Book and Movie Reports by Ed

Book Report: The Physics of Superheroes, by James Kakalios How could it have taken me so long to read this book? Considering my heavy background in physics, and the fact that I practically marinate in the lore of superheroes and super powers, you’d think this would be on my bedside table. Well, better late than never. This book uses examples of situations from superhero comics to illustrate many of the basic concepts of physics. For example, given that the original Superman (pre-flying) could jump an eighth of a mile, could he really jump over a skyscraper? The book covers motion and energy, light and heat, electricity and magnetism, and even a little quantum mechanics, all presented with such lively and interesting examples. Plenty of pictures from real DC and Marvel comics illustrate his points. Is this, then, a spoil-sport book, exposing how super powers are impossible and fictitious nonsense? Not at all. In fact, early on the author makes it clear that very often, if you gran...

Movie report: Primer (2004) So, you build this time machine. Or you build something, and you think it's a time machine. Only here's how it works: you can go back in time, say, six hours, but that means spending six hours in the machine. While you're in there, the world goes on. And when you come out, it's six hours earlier. And there are now two of you: the you there was before at this time, and the you that just stepped out of the machine. So, you buy shares in a stock that you know is going to go up in value during those six hours, and do other things to get rich quick, all while avoiding your other you. But can you stop there? Aren't there other things you could straighten out, things that occurred during those six hours? Bad things, maybe? And when you start changing what you yourself already went back in time to change, well… Primer is a movie that was supposedly made for about $7,000, won all kinds of awards, and deserves them. It focuses on Aaron and Ab...

Movie Report: My Super Ex-Girlfriend [SPOILER WARNING] In my never-ending quest to find interesting super-powered characters and stories, I watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix. Matt (Luke Wilson) is an extremely ordinary but sweet guy who asks out Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman), a deliberately nondescript total stranger. They hit it off pretty well, and after a few dates she reveals her big secret to him: she is, in reality, G-Girl the superheroine. G-Girl's powers include flight, super-speed, super-strength, and laser vision, and she routinely saves the citizens of New York from calamity. Matt really likes the idea of dating Jenny/G-Girl, but the reality isn't so great: she's jealous, insecure, and controlling. He breaks up with her. Bad move. Hell hath no fury like a superheroine with laser vision scorned, and Jenny/G-Girl proceeds to make Matt's life unbearable. Hijinks ensue. What is one to do when one has pissed off the most powerful being on earth? Als...

Book Report: Tales of the South Pacific, by James A. Michener It's the "Tales" part of the title that throws me. When you read these chapters, you don't feel like you're reading tales. They sound like the reminiscences of a US Navy Commander stationed near Guadalcanal during 1942-1943, which wouldn't be surprising, because Michener did serve there then. But they are stories, works of fiction. I'd hate to tell you how many of the people, places, and events I've tried to look up online, only to find that they're not real. I have no doubt that they're based on real people, places, and events, but they've been carefully shaped to be extremely realistic stories. It's an amazing effect. (Aside: Michener is probably responsible for naming more Asian restaurants in the US than anyone in history, by inventing the name Bali Hai for an imaginary island.) Each of these tales is a little gem that captures the essence of humanity. If a Martian...

Book report: The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin When it comes to subjects like biology and medicine, I am an absolute moron. I only barely avoided failing the one and only biology class I ever took, thanks to an absurd amount of extra-credit outside reading assignments and a science fair project that I still don't understand. I can never remember if DNA is made out of chromosomes or the other way around. Same with proteins and amino acids. I'm not a generally stupid person, but I do recognize my limits: biological matters are opaque to me. It was with the hope of redeeming myself that I read "The Origin of Species". I felt that, if I could read and somewhat comprehend probably the most influential and controversial book ever written on biology, then I might once again be able to present myself in modern society without wearing a veil. "The Origin of Species" sold out its entire first printing on the day of publication in 1859, largely because of...

Book report: The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, by Carl Sagan In The Republic, Plato proposes government by philosopher-kings, benevolent and wise dictators who would rule justly and fairly. I would have nominated Carl Sagan to be a philosopher-king. He wasn't just a smart guy in his own field (planetary astronomy and exobiology). He was erudite in a number of fields, an expert teacher and popularizer of science, and had what I consider wisdom. He also seemed to appreciate people and the human condition. In my experience, this is unusual in scientists. Sagan also had a characteristic and vivid style both in speech and in writing that makes all his books entertaining and illuminating to read. This particular book is the edited transcript of the Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Lectures ) that Sagan delivered in 1985 (the same year he wrote Contact, one of my favorite books and movies). The Gifford...

Book report: Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely Read this book! Oh, you want reasons? Well, there’s the interesting thing. So much of our world is based on reasons, reason, and rationality. We depend on people to vote, behave, drive, buy, and invest in rational ways. Economics is based on people behaving rationally. Yet, we know that we – or, at least, other people – are not rational. What behavioral economist Dan Ariely and others have discovered is that, not only are people irrational, but they are predictably irrational. That is, their irrationality follows regular patterns that can be measured, understood, mastered – and manipulated by those in the know. Here’s an example. Suppose a real estate agent shows you two houses, a colonial-style and a ranch-style. You find it hard to decide between them, because it’s difficult to compare two such different styles of houses. Then, the agent shows you another house, also a colonial, but not as nice as the first one. Now, you can make up ...