‘The bitter truth is that the world has simply become too complicated for our hunter-gatherer brains.’ 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari Disillusionment; Work; Liberty; Equality; Community; Civilisation; Nationalism; Religion; Immigration; Terrorism; War; Humility; God; Secularism; Ignorance; Justice; Post-Truth; Science Fiction; Education; Meaning; Meditation: What meaning do the words in this …
Category: Science
One Planet – One Human Race
Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking ‘When we see the earth from space, we see ourselves as a whole …. with a compelling message; one planet, one human race.’ Stephen Hawking’s final book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, makes a few optimistic predictions. It also hands out some chilling warnings. …
Anaesthesia
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry Occasionally, a walk through a bookshop will throw up unexpected delights. Browsing the new and bestseller shelves in my local shop recently, I was surprised to see a book entitled The Way of All Flesh. I immediately thought of Samuel Butler, and wondered why on earth his …
Computers Are Human Too!
Origin by Dan Brown A Review Dan Brown has established a very successful formula for his thrillers, entwining religious and scientific ideas with art and conspiracy theory. His latest, Origin, published in 2017, is no exception. It addresses two questions, posed by both science and religion for hundreds of years (in the case of religion, …
Only Too Brief
A Tribute to Stephen Hawking What is time? If the Universe began with a big bang, what happened before? Was there a before? What are black holes, and why aren't they really black? These are some of the questions that Professor Stephen Hawking addressed during his lifetime, questions that are profoundly philosophical as well as …
In Wine Is Truth
The Critic by Peter May A Review I had previously read two of this author's books, one a detective story set on a Hebridean Island, the other a mystery coming of age story set in Glasgow and London. I enjoyed both. 'With great apprehension she leaned over to smell the fermenting juice and felt her …
Pareidolia
[Pareidolia: - defined as the mind's ability to form images of things that aren't really there] The Nature of the Beast by Bryan Sykes A Review For a mainstream scientist, especially one as distinguished as the geneticist Bryan Sykes, to apply his knowledge and talents to a fringe study is unusual to say the least. …
E=mc2 and all that jazz
Relativity by Albert Einstein Considering the number of books I've read about Einstein's theories of Relativity, and about Einstein himself, it's surprising I didn't acquire this one until quite recently. As so often happens, I was probably browsing the shelves for something else. In case anyone doubts, this is THE book about Relativity, the original, …
Why bother with sex?
Adam's Curse by Bryan Sykes 'The human Y-chromosome is a graveyard of rotting genes, whose corpses are still sufficiently similar to active counterparts on the X-chromosome to be recognisable by their DNA sequence, but whose festering remains contain the evidence of their own demise.' I seem to have a talent for picking up books with …
Homo Deus
A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari WARNING! - This book contains spoilers - spoilers of liberal humanism, and possibly of the whole human experience. 'People are usually afraid of change because they fear the unknown. But the single greatest constant of history is that everything changes.' Harari's earlier book Sapiens challenged us …
Bookheathen Scribblings 