Early in Idiot Brain, author Dean Burnett addresses a common misconception about memory. People tend to assume human memory works along the same lines as a computer’s memory: information goes in, is stored, and is retrieved at a later date when you need it. Sure, there might be trouble retrieving at times: you only have perfect recall ability if you’re Sherlock or you take narcotics like Bradley Cooper in Limitless, but all the data is in there somewhere, right? Unfortunately for the pharmaceutical industry, it’s […]
Best. Comic Strip. Ever.
Calvin and Hobbes is without a doubt the best comic strip ever written, and if anybody disagrees with me they can meet me in Weehawken tomorrow morning with pistols drawn. I don’t know of any other comic strip that can veer from the pure joy of a 6-year-old and his best friend to existential musings within the span of 4 frames. It’s also hilarious, which you would think would be a given for this medium, but so many strips out there have continued for decades […]
Ya wee scunner, if it’s nae Scottish it’s crap!
The nice thing about living with another book lover is that when I’m between books and want to pick up something to read, I can just peruse the shelves, and I’m sure to find something new. The upside is this can lead me to discover books I would probably never have sought out on my own. The downside is my options are often limited and are heavily weighted towards nautical fiction and British history. So recently when I was trying to decide on what new […]
This return to childhood never disappoints (a slightly feminist review)
I’m not sure how old I was the first time I encountered The Phantom Tollbooth, but I do recall that my first exposure was in an anthology in an elementary grade reading class. We read the chapter on the Royal Banquet, where Milo is forced to “eat his words.” It strikes me that this book is likely the first exposure kids have to really understanding figures of speech and the complexity of the English language. For those who haven’t read The Phantom Tollbooth, well first […]
Good for Francophiles; for others, not so much
I hate not finishing a book. The literature student in me feels compelled to give every author his due, and there was a time when I would have slogged through anything no matter how disinterested I was. Now that I’m older and one would hope wiser, I’ve realized that life is short and there are times when I should cut my losses and move on to something that makes me happy. I’ve always had a love–meh relationship with Julian Barnes, so it surprised me at […]
If Sam Kean had been around when I went to school, I might have majored in Science
I’m not sure at what point in my adult life I decided I love science, but if I had been able to read books by Sam Kean when I was in school, I might have come to this conclusion at a much younger age. Then again, I think the interest has always been there (at one point I thought I would be a zoologist, because I liked animals), but the knowledge didn’t seem accessible to me. Whether it was because I was a girl and […]
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