Caffeine by Michael Pollan

Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan

REVIEW: 3 / 5 stars

This is fine, mainly because it is so applicable to literally everyone who drinks coffee. While this is marketed as discussing caffeine in general, soda is barely mentioned and tea is only discussed in how it relates to and contrasts from coffee. In addition, at only 2 hours long, it is difficult to go into any aspect of this discussion in any sort of meaningful depth.

Michael Pollan is known for his popular The Omnivores Dilemma work, so I can see Audible just letting him talk about whatever he wanted to. I liked the mentions of how coffee has been used in history, English literature and culture, as well as the global socio-economics and politics surrounding the trade routes and consumption of coffee. This is one of the free February Audible Originals for members, so I didn’t really lose anything by listening to this.

Basically, this was interesting to listen to, and I did learn some fun facts about coffee. But if caffeine is as important to Western society as Pollan claims, then this topic warrants a much longer treatment than 2 hours. This is a fine listen, but nothing super special.

Human Compatible by Stuart Russell

Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control by Stuart Russell

REVIEW: 3 / 5 stars

Do you hear people talking about artificial intelligence (AI) or read articles about how AI is crucial to future economic and military operations, and want to know what the fuss is all about? Then this is the book for you!

This is a great introduction to both the possibilities and the limitations of AI. The discussions of how an AI would actually think and function makes me think of how the robots operated in society in Annalee Newitz’s sci fi novel, Autonomous, which is really well written in this aspect. I am glad I read this and recommend it to those who are interested in this topic.

However, as a researcher for a scientific institution, I hear about AI a lot from strategy and national security professionals, so there isn’t too much discussed here that I haven’t already heard in some form or another. I learned some new things, but as a full length book, this kind of just went on and on with case study after case study and not too much concise argumentative focus to the chapters.

I think the section where Stuart Russell, an AI expert, breaks down arguments of AI-safety made by other AI experts is especially helpful. Russell does a great job explaining this concept to those who do not work in his field; but I can see this being maybe too simple for those who are AI or machine learning (ML) software developers. More of a thing for AI/ML developers to give to their non-technical loved ones as an explanation for what the heck they work on all day.

I read this for my office’s book club, and a number of the other members liked this as well. Some mentioned that they noticed Russell going off on certain philosophical tangents during his discussions of different topics. He is a renowned professional in his field and has spoken at important conferences in this sphere. And yet, I appreciated the ability of readers to look critically at what worked and didn’t work for them in reading this work.

Overall, this is a solid introductory general public nonfiction book on the subject of AI and how we make sure human responsibilities continue to be written into the decision-making process of AI/ML systems. This isn’t my favorite because it rambles a bit at times and is broad in its scope, and I was a little offended by all the example names being super suburban white names like “Alice” or “Bob”. Nevertheless, I am glad I listened to this in preparation for my office’s book club.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

REVIEW: 5 / 5 stars

Flowers for Algernon is not just a classic science fiction novel, but classic literature period, and should be taught in every high school senior year English literature class. Algernon is a special laboratory mouse for whom an operation to increase his intelligence lasts longer than any other animal test subject.

The protagonist of the novel, Charlie Gordon, is the first human test subject in this science experiment, and he is chosen for his amicability, willingness to learn, and low risk of failure being perceived as malpractice due to his level of natural mental retardation.

This is so well written, and some parts are truly heart wrenching. When I finished, I was crying catharticly and needed to squeeze my loved ones close because I never want to lose them the way certain characters are lost in this book.

Flowers for Algernon was first published as a short story in 1959, and then expanded into a book for 1966 publication. There has also been a film adaptation and a West End, London musical production.

I would definitely recommend reading the print version, because a lot of information is gained by having the story written from Charlie Gordon’s perspective. The format is told as though readers are reviewing all of Charlie Gordon’s journal entries written throughout the duration of his involvement with the scientific experiment. Spelling and grammar development is crucial to character development here, which would be essentially completely lost if you listened to an audio version or just watched the movie.

Overall, this deals with a lot of engaging themes and issues that lends itself well to classroom discussion and essay assignments. Key aspects include: gaining knowledge without accompanying wisdom, family dynamics, recognition and forgiveness, memory loss, personhood, unconditional love, ethics in scientific research, and caring for the mentally impaired. I am especially sensitive to memory loss and mental retardation as topics due to my family history, and I think this book handles those subjects with thought and respect.

Gender roles and relations aren’t very healthy, but this was published in the ’60s, so I try to take that into account. I would still recommend this to many, especially those working on scientific research with human subjects, medical ethics, or in the care of mentally impaired persons.

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

REVIEW: 4 / 5 stars

I really enjoyed this! It is definitely the only sci fi novel since Andy Weir’s The Martian that I just couldn’t put down. This does a great job of explaining the inter-connectedness of humans, biobots, robots, cyborgs, augmented humans, and cyberspace to both world-build and progress plot at the same time. I loved the character nuances here, and thought having the narrative split between the characters on the side of the law and the characters breaking the law was a really good choice. Military robot Paladin, biobot Med, and feisty “historian” bot Bug are my favorite characters. I thought the non-anthropomorphized perspective of the robots was so unique and great to experience. I appreciated the action, especially during the climax, being believable for the world and the character limitations set up.

Because of the drug heists and the importance of cyber networks, I think fans of Neuromancer by William Gibson–who want more clear plot lines–would really enjoy this. I loved the POC and LGBTQ+ representations here, and, as a women in STEM, was all in on the plot points involving universities, laboratory science, and publishing papers. Because of how cool the future world is like, but how humans are still really horrible to each other and other sentient life, I think fans of the graphic series Saga and Monstress would also enjoy this.

The main conflict is supposed to be about Jack solving the lethally addictive work enhancement drugs that have been illegally put into the market, but we do not know anyone who dies in that way and the news reporting for the deaths just seem so silly. “Someone got addicted to painting their house, so they kept painting and repainting until they collapsed of exhaustion” kind of thing, so I didn’t feel that tension or fear for what would happen if Jack’s crew failed. I liked the action sequences, but I didn’t really care who was dying because I felt like a lot more people, and more important people, should have died in this book.

I wasn’t a big fan of Threezed, it was disappointing that we got so much of Jack’s background before she becomes a pirate but not the early days of her going into piracy, and then I wanted a lot more about what Med’s upbringing was like…. So, this might not be perfect, but I still really liked it and would definitely see a movie adaptation of this.

The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman

The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman

REVIEW: 4 / 5 stars

How intelligent, or unintelligent, are birds? How similar, or different, are avian thought processes in relation to our own?

These are some of the core lines of inquiry explored in Jennifer Ackerman’s The Genius of Birds. A popular science treatise on avian neuroscience and behavior, this book is chalk-full of interesting bird facts and study descriptions from beginning to end. This wealth of information is organized into chapters focusing on specific bird groups which excel at particular tasks, such as navigation, nest building, social vocalization, and environmental adaptation.

This took me a while to get through because, although the subject matter is extremely interesting, it is a lot to digest. Filing somewhere between supplemental required reading for an animal behavior course and anecdotal reflection, this work had well done sketches of a bird at the beginning of each chapter, but then no colored photographs, tables or graphs of any kind to back up her claims. Nevertheless, I came back to this book again and again to learn more about how these fascinating birds solve problems, evolve to their specific environments, and compete in mating displays.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has studied birds in school, in a professional capacity, or as a hobby. I would include this in the gift shop of every natural history museum, zoo and bird sanctuary in the country. I would give this as gifts to members of conservation groups, bird-watching clubs, and ornithological societies.

Birds are everywhere, and understanding more about how they think and function in the world would improve our interactions with them. There is still so much to learn, but this book is a fantastic way to start.

The Beautiful Brain by Hana Walker-Brown

The Beautiful Brain by Hana Walker-Brown, Audible Originals

REVIEW: 5 / 5 stars

The Beautiful Brain by Hana Walker-Brown is an immersive documentary production in which a British journalist researches and recounts findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE has primarily been discussed in the context of studies done on American football players, but soccer players who headbutt the ball often suffer just as much as American football players. While a soccer player may only headbutt a ball 2-3 times per game, they usually headbutt balls hundreds of times in practice everyday.

Since this is a British production, it focuses mostly on soccer (AKA: futbol), but there are thoughtful discussions on CTE in American football, female Olympians, military veterans, and survivors of domestic abuse as well. We hear interviews from family members of those who have died from CTE-induced dementia, and direct accounts from CTE patients struggling with dizziness and memory loss. We even hear from Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who first discovered and published CTE findings, which is extremely insightful. I know not everyone is a fan of Will Smith, but I want to watch his “Concussion” movie now to learn more about that point in CTE research history.

As an audio recording, this is excellent! Song, sound transitions, ambiance noise, interviews, accents, plays, and narration all need to be contended with here, and they are brought together impressively. It is under 4 hours long, but it is a great introduction to this under-served condition. I will never look at head injuries the same way again.

I recommend this to anyone who: suffers from CTE, has been diagnosed with a concussion, has had a traumatic head injury, played contact sports, watches contact sports, has experienced violent domestic abuse, has witnessed violent domestic abuse, has been employed in social work, or has ever known anyone who has experienced any of the above. Of course, this is also an interesting listen for anyone in a medical caregiver profession or conducting medical research. So, basically, EVERYONE should listen to this and become aware of this issue.

The 3-Day Effect by Florence Williams

The 3-Day Effect: How Nature Calms Your Brain by Florence Williams, Audible Originals

REVIEW: 3 / 5 stars

This is basically a 3 hour immersive journalism piece on the proposed “3-day effect”, which professes that spending 3 days out in nature significantly calms blood pressure and increases performance on certain cognitive tests. It is interesting, and some of the people’s stories will stick with me. Florence Williams has her own issues to deal with in the woods, but I like that this is split between 3 other groups going on similar hiking and camping trips in US National Parks. A group of recovering sex-workers and a group of Army veterans seemed to release stress and were able to express their feelings more after spending a few days together outdoors.

This is a good introduction to this idea, but there just isn’t enough evidence to sway skeptics to believe this “3-day rule” mantra. The participants either knew each other or were a part of the same community, so perhaps fun networking or retreat trips would have similar effects? Florence Williams still had high levels of stress on the rafting-with-veterans trip, which could have been related to the fact that she was working on said trip, so maybe vacationing or otherwise taking a break from work is the key here? People who work in the outdoors–like farmers or park rangers–were not studied here, so maybe having an all-inclusive vacation in nature is what calms people.

The conclusion is basically just “get outside more, whenever you can”, especially when people are talking about walking dogs for 30+ min every day or taking hiking day trips on the weekends to unwind. I can see public figures like Michelle Obama being on board with this because it relates to her youth exercise initiative. And don’t get me wrong, I am ALL FOR what this audio performance suggests.

Is nature and exercising outdoors good for us? Of course!

Should we take vacations and spend time with people outside of work or city settings? Yes!

I didn’t really need THIS to tell me those things; it is an interesting 3 hour journalism piece, but it doesn’t really add any new knowledge to this topic. It is a fine introduction to this type of thinking, but it is NOT science. Nice advertisement for the National Parks of Utah and Colorado, though.