1Book 7Days

I have 7, yes 7, reviews coming soon. When I have a few hours free I’ll update. Hint: sic-fi / one book on local missions.

last week I breezed through “Zero” by Charles Seife. After reading “Here’s Looking at Euclid”, this book was a little repetitive. I’m not sure which came out first, but they have an amazing amount of similar content. Not word for word, but the paragraphs are structured strangely similarly (say that 10 times fast). 

It was the history of Zero, but also the history of mathematics. If you’re into that sort of topic and don’t have much time to read, I would recommend this book. It’s quick, entertaining, and a great vacation book. 

I also painfully made my way through this book. It’s written by Natalie Angier who writes on biology for the New York Times. In the science realm biologists are kind of looked down upon. They’re more historians than mathematicians and scientists. And many slowly grow into the role of Priest and Prophet for the church of Darwin (i.e. Dawkins and Hitchens). Natalie fits this description to a T.

The book is written in contemporary style, so a certain level of confidence is needed. But Angier turn this confidence into stark condescension. The first chapter on thinking like a scientist is supposed to high light the unbiased nature of scientific thought. But this may be one of the most biased chapters I’ve ever read. It’s irony was glorious. She rants about those darn creationists as if Natural Selection should have weeded them out millennia ago.

The language is cumbersome and forced. The facts are hidden and the reader treated like a toddler. If any naturalists states that biologists have risen above the need for religion, then hand them this book. She refers to her first high power microscope in evangelical terms. A Hallelujah escaped from her lips as she was finally able to see the light. 

I would not recommend this book. And because of it, my recent fascination with scientific histories has waned. I’m changing directions.

I’m currently reading a biography of Harriet Tubman. It’s amazing and horrific at the same time. There have been two times I couldn’t see the page because of the tears in my eyes. I’ll fill you in next time. 

I just finished Here’s Looking at Euclid by Alex Bellos. It was…in a word…great!

It’s a short history and explanation of most of the fields that comprise ancient and modern math. I’m not much of a Math guy. It was my worst subject in school, except for Geometry which I loved. But this book got me really interested in exploring it a bit further. It made Math extremely interesting and put on the display the highly playful nature of the discipline. 

It really is amazing to behold the leaps of intellect that were needed to create written numbers and mathematical concepts. The book traces the invention of written numerals, the use of the abacus, Euclid’s geometry, and the other realms of math that are actually useful.

Then the book heads off into the territory of theoretical math, or math that cannot be used on a daily basis. This includes algebra, the cults of numerology, pi, math games and puzzles, number series, the golden ration, probability, statistics, and finally ends with the newest advancements with the number infinity (in which i learned there are infinities that are countable and those that are not- i.e. smaller and larger sets of infinite numbers…mind=blown)

There are also bonus appendices on the author’s website.

I highly recommend the book, and enjoyed it so much I’m moving on to read the History of Zero, and Simplexity. I also grabbed a copy of Flatland at the Library which will be very interesting. 

Until the next book…

So…I’m supposed to stick to the classics. But I’m figuring out you really have to be in the mood and you cannot, under any circumstances, visit a book store, Goodreads.com, or a Library. There are just too many awesome books out there. So…I’m giving myself leniency. I’ve put aside Oliver Twist for a little while and am following my curiosity wherever it may lead.

I finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames by Sedaris a few days ago. I was super excited to finally get my hands on one of his books. I’ve heard him read on NPR and seen interviews. He seemed quirky enough to me, so I read the book in about 2 days.

I was kind of let down. Is he a good writer? Yes…absolutely. Is he pretty funny? Yep. But I was expecting something beneath the surface. When you read Vonnegut or even Bill Bryson, there is a purpose for the comedy and humor. Truth is weaved in between the lines. You find yourself laughing and then a split second later saying, “Hey…wait a minute.” This is especially true with Vonnegut.

But Sedaris is…well…pretty darn shallow. His attempts at creativity do not work (like his chapter on graduating from Princeton). After finishing the book it makes sense. Though he has lived a pretty crazy life (hitch-hiking around, doing drugs, being solicited by truck drivers, drugs…etc), in retrospect it is a very self serving and empty life. Unintentionally he causes the reader to pause and take pity on him. I found myself saying over and over again, “Yes, but what did you learn because of this. How did you change your life. What in the world are you doing with your life besides shopping, traveling, and complaining.”

Though he is very talented, and has a very individual voice in his essays, this book was a simple mind diversion. You walk away not having learned anything and you’ve lost a few hours you can’t get back. This is very similar to feeling he must feel as he lies in bed at night. “What in the world have I done with my life. This is pointless.”

So if you want an entertaining read and don’t mind the occasional reference to his sexuality, racial slur, and F-bomb…then this might be a good book for you. But again, don’t but it. This is not one you’ll display prominently on your book shelf. 

In my opinion your better off picking something else. But not many agree with me…so there you go. 

(Book Count: 4 / 9 days)

I just finished ‘There Is A God” by Antony Flew, a world renowned atheist that converted to Theism in 2004. He’s the studly man in the picture above.

This book was pretty good, though not a real light read. It is written in two parts: My Denial of the Divine, and My Discovery of the Divine.

Don’t read to much into Theism. Flew does not believe in the Christian God revealed in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He simply believes, based upon Scientific evidence and Philosophical reason that there must be an intelligent, omniscient, eternal creator. But that’s about as far as he goes. After life…forget about it.

He tends to go on many tangents throughout the book but it is well worth the read. I would recommend it to anyone with a high respect or working knowledge of Dawkins or Hitchens form of “New Atheism”. Flew tears them a new one…

He exposes, in an intelligent and logical way, their religious zest and emotional need to convert others to their religion, which isn’t in any way based on facts.

I loved it. You can get it here. 

(BOOK COUNT: 3 in 7 days)

I’m still working on Oliver Twist, but tend to read a few books at a time. I started George Johnson’s The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments a few days ago. It’s a quick read at, you guessed it, 10 short chapters. 

It was…ok. Johnson is apparently a seasoned and well known science writer, but I couldn’t gather that from the book. He’s hopped on the bandwagon of the science-history genre that’s become so popular as of late. I’m slightly addicted to books like these. I loved reading The Discoveries , The Scientists, and especially A Short History of Nearly Everything. The latter is unsurpassed in my mind. It is hilarious, impossible to put down, and makes complex theories easily understood by the scientific uninitiated.

The former two are at least readable and, though not nearly as entertaining, provide a curious mind with digestible fodder for a few days. 

This book was none of the above. The author stated that he picked these experiments based on the elegant looking equipment, hands on nature, and the fact the the scientist themselves made the equipment. 

Then come 10 chapters that are extremely hard to follow and when each one is ended the reader can be heard muttering, “Is that it…really?”

I consider myself an intermediate science reader, and because of this I was able to hang on when Johnson alluded to complex ideas like quantum theories, relativity, calcination, anodes, cathodes, etc. But plenty of the other allusions left me scratching my head. 

I think the editor was probably the one to blame here. They apparently tried to make a coffee table book out of graduate level sceince. Without the proper foundational knowledge this book is frustratting to say the least. Its about 75 pages too short.

And I still can’t tell you why even one of the experiments was beautiful. The author never mentions it. 

I will say, if you can rent this from a library and not purchase it, the chapters on Newton’s experiments with the character of light and Pavlov’s dogs were interesting. 

Let me know what you think…(as soon as Tumblr gives me a comment option)

A co-worker of mine just introduced me to this web-site. It’s pretty cool. You can create a book shelf of books you’ve read, are reading, want to read, etc. You can see what your friends are reading, recommend and review books….etc.

If nothing else its a great way to keep track of all the books you’ve read (and casually slip that number into conversations to show your reading prowess)

Check it out HERE