Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime

Book 28 of 2018 is Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid.

She isn't Mary Roach but she does tell her story in a way that makes me want to change professions.

This was an interesting look at crime, rather than the police. That surprised and pleased me. She talks about what they did and how they were spotted. She talks about how they avoided being caught and then were caught. It is VERY cool.

The thing I really liked was that she didn't make it glam. It's a scientific job that I can imagine going in to. That's cool.

4 imperfect crimes out of 5.

Should I read this? Every scientist should.
What did I learn? I need to know more about wet sciences.

Children of Time

Book 14 of 2018 is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

This book is excellent in every single way. This may become on of my most recommended sci-fi books since The Martian.

I was engaged the whole time and at times stayed awake too late just to finish a few more chapters.

Not going to give any more than to say that this is sci-fi that forces you to explore the way you think or where we evolved from. Strong female characters and great writing had me thinking of this book while out with friends rather than paying attention to the conversation.

5 evolutions and revolutions out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. No buts about it.
What did I learn? The world could have been a very different place.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

 

Book 64 is We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor.

I read this because it had been recommended a thousand times. The reason I hadn't picked it up was because it sounded like it was about some Silicon Valley frat boy type who cryogenically froze himself and came back to save the world.

Truth is, it kinda is but he is likeable.

The philosophical questions got me through this whole book. His righteous confidence and entitlement made me cringe but I rubbernecked it like a true human.

An interesting and unique concept.

4 Bobs out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. No bobs about it.
What did I learn? Is AI nature or nurture.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Book 63 is Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

So many great facts. Much angst against the anti-science crew. Absolutely worth the time.

I listened to the audio book, read by the author and he had me glued through the whole book. Usually I will listen and do other things but I stopped for this book.

You don't need a science background. You only need a mind craving discovery.

4 spaces between galaxies out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. No buts about it.
What did I learn? I miss the science I studied. Must read more and in more depth.

Grunt

Book 1 of 2017 is Grunt by Mary Roach.

This is a book I was trying to get through before the end of 2016 but December was disrupted and so this ends on the second day of the new year. Last year, I missed completing my 2016 Good Reads Reading Challenge with 30 or the 36 books finished. For 2017, I've set the challenge to 30 books which does not feel daunting.

Having never read Mary Roach before, I was expecting this to be a boring text book with some good statistics. Boy, was I wrong. She is a very entertaining writer and had regularly laughing between IEDs destroying penile function, disinterested sharks and polar bears obsessed with tampons.

I can't say I enjoyed every section. This was about war and that means that there are hard truths to read. Some chapters saw me put down the book and walk away for a few days to read fantasy in order to process the horrors of war. Roach does talk about everything with respect and an appropriate sense of humour. She had my respect on that.

This is both disturbing and enlightening. It is not for everyone.

Four special ops goldfish in a submarine out of five.

Should I read this? This is a hard one to answer. It may trigger people who have been in similar situations. It may be a bit to gory and detailed for some. I very much approached it as science and still cringed regularly. I'd say only read it if you can compartmentalise well.
What did I learn? Where to start: so much. That's why I would recommend reading this book. It made me look at war science in a very different way. It's not just nuclear science or signals processing. There is the people part. I guess I learnt that... these are real people dying for... something.

What is Life? How Chemistry Becomes Biology

Book 39 of 2015 is What is Life? How Chemistry Becomes Biology by Addy Pross.

Someone recently called my understanding of science unsophisticated. When I probed deeper in to what was meant by this, I found that he saw my acceptance of scientific facts as me lacking the ability to challenge an idea.

I thought about this for a while and dispute his perception of this because facts are facts. And facts determined using the scientific method are solid in my world. Damn us rational people.

What I think he thought was that I accepted scientific philosophy and hypothesis as facts when they were not yet proven. That isn't something I do. To prove that to myself, I choose a few books and have started reading the more interesting ideas in current scientific thinking.

This book is about Systems Chemistry which I hoped would help me extend my Systems Thinking views as well. Unfortunately, it did not.

Firstly, I should state that I haven't touched the wet sciences (Chem and Biology) since final year high school and my science is the most theoretical it gets in computer science and discrete maths. Maybe that meant I was lacking the basic knowledge required to call bullshit on this book or not.

The book is actually quite good and encourages you to think about micro systems in a macro systems fashion. In this case, the author tries to think about the essence of life in a chemical way using biological concepts like Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

The problem I had with this book is that the first half is spent on ideas like Teleonomy and on discussions that seemed to be heading towards Intelligent Design. Still, I continued.

The second problem I had with it is that if you look for patterns you will find them but that doesn't mean they are confirmation of your theory. Scientific method will make it fact. THEN I will buy in more.

What the final half of the book did do was try to extrapolate out from biological fact to philosophise on what is the clinching factor that brought molecules together to attain a spark of life. It isn't about god and thank the flying spaghetti monster for that.

As a book, it is easy to read although it does maintain a condescending overtone. You need at least high school biology, chemistry and physics to start this book. A critical and open thinker will enjoy this.

3 RNA strands out of 5.


Should I read this? Only if you care about thinking about thinking about science. Yes, I meant both "think about"s.
What did I learn? My understanding of science is not unsophisticated. In fact, I'm pretty well rounded but I do need to read more philosophical thought in general.