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A review by davidr
Mind, Life, and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time by Lynn Margulis, Eduardo Punset
4.0
This book is a set of interviews with 36 contemporary scientists. Some of the scientists are well known to laymen; Daniel Dennett, Joan Goodall, Richard Dawkins, Oliver Sacks, Stephen Jay Gould, Paul Davies, James Lovelock, Lisa Randall, and Edward O. Wilson, for example. Many of the other scientists are not as well known, at least to me. So, in several pages per interview, I got an inkling--just an inkling of an idea of what each scientist is about. A brief biography on each scientist, and a reading list are featured at the end of the book.
Almost every interview was enjoyable, but I sometimes felt cheated--the interviews are so short, that I got the feeling that we were just skimming the surface, and not penetrating in depth into any particular subject. The vast majority of the interviews were with biologists and psychologists. Only six scientists work in the physical sciences, and most of them are not well-known. So, I felt that the bias of the editors showed through their selection, and again, I felt a bit cheated.
Several of the interviews were particularly fascinating to me. For example, Daniel Gilbert talked about the "Science of Happiness". When people try to predict how happy they might be in some particular vacation, they prefer to read brochures rather than ask others about their experience on the same vacation. They often make the wrong decision about the vacation, because humans have an "illusion of uniqueness". People do not believe that the experiences of others can help them decide, because they we feel we are unique; we know our own thoughts and feelings, and we don't believe that the experiences of others are relevant.
James Lovelock's interview was fascinating. The interview did not explicitly bring up Lovelock's "Gaia" hypothesis, but he had lots to say about the origin and preservation of life on Earth. When asked about how humans might prevent the demise of life, Lovelock declared that it is important to overcome our fears of nuclear power, as it is the only energy source that does not harm the atmosphere. He talked about the pressures that humans put on the Earth's ecology, and some of the misguided efforts of environmentalists.
I loved Eugene Chudnovsky's interview--he is quite a character. I enjoyed his response when he was asked,
This book is not good as a comprehensive guide to the sciences. But it is an excellent way to be exposed to some very interesting, prominent scientists and a wide range of ideas. Think of this book as a "teaser", and you will be well rewarded.
Almost every interview was enjoyable, but I sometimes felt cheated--the interviews are so short, that I got the feeling that we were just skimming the surface, and not penetrating in depth into any particular subject. The vast majority of the interviews were with biologists and psychologists. Only six scientists work in the physical sciences, and most of them are not well-known. So, I felt that the bias of the editors showed through their selection, and again, I felt a bit cheated.
Several of the interviews were particularly fascinating to me. For example, Daniel Gilbert talked about the "Science of Happiness". When people try to predict how happy they might be in some particular vacation, they prefer to read brochures rather than ask others about their experience on the same vacation. They often make the wrong decision about the vacation, because humans have an "illusion of uniqueness". People do not believe that the experiences of others can help them decide, because they we feel we are unique; we know our own thoughts and feelings, and we don't believe that the experiences of others are relevant.
James Lovelock's interview was fascinating. The interview did not explicitly bring up Lovelock's "Gaia" hypothesis, but he had lots to say about the origin and preservation of life on Earth. When asked about how humans might prevent the demise of life, Lovelock declared that it is important to overcome our fears of nuclear power, as it is the only energy source that does not harm the atmosphere. He talked about the pressures that humans put on the Earth's ecology, and some of the misguided efforts of environmentalists.
I loved Eugene Chudnovsky's interview--he is quite a character. I enjoyed his response when he was asked,
"But do you believe in cyborgs, in those half-machine, half-organism hybrids?"There is a famous story about Chudnovsky, when he was young, attending a lecture by the world-famous Soviet Professor Lysenko. Unfortunately, Lysenko believed in Lamarkism, and he had a lot of influence in the Soviet Union. Lysenko said,
"Of course I believe in cyborgs."
"If we cut the ears off calves when they were born, generation after generation, after some time cows would be born without ears."
"Professor Lysenko," timidly asked the young Chudnovsky, "if it were true that by systematically cutting off cow's ears, generation after generatation, they would end up being born without ears, how do you explain that all the young women of the Soviet Union continue to be born virgins?"
This book is not good as a comprehensive guide to the sciences. But it is an excellent way to be exposed to some very interesting, prominent scientists and a wide range of ideas. Think of this book as a "teaser", and you will be well rewarded.