A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse by Victoria Shepherd (2022, Oneworld Publications) Distorted Mirrors A book of famous case histories of delusional individuals, could so easily become a distasteful sideshow, like visiting a Hall of Mirrors, or paying your penny to gawp at the inmates in Bedlam.… Continue reading Other Worlds
Category: Review
Reaching for the sky
The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Hershel’s Astronomical Ambition by Claire Brock (Icon Books, 2007) Caroline Hershel’s reputation has long been in the shadow of her brother William, who was the discoverer of Uranus and first president of The Astronomical Society of London (which later became the Royal Astronomical Society). She is rightly portrayed as the utterly… Continue reading Reaching for the sky
Adoring the Deplorable
How did these flawed and indulged poets and chancers and dancers become like gods … ?
Icons of Ideas
“… not caring about understanding the Second Law of Thermodynamics is equivalent to someone boasting that they have never read anything by Shakespeare.”
Africa is not what we think
The Rift: A New Africa Breaks Free by Alex Perry (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015) The “Rift” is … … the Rift Valley that cuts through central and north-east Africa, a vast region which was the cradle of human pre-history. It is where our hominid ancestors lived and died, leaving traces – like Lucy in the… Continue reading Africa is not what we think
You know it makes sense
Rationality: what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane, 2021) A logical argument in favour of logic? Pinker often writes with such clarity and energy that ones can be swept up in the flow and not stand back to say “hand on a minute! It’s not as simple… Continue reading You know it makes sense
Am I a robot?
12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love by Jeanette Winterson (Vintage, 2021/2022) This was Love(lace) at first byte. The book begins with a lively survey of the history of AI. This is no dry chronology but a tale bursting with brilliant personalities, none greater than Ada Lovelace, the Countess… Continue reading Am I a robot?
Fred amongst the Stars
The Nature of the Universe: A Series of Broadcast Lectures by Fred Hoyle (Basil Blackwell, 1950) I think that within 100 years it may indeed be possible to leave the Earth, or at any rate for rockets containing radio-operated cameras to do so. Fred Hoyle (1950) 1950. Seventy-two years ago. That is just within living… Continue reading Fred amongst the Stars
At the Cutting Edge
This is the history of an idea that was once revolutionary and that continues to shape the modern world.
Faster Higher Stronger
Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson (Harper Collins 2018/2020) The four minute mile, the two hour marathon. These iconic times are two of the most famous mythical barriers in athletic performance. But are the limits that constrain what a human can do primarily physical, or are they… Continue reading Faster Higher Stronger