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MINDS MATTER

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World’s Strangest Brains

By: Helen Thompson

Narrated by: Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson (British Author, journalist with a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience.)

“Unthinkable” is a series of interviews of people who have a reputation for seeing the world and their place in it, differently. The author is a journalist.

**As an investigative reporter, Helen Thompson elicits human perceptions of the world that are different from what most people perceive.**

Thompson argues perception of the world comes from the mind. As synaptic activity of the mind is better understood, she infers what is real or false may become more universally understood.

Though Thomson’s interviews are anecdotal, they suggest the mystery of consciousness holds a key to mental health.

An interesting highlight of Thompson’s investigation is the existence of synesthesia in some people. Synesthesia is a neurological condition where information meant to stimulate one of your senses, actually stimulates more than one of your senses. Thompson notes people who have synesthesia may be able to hear colors, feel sound, or taste shapes. Two people with the same diagnosis may not perceive the world in the exact same way but their brains are stimulated to see more than what most people see, hear, or feel.

Synesthesia may be a mixed blessing in that it can overwhelm one’s senses, but it implies a more multifaceted view of reality.

One of Thompson’s last interviews is of a doctor who has a form of synesthesia that magnifies his empathy for patients. He actually feels some of what a patient is experiencing. Presuming the doctor’s senses are not overloaded by empathy, the patient seems more likely to be better served. If the mind’s neurological pathways for synesthesia can be identified, could empathy become instilled in every thinking being? Possibly, but the question remains whether that would enhance or burden humanity by making people who serve society emotionally drained, tired, and demotivated.

An earlier chapter addresses people who can develop “mind palaces” like the fictional character Sherlock Holmes.

They can recall the minutest details of an incident and compare it with information and experience they have acquired over the breadth of their life. If neurological pathways of a mind palace can be replicated in every human mind, could humans use those pathways to recall what they have learned from past experience and education to solve human problems?

One wonders if that is not the direction of A.I. in the future. This leads to concern of life becoming more machine-like than human with the added dimension of life as machine.

A third story is of the man who believes he is dead. His conception of himself is reinforced by brain scans that show very little neuronal activity though he continues to wake up every morning and function like a human during the day. He has little emotion or hunger and feels comfortable spending the day in a cemetery among those whom he feels are fellow travelers. Through medication, his neuronal activity is re-established, and he becomes more aware of his existence among the living.

**A third story is of the man who believes he is dead. This anecdotal story reinforces belief that life is all in the mind.**

There are more bizarre stories, but the underlying theme is life is defined by consciousness. Examples are given to show how parts of the brain are interconnected by neurons that pass information to the body about human existence in the world. The inference is that as humanity gains knowledge of how this interconnection works and which parts of the brain control neuronal activity, it will be possible to change human life. The impossible question to answer is whether that change will have good or ill effects on society. Of course, that may be moot if humanity cannot come to grips with the harm that is being done to the world’s environment.

This is a book one may set aside as an anecdotal journey into bizarre human anomalies. On the other hand, it affirms the importance of understanding everyone is part of humanity. It seems search for understanding of consciousness is essential for the continuation of human beings, whether mentally disabled, psychotic, neurotic, or diagnostically normal.

REVOLUTION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A Tale of Two Cities

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Simon Callow

(1812-1870, English Author and social critic.)

As most know, “A Tale of Two Cities” was first published as a series in the U.K. in the 19th century. Its formal publication date was 1859. In comparison to some novels, “A Tale of Two Cities” is difficult to follow because of the many characters who play important roles in Dicken’s story.

The setting is in two cities, London and Paris before, during, and after the French revolution of 1789.

The famous beginning of Dicken’s story of the French revolution is “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” Most of the tale is about “…the worst of times…” in France.

The picture of the London and Paris cities is dismal because of its citizens who were either very rich or very poor. The seat of power in Paris is teetering on the edge of a coming revolution. The focus of the story turns to its main theme with Alexandre Manette, a French physician, heard to be alive after being unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in Paris. The story of Manette’s imprisonment is revealed to Jarvis Lorry, a London bank manager. Lorry arranges a meeting with the jailed Manette in Paris with his daughter who lives in London.

Manette’s daughter is Lucie. She goes to Paris with her governess, Miss Pross. Lucie meets with her father whom she thought was dead. Lucie brings her father back to London, but he suffers periodic mental lapses that return him to a shoemaking trade he learned while in prison. We get a glimpse of London on Manette’s return but it is of a trial that reminds one of the gaps between haves and have-nots in London. There is a trial for a spy named Charles Darnay, the nephew of a French aristocrat.

London in the 18th Century.

Lucie is a witness to Darnay’s alleged spying. She knows nothing about Darnay’s activity, but he had helped her in some minor way when he was accused of being a spy. Because of her testimony, Darnay’s character seems less spy-like and more gentlemanly. Darnay is acquitted because his defense attorney notes one of his colleagues, Sydney Carton, looks much like Darnay and could have as easily been the person accused. Darnay is released. The person, Sydney Carton, looks like Darnay but is loosely characterized as an undisciplined young bon vivant.

London court 18th century.

The main characters of the story are Dr. Manette, and Darnay but each character noted in these first chapters play important roles in the story. Dr. Manette had been unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille because of the death of a son and his mother caused by two French aristocrats. The remaining story largely takes place in Paris.

Dickens brings Darnay and Lucie together as husband and wife in London before the revolution in France. They have a son and daughter. The son dies, which reflects upon child mortality which is rather common in that time of the world’s history.

The reasons for the French Revolution, inferred by Dickens, are from harsh, unfair, and unequal treatment of the poor by the aristocracy. The examples given range from an aristocrat’s comment to the poor and hungry to “eat grass”, to the murder of a young boy and his mother by two “bon vivants” who hide their crime, to a murdered boy killed by an errant carriage accident caused by Darnay’s French Uncle.

Dickens creates the story of Darnay’s uncle flipping a coin to the father of a boy killed by his carriage’s collision. Darnay’s uncle is later murdered at his home by the father of the boy.

The table is set for the French Revolution of 1789. Dickens introduces the Defarge’s, Madame and Monsieur Defarge. They are republicans planning to kill as many of the French aristocracy as they can. Interestingly, the strongest and most violent of the revolutionaries is Madame Defarge.

As they storm the bastille, Monsieur Defarge demands a visit to Dr. Manette’s former cell. He knows of a secreted letter that explains why Manette is jailed and wishes to recover it. That letter incriminates Darnay’s Uncle and, by association, blames anyone that is part of that family.

Reconstitution de la prison de la Bastille. Paris.

Two years after the 1789 revolution in Paris, Darnay receives a letter from a servant of his murdered uncle asking for his help to be released from the Bastille. Darnay journeys to Paris and is imprisoned in the Bastille because of his association with French aristocracy. The remainder of the story is about the effort to get Darnay released. As true of other Dicken’s novels, there is a bitter-sweet happy ending.

Dickens is a masterful writer but to this reviewer, “A Tale of Two Cities” is not his best work. It is easy to lose the thread of the story because of its many characters. On the other hand, the characterization of Madam Defarge is one of the most terrifying written descriptions of revenge for social inequality. The terror of the French revolution and its causes are frighteningly vivified by Dickens’ creation of the Defarge’s.

THE PRESIDENT

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Fifth Risk

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Michael Lewis (American Author.)

“The Fifth Risk” is an inadequate reveal of President Donald Trump’s administration. It barely scratches the surface of the incompetence and ineptest of an American President’s view of government, let alone world affairs.

Trump is not the only American president who prized loyalty above competence, but he unfairly degraded federal government managers and employees who serve America.

Lewis implies “The Fifth Risk” for American government is distrust of the founding tenants of American government. The American Constitution relies on a balance of power between three branches of government. Trump sees and acts like there is only an Executive branch that counts. His appointment of department heads in the Executive branch is largely based on private business experience and loyalty to one person, without any understanding of government purpose.

The American Constitution relies on a balance of power between three branches of government.

To avoid the principle of monarchy, three branches of government were created to balance the power of a singular President. What Lewis reminds reader/listeners of is that many government employees have spent their life in government to serve the needs of the American people. Just as in any organization, some government employees do a better job than others. Lewis cherry-picks a few government employees to illustrate how great a job they have done in serving Americans.

**The American Federal Government is not a business. It was never organized as a business but as representative and aid to the people of the United States.**

Trump’s decisions for choice of leaders of various Executive Branch offices were based on their success as business leaders that understood the importance of reduced cost and loyalty. These business leaders did not look at the bureaucracy of government as a consistent and dependable way of providing service to American people. Businesses survive based on dollars and cents. Government is not a dollar and cents enterprise where profit is its only reason for existence and survival.

**Trump’s greatest failure as a President is in not understanding or caring about the difference between running a government and running a business.**

Lewis infers much more than he explains. One may question whether Trump is a good business manager, but it is quite clear he was not a good American government leader. Trump had no appreciation of the difficulty of being a server of the American people while being the leader of a democratic country.

BE CURIOUS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Data Detective

By: Tim Harford

Narrated by: Tim Harford

Tim Harford (British Author, Master’s degree in economics, journalist.)

Tim Harford gives listeners a practical application of “Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow” in the art of statistical analysis. Sounds boring, just as the title “The Data Detective” but in this day of media overload Harford castes a warning. Be skeptical of conclusions drawn by statistical data, whether accumulated by business interests, science nerds, or algorithms. Think slow because thinking fast obscures understanding of statistical analysis. Above all, be curious when reading a statistical analysis that either adds or subtracts from your understanding. With that admonition, Harford offers ten ways to question the veracity and truthfulness of statistical analysis.

Tim Harford gives listeners a practical application of “Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow” in the art of statistical analysis.

Harford argues it is important to investigate a writer’s qualifications as an analyst, and the “how, why, and when” data is collected. As the famous economist Milton Friedman said, “Statistics do not speak for themselves.” Or, as Mark Twain made famous, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It appears Harford agrees with Friedman, but not Twain, because he believes understanding a statistical study can reveal possible or at least probable truth.

Dr. Cuyler Hammond and Dr. Daniel Horn were smokers up until they finished their statistical report that correlated smoking with cancer.

Harford gives an example of statistical reports that correctly correlated smoking with lung cancer. Cuyler Hammond’s and Daniel Horn’s 1952 statistical study led to the 1964 Surgeon General report that confirmed cancer’s correlation with smoking. The disheartening story Harford tells is the tobacco industry’s purposeful effort to deny correlation. The tobacco industry’s methods were to suggest other causes, like auto exhaust or other carcinogens, as likely causes of lung cancer. They created doubt, whether true or false, which poisons belief in statistical studies.

Like the cowboy Marlboro smoker demonstrating a healthy image of a smoker, advertising obscures facts. The smoking industry successfully created doubt.

Harford explains personal investigation based on curiosity and detective work is necessary if one is looking for a probability of truth.

American free enterprise is created to produce product, service and jobs while making enough profit to stay in business. Sometimes those goals interfere with truth.

As human nature would have it, some businesses care less about truth than profit. This is not meant as a criticism but as an affirmation of human nature.

Harford explains there are many statistical studies purporting rises in crime, inequality, poverty, and medical health that need to be closely examined for validity. He argues every conclusion drawn from statistical surveys that contradict interest-group’ or individual’ belief should be closely examined. The methodology of a good statistical study must be understood within its era, its compiler’s biases, its stipulated human cohort, its conclusion, and its tested repeatability by others.

Harford challenges the supposition that violence has increased in America. This is undoubtedly music to the ears of elected officials who resist national gun control measures. Harford and the famed psychologist, Steven Pinker, suggest statistical analysis shows violence of earlier history is greater than in the 21st century. Harford acknowledges this is no comfort to the heart-rending reality of a child lost to suicide by gun or the horrendous school shootings of the last 3 years. As Horford explains statistics do not register human grief. Statistics are an impersonal unfeeling view of human life.

Harford does not read statistical surveys as truth but as a roadmap for discovery. He looks at a statistical survey like a detective searching for details. Who are the gatherers of the statistics? How were they collected? Why are they relevant? What period do statistics represent and do they relate the present to the past? Without answers, Harford argues statistical surveys are no better than propaganda.

Harford offers a graphic example of the context needed to clearly illustrate the value of statistical studies. The history of America’s invasion of Iraq and its human cost is dramatically and comprehensively revealed in one statistical picture.

**Harford’s story shows how graphics can capsulize a statistical truth that shocks one’s senses. Simon Scarr summarizes a statistical report on deaths from the Iraq war with one graph.**

Harford advances his view of the metaverse and its growing role in the world. He gives examples of Target’ and Costco’ algorithms that tells a father his daughter is pregnant, and infers a wife’s husband is cheating. A Target algorithm sends a note to a father about the pending birth of a baby based on his daughter’s purchases at the store. Costco sends a rebuy message for condoms to a wife when she calls and explains they never use condoms. Both stores apologize for sending their notes and say their stores made auto-response mistakes. Harford notes email apologies are a common response of stores that use similar algorithms.

Harford notes the irony of a metaverse that invades privacy with algorithms that can easily mislead or affirm societal trends or personal transgressions.

The last chapters of Harford’s book reinforce the importance of statistical studies by recounting the history of Florence Nightingale’s heroic hospital service in Turkey during the Crimean war (1853-1856). Harford explains Nightingale’s interest in mathematics and association with luminaries like Charles Babbage (an English polymath that originated the concept of a digital programmable computer). Nightingale’s hospital service and interest in mathematics lead her to correlate patient’ diseases with causes. The hospital to which she was assigned by the U. K. was without proper food and water. The hospital was dirty, and disease ridden. She had two objectives. First to have food and water supplied, and second to clean the hospital. Her statistical analysis made her realize cleaning was as important as food and clean water in reducing contagion among her patients. Like the statistical analysis of smoking and cancer changed smokers, Nightingale changed nursing.

Florenvce Nightingale (1820-1910, English social reformer born in Italy, Founder of modern nursing.)

“The Data Detective” is a disturbing book that shows the power of media and how it can mislead as well as inform the public.

This is a disturbing book that shows the power of media and how it can mislead as well as inform the public. With poorly or intentionally misleading statistical studies, opposing interest groups harden their political beliefs.

Harford concludes with an appeal to discordant interest groups to be curious about why they disagree with each other. Reputable statistical analysis can improve one’s belief in probable truth and decrease echo chamber‘ adherence of disparate interest groups.

HUMAN SINGULARITY

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Heart of the Machine (Our Future in a World of Artificial Emotional Intelligence)

Release Date 3/14/17

By: Richard Yonck

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Richard Yonck (Author, futurist, consultant, TED speaker, MA from London Film School 1981-1983, Attended Univ. of Wa. 1977-1980.)

Richard Yonck argues the next step in technology is to program emotion into machines. As a skeptic, one’s first reaction is to search for information on Yonck’s background. One finds it is eclectic and more literary than science driven.

Yonck notes human learning is intimately connected with emotion. Emotions of parents and offspring arguably shape children’s view of the world as much as genetic inheritance. Yonck explains parents’ and people’s faces become a school from which children learn the characteristics of emotion. Yonck explains emotional signals reinforce human’ memory, belief, and behavior.

Yonck notes as the growth of facial recognition expands, facial expressions can be programmed into machines to interpret human emotion. The troubling thought is that machines programed with emotions may either negatively react to human facial expression or worse, become unbalanced, like children who act out of anger. With the addition of emotion, machines become capable of learning but also of becoming psychotic just like humans. Yonck suggests a safeguard like Asimov’s three robot rules that argues for programing machines to protect humanity. These rules are meant to deny machines any right to harm humans.

Assimov creates a fourth rule to preserve humanity, but a recurrent theme in his stories show ways in which these rules fail. In the real world, even if the rules were effective, who ensures all machines are programmed with Asimov’s rules?

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992, Russian born American author and professor of biochemistry.)

Programming emotions into machines gives them an essential requirement for learning but that learning can be subverted. Human nature accompanies every decision made by human beings, whether a Hitler or Mahatma Gandhi. A non-conforming leader could refuse to program machines with Asimov’s rules. Government leaders could have machines programmed to kill anyone who disagrees with their leadership.

Money, power, and prestige incentivize both good and bad leaders. The same might be said for learning machines.

Putting concern with the history of human nature aside, Yonck notes some benefits from programming emotions into machines. Machines will be able to think and learn on their own with emotion programming. The demographics of countries like China and Japan suggest an aging cohort will hinder economic growth and diminish needed help for relatives of the working population. Much of that help could be provided by programmed intelligent’ machines. Just as happened with the industrial revolution, jobs will be lost, and retraining will be required. But, a benefit will inure to the elderly who need assistance and the working young who do not have the time or inclination to care for the elderly.

Yonck’s inference is that thinking machines will replace many jobs in the world economy.

Yonck suggests machines will be partners and companions of human beings. Psycho-sexual relationships will develop between machines and humans. Machines will replace work for humans while increasing product research, development, and production. Machines will reduce social inequality by increasing the general wealth of the world. That is a best-case scenario.

A consequence of thinking-machine programming is that machines will either outlast their human companions or break down and be grieved by their survivors. Of course, machine death is not much different than the birth and death of humans. Humans break down (die) and are grieved by those left behind.

Another evolutionary possibility suggested by Yonck is the melding of human mind and machine. He notes a treatment for PTSD (actually approved by FDA) that involves electrical stimulation of a portion of the brain that appears to activate anxiety from recalled traumatic events. Yonck suggests continuing brain research will reveal neuronal pathways of thought and action that can be modified by electrical stimulation. He infers this is a first step in a journey toward a human/machine singularity like the transition from ape to humanoid to homo sapiens in geological history. He suggests a new human/machine society might be the next evolutionary change of humankind.

In the last chapters of Yonck’s book several examples of brain intervention are noted. Two interventions are direct with invasive insertions of wire into the brain and electrical stimulation from skull caps and clothing. A third type of intervention is with drugs. All have mixed results.

Yonck is a TED conference speaker. His writings have a quality of entertainment that makes him interesting if not steeped in science. On balance, Yonck appears more optimistic than pessimistic about the future of A.I. whether emotion programing for machines occurs or not.

MILITARY R&D

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Rise of the Machines (A Cybernetic History)

Release Date 6/28/16

By: Thomas Rid

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Thomas Rid (Author, political science Professor received Ph.D from Humboldt Univ. of Berlin in 2006.)

Thomas Rid’s history of the “Rise of the Machines” is a political perspective on society’s adoption of cybernetics (the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things).

Rid begins his history with the industrial age that created machines and increased worker productivity while displacing and retraining workers to meet the needs of a growing economy.

Rid’s history defines the origin and significance of cybernetics. It may be interpreted positively or negatively. Viewing the state of the world today, there is room for praise and criticism. On the one hand “Rise of the Machines” offered opportunities and prosperity, on the other, it promoted murder and mayhem. The irony of both is they come from the same source, military R & D. Like Willie Sutton said about robbing banks, military defense budgets are “…where the money is”.

Rid recognizes Norbert Wiener’s formative role in the cybernetic age. Rid notes Wiener develops communications engineering and cybernetic theory during WWII. Rid reminds listeners of the military’s radar refinement and jet pilot cybernetic helmets, long before virtual reality became available to the public. The key to Wiener’s success is experimenters’ recognition of the importance of environmental feedback when designing machines to precisely locate an enemy target or for pilots to engage an enemy plane.

Norbert Wiener (American mathematician and philosopher, 1894-1964.)

Feedback is key to efficient machine performance because it provides information for changed response in the same way humans respond differently when circumstances or environments change.

Rid gives the example of pilot helmet refinement, partly related to ideas of the Star War’s movie.

Darth Vader’s helmet became a model for pilots of newer jet fighters.

The original helmets were unwieldy and uncomfortable. In Vietnam, the rough terrain led to GE research on motorized robots. However, what they found was the rough terrain and swampy land made them too vulnerable for practical use. GE’s research shows limitations but leads to robotic mechanization for repetitive work in fixed environments of industrial production.

Rid digresses with science fictions’ contribution to the advance of cybernetics. Timothy Leery, and Scientology were early endorsers of Wiener’s theory of cybernetics. Timothy Leery extolls the virtues of LSD as an entry to a different reality. One of Leary’s friends is Jaron Lanier who created an early version of virtual reality headwear.

L. Ron Hubbard claims Scientology’s connection to cybernetics. Wiener pointedly objects to Hubbard’s claim and forbids further association of Scientology with cybernetics.

The first computer is invented in the 19^th century by an English mechanical engineer named Charles Babbage. It was an early form of number computation and analysis. It was a century ahead of its time. During WWII, British codebreakers needed to decipher German miliary communications. In 1936, Alan Turing writes a paper “On Computable Numbers…” that leads to employment by the British during WWII to decode German military communications. Turing’s computer decoded Germany’s secret enigma machine’ messages. As a result, Turing becomes known as the father of modern computer science.

The early internet years came in the 1960s from the need for a communications network for government researchers to share information.

That network is called ARPANET, which is financed by the U.S. Department of Defense. It is transformed into the world wide web, now known as the internet. Rid’s book is published in 2016. The potential of cybernetics in war is clearly demonstrated by Ukraine’s ability to resist a much larger and better equipped foreign power.

The role of the military in cybernetics research and development is shown as both critical and essential in Rid’s history.

Ukraine’s use of cybernetic surveillance for military equipment targeting and drone weaponization equalizes power and effectiveness of two mismatched powers.

Though not a subject of Rid’s history, the principal value of free speech is diminished by a cybernetic world that is not properly legislated, adjudicated and enforced by rule-of-law. Internet users have been influenced by media trolls who spew lies and disinformation. Young people kill themselves because of being dissed on the internet. The internet gives voice to hate groups around the world. Gaming is a principal revenue producer in the cybernetic world that patently discounts reality. Human value is discounted by the mayhem of computer gaming.

**School children shoot teachers and students with impunity, as though they are creatures in a cyber world.**

As late as yesterday, 3/27/23, another school shooting occurs in Nashville, Tennessee. Three adults and three nine-year-old children are killed.

Rid notes cybernetics’ military application both protects and exposes security of nations around the world. Rid writes about an American military intelligence penetration by foreign and domestic hackers during the Clinton administration. Hackers have the tools to disrupt both economic and military operations around the world. Of course, those tools are multiplying. With quantum computing, existing passwords will become obsolete. Intelligence services of all countries are becoming more and more capable of disrupting military or domestic affairs of any foreign power.

END OF LIFE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Old Age (A Beginner’s Guide)

By: Michael Kinsley

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Michael Kinsley is an American political journalist and commentator. One may remember Kinsley on television a few years ago as a clever political commentator who figuratively fenced with conservatives like Pat Buchanan and William Buckley. He seemed a contrast to conservatives even while co-hosting with Buchanan on CNN and acting as moderator on “William Buckley’s Firing Line”. Kinsley exhibited a sly sense of humor. “Old Age” is a short book that exhibits that same slyness.

Kinsley notes he is 65 years old as he writes “Old Age”. He reveals his trials with Parkinson’s disease as an introduction to what it means to be nearing the end of one’s life. Though he has a less aggressive form of Parkinson’s, he notes his trembling hands and slow movement are more pronounced than when first diagnosed when he was 43 years old.

Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms

Kinsley explains the medical treatment he has received to mitigate symptoms. He writes about brain surgery and the medicine he takes and how both have helped him cope with the disease. Kinsley recounts the effect the pills have in improving how he feels for a few hours while having to take more pills when their effect wears off. Though this is Kinsley’s explanation of his personal experience, it is not the primary message of his book. His goal is to explain to baby boomers like himself about the end game of life.

As most know, Michael J. Fox has dealt with Parkinson’s disease since he was diagnosed at the age of 29.

Boomers who are nearer the end than the middle or beginning of life understand Kinsley’s reason for writing “Old Age”. Kinsley notes the greatest change in a healthy boomer’s ageing is the loss of driving privileges. City dwellers might take exception to that observation, but his point is that losing one’s license is a loss of individual freedom.

Kinsley is preparing “baby boomers” for their future.

Kinsley suggests most boomers will realize there is no next step for their career. That may be true for boomers working for someone but less true for those in business for themselves. Nevertheless, loss of employment is a blow to many boomers who feel they have lost purpose in life when there is no next step for their career.

Kinsley argues most boomers who have mid-life success, as measured by material gain, were “losers” in high school. Interesting thought but listener/readers might want some statistical proof.

What is high school success? Is it popularity, (being class-president)? Is it being a sports star? Is it top grades? Is it just getting a basic education? It seems the last two are reliable indicators of future success. Being a sports’ star or being popular is like threading a needle while walking on a waterbed because it is difficult to transfer high school sport’s skill and popularity to the wide world.

The greatest concern a boomer may have as one ages is the potential for dementia.

An area where one may agree with Kinsley’s observation is fear of the loss of cognitive skill. Mental decline manifests in communication difficulties, getting lost in familiar places, having difficulty balancing a checkbook, knowing what day it is, or losing the desire to learn new things.

What every ageing person wishes is–to live for as long as they have their “marbles”. Once cognitive abilities cross over a threshold of self-knowledge, humans are burdens to society.

Kinsley implies wealth is wasted on the aged who have lost self-awareness. Kinsley argues reputation is important. That seems false to the person who is dead but has relevance to those left behind. Humans are living longer but, as Kinsley notes, longevity is not the issue. It is quality of life and reputation that matter.

There may be a brief period of assisted living when one cannot take care of themselves, but hospice and in some cases euthanasia, seem more humane for one who reaches their final stage of life.

The final chapter of Kinsley’s book seems to fall off the rail of reason. Kinsley argues the wealth of modern America is largely inherited (not made) by the boomer generation and it should be confiscated to eliminate the national debt.

**Kinsley suggests the wealth of America should be committed to eliminating the national debt.**

This may have been a “tongue in cheek” suggestion but the idea of beggaring the boomer generation to eliminate national debt ignores the reality of homelessness, support of nations like Ukraine under siege, and the plague of inequality and discrimination in America. It also ignores baby boomers who have truly earned rather than inherited their wealth. In the end, Kinsley gives listeners a laugh while addressing a very difficult time of life, “Old Age”.

VISITING LONDON

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World)

By: The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Bucholz

Robert O. Bucholz (Professor at Loyola University in Chicago, Graduate of Oxford and Cornell.)

Robert Bucholz’s brief history of London walks the curious through ancient and modern streets of London. Like John Wayne in “True Grit”, this history shows what grit means to British Londoners. Possibly as far back as 1750 BC, archeological remains show evidence of a community on the Thames that later becomes the site of London. Around the year 43 AD Londinium was founded by the Romans. It became the capital of Roman Britain with a population estimated at 60,000 inhabitants.

King Aethelberhtl (589-616AD.)

The Saxons displace the Romans in the 5^th century AD. An Anglo-Saxon (mixture of German and British descendants) was established as King. His name is Aethelberht (spelling varies). He was the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity.

Bucholz notes Saint Mellitus is the first bishop of London appointed when a Cathedral is dedicated to St. Paul in AD 604. Though the site (the highest point in the city, Ludgate Hill) is the same today as then, the original cathedral evolved and was replaced four times.

It was destroyed in the “Great Fire of London” in 1666 and soon after rebuilt to its current form at the direction of Christopher Wren.

In 1066 the Saxons are replaced by the Normans (mixture of Vikings and French). They rule into the 1400s when the Tudor’ monarchs (a mixture of Welsh and English) come to power. King Henry VII, and then Henry VIII take charge.

King Henry VIII (1491-1547, Coronation 1509)

It is the reign of Henry VIII that is most well-known, in part, because of the split that occurs between the Roman Catholic Church and England’s Protestant Anglican Church. The other reason Henry becomes well-known is because of his future wife, Anne Boleyn, whom he has beheaded. The consequence of church schism reverberates through the rest of London’s history.

Bucholz gives a brief history of Chaucer who is born around 1340 and lives until 1400. Chaucer lives in the heart of London. Though Chaucer is known to most as the author of the Canterbury Tales, he is an important servant of the crown as comptroller of customs at the Port of London.

Bucholz reminds his audience of the first Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She is shown as a consummate politician by opening herself to the London public.

The wealth of the empire was diminished by the devaluation of money and profligacy of King Henry the VIII. Elizabeth’s political skill replenishes the royal coffers. London grows to an estimated 200,000 residents. Though the wealth of the royal coffers improves, poverty rises dramatically. Bucholz notes the population increase in London rises faster than the economic benefits to its people. The increase is not from natural births but from the country people moving into the city in greater numbers than can be handled by the local economy. Bucholz notes more babies die than needed to replace the population that dies from natural causes.

Bucholz briefly recounts the unsuccessful gunpowder revolution during James I’s reign (1601-1625). James I is not a popular King. Though he manages to bring Scotland into the empire, the rift between Catholics and protestants continues to roil the country. At the same time, poverty increases as London’s population expands.

Jumping to the 1800s, Bucholz addresses the consequence of London’s rapid growth. Now the population is nearing a million. Pollution, crime, and poverty are aggravated by industrialization. Crime is an everyday reality ranging from pickpockets to, to prostitution, to the infamous “Jack the Ripper” murders. The Thames is a running sewer, streets are spottily paved, the city is dark or poorly lit by candles, burning torches are carried by guides who will pick your pocket as often as guide you through the city.

The infamous London fog is caused by coal burning factories and home heating demands. This is the London which Charles Dickens writes of in “A Christmas Carol”, “Oliver Twist”, “Great Expectations” and “A Tale of Two Cities”.

Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850, Home Secy, Chancellor of ther Exchequer, Prime Minister served from1828-1846.)

Each 19^th century problem is attacked by London’s leaders. In 1829, Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel forms a municipal police force. Initially, it was formed for the countryside on the outskirts of London but became institutionalized and eventually adopted within the London city boundaries. Those who were employed in these new police wore uniforms, including distinctive hats. They became known as “Bobbies”, possibly because of Peel’s first name. By 1851, there were 13,000 police across England and Wales.

Cholera infected the London’s population because of Thames’ pollution.

By 1858, the stink from the Thames was so great in the summer that one had to hold their nose. Cholera and the stink of the river dropped dramatically when a large system of sewers was built. It was commissioned by the Metropolitan Board of Works which became the London County Council in 1889. It was designed by Joseph Bazalgette, an English civil engineer. It took 9 years to build with future repairs and improvements as the years passed and the population continued to grow.

Its estimated length is around 82 miles of brick main sewers and 1,100 miles of street sewers.

Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891, English Civil Engineer.)

A British Clean Air Act was passed in 1956. The key to its abatement was the reduction of coal burning particle emissions. Of course, pollution remains a worldwide problem.

London fog worsened through to the 1950s. In December 1952, the pollution level grew so dense, 150,000 people were hospitalized and an estimated 4,000 died.

Bucholz reminds listeners of Londoner’s grit during WWI and WWII. WWI introduces the reality of war to every 20th and 21st century human. The consequence of war never leaves those who experience it. PTSD is not diagnosed in WWI but found as an incurable disorder in all subsequent wars. It is never cured but many have learned how to live with it. With the help of friends and medical assistance, PTSD is managed by many but not all.

Visiting London today is a great pleasure. It has some of the greatest theatres, museums, and entertainments of the world. Bucholz’s history of London shows political unrest, pollution, poverty, and crime are killers but there are solutions.

WHITMAN’S MASTERWORK

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Leaves of Grass (1855 Edition)

By: Walt Whitman

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Walt Whitman (Poet, 1819-1892)

“Leaves of Grass” is perfectly rendered by Edoardo Ballerini. Walt Whitman’s masterpiece shines in Ballerini’s narration. Whitman lived in one of America’s most tumultuous times. He lived through the build-up of the civil war, worker displacement from American industrialization, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Despite the horrors of his time, Whitman celebrated life.

Today is a good time to listen to Whitman’s masterwork. Living in the time of Covid19, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, January 6 violence in the nation’s capital, probable arrest of a former President, natural disasters, climate change, threat of Armageddon, American poverty, immigration, and homelessness—all can overwhelm one’s senses. Whitman understood the difficulties of his time but rises above them by celebrating what being American means.

**Being American means having a written Constitution.**

**Being American means balance of power based on independent judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government.**

Being American means being free within the context of rule-of-law. Being American means freedom to vote for representative government. Being American means freedom of speech and the press within the bounds of slander toward others.

Just as was true in the time of Walt Whitman, there is no guarantee of peace and tranquility, but his blank verse reflects on the many positive values of living life as an American. Whitman implies Americans should celebrate what they have, not what they want.

FISH EATERS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Fishing (How the Sea Fed Civilization)

By: Brian Fagan

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Brian Fagan (British Author, Profesor of Anthropology at U of C. Santa Barbara. PhD from Cambridge University.)

Brian Fagan reveals where humanity came from, the ways in which humans populated the world, and more particularly how early humans relied on fishing. Fagan exposes a trail of archaeological details that show humans have been fish eaters from their evolutionary bipedal hunter/gatherer beginnings.

Fagan suggests humanity evolves because hunter/gatherers were not only animal hunters and berry munchers but fishing people. Fagan’s research suggests humans have been fish eaters since the beginning of their self-awareness.

Fagan figuratively and literally travels the world to itemize artifacts of human remains that show fishing exists in the earliest known communities of the world. Fagan reinforces Graeber and Wengrow by noting communities of human beings were not created as a result of one thing like farming but on many activities based on survival and/or identity. (Few archeologists disagree on one fact. The human animal began in Africa. When “Lucy” or some being like her evolved, all became descendants of Africa.)

Ancient Fishing Spear Africa

Fagan notes fragments of rock in pre-history African’ sites were honed with barbs to stop fish from wiggling free after being speared.

The survival of any species is dependent on nourishment. In civilization’s beginning, archaeologists surmise human ancestors became hunter-gatherers to survive. Humanity formed into groups from a survival instinct that led to communal association. Fagan’s archeological research revealed artifacts that show hunter-gatherers found fishing as an integral part of humanity’s drive to survive. He notes fragments of rock in pre-history African’ sites were honed with barbs to stop fish from wiggling free after being speared. Fish skeletons were found near the homed spear heads. Fagan finds barbed artifacts near Kenyan and Tanzanian lakes in Africa. Fagan notes, the earliest spear heads had barbs on one side while later spear heads had barbs on both sides.

A second interesting finding by Fagan is that fish farming is found in early Chinese civilizations. In 1000 BCE, a written record by Fan Li (in the Zhou dynasty 1112-221 BCE) describes a carp farm designed to feed a popular demand for fish.

It is a surprise to find fish farming has such a long history.

Fagan notes preservation techniques used by early ancestors. Salt is used to dry fish to preserve it for sailors’ consumption on long voyages and for general consumption when harvests are greater than a market can consume.

Fagan reminds listeners/readers of the immense size of fish. One fish could serve a village for weeks. Southern and Ocean sunfish weight well over 2 tons, some sturgeon and sharp-tail molas near 2 tons, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna over 1400 pounds, Pacific Bluefin Tuna over 900 pounds, a Goliath Grouper over 600 pounds, halibut, Warsaw Grouper, and Yellow Fin Tuna over 400 pounds, while lesser size cod are nearer 100 pounds.

**Fagan notes how fishing changed over the centuries. Initially fish were either caught by hand or speared, then the idea of line and hook fishing, and finally net and seine fishing.**

Today, catching fish by hand or spear is limited, while all other forms are used by more serious sport and commercial fishing operations. Sport and commercial fishing, along with rising human consumption, have depleted fish populations around the world. The size of fish has fallen, along with their populations because they no longer live as long or are harvested to extinction.

A part of Fagan’s fish-eating history is shellfish harvesting and consumption. The remains of shellfish are found in ancient sites. Some cultures use the shells as a form of exchange, others as a form of adornment and sometimes as musical or tonal instruments.

**Several chapters at the end of Fagan’s book recount the consequences of global warming and the insatiable demand of fish eaters that are depleting the world’s fish habitats and populations.**

Fagan offers interesting insights to listener/readers on the origin of fishing’s ancient, present, and future importance to humanity.

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