Unstoppable by Bill Nye - Book Report #280

Harnessing Science to Change The World

This is THE book that I've been searching for.

Climate change is a big, big topic and most of what I've read has been all about the doom.  But surely, as Peter Diamandis often says, "The world's biggest problems are the world's biggest business opportunities."

I am an optimist by nature and if there is a problem, I like to take the position of; "Okay, what can we do from now on to prevent or fix the problem?"  It does the world no good to constantly claim that the sky is falling.

If there are better ways to do things how can we go about doing them?

Bill Nye holds no punches but also doesn't go about blaming or pointing fingers.  We, as a society, went about our ways in what we believed at the time to be the most effective way to grow, progress and thrive.  And we've done exactly that.  But we were not looking at the whole picture.

As humans, we've always believed that the world was limitless because, when there were much fewer of us the planet could actually sustain us - to a point.  We were doing things from the very start that put us on a path to where we are today.  I'm talking about CO2 here.

The book tackles a multitude of problems and explains how it came about but more importantly how to move forward from here.  Energy production, transportation of goods and people, food production, desalinating seawater and the importance of space as a resource are all explored here.

There is a wonderful portion in the book where Bill, I feel that it's okay to call him Bill, walks the reader through his house to show all of the ways he's making changes to reduce his personal carbon footprint.  Can he do all of this because he has money?  Of course.  But it serves as an inspiration to try to make changes around your own home.  Rain barrels are a fine example of a cheap way to conserve water and not spend a lot of money creating the system.

The book is clear, concise and with a dash of humour along the way.  This is the kind of book you'll refer to and lend to your friends.

Buy it.

Bill Nye's website - https://billnye.com/

It's Not Rocket Science by Ben Miller - Book Report #187

This was a fun play on a general science book.

Ben Miller is a British comedian and actor who has a love of science and has published two books trying the explain the complex scientific theories to the general public.

In the book he takes a stab at explaining DNA, Evolution, Black Holes, Relativity, Quantum Physics and Cosmology.

It was a refreshing approach to the subjects and I appreciated the humor infused in it.

At one point I had an "A-Ha!" moment when he explained the time paradox but then I lost it again.  The theory that time runs at different speeds depending on where you are still throws me.  Why should a clock run faster or slower if it is on a speeding spaceship or on a planet?

It is a good book to have on hand when the conversation turns to science.  It would make for an easy recommendation to somebody who is trying to get a better understanding of the large-picture aspects of scientific knowledge.

If you like Bill Nye then you will like this book too.

Ben Miller - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Miller

Ben Miller

Undeniable by Bill Nye - Book Report #176

Yes!


This was a wonderful treat.

It was read by Bill Nye himself, who has a terrific voice and was able to inflect a lot of humour.

The book is directed straight at the creationists of the world.  It debunks and exposes all the faults in their beliefs.

Nye is never afraid to stand toe-to-toe with them and tell them, straight out, they are wrong.

Science baby!  The scientific method.  This is the route to true knowledge.

What I found endearing was how he was able poke creationists in the eye instead of simply punching them in the jaw.

The book borrows heavily from his 2014 debate with Ken Ham at the Creation Museum.  He also follows Charles Darwin's On the Origins of Species throughout.

I was cheering him along all the way through.  It was refreshing to hear somebody simply say, "You are wrong, sir."

Point by point Nye was able to pull apart every belief brought forward by creationists and exposed them for the fiction it is.

Obviously I am not a creationist so the book spoke directly to my own beliefs.

At no time did I feel Nye was disrespectful to these folks but he wasn't afraid to point out where their beliefs depart from the scientific evidence.

The debate itself can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI

Bill Nye's website is here - http://billnye.com/#home

Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku - Book Report #143

Once again, in an effort to see the good in the world, I turned to Kaku's book about the future.

He covers eight broad subject areas, looks at where the technology is today and a year or two from now.  Then he takes on the futurist role and expands the subject to the near future (present to 2030) followed by mid-century predictions (2030 to 2070) and ending with speculation on the far future (2070 to 2100).

The book looks at the future of:

The Computer
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Medicine
Nanotechnology
Energy
Space Travel
Wealth
Humanity


He ends the book with a bit of creative fiction; a day in the life of a regular office worker which brings all the technology discussed and shows how he interacts with it.

I liked the book but I did not love it.  But that's not really a flaw of the author or the book, it's just that some areas, like nanotechnology and space travel, are either in their infancy or have been so neglected that it's difficult to believe some of the changes predicted.  Some of the topics lent themselves to believable extrapolation while others felt like pure guesswork. 

Each topic is its own entity and does not lead into the next, meaning you can pick and choose which chapters to read without losing anything by skipping one or reading them out of order.

The strength of the book is that it will give you a sense of wonder and hopefulness for the future.

Now if only we can get humanity to just get along with each other we can get down to the business of creating the future depicted by Kaku.

You can find the author's website here:
http://mkaku.org/

New Horizons at Pluto: The Grand Tour Finally Completed by Richard A. Lovett

April 2015

This is a timely Science Fact essay as New Horizons has turned on its science instruments last month and will have its closest approach in July.

This article explores the possible geologic history of the Pluto/Charon system.  The main topic of discussion is the likelihood of discovering a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust. There are many possible ways this could happen and Lovett does a very nice job of explaining each one.

What I appreciated most was how he laid out the evidence needed to prove each theory and how, once the spacecraft is near enough, its instruments will reveal the geology.

We are living in a wonderful period of robotic exploration.

Richard A. Lovett's website is here:   richardalovett.com/

Analog Magazine is here:  http://www.analogsf.com/

To follow the New Horizons mission go here:   http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

Richard A Lovett

New Horizons