How to Solve It

how to solve it polya princeton science library 2004How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method by G. Polya, 3/5

This ambitious book tackles the fascinating topic of heuristics (practical problem-solving techniques) by focusing on a variety of naturally-occurring questions that can lead to solutions and discoveries in mathematics and other fields.  Using mathematical examples that I found challenging and somewhat inaccessible despite their stated simplicity, Polya demonstrates how questions like “What is the unknown?” “Do you know a related problem?” and “Did you use all the data?” can guide a potential problem-solver toward common-sense solutions even to problems that might seem dauntingly complicated at first.  Unfortunately, the book is both very dry and very confusingly organized–I never quite understood the layout and cross-references.  However, it is still a good resource on a surprisingly little-addressed topic.

Confession: I didn’t even attempt to complete the problems at the back of the book–even if I was smart enough to do them, I’ve forgotten most of the math I ever learned and my main reading time is right before falling asleep, which is not really conducive to mental acuity.

Why I read it: it was mentioned in The Organized Mind.

A picture quote I made:

A picture quote from How to Solve It by G. Polya. "No idea is really bad, unless we are uncritical. What is really bad is to have no idea at all." Background image is of the "MegaZapper" Tesla Coil at the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention (Bellingham, WA).

Jasotron: 2012

jasotron 2012 amend andrews mcmeel 2012Jasotron: 2012: A FoxTrot Collection by Bill Amend, 4/5

Usually I’m not a big fan of humor that relies on pop cultural references, but Amend is legitimately funny at times and obviously a huge nerd, which is all I require in a cartoonist.

Why I read it: my brother got it out of the library and it ended up in my gym bag, fulfilling the important role of “backup book” (in case of unforeseen boredom).  I ended up reading half of it while waiting at a Jack in the Box drive-thru for some idiot to collect their $60 order.

Love Factually

love factually welch love science 2016Love Factually: 10 Proven Steps from I Wish to I Do by Duana C. Welsh, PHD, 2/5

I’ve always suspected that I belong to one of the thin ends on the bell curve of normality, so perhaps I should not have been so surprised that reading this book was like reading placards at the zoo about weird animal mating rituals. In this case, the strange animal is a human being who is definitely sure that being married is the key to their happiness and isn’t too hung up on the minor details, like exactly who to marry or why.  After all, if you’re determined to find a spouse, Welch argues that it’s just a simple case of creating a list of more or less arbitrary criteria that can be used to sort through participants in a tireless grind of date-interviews that goes on until you find someone who is either a) if you are a woman, a man who pays for everything and is infatuated with you thanks to your hard-to-get attitude or b) if you are a man, a woman who can be convinced to love you and is as young and beautiful as your status and economic resources merit.

As a guide to getting what you already know you want in a relationship, this book is both practical and disturbingly plausible.  But for people who not only don’t know what they want, but doubt even the possibility of being able to predict what will actually make them happy, this book is worse than useless–it’s nauseating.

Why I read it: it was a gift from a family member.

The Eustace Diamonds

eustace diamonds oxford world's classics 1998The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope, 4/5

Think Pride and Prejudice in reverse, minus the likeable characters and written by a man.  I loved it!  There was lots of gold digging, emotional manipulation, proposals of marriage, retractions of proposals of marriage, thievery and lies, all presented with the quaint respectability that permeates 19th-century British literature.

Why I read it: I wanted to try something by Trollope that wasn’t from his Chronicles of Barsetshire.

Excerpts from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Excerpts from extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds mackay harmony 1980Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, 2/5

Argh, I hate abridged books and would never have purchased this if I’d known it only contained the first (and arguably, most boring) 100 pages of the complete book, whose unabridged summary deceptively appears on the back of this one.  I was promised stories about alchemy, mesmerism, witch burnings and crusades, but all this slim collection contains is esoteric accounts of early stock market crashes.  I found these to be almost incomprehensible, thanks to all the economic terminology, but an accountant, stock trader or student of finance might find them very interesting.

Why I read it: What can I say, the cover appealed to me and it was almost free.

Conversations with Casals

conversations with casals corredor dutton 1956Conversations with Casals by J. Ma. Corredor, translated from the French by André Mangeot, 3/5

Because this book contains a lot of opinions but lacks a corresponding amount of supportive reasoning for said opinions, its value will directly correspond to the reader’s estimation of Casals.  As someone previously unfamiliar with the famous cellist and conductor but very familiar with the appeal to authority fallacy, the aspect of the book that I enjoyed most was not the insight into Casals’ world view, but all the name dropping of other famous musicians and composers.  My favourite anecdote was when, refusing to perform a Dvořák concerto with a conductor who called it “horrible music,” Casals turned to Debussy for support, who responded “Come on, if you wanted to play, you could play.”  Casals was greatly pained by the response but I was greatly amused.

Why I read it: I love the following quote by Casals and when I saw a book about him, hoped to read more in the same vein.

I am perhaps the oldest musician in the world. I am an old man but in many senses a very young man. And this is what I want you to be, young, young all your life, and to say things to the world that are true.

The Ra Expeditions

ra expeditions heyerdahl scribner laidlaw just-a-taste libraries 1988The Ra Expeditions by Thor Heyerdahl, 4/5

Heyerdahl is at it again, living out a real-life adventure story as he sails across the Atlantic in a boat made of reeds and rope.  I love how the author researches and resurrects ancient technology, but I didn’t find this book to be as fresh and compelling as his account of the Kon-Tiki expedition.  This was just a bit more calculated and agenda-driven, lacking the magical sense of adventure and soul that infused Heyerdahl’s earlier portrayal of his journey aboard the famous balsa wood raft.  I suspect it was the Kon-Tiki fame and corresponding sense of responsibility that stole away some of the spontaneity of his earlier adventures.

N.B. I would suggest nobody buy this 1988 Scribner Laidlaw edition, which not only lacks the original photographs but, annoyingly, still includes captions for them.

Why I read it: My brother intended to reread it during our trip to Norway, but I hijacked it.

Ra II Kon-Tiki Museum Thor Heyerdahl 2016

I took this photo of the Ra II while visiting the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (March 2016).

 

Armed Response

armed response kenik merril press 2005Armed Response: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Firearms for Self-Defense by David Kenik, 2/5

There is a distinctly self-published feel to this book which doesn’t really inspire confidence (call me snobby, but I think the cover text shouldn’t be more colorful than the pictures inside).  However, it does provide a very basic overview of equipment and skills necessary for the responsible concealed carrier.  I don’t know much about the topic, so I can’t put my finger on what exactly the book is missing, but it felt light on information–there is a disappointing lack of legal guidelines and very little advice about tactics.  Also, you do have to get past the author’s gun geekery and a bit of self-importance that reminds me of some of the more embarrassing scenes from Mall Cop.  Kenik swears he’s not paranoid (never a hopeful sign), but he does seem borderline.  For example, he actually recommends writing “detailed notes of all relevant class lectures, videos, books and magazine articles” and mailing them to yourself so “the envelope can be opened in court to prove what knowledge you possessed at a given date” (14).  Hmmmm… Or you could maybe not do that and be ok too?

Why I read it: it was a birthday present (buying a gun has been on my to-do list for years).

The Meaning of It All

meaning of it all feynman helix books 1998The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist by Richard P. Feynman, 4/5

The rare combination of humility and genius is as beautiful as it is surprising, especially when encountered in one of the greatest physicists of the modern age.  These three lectures, given at the University of Washington in 1963, explore a variety of unscientific topics–from politics to religion–and surprisingly, do not provide any answers.  What they do give, however, is the opportunity to see non-scientific issues from the point of view of a scientific genius.   This point of view is very different from the arrogant, condescending, closed-minded attitude that comes across from many figures in popular science, who seem to feel that their expertise in a narrow field qualifies them to make pronouncements on everything.  In fact, the emotion that stands out most in these lectures is doubt.  Not a lazy, depressing, hopeless sort of doubt, but a humble, searching doubt that fuels relentless curiosity.  Feynman seems unwaveringly respectful of opinions and beliefs that contradict his own, while applying a formidable intellect and rational approach to the less scientific aspects of human existence.

Why I read it: I’ve enjoyed the two other books by Feynman I’ve read (QED and Six Easy Pieces) and jumped at the chance to read a less challenging book by him when I came across it in Henderson Books.

Tread Lightly

tread lightly larson katovsky skyhorse 2012Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running by Peter Larson and Bill Katovsky, 2/5

The authors are passionate about their topic but I feel this book contributes little to a discussion that is already very much lacking in scientific research and consensus among experts (or at least was in 2012, when it was written).  In an approach reminiscent of the average college essayist, Larson and Katovsky cite a steady stream of inconclusive scientific studies and often-contradictory information that they do not have the expertise to interpret.  Slap on some weak conclusions and the reader is left with a few interesting facts and no real guidance on how to apply them.

Why I read it: My dad mentioned it in conversation.