A stimulating read for anyone who has wondered about unexpected similarities between divergent systems.
An introduction to a theory that “provides a powerful, yet delicately nuanced understanding of the nature of reality and of our place within it as conscious, living beings.”
Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, expert on adult stem cell plasticity, practicing Zen Buddhist, and pioneering researcher in “complexity theory.” During his distinguished career, he has made associations among different kinds of cells that other scientists have missed in their research. In his debut book, the author shifts his associative analytical skills into overdrive, as he seeks—and often finds—similarities between complex systems on all kinds of levels, from the smallest to the largest, organic to inorganic. Theise has given many talks about complexity theory and stem cell research to the general public, which might explain why the text occasionally falls victim to oversimplification. For example, the author asserts that Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock—who conceptualized Earth as “Gaia,” a system in which all living and nonliving components collaborate—“proved the critics wrong” and “established the study of Gaia as a robust field of investigation.” While some of the research leading to this theory is accepted, even lauded, in the scientific community, many researchers approach it with wariness. Nonetheless, as Theise eloquently notes, it is increasingly inescapable that, on a warming planet in which nonliving elements like carbon are being weaponized by the living, all kinds of worlds, ecosystems, geo-systems, cells, and particles are impacting all kinds of others. The author is enthusiastic and convincing in his demonstrations of the universe’s vast interconnectedness, consistently showing us how it is much greater than the sum of its parts. Are we “moment by moment…unique emergent expressions of the universe itself?” Not all will agree, but few will be uninterested.
A stimulating read for anyone who has wondered about unexpected similarities between divergent systems.Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781954118256
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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