Science and Inquiry discussion

A few days ago I finished Connected Health: How mobile phones, cloud, and big data will reinvent healthcare. It's short and a pretty quick read, available only in e-book. Mostly it's a survey of the many devices, programs, applications, and platforms in use or in development in the field of health and health records, with some discussion of the implications and politics of the field of networked health. Three trends I found particularly interesting were crowdsourced research, the "quantified self" movement, and the fact that so much of the innovation is taking place far from the U.S. and Europe. Here is my review. I recommend it for anyone interested in digital health.

Currently I'm reading Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. It's a textboook, so it's educational, but not particularly engaging.

Betsy wrote: "A few days ago I finished Connected Health: How mobile phones, cloud, and big data will reinvent healthcare. ..."
Interesting to know of your interest in that field. A part of my work is to provide technical assistance to health care organizations in the northeast states interested in developing telehealth solutions, including mobile health approaches (the HRSA-funded Northeast Telehealth Resource Center).

I have a personal interest, since I'm diabetic and I'm interested in more efficient ways to self-monitor. But I'm also interested in technology generally and ways to improve health care and reduce costs. It's coming, there's no doubt.

Just finished reading Jared Diamond's new book The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?. The book explores our traditional way of life (prior to the onset of civilization) and makes the argument that though civilization does bring it with it many important benefits, there are several areas wherein traditional practices represent an improvement over how we do things in the modern world, and that these practices could (and should) be incorporated into our modern way of life (both at the personal and societal level). The areas include conflict resolution, child care, treatment of the elderly, approaching risk and health. The book is very illuminating. I've written a full executive summary of it available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/01/15...

Cheers,
Aaron

Michael wrote: "David wrote: "I just finished reading The Third Chimpanzee--it is fascinating and very entertaining..." Thanks for a nice review. I can add to that by recommending Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primat..."

Hey Michael. I've just finished reading The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? and was very impressed. I've written a full executive summary available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/01/15...

Cheers,
Aaron

Aaron wrote: "...I've just finished reading The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? and was very impressed..."
Wow, that is one thorough review (deferring full read right now)! Nice not to have to worry about spoilers with non-fiction. Wish I had a teacher like him. Weaves so many threads into a compassionate goal of harvesting lessons.

I was struck by his influence on "Cloud Atlas". Humbling to me the way he founds everything on a start that "primitive" peoples such as hunter-gatherers are just as smart and live as meaningful lives as any modern Westerner.

I just finished reading Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution. It's a very good book, and I learned a lot about the attitude of religions toward science over the ages and in different cultures. It's rather depressing, actually. Here is my review.

Thank you David!

Ooooh, message 666.....

I finished reading Snowball Earth: The Story of the Great Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life as We Know It. It has a chatty style which I found irritating, but fills in the story of the geology and the geologists fairly well. The link between the ice age ending and the emergence of 'modern' life is not yet fully unravelled biologically (the timing doesn't seem in doubt) making the title a little overcooked.

Just finished reading the new book by Maria Konnikova called Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. The author makes the case that Holmes brings the scientific method and scientific thinking to everyday life, and aims to help us do the same. It's self-help for the scientifically minded, and its backed up by the latest in psychological research. I've written a full executive summary of the book available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/01/28...

Cheers,
Aaron

I just finished two excellent and recent books on paleoanthropology. Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth was the first.

Here's my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'll post a note about the other one later.

Thanks Steve!

Here's the other great paleoanthropology book that I recently finished: Masters of the Planet by Ian Tattersal. As I stated in my review, I wish I had read this one first and then Springer's mentioned above. Here's the full review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Steve wrote: "Here's the other great paleoanthropology book that I recently finished: Masters of the Planet by Ian Tattersal. As I stated in my review, I wish I had read this one first and then Springer's menti..."

I just yesterday re-read a couple of Loren Eiseley's essays including "The Dream Animal" which is about this same topic, but written half a century ago. :(

Yeah, Kenny, I really love this field of science and have read Leakey, Johanson, Dawkins, Darwin, et al. If I could have a do-over, perhaps I would have gone into it as a career, but maybe it wouldn't have been as much fun as reading about it.

I understand. I'm an electrical engineer by training but have always loved all aspects of science and am particularly drawn of late to astronomy/cosmology and anthropology/evolution...

Just finished reading the new book by Al Gore called The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change. The six main drivers of change that Gore identifies are: 1) Automation in the new global economy; 2)The shifting of power from nation-states to multinational corporations; 3) The Internet-ization of everyone and everything ; 4) The biotechnology revolution; 5) The depletion of the world's resources due to population increase and unsustainable consumption; and 6) Climate change. The book is very interesting. I've written a full executive summary available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/02/12...

Cheers,
Aaron

Just finished reading the new book by Chip Walter called Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived. The book makes use of the latest fossil finds and DNA analysis to chart the evolution of our species from chimp to the present. It's an excellent account of our evolutionary story. I've written a full executive summary of the book available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/02/26...

Cheers,
Aaron

I've just finished by Edward O. Wilson I thought it was a very interesting book dealing with the biology of socialization and the human condition.

I just finished the book Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain, by a prominent neuroscientist, Michael Gazzaniga. The book is fascinating (and short), but definitely not an easy read. Here is my review.

Finished Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms: The Story of the Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind about a week ago and finally got around to writing a review--5 stars. I'm a big Fortey Fan. Here's the review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I just finished reading the book A Sense of the Mysterious: Science and the Human Spirit by Alan Lightman. Early in his career, Lightman was a physicist. He gradually grew into a career as a poet and novelist. He has some interesting viewpoints about the philosophy of science, scientific discoveries, and the relationship between science and the humanities. Here is my review.

Oooh David, I love some of Lightman's work but some of it strikes me as a bit 'yeah, so' I've read that book recently and will take a look at your review of it. I was totally excited when I first ran across Lightman a few years back particularly as he seemed to be right at the same in-between I have been much of my life between science and literature (fiction/poems/etc.). I came away somewhat lukewarm from his work. (I've not read his fiction, just his essays)

Off to read your review.

Debbie wrote: "Last year I read the "Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. I was fascinated as well as horrified at the liberties taken with Henrietta's cells and the fact that the medical communit..."
This is an immensely popular book. And I knew Skloot's magazine work before. So I keep meaning to read this.

I recently finished Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Bodyand gave it a solid 4 stars. It's a very accessible journey into paleontolgy, comparative anatomy and genomics that reveals how closely related we are to all other forms of life on the planet. Here's my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I just finished A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down by Robert Laughlin, who won the Nobel Prize in physics. His keen insights into physics, along with his playful humor and fantastic metaphors make this a very good book. Here is my review.

Just finished reading the new book by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier called Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think. The book traces the history, present and future of big data, and argues that the phenomenon will transform our world. It's a good overview of an interesting and important topic. I've written a full executive summary available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/03/21...

Cheers,
Aaron

Aaron wrote: "Just finished reading the new book by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier called Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think. The book traces the history, presen..."

Sounds like a fascinating book, Aaron! It's on my to-read list.

and not only will it transform us, it is mandatory in addressing the current set of scientific challenges in astronomy, genetics, biology/brain, and information management...

and medicine.

You may appreciate this book review from the Financial Times on Big Data as well as an editorial piece on the subject.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/afc1c1...

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1c3e27...

Just finished Nature's Compass: The Mystery of Animal Navigation. It was a bit disappointing. I favor books with a narrative tilt, and while I was interested in the content (orientation techniques, clocks, timers and maps), it came across as reading a textbook rather than a can't-put-it-down-page-turner book. In fact, it was just a few degrees removed from a journal review article. The main reason this irked me is that in the first chapter the authors stated they were setting out to write a book for the informed general reader. So I felt like I was their target audience, but unfortunately reading it felt like sitting in a lecture a few grade levels above where I should have been. It's probably of greater interest to people who actually study animal navigation and way-finding than to a lay person seeking to learn about the topic.

Thanks for that DeLene.

Oh wow this thread is bad for my to-read list. I only read the last page and added half a dozen more books to the list.

I just finished The Killer of Little Shepherds which is more of a history/biography about Joseph Vacher and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne and the birth of forensic science. The book was well documented and well told.

I have The Killer of Little Shepherds on my Maybe shelf. Do you recommend it? I'm a CSI fan. Have you read The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York? We read it in the group in 2011 and I really enjoyed it.

Yeah, It was a good book. It read really fast and kept me interested while providing a lot of facts and details. The book did criticize CSI and similar shows a few times for being so inaccurate and unrealistic. It specifically went into out how they can be a danger to society and the justice system, explaining that jurors more often expect CSI-like evidence, and experts will more often exaggerate their confidence to make the evidence meet these expectations. Lacassagne was thought to have inspired the character of Sherlock Holmes a little bit, and he openly criticized the books in his day for the same reasons.

I haven't read that book, I'll be sure to check it out, thanks!

Yes, I expected that crime scene investigation in the real world is not quite like the TV show.

Just finished reading the new book by Jonah Berger called Contagious: Why Things Catch On. The book explores social pandemics and brings a scientific approach to understanding why things go viral. It's a fun and interesting read about an intriguing topic. I've written a full executive summary available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/04/03...

Cheers,
Aaron

I just had a lot of fun with a readable book that tries to project where medicine and technology will lead us in the next 100 years--
Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by 2100 --review.

I forgot to mention that I finished Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius, next month's read. Terrific read!

Aloha wrote: "I forgot to mention that I finished Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius, next month's read. Terrific read!"

Electrifying I bet. :-)

I'm overloaded and amped up by the amount of information. I can't imagine anybody being re-volted by this book.

Aloha wrote: "I forgot to mention that I finished Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius, next month's read. Terrific read!"

I hope you'll post comments in the thread for the group read:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I will, Betsy. There are a lot to talk about in the book.

I'm currently alternating between various forums, but I'll make a circuit within Science & Inquiry. Somebody throw a switch on me, please! :oD

I am reading Jennifer Ouellete's " Black Bodies and Quantum Cats" right now.
It's basically the history of the revolutionary ideas, revolutionary scientists. Very interesting read.

I read couple of psychology books: Quiet by Susan Cain and Blink by Malcolm Glad well. Both were average to good books as compared to some of the other books I have been reading this year.

The best physics book I've read this year (and probably in last two years) has to be "A Universe from Nothing" by Lawrence M. Krauss. Author had very powerful and mind-bending theories.

Really liked The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science a lot.

Rohan wrote: "The best physics book I've read this year (and probably in last two years) has to be "A Universe from Nothing" by Lawrence M. Krauss. Author had very powerful and mind-bending theories."

I agree, that's an incredible book.

I finished Death by Black Hole this week, which I enjoyed. It was a lot like an updated Carl Sagan book, but it didn't quite give me the sense of wonder I got from reading Sagan.

Right now I'm reading The Third Chimpanzee which is really great so far. A lot of books I've read that go into evolutionary psychology get into some pretty bad science and unjustified assertions, but this one is handling it really well so far.

I also finished The Red Queen which is an older book, and the last third contrasts poorly against The Third Chimpanzee so far. This book was really good for the first 2/3 or so, but when it got into evolutionary psychology it got pretty bad. A quote that baffled me so much I had to write it down was "The things that male brains are usually good at, gay brains are often bad at, and vice versa." He also makes a bad straw-man argument against the nurture side of the old nature vs nurture argument.

The Mismeasure of Man is also an older book I finished last week, and it was really fascinating to read about the history of some bad science. It's scary how biased scientists can be without realizing it.