A work that has something important to say about the role of neurobiology in social conflict—but doesn’t say quite enough.
A psychiatrist examines complex systems of brain structure and function in order to probe the roots of social discord.
When one experiences conflict with another person, one often thinks that it’s because that other person’s brain is “wired” differently. Debut author Sheehan, a trained medical doctor and a retired U.S. Army psychiatrist, expands on that familiar idea, asserting that our brains are also “trained” differently by unique life experiences. Our thoughts follow familiar patterns, he says, so we can remember important information and live our everyday lives; taken together, these recurring patterns harmonize to form the “oscillation” of the title. This oscillation, Sheehan says, makes us who we are, and it “transforms the brain’s three-pound mass of gray matter into a dynamic medium.” The truly revolutionary idea of this book, though, is its notion that these oscillations define how we approach conflict with others. The first chapters delve deeply into brain anatomy and electrochemical functioning, while later ones explain psychiatric principles, such as how one forms a sense of self and others. Then the book briefly describes complex systems in natural phenomena, such as the relationship between weather and climate, using Hurricane Katrina as an example. As a result, Sheehan makes readers absorb a lot of technical information before they arrive at his most important implication, which he only truly reveals in the last few page of the book: by understanding how our brains work, he says, we may better understand conflict on a personal, communal, and even global scale. He further asserts that, because modern transportation and communication technologies constantly expose us to different points of view (that is, other kinds of oscillations), our comfortable patterns are constantly under assault, and we begin to think of other cultures as enemies. This thesis is a particularly provocative one given the rise of nationalist movements in the United States and abroad. The book would have benefited, however, from a much stronger focus on it.
A work that has something important to say about the role of neurobiology in social conflict—but doesn’t say quite enough.Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4897-0581-5
Page Count: 158
Publisher: LifeRichPublishing
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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