Experimental Blog #4

Comments on the book "Brain - The Complete Mind" - How It Developes, How It Works, and How to Keep It Sharp by Michael S. Sweeney

This book is a very new, copywrite 2009, National Geographic book about the human brain. Besides this book, the author has written seven previous National Geographic books.
However, from the begining of the book, I felt that the author was beating the "Darwinian drum" so continuously that the writing seemed to become as much political as scientific at times. There might also be more details of molecular neurology than some people are interested in. There are also some paragraphs that some people might think are a little bit peculiar, or might "raise their eyebrows", refering to Sigmund Freud or Tiger Woods, for instance.
In one small section the book says, "Researchers ... discovered that those who view aging as a positive experience outlived their sourpuss peers an average of seven and a half years." And, "So, what's a person with a bad attitude to do?"
Overall, the book made me think of "Triumphalism", or is it "Triumphialism". I read that somewhere recently. I don't really know anything about it, but it seemed to fit.

However, these somewhat negative remarks not withstanding, this National Geographic book is a very up to date and thorough report on one of the most fascinating and amazing sciences of our 21st century times.

Experimental Blog #3

Comments on 2 books

"Seasick" - Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth by Alanna Mitchell

In the chapters of this book the author visits over half a dozen places in the world's oceans and seas. Although the author is not a scientist she seems to have the understanding of a professional oceanographer of about the last 150 years of the affects of human activities on the "world ocean", especially the massive emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. She reports that the biophysics and biochemistry of all the world's oceans and seas have been affacted to very great depths, even to thousands of feet, and these profound changes will have unknown, but certain, and probably gloomy results on all life on the planet.

The book is also a very good travel book.


"In Mortal Hands - A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age" by Stephanie Cooke

This book is a very impressive accomplishment. It is very comprehensive and contains the histories, or stories, relating to nuclear weapons and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, of many periods, countries, and events. To mention only a few, especially interesting is the author's retelling of the 1962 Cuban Missle Crises, Three Mile Island in 1979, and Chernobyl in 1986.

The entire history of nuclear weapons and energy, from the Manhattan Project right up to 2009, is in this book.