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ℝobin (#Bookwyrm)

rd@bookwyrm.social

Joined 3 years, 4 months ago

Lover of books and other fine reading materials. Find me on Mastodon as robin@mstdn.social #NoBot

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Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton: "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" (2018, W. W. Norton & Company) 4 stars

One that every person should read

5 stars

This book is written so wonderfully. You'd never expect such a brilliant mind to write in such an approachable manner. The last chapter on "The Value of Science" is my favourite in the book. Feynman lamented the fact that science really doesn't get it's day in the sun, at least when it comes to artistic endeavours.

This value of science remains unsung by singers; you are reduced to hearing not a song or poem, but an evening lecture about it. This is not yet a scientific age.

Feynman has a terrific existential poem in that last chapter as well and makes some important recommendations on what we as a species are obligated to do.

Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on. It is our responsibility to leave the people of the future a free hand.

Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton: "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" (2018, W. W. Norton & Company) 4 stars

This book is written so wonderfully. You'd never expect such a brilliant mind to write in such an approachable manner. The last chapter on "The Value of Science" is my favourite in the book. Feynman lamented the fact that science really doesn't get it's day in the sun, at least when it comes to artistic endeavours.

This value of science remains unsung by singers; you are reduced to hearing not a song or poem, but an evening lecture about it. This is not yet a scientific age.

Feynman has a terrific existential poem in that last chapter as well and makes some important recommendations on what we as a species are obligated to do.

Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on. It is our responsibility to leave the people of the future a free hand.

finished reading The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis (The Gregg Press science fiction series)

Walter Tevis: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1978, Gregg Press) 5 stars

An enjoyable, quick read. I haven't watched the movie, but as I read this book I imagined David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton and even Rip Torn as Nathan Bryce. This was an interesting story with themes of greed and ambition as a means for fulfilling one's purpose at the cost of civilization. At some point in that journey, you'll begin to wonder who you really are, as Newton did.

finished reading The Stranger by Albert Camus

Albert Camus: The Stranger (1989, Vintage) 4 stars

L'Étranger (French: [l‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe]) is a 1942 novella by French author Albert Camus. Its theme and …

Mersault is so completely detached from feeling the highs and lows of life that even the blazing hot sun can set him off into murderous action. He seems to only know what interests him after he has lost it. He knows what he doesn’t like, and that list is seemingly endless, but he is too immersed in the belief that everything is pointless, so why even bother, that he is out of place and misunderstood every where he goes.

Ultimately though, he is able to realize what it is that he is drawn to. His memories of swimming on the beach, of enjoying a film and spending time with Marie. He is able to cherish the moments of beauty amidst the banality and indifference of life — and of death.