Category Archives: science

BOOKS: The Second Law by Stephen Wolfram

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The Second Law: Resolving the Mystery of the Second Law of ThermodynamicsThe Second Law: Resolving the Mystery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics by Stephen Wolfram
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This book has an intriguing premise but a bizarre organizational scheme. The book offers insight into the Second Law of Thermodynamics couched as the author’s personal journey of discovery. Put simply, the Second Law says that entropy increases, or the coffee cup next to me can fall and break into many pieces but it can’t / won’t reassemble itself, alternatively, I can mix milk into the coffee in the cup, but not unmix the milk out of it. Of course, this simplification is — in fact — a massive oversimplification and there are a number of definitions of entropy and different ideas on the conditions under which its increase holds and why. This is part of what the book investigates.

Let’s start with the book’s intriguing premise. It is that: a.) the Second Law and its implications are not as well (or fully) understood as the scientific consensus suggests, and b.) the key to understanding entropy’s increase may be found in the concept of computational irreducibility. This all ties to Wolfram’s work with cellular automata and the finding that apparent randomness can come about from a simple set of rules that are non-random. In other words, cellular automata could produce a pattern that can only be determined by re-running said simple set of rules — i.e. there would be no way to compute it. As (apparent) randomness plays an important role in the Second Law, Wolfram proposes a connection that has ramifications for critical issues like reversibility. (Remember we can’t unmix the milk out of the coffee [without expending more energy and within the confines of an open system] or so it’s believed.)

When I say the book’s organization is strange, I do so with the assumption that the intended readership includes those who are scientifically literate but not expert in thermodynamics or physics. The first part of this strangeness is that the body of the book concludes with an overview of the development of the Second Law (arguably this is information a non-expert reader might benefit from having up front.) The second element of strangeness is that much of the latter part of the book is just connective tissue between excerpts of other people’s writing on the subject. This increases the page count tremendously and doesn’t serve readability well.

The book does have a good deal of interesting and informative graphics. It also has copies of scholarly papers and relevant chapters from Wolfram’s previous book, “A New Kind of Science” for those who are capable of, and interested in, taking a deeper dive into the science and mathematics under consideration.

I found this book to be thought-provoking if a bit tedious to read in places. If you’re interested in the Second Law, it’s worth reading and may shed new light on the topic.

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PROMPT: Topics

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Which topics would you like to be more informed about?

I’d love to know why the fundamental equations and constants that govern the universe appear to be tailor-made to generating life?

I’d love to know whether there is other intelligent life in the universe, and – if not – why not? (And, if so, have they visited, are they visiting, do they intend to visit, and – if none of the above – why not?)

I’d love to know whether there is meaning to life other than moving energy to higher states of entropy in a Sisyphean fashion (and any other meaning that one independently chooses for one’s self?)

But I’m doubtful any of that will be clarified in my lifetime, so I guess I’ll have to stick to more down to earth topics, such as: “Is ‘a good life’ a meaningful statement, and – if yes – how does one go about pursuing one.”

Symbiosis [Haiku]

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chital eats grass.
 myna eats bugs off chital:
  everyone 's happy.

Melting Stone [Free Verse]

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Upon the ocean shore,
   there is a rock:
   hard,
   black,
   porous,
   volcanic.

Gentle seas send ripples
   against its base.

Stormy seas send waves
   to relentlessly batter it,
   crashing over its top.

Both the lapping waves
   and the crashing waves
   cart away parts of the rock --
   one unit of grit at a time.

The lapping waves need patience;
  the crashing waves need energy,
    but they both insist a tax be paid
     for their labors.

Just looking at the rock,
 one can tell it was once different:
    bigger,
    its pores filled
        with other rock -- softer rock,
  rock that the sea long ago turned
    into sandy bottoms and beaches.

The rock is dissolving like an ice cube,
  except in geologic time.

Burning Sensation [Free Verse]

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What's this world?

It's energy playing a game,

  a game whose goal is to be rid
    of an intense burning sensation,

  a burning sensation caused by
     low-entropy energy sitting
     around with nothing else to do
     but burn brightly. 
  
  We, the wasters of energy, are 
     a soothing lotion to the universe,

     expediting the making high-entropy, 
          soothing, tepid energy from 
          all those stars -- 
          i.e. the universe's poison ivy.

BOOK REVIEW: Invention and Innovation by Vaclav Smil

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Inventions and Innovations: A Brief History of Infatuation, Overpromise, and DisappointmentInventions and Innovations: A Brief History of Infatuation, Overpromise, and Disappointment by Vaclav Smil
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: February 14, 2023

This book is about technological failures, the various ways in which technologies fail, and what lessons can be learned from these failures when hearing about new “world-changing breakthroughs.” The author explores nine technologies in depth, three for each of three varieties of technology failure.

The first group are those technologies that came online as promised, fixing a major problem, only to later be discovered to have side-effects deemed disastrous. The examples used are: leaded gasoline, DDT pesticide, and CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) refrigerant. These technologies have come to be associated with health defects, air pollution, ecological collapse, and ozone depletion.

The second group (like the first) came online, but then never became competitive with existing technologies. The technologies presented as examples are: airships, nuclear fission for power production, and supersonic flight. Airships died out not only because of the Hindenburg disaster, but also because people preferred airplanes to a craft with the combined slowness of a boat and the crash potential of a plane. Nuclear fission became untenable for new commercial power plants due to a risk premium on build costs even though it doesn’t contribute to global warming and (once powerplants are paid for) is exceedingly cheap per kilowatt-hour. Supersonic flight was just too costly and short-ranged to compete with subsonic flight.

The final group are those technologies that failed to come online at all, despite intense efforts. These include travel by vacuum tube (i.e. Hyperloop, and, yes, like at the bank but with people inside) nitrogen-fixing grains (negating the need for fertilizer,) and nuclear fusion. Despite the celebrity billionaire love of Elon Musk and Richard Branson, hyperloop isn’t advancing because of challenges of maintaining vacuum over large distances. Making cereal grains that feature the nitrogen-fixing capabilities of legumes has also proven more difficult than expected. Nuclear fusion recently experienced a moment in the sun when, for the first time, they got more energy out of it than was needed to achieve it. (This wasn’t written about in the review copy I read, but I suspect will be mentioned in the finished book. At any rate, it doesn’t negate the author’s point as it’s still just one breakthrough of several that would be needed for the technology to be commercially viable.)

In the last chapter, the author gets into a number of other technologies with shorter discussions that are meant to illustrate specific issues with excessive technological optimism. He also investigates some technologies that he believes need to come down the pike, given our present and expected future challenges.

I found this book fascinating. The author seems to love being contrarian (he not only contests popular optimism by those overestimating technological progress but also contests the pessimism regarding the first group of failed technologies, so it appears that he enjoys pointing out how mass opinion [or the opinion of another smart person] is wrong.) That said, there’s a great deal of thought-provoking information in the book. And, I think it can help people more critically consider claims about up-and-coming technologies.


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BOOK REVIEW: Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction by Bill McGuire

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Global Catastrophes: A Very Short IntroductionGlobal Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction by Bill McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This book explores a select set climatological, geological, and extraterrestrial impact disasters and their potential planet-wide repercussions. About half of the book deals with climate: global warming and the next ice age. [Those sound like completely unrelated topics, given global climate disruption is largely about a rise in average temperatures (which has been caused by human activities) and the coming ice age is about cooling (which is mostly because of factors outside our control — e.g. our orbital path and axial tilt — but there’s a discussion about how global warming might hasten (rather than stave off) the ice age.]

The other half of the book is about the more dramatic geological and extraterrestrial threats. There’s a chapter (ch.4) about volcanos, earthquakes, and the tsunamis they cause, and the last chapter (ch. 5) is about comet and asteroid impacts.

The book contains a great deal of thought-provoking information. There are two major criticisms to be leveled. First, it leaves some important items undiscussed – e.g. there’s nothing about the solar storms that I’ve heard constitute a planetary risk. (I do understand that technologically induced catastrophes are another book entirely.) Also, there’s little mention of the mitigative activities that are in place and what impact they might have. For example, I know NASA and others have developed technologies to not only monitor but also destroy impactors. (The author mentions monitoring but says nothing of mitigative activities.) I can’t condemn these omissions severely because this is a “very short” guide. The second criticism is potentially more concerning and that is that the tone isn’t the completely objective one we’re used to hearing on scientific subjects. I don’t fault the author for having some angst about climate change or super-volcanoes, but I am left to wonder degree of confirmation bias crept into the selection of research presented. (All “sky is falling” with no discussion of possible mitigative events or best-case scenarios sets my Spidey-sense a tingling.)

This is a fascinating look at catastrophes, though the complete doom and gloom tone of the author made me wonder whether confirmation bias might be at play (or maybe there was a presumption about what people who would read such a guide may want to hear.)


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BOOK REVIEW: The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Atkins

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The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short IntroductionThe Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Atkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This book succeeds in systematically exploring the topic, but it fails to do so in a readable fashion for a non-expert reader who’s looking for a rudimentary grasp of the basics. It’s true that the topic is complex and challenging (as the author argues up front,) but I don’t believe the book’s daunting nature all lands on the subject matter. I’ve read up on other difficult topics using this series (VSI,) and found some books much more approachable.

The main problem was a lack of clarity (versus precision) in the language. In other words, the author didn’t want to oversimplify or use analogies, even though those are what’s needed for a neophyte reader to build an intuitively grasp a subject. For example, while the chapters are nicely organized by the laws of thermodynamic and presented in their usual order, there’s no quick and dirty definition of the respective law given at the beginning of each chapter. A simplified definition (incomplete and imperfect as it might be) would allow the reader to gain a basic intuition of the concept. Then, the reader can tweak and expand the concept as they go. But that’s not the approach taken here. Instead, several paragraphs are taken to get around to a statement of the law in question. There was also a lack of analogies and other tools to help the reader gain a foothold based upon what they know. I suspect these tools were avoided because they are all incorrect at some level of precision, and it was the scholarly fear of imprecision that resulted in their teaching effectiveness being abandoned.

This is a great guide for people who think mathematically and / or who are looking for a quick refresher of ideas they once knew. For those who don’t have a background in science and who need verbal explanations that make an effort to be comprehensible, it’s probably not the best one can do.

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BOOK REVIEW: A Gardener’s Guide to Botany by Scott Zona

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A Gardener's Guide to Botany: The biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they needA Gardener’s Guide to Botany: The biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they need by Scott Zona
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Release Date: December 6, 2022

This beginner’s guide to botany is well conceived and executed. The photographs are beautiful and well-chosen to help the reader understand the complexities discussed in the text. The text gets definitionally dense in places, but also presents fascinating ideas in plain English. I learned a lot from the book, particularly where it was less steeped in technical terminology and details and offered intriguing ideas and examples.

While the book’s eight chapters aren’t formally divvied up, I would place them into three groups. Chapters one and two are about what plants are and how they are organized to do what they do. Chapters three through five are about what plants need to survive (water, light, and nutrients, respectively) and why. The last three chapters explore the main activities plants engage in (i.e. defense, reproduction, and seed dispersal.)

I found this book to be informative and readable, and if you’re looking for a basic guide to botany that skillfully employs photographs, I’d have a look at this one.


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BOOK REVIEW: Body Am I by Moheb Costandi

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Body Am I: The New Science of Self-ConsciousnessBody Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness by Moheb Costandi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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In this book you’ll learn about: a man who wanted a perfectly healthy leg amputated, a fisherman who felt like his hands were crab claws, a woman who felt she wasn’t responsible for the actions of her hand, various people who’ve experienced “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome” [i.e. feeling one has shrunk or stretched,] and about many other issues stemming from the body’s sensory and motor integration with what we think of as the mind. For most of us, the most powerful take-away to be gained from this book is just how wonderful and awe-worthy it is that we have bodies that are so well integrated and coordinated that we can go about life engaging in all sorts of fascinating and productive activities.

While this isn’t the only book that addresses this subject, I think it’s a topic worth learning more about and reflecting upon in depth. We can get so out of touch with the fact that our body is integrated with our mental and sensory experiences that we take “brain in a vat” scenarios as a given for the near future, as if one is the sum of one’s neuronal connections. This book will disabuse one this notion. In fact, the final chapter (Ch. 10) questions the proposition that copying consciousness is a matter of mastering such neuronal mapping. It’s easy to miss how much of our emotional experience is rooted in what’s happening in our guts and heart, and how much all the non-central nervous system parts of the body play in our conscious experience of the world.

I learned a great deal from this book and would highly recommend it.

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