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Saturday, June 18, 2005
New Books
I have acquired yet another set of books to keep me busy for at least the next decade. As a result, my current reading list has grown to around four or five books at any given time. I purchased these through my sister's Barnes and Noble employee discount (shhh...) so it ended up being a good deal and one of the few times I've purchased brand new books as opposed to used to save a few dollars. Most of you will have heard of these titles, so please leave your comments if you've read any of them:
The "sequel" to Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse's tagline is "How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed." This one is unique in that it's the first book that I've ever looked forward to prior to its publication (I can remember when it was announced last year). The book is divided up into several chapters/themes with many sub-sections or what could be considered case studies. Diamond's overarching thesis is basically that the things that brought about the collapse of ancient societies (e.g. the Ancient Maya, Norse Greenland, Easter Island, the Anasazi) should be closely examined and considered because they can tell us much about the trajectories of present day societies, including the United States. Far from a doomsday prediction about our own fate, I predict Collapse to be an engrossing and enlightening lesson in how not to die.
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
Originally published almost two decades ago, The Blind Watchmaker is one of those books that everyone needs to read. Indeed, just after reading the intro to the 1996 edition and the original preface, Dawkins suggests that he intends to write a book for the general public that will help as much as it attempts to clarify. The tagline is "Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design." I was prompted to purchase this because of the many blogs I have come across dealing with the Evolution-Creation debate and the recent hearing in Kansas that have promted much heated discussion on the issue. I'm hoping this book will better enable me to counter Creationist arguments when (and if) confronted with them. Rather than just blindly repeating what Dawkins lays out in The Blind Watchmaker (as many Creationists do with their respective defenses), I hope to gain insight into evolutionary biology so I have more thorough understanding of its mechanisms.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Another Dawkins masterpiece, I got this one out of pure curiosity and reading pleasure. A few decades old, but its status will hopefully prove it to be timeless.
The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould
Another must-read, The Mismeasure of Man is the "definitive refutation to the argument of The Bell Curve." The Bell Curve was a book published in 1994 (Hernstein & Murray) that attempted to show evidence that supported a correlation between race, intelligence, and other biological characteristics. I bought this one for basically the same reason as I did The Blind Watchmaker and I anticipate it becoming one of those volumes that I come back to again and again over the years for some insight.
Posted by Will at June 18, 2005 02:21 PM in Books
Comments
When I read and used Gould's book (Spanish translation) preparing an essay for my Philosophy of Science class among the biologists, I didn't notice The Bell Curve was THAT recent. 1994. Wow. Since I knew the original version of The Mismeasure of Man was from 1981 I paid no attention as the mid-1990's was actually expanded for a 1994 book: I though The Bell Curve was some book from the 1950's or 1960's. It really amazes me that in the U.S. such views could be held yet and I'm not refering to being polically correct but as for "hard fact"... It seems that the authors are quite up to date about the scientific literature and research and the ethical debates elsewhere in the world. But then, my amazement fades away, it seems to happen quite often with U.S. researchers, e. g., all the "scandal" around Tierney and Chagnon...
Posted by: Daniel at July 1, 2005 03:32 PM
Good comment. I came across the book with a different impression, though. I thought The Mismeasure of Man was authored after The Bell Curve and written as a response to that book. Only after reading the very fascinating preface to the 1994 edition did I learn that the bell curve as an espoused theory has been around for decades.
And you're right, as Gould explains The Bell Curve is quite well written and the thesis clearly explained and supported, although the entire thing falls apart with false premeses.
Posted by: Will at July 1, 2005 09:57 PM
My mistake... I ate a word or what? I don't know how the comment got out that way It should have been: "It seems that the authors are *NOT* quite up to date...". I was trying to say it seems a really backdated 50's idea and I was quite amazed (meaning culture shock) it's actually from 1994. I was strongly critizing the authors of the Bell Curve and and critizing that in the US these ideas (add the "creationism vs. darwinism" so-called "debate" to the others mentionated) still seem locally "controversial" and large amounts of ink and bytes are wasted away, when everywhere else (i. e., Europe, Latin America) they are plainly rejected based on "hard facts" and not just on their "inmorality" or "political incorrectness" or even their sheer "criminality".
Posted by: Daniel at July 1, 2005 10:39 PM