history
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“There’s No Natural Selection For Happiness”
“Like evolution, history disregards the happiness of individual organisms” (243) writes Yuval Noah Harari in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harari takes us through early human history to note its indifference to personal well-being and its drive toward population growth—two… Continue reading
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Black Swan Events
For centuries, swans were white. The idea that swans could possibly come in another color has a long history and, I think, an appealing relevance to daily life. For the Romans, a “black swan” was a synonym for an impossibility.… Continue reading
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Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is an ideal read for those who are curious about science but shy away from the details. Bryson’s signature style—humorous and friendly—is easy on the comprehension and even evocative in its imagery.… Continue reading
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Katydids, Cicadas, Crickets, Grasshoppers
In last Sunday’s New York Times (September 23), in her wonderful article, “A Little Night Music,” Diane Ackerman contemplates the chorus of katydids, crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas whose evening serenade from backyards and fields in temperate zones this time of… Continue reading
Lives on Earth 