BOOK REVIEWS The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Brian Greene
Sid Mukherjee
According to recent discoveries done by physicists and astronomers, our universe might not be the only one out there. Certain evidence gives rise to the idea that it is part of something bigger: the multiverse.
Think of cancer as person. A hostile, complex and very persistent individual. According to oncologist Sid Mukherjee, this is the best approach to understand the history of cancer. Recently, Mukerjee wrote cancer’s biography.
In The Hidden Reality, theoretical physicist Brian Greene discusses all of the current hot topics in cosmology: from the quantum mechanical to the brain, to us living in a Matrixstyle computer simulation, Greene illustrates a number of possibilities for parallel universes of various kinds. These possibilities even include places where duplicates of Earth exist, to places where the very laws of reality are stunningly different. String Theory, the contentious, complicated and convoluted mathematics that describe one dimensional strings as the fundamental building block of everything, are our tools and guideposts for exploring these possible multiverses. There are many of us thinking of one version of a parallel universe theory or another, Greene notes: “If it’s all a lot of nonsense, then it’s a lot of wasted effort going into this far-out idea. But if this idea is correct, it is a fantastic upheaval in our understanding.”
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The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
From the first chemotherapy developed from textile dyes to the possibilities emerging from our understanding of cancer cells, Mukherjee leaves no stone unturned while explaining cancer’s life cycle and history. He touches upon some sticky misconceptions –cancer is by no means a lifestyle disease, as many people think, nor is there one cure for every kind of cancer- and he also includes the patient’s perspective in his story. The idea that cancer cells are copies of who we are is, Mukherjee emphasises, not a metaphor. “We can rid ourselves of cancer,” he concludes, “only as much as we can rid ourselves of the processes in our physiology that depend on growth; – aging, regeneration, healing, reproduction.”
The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life Jesse Bering
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Mary Roach
Ever yelled at your computer? In The Belief Instinct, cognitive psychologist Jesse Bering argues that because of a little evolutionary mistake called empathy, we humans have a tendency to attribute a conscience to nonliving things. As a result, we created God.
Suppose you are living in a space shuttle for six months. Gravity doesn’t exist. And then… the shuttle’s toilet malfunctions. What can you do? In Packing for Mars, Mary Roach investigates the most banal aspects of life in space.
There is a scientific term for this way of thinking—”theory of mind.” As a direct consequence of the evolution of the human social brain, we sometimes can’t help but see intentions, desires, and beliefs in things that lack consciousness: animals, plants, and even our furniture. After his introduction of the theory of mind, Bering then applies it to religion. “What if I were to tell you that God’s mental states, too, were all in your mind?” Bering argues that although it definitely had its benefits in the past, currently this persistent illusion has outlasted its evolutionary purpose. Therefore we should turn over a new leaf and start thinking of ways to escape it.
As interesting as spaceflight might be, many people are just as fascinated by the side-effects of it. How do you endure living in a tiny space for months, where there’s no privacy, and more importantly, no gravity? Packing for Mars answers these questions. However, the book is not just about the gory details. Roach also studies the cultural differences which exist in spaceflight, for example: in Japan, psychologists evaluate astronaut candidates by their ability to fold origami cranes swiftly under stress. There are also the extraordinary tests done by NASA, where a bone-loss-study participant was forced to lie in bed for three months to simulate the effect of weightlessness on his skeleton. Packing for Mars is funny, sometimes even slapstick, but also genuinely interesting.
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