I’ve been hoodwinked too many times by well-reviewed pop-sci books which I later discovered to be hated by the actual scientists who do the work. Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku was the final straw 😆

Cheers!

  • Almonds@mander.xyz
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    2 days ago

    Omg. I went to a Michio Kaku “lecture” like 15 years ago. Had no idea what he was about, it just seemed like an interesting way to spend an evening.

    The entire hour and a half was painting his achievements like biggest thing since sliced bread, and trying to sell his books. I am still not even sure if he’s educated in his field or if he fell into it by speaking with a patronizing affect

    Edit: to answer your question. I enjoyed Live Long and Evolve: What Star Trek Can Teach Us about Evolution, Genetics, and Life on Other Worlds by Mohammed Noor

    but I admit I haven’t read it since I began my Biology degree. I’ll have to read it again!

    • Higgs boson@dubvee.org
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      22 hours ago

      That is quite different from a talk by Carl Sagan I saw when I was a kid… which is ironic because that likely what Michio Kaku is sort of imitating.

      • Almonds@mander.xyz
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        17 hours ago

        That’s what I was expecting, something along the lines of Carl Sagan enthusiastically talking about the marvels of the universe in a way that is contagious.

        That may have contributed to my disappointment lol

    • everett@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      That’s disappointing to hear about Michio Kaku. I bought one of his books a long time ago, after hearing an interesting interview with him on a podcast. (Never actually got around to reading the book, though.)

      • Almonds@mander.xyz
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        1 day ago

        Maybe he’s mellowed out, this was before podcasts were widespread. I definitely felt like I had been scammed for the ticket price of that event though 😅