With all the social turbulence of the past week, I'm choosing to forgo a political post for now (see the previous post for my positions) and focus on something that feels good to talk about: a great read packed with intelligence and creativity. In other words, the opposite sphere as our current political atmosphere (no thanks to those who've ushered in this reality-show like era. To quote the main culprit, with a wink: "You know who I'm talking about!").
I was never much of a "science kid."
I chalk this up to a couple things. One was simple aesthetics; I wasn't drawn to the smell of chemicals and disinfectant in the school labs, nor the sight of people in white coats, gloves and goggles (I preferred the sights and smells of records, books and guitars).
Another was academic; I could never escape the feeling of being overwhelmed by complex concepts and advanced mathematical equations, which - not to make excuses – might not have been helped by circumstances recognized today as accumulative advantage (I was younger than all my classmates, mostly by a year. Not that I subscribe to all of Malcolm Gladwell's theories but feel he has a definite point here).
Yet, here it is years later, and I find myself reading a book by someone with a PhD in theoretical physics from MIT, utterly fascinated and wondering why the heck I didn’t take more of an interest in this stuff early on!
Disclaimer: Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space is a book for anyone, scientifically-fluent or otherwise. Looking at the back cover flap, I suddenly realized the author is someone I actually met a afew years back through a mutual acquaintance in of Brooklyn’s many creative collectives (in this case a shared space for scientists, architects, technologists, artists and other innovators). There, laying on a cozy recliner, typing into a laptop - being used literally - was this nice, unassuming lady around my own age who looked up, said hello and described what she was working on - black hole density or some other sort of calculation - with the nonchalance of organizing a grocery shopping list. I’ve since seen her on Neil De Grasse Tyson’s “Star Talk” as well as various publications (I had no idea!).
Black Hole Blues is - as you may have guessed by the title, subtitle and cover (which resembles a vinyl record) - very much influenced by and relatable to music. This is the tale of a group of scientists whose names you may not know, beating odd after odd to detect sounds from outer space, thus confirming the research of a scientist from a hundred years ago, whose name you do know (a wild haired fellow by the name of Albert Einstein).
This book is a rarely seen combination of highly informative non-fiction and poetic narrative. Throughout, I was reminded of a “VH1: Behind The Music” special, only instead of musicians, the focus is a band of scientists now under consideration for recognition by the Nobel Committee. Instead of a rock group, the members formed a project called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). All the key characters are there, from an originator for whom the project would not be possible, yet who subsequently falls from grace (think Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd). That'd be Joe Weber. There is a headstrong character who is inarguably brilliant and essential, but whose intense personality threatens to dismantle the entire endeavor (think Roger Waters); that'd be Emeritus Professor Ronald Drever, who sadly is deteriorating. Then there are those who become the most recognizable names and faces (i.e. David Gilmour), most identified with the project and there as the greatest heights are reached. In the case of LIGO, there are two, Kip Thorne, and the one I found myself most taken with: Rainer Weiss, a fun character whose fascination with music – an enthusiastic pianist who tinkered with hi-fi systems as a youth in order to achieve a clearer sound - led to an accidental, yet highly distinguished scientific career, as described in this terrific profile.
Despite my never-shrinking pile of books that feels as infinite as space (although Levin, being an expert on cosmology would present a strong case for the concept of space being infinite), it occasionally makes sense to bump a new one to the top of the list. In the case of the last book discussed here, when you read it probably won't make that much of a difference. However, in this case, there's no better time that the present especially as the events surrounding this story are current and rapidly developing.
Although the term, "never judge a book by its cover" is a good mantra, in this case, Black Hole Blues looks so cool, the cover alone would have gotten me to commit to purchase. Fortunately, the first time I saw it, I'd already gotten wind of the highly-recommended blog BrainPickings by Maria Popova, which I read semi-religiously, along with Papova's excellent New York Times review, and thus knew it would be propelled the top of my "to read" list as if at light speed. It should be at the top of yours, too.
(PS Next Up: Hitch 22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens)
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