The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science | List Price: $15.95
Discount Price: $3.09
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Binding: Paperback
This canon needs another en [Posted on 2008-08-05]
Natalie Angier was mad as heck and wanted some science to go wring a neck. That of her sister, who saw no need, for muse-seeums now that her children were ready for new sceneums. So she wrote and she wrote and came up with a book that should have captured the basics of science in a new look. Alas Natalie spent a lot of time writing about subjects obscure in order to educate the masses toujours.
Too clever by half, she got most of it right, but her writing got in the way- 'twas too trite. Bombeckian prose over and over again, makes for wrinkled nose, over and over again. And over and over again. And again. Every page, sometimes ten.
Not a total waste of time, some good basic science, but at the end of the day, a writing style of annoyance. Add to it some comments that are way too PC, and you have a half a book, not a great one, you see.
A Fine Introduction To The Major Areas of Science [Posted on 2008-08-09]
Sometimes the best explainers of a topic are outsiders or laymen, rather than practitioners in the field. The author isn't a scientist so she can still see complex topics from the layman's viewpoint. This is, simply put, a great book. It covers not only the nuts and bolts of science (what is the doppler effect?) but the philosophy behind science (why does the scientific method do such a good job at explaining our world?)
The writing is breezy and not stilted, using metaphors instead of math to explain difficult topics. The chapter on evolutionary biology is my favorite, and covers not only the mechanics of evolution but the controversy, and explains the tenets (and bad reasoning) of the Intelligent Design movement. After reading this chapter it seemed like a veil lifted from my eyes, and I got excited and yelled, "I get it!"
A couple of my favorite quotes:
From the chapter on evolutionary biology: "Natural selection is the force that transforms drift and randomness into the gift of extravagance. It takes the doctrinaire sloth of the second law of thermodynamics, the tendency of every system to get frowzier over time, and hammers it into a magic, all-purpose, purpose-making machine that turns around and breaks entropy at the knees."
From the chapter on astronomy, talking about the search for extraterrestrials: "We are such indefatigable telecommunicators that the world and its 6.5 billion content providers don't feel like enough, and we can't help but wonder, Who else can we call?"
The book is wonderful and definitely is worth reading several times. My only gripes: there is the occasional reference to some current pop culture celebrity, and I think this will make an otherwise timeless book seem dated in a few years. Also I think that the book would have been enhanced by an occasional illustration. For instance, the explanation of the galaxies flying away from each other is much easier understood if you actually see a picture of a balloon with dots on it to represent the galaxies.
Basic? It most certainly is not! [Posted on 2008-09-15]
After reading the torturous "Canon" I can honestly say that it was the most terrible book I have ever read. Angier promises to help the common man understand the "beautiful basics of science", and there was nothing "beautiful" or "basic" about this book. Throughtout the reading, I was confused and lost on what Angier was speaking about. Many of the references went right over my head and I had to read sections 3-4 times in order to fully grasp what she was trying to say. In addition, Angier never fully expressed what she wanted to say and instead hid it behind a "joke", which wasn't very funny anyway. To the future buyer: run far, far away and do not purchase this book, it was a complete waste of money.
Thanks, Natalie.... [Posted on 2008-10-07]
The process of reading this book reminded me of a story I once heard in which Claire Booth Luce was asked if she like to write. "No," she replied, "but I like having written." Reading 'The Canon' was a lot like that: it was sometimes tough going, but I liked having read it. No one ever said science was easy, but with a little effort an attempt to understand the basics behind Physics, Chemistry, and the other branches of science can make living in the world a richer experience.
I am grateful to Natalie Angier - one of my favorite columnists - for the 'whirligig tour' of the basics of science in one fairly slim volume. And to sweeten the pill a bit, she has injected her signature wit, which I enjoy so much in her columns.
I particularly appreciated the chapter on probabilities: once, on a plane, I sat next to a gentleman who claimed to have been in three different airplane accidents. At the time, I questioned his sanity; having read the chapter on probabilities, I now think it was entirely possible.
The world is an amazing place. It is worth taking time to try to understand it.
A quip trip through science [Posted on 2008-11-28]
Inspiration 1/5,education 2/5,distraction 1/5,overall 2/5. An attempt to explain science with literary flourishes but without tables, pictures, graphs, abstracts or summaries. She uses none of the tools common in the scientific literature. Stories can be helpful but the stories here tend to be about modern researchers and their journey, not very inspirational and not very explanatory.
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