I’m not really in a hurry so much as I am overscheduled. I am also the lone non-science person in my family. I love science, but my brain doesn’t always hold onto the salient details of science. Say, for example, the difference between astrophysics and cosmology (Astrophysics is a sub-branch of astronomy to deal with physics of celestial objects and phenomena. Cosmology talks about universe as a whole which includes origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.). But, I really like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s […]
Dear humans: Your insecurity is showing
This book is a study of two fascinating concepts: animal intelligence and human arrogance. Prominent biologist and primatologist Frans de Waal shares insights into animal cognition interspersed with mini-rants about the skepticism that people, even scientists, express at the thought of non-human animals displaying something that we might call intelligence. After reading this book, I’m inclined to suggest a new title: Are We Humble Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? At the heart of the skepticism is human beings’ desire to understand “what it […]
My brain is a jerk and so is yours
Early in Idiot Brain, author Dean Burnett addresses a common misconception about memory. People tend to assume human memory works along the same lines as a computer’s memory: information goes in, is stored, and is retrieved at a later date when you need it. Sure, there might be trouble retrieving at times: you only have perfect recall ability if you’re Sherlock or you take narcotics like Bradley Cooper in Limitless, but all the data is in there somewhere, right? Unfortunately for the pharmaceutical industry, it’s […]
Don’t just keep it simple, make it understandable, and make me care
When Alan Alda speaks to doctors about communicating with their patients, he doesn’t start off by saying “When you talk to a patient, try not to use jargon.” Instead, he tells them a story about his appendix operation. When Alda was in Chile filming a documentary, he suffered a life-threatening problem with his appendix. He needed an end-to-end anastomosis. This meant a yard of Alda’s intestine had to be cut out. Before surgery, his operating doctor told him that something had gone wrong with Alda’s […]
A Bit Too Much Jargon for Me
Best for: People with a strong science background but who maybe stopped studying it after high school or early college, so still get most of the basics but want some more specifics. In a nutshell: Exploration of the causes of different genetic mutations in humans. Line that sticks with me: N/A Why I chose it: I was in a science and technology bookstore and the topic caught my interest. Review: What causes our genes to act up? Why are some twins conjoined? Why do some […]
If Sam Kean had been around when I went to school, I might have majored in Science
I’m not sure at what point in my adult life I decided I love science, but if I had been able to read books by Sam Kean when I was in school, I might have come to this conclusion at a much younger age. Then again, I think the interest has always been there (at one point I thought I would be a zoologist, because I liked animals), but the knowledge didn’t seem accessible to me. Whether it was because I was a girl and […]
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