The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn

I read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in preparation for writing on my Physics Rebooted blog. This book blew my mind. It showed that the process of scientific discovery we're taught in school is a complete fabrication. They say the history books are written by the winners, and the same is true for science books.

This idea is something I've noticed in my own work in drug discovery. Many scientists think that progress is as easy as coming up with a theory and then doing a few experiments to prove the theory. And then they are shocked when the experiments don't go as expected. I believe this attitude is a result of how science is taught in school because it mostly removes mention of competing theories, false starts, incorrect assumptions, etc.

The net result is that most people, including many practicing scientists, don't realize that Science is F**king Hard. This view is further supported by Kuhn's book.

Written in 1962, the book gives many examples of how scientific revolution is the normal process for how progress is made in science. This is the best book I've read on how science actually works and how it is actually practiced. For instance, most professional scientists are content to be "puzzle solvers" working on problems nicely contained within a proscribed area with clearly defined theories and assumptions. And most are very uncomfortable when those theories and assumptions are challenged.

The book helps explain by Lewis Little's Theory of Elementary Waves has not taken the physics world by storm even though it finally gives a non-contradictory explanation of quantum phenomena such as the double-slit experiment. Kuhn's book is also useful in setting expectations for my Physics Rebooted blog--it will probably take a generation or more for Little's theory to be generally accepted (assuming, of course, that it is shown to be correct).

Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution, by Nick Lane

This book covers ten key events in evolution, from the origin of life to the origin of death. Lane is a biologist and knows his stuff. He is also very good at explaining complicated science. I thought the chapters on the evolution of photosynthesis, of muscles and of the eye were especially good.

I enjoyed all the chapters except one--the one on consciousness. For some reason, he believes the key unit of consciousness is a feeling rather than an integration, and induction or even a choice to focus. He doesn't seen to realize that feelings are automatic evaluations made by our brain to tell us if our current situation is good or bad according to the values we've chosen.

However, even in the flawed chapter on consciousness, he did provide several interesting facts on how the brain works such as the synchronous waves around 40 hertz which appear to be necessary to bring something from the sub-conscience up to the conscious level.

Overall, the book is a fascinating look into how biological systems work and how they came to be.

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

I read this book in high school when I didn't know it was an allegory for Soviet Russia.  This time around, it was interesting to look up the parallels to the Soviet revolution.

The book was a quick read but not as good as I remembered. The style is very narrator-centered and reads more like a newspaper story at times than a novel. Animal Farm was most powerful when I remembered that the farm animals represented real people and personality types in Soviet Russia.

Soft-Wired, by Michael Merzenich

Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change your Life confirmed my view that the brain is like any other organ in your body--it needs to be exercised otherwise it atrophies. Merzenich is a brain scientist at UCSF and has been studying the brain for over thirty years. He gives a very convincing case that the brain can be modified at any age to improve it efficiency and power.

Although it is still just a theory, he suggests that by exercising your brain you can forestall the onset of Alzheimer's disease and has created a company, BrainHQ, to provide exercises. I plan to get a subscription and try it out.

I read his book because his company is also tackling diseases such as schizophrenia and autism which will be the future focus of my research at work. Perhaps the biggest breakthroughs in these disease will be through computer-based training rather than pharmaceuticals.

No Place to Hide, by Glenn Greenwald

I read No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald after watching Citizenfour. The documentary was excellent and was amazing because it showed actual footage of what happened when Snowden first came forward. The book did provide some more details and had a better explanation of the documents Snowden released, but the movie was much more compelling.

Wool, by Hugh Howey

I only made it to through three of the five Wool books. I liked the first one because there was the big mystery of the silo and the character was interesting. And then the main character was killed off! It was tough to start over again with book two getting to know a new character and I didn't like her as much as the first one.  This book is a good example of why you shouldn't have the reader invest time getting to know a character only to kill them off in the middle of the book.

But I stopped reading the series because it got boring. Once the mystery of the silo was revealed, I just didn't care what happened any more. The characters weren't compelling enough. Perhaps if they were more proactive. Or if we knew more of their backstory so we knew what motivated them.

The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand

I believe this is the third time I read The Fountainhead and, of course, I enjoyed it. I read it because my son read it in his 8th grade class as Van Damme Academy. I had trouble helping him answer some of his essay questions on the novel about the character's motivations so I thought I'd read it again so I was more clear on the characters. Unfortunately, I still didn't understand all the motivations and why they said the things they did.

Reading it again, I realized The Fountainhead is probably Ayn Rand's most autobiographical novel, at least as her own motivations are concerned. I believe the motivations of Roark and Dominique are similar to Rand's and she was explaining how she thinks about her art in some of the key passages in The Fountainhead.

It's a great book, but I still like Atlas Shrugged better.