Reviews and Comments

An interesting book that looks at the author's fascination with the colour blue. He travels the world, talking to scientists and others, and gives a look at various aspects of blue: from objects with the colour to how we look at and react to blue.

• "Stones" looks at how blue appears in stones and combinations of minerals. Lapis lazuli is known to be blue since ancient times and used for decorations. The Egyptians eventually figured out how to make Egyptian blue tiles. By grinding, heating and combining lapis lazuli with other substances, ultramarine blue was produced, a colour more valuable than its weight in gold. The act of alchemy would produce the next blue substance, Prussian blue. In modern days, a vivid blue would be accidentally created: YInMn Blue. And maybe one day, the mineral ringwoodlite that makes up much of the mantle is the earth could give another way to make blue.

• "Seeing" looks at how we see colour, especially blue. Starting with the electromagnetic spectrum of visible light, he goes into the fine cells in eyes that let us see colour and why we see colour better than other mammals, but worse than birds and insects. He then shows how other cells in the eye are affected by blue light (even blind people), which is why blue light may set our daily rhythms, hence the movement to reduce blue light at night. A look at colour illusions (like the infamous blue dress image) are given. A brief look at the philosophical question of why we 'see' blue is also given.

• "Plants" looks at how plants produce blue. From the mystery of why plants are green, the author then shows the challenges of producing blue flowers in plants. People in the past (and chemistry researchers today) have looked at pigments produced by plants to colour clothes and food. While red and yellow pigments are common, pigments for blue are rare and highly sought after. Producing a blue rose is also a target that is yet to succeed (although blue chrysanthemums have been produced). In the past, indigo was a popular blue dye, but now artificial dyes are common.

• "Speaking" looks at how language affects how we refer to blue. Gladstone once had a theory that ancient Greeks couldn't perceive blue to explain why the word for blue is not used. But further studies would show that it is an effect of how language develops words for colours instead. Other studies would show that in a small way, having words to refer to different shades of blue can have an effect on whether people can more easily see shapes and shades of blue in experiments.

• "Animals" looks at how animals use blue. Besides pigment, animals produce blue through the careful creation of structures that mainly reflect blue light. Harder to explain was why animals use blue, or colours in general. It was initially thought that colour was used just for camouflage. Later on, the idea that colours are used as a warning signal emerged. Then came the idea that colour is also used as a signal for fitness in mate selection. Unfortunately, humans preferences and desires for blue animals have driven some species to the edge of extinction.

An interesting book consisting of fascinating stories about calculus. This is definitely not a calculus textbook but if you ever want to know what calculus was, what it is used for and some interesting facts and stories involving calculus, then this would be a book to read.

There are too many chapters to give a chapter by chapter summary. But the book is divided into two sections based on the two main mathematical parts that make up calculus.

The first section covers "Differentiation" and the derivative, or the idea that a derivate is an 'instantaneous change' in an object, be it time, position, and so on. It builds on that by using the example of Newton considering the moon constantly falling towards the earth sideways. Based on how much it 'falls' as it moves to remain in orbit around the earth, its speed can be calculated. The derivative is also the rate of change of a quantity. For example, given your position over time, the 'First derivative' of it would be speed (change in position over time), the Second derivative would be acceleration (change in speed over time). Both Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz provided a notation for derivatives, but Leibnitz's notation proved to be more flexible than Newton's, showing that a proper notation can increase the flexibility for what derivatives can be used for.

Examples of the powers of derivatives are also given, staring with a danger in extrapolating trends via derivatives from too little data. A fascinating example is then given, via a story of using it to determine the direction a bicycle is moving.

A mystery or puzzle at the heart of derivatives is the question of how to 'approach the limits' in derivatives. Initially based on ideas from geometry, the book then shows lines and movements that cannot be differentiated (like Brownian motion), showing that there are limits to finding derivatives by geometric methods

Next, the derivative is used to show how it can find the maximum or the minimum point of a curve and how it can fail when a curve has no maximum. The story of the infamous Laffer Curve is also provided, showing its influence on supply side economics and tax policies. An interesting story is then told of a dog that can apparently apply calculus to the problem of find the best position to jump into the water to fetch a ball. Finally, the books shows that derivatives are used as a standard calculating tool.

The next section covers the "Integral" and how it can be used to calculate the area of a circle by 'slicing' it up into tiny sections and summing them up. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" is then used as a metaphor for integration: the sum of each tiny human experience making up the whole tapestry of history.

The integral is then introduction for calculating the area under a function. It is then shown that integration and derivation are 'fundamental theorems of calculus' and opposites of each other. But despite being opposites, differentiation has well defined methods but integration does not: integration depends on a bag of tools of various ways to perform integration. Some integration problems will only yield to certain tools.

One thing that integrals feature is the "Constant of Integration", an arbitrary number that usually appears and is unknown without knowing an initial condition. The book then looks at Einstein's regret in introducing such a constant into his equation for General Relativity to recreate a static universe, only to discover it was unnecessary in it original form but is now needed to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Archimedes and his geometrical approach to integration is then shown via calculations of the volume of a pyramid and a cone. It is contrasted with using the algebraic formulation of calculus as a way to 'mechanize' calculus.

The paradox of 'Gabriel's horn' is then shown, a geometric shape with finite volume but infinite surface area. Finally, unlike differentiation, some Integrals have not formal solution and is still a constant struggle for current day mathematicians.

A good and informative book about the evolution of mammals, from their beginnings to the present day. The author shows that mammals never evolved from reptiles, but instead evolved alongside them. While mammals were small and easily overlooked during the age of the dinosaurs, that did not mean they were restricted: in fact, she shows that mammals kept evolving and filling ecological niches at that time, before they began to take on bigger challenges after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

Her descriptions of the fieldwork done in the past and today to form the modern picture of the evolution of mammals is fascinating. She also points out the colonialism, racism and sexism that was rife in palaeontology, that she and others are now changing, getting more women and local people involved in palaeontological research.

In short, a book that should be read to get the modern picture of the origins and evolution of mammals.

What follows is a chapter by chapter summary of the book:

Chapter one introduces the author, her field work on fossils on the Scottish Isle of Skye, and on the beginnings of the group that would give rise to mammals.

Chapter two gives a summary of the history of mammal fossils. When first found in rocks dating back to the age is the dinosaurs, mammal fossils were considered primitive and identified as belonging to marsupials. This is a misconception due to the idea of animals changing to become more sophisticated (and human) over time. It is only in modern times that modern marsupials are shown to be just as sophisticated as placental mammals and evolved alongside, not from, the reptiles and dinosaurs.

Chapter three looks back in time to the Carboniferous period, where most groups of life were starting to emerge on land. After the plants, the insects were the most abundant landform. But following behind were the animal groups that would give rise to the mammals and reptiles. While early mammals forms are often described as 'reptile-like', this is wrong. As the author shows, mammals and reptiles developed from different groups of animals (as shown through examination of their fossil skull bones in this period) and only resemble each other at that stage of life, leading to the misunderstanding.

Chapter four looks at the Permian period. It is during this time that the Synapsids began to get big, with animals like the well known Dimetrodon and others. Various explanations are provided for that animal's sail on its back. But it was also during this period that herbivores (plant eating animals) first developed.

Chapter five looks at other groups of animals that were also present during the Permian that descended from the Synapsids. One group, the Therapsids, would give the world predators and herbivores that are distinguished from other groups of animals by possessing specialized teeth for cutting and chewing. Another group, the Cynodonts, who would become the ancestors of the mammals, also developed a more upright gait, that would let them move more efficiently. It was around this time that evidence for hot-blooded animals can be found in the fossils.

Chapter six looks at the Triassic period, which came after a major extinction event that marked the end of the Permian. It took millions of years for the major groups of animals to recover, but when it did, the world would look very different. Gone were the Therapsids that dominated the Permian. In their place were the reptile groups that would give rise to various forms of crocodiles and that most well known of ancient animals, the dinosaurs. Why this happened is still subject to research.

Chapter seven continues to look at the development of animals during the Triassic that would eventually lead to animals that can be recognized as mammals. During this period, these animals would become smaller and become nocturnal, a successful way of living. Their hearing and sense of touch and smell would also become well-developed. Their teeth would also develop into specialized forms for eating.

Chapter eight looks at some is the technology, like CT scans and Synchrotron machines, that are able to penetrate stones and fossils to reveal their inner structure. This technology would be critical for analysing mammal fossils, as there are often small and fragile. The scanning technology world help to illuminate how some of the basic features of mammals, like whiskers, hair and the ability to provide milk, would begin to appear in ancient mammals.

Chapter nine looks at the mammal-like forms developing in the Jurassic period. Many were small, which initially caused many people to overlook them, concentrating on the much larger dinosaurs in that period. But closer examination shows that the mammal-like forms were developing new ways of living, like burrowing or gliding. Their small size may also have helped them to develop more sensitive hearing by helping to free up jaw bones to be used as inner ear bones.

Chapter ten looks at the ancestors of mammals and mammal-like animals in the Cretaceous. With dinosaurs now dominating the landscape, it can be easy to overlook the much smaller mammals during this time, but fossils continue to show mammals diversifying and finding new ways of living in a landscape that was also undergoing change, with the development of flowering plants.

Chapter eleven looks at what happens after the asteroid impact that lead to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. Various forms of mammals (and other life forms) that survived flourished, leading to the world we now know. But the usual story that the dinosaurs were preventing mammals from developing, before the impact, may not be correct, if the author's research is correct, indicating that other kinds of mammals may also have had a hand.

A fun book to read that gives a humorous spin on the "end of the world" type of story. The story starts with two supernatural characters, the angel, Aziraphale, and the demon, Crowley, meeting after Adam and Eve are evicted from the Garden of Eden. As the years past, they find they like each other and come to a gentlemen's agreement that sees them doing enough to please their respective authorities (Heaven and Hell), while keeping the peace between themselves.

But it comes to an end when Crowley find he has to deliver the anti-Christ to a devilish nunnery, where the anti-Christ is to be swapped with another baby and then raised in the ways of evil (or good) until he is ready to end the world. But things go wrong when the wrong babies were swapped (without Crowley's knowledge). Years later, just days before the end of the world is due, the mistake is discovered and now both Aziraphale and Crowley desperately hunt for the real anti-Christ in the hope of stopping him, for both have grown rather fond of the world as it is and there is no telling what an anti-Christ that wasn't 'raised properly' might do.

While that is happening, other supernatural events being to take place. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse begin to gather (with one being humorously replaced by another due to an advancement by mankind). A strange book, "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" is lost and found and shown, unlike other books filled with prophecies, to be actually able to predict the future: only as viewed by a witch from the past, so the descriptions of future events are rather unusual. It is also rather disorganized.

So things come to a climax when the anti-Christ gets revealed and all the characters converge on a nice little spot in England in order to ensure or prevent the end of the world from happening.

Written by two authors well known from their supernatural and humorous fiction, this is a fun book to read, filled with interesting characters and situations that should get quite a few chuckles out of the reader.

After reading the author's 'Dead Djinn' series, I decided to give this earlier novella by him a try. Turned out to be a good decision.

Set in an alternative world where the Union and Confederate US forces came to a truce in the US Civil War and New Orleans is a neutral independent city, the story involves a street girl who accidentally eavesdrops on Confederate Troops hoping to obtain the Black God's Drums as a weapon.

As the story progresses, we learn that the weapon was what set Haiti free: it is a regional power in the story. She approaches a Haitian airship captain with the information in exchange for joining her crew. Together, they discover other forces are also interested in the Black God's Drums, and they intend to use it on a major target. Only they, together with the forces of the local gods that inhabit them, can hope to save the day.

An exciting and fascinating alternative world history that hints at more to come, if the author continues to write in this world.

An interesting book to read to learn about the physics behind global warming. It combines a historical look at the science behind global warming with the physics and evidence for it. In closing, the book does not mince words and shows that the world is already changing, and we had better adapt to a changing world while working to reduce the effects of global warming.

Chapter One starts with a look at the Mekong River and the Delta it forms. Much of the Delta is nearly at sea level, and it is only the amount of water the Mekong River discharges that prevents seawater from inundating the Delta. But this may change when global warming occurs.

Chapter Two looks at the history of CO2 measurements. Starting with the measurements started at Mauna Loa Observatory in the 1950s and mixing on to ice core measurements, the current atmospheric concentration is shown to be at an unprecedented high, exceeding even levels recorded in Earth's history.

Chapter Three look at how carbon and carbon dioxide is recycled by the Earth both geologically and by living organisms and shows how humans are affecting the balance by digging up and releasing carbon that has been locked away geologically for millions of years.

Chapter Four takes a look at what keeps the Earth warm. Using some mathematics, it is shown that, without an atmosphere, the Earth's surface temperate would be below freezing. Adding an atmosphere, and doing some simplified calculations, it can be shown that the atmosphere helps retain heat, absorbing some energy that would be lost to space, and radiating it back to the surface.

Chapter Five looks at the work is scientists like John Tyndall (who determined which parts of the atmosphere helps to retain heat) and Svante August Arrhenius (who calculated the effects of increasing carbon dioxide would have on global temperatures) who helped to determine the effects humans would have on the Climate in the future.

Chapter Six looks at the topic of 'radiative forcing', which is the increase in the amount of thermal energy being retained by the atmosphere due to the increase in Carbon Dioxide. This increase is due to the increase in the range of wavelengths of infrared energy being absorbed, but also by the increase in height before the energy is released into space by the atmosphere, which means even more of the atmosphere is retaining heat.

Chapter Seven brings things to the present, by stating what climate scientists are already saying through climate simulations: that global temperatures are rising and at a rate that matches climate simulations. The simulation results can also be verified by comparing them to temperatures in the past inferred through ice cores and found to be in agreement.

Chapter Eight looks at current conditions and shows that even if we were to stop all emissions now, some effects of global warming will continue and parts of the world will still continue to warm for centuries. Also shown is how as we delay making reductions in emissions, the amount of emissions that need to be reduced each year to meet targets get bigger.

Chapter Nine looks at what might be in store for the world when major sources of ice like Greenland and the Antarctic start to melt. While current sea level rise may be in the centimetre range for now, data from ice cores and other sources show that when large amounts of carbon dioxide was present or absent in the atmosphere, the sea level can change by meters in just centuries based on data from the Mediterranean and Red seas.

Chapter Ten looks at whether it is possible to detect global warming from daily weather. As it turns out, it may be possible from a study. The study also shows that tropical countries are the first to feel the effects of rising temperatures, even though their carbon dioxide contributions are among the smallest.

Chapter Eleven looks at uncertainties in global warming over possible tipping points that may affect glaciers, weather patterns, corals and forests.

Chapter Twelve returns to the Mekong Delta featured in Chapter One. Only now, using the information presented in the other chapters, the author shows that global warming will have a devastating impact on the area, displacing millions of people and submerging a huge rice producing area. Other visual areas and cities around the world are also briefly mentioned. And this is probably the world we have to prepare to live in.

A better than average issue with some interesting stories. Those that I enjoyed are by Michael Swanwick, Yukimi Ogawa, Lauren Ring, Phoenix Alexander, Lisa Lacey Liscoumb, Paula Keane, Rowan Wren and Tato Navarrete Díaz.

• "Whatever Happened to the Boy Who Fell into the Lake?" by Rob Costello: a dark fantasy take of an abused boy who lives with his father after his mother vanished. Yet, he feels echoes of his mother, and it is only with the discovery of an old fairy tale does he understand the connection between himself, his mother and the sea.

• "Dreadnought" by Michael Swanwick: a man who cares for nothing but living his own life in his own way. But an apparently crazed priest keeps harassing him, along with a man with a name like Cthulhu, who appears to be waiting for a sign that evil would take over the land.

• "Her Garden, the Size of Her Palm" by Yukimi Ogawa: a girl gets a job helping an old lady tend her garden and collect samples of life for her. Only, the samples are from different worlds accessible from her garden. But the job is tough, and she might decide to take another job.

• "Tulip Fever" by Bo Balder: in a future where global warming has flooded the world, a girl with 'immunity' to ingested microplastics ekes or a living on a floating platform. But visitors fun a land give her an opportunity to leave her current life, but not if it means abandoning the others on the platform.

• "(emet)" by Lauren Ring: an interesting story that looks at a programmer whose is starting to get second thoughts while working on an image surveillance program. Her own skills at crafting living Jewish golems and programming would combine to provide a way for her to protect people who may be harmed by her own work.

• "Cat Ladies" by L.X. Beckett: in a future where global warming has dispersed people, one person works as a law officer in a mobile village, going to make enough to return to get family. But her latest investigation may involve turning in friends who have misused resources for a greater good involving cats.

• "The Penitent" by Phoenix Alexander: a tale of a being born as a kitten full of malice. But in a twist, it knows it should not be evil and returns again and again to try to put right what it has done wrong.

• "And for My Next Trick, I Have Disappeared" by Chimedum Ohaegbu: a fantastical tale of a person somehow caught in a bus and slowly having her emotions and thoughts consumed by the bus, until she figures a way off it by thinking back on her emotions and relationships.

• "How to Train Your Demon" by Lisa Lacey Liscoumb: the usual woman summons a demon story, only here the demon is asked to do housework for the woman and gets to eat cookies. But it is still a demon and does a favour for her in the only way a demon knows how.

• "Woman, Soldier, Girl" by Priya Chand: a story is a woman soldier in a steampunk India that, after being defeated by the British, is forced to work for a British family while hiding her machinery and soldier background from them.

• "Bridge for Sale" by S. Cameron David: a short short story about a conman selling the Brooklyn Bridge to an unusual customer.

• "Picass-O-Matic" by Paula Keane: a robotic plastic surgeon decides to get artistic on its patients, but perhaps takes the changes to be made too literally.

• "Minotaur" by Maia Brown-Jackson: a story of a maze, a Minotaur and two girls destined to meet in the maze.

• "Perdition" by Rowan Wren: a story of the daughter of the Devil who is sent to Earth to make it into a better Hell. But instead, she finds love, and it would change lives.

• "Mamá Chayo's Magic Lesson" by Tato Navarrete Díaz: a young witch listens to a story from her grandmother, also a witch, and picks up a lesson on being selfish and thinking only of ourselves.

A fascinating book that, like "The Martian", contains a few specific 'hand wavy' parts, but for the rest, strictly follows the rules of physics as we know it, and features a protagonist (or two) that can science (and engineer) the heck out of things to solve problems.

The book starts with Ryland Grace waking up on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there, along with fellow dead crew members. As he explores the ship and his memory of recent events starts to return, we learn that Earth is in trouble. A lifeform that is literally breeding on the energy of the sun has been discovered. As it multiplies (exponential growth), the sun gets dimmer, with catastrophic consequences for the Earth. Ryland learns that other nearby stars are also dimming, except for one: Tau Ceti. And he's on a mission to that star to discover why it's not affected before it is too late for Earth to survive.

At that star, he will make a voyage of discovery as he uses his wits and scientific knowledge to make deductions and test them by making experiments. He will encounter problems and solve them with intellect and skill, only to move on to the next one. But by the end of the story, just when you thought all the problems have been solved, one final one is presented that will require him to make a decision that may well end his life, for the sake of friendship.

This is a story of solving problems with science and engineering, yet not forgetting that you sometimes have to put them aside to do what seems to be the right thing.