Book Reviewed: 2121: A Tale from the Next Century by Greenfield, Susan by Susan Greenfield

Bad science Not many famous scientists write fiction to convey a scientific idea. The accepted tradition is to publish experimental results in a peer reviewed journal with scientific data that is open to discussions. But Oxford University neurobiologist Susan Greenfield chooses the former route. This high priestess of the British cult with the mentality of English colonists weaves an unbelievable story belittling the wisdom of science book readers. The author does not shy away from expressing her opinion wildly from her Oxford University pulpit. Greenfield's hypothesis is that our exposure to modern technologies like social media and computer games affect our brains leading an abnormal human evolution. It is a sort of mind change she claims, the human brain will adapt to whatever environment in which it is placed. The cyber world is offering a new type of environment for brain to change. She suggests that this is like climate change which also due to environmental change created by the human civilization. The story is this: In 22nd century, the human beings evolved into two groups: The Hedonists referred to as “Others,” are technologically advanced beings who live inside geodesic domes playing video games have grown out of traditional values of humans as we know now. And on the other side of the same planet live the neo-puritans (NPs) who follow the traditional beliefs focused on intellectual pursuits like neurobiological research. The NPs send their top neurobiologist to study the others and perhaps change them! Doesn’t this feel real! That is the same strategy used by the English colonists, who believed that they are more civilized, and hence they can colonize countries in Asia and Africa. This book is full of dull narratives and terrible characters and even weird discussion about sex and reproduction. I wonder if this reflects on unfulfilled sexual fantasies of the author who loves to wear miniskirts, high heels, and deep lipstick, and always eager to pose for a fashion magazine than delivering a lecture at a science conference. Fellow Oxford Professor Dorothy Bishop points out that there is no scientific evidence to support the mind change ideas of the author.

Book Reviewed: The Bowery: The Strange History of New York's Oldest Street by Stephen Paul DeVillo

Bowery: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood This book is an exploration of Manhattan's historic neighborhoods in the southern part of the district that had secret spots and colorful characters. This includes the Five Points location; It was the scene of riots, scams, saloons, brothels, and drunkenness. Bowery encompasses Chinatown on the south; Lower East Side and the East Village to the east; and Little Italy to the west. Historically, it is considered a part of the Lower East Side of New York City. In the 17th century, this area was owned by Dutch fur traders who gave way to farmers, these farms in turn gave way to taverns, saloons, circuses, tattoo parlors, flophouses, and brothels. By the 1890s, the Bowery was a center for prostitution, and bars catering to gays, lesbians, and orgies at various social levels. One investigator in late 1800s noted that six saloons and dance halls were the resorts of "degenerates" and "fairies." Even though it was ravaged by crime and poverty, it also invented tap dance, Jazz music, arts, theater, entertainment, and show-business. The poverty of this area was shared by immigrants of Irish, Jewish, German, Italian, Chinese, and African Americans population of that time. In this book, author DeVillo describes the history of Bowery with few illustration and pictures. This book is overshadowed by several books on this topic by other authors which I found more entertaining and had more historical facts. I did not find this this book engaging. However, the book contains some images of Bowery district from late 1800s that is of some interest to the readers. But many of these pictures are obtained from Library of Congress which may also be accessed directly on the Library of Congress website.

Book Reviewed: Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe by Lee Smolin

The cosmic evolution In this book, physicist Lee Smolin argues that time is a real phenomenon, and suggests that the laws of physics evolved over cosmic timescale, and the current laws came into existence because of cosmological natural selection like biological evolution. One of the principal reason is that this theory avoids the use of anthropic principle which claims that the universe came into existence with current laws that support living systems, but for Lee Smolin, since this idea is not scientifically falsifiable, therefore that it is not scientific. The book is philosophical than physics since it lacks scientific explanations as to why cosmos was born with different laws than we have at present. There are no scientific explanations except for ideas of an imaginative thinker. There is a conflict between relativity and quantum mechanics with regards to the concept of time. It is measured and malleable in relativity but remains as background (and not an observable) in quantum mechanics. Time emerges mainly from the second law of thermodynamics, a law that is statistical in nature which does not depend on the nature of individual particles but the behavior of a collection of particles. Time is not an irreducible element or concept required to construct physical reality. It is a human construct that differentiates present from our memories of the past. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity is that there is no absolute time, no absolute space, but everything is relative. This is a block universe, made of four-dimensional space-time (three space and one-time dimensions) structure where time is like space, in that every event has its own coordinates, or address, in spacetime. The malleability of space and time mean that two events occurring far apart might even happen in one order when viewed by one observer, and in the opposite order when viewed by another. Hence, time change really is an illusion according to relativity because there's nothing that's changing; it's all there, past, present, and future. But the laws of quantum physics are symmetric and reversible, hence that time could have moved in a backward direction or in the forward direction. For example, according to the ‘big crunch’ theory, the universe is expanding since its birth, but at some time in future it will stop expanding and starts contracting back in on itself. This will require time to flow backwards, and the cosmos will collapse into a big crunch into its initial state when big bang happened. Physicists like Sean Carroll, Andreas Albrecht, and John Polkinghorne believes that the flow and direction of time are real but do not claim that it permits the evolution of laws of nature over time. But physicists like Julian Barbour, Max Tegmark, Carlo Rovelli, and philosopher J. M. E. McTaggart are strong proponents of time being an illusion. Lee Smolin considers that space is an illusion and only time is real and paramount to the way the universe evolved to its current state.

Book Reviewed: Hollywood's Lost Backlot: 40 Acres of Glamour and Mystery by Steven Bingen

Filming in the iconic Culver City Studio backlots called 40 Acres Movie studios are magical locales where films, stories, legends, and matinee idols are created. Although some movie studios offer tours, few guests from outside the Hollywood community have ever witnessed the artistry and the production skills that go into making successful movies and television shows. Backlot trips at the Universal, Warner Brothers and Paramount Studios show a glimpse what goes into creating carefully orchestrated scenes visible during the studio trips. In this book, Hollywood historian Steven Bingen opens the forgotten gates of 40 acres backlot, as it was known in its heydays in Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. This book has stunning behind-the-scenes photos, maps, and a revealing backstory. It is your ticket to a previously veiled Hollywood paradise. Built in the 1920s by producer Thomas Ince, this was the home for many iconic films and television shows that included numerous stars. This magical place was the location for Tara, a neighborhood in the legendary film Gone with The Wind, and several locations that is supposed to be in Atlanta, GA., scenes from King Kong, Superman, and Cecil DeMille’s 1927 classic King of Kings. This backlot was leased to Cecil B. DeMille’s production of The King of Kings on which he constructed historical Jerusalem at a colossal cost. But that structure remained for the RKO production of King Kong in 1933. TV shows like Andy Griffith Show, Hogan’s Heroes, Gomer Pyle, Bonanza, and Star Trek were also made on this backlot. Stars like Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Fay Wray, H.B. Warner, and Warren Beatty worked here. Legendary producers like David O Selznick and Cecil DeMille, and TV stars like Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, and many others dazzled in this little area called 40 acres backlot. This backlot, unfortunately is no longer here and has been razed to make new construction amid rapidly grown Culver City, CA. The RKO Pictures originally owned Forty Acres Backlot and later by several other owners including RKO-Pathé Studios, and Desilu Productions of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. This book narrates the tale of one of the most influential and photographed places that were seen on the screen. There are numerous pictures, many in color, of the scenes from Gone with the Wind, King Kong, King of Kings and Andy Griffith Show. This volume makes a great coffee table book. Highly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood.

Book Reviewed: Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies, by Laura Wagner

Images of women lost during the early years of Tinseltown This book discusses the lives of 23 ladies of entertainment industry of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's who were known in their heyday but are virtually unknown today to anyone under the age of 50 unless you watch Turner Classic Movies (TCM) regularly. That was the Golden Age of Hollywood, between 1920s and 1950s, when the studio system ruled the film industry. The Big Five studios controlled the business, they created stars and owned their work contracts and marketed their talents like a product. There have been many tragedies in Hollywood history. The well-known are, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Sharon Tate, Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd, Carole Lombard, and Jayne Mansfield. But there are many stories which are less documented, and they found it either difficult to navigate the rough waters of entertainment industry or saw their dreams shattered by hard luck. Many girls braved the entertainment industry. They were looking for long and lucrative careers, but they never attained stardom, but their stories deserve to be heard, and this book narrates the stories of each of them. They had pressures of work and competition that exacerbated the performer's drinking and her already fragile mental stability. Some suffered from mental illness, drug addiction, victims of accidents, suicides, and murder. There were few medical treatments for mental illness those days, and some were victims of bipolar disorder like Lynne Baggett, Mary Castle, Mae Clarke, and Mayo Methot. With no medications to ease their pain, alcohol and controlled substances was their escape which complicated their careers. Actress Suzan Ball lost a leg to cancer; a hunting accident paralyzed Susan Peters; a car crash put Marjie Millar out of commission. Lynne Baggett and Helen Walker were involved in vehicular homicide that affected them emotionally. Car crashes brought untimely deaths to promising screen personalities like Dorothy Dell and Judy Tyler. Actress Susan Cabot was clubbed to death by her own son. Morphine addict Mary Nolan was in and out of hospitals many times. There are too many fascinating stories in this book that makes an interesting read. TCM cable channel offers a great opportunity for movie fans. I have watched the films of many women in this book over the years and it has helped me connect with their work and challenges. Some of them endured harsh circumstances in their short and unsuccessful careers. You will find inspirational stories which are sad, but there were also brighter moments of joy and victory in their lives.

Book Reviewed: Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in Physical Law for Unity in Physical Law by Peter Woit

A quarrel with physicists being lost in math This is an interesting book by the Columbia University physicist Peter Woit who started a war of words with string physics community. String theory is purely mathematical and speculative that lacks testable predictions. The theory is largely unverified despite that it attempts to unify theory of relativity (physical reality at large scales) and quantum physics (physical reality at subatomic scales). The quantum field theory explains the behavior of elementary particles, and three of the four forces of nature. The Einstein’s general relativity explains the fourth force, gravity that becomes relevant at much larger scales. These two theories are logically and mathematically incompatible. String theory proposes to solve this problem by replacing elementary particles with strings as nature’s most fundamental entities. Therefore a “Theory of Everything” was needed to fully describe the physical reality we observe and experience. But string theory, unlike Einstein’s relativity, is not a specific set of equations, but rather a framework, or a class of equations of a particular style. Since string theory is not experimentally verified, the author calls this a failure, and criticize this as arrogance of physicists for promoting this for the last four decades. He has urged federal agencies like the National Science Foundation to cut funding for research in string physics. After more than a decade, he still thinks string theory is a gory mess. Most string theorists have gone back to their work undeterred by Woit’s criticism. Some compared him to a terrorist and even called an “incompetent, power-thirsty moron” and a “stuttering crackpot-in-chief.” This is an odd mix of intellectual jousting. His moderated weblog on string theory and other topics titled "Not Even Wrong" is still active on his Columbia University webpage. It continues to be widely read by physicists and mathematicians and still open for debate. Part of the book feeds on drama. Superstring theory explains things like multiverse and brings in new ideas for the fact that space and time is not limited to one universe such as ours. Space can expand and contract at much faster speed than the speed of light, and it does not require energy for its expansion. In addition, mathematical correspondence discovered by Princeton physicist Juan Maldacena implies that string theory has deep mathematical connections to quantum field theory. Peter Woit doesn’t give enough credit to a whole bunch of interesting things about quantum field theories that we’ve learned from string theory. I caution that some of the chapters are technical but there is also interesting take-home message from this book. His most recent blog written on Marc h 24, 2021 still makes an interesting point.

Practicing bhakti (devotion) in the worship of Lord Krishna This is a book of 688 pages that describes the teachings of Bhagavata Purana, one of the most commented texts in Hindu literature. This sacred text teaches that bhakti (devotion), the unconditional love for Lord Vishnu, or his reincarnation Krishna as most fundamental to find salvation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Sanskrit scripture consists of twelve books (skandhas) with 332 chapters that comprises 16,000 to 18,000 verses depending on the recension. The tenth book, with about 4,000 verses is the most popular and widely studied with the philosophical implications of Vedanta, Yoga, and Samkhya. The author offers an introduction to the definition and practices of bhakti, provides translations of key tales and some popular stories from Krishna and other reincarnations of Lord Vishnu. The original text is filled with prayers, hymns of praise, and narratives aimed at inculcating a devotional sensibility in its followers. The key feature of this book is the description of bhakti yoga, an offering the unconditional love for Krishna. In fact, this is one of three spiritual paths taught in the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legends & tales, but it also presents a form of religion (dharma) as an alternative to Vedas, wherein bhakti leads to self-knowledge, bliss, and complete unification with the Supreme Lord. The often-quoted verses from Bhagavata Purana 1.3.38-41 are used by the followers of Hare Krishna movement. The Gaudiya tradition of Vaishnavism, founded by Chaitanya (1486–1533), is one of the popular schools in Western hemisphere that inspired the founding of ISKCON (Hare Krishna organization) by Srila Prabhupada. There are several other traditions that interpret this purana differently. For example, the Warkari-tradition (worship of Vitoba and Rukmini) is another tradition of Vaishnavas with notable saints like Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram. The Ramanandi tradition emphasizes the worship of Rama and Vishnu, but all Vaishnava sects considers Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavata purana as the two major texts sacred to their belief system. The Bhagavata Purana is known to be founded on the principles of Vedanta, Yoga and Samkhya philosophies. Eminent commentators belonging to these schools have interpreted that this purana that supports their school of thought. Of these the oldest and the most respectable annotator is Sridhara Swami of Advaita Vedanta, Sukadeva of BhedaBheda Vedanta, Vallabhacharya of Shuddha Advaita Vedanta and Srila Prabhupada supporting Dvaita School of Vedanta. Other interesting features of this Mahapurana are the tales of dying that explores many-sided images of death and dissolution. King Yayati seeking to curb aging; the epic heroine, Savitri, refusing to accept her husband’s death, rescues him from Yama, the Lord of Death; and demon kings like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu strive for immortality by drinking amrta (sacred drink of eternity). Another section of significance is the Uddhava-Gita (Hamsa-Gita), the message of which is the same as Bhagavad-Gita is a part of this purana. This is the direct teaching of a Master (Krishna) to His disciple Uddhava who had no other aim in life but to attain union with Him. It is a unique confluence of poetic imagery, eclectic philosophy, and religious mystery. The English translation of Bhagavata Purana by Srila Prabhupada has many similarities to the translation by Bibek Debroy. And this book is strongly influenced by the interpretation of Srila Prabhupada and bhakti movement of Hare Krishna organization. I recommend other works by Indian scholars like Surendranath Dasgupta, G. P. Bhatt, J. L. Shastri, and G.V. Tagare published in the “Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology” series for an unbiased and broader view of Bhagavata Purana.