The Character of Life Watson and Crick, in their respective accounts of the discovery of the structure of DNA, both cited “What is Life” as their source of inspiration. It’s amazing how a physicist’s insights triggered a breakthrough in molecular biology. Schrödinger, based on the principles of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics and very limited experimental data, deduced with amazing accuracy the size and character of the genetic material, later known […]
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“The Double Helix” by James D. Watson
Comparing this book with Francis Crick’s “What Mad Pursuit”, which covers the discovery of the structure of DNA from a different perspective, I enjoy reading Crick a lot more. While this book provides a more colorful account of the lives and characteristics of the scientists involved in the work, I find Crick’s insightful and humorous commentaries on scientific discovery more stimulating and refreshing.
Read more“What Mad Pursuit” by Francis Crick
An Extraordinary Journey Dr. Crick shares with the readers his personal journey of scientific discovery. Starting with how he chose molecular biology as his pursuit, the “gossip test — what you are really interested in is what you gossip about”, leading up to the discovery of structure of DNA and the genetic code, and eventually the study of neurobiology when he passed 60, “at my time of life I had […]
Read more“Synaptic Self” by Joseph LeDoux
Well-structured and comprehensive overview of the historical development and recent advances in neuroscience, with focus on the functional architecture of the brain, especially the amygdala and working memory. I read this book shortly after “In Search of Memory” by Eric Kandel. There are some overlaps between the two, but overall they complement each other very well, approaching the same problems from different perspectives.
Read more“The Nature of Order: A Vision of A Living World” by Christopher Alexander
The last of Christopher Alexander’s books that I read. It left me in a somewhat melancholy mood. In this book, Alexander gives a few examples (mostly from classical cultures and his own works) of buildings and neighborhoods that have life in them. I catch a glimpse of the “vision of a living world”, but also realize for the first time how fragmented and unwholesome the modern buildings are. Just as […]
Read more“Notes on the Synthesis of Form” by Christopher Alexander
A Real Design Problem “We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed, and a context which we cannot properly describe.” The harmony / good fit between form and context can be regarded as the total absence of potential misfits, which can be represented by a finite set of binary variables all taking the value 0. A Homeostatic Form-Making Process […]
Read more“Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain” by Oliver Sacks
A comprehensive overview of the various aspects of musicality and the relationship between music and the mind, especially emotion and memory. Although I didn’t gain any further insights into the neural correlates of musicality (than what I’ve already learned from his other book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat”), I enjoyed stories of people whose lives are intimately bound with and affected by music. Links Oliver Sacks […]
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