A stimulating but unconvincing hypothesis, presented in exasperating prose.
A brief consideration of the idea that human consciousness may be an evolutionary maladaptation that led to greater susceptibility to disease.
The development of consciousness has historically been celebrated as a mark of superiority—the principal reason why humankind sits atop the evolutionary food chain. However, geologist Mrejeru (Emergence of Modern Brain and the Imaginary Build-up of Civilization, 2019, etc.) considers an alternative hypothesis: that human consciousness was an aberrant adaptation—one that gave rise to civilization, but also generated the conditions that contribute to chronic illness. Due to “geomagnetic excursions” that occurred on the planet some 40,000 years ago, he says, human beings were exposed to secondary radiation “strong and long enough to augment human brain rhythms.” This, he asserts, paved the way for new mutations that led to a left-hemisphere-dominant brain that used language and, eventually, analysis to interpret the world. However, the advent of human consciousness introduced stressful uncertainty, the author says, which led to the experience of “existential perils.” The modern brain developed about 30,000 years ago, according to the author, and it aims to manage the aforementioned crisis by way of “augmentation”—a process that filters out information as a way to reduce uncertainty, but actually introduces more complexity and stress. The author—in dense prose with occasional typographical errors that’s often nearly impenetrable—hypothesizes that human vulnerability to disease and dysfunction, including autism and schizophrenia, is a result of this stress. Mrejeru’s thesis is as provocative as it is ambitious, as he aims, in this book, at nothing less than an articulation of origin stories for consciousness and civilization, as well as appraisals of their impacts on humanity. However, his treatise is unfortunately highly speculative—heavy on hypothesis and assumption, and short on empirical substantiation. Also, the work as a whole lacks philosophical rigor; it never precisely defines the concepts of consciousness and civilization, for example, and its theories regarding the existential encounter with uncertainty seem like brute postulates.
A stimulating but unconvincing hypothesis, presented in exasperating prose.Pub Date: July 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64367-597-8
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Urlink Print & Media, LLC
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.
The renowned writer offers advice on information-gathering and nonfiction composition.
The book consists of eight instructive and charming essays about creating narratives, all of them originally composed for the New Yorker, where McPhee (Silk Parachute, 2010, etc.) has been a contributor since the mid-1960s. Reading them consecutively in one volume constitutes a master class in writing, as the author clearly demonstrates why he has taught so successfully part-time for decades at Princeton University. In one of the essays, McPhee focuses on the personalities and skills of editors and publishers for whom he has worked, and his descriptions of those men and women are insightful and delightful. The main personality throughout the collection, though, is McPhee himself. He is frequently self-deprecating, occasionally openly proud of his accomplishments, and never boring. In his magazine articles and the books resulting from them, McPhee rarely injects himself except superficially. Within these essays, he offers a departure by revealing quite a bit about his journalism, his teaching life, and daughters, two of whom write professionally. Throughout the collection, there emerge passages of sly, subtle humor, a quality often absent in McPhee’s lengthy magazine pieces. Since some subjects are so weighty—especially those dealing with geology—the writing can seem dry. There is no dry prose here, however. Almost every sentence sparkles, with wordplay evident throughout. Another bonus is the detailed explanation of how McPhee decided to tackle certain topics and then how he chose to structure the resulting pieces. Readers already familiar with the author’s masterpieces—e.g., Levels of the Game, Encounters with the Archdruid, Looking for a Ship, Uncommon Carriers, Oranges, and Coming into the Country—will feel especially fulfilled by McPhee’s discussions of the specifics from his many books.
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-14274-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
The memoir of George Dawson, who learned to read when he was 98, places his life in the context of the entire 20th century in this inspiring, yet ultimately blighted, biography. Dawson begins his story with an emotional bang: his account of witnessing the lynching of a young African-American man falsely accused of rape. America’s racial caste system and his illiteracy emerge as the two biggest obstacles in Dawson’s life, but a full view of the man overcoming the obstacles remains oddly hidden. Travels to Ohio, Canada, and Mexico reveal little beyond Dawson’s restlessness, since nothing much happens to him during these wanderings. Similarly, the diverse activities he finds himself engaging in—bootlegging in St. Louis, breaking horses, attending cockfights—never really advance the reader’s understanding of the man. He calls himself a “ladies’ man” and hints at a score of exciting stories, but then describes only his decorous marriage. Despite the personal nature of this memoir, Dawson remains a strangely aloof figure, never quite inviting the reader to enter his world. In contrast to Dawson’s diffidence, however, Glaubman’s overbearing presence, as he repeatedly parades himself out to converse with Dawson, stifles any momentum the memoir might develop. Almost every chapter begins with Glaubman presenting Dawson with a newspaper clipping or historical fact and asking him to comment on it, despite the fact that Dawson often does not remember or never knew about the event in question. Exasperated readers may wonder whether Dawson’s life and his accomplishments, his passion for learning despite daunting obstacles, is the tale at hand, or whether the real issue is his recollections of Archduke Ferdinand. Dawson’s achievements are impressive and potentially exalting, but the gee-whiz nature of the tale degrades it to the status of yet another bowl of chicken soup for the soul, with a narrative frame as clunky as an old bone.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-375-50396-X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
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