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I recently finished reading the book Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure by Cedric Villani. The author is an eminent mathematician, and I am told that he is quite a character. Unfortunately, I really disliked the book, for a number of reasons. I cannot recommend the book to anyone, except perhaps a professional mathematician. Here is my review.

The Youngest Science by Lewis Thomas starts out with his early years watching his father practice medicine & roughly follows his own career through a series of essays. It's incredible how little doctors could do just a century ago & Thomas grew up in that time. He was a practicing doctor for almost a decade before antibiotics became available & was at the forefront of his field into the 1980s, so his descriptions of how medicine changed is fascinating. He covers a lot of other topics, too.

If anyone knows more about his research, I have some questions I'd love answered in my review which is here:
/review/show...

Connections by James Burke.


My review here:
/review/show...

I read that at the time of the TV series (1979 here in the US); excellent book.

I finished Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees a few days ago. A solid 5/5. My favorite part is it barely talks about honey bees, which have way too much support in comparison to our lovely native bees.

My last read, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World � and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, was well worth the time. It's not a pure science book, but since science is based on facts I felt it was relevant to this group.

I had an issue with one of his positions (see review) but overall I agree with Bill Gates, who recommended it. It is an important book.

My review: /review/show...

Steve wrote: "My last read, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World � and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, was well worth the time. It's not a pure science book, but since scien..."

Now I see that we had this for a group read a while back. Should have posted there. Perhaps Betsy can move it.....?

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History was a well-researched and important book. I highly recommend it.

Candice

Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari...
I don't think I even need to explain it... Since it's the one of the bestselling history non-fiction...

I'm reading Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions by Richard F. Harris. Oy! Scary just how messed up so much biomedical research is.

Steve wrote: "Steve wrote: "My last read, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World � and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, was well worth the time. It's not a pure science book, b..."

I'm not able to move your comment, but you could paste a copy in that other thread if you want.

Most of the time I'm usually reading science books...
T
Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari... No need to even dive into that, I'm sure almost everyone here has read it
And also I finished Naomi Klein's: This changes everything | Capitalism vs the climate and that book honestly opened my eyes to what free trade, deregulated Capitalism, the ever growing economy and excessive consumption is doing to climate change and our environment...

Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past is the story of ancient genome sequencing as told by an insider, David Reich, who leads the Harvard lab. Breakthroughs in obtaining usable DNA and in statistical modeling are well described. Reich enjoys sharing his passion and excitement. An essay in this week's NY Times magazine makes a relevant point that the labs that do this work are few and exclusive, largely because of the the cost of equipment, and that scientists like Reich (specifically) are too quick to publish conclusions based on small sample sizes. Point taken but that still leaves the reader with a fascinating first hand look at a field that is adding important new data for historians and archeologists to argue over.

Entropic wrote: "Most of the time I'm usually reading science books...
T
Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari... No need to even dive into that, I'm sure almost everyone here has read it
And also I finish..."

I really liked Sapiens! But I've just finished listening to his newest book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and I didn't like it anywhere near as much. I think I was actually expecting some clever and innovative "lessons", but it read more like a very large rambling opinion piece. Based on the ratings though I am definitely in the minority!

Alice wrote: "Entropic wrote: "Most of the time I'm usually reading science books...
T
Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari... No need to even dive into that, I'm sure almost everyone here has read it
..."
Just picked that one up at the library. I have seen rave reviews but several that are not impressed. Interested to see how it is! I just LOVED Sapiens and Homo Deus.

Not since 1983.

Alice wrote: "Entropic wrote: "Most of the time I'm usually reading science books...
T
Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari... No need to even dive into that, I'm sure almost everyone here has read it
..."

I am currently reading Deus which I am enjoying, it is largely opinion too, that said he backs up his opinion with strong arguments and facts. I recommend it, 21 Lessons... is on my to read list as well but I don't think I will get to it for a while.

Courtney wrote: "I finished Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees a few days ago. A solid 5/5. My favorite part is it barely talks about honey bees, which have way too much support in comparison to..."

Thanks! I am a huge fan of solitary and mason bees, myself, and am tired of hearing about honey bees exclusively. lol
Nerds, unite. I'm so glad that it isn't such a curse any longer.

Steve wrote: "My last read, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World � and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, was well worth the time. It's not a pure science book, but since scien..."

I've not heard of this one. Thanks for pointing it out.

Just finished Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment by Robert Wright. It's not a pure science book, but don't be fooled by the misleading title--not a religion book either. Rather, it is a mix of evolution psychology, intellectual explanation of certain Buddhism concepts and why they are in sync with evolution psychology and neuroscience, and the author’s personal meditation experience.

My review

Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives by neurobiologist Dean Buonomano was fascinating, although a bit deep & repetitive at times. He looks into some of the physical structures of the brain, how they evoloved, & why they're causing us issues in our new environment. I gave it a 4 star review here:
/review/show...

Just finished the short book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli.

Review: /review/show...

I just finished reading The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann. Both have fanatic supporters & I've rarely read a book on the subject that wasn't completely biased toward one camp or the other. The author admits to being on the fence which lends his work a balanced point of view. I gave it a 5 star review here:
/review/show...

Elizabeth A.G. wrote: "Just finished the short book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli.

Review: /review/show......"
Great review. I read this book last year, very impressed.
My Review

I still largely just lurk here, because I'm not a scientist and I came in on way too much talk about the Atom Bomb and physics, from my point of view. But, I like to watch.

It has struck my while I've been here the last few months that there are so many fields of inquiry, it boggles my mind. Sometimes, I want to read every book proposed for the group read, and sometimes, only a couple. Often the one chosen is not a proiority for me, because I've just come back to reading non-fiction after recovery from brain damage for several years. I'm rediscovering my brain as my favorite organ. Yippee!

I love so many aspects of science, but I've come to realize that just 'science' alone embraces so many disciplines, it's amazing that we ever come to a decision on which book to read.

I personally find this particular thread to be my favorite. What did you read and love/hate and why? is why I'm here.

Thank you, all, for your contributions to this thread. I've added so many books to my 'for sooner' list, bumped up from my 'for maybe' shelf.
I realize more and more how marvelous this world is. What a long strange trip, if we're lucky to be curious, it is. B+

JZ wrote: "I still largely just lurk here, because I'm not a scientist and I came in on way too much talk about the Atom Bomb and physics, from my point of view. But, I like to watch.

It has struck my while ..."

JZ, thanks for your post! Please do not feel intimidated because you are not a scientist. You have an inquiring mind, and that's all that matters.

And, please don't just lurk--please post on whatever related topic comes to mind.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari was an excellent read, but it's depressing that Kentucky is so well known for its conservative idiocy that an Israeli citizen would twice use it as an example. Yes, my state is more world famous for its Dark Age laws than its bourbon. On the bright side, he had good things to say about SF. My 5 star review is here:
/review/show...

I just finished Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired. I enjoyed this book quite a bit; it was a fairly easy read for a non-scientist. Although he describes a lot of research results, he never gets too into the weeds.

It overlaps a little bit with Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, but only a little bit. Because internal time governs lots more than just when we sleep.

One of the BTW things I enjoyed was the fact that the author is German and many of the examples he uses employ German people and society, of which I have only a little direct experience (my brother-in-law is German).

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan was wonderful as an audiobook. I originally read it as HB shortly after it came out. That was back in the mid 90s, so it's been a while. When I saw it in audio format, I jumped on it & got to love it all over again. I gave it a 5 star review here:
/review/show...

Jim wrote: "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan was wonderful as an audiobook. I originally read it as HB shortly after it came out. That was back in ..."

Was it read by the author? I don't know what it is but I just love Sagan's voice. Anything he narrates speaks to me.

As I said in my review, it's based on the original audiobook that Carl narrated. Unfortunately, time had ruined some of the tapes, so his wife narrated the bad parts. They became more common as the book progressed. Her voice was higher, but she has the same enthusiasm.

The Basics of Genetics is one of the Great Courses by Betsey Dexter Dyer. It was very elementary, but I still gleaned some interesting info from it. The explanation of animal coat color was great. I love Dyer's enthusiasm, but she's not a great speaker & often her attempts at metaphors left me more confused than if she'd just spit it out in science-talk. I gave it a 3 star review here:
/review/show...

I'm closing this thread because it's getting rather long. It is continued in the following thread:

/topic/show/...