What I'm reading ...

I have started Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Once again, time for non-fiction. This book came recommended by a respected friend and addresses a subject that I find very interesting. Here’s the blurb:

Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us.

We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?

In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going.

Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind’s extraordinary history – from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age – and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world.

Sunfall - by Jim Al-Khalili

First off, I thought that this was a great book. It is well written and interesting and its pace is just right - I was glued to it for the last 100 pages or so.

I had wondered how a scientist would do with science fiction. As expected, there is lots of science in the book: the Earth’s magnetic field flip, global warming, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, self-driving vehicles, dark matter, ubiquitous Internet. I am sure that there is more. In almost every case, I felt that the story was true to the science, with only a tiny hiccup, which I will come to. I found the depiction of the world 20 years hence entirely credible.

The tiny glitch was minor and maybe I missed something. One of the protagonists is going to ride her motorbike. She grabs the Lithium ion batteries and sets off. It starts first time. She has a crash and, while lying on the ground, she observes that the engine is still running. This raises questions/issues:

• Will we still be using Lithium ion batteries in 20 years?
• The bike starting first time is rather meaningless; why wouldn’t it?
• The bike engine running when stationary makes no sense.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Sunfall by Jim Al-Khalili. I have very much enjoyed this author’s radio programs and science writing, so I thought that it might be interesting to see how he does with Sci Fi and a topic that I find particularly interesting. Here’s the blurb:

2041 and the world as we know it grinds to a halt. Our planet seems to be turning against itself - it would appear that the magnetic field, that protects life on Earth from deadly radiation from space, is failing . . .

Desperate to quell the mass hysteria that would surely follow, world governments have concealed this rapidly emerging Armageddon. But a young Iranian hacktivist stumbles across the truth, and it becomes a race against time to reactivate the earth's core using beams of dark matter.

As a small team of brave and brilliant scientists battle to find a way of transforming theory into practice, they face a fanatical group intent on pursuing their own endgame agenda: for they believe mankind to be a plague upon this earth and will do anything, commit any crime, to ensure that the project fails . . .

And so bring about humanity's end.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions - by Stephen Hawking

As expected, this was a very interesting and insightful read. Although it covers some quite complex topics, it was quite easy to read, as it is well written. I found Hawking’s enthusiasm for his subject particularly pleasing. As each chapter is a separate essay, one could dip into the book and read the contents in any order, but it does result in slight overlap here and there.