Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli, translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell
This book explores the history of quantum mechanics using the experience of scientists in Helgoland as the base. It has a more euro-literate feel than the other quantum mechanics book I read at the same time. This is rather short and includes experiences to make the history interesting.
Breakthrough: Spectacular Stories of Scientific Discovery from the Higgs Particle to Black Holes by Marcus Chown
This book looks at physics breakthroughs of the last century, with an emphasis on electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. The narrative works well with a good balance of personal details of the participants with stories of the physics and the actual breakthroughs. Stories include the prediction of Neptune with Urbain Le Verrier, electromagnetism with Maxwell and Faraday. Hertz, Hoyle and Dirac also get sufficient coverage.
Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion by Nick Spencer
Science and religion have been much more closely related than many would have us believe. Science had been historically the domain of church leaders. Historical attacks on science by religion were often exaggerated to display their point. Figures like Galileo were attacked or politic as much as actions. The condemnation for going against established orthodoxy would be just as it would be today. The core difference is that in the past church was seen as arbitrar of the truth and holder of the consensus. Today, "leading scientists" hold that same position. Religion has often been fairly fragmented. Even when Catholicism was the religion in Europe, most localities were fairly autonomous with the local authorities being most important. In the Islamic there was not even the equivalent of the pope. After the protestant reformation in Europe there were different religious practices with their own beliefs. The conflict was more often between scientists attached to one faith tradition vs. another than to scientists vs. religion.
Things pivoted over time. Religion at times would use science to explain religious teachings. Later religious teachings would be used to explain science. During the cold war, the USSR was atheist, so the US became extra religious in part to counter it. Even more recent science vs. religion actions such as the Scopes Monkey Trial were really much less about science vs. religion. That angle was primarily brought up in later dramatizations and interpretations.
Religion and science had have their conflicts, yet they have also worked together for advancement. The full separation can be problematic. They each have their expertise and together can help humanity.
To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science by Steven Weinberg
The author attempted to write something innovative describing how the ability to do science came about, but ended up with a typical history of science. The Arabs were holding the torch of science, but they didn't make the final push of the scientific revolution. People needed to learn to ask the right questions to get the right answers. They broke down things in controlled areas to get things that were explainable in the way we know. These things had to be shared. That is how we got to what we know as science today. It seems the best we can do. However, will people in the future treat it as we treat Astrology and Alchemy? Both of those were given scientific credence before they were treated as pseudo-science. The book concludes with Copernicus, Galileo and Newton. They were treated as the originators of modern science, yet they still had some traditional beliefs.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
This book explores the human body. There are many different "stories" talking about parts and systems of the body. It is not a complete reference, but it does provide interesting exploration of different topics, from the common to obscure.
Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum by Lee Smolin
Quantum mechanics is hard to understand. It often seems to go in the face of what we observe. However, it is possible to be realist and understand quantum mechanics. There were some that put forth the postulates, but did ended up losing popularity to the non-realists. (Einstein was a realist, but he struggled to get a good explanation.) Today, we may need a revolution to adopt a new framework that truly covers everything together. Some will likely fail, but we need new ideas to come to final solution. The book says as much about the pitfalls of academic culture as it does with the quantum mechanics. Academia can get stuck in its ways and find it difficult to move on.
Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child's Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods by Michaeleen Doucleff
While this book makes sense, it has a "snake-oil sales" tone. Everything bad is related to screens and ultra- processed food. Sure, there is plenty of negativity with those. But can we really single them out like that? Books were once "bad" and now they are the solution here. There author comes across as a San Francisco Waldorf mom that is really trying to relate to others. The book is primarily a journey with her and her young daughter as they fight screens and "pood". It is a two-way process. You can't have parents addicted to screens and expect the children to avoid them. It is important to have other activities that can be used and provide the interest.
The book spends time discussing dopamine and how things were wrong. It helps drive desire. The fulfilment can be a downer. Slots are an example of crazy addiction. I was playing a stupid phone came for a bit while playing it. I hated it but was still playing. Just the badness it describes. For food, the processed food gets us all the energy in a hurry. We consume the calorie dense junk food quickly and then come back for more and more. Real food takes more work, but gives a better payoff. The discussions all feel sound. But are we missing part of the argument?
Taking Religion Seriously by Charles Murray
Modern "scientific" people often look down on religions. It is seen as something quaint from the past. The author seeks to treat religion seriously. People's individual religious journey can be different. For some, there is the deep internal faith. For others, an intellectual approach works. The benefits of the culture and community are also a key part of the religious package. In this book, the author includes a large bibliography of many books that he was found useful in the spiritual exploration. There are also interesting discussions of the history and timeline of the Bible. He is of the side that the gospels were written early by people that may have direct knowledge of the events, rather than a later view that some modernists suppose. It is an interesting approach to religion and how it provides value even in today's modern society.
The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date by Samuel Arbesman
Most people stick with the things they learned when they were young. However, facts decay and become irrelevant after time. Each type of "fact" has a different half-life. Scientific facts change as we learn more. A doctor that only stuck with what they learned in medical school would likely be treating people in very outdated ways. (People were once treated with "bleeding". Cigarettes were once considered healthy.) Continuing education is needed to stay current. It is impossible to know everything. Why waste brain space with outdated facts? It takes effort to keep our general knowledge up to date with current facts.
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
Various body parts can be replaced. These are sometimes replaced by using the same part from another person. (This is common in the west, but not in China.) Other times parts are grafted from different parts of the body or from other animals. Sometimes things are fully created implements. Sometimes "new" can be seen by people as better. I found it interesting that people would pull their teeth in order to use dentures. This seems crazy. But then today we may pull half-healthy teeth in order to put implants in place. Sometimes surgeries are done arbitrarily. This book provides a number of anecdotes of various people engaged in replacing body parts. It is created as a "popular" story rather than providing details. Genitalia and implants are covered as are various types of cosmetic implants. There is not a whole lot of coverage of "boring" replacements.
Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning by Marsha E. Ackermann
Air Conditioning caused huge changes in society. Early advertising bragged of a climate control free from nature. Theaters were some of the first to adopt air conditioning. They would often heat the theater to chilly temperatures to bring in customers during the summer. During the world's fairs, air conditioner companies would create cold exhibits and showcase air conditioning as part of the city of the future. There would be no need for windows. Everything could be contained in a fully-controlled sterile environment.
Air conditioning led to changes in development. Natural circulation was not needed. Trees and landscaping were not important. It was better to have a tightly sealed environment that could be climatically controlled. These tract homes could be quickly reproduced across a barren landscape. Instead of building homes to work with nature, they were built via a pattern with no regard to the natural surrounding.
We continue to pay the price for this obsession with air conditioning. Climate change and air conditioning work together in a bad feedback loop. As climate gets hotter, more air conditioning is used. This requires more energy use. It also encourages more development that impacts the landscape.
The book is a quick overview of the rise of air conditioning and the challenges. The early history shows an optimism for a new technology at a time when humans thought they could fully control nature.
This book looks at digestion and all the "gross" and "horrible" parts of it. There are many snippets describing some of the gross things that people did to progress (or regress) the understanding of digestion. It is a fun book that explores digestion in a way kids will remember. It also provides many little known historical bits.
The book on floods starts with examples of floods in the midwest. It then goes to explain the cause of floods and follows up with other examples, such as Katrina in New Orleans. It felt detailed without being too long.
Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle translated by William Gardiner
This book is a mixture of science and science fiction. It explores the various bits of astronomy that were known in the 17th century, and then speculates on the other species that inhabit planets and moons. The author suspects that the moon and other planets have inhabitants. They observe the earth in a way similar to how we observe the moon and other planets. It may have been written as pure science, but could easily read as a modern science fiction book.
Some kids are interested in space. Then we see descriptions of the planets and various space objects. The book is just the right length - not too verbose, but not too sparse. It also has an interesting mix of photos and drawings.
Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies - Updated Edition by Charles Perrow
Increasingly complex systems are increasingly susceptible to cascading risks. The book goes through many detailed examples.The first one is a contrived example from regular life. A man has many small issues happen that cause him to miss a meeting at work. Any of the items alone would not be a problem. However, they all built on top of each other to create a catastrophe. Bigger catastrophes were detailed, such as three mile island nuclear disaster. Many things had to fail together to cause the meltdown. Some of the safety and redundancies helped contribute to the problem.
After an incident occurs, there is usually a desire to assign blame. However, in today's world, it is difficult to assign single blame. Many of the actions that lead to the disaster would not normally be a problem. However, they became an issue when everything was linked together. In the afterward the author is thankful that society has become more willing to acknowledge these system issues rather than continue to try to assign individual blame. (Alas, there is a still a strong legal incentive to assign blame.)
Today's society is increasingly susceptible to system issues. Redundancies are eliminated from systems in the name of efficiency. That works great when things are functioning normally. However, it also means small things can cascade out of control quickly and bring down entire systems. Attempts to make systems more "safe" can sometimes be the source of failures. A warning that fires too often may be ignored. Automatic safety responses could lead to damage to different systems. Areas such as nuclear power and genetic engineering have power to destroy society if systems break down. How do we protect the world? This book is extremely detailed in the exploration of the problem. It does not pose any simple solutions to a problem that eludes them.
The book shows the lifecycle of chickens with illustrations showing the various states. It has a decent amount of detail, but is fairly short.
Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr
I did not like the voice of the narrator of this audiobook. Not sure what was the issue, but it is hard to get involved with the book. Sally Ride was shy. She became the first female astronaut. She encouraged girls to get involved in science. She was involved in studying the earth, and had some university positions teaching physics. She had a traditional marriage with a male astronaut that lasted a few years, but then lived most of her life in a private lesbian relationship. She "came out" only in her obituary after she died from cancer. The biography felt fairly distant. She didn't leave many personal records, and was fairly tight-lipped in interviews, so much of what we have on her is through others.
What are the different types of tongues that animals have? Some are strong, while some can smell from a long way away. What would it be like if you had a tongue like one of these? Perhaps a long one would let you get things without having to leave the couch. Perhaps another would let you be a great taste tester. This book has a nice way of introducing the unique aspects of animal tongues while relating them to kids.
