The science lectures are occasionally long-winded, but Graffin’s message is challenging, and the professional entertainer...
While the title suggests another dire warning of a coming explosion in the world’s population, in fact, the term “population wars” as used here refers to a historical pattern of populations brought into contact with one another, the ensuing conflicts, and the resulting assimilations.
Graffin (co-author: Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science, and Bad Religion in a World Without God, 2010) is the lead singer and songwriter for the punk band Bad Religion and a lecturer on evolution at Cornell University, where he earned his doctorate in zoology. Both sides of his life are apparent as the iconoclastic storytelling scientist challenges conventional thinking about evolution. The populations discussed range from microbes and viruses inside the human body to American Indian tribes and European settlers in North America—all stories of the persistence of populations, compromise, and assimilation. Human wars, writes the author, are not about victors and the vanquished but rather natural population phenomena. As populations grow, conflict is inevitable, and it is therefore incumbent on us as a species to alleviate its ravages as much as possible. Graffin argues that we must revise our thinking about two concepts: competition and free will. He rejects the idea that competition is a driving force of evolution, seeing evolution rather as the product of symbiotic relationships. As for free will, he writes that humans are the products of genes, embryonic development, and environment but that if we care to, we can, to some degree, make informed choices about our actions. His recommendation: instead of thinking about annihilating our foes or eradicating evil, turn our thoughts to protecting our environment, learn from the natural world how other species have managed to get along, and “become a race of enlightened citizens among the community of other species with whom we coexist.”
The science lectures are occasionally long-winded, but Graffin’s message is challenging, and the professional entertainer shines through.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-01762-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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