Wonderful:simultaneously with your feet in the warm sand and with your head in the world of science. All Kennislink editors tip the readers the best scientific books of the past year. Vote for your favorite below. We raffle a copy of the Kennislink book Why do men go bald? 101 smart questions among the entrants.
Better than real
by Jane McGonigal
Games are fun! Not only that, but they also help us become smarter, more social and happier. That's what game designer Jane McGonigal claims, and after reading her book I wholeheartedly agree with her. She lists fourteen ways games lead to a better world, for yourself (improvement #3:do more satisfying work), large groups (improvement #13:spend ten thousand hours working together), and even the whole world (improvement #14:Develop large-scale group foresight ).
The book is full of happiness theories that are then elaborated on the basis of recognizable games. This makes it a nice variation on the average self-help book, and it gives the novice game designer enough tips to organize their own life more playfully. In addition, the positivity pops off the pages, so that after reading you immediately want to grab a football, a dice or a controller to put the theory into practice. – Sven de Jong, project manager
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The Bonobo and the Ten Commandments – Morality is older than man
by Frans de Waal
The origin of morality is not in religion, but in emotions. And other animals have them just as much as we do.
“Once upon a time there was a chimpanzee whom I had taught to bottle-feed a newborn baby. Due to her lack of milk production, she had lost several offspring and wanted to adopt a young one. In later years, thanks to her special skill, she raised not only this young chimpanzee, but also her own children. For the rest of her life, every time she saw me – and that was only once every few years – she was delirious, as if I were a long-lost relative. It must have had something to do with me helping her start a family.”
Great apes are not animals that act mechanically. Like us, they have emotions and act based on morality. Religion doesn't have to teach us humanity, it's a biological property of the species. In short, that is the message in the latest book by the world-famous behavioral biologist Frans de Waal. The book is full of wonderful anecdotes from his unique experiences with chimpanzees and bonobos, collected over the years. He goes to war against believers who think that morality is whispered to us from above. But he is just as vehement against the followers of Richard Dawkins, who say that our behavior is controlled by our selfish genes. At the same time, he emphasizes the value of faith and states that a rigorous banishment of God is not possible. “The great challenge is to take a step forward, beyond religion, beyond morality from above.” – Anne van Kessel, editor Biology
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Tubes. A journey to the center of the internet.
by Andrew Blum
Where do I end up if I follow the fiber optic cable that ensures that I have internet at home? That's what American journalist Andrew Blum wondered. He surfs the internet all day long. He searches for information, sends e-mails and social networks continuously. But when asked what the Internet looks like physically, he had no answer. That prompted him to write 'Tubes. A journey to the center of the internet'. It provides a fascinating journey along many cables, data centers and wizzkids. Blum explains in great detail how everything is connected to everything. Mandatory reading for anyone who is curious about what goes on behind their own router. – Robert Visscher, editor Technique
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The riddle of everything that lives – and the stinky socks of Jos Grootjes from Driel
by Jan Paul Schutten
Holiday, that is sun, sea and beach. But that is not where you should take this book with you. It's just too beautiful for that. This is a book to take out of the bookcase on a rainy day and carefully place on the table. What a beautiful specimen! The beautiful golden cut, the sturdy hard cover, the beautiful illustrations:this book has been edited with care and so you should treat it with care.
When you open the book, you notice that the content is also a feast. You go on a journey of discovery with Jan Paul Schutten. He tells (almost) everything you could ever want to know about life on Earth - from stink socks to the theory of evolution. In a light-hearted and humorous style, he answers very small (what does a bacterium look like?) and very large questions (why does everything living ever die?). Science difficult? Oh, no. As long as you know how it is!
Schutten is a schoolmaster of the good kind. He is a gifted storyteller who enthuses his 'students' and makes them wiser. If only we all had such a master. Then the Netherlands would now have no shortage of natural scientists. – Harm Ikink, editor of Chemistry
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After two days of rain, Monday follows – and other mysterious phenomena on planet Earth
by Axel Bojanowski
You may think this is a book in which monkey stories are debunked. After all, how can the rain know what day of the week it is? But you're wrong. 'After two days of rain, Monday will follow' is a collection of 32 easy-to-read and accessible articles about geological curiosities, such as ice cream pancakes, haunted islands and waterfalls at the bottom of the ocean. In addition, it talks about more general problems that Earth scientists are working on, such as earthquake prediction and the outstanding questions surrounding atmospheric warming.
Why are giant boulders crawling through the Nevada desert? What were the hallucinogenic gases that rose from the earth at the Oracle of Delphi? What were the exact events surrounding Climategate ? Bojanowksi doesn't give ready answers, but tells you what science has said on each topic – including the outstanding issues and the ongoing discussions. He bases this on the latest insights from the relevant scientific journals, so in addition to being fun, the book is also fully scientifically sound. (And it turns out to be true:in many areas it rains more on the weekend than during the week!) – Marlies ter Voorde, editor Earth and Climate
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The Particle Zoo
by Jean-Paul Keulen
If you really want to learn something this summer, stop 'The Particle Zoo' by Jean-Paul Cologne in your suitcase. This book will update your knowledge of particle physics. That may not seem like a good choice for the well-deserved peace of mind, but the fact is that the book is generally very readable due to clear analogies and fun anecdotes about the sometimes weird guys among particle physicists.
Cologne explains everything clearly, step by step and ensures that you not only come back from holiday bright brown, but also know exactly what spontaneous symmetry breaking, the Higgs and Majorana particles are and you feel completely at home in the wonderful particle zoo. – Roel van der Heijden, editor Technology and Physics
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From animal to human
by David Quammen
If you still have room in your suitcase for a big pill, you should definitely 'From animal to human' take. This book, written by author David Quammen, chronicles the rise of life-threatening infectious diseases.
Quammen describes the search for the origin of diseases such as Ebola and SARS in detail, making it seem as if you are in the middle of a dangerous outbreak. That makes the book not only interesting, but also exciting to read.
And for those who think "500 pages is a bit too much for me", don't worry. Quammen puts the story of one disease into about 50 pages, making it easy to put the book aside. – Elles Lalieu, Health editor
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Fryslân, land of languages
by Reitze Jonkman and Arjen Versloot
I myself have been spending my summer holidays on the Wadden for years. I enjoy not only nature, but also the languages and dialects that I hear around me. For a large part they have a Frisian origin. It is therefore not surprising that the book 'Fryslân, land of languages' will have a place in my suitcase.
However, as I read it, I found out that this book is not only interesting for people like me. It is a description of an important part of the entire Dutch language history. That starts with Latin (from our era just as influential as American English today) after which the vernaculars slowly emerge.
In the Netherlands, but also far beyond, Dietsch or Low German is spoken. It is the official language of the Hanseatic League. So influential at the time, that the Scandinavian languages include many Low German loanwords. And that is the reason that we now recognize many a word in a series like 'Borgen' . Actually, this book should be used for the Dutch school subject in Secondary Education. It lends itself perfectly to this, with many beautiful overview maps, text fragments and time bars. But it is of course also great cost to read somewhere on a Wadden Island this summer. – Mathilde Jansen, editor Linguistics
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Honest about yoga
by William Broad
Have you been carried away by the hype yet? In other words:are you stretching on your yoga mat on a weekly basis? Then stop with that for a while, and first read 'Honest about yoga'. In this anything but vague book, William Broad – celebrated science journalist for the New York Times and a convinced yoga practitioner himself for 40 years – collects all the sober science behind the alleged beneficial effects of yoga. To do this, Broad traveled all over the world:he was inspired by yoga gurus in India, and worked in the medical laboratory of Harvard University.
Can you really prevent depression with yoga? Which poses are aphrodisiac, and even make for better sex? Broad also warns the steadily growing Western yogi community about the health risks of yoga. As a modern city dweller, you'd better not get caught up in the downward-facing dog or the cobra wring. That is, if you prefer to prevent displaced vertebrae, pinched arteries and associated paralysis symptoms such as Horner's syndrome. Fortunately, Broad also gives tips on the poses with which you can stretch or strengthen your core in a safe way. With this book in your suitcase, after an intensive city trip or a wild canoe trip, you can come to yourself again, both reading and stretching – in a completely responsible way. Namasté! – Anna Tuenter, editor Brain &Behavior
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The history of progress
by Rutger Bregman
We are richer, healthier and safer than ever. Yet we increasingly see unease around us. A nostalgia for the old days, when everything was better. How is that possible, wonders the young historian Rutger Bregman (24). Does the negativity of the economic crisis show that there are limits to progress?
In search of answers, Bregman scrutinizes just about all of history. From the big bang via the first hand axes to the current crisis. In a lively and very accessible way he describes how philosophers, writers and intellectuals thought about progress over the centuries.
Ultimately, this brings him to the conclusion that today's pessimism is unjustified. Progress exists, and we are (still) in the midst of it. All in all, History of progress a lovely nice read for the beach. He is forgiven for the fact that Bregman's historical argument can be a bit short-sighted here and there (and sometimes even incorrect). – Maarten Muns, editor of the Humanities
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Borderline Times. The end of normality.
by Dirk de Wachter
The Belgian psychiatrist/psychotherapist Dirk de Wachter wrote this critical book about contemporary healthcare. In a society where a 7.9 is scored for 'happiness', the flip side is depression, which affects a quarter of the population. That seems contradictory, but it is not so strange, says De Wachter, because we are addicted to happiness and go to a psychiatrist too quickly. According to him, acceptance of a little unhappiness would be a lot healthier.
With the desire for malleable happiness, there is also an excess of drug use. And De Wachter should know, because he also prescribes them himself, to the great pleasure of the pharmacists. The group of drug consumers is growing and children also participate, if they are too busy. Grieving may not last long, according to the new psychiatry bible, DSM-5. More diagnoses and numbers are added all the time. But the profession is protesting and DSM-5 has already been banned by some psychiatrists while the ink is still wet.
De Wachter comes across as an absolute culture pessimist for whom the glass is half empty. Although interesting, the book reads as fragmentary, gathered together, with too high a dose of quotes. There is also no economic perspective. After all, where on earth are all those tribes of graduates going to work who have studied psychology? Doesn't the bulk of diagnoses and excessive testing also come from that tube? – Annemieke van Roekel, editor Earth &Climate
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Diary of an Executioner
by Joel Harrington
Take 'Diary of an executioner' with you this holiday, instead of an exciting thriller. Equally chilling and gory assured. Harrington gives a glimpse into the daily life of executioner Frantz Schmidt from Nuremberg.
This executioner lived from 1554 to 1634:turbulent times in Germany because of witch hunts, religious disputes and the Thirty Years War. Torture and execution of criminals was still common in these days and executioners were feared and despised by contemporaries for this dishonorable work.
Executioner Schmidt tried to correct this picture and kept a diary about the convicted criminals, their offenses and the sentences he carried out. Harrington uses this diary to paint a unique picture of this outcast and his life. A nice piece of social history that is also nice to read. – Marjolein Overmeer, editor of the Humanities
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The philosophy twittercanon
by Herman de Regt and Leon Heuts
Want to quickly learn more about philosophy during your holiday? This book makes it easy for you. Starting with Plato, each chapter discusses a quote from a philosopher the size of (approximately) a Tweet and linked to it his vision of the (human) world. Incidentally, there are plenty of such one-liners from philosophers, from Nietzsche's 'God is dead' and Descartes 'I think, therefore I am'...
In passing you will also learn all kinds of interesting things about the lives of famous philosophers; such as how the poor philosopher Epericus became famous as a pervert thanks to the evil spider of colleagues. An appealingly written book full of interesting facts, although Heuts' explanation is a bit pedantic here and there. – Marloes van Amerom, editor Maatschappij
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How Math Changed the World
by Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart is a successful mathematician and a successful writer. His two books full of math riddles were a success in the Netherlands, which is why his book 'Taming the Infinite' was released last fall. from in the Netherlands, under the name 'How mathematics changed the world' .
Stewart describes from the beginning of time how mathematics came about and what you can do with it. The whole world can be explained mathematically, according to Stewart. He is still very good at explaining math step by step. In this book the sums are often more complicated than in the two books with riddles that appeared in Dutch before. The Dutch translation is also not equally strong everywhere. Still, the book is worth reading for anyone interested in learning more about mathematics and its influence on the way we think and act. -Marc Seijlhouwer, editor Mathematics
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Survival guide to the future
by Martijn van Calmthout
Vacation is of course a great time to dig through that big pill, but for people like me, who are always distracted by a small person, it is very nice to have a book with you that actually says something, but where you don't have to come in again and again.
The 'Survival guide to the future' is such a book. In short journalistic articles, Volkskrant journalist Martijn van Calmthout outlines the scientific promises for the world of tomorrow in which we can print our steak, turn off hay fever with the remote control, but in which people will still believe in God, fall in love and love each other. will search. Van Calmthout does not do air cycling. He rightly assumes that the material world can change considerably, but that man himself will not change much. It provides a series of nuanced insights into the world of tomorrow. The title can mislead people, because Van Calmthout does not offer any tips for facing the future. That is not necessary either:science itself is the 'survival guide for the future'. -Sanne Deurloo, editor-in-chief Kennislink
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Knowledge link Summer book 2013