science - Book Reviews

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

One of the scarier books I've read lately. Not regularly getting 8 hours of sleep a night? Prepare for cancer, Alzheimers, traffic fatalities, and more! UC Berkeley prof Matthew Walker is basically the Malcom Gladwell of sleep.

3-stars

Rationality: From AI to Zombies

Internet rationality celebrity Eliezer Yudkowsky drags us through an epic logical journey to the land of the "Bayesian Conspiracy" and the idea that real rationality is about "winning."

3-stars

How Economics Shapes Science

Stephan reveals how economic incentives have made American science risk averse and turned our universities into lobbying superpowers and employment pyramid schemes.

3-stars

Making "Nature": The History of a Scientific Journal

"Making 'Nature'" feels like half the book it could have been. Rather than settling for a rather dry exposition of the journal's history, Baldwin attempts to enliven the narrative by exploring some of Nature's biggest controversies. Yet her effort falls short because she is unwilling to take a

4-stars

Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions

"Rigor Mortis" explores how perverse incentives and a "broken" scientific culture are fueling the reproducibility crisis in modern biomedical research. Published in April, Harris's jeremiad was a perfect fit for my 2017 reading theme on "The Integrity of Western Science" and an excellent companion

4-stars

Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

"The scientific method is the most reliable way of discovering the truth." That's how I responded when a friend recently challenged me to state my core beliefs. As I ranted about Popper on "falsifiability" and our conversation descended into the depths of definitional disputes, I realized

2017-focus

Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

"Bad Science" angered me more than any book I've read in the last few years. Dr. Goldacre lays bare the tactics used by people committing the worst crime I can think of - deliberate falsification and misrepresentation of scientific data. I get so worked up about this because:

5-stars

The Hunt for Vulcan: And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe

In "The Hunt for Vulcan", the head of MIT's writing program takes us on a fast-paced tour through some of the biggest controversies and discoveries in astronomy and physics. Throughout this short and thoroughly enjoyable book, Levenson weaves together explanations of complex science with their historical context in

4-stars

The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

"The Vital Question" purports to fill the "black hole at the heart of biology" - how did complex life evolve? By taking an energy-focused perspective, Lane constructs an argument that mitochondria can explain the origin of complex life and lots of other aspects of life too

business

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

"The Idea Factory" is a fascinating look at the lives of some of the key men who shaped Bell Labs and created its greatest inventions. The scale of Bell Labs’ impact is truly incredible and this book does a good job of explaining the history of the institution

winning

The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch

"The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World From Scratch" is a fascinating thought experiment about how to build the ideal manual for a reboot of civilization. Dartnell decides that a good post-apocalypse reboot manual has a few critical ingredients: instructions for short-term survival a roadmap for longer-term rebooting

science

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is a difficult, dense read that requires a fairly broad familiarity with the history of science. Often overly professorial in tone and frequently repetitive, the book is a tough slog. Yet this book is one of the cornerstones of the field of the