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Friday, December 22, 2017

Book Review: Why? What Makes Us Curious-Mario Mivio

Mario Livio is a very well-known polymath, an astrophysicist as well as an author known for writing books on different math and physics related topics. I had read about this particular book on the New York Times, the idea of exploring curiosity excited me immensely. A systematic look at why we are curious and what the sciences tell us about our curiosity was a very seductive topic indeed.
In the end, the final couple of chapters really redeemed the book, as for the rest of the book, I cannot really put a finger on why the material failed to engage my….curiosity, but it did not.
This is a thin book, not really an academic tome on the science and history of curiosity, yet it retains that flavor throughout. Dr. Livio is a good writer, and undertook a very logical and systematic approach to telling the story, I expected no less from and eminent astrophysicist.
The first chapter examines the very human trait of being curious. He very nicely and in the fine story telling fashion of these kind of books to lay out the ground work for examining what curiosity is and what curiosity means to him personally, as he is the primary investigator of this book.
Three chapters are about people, people who has exhibited the kind of intense curiosity that enticed Dr. Livio to examine the topic. Two chapters tells the story of two legendary polymaths from the past: Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Feynman. These were entertaining and knowledgeable chapters telling the stories of the intellectual prowess of two remarkable men. He makes the case that curiosity is what drove these men to the achievements that they have accomplished. While they are not complete biographies of these two giants of science and curiosity seekers, the two chapters fully drew my attention into the story. Much later, Dr. Livio interviewed living polymaths, people who exhibit the same kind of intense curiosity as Leonardo and Feynman. They are living in the modern world, and their stories are similarly engaging, although they are just a little less fascinating since they have yet to come to a complete picture of the result of their curiosity since their productive life is far from over.
A very scientifically satisfying and thorough examination of curiosity was undertaken through the usual process of reviewing and encapsulating the most recent research being done in the sciences. A substantial chapter was devoted to the anthropology of curiosity, two chapters were devoted to a competent review of what we know about curiosity from the psychological and neuroscience aspects of the topic. A chapter was devoted to the human love of curiosity, a historical look at our civilization and how curiosity drives us into achieving what we have achieved as a civilization. In the end two chapters were devoted to asking the question Why Curiosity and an epilogue which nicely summarizes the book.
I liked the organization, I liked the approach, and it should have been quite an easy sell to me, but it was challenging for me to completely engage in the stories and studies.  I would postulate that Dr. Livio made his case in a pretty clinical way. The psychological studies, as well as the neuroscience chapters were kind of a slog because I was not familiar with those areas and I was struggling with some of the conclusions and arguments. I am not sure if doing more with what he had or whether doing less with what he had would have helped. I think I still would have had a challenging time. Perhaps in skimming over the book after some time had passed would do the trick.

Indeed, I am very glad that this book was written and at least this was placed in the popular literature for the sake of posterity. I believe that it is a capable and informative book on the subject of curiosity, which made me curious and being curious, which after all is what the purpose of the book is supposed to be.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Book Review: How To Be Alone-By Sara Maitland

I had read a short piece by Maria Popova on her Brain Pickings web site and I was intrigued by the content that Maria had posted, so I decided to read the book itself. I had known of the School of Life books from my acquaintance with Alain de Botton’s work and I had very high expectations.
This title more than met my expectations but in different ways. I had expected the tome to be much heavier, more philosophical and questioning. It was all of that and more. Maitland researched her topic thoroughly. She split the topic into three sections: Being Alone in the Twentieth Century, Rebalancing Attitude to Solitude, and The Joys of Solitude. So she proposes a problem, goes into the history of our civilization’s take on solitude and all the social and cultural constraints that we have imposed on those that seek solitude. She talks about the alternative ways to think of solitude and being alone, ways that debunk the cultural taboos that was imposed by a culture that is dominated by extraverts. Finally, she talks about the joys and satisfaction that comes with spending time only with yourself.
This is a remarkable book, one that lays out a history of a social act which is both beloved and mistrusted by the mass culture.

Maitland writes in a leisurely rhythm, the pace of the information flow is fast enough to keep the reader’s attention yet exciting enough to be interesting. Her prose is lovely and loving, giving the readers a gentle introduction to the topic; she is rigorous as well, presenting her facts with convincing details. It was a lesson in the school of life; indeed, this is a very engrossing and also a very educational one, perfect for the introverted autodidact such as myself.