Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life by Peter Godfrey-Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The mind is a complex entity, we have only scratched the surface in comprehending how it works and what it is capable of. The neural networks that make up the brain are capable of absorbing vast sums of information and making sense of them fast. The intelligence that we have, and can see in other mammals and birds, in particular, other primates, cetaceans, and corvids. There is another set of animals that seem to have also benefited from a large brain and complex neural networks and that is the cephalopods. You’ll probably know them better as cuttlefish, squid and the octopus. These are quite amazing creatures, not only are they aware of all that is going on around them, they can open jars to get the treat inside, have been known to squirt lights with jets of water as they don’t like the brightness and have been found crawling across the floors of laboratories in an escape bid. The skin operates like a high-res video screen as it is able to mimic its surroundings and ripple with colours depending on mood. They have been proven to recognise individual members of staff, even when in the same uniform, so much so that a person they took a dislike too would get drenched when they walked past.

Peter Godfrey-Smith first came across them when someone introduced him to a place they had called Octopolis. This was a place that had many octopi that had brought and discarded scallop shells and begun to make it a safe haven from the predators around. There were a large number of the creatures there that seemed to tolerate each other most of the time, but every now and again there would be running battles between some of the males and Godfrey-Smith was fortunate to capture these on video. Godfrey-Smith though is a philosopher of science, not a biologist, but it got him thinking; just how had this creature had evolved down a separate branch of our shared tree and had ended up at a level of sentience which was quite advanced. The octopi that he regularly sees as he scuba dives off the coast of Sydney are willing to come up and interact with him and the other divers,

It is an interesting book comparing our understanding of human consciousness with a creature that is so alien that we cannot fully get a grip on what it is thinking. There is a lot on the biological makeup of cephalopods and how their brain and nervous system works, as well as a couple of chapters on the evolution of consciousness and how the need to be aware of your surroundings has driven the development of the brain. I would have liked to read more about the observations that they had conducted on Octopolis as the chapters that were there were fascinating. Definitely worth reading for those that have an interest in marine ecology and peering into the dark recesses of the mind.

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In Pursuit of Memory: The Fight Against Alzheimer’s by Joseph Jebelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you think of diseases that kill people cancer and heart disease would most top peoples list, but with the population in the western world getting older, other illnesses are having an effect on mortality rates and people’s quality of life. One of the most significant is Alzheimer’s and dementia, a cruel disease that leaves the shell of the person whilst stealing their personality, dignity and their memories. The first time that Joseph Jebelli came across this illness was when he was twelve years old and his grandfather started doing strange things and becoming ‘indefinably peculiar’; Gone was the warm person he had known. This family tragedy became a pivotal point in his life and drove him to pursue a career in science researching the very disease that claimed his grandfather.

I felt totally alone, with the world receding away from me in every direction, and you could have used my anger to weld steel – Sir Terry Pratchett

Jebelli is now an established expert in the field of Alzheimer’s research and in this interesting and informative book he sets about describing the background with Alois Alzheimer’s discovery of the illness in 1906 all the way up to the current understanding of the science behind this distressing disease. Travelling all over the world he talks to the people at the cutting edge in laboratories about the latest avenues of research as they race to find a cure. He takes time to talk to sufferers and their families gaining a heartfelt understanding of the anguish they go through every day. It is a clear and well-written exploration of the different efforts that encompass research into Alzheimer’s. There is a small amount on Sir Terry Pratchett, who was sadly one of those to get early onset Alzheimer’s, or his embuggerance as he called it. He donated a fairly hefty sum of money to enable research, but more importantly, he spoke about his illness and spent time raising awareness of it. Jebelli writes about a difficult and personal subject in a way that brings clarity to the dark world that is Alzheimer’s, I can highly recommend this book. 4.5 stars

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Strange Heart Beating by Eli Goldstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

In a freak accident, a swan attacks a small boat, capsizes it and Leda drowns; she was the cherished wife of Seb. Leda was originally from Latvia and even though Seb knows her, he knows very little about her family and upbringing. As he is sifting her possessions he discovers a set of unopened letters addressed to her. Opening them, he finds they are from a man that she has never mentioned and the precious little he thought that he knew about her crumbles to dust. Hampered in moving on by grief and not knowing, he decides that he has to travel to her village in Latvia to find out who she was.

Goldstone has written a strange and ethereal tale of sorrow and melancholy. Taking the character Seb at his lowest ebb, she proceeds to unravel all that he knows about his beloved and thrust him into a variety of situations in an unknown land with people who only knew Leda a little. I liked this, but whilst the writing is haunting beautiful, I felt that the plot didn’t have the necessary depth to it especially with the promise posed with the dramatic opening. A good debut, Goldstone will be an author to watch though.

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Mind of a Survivor: What the wild has taught me about survival and success by Megan Hine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Surviving anywhere takes intelligence and guile, but surviving any length of time in the wild takes a great deal of strength. Taking people out of their comfortable urban lifestyles into jungles, up into the mountains and onto the tundra and steppes of our world is another level up. Megan Hine is unusual in that she sadly is a rare female presence in the male dominated world of adventure and outdoor pursuits. However, do not let looks deceive you, she is as tough as the guys too, as surviving requires as much mental strength and rapid assessment of a situation as it does physical ability. Hine is held in such high regard that she has consulted and assisted on various TV shows including Mission Survive and Running Wild by Bear Gryll’s.

This in no way makes her any less formidable, she has honed these skills from a lifetime spent outdoors in a variety of hair-raising and frankly terrifying situations. She gets alongside those she is working with to guide and instruct in the best way to survive and even thrive in the circumstances that are presenting themselves. In fact, she goes on to argue, that the most expensive kit may help, but when it comes to surviving that your biggest asset, your brain, will be the crucial element. It is just a shame that can also be your biggest liability…

She is an advocate in getting more out in the wild, not only because the natural world does you the power of good and enriches the soul but the skills you can acquire when outdoors can be hugely beneficial to everyday life at home and in the office. It is a really good book about the power of mind over matter and taking time to assess and make the correct decision, even when that judgement must be made very quickly. She writes very well, mixing her background story with anecdotes of perilous events in the wilderness and combines it all with solid practical advice.

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Beyond Infinity: An Expedition to the Outer Limits of the Mathematical Universe by Eugenia Cheng
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There are some big numbers out there, footballers earn a jaw dropping amount per year, for what I am not entirely sure… The global economy is around US$107.5 trillion, there are approximately seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains of sand on the earth and it is thought that there are 10 times as many stars as that. All of these numbers are frankly huge, enormous, gargantuan even, but compared to ∞ they are a mere drop in the ocean. In this book, Eugenia Cheng takes us on a journey to the outer reaches of the mathematical universe to contemplate the slightly abstract concept that is infinity. In it she poses various questions about this number, asking if 1 + ∞ is larger than ∞ + 1, are some infinities larger than others, can you fit an infinite number of people in Hilbert’s Hotel and when does a number start becoming irrational.

Thankfully this book has lots of diagrams as Cheng sets about explaining the concepts of infinity, from the very simplest right up to the most detailed. I found most of it straightforward, but occasionally it was fairly tough going. When trying to get your head around infinity has challenged mathematicians for ages so it is not going to be easy for us mere mortals. Cheng endeavours to keep the prose readable, however, someone who has not picked up a maths book since school might struggle with this, but most of the time she gets the concepts across clearly. Overall a good introduction to infinity.

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The Internet is Not the Answer by Andrew Keen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where would we be without the internet and the world wide web in particular? Since its conception in the 1960’s (yes really that long ago) it has grown at an exponential rate and has come to permeate our entire lives in a variety of different ways. In its short existence, it has had bubbles as investors have rushed into schemes, made people fortunes as well as almost become as essential as shelter, food and water. For every laudable use for the net to connect like-minded people across the globe there are many dubious activities; theft, fraud, deception and trolling spring to mind. What you also have now is a consolidation of power as the huge monoliths of the web, Facebook, Google, Amazon have brazenly bullied, bought and pushed their way to the top of the virtual pile.

With this concentration of power has come a pervasive surveillance by the state and private companies of every activity that we do online. There is a concentration of wealth in these people that own and run these organisations too. The negative effects that this is having is only just starting to become visible and from what Keen describes is happening in San Francisco with the polarisation of the rich and poor, it is not going to be pleasant as it affects the wider society. He has written an interesting take on the state of the net and some of the subjects reported in the book are quite eye opening. Whether or not we are too late to do anything about it, time will tell. 3.5 stars

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Cleopatra’s Needle: Two Wheels by the Water to Cairo by Anne Mustoe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The inspiration behind this journey is for Anne Mustoe to travel from the site of Cleopatra’s Needle on the Thames in London to the place in Egypt where the original monument came from, Heliopolis. Once again she would travel alone on her bike and to add to the challenge would follow the course of rivers and seas where possible. Her journey will take through four European countries and across the Alps before crossing the Adriatic and heading down towards where Europe meets Aisa; Turkey. The last part of her ride takes her through what is now a very troubled area of the world, as she passes Syria, Lebanon and into Egypt.

This is the first of Anne Mustoe’s books that I have read. She is a pragmatic, no nonsense type of character, who does not let most things phase her. She suffers from a knee injury, is robbed, cycles up and over the Alps and runs out of whisky and gets very wet more times than she cares to remember. She cycles solo most of the time but is joined on occasions by friends. As she rolls along the route, we are told about the people she meets and learns about the history of places that she passes through. The prose is quite matter of fact as Mustoe writes in a straightforward and competent way. It is not the best cycling travel book I have read but makes for enjoyable light reading. Will be reading some of her others, as this was one of three I picked up at the same time. 2.5 Stars

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