johnfial_qr8lrr While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement, Carolyn Maull McKinstry and Denise George (2011)($9, amazon.com link) Young Emmett Till might as well have been a dog struck by a car on the highway, its carcass left on the roadside to rot and decay, then picked up … Read more
In 2013, in my first semester of graduate school, I had an idea: “What if we could trace the effects of a single nutrient from physics/chemistry/geology up through biology, past neuroscience and behavior, through all other areas of the university, from economics and art history to geopolitics and beyond?” Not until 2017 did I realize … Read more
Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari (2015) ($15, amazon.com link) “The brain is the best algorithm,” Fisher argues. Having read a number of relationship books before it, Modern Romance wasn’t groundbreaking, and I wasn’t surprised all that much by data or original thoughts. Nonetheless, it was worth my time – especially if I return to the dating world [2015]. The … Read more
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser ($10, amazon.com link) …”the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) later fined National Beef for its negligence. The fine was $480 for each man’s death.” This book was released in 2001, I read it in 2013, and I’m writing this report in 2015. I … Read more
The Five Love Languages Gift Edition: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, Gary D. Chapman, 1995 (Read 2012, reviewed 2015/2017)(amazon.com link) “In the context of marriage, if we do not feel loved, our differences are magnified. We come to view each other as a threat to our happiness. We fight for self-worth and … Read more
Be Here Now (1971/2012, read 2012) ($6, amazon.com link) Ram Dass After writing reports on Sam Harris’ Waking Up and Ekhart Toller’s The Power of Now, I see that this book is the same message mystics and philosophers have said for millennia. But I read it before my own “waking up” experience in 2013, … Read more
A few months ago, a member of my gym asked, “You recommend lithium for everyone, but do you think lithium specifically affects athletic performance?” Yes, yes I do. Like much about biology — and everything about lithium — we don’t understand the exact mechanisms very well. But here’s why lithium affects athletic performance. Table of … Read more
Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology, Johnjoe McFadden “Dig deeper and you will always find quantum mechanics lurking at the heart of our familiar reality.” Remember this. This is probably the most intellectually challenging book I’ve ever read, but it was worth it, and I’m as excited to review it … Read more
As always, the short version: Congratulations on being among the first 25 people to subscribe to this list! In this email: a note about drugs, a few big ways I’ve changed my mind, and some thoughts on cryptocurrency investing. The first link in the final section, “Quiet website changes,” is one of the most important … Read more
1 May 2017 Hullo everyone! I’m building an email list, and this particular “email #0” serves several purposes: To ask you to subscribe to future johnfial.com emails at www.johnfial.com/subscribe/ . That should take about 20 seconds. This one-time email was sent manually and you have NOT been subscribed to any list. Future emails (on the list) will be much … Read more