BOOK: “What If? 2” by Randall Monroe

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What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions (What If?, #2)What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author site

The Venn Diagram intersect of “hilarious” and “educational” tends to be sparsely occupied territory, but it’s where Randall Monroe lives. This sequel continues the approach set in the original volume, take a completely absurd question that can be answered with science and do just that with frequent interjections of sarcasm. Some examples of the questions addressed are: How many pigeons would it take to fly a person to the top of a skyscraper? Can all the world’s bananas fit in all the world’s churches? How much real dinosaur is in a plastic toy dinosaur? How many people worth of dead skin cells does a person consume and inhale over a lifetime?

The book uses many stick figure cartoons and other line drawings to both clarify the material and for the sake of humor. While it might seem like these questions could be answered hastily (as a dad might by saying, “You’re an idiot. Go away!”) most take several pages of elaboration because Monroe considers the many complexities of the question and of finding a scientific answer. There are sections throughout called “Short Answers” which include many a question so ridiculous or intuitive that being dismissive seems like the right approach.

If you’re interested in science but still find it goes down better with chortles and chuckles, I’d highly recommend this book.

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DAILY PHOTO: Closeups of Earth

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Photograph of lesser smoothcap moss and prickly pear in Arabia Mountain Park of Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia.
Photograph of Pineweed growing up through the cracks at Arabia Mountain Park in Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia.
Photograph of pools in the granite at Arabia Mountain Park in Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia.
Photograph of a long stemmed mushroom growing through the leaf litter in Stone Mountain Park.

Strange Planet

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DAILY PHOTO: Arabia Mountain

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Photograph of standing water and vegetation atop the granite dome of Arabia Mountain Park.
Photograph of an evergreen growing out of stone at the Arabia Mountain Park.
Photograph of a boulder on the slope of Arabia Mountain in Stonecrest, Georgia.

PROMPT: Feel Bad

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Daily writing prompt
What app eats up most of your screen time — and do you even feel bad about it?
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Kindle Reader. Do people engage in habitual activities that they feel bad about? I understand the occasional excessive pile of ice cream or hedonistic cheeseburger, but continually doing something one feels bad about seems self-rectifying.

Bolete [Haiku]

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soggy forest floor:
 bolete stands in the mulch
  with crimson cap.

BOOK: “The Attention Merchants” by Tim Wu

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The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our HeadsThe Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Penguin

This book explores the evolution of capturing attention for commercial purposes. It delves into the history of attention economics from the development of print ads to the pursuit of virality via the internet and social media. Wu outlines how different media (e.g. print, radio, television, cable tv, and the internet) learned different lessons about how to make advertising work given the unique nature of each platform. The book also offers insight into how advertising spawned a market for people’s personal consumer information as the internet era began to allow companies to target ads for maximum effect, rather than using the scattershot approach that was all that was available to radio and broadcast television.

I found this book to be informative and it’s a subject of which people should be aware. William James famously said, “…what we attend to is reality.” If James was right, our reality is being shaped by forces that often remain outside our awareness. If you are curious about the attention economy, this is a highly readable overview of the subject.

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Fabulist

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DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from Yun Lai Viewpoint

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Photograph of the entrance to Yun Lai Viewpoint with its Chinese lanterns and mountainous backdrop.
Photograph of mountains and instagram sign at Yun Lai Viewpoint near Pai, Thailand.
Photographs of mountain, sky, and a cafe taken at Yun Lai Viewpoint of Santichon outside of Pai, Thailand.