Do I believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors? Where shall I begin? There’s a fascinating frailty of the human mind that psychologists know all about, called “argument from ignorance”. This is how it goes. Remember what the “U” stands for in “UFO”? You see lights flashing in the sky. You’ve never seen anything like this before and don’t understand what it is. You say, “It’s a UFO!” The “U” stands for “unidentified.”
Modern computers wouldn’t exist without the pioneering theories posited by Alan Turing, however the famed computer scientist was never quite able to make a working model of his hypothetical device. Turing’s Cathedral by George Dyson follows Hungarian mathematician John von Neumann’s efforts to build a computer based on Turing’s design and boasting a revolutionary feature: RAM.
Exmobaby Suits aren’t the only way to wirelessly track a person’s vitals. The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topol, MD, explores the rapidly-developing field of telemonitoring and how giving doctors instant, real-time patient-status updates can save lives and money.
Modern corporate culture is in L-O-V-E, love with meetings (and any opportunity to engage in groupthink). But if you look back, history’s real intellectual heavyweights weren’t “team players”. Intellectual giants like DaVinci, Einstein, and even Steve Wozniak, all developed their best works in near solitude. Quiet, by Susan Cain, examines why the world’s best thinkers have usually been lone wolves.
SARS, Bird Flu, terrorists, religious extremists, extreme religionists, DEMOCRATS — it seems that we find a new reason every week to mistrust those around us and yet our society has yet to implode in the orgy of fire and chaos that 24-hour-news networks would have you believe. Liars and Outliers by Bruce Schneier explains how civil structure continues advancing despite our best efforts.
Much like The Jesus, deer you do not mess with. Huge antlers, razor sharp hooves and a taste for human flesh (probably), hoofed mammals — including deer, elk and moose — can prove deadlier than you think. The Book of Deadly Animals examines their murderous ways.
Between the ship-crushing ice floes, polar bear attacks and maddening quiet, exploring the Great White North in the 19th century was not a recommended endeavour. Yet hundreds of intrepid adventurers tried — and many died. But one Swede thought he had the answer: simply float above the tundra in a gas-filled dirigible.
Roger Ebert remains one of the most influential voices in film, but when a failed surgery related to thyroid cancer left him without the ability to eat, drink or speak, he had to reinvent the way he communicated with the world.
