella
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How Life Works Picked by Tyler Cowen
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How the World Really Works Picked by Bill Gates
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Human Rights and Climate Change Picked by Mary Robinson
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If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... Where Is Everybody? Picked by Patrick Collison
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In a Different Voice Picked by Athene Donald
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In Darwin’s Shadow Picked by James Randi
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In Joy Still Felt Picked by James Randi
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Interpreting the French Revolution Picked by Lynn Hunt
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Intimations of Paradise Picked by James Clear
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It Starts with Food Picked by James Clear
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Jesus’ Son Picked by James Altucher
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Last Chance to See Picked by Beth Shapiro
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Logicomix Picked by Marcus du Sautoy
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Mathematics from the Birth of Numbers Picked by Kevin Kelly
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Mother Nature Picked by Brian Eno
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Mutants Picked by Carl Zimmer
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Newton's Principia for the Common Reader Picked by Neal Stephenson
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Nine Pints Picked by Bill Gates
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On the Genealogy of Morals Picked by Mark Manson
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One, Two, Three…Infinity Picked by Marcus du Sautoy
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Origins Picked by Sabine Hossenfelder
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Our Common Future Picked by Mary Robinson
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Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Picked by Alastair Humphreys
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Posted Picked by David Bowie
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Reality Is Not What It Seems Picked by Naval Ravikant
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Reflections on Gender and Science Picked by Athene Donald
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Science Fictions Picked by Mark Manson
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Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Picked by Naval Ravikant
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Sex at Dawn Picked by Aubrey Marcus
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Sidereus Nuncius Picked by Dava Sobel
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Six Easy Pieces Picked by Naval Ravikant
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Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns Picked by David Heinemeier Hansson
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Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens Picked by Patrick Collison
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Storms of my Grandchildren Picked by Mary Robinson
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Table-Talk, Essays on Men and Manners Picked by A. C. Grayling
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The Accidental Universe Picked by Maria Popova
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The American Practical Navigator Picked by Neal Stephenson
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The Ancien Régime and the Revolution Picked by Lynn Hunt
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The Ape That Understood the Universe Picked by Chris Williamson
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The Art of Doing Science and Engineering Picked by Patrick Collison
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The Black Hole War Picked by Sean Carroll
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The Book Nobody Read Picked by Dava Sobel
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The Bottomless Well Picked by Matt Ridley
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The Cave Bear Story Picked by Beth Shapiro
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The Coast of Utopia Picked by David Bowie
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The Coming of the Fairies Picked by James Randi
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The Copernican Question Picked by Dava Sobel
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The Direction of Time Picked by Carlo Rovelli
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The Diversity of Life Picked by Beth Shapiro
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The Ethics of Climate Change Picked by Mary Robinson
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The Extended Phenotype Picked by Carl Zimmer
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The Feynman Lectures on Physics Picked by David Brin
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The Flamingo's Smile Picked by Carl Zimmer
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The Forest Unseen Picked by Alastair Humphreys
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The Gene Picked by Bill Gates
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The Inflationary Universe Picked by Sean Carroll
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The Information Picked by Maria Popova
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The Living Mountain Picked by Robert Macfarlane
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The Machinery of Life Picked by Carl Zimmer
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb Picked by Neal Stephenson
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The Making of the Fittest Picked by Beth Shapiro
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The Mismeasure of Man Picked by Jerry Coyne
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The Mosquito Picked by Mark Manson
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The New Regime Picked by Lynn Hunt
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The Origins of Virtue Picked by Naval Ravikant
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The Path Picked by Alastair Humphreys
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The Peregrine Picked by Robert Macfarlane
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The Quants Picked by Barry Ritholtz
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The Red Queen Picked by Naval Ravikant
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The Road to Reality Picked by Neal Stephenson
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The Sleepwalkers Picked by Dava Sobel
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The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating Picked by Austin Kleon
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The Sound of the Mountain Picked by Mona Simpson
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The Story of the Human Body Picked by Darius Foroux
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The Wild Trees Picked by Daniel Suarez
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Thinking Physics Picked by Naval Ravikant
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Thirteen Picked by Ben Carlson
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Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point Picked by Carlo Rovelli
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Twelve Who Ruled Picked by Lynn Hunt
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Under a White Sky Picked by Bill Gates
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Whistling Vivaldi Picked by Athene Donald
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Whole Earth Discipline Picked by Matt Ridley
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Why Does E=mc2? Picked by Philip Plait
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Why Machines Learn Picked by Tyler Cowen
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Wild Dark Shore Picked by Reese Witherspoon
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