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22 Werke 618 Mitglieder 9 Rezensionen

Werke von Rob Desalle

Wine: A Natural History (2014) — Autor — 48 Exemplare
A Natural History of Beer (2019) 29 Exemplare

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This sounded like a great idea for a book, but I was disappointed. The writing is not great, in fact it’s downright awkward in many spots. And it was aggravating that they spent so much time in a cosmological history of the entire universe: yeah, sure, if there had been no Big Bang there would be no photons and hence no light and hence no color, but it was absurd to spend so much time on it. Every single book about any subject could justify this as well, a book about Norwegian shoes could also start with the Big Bang. Similarly, way too much ink was used explaining evolution via natural selection.

Despite my gripes, there -was- a lot of interesting stuff about color in the book. Shame to have to wade through so much other stuff to see it, and a shame the writing wasn’t better. (I admit I can’t write, myself, but I think I know good science writing when I see it, and this is substandard. )

Sadly, this book was scheduled to be released with an American Museum of Natural History (NYC) exhibit about color that opened in March - talk about bad timing.
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steve02476 | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 3, 2023 |
Very light. Doesn't really go into detail on any one subject. Gets briefly interesting when talking about subjective experiences of colour and then suddenly ends always mid-sentence.
 
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Paul_S | 1 weitere Rezension | Dec 23, 2020 |
This book draws upon modern genetic evidence to debunk the idea that "race" has a biological basis. The authors are well-qualified to write such a book. Both are curators at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, with DeSalle being at the Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics. The authors previously combined efforts in writing the fine book Race?: Debunking a Scientific Myth.

The authors' main conclusion is that modern genomics (based on DNA analysis of people worldwide) refutes the idea that humans can be divided into the traditional categories of race. Among other aspects that challenge the racial categories is (a) that there are no objective criteria by which such categories can be identified genetically; and (b) that any categories one might seek to define intergrade imperceptibly with others. As noted back in the early 1960s by Frank Livingstone, "there are no human races, there are only clines". The authors devote one chapter specifically to refuting Nicolas Wade's A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, a work widely disparaged by scholars for its flawed science and racialist perspective. In fact, their title is a riff on (and implicit rebuttal to) Wade's book.

I have mixed views on this book. On the one hand, the arguments are well-founded and convincing. On the other hand, the book is quite technical, and written well above the level of readers that lack training in genetics. Indeed, though a biologist (not a geneticist), I found much of it heavy going; and the color graphics (which I am glad were included) were of only marginal assistance. A much more effective work would have presented the genetic science in ways accessible to the educated reader. Such would not only have been possible, but should be viewed as essential. If another writer with expertise in human genomics were to undertake such a book, it could be a welcome addition to public discourse on one of the more important scientific issues of our time.
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danielx | Mar 26, 2019 |
Like the ever increasing number of sexes we suddenly recognize, there are more senses than we traditionally credit. Balance, for example, is definitely a sense. And it is part and parcel of our hearing mechanism. Pain is another. And there are combinations of traditional senses – how smell affects taste, for one. Our Senses is an attempt to cover them all in a survey of research. The result is not totally satisfying.

Rob DeSalle has pulled together a lot of great stories, examples and theories. (Nature has evolved 25 completely different kinds of sight mechanisms, original designs adapted to the needs of different species.) But he has also focused (too much) on DNA and specific genes, whose letter/number codes are instantly forgettable and of little use to the average child reader. This book is the accompaniment to the exhibit of the same name and design at The American Natural History Museum in New York. As such, it is really a museum gift shop book. It is not a catalog of the exhibit, but an expansion of greater depth.

The problem is like that of all-season tires – wrong for summer and also wrong for winter. There is both not enough detail and also too much. Intriguing paths end suddenly. Highly technical knowledge is displayed without insight. It’s a problem of the pairing of museum and book, not of the author Rob DeSalle, who is not merely expert, but clearheaded, thoughtful and most enthusiastic. If you see the exhibit, this is a great reminder.

David Wineberg
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DavidWineberg | Dec 30, 2017 |

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Werke
22
Mitglieder
618
Beliebtheit
#40,697
Bewertung
3.8
Rezensionen
9
ISBNs
80
Sprachen
4

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