The Rules of Contagion by Adam Kucharski

The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop by Adam Kucharski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like a lot of people said, this both about viruses spreading and about information/misinformation/disinformation spreading. It's sort of the perfect book for our time in that both of those things are a danger right now. But the organization was really poor and there were only a few new things covered.

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 “We received a new dataset each day. Because it took time for new cases to be reported, there were fewer recent cases in each of these datasets: if someone fell ill on a Monday, they generally wouldn’t show up in the data until Wednesday or Thursday. The epidemic was still going, but these delays made it look like it was almost over.” 

 “R = Duration × Opportunities × Transmission probability × Susceptibility” 

“Epidemiology is, in fact, a mathematical subject,’ he wrote in 1911, ‘and fewer absurd mistakes would be made regarding it (for example, those regarding malaria) if more attention were given to the mathematical study of it.’” 

 “Tackling harmful content will have a direct effect – preventing a person from seeing it – as well as an indirect effect, preventing them [from] spreading it to others. This means well-designed measures may prove disproportionately effective. A small drop in the reproduction number can lead to a big reduction in the size of an outbreak.”

Deadly Companions by Dorothy H. Crawford

Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History by Dorothy H. Crawford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good overview of all the big pandemics plus a bonus chapter about the potato blight in Ireland. This would be a good first book if you’re interested in this topic but if you’ve already read some on this topic you won’t find anything enlightening or entertaining in this one.

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The Vagina Bible by Jennifer Gunter

The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine by Jennifer Gunter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a reference book, not an interesting nonfiction book after the first third or so. It's a good reference book but I'm a little annoyed I read the whole thing.

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Black Death at the Golden Gate by David K. Randall

Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Startling how similar the reaction of the Governor of California was over 100 years ago to that of our President today. Just cover up the Bubonic Plague! Don't make a big deal of it and it will go away. Microbes don't care about positive thinking or panic or anything other than actual protective measures and treatment.

All the descriptions of this book say it's the story of Rupert Blue, but can we take a minute for Joseph James Kinyoun? He was the first hero. I have a lot of sympathy for him. It's terrible to live in a world where people won't listen to science and require being constantly charmed to accept reality. The bad guys create a fictional world and force us all to live in it.

Fun fact: You can still get Bubonic Plague from fleas, though early detection and treatment with antibiotics should cure you.

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Bitten by Kris Newby

Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons by Kris Newby
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There’s a lot of interesting Lyme Disease information here but there’s also a lot of speculation and drama that makes it tough to mentally compartmentalize what I accept as fact or likely.

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Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not as much interesting information as I was hoping for as a dog owner. Lots of filler. Although it was interesting that the biology and psychology of dogs wasn't just a big analogy to wolves. Dog kisses might not be just dog kisses either but the dogs looking for a little extra treat (regurgitated food- yuck!). The book might have been better with tighter editing.

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The Scientific American Brave New Brain by Judith Horstman

The Scientific American Brave New Brain by Judith Horstman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is just a short popular-science book full of the basics of neuroscience and a lot predictions about the future based on early research and science fiction imagination. Nothing amazing here, but a pleasant quick read.

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The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain by Barbara Strauch

The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind by Barbara Strauch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was interested in the section that claimed that older adults are more easily distractable. I wonder about what causes this with children, adults, and myself. This book has other little nuggets of interesting science but despite its short length, it was full of filler anecdotes and contradictory information. While I found it interesting and entertaining, it's not sufficiently scientifically vigorous that I'd recommend it to others.

I read this because it was one of my dad's books, but because it came out in 2010, the year he died, I'm not sure he actually read it. It's just as well because he didn't have much of an opportunity to revel in his middle-aged wisdom.

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When by Daniel H. Pink

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A short book about how timing affects both our personal decisions and business plans. There is definitely some repeat information that most people are aware of already, but the book is so short that it's worth reading to get a sense of the overall psychological impact of timing decisions correctly.

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Proteinaholic by Garth Davis

Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Davis is persuasive that animal-derived products are mostly terrible for you. I especially enjoyed the section where he explains to the public how to look at scientific studies. I also enjoyed the very scientific bent of the book with study after study because I generally enjoy super-nerdy-science reading.

This book isn't a diet book though. He's strong on the not-eating-meat point, but he doesn't spend much time on other things you shouldn't eat, and he only spends a little bit of time on things he thinks you should eat. I suspect that the vast majority of his research was on meat only, and he has very little idea about the specifics of say, wheat. I'm dubious based on the science that I've read that wheat is a healthy food to consume. Yes, maybe meat is even worse, but that doesn't mean you'll do great on a high wheat diet. The Okinawans don't eat much meat- though they do eat some fish- and they don't eat wheat. I don't doubt that some very specific healthy wheat products are available (and likely to go bad quickly because of lack of preservatives), but it seems like the majority of wheat products are pretty bad. And sugar is the devil.

Conclusion: working on cutting the animal products out of my diet.

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Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the most complete and up-to-date book on everything related to sleep. You know the thing we're supposed to spend 1/3 of our life doing? Everyone needs to read this. It's one of a few books I'd consider a necessary owner's manual to the human body. That said, a lot of it- but not all- was a repeat for me because I do a lot of science reading and sleep especially interests me.

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The Longevity Diet by Valter Longo

The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight by Valter Longo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I trust Dr. Longo's research, he's a recognized expert, but I don't think this plan is very useful to normal people. The concept is basically this: do the Longo "Fasting Mimicking Diet" for 5 days a month, every month. The rest of the time, eat the Mediterranean diet and exercise 5-7 hours a week. Okay.

So my problems with the Fasting Mimicking Diet is that it's super hard. Mind you, I've done "every other day fasting" for three months (then I fell off) and I've done time-restricted eating: not eating for 16 hours, and eating for 8. So my objection about difficulty is not fasting per se. It's that eating 800 calories a day for 5 days sounds harder than a water fast for 5 days because hunger actually decreases on a real fast. This low-calorie diet results in constant hunger for 5 days. So maybe I'd actually try what he recommends but just substitute a water fast? (I am not a doctor so you definitely should not follow any of my ideas or advice.)

Then I also have a number of objection about the OPTIONAL ProLon product they sell- just the food measured out for the 5 days so it's a no-brainer for you:
1) Anytime you're trying to sell me something I lose trust in the science (even though it is tempered in this case by the fact that Longo claims to make no personal profit)
2) ProLon isn't real food but packets of things you mix or whatever. Yuck.
3) It's super expensive $250 a box (one box lasts for the one-month 5-day fast) unless you buy a year supply in advance. No. Just no.

A counterargument to my complaints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpN5V...



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How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics by Michael Pollan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really interesting book. Though it's central theme is psychedelics, it's topic is really consciousness, the experience of being, the fear of death, willpower, and mental illness. The book was well-written as Pollan never disappoints. I definitely found new information and the book definitely challenged some of my assumptions about the world.

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The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author is an expert in neuroscience and statistics so the book was clearly going to be the kind that engages me. Tons of interesting and new information. My main problem was that chapter to chapter the topics didn’t feel cohesive. I felt like I was reading a series of essays about human neurology and psychology in the current era. There was not a driving thesis in the book, and even the self-help aspect ebbed and waned.

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Just Babies by Paul Bloom

Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil by Paul Bloom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting little book with a thesis that is against the Blank Slate. Bloom argues that babies have a rough idea of good and evil, but that how that develops as they grow into adults depends largely on their environment. Interesting, but I've read bit and pieces of the research he references in a number of other places, including many of his sources, so not a lot of it was new to me. The thesis also meandered a bit more than I like.

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Follow Your Gut by Rob Knight and Brendan Buhler

Follow Your Gut: How the Ecosystem in Your Gut Determines Your Health, Mood, and More by Rob Knight and Brendan Buhler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great little book about bacteria. The stuff everyone should get in an owner's manual to your own body.

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The Gut Balance Revolution by Gerard E. Mullin

The Gut Balance Revolution: Boost Your Metabolism, Restore Your Inner Ecology, and Lose the Weight for Good! by Gerard E. Mullin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

5 stars for nutrition and biology research. I’ll give the actual diet a try and get back to the rating and review. I suspect it works- as the author himself admits, all diets work initially. The issue is if it can be easily maintained. I’ll probably be combining with Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) so my attempt might not be especially instructive to others.

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Cannibalism by Bill Schutt

Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love reading about science so I’m definitely the target audience for an exploration of zoological and anthropological cannibalism. I was especially intrigued by the discussion of mad cow disease and the mirror illness in human cannibals. An article on a different illness has haunted me since I first read about it in 2008, and I’d love to read a more detailed explanation of what, if any, relationship these illness have (as soon as scientists figure it out): https://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05pork.html.

One thing really bothered me though, despite the book coming out in 2017, Schutt seems to have missed major research on Neanderthals that came out in 2015 of DNA evidence that there was "Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals": https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16544.

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Pandemic by Sonia Shah

Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond by Sonia Shah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the more interesting science books I've read in a long time, and one of the most important. I strongly recommend it to everyone. I'm also going to try some of the books recommended below.

The author does spend too much time on cholera history in the middle of the book- interesting but not the only focus of the book so it feels belabored. Power through it, it's worth it.

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NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is fundamentally a history book about autism and Aspergers and how it's been handled through time. There is also a lot about how adults on the spectrum have done well in their adult lives and lobbied on their own behalfs and on the behalf of children going through what they did. There were some particularly moving and terrifying parts- particularly the section on the holocaust. I feel like the book was helpful to understanding certain issues about disabilities in general and not just the autism spectrum specifically.

There is very little science, unfortunately. The title suggested to me that there would be at least some substantial section on neurobiology.

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