David’s Comments (group member since Dec 13, 2009)

David’s comments from the Science and Inquiry group.

Here is a complete list of all the books our group has read.

If you want to see a complete list of books that our group has already read and discussed, Use this link.

Saranyaa wrote: "I nominate Behave by Robert Sapolsky https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3..."

Behave is an excellent book. But we already read this book, back in August 2019. Here is our discussion.

Betsy wrote: "David, are you sure you can't reserve a copy of a book online? I can do it via Overdrive. Both e-books and audible."

Betsy, unfortunately the book is only available at my library in printed format. And the library system is "closed until further notice." If the book were available through Overdrive either in audiobook or ebook formats, I would certainly download it.

Camelia Rose wrote: "Just finished Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are, very fascinating new take on what's nature and what's nurture. A lot of intriguing arguments on IQ, personality..."

Camelia, thanks for the tip. I put the book on my to-read list. I cannot reserve a copy at my library, as it is closed now :-(

A. wrote: "Had a look for the May 2020 book Flu by Gina. Kolata'. Am I correct in thinking this book is out of print? In a preliminary search I could only find secondhand copies for sale costing £67 -£100."

You are correct, A. I did find it available for $25 at Oxford Academic. But unfortunately, this book is really only available as a Kindle version for a reasonable price. It is not available at my local library. In retrospect, I think we should not have allowed this book into our poll. Sorry about that!

DAVID. I am a scientist, and I specialize in physics and physical oceanography. Currently I am working about half-time, as I am nearing retirement. My second passion is composing music, which I've been doing since I was a teenager--aeons ago, it would seem! I used to go on research cruises on ships for a few weeks at a time. During my free time I would try my hand at composing while on board ships. What a mistake! These were small ships, and they would bounce up and down, and cut your IQ in half! The other half was wasted, just trying to stay upright without falling--it's like a roller coaster you can't get off--lots of fun!

I have always been a big reader. But since joining Goodreads, I've been reading a more diversified range of books, and smarter, too! What do I mean by that? Well, I see all these recommendations for books, and after reading reviews, I see that there is a much wider range of topics that can be fascinating, than I had previously thought. So, by "reading smarter", I mean that I can be more particular about the books I read, and as a result, I rate the vast majority with 4 or 5 stars.

When I first joined this "Science and Inquiry" group, I nominated a book that I thought would be great. I had not looked carefully at the reviews. It was voted to become the book of the month. I started to read it--and it was a total dud! Oh well, I learned my lesson.

Maria wrote: "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund

[book:Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About..."

This is a wonderful book--I thought it was so engaging! However, we already read this book in August, 2018.

Maria wrote: "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3..."

I loved this book, "Why We Sleep"! However, we already read this book back in November, 2018.

Peter (Pete) wrote: "Robert Sapolsky "Behave"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3..."

That is an excellent book. But we read it in August, 2019. Here is a link to our discussion.

A. wrote: "Hi there! I'm a scientist and a writer. My loves are science (broad scope) and science fiction, specifically SF that explores ideas and challenges perceptions (not space opera, sagas, fantasy etc)...."

Welcome, to our group, A! What types of things do you write about?

It is interesting that your have a degree in physics and are also pursuing philosophy and religion. What leads you to this combination? (Just curious!)

Welcome, Diego! Like you, I enjoy listening to audiobooks.

I just finished reading the book. The book seems to be aimed toward the layman; but I don't see how a non-specialist can appreciate the subtle arguments that are presented. After reading the book, I can definitely understand the difficulties others are having with the book. Here is my review.

Joan wrote: "David,
“ ... We are most definitely NOT saying that there is an electron with some position and velocity, we just don’t know what those are, so the wave function encapsulates our ignorance about those quantities” chap 1 ..."

Joan, yes, Carroll is saying that the uncertainty principle is not that there is some uncertainty in simultaneously knowing a particle's position and momentum. It is that a particle does not simultaneously have a definite position and momentum.

This is non-intuitive because it is so different from classical physics, which is based on our everyday experiences.

Nancy, the principle factors that you plug into the equation are the mass of the particle(s) and potential energy. The potential energy is derived from knowledge of the force(s) involved, such as the electric fields produced by the charges of protons and electrons. As with all differential equations, you also need to know the boundary conditions.

In my example above for a wave equation for, say, a plucked guitar string, the boundary condition is that the string is held stationary at both ends.

Nancy wrote: "I'm still in the dark. so far he's mentioned spin but hadn't gone into any detail about it. I'm not clear at all on what Schrodinger 's equation means. And I can't even type it because my phone doe..."

Nancy, here is a way of thinking about Schrodinger's equation. The equation describes the behavior of a wave function. Here is an analogy from everyday life. Think of a stiff string under tension; maybe a spring, or a guitar string. Pluck it, and a fast camera could capture the string's position at a particular instant in time. But your eye isn't fast enough to track the string's motion, and you see a blur. The blur corresponds to the probability that the string is in some state over a period of time.

There is a wave equation that describes how the plucked string behaves. The solution of that equation can be squared and averaged over time to give the probability that the string is at any one place, corresponding to the shape of the blurred image in your eye. Likewise, the solution of Schrodinger's equation, when squared, gives us the probability that a particle (or a system of particles) is in some state.

I placed the book on hold at the library over a month ago. We will see when it arrives. :-)

I loved this book--it is excellent.

This tidbit really made me think: Mining the Bitcoin cryptocurrency now produces as much carbon dioxide each year as a million transatlantic flights!

Here is my review.

Person123 wrote: "I'm trying to understand what is going on in here. i have published a book on a subject of evolution. can i promote it here?"

Person123, I have sent you a private message. The answer is, yes, you can post a new topic in our Self Promotion (Authors) area. The link is:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

I really enjoyed this book. Michael Pollan is one of my favorite authors. I just love the stories he tells, especially the one about Andrew Weill. I am not going to spoil it--this book is entertaining and informative. Here is my review.