Category: Reading

This book is a collection of myth busting study summaries (with a bit of common sense thrown in for good measure) in which the authors attempt to disabuse the minds of the general public of the sometimes rampant misconceptions people have about the way their minds work. For example, we do not know how smart the human brain can be, thus the assertion that we only use 10% of it cannot be true. Further, using brain scans we have found, at one time or another, every area of the brain in use.

Interesting tidbit: blind people usually only dream with imagery if they had sight before the age of 7.

In his “prequel” to Built to Last Collins does an incredibly in-depth analysis of publicly traded companies that have gone from mediocre to amazing. He then break the analysis into eight thing that he and his team found in common with all of the companies.

Interesting tidbit: Most of the CEOs you have heard of have been outperformed by the CEOs on the eleven “great” companies identified in the book, most of which you probably have never heard of. 

In this book, McPhee teams up with a Geology professor to explore what is known as the Basin and Range (the greater Colorado area). He talks about his exploration into the theory behind the unusual formations in the area and adds a bit of intrigue as we learn that the professor is also interested in finding old silver mines and reprocessing the discarded ore to find left behind silver (and he does). In general, this book provides a fascinating insight into a very geologically unique area of the world.

Interesting tidbit: while sand stone and silt stone look very similar to the unaided eye, sand stone is gritty when chewed on while the silt stone is creamy.

(Annals of the Former World is a collection of five different books about geology written by McPhee).

A collection of scientific explanations of things we experience every day but do not usually things much about. Things like a drip of honey, why toast lands buttered side down, why leaves change colors in the fall and why people react negatively when a stranger was starring at them. Ingram is careful to explain the science well enough that a layman can understand it but not so deeply that it feels like a science class.

Interesting tidbit: A drip of honey, as far as we can tell (even looking at the microscopic level), never actually disconnects from the source of the dripping. In fine pictures taken of the process, there is still a thin strand of honey (invisible to the eye) that attaches the drip.

A fun collection of bizarre medical (and mostly psychological) experiences Sacks had while practicing medicine. While few of these tails were of actual benefit to me, it was interesting to see how power the mind can be.

Interesting tidbit: Sacks’ tale for which the book is named after is one where the man, a brilliant music instructor, can no longer identify patterns but only disconnected attributes (i.e. he can see the nose, eyes and mouth but no longer recognizes an face). He is still able to correctly identify his students by their body movements or “body music” as he calls it.