Your summer reading list

AUTHORS: ANASTASIJA ZUBOVA & AYU TAMAKI

Project Wisdom is a student-led book club that curates a reading list every semester and gathers KI students to read and discuss popular science literature. A wide array of books is chosen to highlight different messages and to challenge the readers’ critical thinking. We would like to present you Project Wisdom’s selection of books for the spring semester of 2021.

1. Blindness by JOSE SARAMAGO

Blindness is a novel about a contagion that causes blindness and the chaos that ensues, putting forth the idea of the public uniting to overcome a terrible disease. We chose this book because it reflects current social circumstances amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. This book – first published more than two decades ago – gives us a chance to compare our lives today to fictional ones, highlighting the similarities and differences between the real world and the author’s imagination. As it is hard to face the impacts of Covid-19 alone, we hope that this book will be a fantastic opportunity to come together to contemplate our lives critically and subjectively during this pandemic.

2. How to Argue with a Racist: What Our Genes Do (and Don't) Say about Human Difference by ADAM RUTHERFORD

This book was chosen to shed light on the racism thatpersists in society today. Racist pseudoscience hasbecome so commonplace that it can be hard to distinguishbut its toxic effects on society are evident. Stereotypes andmyths not supported by the modern study of humangenetics are frequently propagated. We believe that racismis not an issue to shy away from, but one we must facetogether to understand its underlying mechanisms. Wehope that readers are challenged to face how misinformationmay be skewing their worldview and criticalthinking.

3. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by ELIZABETH KOLBERT

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History highlights one ofthe most important issues that the world faces today –environmental and ecological destruction. This bookcombines research from multiple disciplines and evaluatesthe myriad of problems associated with human activity andprovides opportunities for readers to think about what theycan do to salvage the Earth's natural environment. Kolbertargues that we are the catalysts of the sixth extinction, andstudying how we have altered and damaged the Earthallows us to fix our mistakes and avoid repeating them. Wehope that readers can rethink the fundamental question ofwhat it means to be human and what we can give back tothe Earth.

4. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

Astrophysics is a topic that seemingly has little to no relation to the medical field. However, there has been a great demand for books that cover a broader scope of the sciences, and so, to match this demand, one of the most critically acclaimed popular science books on astrophysics was chosen. Renowned worldwide as an educator and celebrity, Tyson gives us a perspective into his mind by attempting to describe the infiniteness of the universe. Written to be read while waiting for your morning coffee brews, or during your wait for the bus to arrive, we hope that this book will not only provide useful knowledge but also bring a momentary escape from the real world and allow readers to wander into the magic of the universe.

5. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by HANS ROSLING

Honoring the late Professor Rosling from Karolinska Institutet, this worldwide best-selling book highlights the lack of knowledge in public health of average people. Most know surprisingly little about the world. When asked simple questions about global trends, such as why the world's population is increasing or how many live in poverty, we frequently get the answers wrong. So wrong, in fact, that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random can consistently out-perform journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. Inspiring and revelatory, Factfulness was chosen as an urgent and essential book for all current and future scientists. We hope that this book will help students gain a better and more realistic understanding of the world.

6. The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design by RICHARD DAWKINS

Evolution, evolution, evolution... Say it how many times you want but do you really know what it is? In the eighteenth century, theologian William Paley developed a famous metaphor for creationism: that of the skilled watchmaker. If natural selection can be said to play the role of a watchmaker in nature, then it is a blind one— working without foresight or purpose. In an eloquent manner, Dawkins illustrates the beauty behind evolution that allows simple organisms to slowly change over time to create a world of enormous complexity and diversity. This book challenges the readers to think critically of evolution and appreciate the elegant scientific proofs that went into evaluating problems of evolution.

You can join Project Wisdom at the beginning of every semester, and it is completely free! They also have a monthly newsletter that is always open for any submissions. Contact them! You can FIND OUT MORE in the Medicor Magazine!