Engrossing techno-science delivered with gusto and sure to reach a varied audience.
A veteran science reporter examines the many innovative developments of human sensory enhancement.
Platoni took a year off from teaching narrative writing and reporting at the University of California to immerse herself in modern bioscience and the aspects of technology-mediated human metaperception. She emerged with notebooks filled with interviews about how to broaden our sensory experiences to “make the world feel real.” Consistently fascinating, witty, and candid, Platoni’s sensorial tour begins with the scientific and technological tinkering within the realm of the five senses, and then she moves on to aspects of pain and emotion. All of the sensory chapters offer captivating and memorably relevant information including a visit to a Denver lab experimenting on the taste detection of fatty acids and measuring the physiological responses, the research of French olfactory experts analyzing the restorative powers of smell on memory-deficient Alzheimer’s patients, revolutionary retinal implants in Los Angeles, and adventures in robotic surgery and prosthetic limbs. One commonality among these food scientists, geneticists, biohackers, entrepreneurs, perfumers, and engineers is the competitive nature and time sensitivity of their quests to discover the next trending flavor combination, sound quality, visual experience, artificial intelligence, or even a “sixth taste.” In the second half of the book, the author delves into the development, utilization, and learning experiences shared by augmented reality and metasensory experiences. Segments on time and pain perception are both riveting and worrisome as innovators collaborate to develop a 10,000-year clock, neurobiologists examine time on a cellular level, and impressions of heartsickness and random physical agony are openly shared from a bartender and her patrons at an iconic San Francisco barroom. Platoni’s update on virtual-reality gadgetry is no less intriguing. While the author’s analyses raise tough questions about the increasing need to subvert and expand reality—are we relentlessly exploratory or just bored?—the ways in which scientists are accomplishing this are utterly spellbinding.
Engrossing techno-science delivered with gusto and sure to reach a varied audience.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-465-08997-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
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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