Book Description
Make lightning in your room! Keep paper dry under water! Lose weight by going upstairs! See colors that aren't there! Experience the magic of science with these quick, easy experiments and activities from Jean Potter. You can complete each activity in ten fun-filled minutes or less. Clear, step-by-step instructions and illustrations help you get it right every time. The projects help you learn about everything from why eggs aren't round to how submarines surface and submerge. You will find most of the required materials already in your home, backyard, or neighborhood, and you can perform the experiments practically anywhere. The 108 activities in this book cover twelve different subject areas, including air, animals, energy, gravity, magnetism, light, the human body, and much more. You'll make a rainbow right on your floor, pop a balloon with a magnifying glass, make a coffee can roll back to you after you've pushed it away, and bend water as it streams from your faucet—all with the help of a leading educator. Children Ages 8-12
Customer Reviews:
Everything has worked as written.......2006-02-27
My DH is using this and other books for a science and gadget class with 10 K-2 kids. He likes this book as the experiments are easy and fast paced enough to keep the kids' attention, a real issue with this bunch.
I like it!!!!.......2005-11-30
I disagree with Dixie who had written the previous review! The book was not written for 3 year olds! A good parent reviews the info and suggested age levels in the review section before buying. We have been very happy with these books. After buying one other, we bought this one and love it just as much. These experiments are simple to read and study. But the teach important science concepts so I am as happy as a mom can be...but again...I read the age level before buying the book! Someday I hope to make a list of recommended books...this will be one!
Not all it is cracked up to be.......2002-08-15
I bought this book for my 3 year old son since he has an interest in science. When I got the book I was disappointed in the experiments listed, such as disecting an osyter and fish. Not that I have problems with that, but I was looking for something that you can find objects around the house and more cause and reaction type thing.
FUN BOOK FOR KIDS!!!.......2002-06-07
My children loved this book becasue they had fun with experiments. But my husband and I loved this book because it taught our children science conepts that we could never teach. We used this book until it got raggedy and torn and then my kids insisted on getting another copy!
We highly recommend this book.
Karen and Fred
Science in Seconds for Kids.......2001-03-24
My children and I have used this book until it has become tattered and torn. Not only are the science activities easy to understand, they are easy to do and don't require any special equipment. I would highly recommend this book...I loved it so much, that I now have a collection of all of this author's books.
Book Description
This book opens readers' eyes to the fascinating and important world of soils, and the principles that can be used to minimize the degradation and destruction of one of our most important natural resources.
KEY TOPICS Concentrating on essentials, this edition is a more concise version of its parent book, The Nature and Properties of Soils, maintaining its high standards of rigor and readability, and its priority of explaining this science in a manner relevant to many fields of study. It provides a fundamental knowledge that is a prerequisite to meeting the many natural-resource challenges awaiting humanity in the 21st century. For individuals who study the science of soil, and those who make a profession of it.
Book Description
In his articles and in best-selling books such as The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan has established himself as one of our most important and beloved writers on modern man's place in the natural world. A new literary classic, Second Nature has become a manifesto not just for gardeners but for environmentalists everywhere. Chosen by the American Horticultural Society as one of the seventy-five greatest books ever written about gardening, Second Nature captures the rhythms of our everyday engagement with the outdoors in all its glory and exasperation. With chapters ranging from a reconsideration of the Great American Lawn, a dispatch from one man's war with a woodchuck, to an essay about the sexual politics of roses, Pollan has created a passionate and eloquent argument for reconceiving our relationship with nature.
Customer Reviews:
More about Michael Pollan than gardens.......2007-05-15
That's not entirely fair, but...this is a book of essays, not a natural history or gardening book. It is about Pollan's perceptions of nature and landscape, through the gateway of his garden. He does only enough research to flesh out his musings with historical fact and literary reference - and he is very selective. He leans heavily on Thoreau, and neglects wider scholarship. His essays bog down in pedantic and turgid language (he abuses at least one 5-syllable word per essay). The writing is much like Bill Bryson's, about whom, I'm also kinda lukewarm. I didn't love it, although there are good bits - the story of his first rose plantings was interesting, and inspired me to drop a few snobby old roses in the sod.
Delightful reading.......2007-03-09
Michael Pollan's writing is full of metaphors. This book about nature as a human construct was enjoyable to read. I found some parts frustrating because I like the romantic idea of nature even if it is just a human construct. But overall I would recommend this book for a quick read.
philosopher of gardening.......2007-02-08
I loved this book. It is written in the spirit of earth that author obviously is in love with. The book is divided into four seasons: spring summer,fall and winter. Each of the seasons has it's own unique characteristic that follows ancient tradition of preparing soil, sowing,cultivating, weeding, harvesting and winter nothingness.
However if reader looks for practical advises, he or she will not find it here. It is a wonderfull read for all the nature lovers.
Lawn Mowing et al.......2006-07-22
Pollans description of what is a green thumb and the sysiphean art of mowing reminded me how therapeutic gardening can be and why it cures depression. Thank you Michael for making me look at my roses in a totally different way. You will love this book if you tend to think in pictures and love the art and hard work of gardening.
For the virtual gardener.......2006-06-27
I picked up this book when I didn't have my own dirt to get my hands into, and I was hoping to garden vicariously through Pollan's essays.
There are a lot of lessons to be found. For instance, the chapter on roses explains how human intervention and selective breeding brought about a huge difference between the technicolor tear-dropped buds we see for sale at the grocery store and the rounder and simpler flowers that Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote about.
Throughout the book Pollan makes the case for uniting culture and nature in the garden rather than pitting them against each other as Thoreau (the naturist) did in his writings or suburban landscaping (very culture-centered) implies today. It is an interesting argument worth considering, but by the fourth part when I found it repeated for the umpteenth time without anything new to add I quit reading the book.
Book Description
Burgeoning advancements in brain science are opening up new perspectives on how we acquire knowledge. Indeed, it is now possible to explore consciousness—the very center of human concern—by scientific means. In this illuminating book, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman offers a new theory of knowledge based on striking scientific findings about how the brain works. And he addresses the related compelling question: Does the latest research imply that all knowledge can be reduced to scientific description?
Edelman’s brain-based approach to knowledge has rich implications for our understanding of creativity, of the normal and abnormal functioning of the brain, and of the connections among the different ways we have of knowing. While the gulf between science and the humanities and their respective views of the world has seemed enormous in the past, the author shows that their differences can be dissolved by considering their origins in brain functions. He foresees a day when brain-based devices will be conscious, and he reflects on this and other fascinating ideas about how we come to know the world and ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Work in progress.......2007-05-24
Daniel Dennett once characterized Darwin's theory of natural selection as the best single idea anyone ever had. I generally agree with that, so I am naturally well-disposed toward selectionist accounts, of which Edelman's Neural Darwinism is an example. I also have run out of patience with the clever word games that unfortunately constitute far too much of epistemology as it exists in academic philosophy, and that makes me a receptive audience for this kind of selection-based approach. I also agree with Edelman's rejection of computer-based models of human cognition and of Chomksky's mythical language organ. So, yes, I liked the book, found many insights in it, and I recommend it as a stimulating read. All that said, and given the extremely informative review provided below by L. Guzman, I will focus on what I found less than satisfactory.
When it comes to psychology, Edelman's view of the field seems to be bounded by Piaget and Freud. He gives the occasional, semi-perfunctory nod to the environment, but never in serious detail considers the importance for both brain and behavior of the history of interaction between organism and environment. Nor does he show any knowledge of the huge literature describing detailed analyses of environmental effects on behavior, analyses that specifically emphasize the selective effects of environmental consequences. Edelman's account reminds me of how the genome-phenome distinction is sometimes treated in relation to selection, as if genes themselves are directly selected for or against, and then go forth and do things in the world. In this case, it's always the brain doing this or that, with little or no acknowledgment that it is behavior that makes contact with the environment and is subject to selection, with resultant effects on the brain. We know from sensory deprivation experiments that, absent a reasonably normal environment, brain activity quickly drifts into disorder and incoherence. One suspects that the well-known behavior-specific effects of certain brain injuries, which Edelman describes in some detail, have been overgeneralized, resulting in an overly brain-centric view of behavior. What's needed here is an explicit input-output model, where the inputs are the initial state of the organism and the functional characteristics of the environment in which it operates; the fact that computer-based models have used input-output terminology should be considered of no relevance. At some points in Edelman's presentation, I found it difficult to decide just what constituted the output side -- and whether we were ever finally emerging from the neurological realm to the world outside.
A key notion for Edelman is the idea that the organism's inherited neurological structure incorporates biases that will determine something about the way certain stimuli are responded to. This "value system" is considered to be a product of evolutionary history, but it's not entirely clear exactly what the particular functions of this value system are supposed to be. Is it a kind of pre-wiring that makes certain stimuli more salient? For example, the visual appearance and smells associated with a particular species' preferred food might as a matter of inherited tendency trigger consumatory behavior, or at least make it more probable. Besides in-born sensitivity to releasor stimuli, would the value system include inherited behavior itself, ranging from reflexes to simple fixed-action patterns to very complex response sequences? One thinks of the elaborate behavior observed in courtship displays, nest-building, or nurturing the young. Is the notion of value system meant to stand as a neurological-level explanation for the ordinary behavioral effects of reinforcing and punishing consequences? Or is it meant specifically to account for some built-in extreme susceptibility of certain behavior to its consequences, thus amplifying normal reinforcement-punishment effects? Edelman includes the inherited value system as a hypothetical entity or process in his theoretical system, but it's not clear from this book exactly what its functions are, or how they interact with behavior or with the environmental events that precede, accompany, or follow behavior.
In Chapter 12, on Brain-Based Devices, we find, as is typical, that when it comes to actually making something happen the environment suddenly becomes important. Edelman makes much of this extremely interesting work using robotic devices with simulated brains that allow them to learn through trial and error, rather than being driven by pre-programed instructions. It is noteworthy, and completely predictable, that the descriptions of these experiments turn out to be descriptions of (1) the initial structure and behavioral capabilities of the simulated organism, and (2) operations involving the provision of specific environmental stimuli and environmental feedback. Results indicate that interaction with the environment produces changes in the device's behavior and in the organization of its simulated brain. If results didn't turn out that way, the researchers presumably would tinker with (1) and (2) above until they did. One long-term potential here seems to be the rediscovery of behaviorism, but with much better illumination of its neurological underpinnings. That would be an outcome devoutly to be wished, but getting there will require a broader, less brain-centric view than Edelman's alone.
Reconciling brain science and human concern: a timely addition to one of the most distinguished bodies of work in neuroscience.......2007-05-06
Will knowing how the brain works--in particular, what consciousness is--transform our view of human knowledge itself? This is the question that looms large in Second Nature, Gerald Edelman's latest book. Though compact at 157 pages (excluding preface, footnotes, and index), this work represents Edelman's ambitious consideration of the implications of his view (likely the correct view) of the brain and mind for the broader world of human concern. Edelman seeks to understand the nature of knowledge as it is generated within a biological entity--the brain--that is shaped both by individual history and evolutionary forces. Astonishingly, in this little book, he succeeds in this quest marvelously. The result is no less than a new type of epistemology--what Edelman refers to as "brain-based epistemology."
Gerald Edelman is no mere dilettante or interloper in neuroscience. Since the publication of The Mindful Brain (a volume he co-edited and co-authored with Vernon Mountcastle) nearly thirty years ago, Edelman has diligently toiled in the theoretical vineyards to construct a comprehensive theory of higher brain function that is consistent with the latest available neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and behavioral data. Perhaps the most significant fruit of these labors, the Theory of Neuronal Group Selection, or Neural Darwinism, proposes that, during neurogenesis, a vast "primary repertoire" of physically connected populations of neurons arises. Later, in a process akin to Darwinian selection, a "secondary repertoire" of functionally defined neuronal groups emerges as the animal experiences its world, and that world in turn selects patterns of connectivity (the so-called neuronal groups) that provide a good enough fit in a given moment to engender some kind of positive outcome. Underlying this selection is a neural "value system," established over the course of evolution and believed to comprise small populations of neurons within deep brain structures, that assigns salience to particular stimuli encountered by the animal. When the response to a given stimulus leads to a positive outcome (i.e., eating satisfies hunger), the value system will reinforce, or strengthen, those synaptic connections between neurons that happened to be firing at that particular moment. There is now a greater likelihood that, when the animal encounters similar stimuli in the future, many of the same neurons that fired the first time will fire together again. When a stimulus is noxious, the value system will similarly strengthen the connections between neurons that happened to be firing at the time the stimulus was encountered, thus increasing the salience of that stimulus. When a stimulus has no salience, synaptic connections between neurons that fired upon first exposure to that stimulus will become weaker with successive exposures. Simply stated, neurons that fire together wire together. Keep in mind that the mapping of the world to neural substrate is degenerate; that is, no two neuronal groups or maps are the same, either structurally or functionally. Nor are the populations of neuronal groups that make up the neural mappings of the world exactly the same each time similar stimuli are encountered. These maps are dynamic, and their borders shift with experience. And finally, since each individual has a unique (and privileged) history, no two individuals will express the same neural mappings of the world. Indeed, from the establishment of the primary repertoire during development, no two brains are wired in exactly the same way, not even those of identical twins.
Notwithstanding any of the various attempts at historical revisionism that you may have encountered if you've read broadly across neuroscience and the philosophy of mind, the selectionist view of the nervous system begins with Edelman's highly original work. What follows from others making selectionist arguments is (whether they like it or not) purely derivative.
Although Edelman's theoretical framework has expanded to include the Dynamic Core hypothesis, a proposed mechanism for consciousness (See Edelman and Tononi's A Universe of Consciousness) that he discusses throughout Second Nature (and I will not unpack here), I believe that Neural Darwinism is his most fundamental contribution to modern neuroscience. To this day, it remains the most detailed and comprehensive theory of higher brain function ever proposed. Perhaps most importantly, and likely to the great consternation of those critics capable of lobbing only ad hominem attacks at Edelman himself, the theory is, in the best traditions of empirically grounded science, eminently testable. I have laid out a brief (and wholly inadequate) sketch of Neural Darwinism here because many of the critiques of Edelman's work are colored either by misapprehensions about this theory or the unrealistic expectation that its underlying mechanism can and should be easily described and readily digested. But unless you can appreciate the vast complexity of a biology shaped by evolutionary principles that are not well understood by the lay public (or even some scientists, for that matter), you will probably struggle to understand much of what Edelman has to say, even in this little book. The fault lies not in Edelman's prose, but rather in the nature of the subject matter he seeks to describe (contrary to the complaints of a few critics--see below). Persevere; if you love biology, are fascinated by the mysteries of the brain, and are curious about the implications of modern brain science for the nature of human knowledge and endeavors, then this book should be your touchstone.
I'm not going to give you a detailed rundown of the contents of Second Nature here; I'll simply recommend that you read it. In the remaining paragraphs, I hope to provide you with something I think will be of even greater value: a discussion of some of the most commonly raised criticisms of Edelman and his work. I hope that this will allow you to read the book--if not totally free of misconceptions--at least less encumbered by what I believe to be unfair attacks on one of the most constructive and distinguished bodies of work in modern theoretical neuroscience.
It is curious that Edelman's work engenders as much vitriolic reaction as it does. If you've read my review up to this point, you've certainly concluded that I'm firmly in Edelman's camp. That said, what follows are the most common claims about Edelman and his ideas from his most vocal critics. These can be clearly stated and quite easily dispensed with. In no particular order, here they are:
1) There is nothing original in his ideas.
2) Natural selection is not an apt analogy for what the brain does.
3) His models are instantiated on computers even though he claims that the brain is not a computer (look up the review by George Johnson).
4) He doesn't understand, or mischaracterizes, the views of modern philosophers.
5) He denigrates philosophers and their work.
6) He omits the work of others.
7) He doesn't communicate his ideas effectively, i.e., he does not write clearly or well.
Now, my rejoinders to the above claims:
Claim #1: Quite simply, those who make this claim need to practice better scholarship. Edelman first suggested the idea of neuronal group selection nearly thirty years ago. Back in the late 1970s, no one else in neuroscience ventured any such selectionist ideas. Moreover, early on, Edelman took quite a lot of heat for this notion. His transition from immunology to neuroscience, though logical from a theoretical perspective (moving from one selectional domain to another), may have offended stalwarts of the neuroscientific establishment. In any case, later, when the evidence suggested that Edelman was indeed correct about competition among groups of neurons (see, for example, the work of M. Merzenich), the attitude of many within and outside of neurobiology was something along the lines of, "oh yeah, but of course there are competitive interactions between functional neuronal assemblies; everybody knows that!" Well, clearly not everybody, and certainly not back in 1978. Over three decades, an original idea had thus been unfairly relegated to derivative status. It wasn't derivative; it was the source.
Claim #2: There is much evidence to suggest that neural representations of the world are dynamic and based on the competitive interactions between functionally defined and degenerate (e.g., non-identical) groups of neurons. Many alternative views of the central nervous system (CNS) have invoked formal computational principles. But everything we know about the CNS suggests that it functions nothing like a computer. If it were a sort of Turing machine, it would represent the only such example known to biology. Most modern biologists steeped in evolutionary principles (whether strictly Darwinian or of the Punctuated Equilibrium variety championed by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge) would probably balk, first, at the notion of the emergence of organized populations of cells (or proteins or molecules, for that matter) capable of executing computations in the same manner as a digital computer, and second, at the idea that this sort of arrangement, if it had appeared at all, would have appeared only once over the course of evolutionary history. Finally, a challenge to those who too easily dismiss Edelman's Theory of Neuronal Group Selection and all that has followed from it: Go ahead and TRY to formulate a detailed, testable theory of brain function that takes account of the underlying biology of the central nervous system. Any takers? No? Enough said.
Claim #3: A number of Edelman's critics, such as the science writer George Johnson (Miss Leavitt's Stars), see little distinction between Edelman's characterization of the workings of the brain and computation-based information processing. But there is one profound difference. In selection-based systems such as the immune system or the CNS, meaning or "information" is imposed from within; in instruction-based systems such as digital computing, meaning is imposed from without; there is no internal meaning--a lot of lights may be on, but nobody's home. Often, traditional digital computers fail in tasks that involve discriminating novelty in a changing environment or generalizing across categories; brains excel in such tasks. But brains built like computers would be neither flexible nor adaptive. Moreover, a computer built like a brain, with little or no specific point-to-point wiring, would not be a functional computer. Precise instructions could not be implemented on such a machine in the absence of point-to-point wiring.
Some critics perceive something of a contradiction in the fact that, while Edelman has strongly rejected the notion of brain-as-computer, he and his colleagues have created simulations of the brain using massively powerful supercomputers. This point is either a red herring or simply represents a woeful ignorance of the nature of computer-based modeling and its applications in biology. When one models biological structures and their interactions on a computer--whether these are proteins folding a certain way, bones reacting to mechanical forces, or brains that can interact with, and adapt to, a world of novelty--one essentially uses software to approximate the analog and not infrequently stochastic behaviors of elements within the biological system being modeled. So, in the case of a biologically based brain simulation, the software instantiates on the computer a functional approximation of neurons with firing thresholds which shift in a circuit interaction- and context-driven fashion. The computer's overt behavior--or that of the device it controls--is not binary when this software is being run. The computer--or more properly, the simulation running on it--does not behave like a classical Turing machine. Why is this so hard to understand?
Claim #4: Actually, Edelman's descriptions and characterizations of various philosophical stances are generally detailed and accurate, and show a depth of understanding that could only have come from a thorough and voracious reading of much of philosophy, not just the philosophy of mind. Edelman has obviously taken in and "gets" the bulk of what philosophers have to say about the nature of knowledge.
Claim #5: In fact, I think Edelman has pulled his punches when it comes to taking on modern philosophical approaches to brain, mind, and the nature of knowledge. Although in his review of Second Nature, David Papineau clearly took offense at Edelman's characterization of philosophical approaches to epistemology as "armchair operations" (Nature, 2007, 446(5):614-615), it is not at all clear that Edelman actually meant this as an attack. When he makes this statement, though, I think he is clearly on the right track; he just doesn't follow that track far enough. Like it or not, these are armchair operations, and few philosophers have ventured beyond such musings to explore the actual neural substrate that generates knowledge in the first place. There are notable exceptions; the efforts of some philosophers, including most prominently John Searle, Hilary Putnam, Ned Block, and Thomas Metzinger, demonstrate a truly deliberative and concerted effort to incorporate what is known about the biology of the brain into thinking about the nature of cognition in general, consciousness in particular, and human knowledge. But many modern philosophers, I believe, are not merely armchair theoreticians; they are intellectually lazy. They think that, when considering the nature of mental processes, it is actually possible to do an "end-run" around neurobiology. Why bother actually relating organic structure and function to cognition? This stance is, quite simply, bizarre; it seems to be akin to a sort of a holdout syncretism of the ideas of Fodor and Skinner. Whatever the roots of this particular philosophical strain, it is wrong and intellectually dishonest. That Edelman has never actually expressed this in print I can only ascribe to some sense of old school propriety and intellectual fairplay. Would that his critics could exercise the same measure of propriety and fairplay.
Claim #6: Nothing obligates Edelman to give a précis of the state of the art of all of theoretical neuroscience (such as it is), particularly in such a compact book. In his review of Second Nature, David Papineau takes Edelman to task for the absence of "scientific comparisons" and suggests that "[a] naïve reader could easily form the impression that Edelman and his associates are the only people trying to use scientific information to cast light on the human mind." (p.615) Well, this is a rather silly point, as a book of this size is clearly not intended to serve as a reference text or primer. Moreover, had any other neuroscientists actually offered competing comprehensive and testable theories of higher brain function and/or consciousness, I have no doubt that Edelman would have felt obliged to take full account of these in Second Nature. So far, they haven't. David Papineau offers that the book presents a senior scientist's "potted cultural history." (p.615) For what it's worth, I eagerly await Prof. Papineau`s version of the cultural history of the science and philosophy of mind. What would such a [presumably] unexpurgated historical landscape actually look like, Prof. Papineau, and precisely who and what, in the way of deep theoreticians and theory, would populate this landscape? Offer some examples and I might even relent and recant my denigration of your odd and useless proclamation.
Claim #7: This is a very old criticism, dating way back to the publication of Neural Darwinism in 1987. In his thick body of work, Edelman has tried to explain nothing less than the workings of the most complicated object in the known universe. Moreover, early on, he attempted this at a time when there were no commonly accepted terms for the interactions he sought to describe ("reentry" and "degeneracy" are examples of terms Edelman coined more than twenty years ago to describe phenomena and properties not previously recognized by neuroscientists). There are many biological properties, principles, and concepts that, by their nature, don't lend themselves to simple descriptions or easy explanations. In Second Nature, Edelman's prose and its organization are clear and amazingly methodical for such a brief book. The book is densely packed, and the subject matter is obviously difficult. Unlike some philosophers, whose abstractions of cognitive properties resemble nothing more or less than a functionalist's "black-box," offering [biologically] context-free and meaningless thought experiments and little depth or intellectual satisfaction, Edelman has gone to great pains in previous works to describe very complex neural properties in the clearest possible manner. With Second Nature, he has taken on the additional task of reconciling his view of brain function--specifically consciousness, that most mysterious of all neural processes--with the nature of human knowledge itself. Edelman addresses the question of whether the highest expressions of human concern--creative pursuits such as art, poetry, and music, or the ethical and moral codes that glue human societies together--can ultimately be " . . . reduced to a series of epigenetic rules of brain action." (p. 156) Unlike Patricia Churchland, Edelman is not a reductionist, so his answer to this question is a resounding "no." (playing or listening to the Chaconne from Bach's Partita #2 cannot be boiled down to an orderly, reproducible code of neuronal firing; and, contrary to the view offered in Churchland's Neurophilosophy, the terms that refer to complex neural function will not simply fall away as neural mechanism reduces to the description of the electrochemical properties of firing neurons; nor, finally, will consciousness come down to the subatomic states of microtubules, as Penrose has suggested). But within the subtext of Second Nature is another, very provocative, question that few before have posed in earnest: Would knowing how the brain works down to the finest detail fundamentally alter the nature of human concern? Although he offers no explicit answer to this question, I suspect Edelman's answer would be "probably not."
So, in sum, don't be put off by the acerbic musings of Edelman's critics (or the length of this review); go ahead and read Second Nature. It may change profoundly your perspective on the nature of human knowledge and its ultimate creator and locus, the human brain.
Disappointing.......2007-04-25
With excitement I looked forward to learning more about Dr. Edelman's interesting ideas in detail in this book, only to be served yet again philosophical musings.
Edelman needs an editor.......2007-01-25
This is the second Edelman book I've read, which was supposedly for a popular, albeit educated, audience, and like "Wider Than The Sky", I found his prose uniquely bad and off-putting. I've read loads of books now on the mind, from Searle, the Churchlands, Fodor, Pinker, Ramachandran, Gazzaniga, et al, and all of them are able to express themselves clearly even when discussing sophisticated concepts. But for me, reading anything by Gerald Edelman is a terrible chore - like some crazy reading comprehension test devised by a sadist - rather than an exciting journey through a brilliant mind. Indeed, I wondered a few times reading this book if Edelman might even feel a perverse pride in keeping his writing below the average standards of intelligibility.
Australian philospher David Stove once remarked that he very much appreciated the contributions of John Stuart Mill, because while (he thought) Mill was wrong, his ideas were expressed with great clarity, allowing them to be more easily evaluated (which in turn facilitated greater understanding). Edelman must be a smart man, so I wish he was able to more effectively communicate his ideas. When so many of his colleagues can do it, I don't know why he can't.
Addendum Mar. 10, 2007: I just read John Horgan's book "The End of Science", and was surprised to find a section on none other than Edelman himself. I was even more surprised (and frankly, sort of thrilled) by the quotes there from Edelman's peers (like Daniel Dennett and the late Francis Crick), on the incomprehensibility of Edelman's gobbledygook (in the back of my mind I was still wondering whether it was just me...). In fact, one fellow scientist expresses his judgment that Edelman tries to disguise unoriginal ideas through the use of rhetorical bluster, pedantry, and new names.
Marriage counsellor.......2007-01-19
Gerald Edelman grieves the "divorce" science and the humanities have experienced. Since there is no final decree in the proceedings, he wants to heal the breach. He has a mechanism to further the reconciliation - something he calls "Second Nature". That "Second" is the human's brain's extensive capabilities - capabilities that exceed what we see in the rest of Nature. With his long career in brain science and as a scholar well versed in the evolutionary background that makes us human, he may have an appropriate answer. In this book, he makes an excellent case for why the divorce need not be permanent. It's offered as a conciliatory gesture under the banner of his theory of "Neural Darwinism".
The label implies the obvious - our brains - hence, our minds - hence our "conscicousness" is the product of natural selection. It's not something separate from the real world in any way. Edelman, like all philosophers today, must face the still unfinished task of eliminating Descartes' "dualism" from consideration. "Dualism" effectively denies our evolutionary heritage. What is that heritage? Edelman enquires, and offers us his view of it.
Humans are distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom in one important way - our version of consciousness. As our brain developed, it created a unique form of neural pathways. Not only is the neural net highly complex - in a single human brain, the potential connectivity "far exceeds the number of elementary particles in the universe" - the methods of connecting are unique. Our brain, which spends far more effort viewing itself and the rest of the body than it does dealing with incoming or outgoing signals, uses a host of internal feedback loops ["reentrant" processing] to do its job. These reentrant signals are reinforced by areas Edelman calls "degenerate". Degeneracy doesn't imply deterioration, but instead is a kind of redundancy - many areas in the brain handle the same or similar tasks. With this brain structure emerging in early humans, selection could favour certain brains and pass their patterns down the generations. Habits once erratic and highly individual, ultimately became the social norm - many individuals shared the trait. Language, of course, with syntax and vocabulary, enhanced those inherited abilities. However, Edelman is dismissive of the concept of a "language module". Instead, he feels that communication reinforced traits already present, enhancing social interactions and forging bonds. Those bonds further contributed to behaviour factors literature describes and philosophy analyses.
Much of Edelman's presentation is reminiscent of Edward O. Wilson's call for "Consilience" in the book of that name published a few years ago. Edelman, however, in a bizarre designation, calls Wilson's proposal "reductionist". One can only tremble at the thought of Wilson's reaction. Richard Dawkins' "memes" are also dismissed as almost unworthy of notice. The author's grand, comprehensive view of the brain rejects anything "mechanistic". Yet, in what seems to be unconscious irony, Edelman concludes the book with a discussion of robots. Recently, some scholars have proposed the idea of an unconscious robot. It may look, walk and talk like a human, but lacks "consciousness" under most definitions. Edelman's team has, however, constructed a series of devices with extraordinary capabilities. Aptly named "Darwin", they've constructed several versions. These devices are highly mobile, and possess numerous input devices that "hear", "see" and "feel". Instead of programming them to seek or avoid objects or obstacles, the Darwins are set loose to wander and examine. When they perform approved acts, they are given verbal approval. This leads to "better" behaviour in future excursions. These robots "learn" how to live. Clearly, this is rich fare for the humanities to savour. As is the entire book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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Second Nature
Alice Hoffman
Manufacturer: Berkley
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Binding: Paperback
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Hoffman, Alice
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ASIN: 0425146812 |
Book Description
A New York Times bestseller, Second Nature tells the story of a suburban woman, Robin Moore, who discovers her own free spirit through a stranger she brings home to her perfectly ordered neighborhood. As Robin impulsively draws this beautiful, uncivilized man into her world-meanwhile coping with divorce and a troubled teenage son-she begins to question her wisdom and doubt her own heart, and ultimately she changes her ideas about love and humanity.
Customer Reviews:
Delicious.......2006-10-30
Alice Hoffman is a master at taking an entirely bizarre and improbable situation and make it seem like something that could happen to anyone at anytime. She has a spare and yet fluid way of writing that is faintly magical and yet entirely believable. I have read most of her books but I think this is my favorite (this and "Turtle Moon"). What Hoffman does better than anyone else is create characters who are loaded with flaws and faults and yet are somehow amazingly lovable.
Stephen, the central character of this story, is a man who was raised by wolves. Don't we all know someone like that? And yet, with her deft hand for counterbalancing toughness and vulnerability, Hoffman makes him seem like the guy we have all been waiting for. I'm not a fan of the popular genre of books that are identified as "romance" --- for me Hoffman is the consummate romantic. Her characters are utterly unique and entirely ordinary with that one curious little twist. Stephen, as designed by Hoffman, is the original "sexy beast". Read slow and savor.
Rambling but excellent "wild child" tale.......2006-08-19
A modern wild "child" tale of a man, Stephen, raised by wolves brought back into society by a gardener, Robin. They quickly fall in love as he adapts to life among humans. The story deals with the relationship between Stephen and Robin, her son Conner, her grandfather Old Dick (a crotchety old man), her brother (the psychologist originally asigned to his case) and his ex-wife, and Robin's exhusband, an arrogant alpha male, Roy. The book is well-written, though often long and tedious about how he adapts to human life, and the human beings' relationships juxtaposed with those of the wolf pack. While the book shows the difference between the "cultures" of the wilderness and civilization, it also highlights the similarities. Human beings have adapted cool logic and intellect and a complicated sense of morals in order to try to remove themselves from the "wilderness", but it becomes strickingly obvious that there isn't much difference. Ironically, this is when Stephen--suspected of thoughtless crime--must leave human civilization. A thoughtful modern fairytale, but it rambles in an attempt to be mainstream. Grade: B+
Enthralling, captivating, magical..........2006-06-24
SECOND NATURE is not your typical love story--which means, of course, that it's very typical Alice Hoffman fare. The novel centers on Robin Moore, a divorcee with a teenage son and a failing landscaping business. Robin feels empty and dissatisfied with her life--until she impulsively decides to bring the "Wolf Man" home with her from the psychiatric hospital where her brother works.
The nurses call him the Wolf Man because he was raised by wolves, had been living with his pack since he was three years old and a plane carrying him and his parents crashed deep in the wilderness of northern Michigan. Years later, he's discovered in the woods by two hunters, near death, his foot caught and mangled by a steel trap. When Robin sees him in the hospital, he awakens a yearning in her, and she takes him home with her, to the timeless island her own family colonized at the turn of the century.
The Wolf Man's name is Stephen, and over the next three months, under Robin's diligent tutelage, he begins speaking again, and even reading. Soon after, he and Robin begin a passionate affair, one that awakens both of them to a new level of awareness--and awakens Hoffman's readers to a new awareness of human nature itself.
But then a little girl is found dead on the island's shore, her throat neatly slashed, and when the community learns of Stephen's true identity, all fingers point to him as the murderer. All at once, Stephen and Robin are forced to face the fact that the fairy tale they're living in just can't translate into the real world. Love, the most powerful of all human emotions, cannot conquer Robin's fear or Stephen's wild nature.
SECOND NATURE is not your everyday modern love story, but it definitely is a meditation on love in all its forms: love between the young and between the elderly, love that is all-consuming, passionate, tortured, breathless, animalistic, platonic, doomed from the start. Hoffman is the master of telling a magical story that her readers will still believe--in fact, we'll eat up anything she says, just because she says it so beautifully. Her prose is so otherworldly, so beguiling and authentic, you just can't help but be entranced. Her characters remain incredibly real even in their magic-laced world--but I've found that I don't really read Hoffman's books for the characters. I pick up her novels to learn something about myself--to learn what it really means to be human.
Reading a book by Alice Hoffman always requires suspending your disbelief. In SECOND NATURE, readers are required to do this quite extensively; we're asked to believe that a man who's lived with wolves since he was three somehow develops an advanced vocabulary and grasps adult concepts and etiquette in a matter of months. Completely unrealistic, right? Well, yes, but readers who are deterred by this are missing the point. Hoffman's novel is about how we react when we're in a relationship we know can never last; it's about how we sometimes receive fulfillment from the most surprising of places.
While SECOND NATURE is not Hoffman's best work, poignant insights into humanity and the author's seductive, masterful prose make this dark, magical love story worth the read.
Loved it!.......2006-03-29
I've read alot of Alice Hoffman's books and I'd have to say that this is my favorite! I just couldn't put it down! I cried and laughed and brought it everywhere I went! Just loved this story!
Missing something........2005-12-11
This was the third of Hoffman's books I've read. I'm drawn to her books because of her writing style. Her writing is enchanting and draws you into the books. However, I'm always disappointed by her stories and characters. I think they fall suprisingly short for such a talented writer. As for this book, it was okay. Not something I'd choose to read again. I didn't find it hard to get into, but I think her characters where a bit flat and the story line the same. It felt like there was something missing.
Average customer rating:
- great up-to-date resource
- This is a great book... if it is something you need!
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CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, Second Edition
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ASIN: 0849308399 |
Book Description
CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, Second Edition is the only handbook specifically devoted to marine mammal medicine and health. With 66 contributors working together to craft 45 scientifically-based chapters, the text has been completely revised and updated to contain all the latest developments in this field. Building upon the solid foundation of the previous edition, the contents of this book are light-years ahead of the topics presented in the first edition. See what's new in the Second Edition: · Marine mammals as sentinels of ocean health · Emerging and resurging diseases · Thorough revision of the Immunology chapter · Diagnostic imaging chapters to illustrate new techniques · Quick reference for venipuncture sites in many marine mammals · Unusual mortality events and mass strandings · New topics such as a chapter on careers · Wider scope of coverage including species outside of the United States and Canada Filled with captivating illustrations and photographs, the Handbook guides you through the natural history of cetaceans, pinnipeds, manatees, sea otters, and polar bears. Prepared in a convenient, easy-to-use format, it is designed specifically for use in the field. Covering more than 40 topics, this one-of-a-kind reference is packed with data. The comprehensive compilation of information includes medicine, surgery, pathology, physiology, husbandry, feeding and housing, with special attention to strandings and rehabilitation. The CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, Second Edition is still a must for anyone interested in marine mammals.
Customer Reviews:
great up-to-date resource.......2002-10-19
This book contains articles that are current and relevant to the field of marine mammal medicine and is great for the researcher as well as the student. It's a great compilation of some of the best work in the field.
This is a great book... if it is something you need!.......2000-04-27
THis is an exceptional book if you are interested in understanding the health and care of marine mammals. If you aren't interested in these areas then it is probably not a good choice of reading material!
Book Description
The major works of Emerson's most productive period in their entirety: "Nature: Addresses and Lectures," "Essays: First and Second Series," "Representative Men," "English Traits," and "The Conduct of Life."
Customer Reviews:
The philosopher of America.......2006-12-06
It is wonderful to have all of Emerson's essays in one volume. Like his great pupil and friend Thoreau , Emerson is a poetic thinker of the highest order. His essays are filled with aphoristic gems . They contain not simply thoughts on different subjects but an organic and coherent way of seeing and understanding the world. They are the work of a genuine American philosophical voice.
There is so much to read here that it is difficult to know where to begin, though I have an especial feeling for 'Representative Men' with its exaltation of great individual human beings .Because he is so poetic and because his writing is so dense with meaning it does not always make for easy reading. But it is firm in principle and great in suggestiveness.
The way to understand where Whitman and in a sense even William James are coming from is to read this work.
Powerful and stirring prose that still ring in the American spirit.......2006-10-26
I cannot think of another writer whose prose reads with as much poetic power as Emerson. The poetic aspect comes from the richness of meaning that continue to manifest as one lingers and thinks about the words Emerson writes rather than anything contrived or artsy. He created many powerful sentences and phrases that still live in the American spirit, and yet, for all the ringing words we love and hold close there are many thoughts and arguments that many people, including myself, find difficult to accept on any level other than being by Emerson.
For all that we love in Self-Reliance and The American Scholar, we still have to deal with his mystic essay on the Over-soul. Many conservative Christians have problems with his Transcendentalist views of religion and Christ. Reading his thoughts on "The Lord's Supper" might be interesting simply because it is Emerson. However, most orthodox believers will not come close to being convinced and today's non-believers will find it difficult to work up the energy to try and figure out what the fuss is about.
His famous essays collected under the title of Nature are fascinating and poetic views of the natural world. At least they seem that way to our more technical age. We see his Enlightenment confidence in reason and man's ability to discover the mechanisms of the Universe. While our science is remains rational, it is not quite so confident that everything can be easily discovered. We have found that for every depth we sound we discover that the bottom is only apparent. Things are deeper and stranger than the thinkers of Emerson's time ever dreamed.
This volume collects his essays and lectures into more than 1,100 pages of fascinating and wonderful reading. His poems and translations are collected into a separate volume also offered through the wonderful Library of America (don't hesitate to support them). The volume opens with a collection called "Nature; Addresses, and Lectures" and contains the eight chapters of Nature plus the four addresses The American Scholar, An Address to the Senior Class of Divinity College from 1838, Literary Ethics, and The Method of Nature. It also has five lectures: Man the Reformer, Introductory Lecture on the Times, The Conservative, The Transcendentalist, and The Young American.
There are then two collections of essays that contain famous titles such as History, Self-Reliance, The Over-Soul, The Poet, Manners, and Nature [yeah, I know it can get confusing]. This is followed by a collection called Representative Men. The seven chapters here are wonderful, but I cannot imagine anything like them being written today. The first chapter is titled "Uses of Great Men". I think I can here the deconstructionists swallowing their tongues. Then follows a chapter each for Plato the Philosopher, Swedenborg the Mystic [millions ask, WHO?], Montaigne the Skeptic, Shakespeare the poet, Napoleon the Man of the World, and Goethe the Writer.
The last two collections contain a number of short papers on English Traits and The Conduct of life. All interesting and full of Emersonian insight and beauty of language. The volume concludes with a Chronology of Emerson's life, notes on the texts, other notes, and an alphabetical index of titles (which is particularly useful given the re-use and similarity of some of these titles).
A Life Companion.......2006-09-01
I think it is probably safe to assert that to read Emerson is to be forever indebted to him. His wording, his clearness of thought, his determination, his warmth... He has all the qualities one could ask for in a writer, and all one could ask for in a mentor. Nietzsche held Emerson's books the closest, and said they were above his praise; Borges added: "Whitman and Poe have overshadowed Emerson's glory, as inventors, as founders of cults; line by line, they are inferior to him." James, the very Whitman, Proust, Frost, have all also praised him sincerely. Judging from other reviews, the love for Emerson hasn't diminished, more than a century after his passing.
For those who are not familiar with his works, it should be noted that Emerson is, without a doubt, a very unique writer. I was surprised when I realized that there is more poetry in his philosophy than in most verse books, yet he is always lucid; and that his poems, although hued by an impressive depth of thought, remain always passionate. He was renown as a brilliant lecturer, and his essays have all the force and immediacy of the oral form. Few people are so rich in memorable aphorisms - one finds a treasure of a quote in every sentence: "A drop is a small ocean"; "We are not built like a ship to be tossed, but like a house to stand"; "Whoso be a man, must be a non conformist"; "Punishment is a fruit that unsuspected ripens within the pleasure which concealed it"...
This was one of the first books the Library of America ever published, and with good reason: Emerson's writings are a Library of America on their own. This volume contains most of his major works, with the usual LOA excellency: beautiful green-cloth binding, a silk-ribbon marker, clear, acid-free, bible-thin paper, a short chronology, and a few useful notes. (No introduction of any kind, also as usual.) In short: a must buy, whether you are new to Emerson or not. My only complain is that this represents only about a half of his actual output, leaving out such important pieces as "The Lord's Supper", "The Fugitive Slave Law", the books Society and Solitude and Letters and Social Aims, his writings on Thoreau, Carlyle, Lincoln, and John Brown, and many other pieces just as revealing as the ones included here - not even counting the 15 volumes worth of journals he wrote throughout his life.
The fact that it's been more than a decade since the publication of the slight Complete Poems and Translations makes me fear LOA has neglected one of America's most beloved authors by giving priority to comparatively minor releases -like those on journalism and film criticism. Why can't Emerson get the same deserved treatment as Henry James, who by the way has now over 12 well-earned LOA volumes published? Just one more book would make this the definite edition of RWE's works; as it is, the huge and expensive Centenary Edition remains untouched as the most comprehensive one available. Furthermore, the "Uncollected Prose" section is no longer included; I can only hope it means they are saving it for a future volume. (It's been 15 years since they took it out, so I'm not holding my breath.)
Those looking for a cheaper introduction should probably check out the excellent Modern Library's The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which besides a very generous collection of essays has a nice introduction, a selection of poems, and a few important pieces not included here.
To put it simply, if you have any interest in philosophy, literature, poetry, religion, or life, read Emerson. You may not be convinced by his arguments, but there's no point in nodding your way through a book. What remains after you finish reading it is what counts, and few writers can be found whose works are as pervasive and fondly remembered as Emerson's are.
Brilliant.......2006-02-26
Ralph Waldo Emerson was and is by far one of the most brilliant writers of American Literature. His writings are his collection of thoughts...both wise, and complicated. As if he is writing his deep most private thoughts into a diary meant to be read. You read his essays and lectures, and just feel as if you have just been exposed to something different in your life.
However, don't just take my word for it. After all, I am only sixteen years old. But this book is brilliant.
A genius who also had a conscience!.......2006-01-23
Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered by many to be one of America's greatest essayists. He also wrote poetry and the words in these essays read like poetry. It is hard to believe that that these essays were compiled and written down in the mid 1840's. The message that each one delivers is as fresh and real today as it was when Emerson said the words initially. We must remember that Emerson was very much a man of his time. His America was ready for an emphasis on individualism, and that is what he promotes in this essays. That may be why these messages have endured for so long. I found some very profound thoughts written in these essays, and the one that I think that I identified with the most were his essays on Art and on Character. I found myself nodding my head numerous times as I read these beautiful words. I certainly recommend that thee essays be read; if for no other reason than for the very beautiful usage of words.
Book Description
This is the first text to thoroughly cover nongenetic strategies of human adaptation to a variety of ecosystems. Designed to help students understand the multiple levels at which human populations respond to their surroundings, it is the most complete discussion of environmental, physiological, behavioral, and cultural adaptive strategies available. Among the unique features that make Human Adaptability outstanding as both a textbook and a reference are a complete discussion of the development of ecological anthropology and of relevant research methods; the use of an ecosystem approach with emphasis on arctic, high altitude, arid land, grassland, and tropical rain forest environments; the most extensive bibliography on ecological anthropology published to date, with over 700 references both classic and recent; and a comprehensive glossary of technical terms. In this updated edition, the author also addresses the impact of political economy, global environment change, demography, and health in the study of human ecology.
Customer Reviews:
Great integration of Modern Ecological Anthropology.......2007-05-09
I would say quite hastily that this book is probably the best introduction to Ecological Anthropology, written by a massive authority on the subject. What I love about the book is its ability to present the pertinent aspects of the subject matter in a way that forces you to understand why it is important. My only caveat about the book is that it does assume a certain degree of knowledge about environmental science that I found most students of anthropology (including myself when I read it) do not have. Keeping this in mind, if you do have supplementary texts available on the natural science aspects of this subject, than you will definately be able to appreciate the depths of human adaptability that Moran describes. This cannot necessarily be considered a weakness of the book, since the natural science has been discussed elsewhere. On the other hand, the material in this book is a great compilation of cultural, physiological, and genetic adaptations around the world. Since it is this that Moran stresses, it is of no detriment to the book that the natural science is not as detailed as it must be.
Below is a list of supplementary texts that should be read alongside this book, the most important one being the soil science textbook.
1) The Nature and Properties of Soils - by Nyle Brady & Ray Weil
2) Ecology: Theories and Applications - by Peter Stiling
3) A book on Human Biology and Human Physiology (I have not found one to my liking which is why I don't recommend a specific one here).
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Living with the Earth: Concepts in Environmental Health Science, Second Edition
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Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice
ASIN: 1566705851 |
Book Description
This new edition of a bestseller continues the standard of excellence that earned the first edition the CHOICE award for Outstanding Academic Book in 1999. It incorporates traditional concepts in environmental and health science with new, emerging, and controversial issues associated with environmental threats to human health and ecology. Opposing scientific views on major issues such as global warming, overpopulation, the causes of cancer, endocrine disrupters, and more are presented with a balanced and objective view. The book has a technological edge because it is Web-enhanced - with a Web site kept current by the author - making it a "living" environmental health book.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best choices.......2007-06-11
As a professor of environmental health science, I find this text to be one of the most comprehensive, balanced, and science-rich texts avaialble. The third edition is the best yet, with minor typos, etc. corrected from previous editions. I also like the balance struck between environmental science and public health in this text. What I have usually found when reviewing texts for course use, is that they over emphasize one area or the other. The new chapter on disaster preparedness is a plus. The science rich presentation is well thought out and balanced. It provides just the right amount of challenge and knitting together of various scientific disciplines to be appropriate for my junior/senior level and graduate students.
Product Description
Interpretation for the 21st Century-2nd edition is uplifting and inspiring as it enhances the reader's understanding of how to interpret our cultural and natural legacy. The 15 guiding principles in this book will assist anyone who works in parks, forests, wildlife refuges, zoos, musea, historic areas, nature centers and tourism sites to more effectively and joyously conduct their work. Interpretation for the 21st Century, now updated and in its 2nd edition, has been used internationally and has been translated into Chinese. It serves as inspirational reading for students.
Customer Reviews:
Thorough, but Dry and "textbooky".......2007-06-04
Someday there will be one book that sums up the field of interpretation. This is not it. This book is 'ok' as a reference book, but mine collects more dust than the others in my interpretive library. I was disappointed in how dry it was. Ironically, I felt it lacks the passion that is so crucial to interpretation. To me, it didn't say anything new that Tilden hadn't already covered (just regurgitated theory in different words). This is purely my opinion, but I don't think Beck's 'extra' principles are a significant contribution to the profession. Because of this, I choose not to include them in my introductory interpretive training class. For example, one chapter is on 'communicating in the information age'. Anyone who's the slightest bit computer-literate knows that interpretation, like any profession, needs to grow and change with time. Does it really require an entire chapter? It's already outdated, anyway, because it doesn't cover blogging or Myspace, which are two tools I use for passive interpretation.
If you haven't read the 'staples' of interpretation (Tilden, Cornell, Ham, etc.) yet, this book will be useful, because it contains 'cliffnotes' on those books. But I recommend reading Tilden for the basics, Cornell to get inspired, and Ham's book, 'Environmental Interpretation' (which isn't just for the natural history interpreter) for the hands-on application part, instead.
Excellent handbook for Tour Guides and other Interpreters.......2004-11-25
The authors of this book offered me exactly what I have expected: a concise and comprehensive insight into the Art of interpretation. They have used for their starting point some `classics' on this subject, such as Mills or Tilden (they did it in a wise and respectful way), and then they developed a much wider and contemporary context to display all aspects of interpretation - its meaning, principles, tools and practice.
According to the authors these are the 15 basic principles of modern interpretation (explained in separate chapters of the book):
1. Lighting a Spark
2. Interpreting in the Information Age
3. Importance of the Story
4. Provocation
5. Holistic Interpretation
6. Interpretation Throughout the Lifespan
7. Bringing the Past Alive
8. Modern Tools of Interpretation
9. Enough is Enough
10. Technique Before Art
11. Interpretive Writing
12. Attracting Support and Making Friends
13. Interpreting Beauty
14. Promoting Optimal Experience
15. Passion
Not only have they covered all relevant facets of their theme, but they also got it across in a clear, interesting and instructive way. Naturally, one could have expected that explanations regarding `interpretation' would be interpreted well. In the case of this book such expectations have completely been met. Simply, Beck and Cable did a great job. As a reader you will enjoy their accounts of what interpretation is or is not and how can it be effectively practiced in both natural and cultural environments.
A great deal of useful tips for interpreters, meaningful quotations, as well as some helpful notes printed in separate `boxes' give this book an additional flavor of seriously planned, thoroughly studied and fully executed task by the authors. This book may undoubtedly serve as an excellent tool for tour guides to improve their interpreting capabilities and their art of story-telling in order to give their audience really great tours!
Will this book become a `new Bible' in the field of interpretation in the 21st century?
Interpretation for the 21st Century.......2000-07-17
Larry Beck's and Ted Cable's "Interpretation for the 21st Century, Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture" is one of the best resources I have found for tour guides, museum professionals, educators, and anyone who builds programming around historical, cultural and natural sites or institutions.
It introduces the classics of interpretation (Tilden, Mills, etc.) and then covers everything from the bigger picture to the details of specific practices.
As a program manager in a museum, I find lots of food for thought, training material, and program development guidance in this book. It also captures the excitement, joy, and passion that Interpretation can embody in its best forms. This book is both inspiring and helpful every time I use it.
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