Archive: September 9, 2003

<<< September 8, 2003

Home

September 10, 2003 >>>


Light Reading

Tuesday,  09/09/03  07:28 PM

At the moment I am reading three different books, all great, and I want to share them with you.  Well, to be specific I am not actually reading any of them right now, I'm typing, but you know what I mean.

First up we haveIn the Blink of an Eye, by Andrew Parker.  This is a fantastic presentation of Parker's theories about the Cambrian explosion.  First he explains that all the animal phyla currently on earth actually evolved before the Cambrian period (about 525M years ago).  The "explosion" was actually a sudden evolution of "hard" parts by animals in many different phyla, with a consequent huge increase in the number of species.  He suggests this evolution was triggered by the strong selective pressure caused by the development of eyes, which made predators suddenly more effective.  In the process he takes us through a wonderful tour of the history of life on Earth, spiced with delightful anecdotes about ancient animals and the humans who tried to figure them out.  Parker doesn't write very well - he is a scientist, not a novelist - but the overall effect is charming rather than deterring, and his style doesn't get in the way of the facts.  You can tell he had to really work to avoid diving into too much scientific detail, but he made it.  (He also an Aussie, and that comes through in his style, too; I can just about hear his accent...)  There are also lots of great diagrams of animals and their various strategies for survival.  Highly recommended.

Next we have A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson.  Where Parker is a scientist but not a great writer, Bryson is a great writer but not a scientist.  Rather than struggling to contain the level of detail, Bryson works hard to avoid too shallow a treatment, but his wonderful folksy style and thorough research make the book work.  This book is essentially a tour through the development of the universe, picking up as many random facts about as many physical things as possible.  Bryson takes a delight not only in the facts themselves, but in the intricate chains of reasoning required to find them, and the people who did the finding.  Means of quantification are particularly treasured (e.g. just how hot is the center of the Earth, and how do we know?)  I'm enjoying this book a lot, Bryson's obvious enthusiasm carries me along even when the subject matter gets a bit dry.

I am actually reading this as an e-book, using Microsoft Reader; the first time I have ever done so.  Overall I don't like the on-screen reading experience as much as a "real" book (it is tough to take my monitor into the bathroom), but the software works and I found myself basically disappearing into the book.  This is the wave of the future, we just need better reading devices...

Finally we have A Traveler's Guide to Mars, by William Hartmann.  This is really three books in one, deftly woven together.  First there's a data dump of everything which is known about Mars, including the history of what we knew and when we knew it (and why).  There are tons of great maps and photographs, including many in full color from the recent Mars Global Surveyor Spacecraft mission.  Second there is a whimsical series of sidebars patterned on a standard travelogue; "What to Wear: Martian Weather", "Telling Time on Mars", "How Ice Behaves on Mars", etc.  These are great because they really emphasize the differences between Earth and Mars, and ironically make the possibility of near-term human landings on Mars seem less remote.  Finally there is Hartmann's personal series of anecdotes ("My Martian Chronicles"); in addition to livening up the story, they give him a real sense of authority.  I'm enjoying this book on two levels, first, I am learning a lot about Mars, and second, I am excited by the prospect of human planetary travel.  As Hartmann says, viewing the Earth from Mars makes you realize that with all our cultural differences and problems, we're one species alone in a vast universe.  Inter-planetary travel may ultimately be our greatest accomplishment.

 

Tuesday,  09/09/03  09:15 PM

The Ole filter in action...

I can't even believe this, France Heat Wave Death Toll at 15,000.  Wow.  "The heat wave brought suffocating temperatures of up to 104 Fahrenheit in the first two weeks of August in a country where air conditioning is rare.  The high death toll has triggered an angry debate in France over shortcomings of the health system.  The French lifestyle has also come under scrutiny, since some of the elderly victims died alone in their homes while families were away on lengthy August vacations."

I don't mean to make light of this, at all, but it sure puts the 337 American military deaths in Iraq in perspective.

Also for comparison, SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.  (And on that front, get ready for round two...)

And finally, about 2,800 people died in the World Trade Center attacks.

Here's an interesting keyboard - currently being auctioned on eBay - where every key is the letter "X".  Handy for practicing your touch typing skills.  Reminds me of that "pirate" keyboard with only "R"s...  [ via Xeni Jardin, of course :) ]

No Joy in Sunville...  Sun co-founder Bill Joy is leaving after 21 years.  Is this a super successful techie looking for his next challenge, or a rat leaving a sinking ship?  Or both.

You've no doubt read about the 261 people the RIAA have sued, alleging copyright infringement.  Well, guess what?  According to this article on Wired, in the seven weeks since the RIAA launched its legal campaign against file trading, CD sales have declined 54%.  Now that's what I call a successful strategy!  [ via Bigwig ]

So Disney is going to start selling "disposable" DVDs.  They're wrapped in an airtight package, and upon exposure to oxygen they self-destruct over about 48 hours.  In other words, you have two days to make a copy.  The price will be about $5, low enough to encourage some people to buy them in lieu of "permanent" DVDs (which are typically around $20), but too high to discourage online file sharing.  (And higher than Netflix per-DVD rental fee.)  [ via Mark Frauenfelder ]

 
 

Return to the archive.