pickThis book looks at “silly” science—basic research on the face of it that people might wonder what the point is of putting money into—and shows how so many of those findings have led to practical applications to benefit human society. It‘s a fun and interesting read and especially important in our current era of devaluing science.
pickFrom plant mimicry, to plant deception, and even plants that use tree shrew or bat poop in their pitchers for food. This is a really informative book with great illustrations.
Starting tomorrow!
pickAnother fun collection of science cartoons by Tom Gauld. Many of these have been published in New Scientist, so if you subscribe to that, you may recognize a few, but what a fun way to revisit them. I like Gauld‘s science cartoons almost more than his literature cartoons. He‘s particularly skilled at telling jokes with image legends, and he isn‘t afraid to lean into very silly concepts. Highly recommended if you like science and absurdity.
pickI‘m always, always amazed at how far we have come with technology. What an amazing tool humans have created in the James Webb telescope. This book is how it came to be, what it can do, and touches on discovered seen with the telescope. Amazing, what we know now and the possibilities we can learn about the universe. I will say, the political/governmental red tape parts got a bit dry. But otherwise, a pick.
pickThis was good. It was mostly surface level, but some good stuff: favorites were the justice system & why it doesn‘t want people who can evaluate evidence or where he discusses how biases in data were used to perpetuate racism by analyzing the data to roast white people. didn‘t need to be written rehashing old viral tweets & the chapter that was “this (famous disabled) person has these specific accomplishments are they really disabled?” What? Yes.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is explaining the danger of confirmation bias however this book is not very challenging and I am fully listening for nothing but confirmation bias. 🧢
pickOne of my favorite concepts to ponder: “are we alone?”
This book dabbles a bit of the science behind this concept and explores the way humans have imagined life outside of earth. Green focuses on science fiction books and movies and the way we may not even be able to imagine lifeforms outside our own human-centric and earthling imaginings. And in fact , don‘t platypuses sound like a made up animal? The issue: we don‘t know how to define life.
pickOne of the things I adore about science is that we often end up discovering more mysteries than we solve, but what‘s the fun in knowing everything? This is a very brief intro to physics, but it‘s such a lovely read! I took physics in HS and that‘s the extent of my knowledge. This was accessible, enjoyable, and sparked a renewed interest in science. There is still so much to learn about ourselves and our home. Isn‘t that a lovely thought?
