Science and Inquiry discussion

Please post a comment below to nominate a book for the group to read for December 2021.

Please use the "add book/author" link just above the comment box to insert a link to the Goodreads book page for the book you are nominating, so other members can more easily assess it. Apparently this only works on the desktop version of the site; if you use the app, the link is not available yet, so just be sure to put the full title and author.

To check whether a book has been previously read or already selected to be read, check the following list: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

You may nominate a book which has been suggested previously and did not win. You may nominate more than one book, but we might not include all of your nominations in the voting.

Please do not nominate a book which is unlikely to be available to most members, such as one which was just published within the last three months or which is only available on Kindle in the U.S.

Nominations will close on October 20 or when we have about 10 good nominations, whichever occurs first.

I nominate The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses by Peter Brannen. Earth to me has always been one civilization (Homo Sapiens), except in Science fiction. This book makes me realize how insignificant we are really in the stream of time, and the boundless power of planet earth in producing wonderful lives of all forms.

Elizabeth Kolbert Under A White Sky or (if that’s too recent) The Sixth Extinction

Why not my book?
It will surely prompt heated controversies.

Yuval wrote: "Why not my book?
It will surely prompt heated controversies.

"

I'm sorry, authors are not permitted to nominate their own books. Besides this is borderline too recent.

Mark wrote: "Elizabeth Kolbert Under A White Sky or (if that’s too recent) The Sixth Extinction"

We already read The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, in September 2014. But Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future is eligible.

I have a few nominations!

This group has read quite a few Oliver Sacks books, here's another:
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

This book is written by THE psychologist who developed the tool to diagnose psychopaths, his insight is really interesting:
Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us

Among the entire list, this book is the most riveting, history of how Sigmund Freud was actually an addict (which I didn't know), and how he missed on making that huge scientific breakthrough only to reinvent himself through psychology:
An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine

I read tons of forensics books of course, and this one is a must read for those who are fascinated by the morbid:
Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death

Not your usual science book, but as a person intrigued by the most unusual things, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history of fonts, type, and how it evolved through the ages:
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts

Again, another forensics book, it is quite the sad read, but insightful.
Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain's Top Forensic Pathologist

I nominate Dinosaurs: How they lived and evolved. It's the best natural history of dinos for adults. I reviewed the 1st edition ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ). Also, this group needs more dino love ;)

Into the Grey Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death

Here is my nomination.

The Human Planet: How We Created The Anthropocene, by Simon Lewis & Mark Maslin.

I'll nominate two books: The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann contrasts & compares the way Borlaug & Vogt's opposite views shaped our ideas about the environment today. Both saw worn out land & starving people. Borlaug set out to find a way to make the land produce food while Vogt thought we'd found the Earth's carrying capacity & shaped much of our environmental movement.

Venomous: How Earth's Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry by Christie Wilcox is a fascinating look at the subject.

I gave both 5 stars, but it's been several years since I read them. I'd like to reread & discuss with the group.

I'll second Under a White Sky. Her Sixth Extinction very good.

I recommend Underland by Robert Macfarlane. It was suggested elsewhere by Richard Powers, author of The Overstory.

I also nominate the Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku

Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom

Since we have ten nominations, the nominations are now closed. I'll put up a poll shortly.

Please vote for the book you'd like the group to read, at the following poll:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

which will be open through October 25.