Books For Your Mind
Saturday, December 30, 2023
The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum
Music as a Mirror of History by Robert Greenberg
Robert Greenberg's Music as a Mirror of History goes behind the scenes to the politics and people behind some of the greatest orchestral works. He offers strong opinions with well researched history. We get to experience the music and composer's motivation.
What We Owe The Future by William MacAskill
I am listening to the audio book version of William MacAskill's book What We Owe The Future. At first I was disappointed in the discussion that covered the idea that our current decisions should focus on the effect of seven generations from our current one. There are no disagreements with this approach but I have known about this approach for over twenty years and wanted additional insight. Fortunately the rest of the book did not disappoint.
The author focuses on long term ism. What threats pose existential threats to the survival of the people on our planet. When the comet Shoemaker-Levy - 9 crashed into Jupiter in 1994 that got the world's attention and we developed the Center for Near Earth Orbit Studies to track space objects that may collide with the earth and cause significant damage.
He discusses the danger of bioengineered agents that could kill a large part of our population. Outbreaks linked to breaches in biosecurity at a lab caused an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease in the UK twice with decaying plumbing as the source. The former Soviet Union had releases of anthrax, small pox and other bioweapons.
The small changes in birth rate produces large changes in the world population. With the exception of Africa most countries do not have replacement birthrates and will begin to have significant declines in population.
There are dangers in locking in ideology or approaches to problems. He noted that the uniform international resistance to early human testing of the covid vaccine on humans even with the fast development probably resulted in the unnecessary deaths of at least a million people. If one country would have taken the risk, we could have learned from their experience. This does point to the benefit of different states and countries trying different solutions to a problem. We should not be too hasty when we want to drive toward a uniform solution.
Reverberation - Do Everything Better with Music by Kevin Blanchard
I picked up Reverberation Do Everything Better with Music by Kevin Blanchard because I watched a YouTube interview with Peter Gabriel about the project.
Each chapter covers a different benefit of music in our lives backed by scientific research. The graphics are colorful. The author sprinkles quotes and interviews with musical artist throughout the book.
The book describes the benefits of music for individuals with dementia showing how Tony Bennett came alive when he would sing. At a Christmas gathering this year, I mentioned this to a health care worker who observed the same effect on a patient who was a former church organist. The woman was generally unresponsive but came alive when they played church Christmas music. According to research cited in the book musical memories are often one of the most conserved in the brain.
Music can also help us get through difficult times such as the sadness from the break up of a relationship. The authors recommend selecting music that reflects the current mood and gradually changing the selection to music that guides a person from the current emotional state to one that allows recovery.
For me and colleagues at work, music helps get through mundane tasks of pouring plates, typing up data tables and analyzing samples. It also brings joy through movement in dance.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown et al
Learning how to learn and how to train others provides opportunities for health and safety professionals to improve the chance that others will survive this increasingly complex world. The Authors of Make it Stick - The Science of Successful Learning provide evidence based method of acquiring and using knowledge.
Tips:
- Quiz yourself about the information at spaced intervals allowing time to forget the information.
- Interleave training. Don't learn only how to hit curve balls. Work on an assortment of curve, fast and sliders during the same session.
- Ask questions about the material that you are reading.
- Write a summary of the material that you have read.
- Work at applying the knowledge that you are acquiring.
- Continually practice the basic skills that are needed.
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Wildlife Photography Adventures from Minnesota and North America by N G Carlson
Back in Minnesota, my early mornings and weekends were spent taking photos at Silverwood Park, Long Lake Regional Park, and Snail Lake Regional Park. Other photos were taken at locations in Scandia, Minnesota and throughout the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
Deer kept following me around again his year. I watched a young buck being chased by a male Red-winged Blackbird across an open meadow at Silverwood Park. I enjoyed watching Great-horned Owls raise their family.
Birds continue to make up most of the wildlife photos with the focus on waterfowl, woodpeckers, songbirds, and shore birds.
I was fortunate to spend the time in nature alone and walking with others on outdoor adventures. I hope these photos encourage you to start your own outdoor adventure.
The book, Wildlife Photography Adventures from Minnesota and North America (soft cover), is available from Amazon in softcover and kindle.
Wildlife Photography Adventures from Minnesota and North America (Wildlife photographs) KindleFriday, November 27, 2020
Discovered Dreams by Scott Murphy
In his third book of Poetry, Discovered Dreams, Scott Murphy examines the life of a child of Alcoholic Parents. This book is dedicated to the caregivers, the referees and the people who survived that childhood. The author survived the experience and so can you.
His previous books, Poems of a Survivor and Recover or Relent deal with disappointment and the decision to actively pursue a path of recovery.