“Similarly, at exactly the time when it has become clear that global warming is in every sense a collective predicament, humanity finds itself in the thrall of a dominant culture in which the idea of the collective has been exiled from politics, economics, and literature alike.”
As a quick overview, this book is divided into three sections: literature, history, and politics. Each section explores the relationship between that section’s theme, and (mainly) anthropogenic climate change. My thoughts on each section below:
From what I’ve seen, a lot of people enjoyed the first section, ‘Stories,’ which discusses how and why climate change is portrayed poorly in fiction. Personally, this section did not really capture my attention as well as the other two, but I will say that the connection Ghosh makes between the limitation of timescales in fiction and climate change is interesting; it just takes a bit long to get to that point (this is also the longest section in the book).
The second part, ‘History,’ is probably my favorite section, and one of the most interesting takes on climate change that I have ever read – Ghosh argues in great detail how imperialism (alongside capitalism) should be at the center stage in the rise of anthropogenic climate change in the 19th and 20th centuries. What cemented my love for this section was the well-thought-out argument of how the relationship between Asia and western countries (such as Britain and the US) perpetuated climate change into the 21st century.
The final section, ‘Politics,’ continues discussing imperialism as hidden driver of climate change, while simultaneously expanding on two well-known culprits, capitalism and denialism. This section concludes with another personal highlight, a comparison between the Paris Agreement of 2016 and Laudato si’, Pope Francis’ second encyclical, released in 2015.
I recommend this book to anyone who not only wants to take a deeper dive into human history and climate change, but to hear some intriguing takes on humanity’s relationship with the climate and each other.
“The Last Theorem is at the heart of an intriguing saga of courage, skulduggery, cunning, and tragedy, involving all the greatest heroes of mathematics.”
This books chronicles the history of Fermat’s Last Theorem, beginning with the teachings of Pythagoras in 6th century BC, leading into Fermat’s claim that he had the proof figured out in the 17th century, all the way to the final proof of the theorem in the mid-1990s. Mathematicians throughout history tried to prove this particular problem, and as more and more failed the more it essentially became a race. I mean, imagine being able to say you proved what past mathematicians such as Euler, Cauchy, and Gauss could not.
From the viewpoint of someone who works more with applied math, this book made me appreciate those who work in pure math, specifically number theorists. This is math most people, including myself, will never use, as they work on the types of problems that takes years to understand. It's also probably why Fermat’s Last Theorem has been a topic in popular culture, since the problem was at least easy to understand.
One of the best parts of this book is the heartbreaking section on Goro Shimura and Yutaka Taniyama, who together posited the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture in the mid-1950s and acted as a major missing link to prove the theorem. Unfortunately, Taniyama committed suicide and was unable to see his conjecture and the Last Theorem proved in the 1990s. I appreciated how section of the book highlighted their contributions and wished that they had more recognition for their work.
"Classical science has no use for the concrete - it is equated with the trivial in neurology and psychiatry. It needs a 'romantic' science to pay it its full due - to appreciate its extraordinary powers...and dangers…"
What Oliver Sacks has attempted to do in this collection of essays is not only present some of the oddest neurological cases he's seen in his lifetime, but also convey his patients' hidden skills and talents, prior adversity and trauma, and ultimately, their perseverance (if applicable). As alluded to in the quote above, many require more than just a medical exam, IQ test, or prescription to truly understand their disorders and their pain.
As someone with no background in medicine at all, I was able to enjoy and appreciate most of the stories, without knowing the corresponding neurological jargon. However, while those with the proper background might recognize and appreciate his frequent (yet sudden) references to publications/people I've personally never heard of, to me it came off a bit jarring. Despite this, though, I was intrigued throughout, and walked away with a slightly better idea of the inner workings of the human psyche.
“All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.”
Being my first book by Kurt Vonnegut, I really had no idea what to expect going in, other than hearing that this was ‘some sort of anti-war book’ (what an understatement), and that Vonnegut was one of the most popular satirists in the postmodern era. Regarding the many themes in this book, I don't really think this review will add anything that hasn't already been said by someone else somewhere, but I would like to at least emphasize my favorite theme in this book: time.
Instead of following the life of the main character Billy Pilgrim in chronological order, we are taken back and forth through different times in his life – his adolescence, time at war, and career/family life. His life events are also intertwined with his time in outer space with the Tralfamadorians, an alien species that lives in four dimensions, meaning they can move through time.
To me, the Tralfamadorians teach Billy one of the most comforting thoughts in the whole book: that time always is, and past, present, and future all occur at once. To me this is a comforting thought: with the bad there is always good, and those who seem like they only exist in the past, currently exist, and will always exist. This idea is then taken and toyed with throughout, in the context of Vonnegut’s own experience in war.
