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It’s a Mystery to Me

This week in my reading of The Lost City of Z by David Grann I read from chapters 2 to 4 (about 54 pages). This is slightly lower than my weekly reading goal but I happened to have a very busy week so I’m not to shook up about it. One interesting passage I came across in my reading was on page 24:

“These forests are....almost the only place on Earth where indigenous people can survive in isolation from he rest of mankind. No one knows for sure who they are, where they are, and what languages they speak.”

I found this quote interesting because, although the book is fiction it still has many correct facts (this being one of them), it is insane to think that there could still be civilizations and communities deep within jungles that we have never encountered before. I remember hearing a few years ago that in 1994 a village deep in the Amazon made its existence known to the world for the first time. The tribe had no knowledge of what was going on in the world and how advanced it was, they had seen airplanes flying above but had labeled them as a massive bird of sorts. There could be many more tribes like this one that we simply do not know about, its a testament as to just how big and mysterious (un-explored) the world’s jungles really are. Its also exciting to think about though, because it means we can learn so much more about our world and what is in it, I’m not just talking about the people, but also the wildlife; many new species are discovered each year as we push the envelope as to how far we can explore. This leads in perfectly to a question the book has been making me think about: is it better to leave somethings a mystery/un-explored?

#Lost City of Z #books #reading #seahorseh12 #bruh

This is the book we should be reading for Great Journeys

The Lost CIty of Z has far exceeded my expectations. When I picked it up I was thinking it would be just like any other action-adventure book, full of nothing but action and adventure. I am now on chapter 6 and I have realized it is much more complex than any other action-adventure novel. It is full of: rich history throughout the world over multiple periods of time, philosophy, applied science (mostly biology and ecology), thoughts on major writers like Sir Arthur Canon Doyle and a cameo by Mark Twain, and most importantly sustainability and thoughts on capitalism and the government.

Heres a little taste of what this book has to offer:

“The rise of science in the nineteenth century had a paradoxical effect: while it undermined faith in Christianity and the literal word of the Bible, it also created an enormous void for someone to explain the mysteries of the universe that lay beyond microbes and evolution and capitalist greed. George Bernard Shaw wrote that perheps never before had so many people been ‘addicted to table-rapping, materialization seances, clairvoyance, palmistry, crystal grazing and the like’.

The new powers of science to harness invisible forces often made these beliefs seem more credible, not less. If phonographs could capture human voices, and telegraphs could send messages from one continent to the other, then why couldn’t science eventually peel back the Other World? In 1882, some of England’s most distinguished scientists formed the Society for Psychical Research. Members soon included a prime minister, as well as Alfred Tennyson, Sigmund Freud, and Alfred Russel Wallace, who, along with Darwin, developed the theory of evolution.”

Is it just me or is that a lot more than you expect to get from an action-adventure novel? The reason I find this quote to be so powerful is because it essentially wraps up most of my senior year, I learned about capitalist greed, the rise of science, and the decline of the literal translation of the Bible in history class. I learned about the astonishing influence technology has/had on the world in math. Finally, I learned about Darwin and Wallace, and some mysteries of the universe in biology class. After reading this section I thought about how crazy it is that this book fits my education so well, I guess it just means I was meant to read it.

#books #seahorseh12 #bruh #Lost City of Z #reading

compoundchem

The ‘Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science’ got spruced up to go with last week’s scientific evidence post. Handy for critiquing the latest ‘superfood’ claim, or the most recent chemical scare story! Larger image & PDF download here: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-ap

A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

This week I have met not only my 2 hour weekly reading goal, but also the marking period goal I created last week, which was to read more than just my 2 hour goal requires. I think I was able to meet both of these goals simply because I am reading a really good book that I am very interested in.

One scene that stuck out to me in this weeks reading was when one of the main character, adventurer James Lynch, and his expedition were taken captive by a hostile amazonian tribe. After there plane landed it startled a usually friendly native tribe into holding the adventurer as “their prisoners for life”.

I think the questions the author is currently pursuing the most are the questions of how far human curiosity and a desire for adventure can lead a man past his breaking point, and if some mysteries should be left unsolved.

#seahorseh12 #Lost City of Z #books #reading

Squad Goals

I have just started reading a new SSR book, The Lost City of Z, by David Grann. The book is from the viewpoints of various different explorers from different times in history, whom are all looking for the city of Z, a mysterious city that has captivated the public’s imagination for decades. Although I just started reading it I can already tell I am going to like it, it wasted no time in getting to the action and its tales of adventure have already succeeded in drawing me in.

My 2 hour (weekly) reading goal for this book is 112 pages. I think a good goal for my independent reading in the fourth marking period is to read more each week than I have in previous marking periods. In the past I have almost always met my goals, but I think I should be reading even more than what is required of me.

#adventure #seahorseh12 #lost city of z

Noooo, it can't be over, it just can't be!

The reign of terror is over, I have finished The Book of Deadly Animals. It was a wonderfully terrifying journey through the animal kingdom filled with sad tales of stupid people, but most importantly some of the coolest and most interesting facts and information that I have ever learned. This book is great for anyone interested in fun facts or animals, but my aspiration of majoring in zoology really made this book one of the greatest I have ever read. One of the major influences on my wanting to become a zoologist comes from me watching National Geographic almost everyday as a child getting my mind blown by hundreds of fun facts, all of which I remember. This book, time and time again, has satisfied my hunger for animal fun facts. For example, the elephant kills more people per year than the tiger, and not only that it is capable of killing humans in more ways than any other animal except the human-being itself (it truly is the M1 Abrams of the animal kingdom).

However, the book doesn't simply teach the reader somewhat superficial and impractical fun facts, it really allows the reader to gain a better understanding of the animal kingdom and animal natures. This information can be very valuable under certain circumstances, and from studying and learning about animals and their encounters with humans I think the book allows the reader to learn a little more about human nature as well. Overall it was a great read and I recommend The Book of Deadly Animals to anyone who craves knowledge and facts off all shapes and sizes.

#seahorseh12 #animals #facts #books

Prairie Dogs, The Deadliest Animal Out There

Have you ever been to a zoo and stopped at the prairie dog enclosure and just gone all googly-eyed over how cute those little suckers are, only to entirely bypass the next enclosures filled with dangerous and menacing animals like lions, and tigers, and bears. Well Gordon Grice will have the readers of his book, The World's Deadliest Animals, thinking more about staying away from those "cute" little burrowing rodents. Prairie Dogs are one of the largest contributors to the spread of plague and other deadly bacteria throughout North America. Like their more infamous cousin, the black rat, it is a little-known fact that Prairie Dogs are just as "unclean" and "disease/bacteria" ridden. It can be estimated that Prairie Dogs led to the spread of various diseases that killed tens of thousands of people throughout the colonizing of America. This number is far bigger than the number of pilgrims or colonists killed by something like a black bear.

The Book of Deadly Animals is a fairly simple read, but it will keep the reader's full interest and attention throughout the entirety of the book. This has allowed me to "blaze" through the book and I have nearly finished it. I have learned a ton of useful information about nature and more specifically the animal kingdom, and the book has the potential to change anyone's outlook o animal and human interactions (but it might make you second guess wanting to pet one of those Prairie Dogs at the zoo).

One question the book has me thinking abut is how humans tend to look solely at what is in front of them instead of looking deeper to find a real problem. A very loose example would be: should we pay more attention to the Hyena and its impressive weaponry, or should we take a second to stop, take a closer look, think......and then run, because that thing has fleas!