Bryson is a wonderful travel guide, and this time around he takes us through an enjoyable tour of the human body. The book is surprisingly detailed, fBryson is a wonderful travel guide, and this time around he takes us through an enjoyable tour of the human body. The book is surprisingly detailed, for a popular-science book. Bryson exhibits his usual knack for the extraordinary and unusual, but despite veering close to it at times, he avoids the pitfall of making this book just a tour of the oddities of the human body.
Bryson takes just enough such detours to keep us amused, but just like a good tour guide ensures that we are adequately educated as well. The best thing about Bryson, as best exhibited in A Short History of Nearly Everything, is his knack to make everything he touches so memorable. I am sure if a quiz was added after each chapter, most of his readers would fare very well in them. Did you know it takes more time for food to move through a woman's digestive system, than a man's? Who would've thought to include that in an anatomy book?
However, is this the best book to pick up if you are interested in reading about the Human Body? It might be the most fun book, but I am sure even Bryson would recommend Daniel Lieberman's The Story of the Human Body over his own book if you could read just one anatomy book. After all, he refers to Lieberman so often that it sometimes feels like this whole book is nothing but a detailed review of Lieberman's magnum opus. If you can spare the time for two, by all means, get both.
Towards the end, Bryson comes to the real point of why we are reading the book - how to keep ourselves healthy. He takes us through a tour of nutrition science, exercise science and even of mortality. In the end, Bryson leaves us with the message that it is not that difficult to live a good life - you just have to take good care of your most precious resource - your Body....more
A basic principle of travel-reading is that a Bill Bryson book will rarely let you down. It is a reliable companion if you want to have a jolly time. A basic principle of travel-reading is that a Bill Bryson book will rarely let you down. It is a reliable companion if you want to have a jolly time. However, though it has many chuckles spread at a decent enough frequency in comparison with most other books, it suffers in comparison with masterworks like Notes from a Small Island or A walk in the woods.
According to my calculations, laugh-out-loud moments in Notes from a Big Country clocks in at around 0.000121 that of Notes from a Small Island. Is it because the Big Country is intrinsically less funny than the Small Island? No. As proved by the fact that according to expert statistical data, this book clocks in at 0.00003 that of A walk in the Woods, set in, you guessed it, the Big Country.
Then what is the cause of this anomaly for a writer who is so out of his depth anywhere that just the sight of him should throw you into fits of laughter? Well, it is because he didn't really want to write this book (or rather, the columns). He stumbled into it, as he makes clear upfront. He didn't have the time for it, and didn't intend to do justice to it. As a result, He just rambles on about random trivia that he found in other books or newspaper columns, mostly in New England... while, presumably, taking care of other stuff. And it shows....more
A Bill Bryson book will rarely let you down. It is a reliable companion if you want to have a jolly time. That said, this book cannot avoid comparisonA Bill Bryson book will rarely let you down. It is a reliable companion if you want to have a jolly time. That said, this book cannot avoid comparison with one of Bryson's best - Notes from a Small Island.
According to my calculations, laugh-out-loud moments in More Notes clocks in at around 0.264 that of the Original Notes.
This book is more like a long afterword to the original, but if Bryson has more to say about any place, even if a more geriatric, petulant, and less funny version of the Bryson you expect, you better pay attention. You will still get more laughs than from most books, at least from those that attempt to entertain as well as inform.
The book closes with two key notes that echo across the two books: 1. How beautiful Britain is 2. How it is not being looked after half as well as it should be
I have said it many times before, but it really cannot be stated too often: there isn’t a landscape in the world that is more artfully worked, more lovely to behold, more comfortable to be in, than the countryside of Great Britain. It is the world’s largest park, its most perfect accidental garden. I think it may be the British nation’s most glorious achievement.
All we have to do is look after it. I hope that’s not too much to ask....more
A Critical (& Patronizing) Survey of Western Philosophy
Russell is consistently opinionated throughout his presentation and it might confuse some of th A Critical (& Patronizing) Survey of Western Philosophy
Russell is consistently opinionated throughout his presentation and it might confuse some of the readers that he is so casual in writing off some of the major philosophers and their key ideas. This is because the book is not a mere history of philosophy, a mere account of ideas, by any stretch. Instead it is a critical survey, a long catalogue of what Russell agrees and disagrees with among all the major doctrines. The format followed is: a brief historical sketch to give context to a doctrine, an even briefer explanation, and then a long critical take that will put forward Russell’s opinions, usually about why it is misguided in the light of modern scientific approach. And more often than not, he is wary of those ideas which, from the point of view of his war-torn present, seemed 'dangerous.'
In fact, I think that three strands of vexation can be discerned:
1. Leading to orthodoxy in religion 2. Leading to rigidity in logic 3. Leading to Totalitarian fantasies
Any idea which Russell felt was tending towards these were roundly attacked and put in place. Must have felt like a humanitarian act, writing this book! After all, the long stretch of time that allowed Russell to undertake the tome was granted him by a stay in prison — his crime was distributing pacifist literature during the First World War. Hitler caused him to later renounce his pacifism, to the point that he wished he were younger so that he might don a uniform himself.
If you were to attempt a history of philosophy, you can write a history without imposing on the reader what your own opinions are. Or you can write a history just to let the reader know exactly what you (as a thinker of some standing yourself, you might add!) think of each philosopher. Or you can write a history and try to justify why you prefer some, even one, more than the others.
Russell has opted to for a mix of the last two options — and he prefers himself over all others, that’s all!
As the book progresses it becomes more and more clear that it is a summary of Russell’s views, and not of the philosophers being discussed. This means that most of them gets short shrift. And as we approach modern times it is amusing to see how Russell is almost impatient for the history to quickly reach and culminate in his own position of Logical Positivism, which he clearly thinks is the best approach to philosophy and in the light of which he judges everyone else. This allows him to narrate the entire historical progress in a patronizing and all-knowing tone that might be jarring to a reader who is not willing to take the same attitude towards Russell’s own naivete!
You have to out-patronize the patronizing author to enjoy this fully. That is the trick. And if you do, there is no end of fun to be had form this eminently readable epic....more
The International Astronomical Union recently named an asteroid after Randall Munroe; asteroid 4942 Munroe is bi Change.Org Petition: Despicable Munroe
The International Astronomical Union recently named an asteroid after Randall Munroe; asteroid 4942 Munroe is big enough to cause a mass extinction if it ever hits Earth.
Not that he needs an asteroid to do that. He has his minions devising millions of ways to do it, on a subversive site they call xkcd.com. This book is a set of leaked manuals.
It should be clear to all how dangerous this guy (and his site) really is. But all Government agencies fail to heed my warnings.
I exhort you to read this and then contact your local representative immediately. We can stop him. Together.
If you still have doubts, let me remind you of numerous disaster movies — there is always only ONE GUY who saw it coming! Do you really want to ignore me?
Thread #00000001: Started by ARIADNE at xxx p.m. xxx xxx BC GMT
‘No one realised that the book and the labyrinth were one and the s The Hungry Labyrinth
Thread #00000001: Started by ARIADNE at xxx p.m. xxx xxx BC GMT
‘No one realised that the book and the labyrinth were one and the same …’ – who said thIs and about what?
:-)
Sarpedontosaurus: What’s going on? Where am I?
Sarpedontosaurus: Hi? Is there anyone else here …? Pls reply ...
Sarpedontosaurus: I see that I have been "liked". What does that mean? This is weird. Hello?
Borgesausaurus: I'm here - can't you hear my voice echoing down the labyrinth of years..
Sarpedontosaurus: Are you being cryptic? Do you know where we are? Where are you typing this from? Why do we seem to have names that suggest we are lizards?
Leto-of-the-Light: Well, I don't have a lizard name, at least ... But other than that, I don't understand a word of what you are saying. I am just not bright enough I guess. Why do I seem to be trapped in this "review" of a book that I cannot see the title or cover of? Is this just a chat room?
Meletē-thinker: Umm.. what the xxx is all this? This is just plain weird! And how is this xxx clamor a review? I happen to know what those are!
Sarpedontosaurus: So much for my lizard-theory. Does anyone remember how they ended up here?? I remember sleeping in xxx yesterday and when I woke up I am trapped in this room with a terminal that can load only this web address! I am xxx and xxx is waiting for me ... How do I get out? Where is this Ariadne who started this "thread" or "review" or whatever?
PeisinoeFatale: Hi everyone. I have been silent till now, but I happen to know a bit about what is going on. xxx, and an intricate garden of xxx paths. A labyrinth of symbols and time. And then, after reading this "chat room" review, I got curious. Interesting book that is going to my TBR shelf. Thank you, by the way, for making me think about xxx. again, xxx. A very original review.
Sarpedontosaurus: @PeisinoeFatale, you mean to say you are here voluntarily? How did you enter here? You seem to talk as if you are able to see the author of the review and other things ... censored out by our moderators/moderator? Are you in a garden? I seem to be in a school room with an elaborate door and only this terminal around.
NotHerakles: Well, hi everyone. I seem o be caught in here too now. Seems like commenting on the comment thread is what does it. Maybe we are here to learn something? By the way, I would be careful of what PeisinoeFatale says. Her name suggests that she is one of those beautiful, dangerous and misleading Sirens, She seems to suggest we are in a review of a xxx novel, but I am pretty sure we are not. I am xxx, and I am the author of all reviews on this profile on xxx.com. But I DID NOT start this thread. And I really want to get out of this xxx box now.
Sarpedontosaurus: @NotHerakles, what comment thread? Are you telling em there is some parallel thread which you can see? Can anybody else see this? Is there life outside of this review box? How do you guys direct your words to that place? Do you think my xxx will be able to see what I am writing if I can get a message out on that comment "thread" instead of on this "review" "thread"?
NotHerakles: I think my xxx profile has been hacked. xxx! How can they censor me in my own review! xxx! There!
Sarpedontosaurus: 10 "likes". What is that? Are all of you here as well? Pls reply.
PIXELATEDMONSTER: Ok, if we are in a labyrinth and if we are also having these ancient names, is it possible that Theseus and Minotaur are here as well? Perhaps silently liking? And why is Theseus wearing a minotaur's head for a helmet? And what is so horrifying about that? Funny review, @NotHerakles! :) Calm down @Sarpedontosaurus :)
A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja: Love this! Woo!
Sarpedontosaurus: What helmet? What labyrinth? @PIXELATEDMONSTER how do you know this? Any theories on where we are? @A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja, symbolically?
CraftyDaedalus: Is Ariadne the militant feminist hacker? I demand an audience! Oh! My name suggests I must have helped Ariadne with the "thread"!
NotHerakles: @CraftyDaedalus, A militant feminist hacker? Why militant? Why feminist? Is this labyrinth/book post-modern? Strange to be so lost i one's own review ...
Sarpedontosaurus: Everyone seems to be ignoring me ... I am off to try and open this door in my room. BRB.
Sarpedontosaurus: What do you know, it does open onto a labyrinth! But it seems to be made of papyrus scrolls instead of trimmed hedges. I think that is what Ariadne was trying to say ... we are caught inside a book ... or just inside the review of one, as some of you have already said. I think the way out would be to figure out what is the connection between a review and a helmet. How does a review mask the reviewer? Ariadne? You there? Could really use your inputs here ...
+++ MODERATOR NOTE: IF THE THREAD HITS ITS WORD LIMIT BEFORE ANY CONCLUSION HAS BEEN REACHED, ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE SACRIFICED TO THE MINOTAUR. SOLVE THE LABYRINTH. GOOD LUCK. +++
Sarpedontosaurus: This xxx just got real! Guys, what is the connection between a review and a labyrinth. What could be the Minotaur who hides inside a review? How do we "solve" it? I am just not cut out for this sort of stuff ... we need a scholar. Any here among the silent "likers"?
ARIADNE: Sorry I had slept off. THen it took me some time to go through all your comments ... sorry.
I had a dream. A dwarf appeared in my dream, led me through a few turns of this strange looking labyrinth and told me this:
"Some have argued that as language IS the medium of knowledge, that which comes in the form of language constitutes a text; since language is interpreted by the indivIdual, the readIng by the IndIvIdual gives meaning to the text; therefore each time a text IS read by a different Individual it acquires a fresh meaning.
Taken to Its logIcal conclusion, this denies any generally accepted meaning of a text and is implicitly a denial of attempts at hIstorical representatIon or claims to relative obJectivIty, since the meanIng would change with each reading."
What could this mean? Should we be talking of the the meaning of words? Or is the search for this meaning that traps us? Is that why Review = Labyrinth?
I am so glad to see so many have joined my thread! The room given to me is a bedroom with the softest bed ever (along with the Terminal, of course). When I lie down on it, it is like flying ... I am just carried away.
I must be meant to sleep and dream ... and wait for one of you to make sense of my thread.
I will keep dreaming. Zzzzz.
NotHerakles: @ARIADNE, Readings of Myths can often be quite hegemonic … or there can be attempts to ignore alternative readings. But readings with little or no structures of how to read a text can be self-defeating in terms of acquiring knowledge. Which is why readers often can make no sense of complicated myths.
NotHerakles: BTW, am I the only one here who has read the book under review? I must be Theseus then? NOT Herakles = IS another Hero? Possible, right?
WhiteEuropa: I'll surely return to this review again to see how many new members have joined the chat room. Myths can be both complicated and fun. Bit too much sometimes. Dangerous too, then. Right now, I don't think any of you are close to figuring this one out. Toodles.
Artemis:The-Bear-of-Wallstreet: I feel we have all been thrown into xxx's Quran review which is labyrinthine and mysterious! I'll check back in like WhiteEuropa to see how many more people with weird usernames are trapped in this 'chatroom'.
Sarpedontosaurus: I step out for a minute and now we are in a religious discussion. Just what was needed to introduce the "LIMBO" ambience here!
EvergreenHebe: Please tell the minotaur he cannot eat me. He wouldn't like me anyway, i have very high cholesterol. My plan is to wait this out and avoid the Big M. You don't have to be faster than the bear, you only have to be faster than your buddy, eh?
NotHerakles: @EvergreenHebe, I think the idea is that one of us is the Minotaur... I am pretty sure you cannot avoid it. According to legend, Minotaur is meant to restore balance by taking sacrifices. Minotaur is the Great Volcano... the Great Rumbling Hunger... our Quest for Meaning? How can you avoid that? The moment you used language here, you enter the labyrinth... because language is the labyrinth. Welcome.
NotHerakles: In short, the Minotaur cannot be communicated with... he can only be communicated through.
PeisinoeFatale: LOL. "Peisinoe". This review is a weird labyrinth made out of comments, with a possible massacre... nice. A labyrinth of language and time has many paths. Each bifurcation of time can take us to a new place. Anyway, I fear you all, even the moderator. Now he imparts orders, in any time, he could be our Minotaur, just like the silent likers. Everything is possible due to the numerous branches of time. But, since my mythological nature is deception, no one will care about what I say anyway. Hope somebody do something. See you.
ARIADNE: @PeisinoeFatale, I had another dream and I was told that "The Siren shall be the Kassandra". So we should probably be paying more attention to you. You seem to know your way around labyrinths! I also dreamt of the great Temple for Apollo towering over the Labyrinth, as if that was a guiding post - the guiding light of Reason to set our compasses to? That is why I do worry for you, PeisinoeFatale... Apollo might be among the Moderators here and in that case...
NotHerakles: I think PeisinoeFatale has done us a great favor by expanding our conception of Minotaur. The "likers" scare me too. And for those of you who can see the parallel universe of the "comments thread", you can see how much the moderators are guiding this conversation. It is almost as if we have no free will and are being guided through the labyrinth, being shown glimpses of meaning, lambs to the slaughter! @PeisinoeFatale, what about Theseus? Who/What do you think is going to save us? And how? What should we be doing meanwhile?
+++ MODERATOR NOTE: APPROXIMATELY 9500 CHARACTERS LEFT, BEFORE NONE ARE LEFT. BE AWARE. +++
CraftyDaedalus: Everybody worries about the Minotaur, no one seems to be worried about Theseus. I flag Theseus as the villain.
Earth-Shaker: Well ... an interesting review and comment "thread" to be sure! I must say that the Minotaur is nothing to be afraid of. if anything, Minotaur is our savior. Minotaur is the sacrificial Christ!
CraftyDaedalus: @Earth-Shaker, Yes, but Theseus should remember to pull down the black flag or sail ..... otherwise his father Aegeus... Or his father who-art-in-heaven... might destroy the earth?
Sarpedontosaurus: @CraftyDaedalus, Should we, who are on the brink of being massacred, worry about what happens after our demise? @Earth-Shaker, are you Poseidon? I think the first full-god on this thread! Now this feels Homeric!
Paganus: Time for me to pitch in: @Earth-Shaker - Papa, If you desire to exit the labyrinth, seek after Hereyes, not Herankles. See what I did there? Windows to the soul? Love is the answer! Anyway, back to the myth, though I have my grudges with Perseus, I will take even him over T... Theseus is going to be our downfall, I agree. Decapitation is the best way to free us from our reason, no?
PeisinoeFatale: Flags! C/Kassandra. Which is the same since no one can believe her. We know. The Minotaur isn't evil, according to my God of Language. He, Asterion, was a victim liberated by the hand of Theseus. In light of previous statements, Theseus is not a villain either, not for the Minotaur, at least; and certainly, not for generations to come. But that's one way of looking at this, one path. Anyway, he might be hungry, so I'm not taking any chances. I think the little flags that will lead us out of here are red, not black nor white, so no one should die. Now, I haven't seen a true seeker in a while. Go figure.
ARIADNE: @PeisinoeFatale, you are definitely a seer! Once again you have anticipated my dreams/revelations. I was taken through the labyrinth by the dwarf again and told that the only God is Asterion, the only consciousness, the only voice, the only book, the only review in the universe. Minotaur is just one aspect of his. I happened to get a glance at a partially opened room which seemed to be set with video game stuff... with virtual reality helmets and controls, etc. Could it be possible that we are all wearing the helmets? And once we do, we find Asterisk to be Minotaur? I think Theseus would be the one who believes the most in the Helmet, in free will.
Sarpedontosaurus: You mean to say Theseus is whoever among is the most deluded and follows the virtual reality flags/Ariadne's "thread" to escape the Labyrinth? Escaping is what makes us sacrificial victims? @PeisinoeFatale, in that case, should we even want to be "liberated"? I feel we are trapped inside the Helmet... and that is why it feels like the "Helmet of Horror" - to the wearer who wants to escape the illusions... but that is a Life of Reason? Escaping language/reason... is that what we pray for? Pray for a Savior - a Theseus, a Christ?
The-Long-Porpoise: This is all too much for me I'm afraid xxx. My brain is not working properly. Apologies... I will tag along if any of you find a way. But we will probably have to vote on it. HA!
Leto-of-the-Light: Welcome to the club, @The-Long-Porpoise. We are the backbenchers, but boy will we make a dash for it when we get the chance. Or it could even be that by refusing to get lost in the labyrinth we are the real front-benchers in this class!
NotHerakles: @Leto-of-the-Light, @The-Long-Porpoise - Hey, that is the whole point! TO get lost in meaning. That is the labyrinth, that is the review, that is the One Book! ;-)
Mythcellaneous: Hi, I have been among the silent looming "likers" here. @Sarpedontosaurus, it is said that:
A long time ago xxx wrote that there are only four stories that are told and re-told: the siege of the city, the return home, the quest, and the (self-) sacrifice of God.
It is notable that the same story could be placed into different categories by different viewers: what is a quest/return home for Theseus is a brutal God’s sacrifice for Minotaur. Maybe there are more than just ‘four cycles’, as xxx called them, but their number is definitely finite and they are all known. We will invent nothing new. Why?
This is where we come to the third possible definition of a myth. If a mind is like a computer, perhaps myths are its shell programs: sets of rules that we follow in our world processing, mental matrices we project onto complex events to endow them with meaning. People who work in computer programming say that to write code you have to be young. It seems that the same rule applies to the cultural code. Our programs were written when the human race was young – at a stage so remote and obscure that we don’t understand the programming language any more.
Why does the Minotaur have a bull’s head? What does he think and how? Is his mind a function of his body or is his body an image in his mind? Is Theseus inside the Labyrinth? Or is the Labyrinth inside Theseus? Both? Neither?
Each answer means that you turn down a different corridor. There were many people who claimed they knew the truth. But so far nobody has returned from the Labyrinth. Have a nice walk.
Sarpedontosaurus: "But so far nobody has returned from the Labyrinth. Have a nice walk."?? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT! XXX you! XXX! XXX!
Leto-of-the-Light: I am growing old here. :(
KingMinos: Ok, I am not with the Minotaur-as-savior gang here. Because the reader is a blind bull intent on imposing his own creativity. Bring it on, Theseus.
TheGreatLizard-of-Knossos: I like this review. I just wonder if I'll still like it after a new Person is introduced. It may be so, maybe not. Maybe I have to withdraw the like. Will the Person then disappear too? Is it still the same review. Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is. Do you Mr. Jones?
KingMinos: The reader should (only) see what is shown. And not talking of interpretations here. Recall how, in certain novels, you imagine a house in a certain way and then the author goes into describing that house. And then there is dissonance because you vision is at odds with the writer's. As a reader, you are jumping the gun... The writer has made the mistake of allowing that.
Sarpedontosaurus: @KingMenos, so the mask is forced on the reader? After which no free will is left? You are taken through the labyrinth and led to the Minotaur? At the end of which the mask is allowed to be taken off, and the "reader" ceases to exist? Metaphor for life? I think this only applies to reading Myths... but according to @Mythcellaneous above, all readings/novels/stories are one of the Four Myths!
Mythcellaneous: Yes, if it is not a myth, it can have no meaning. The only things you can read outside of myth is gibberish. Now look back at this review. LOL ;-)
Mythcellaneous: Ref: List of Characters in Comments "thread" parallel --- --- some of the participants (including me) are coming in from other comment threads outside of the goodreads universe... such as facebook and twitter. just to add to the element of mystery. Yeah!
A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja: Still loving it! My participation in this review (Labyrinth) is only to Love something. Now I love my Username! It's so nice. Thank you! And I want to be clear on this -- I don't mind where I am being led (lambs to the slaughter?) in all this as long as my character is so lovely. That is the only way to live!
Paganus: Those who name themselves are the special children of God/Theseus/Christ. @A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja, Ah-din-even-no-hu-dju-wa-til-now. LOL. Couldn't resist! This is what I do. Soon I will Haiku, before this road is over.
VICTORPELEVIN-The-Finger-of-Zeus: Here is a labyrinthine examination of epistemological uncertainty that radically reinvents this myth for an age where information is abundant but knowledge ultimately unattainable. Get a grip!
ARIADNE: @Paganus, you are very funny. But one must laugh quietly or Asterius/M will take offence. He does not know that in reality he does not exist, but sometimes he begins to suspect it and this scares and angers him greatly. M should not be feared. If you fear him, it means that you are wearing the helmet of horror and he is master of your world. But once you have removed the helmet, then M disappears, and nothing remains at which to laugh. It is a grave error either to wear the helmet or to remove it. One should do absolutely nothing with it, if only because in reality it does not exist.
+++
MODERATOR NOTE:
NO ONE REMOVED THE HELMET> THESEUS NEVER CAME>
YOU HAVE EXCEEDED THE WORLD/WORD LIMIT
THE FIRST ITERATION IS OVER> THIS THREAD HAS BEEN TERMINATED> ALL OF YOU ARE NOW FREE = NOT ALIVE = MINOTAUR MEALS>
THE NEXT THREAD MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT START> YOU MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BE INVITED>
Brilliant book. So funny, yet so deeply saddening... this is among the most evocative and life-changing books that I have read. This title still haunt Brilliant book. So funny, yet so deeply saddening... this is among the most evocative and life-changing books that I have read. This title still haunts me and informs a lot of my concerns about the environment and human inaction. ...more
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