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Something New (No 5)
Sep. 28th, 2018 11:47 amWhen I was considering things to do in my Year of Something New, 
mafief came up with several suggestions. Amongst them was to read some sci-fi. I took up the challenge and it confirmed my previous thoughts - I'm not a fan of sci-fi, other than in a vague Dr Who/Star Trek way. And of course Rudybago.
I reserved two books from the library, which duly climbed out of the vaults to make their way to my local library for collection. As an aside, I am a great fan of the library, even if I am number 45 in the list for the new Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling) Cormoran Strike novel - that's out of 102 reservations. (There are 14 copies in the library, but a lot are currently on fast back - ie one week loan. I'm sure that will change in a few months.) But I'm not in a rush to read it. However, I digress.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
I found this hard going at first, but gradually got into it and wanted to know what happened. As someone with a competency kink I got very annoyed when the author stated baldly the scientists did the wrong thing. They were working to a very tight timeframe, they were tired and they had to make decisions as to the best way to proceed, given limited people resources. They made the wrong decisions but entirely reasonable ones given the circumstances. And the ending was a total anticlimax.
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley
Not fiction this time. The book was written in 2000 and I did wonder how much has changed since the book was written. Not that I have a particular interest in following up on the topic, but clearly there will have been many further discoveries regarding our genes in the last 18 years. I found it hard work at the beginning, getting to grips with the scientific terms, but then it became easier. The middle sections of the book were interesting, and gave me some interesting background information. But by the end the writer had fallen into the trap of saying those in the past were wrong, we are the ones who are right. This is just arrogant.
An interesting challenge, and one which confirmed me in my previous thoughts. But still I learnt things, broadened my horizons, and that's never a bad thing to do.
mafief came up with several suggestions. Amongst them was to read some sci-fi. I took up the challenge and it confirmed my previous thoughts - I'm not a fan of sci-fi, other than in a vague Dr Who/Star Trek way. And of course Rudybago. I reserved two books from the library, which duly climbed out of the vaults to make their way to my local library for collection. As an aside, I am a great fan of the library, even if I am number 45 in the list for the new Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling) Cormoran Strike novel - that's out of 102 reservations. (There are 14 copies in the library, but a lot are currently on fast back - ie one week loan. I'm sure that will change in a few months.) But I'm not in a rush to read it. However, I digress.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
I found this hard going at first, but gradually got into it and wanted to know what happened. As someone with a competency kink I got very annoyed when the author stated baldly the scientists did the wrong thing. They were working to a very tight timeframe, they were tired and they had to make decisions as to the best way to proceed, given limited people resources. They made the wrong decisions but entirely reasonable ones given the circumstances. And the ending was a total anticlimax.
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley
Not fiction this time. The book was written in 2000 and I did wonder how much has changed since the book was written. Not that I have a particular interest in following up on the topic, but clearly there will have been many further discoveries regarding our genes in the last 18 years. I found it hard work at the beginning, getting to grips with the scientific terms, but then it became easier. The middle sections of the book were interesting, and gave me some interesting background information. But by the end the writer had fallen into the trap of saying those in the past were wrong, we are the ones who are right. This is just arrogant.
An interesting challenge, and one which confirmed me in my previous thoughts. But still I learnt things, broadened my horizons, and that's never a bad thing to do.
