Crack open for a hard boiled think
Treat yourself to this engrossing narrative history which reveals the roots of modern science in the medieval world. The adjective ‘medieval’ has almost become a synonym for backwardness and uncivilized behaviour. Yet without the work of medieval scholars there could have been no Galileo, no Newton and no Scientific Revolution. In God’s Philosophers, James Hannam (http://jameshannam.com/) debunks […]
God’s Philosophers by James Hannam Read More »
Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink? Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to regain their sight? Why do dining companions insist on ordering different meals instead of getting what they really want? Why do
Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert Read More »
In February 2021 concerns across the globe are rightly focussed on the COVID-19 pandemic. Humans will survive this disease and so far the global death toll is nowhere near the estimated 50 million dead of the 1918 flu pandemic.(1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus) | Pandemic Influenza (Flu) | CDC) Once the virus has been tamed the
Collapse by Jared Diamond Read More »
Britain is a meritocracy in which the brightest and most hard working rise to occupy top positions irrespective of background, right? Wrong. Jeremy Paxman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Paxman) has no trouble in relieving you of that fantasy. Friends in High Places (originally published 1991) is a handy chapter-by-chapter guide to the main groupings – politicians, civil servants, academics, the great and the
Friends in High Places by Jeremy Paxman Read More »
In Defence of Wonder is a set of lively and provocative essays. Polymath Raymond Tallis (http://www.raymondtallis.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Tallis) exposes woolly thinking and pulls the rug from beneath a wide range of commentators whether scientist, theologian, philosopher, or pundit. He takes to task much of contemporary science and philosophy, arguing that they are guilty of taking us down every narrowing
In Defence of Wonder by Raymond Tallis Read More »
Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued
The Belief Instinct by Jesse Bering Read More »
James Gleick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gleick and http://around.com/) is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, writer and lecturer. He made his name in 1987 with Chaos. Chaos theory has made huge advances since that time but this is possibly still the best introduction on the subject for the layperson. It describes the Mandelbrot set, Julia sets, and Lorenz attractors without resorting to
Chaos by James Gleick Read More »
The standard publisher’s summary is very good on this one – Ever since the attacks of 11th September western leaders have described a world engaged in ‘a fight for civilization.’ But what do we mean by civilization? We believe in a western tradition of openness and freedom that has produced a good life for many
Civilization by Roger Osborne Read More »
Joseph Campbell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell) was the great comparative mythologist of the twentieth century. In this book (1949), from an astonishing range of examples, Campbell constructs the ‘monomyth’, a universal structure found in mythologies, folk tales, and fairy tales across the globe. This is the “Hero’s Journey”. In addition, Campbell explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell Read More »
