What do you think?
48 Hours to Chaos: An Engineer Looks at Life and How the World Really Works
Let this book guide you along a clearly marked path through the mysteries of science, history, politics, philosophy, religion, psychology, government and human behavior so that you may pick up clues about how to conduct your life and enhance your prosperity. Let the perspective of an engineer show you the way to understanding amidst the many conflicting choices presented by modern civilization. Learn how the world really works.
- GenresScienceNonfiction
314 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2011
About the author
John D. Waterman
5 books12 followersWrote the book "48 Hours to Chaos" while engaged in five years of research on the subject.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2015
"Yes!" That is the one-word answer to the question, "Should you read this book?"
This work is a look at life in many ways: How has humanity arrived where it is today? What is really important? How fragile might the world be? Perhaps it is "48 Hours from Chaos"? Where can one find the foundation for further advancement of our civilization? What is the "force of nature" discovered by man in modern times? The author's answers are here. Yet perhaps the greatest value from these pages is derived by learning basic tenets about your world, or, as this text declares, "When you understand the big picture, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary effort." This is a thinking person's book.
Anecdotal tales drive home ideas, but this is not a storytelling endeavor.
John Waterman spent years researching and writing this work, which I admire. A multipage bibliography is included should you desire to "consider the sources" that shaped the author's view. End-notes included with each chapter provide explanations, references, and some light-hearted entertainment as well. Chapters kept short make it easy to grasp the gist of the discussion in digestible bites.
Early in the work you learn the writer's conclusion to the sentence that begins, "The meaning of life is..." and Waterman requires only four words to provide the answer. Lest that sound too simplified, you will find these four words later: "Life is very complicated." He shares that humanity inherits much from primitive nature, then describes key ways mankind rises above animals.
To form his analysis, the text takes brief dips into a catalog of topics that include science and nature, logic and deception, virtue and belief systems, production and destruction, history and engineering, rights and laws, capitalism and socialism, politics and trust, selfishness and magnanimity, education and wisdom. All is presented in sharp, succinct sections that quickly get to the point, as you might expect an engineer-turned-author would aspire to do.
Religious arguments are avoided in this work, as is any effort to develop or critique some philosophy.
This pursuit of the meaning of life has both confidence and humility. Waterman asks you to, "Let this book contribute to your pursuit of enlightenment." He does not expect everyone to adopt his conclusions and relates that message with a wink at the reader, saying at one point, "... we have probably lost half our audience." Elsewhere is the quip, "As the rare individual who has read this far, you may compliment yourself in this regard." I appreciate that he created his case with logic while including wit.
I found shiny new phrases that are true gems. One is a description of the range of emotions possible in a relationship as, "... spheres of revolving ambiguity, like a great conglomeration of bubbles forming a froth of complexity." His assertions can be simple and at the same time deep in meaning, such as explaining "we need to experience mutual respect, before we trust," and stating the resulting trust makes possible the "friendship [that is] required for a successful civilization...". Those seem like solid building blocks, do they not?
The main text ends with a wish for your success. This review won't divulge the phrasing of that wish, but it seems to be the author's version of, "May the Force be with you." I find that fitting for a book that sends you into the future armed with new information and tools for critical thinking.
The epilog contains a call to action should you agree with the author's viewpoints. Clearly he hopes you will do so, but he wraps that desire in a shell of thoughts, definitions, assertions, perceptions, and observations for you to digest. You can adopt John Waterman's conclusions to the extent his arguments convince you to engage them as your own, plus you can use his ingredients to develop your personal viewpoints. Enjoy the journey around the oceans of information explored calmly in "48 Hours to Chaos."
Lastly, I find this book to be constructed very well though I have two critiques. A great deal is said about "life," and "life forms," always in lower case. Suddenly the word "Life" is capitalized, but as far as I could tell only in this phrase of chapter eight: "... a book about the challenges of Life." I was left wondering if that was simply an editing item (which it seems) or perhaps a purposeful change to drive home some bigger idea, which was lost on me. Secondly, the pronoun "we" is used throughout to declare the author's view, but the reader is not introduced to a co-author. You might think that word was used to be inclusive of the writer-together-with-the-reader sharing these views, but that is not how the word "we" was implemented in the text.
This work is a look at life in many ways: How has humanity arrived where it is today? What is really important? How fragile might the world be? Perhaps it is "48 Hours from Chaos"? Where can one find the foundation for further advancement of our civilization? What is the "force of nature" discovered by man in modern times? The author's answers are here. Yet perhaps the greatest value from these pages is derived by learning basic tenets about your world, or, as this text declares, "When you understand the big picture, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary effort." This is a thinking person's book.
Anecdotal tales drive home ideas, but this is not a storytelling endeavor.
John Waterman spent years researching and writing this work, which I admire. A multipage bibliography is included should you desire to "consider the sources" that shaped the author's view. End-notes included with each chapter provide explanations, references, and some light-hearted entertainment as well. Chapters kept short make it easy to grasp the gist of the discussion in digestible bites.
Early in the work you learn the writer's conclusion to the sentence that begins, "The meaning of life is..." and Waterman requires only four words to provide the answer. Lest that sound too simplified, you will find these four words later: "Life is very complicated." He shares that humanity inherits much from primitive nature, then describes key ways mankind rises above animals.
To form his analysis, the text takes brief dips into a catalog of topics that include science and nature, logic and deception, virtue and belief systems, production and destruction, history and engineering, rights and laws, capitalism and socialism, politics and trust, selfishness and magnanimity, education and wisdom. All is presented in sharp, succinct sections that quickly get to the point, as you might expect an engineer-turned-author would aspire to do.
Religious arguments are avoided in this work, as is any effort to develop or critique some philosophy.
This pursuit of the meaning of life has both confidence and humility. Waterman asks you to, "Let this book contribute to your pursuit of enlightenment." He does not expect everyone to adopt his conclusions and relates that message with a wink at the reader, saying at one point, "... we have probably lost half our audience." Elsewhere is the quip, "As the rare individual who has read this far, you may compliment yourself in this regard." I appreciate that he created his case with logic while including wit.
I found shiny new phrases that are true gems. One is a description of the range of emotions possible in a relationship as, "... spheres of revolving ambiguity, like a great conglomeration of bubbles forming a froth of complexity." His assertions can be simple and at the same time deep in meaning, such as explaining "we need to experience mutual respect, before we trust," and stating the resulting trust makes possible the "friendship [that is] required for a successful civilization...". Those seem like solid building blocks, do they not?
The main text ends with a wish for your success. This review won't divulge the phrasing of that wish, but it seems to be the author's version of, "May the Force be with you." I find that fitting for a book that sends you into the future armed with new information and tools for critical thinking.
The epilog contains a call to action should you agree with the author's viewpoints. Clearly he hopes you will do so, but he wraps that desire in a shell of thoughts, definitions, assertions, perceptions, and observations for you to digest. You can adopt John Waterman's conclusions to the extent his arguments convince you to engage them as your own, plus you can use his ingredients to develop your personal viewpoints. Enjoy the journey around the oceans of information explored calmly in "48 Hours to Chaos."
Lastly, I find this book to be constructed very well though I have two critiques. A great deal is said about "life," and "life forms," always in lower case. Suddenly the word "Life" is capitalized, but as far as I could tell only in this phrase of chapter eight: "... a book about the challenges of Life." I was left wondering if that was simply an editing item (which it seems) or perhaps a purposeful change to drive home some bigger idea, which was lost on me. Secondly, the pronoun "we" is used throughout to declare the author's view, but the reader is not introduced to a co-author. You might think that word was used to be inclusive of the writer-together-with-the-reader sharing these views, but that is not how the word "we" was implemented in the text.
May 23, 2012
-I received this book through Goodreads for free. Thank you Goodreads and John D. Waterman!-
So I normally don't read these kinds of non-fiction books but I signed up for the give-away because it sounded like an extremely interesting read. I received this book about two years ago or so and at that time I found it extremely boring. It may be because I was only 17 at the time and just wasn't ready. Two years pass and I finally picked up this book again and I'm glad I did. I wish I had a book like this in the beginning of high school because it was filled with thorough research on topics on how societies behave and are formed, pros of a true capitalist nation and other types of social organizations , the way our government acts and the roles they should and should not partake in. But some of my favorite parts were on the most basic of things such as virtue and Good vs. Evil, choice, how the animal kingdom works and behaves, what is a lifelike organism and its functions. Even a corporation is a lifelike organism because it struggles to survive. Also topics on entropy/second law of thermodynamics and how everything is decaying. But it is exactly this that made me realize that chaos allows order to be possible. And of course the topic on what is the meaning of life. One of my favorite quotes from this book has to be "Life is reserved for the living."
I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand how the world works and wants a new perspective on things. It is a book for the open minded , and I believe many people will benefit from this read.
I appreciate John D. Waterman for taking his time to do his research and creating this great piece of work. He has really accomplished what he was trying to do and that is to show us how an engineer looks at life and how the world really works. And at the same time being unbiased as much as possible to the topics of this books. I will definitely come back to this book for future references.
So I normally don't read these kinds of non-fiction books but I signed up for the give-away because it sounded like an extremely interesting read. I received this book about two years ago or so and at that time I found it extremely boring. It may be because I was only 17 at the time and just wasn't ready. Two years pass and I finally picked up this book again and I'm glad I did. I wish I had a book like this in the beginning of high school because it was filled with thorough research on topics on how societies behave and are formed, pros of a true capitalist nation and other types of social organizations , the way our government acts and the roles they should and should not partake in. But some of my favorite parts were on the most basic of things such as virtue and Good vs. Evil, choice, how the animal kingdom works and behaves, what is a lifelike organism and its functions. Even a corporation is a lifelike organism because it struggles to survive. Also topics on entropy/second law of thermodynamics and how everything is decaying. But it is exactly this that made me realize that chaos allows order to be possible. And of course the topic on what is the meaning of life. One of my favorite quotes from this book has to be "Life is reserved for the living."
I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand how the world works and wants a new perspective on things. It is a book for the open minded , and I believe many people will benefit from this read.
I appreciate John D. Waterman for taking his time to do his research and creating this great piece of work. He has really accomplished what he was trying to do and that is to show us how an engineer looks at life and how the world really works. And at the same time being unbiased as much as possible to the topics of this books. I will definitely come back to this book for future references.
April 15, 2012
Mr. Waterman was kind enough to have offered this book as a prize here on Goodreads, and my wife won it. It caught her attention since she is the patient wife of an engineer, and I read through it during the past couple of weeks.
I misled myself with the title I think. I'd expected it to go through the amenities we take for granted, and the "thin crust of civility" that would likely erode within 48 hours of these being disturbed. An engineering insight on this topic would be valuable. This book concentrates on many topics, but not 48 hours or any resulting chaos.
The second half of the title is a better description of the work. Mr. Waterson goes into a description of a very wide range of life and their interactions/motivations, starting from single celled critters and working on up for the next 10 chapters or so (starting with chapter 0 was a uniquely engineering thing to do).
I found his thoughts on capitalism, socialism, communism, producers, and consumers to be the best points of the book. The detail on the effects of taxation, natural feedback loops in the economy, and growing population effects (or lack thereof) challenged the reader to think these things through.
It's heavy with fictional constructions serving as examples. I found myself reading quickly through parts of chapters, as many of the topics seemed self-evident and not requiring the length of attention given to them. The copious use of footnotes was a little distracting, only since many of them offer no additional information ("See Socrates" as a footnote to a discussion on Socrates, for example).
I thought the breadth of subjects could have been trimmed in favor of more depth in the core ideas. Although a bit cluttered with minor topics and sometimes expository of common knowledge, there are gems of fact-based reasoning applied to both methods of government and human behavior that I'm glad to have read.
I misled myself with the title I think. I'd expected it to go through the amenities we take for granted, and the "thin crust of civility" that would likely erode within 48 hours of these being disturbed. An engineering insight on this topic would be valuable. This book concentrates on many topics, but not 48 hours or any resulting chaos.
The second half of the title is a better description of the work. Mr. Waterson goes into a description of a very wide range of life and their interactions/motivations, starting from single celled critters and working on up for the next 10 chapters or so (starting with chapter 0 was a uniquely engineering thing to do).
I found his thoughts on capitalism, socialism, communism, producers, and consumers to be the best points of the book. The detail on the effects of taxation, natural feedback loops in the economy, and growing population effects (or lack thereof) challenged the reader to think these things through.
It's heavy with fictional constructions serving as examples. I found myself reading quickly through parts of chapters, as many of the topics seemed self-evident and not requiring the length of attention given to them. The copious use of footnotes was a little distracting, only since many of them offer no additional information ("See Socrates" as a footnote to a discussion on Socrates, for example).
I thought the breadth of subjects could have been trimmed in favor of more depth in the core ideas. Although a bit cluttered with minor topics and sometimes expository of common knowledge, there are gems of fact-based reasoning applied to both methods of government and human behavior that I'm glad to have read.
April 1, 2012
“48 Hours to Chaos: An Engineer Looks at Life and How the World Really Works” by John D. Waterman is a book that covers a lot of territory, from what our planet was like before man up to present day mankind. The first part is interesting when Mr. Waterman is giving us the time-line for earths 4.6 billion years of history (Chapter 1) and the meaning of life (Chapter 3), but gets really interesting when he starts talking about how our societies evolved and how we are affected by choices we make or that we let others make for us.
Mr. Waterman keeps his own beliefs out of this book and presents to the reader the facts. He discusses how pecking orders in society come about and what motivates humans in our actions. He covers the different kinds of governments and the pros and cons about them. What I particularly liked was that Mr. Waterman kept a sense of humor throughout the book, mostly in his footnotes. For example, in Chapter Two, footnote 4 is as follows:
[4] Full disclosure: The scene featuring the time machine is a fictional device used to illustrate the points about life on the early Earth. Time travel is actually impossible under the current scientific understanding of reality, and will remain so until the second law of thermodynamics is superseded by a more sophisticated explanation of the underlying principles.
In many of the chapters, Mr. Waterman also provides stories to help illustrate his point and often a summary of the chapter. This book would be a welcome addition to any classroom and I am more informed than I was before. Mr. Waterman is able to talk to the reader as an intelligent human being and also shows that you can inject humor into any subject.
**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**
Mr. Waterman keeps his own beliefs out of this book and presents to the reader the facts. He discusses how pecking orders in society come about and what motivates humans in our actions. He covers the different kinds of governments and the pros and cons about them. What I particularly liked was that Mr. Waterman kept a sense of humor throughout the book, mostly in his footnotes. For example, in Chapter Two, footnote 4 is as follows:
[4] Full disclosure: The scene featuring the time machine is a fictional device used to illustrate the points about life on the early Earth. Time travel is actually impossible under the current scientific understanding of reality, and will remain so until the second law of thermodynamics is superseded by a more sophisticated explanation of the underlying principles.
In many of the chapters, Mr. Waterman also provides stories to help illustrate his point and often a summary of the chapter. This book would be a welcome addition to any classroom and I am more informed than I was before. Mr. Waterman is able to talk to the reader as an intelligent human being and also shows that you can inject humor into any subject.
**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**
July 14, 2011
A truly humorous look at the way the world works. By far the best nonfiction book I have read. The afterword is definitely something to look forward to. I received this book through goodreads.
May 12, 2012
Excellent book if you like to think. The author spent five years reseaching his insights and it shows. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews