Jacob Brenner

Viruses can be good? Learn how

Revisado: 02-03-25

I’m a physician and scientist and still learned a ton about viruses, such as how they make the seemingly dirty Ganges surprisingly free of bacteria. Great story telling, in completely non technical terms.

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The best economics book I’ve ever read

Revisado: 11-26-24

I’m a professional scientist, and I read pop-science books in nearly every field, except economics. I’ve never felt the economics models were realistic or useful, but I could not quite put my finger on why. This book explains the problems with the fundamental assumptions of classical Econ (utility maximization, equilibria, rational strategies under near perfect information flow). Then it gives a simple solution, agent based models (ABMs), which work well in nearly every field, but seem particularly suited for Econ. The book also explains the key concepts in complexity science. Well written, humble author who is a luminary in the field, and good narration.

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Beautifully written account of the science of gases and how they shaped the development of civilization

Revisado: 09-26-24

Not quite as much scientific explanation as his prior 2 books, but compensated by adding a personal touch (stories about his own inner turmoil and wonder) and a much grander vision of the arc of civilization and the role technology played.

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Exciting, moving, and philosophical tale that will stay with you forever

Revisado: 09-15-24

The most moving book I have ever read. I usually do not like to read sad tales of humans’ inhumanity, but this is different. It includes the excitement of battle, the psychology of cults, a philosophy like Buddhism to endure suffering, and an amazing love story like a beautiful tree unexpectedly growing in a wasteland. It is also masterfully written and with a truly amazing narrator. And the proceeds go towards ending child soldiering. Buy it, read it, and spread the word.

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The Beauty & importance of atmospheric science

Revisado: 08-02-24

Learn the beautiful concepts of atmospheric science while hearing wonderful stories about the people and historical context in which each hard-fought discovery was made.

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Concise, interesting, and accessible for non-scientists

Revisado: 04-14-24

Great explanation of aging science. Both interesting science, and also practical advice. And funny! Best in the aging genre for non-scientists.

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journey from hunter-gatherers to social media, to understand ourselves

Revisado: 03-06-24

Philosophical, poetic, and full of twists and turns. It is really about what is humanity’s natural and preferred state, as hunter-gatherers, farmers, or whatever it is we are now and will be in the future. But those deep questions are peppered slowly throughout a story about social media billionaires and the community of preppers.

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Great overview of the power of simulations

Revisado: 10-18-23

Super clear explanations, told with great enthusiasm, and just the right amount of personal touch. The book teaches about 3 overlapping topics:
1) simulations, such as weather prediction
2) galaxy formation and the cosmic web; this is the topic of Pontzen’s own simulations. Super fascinating, with the best lay explanation of dark matter and energy I’ve encountered
3) the “simulation hypothesis” that we’re living in a sim, and explains why it is not interesting or provable.

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Great topic, ok execution

Revisado: 07-16-23

It’s amazing how little has been written about what engineering really is. Hammack enthusiastically explores this topic, and summarizes the answer as (paraphrasing): building solutions using heuristics, given uncertain knowledge of the underlying science, with constraints. Unfortunately, he uses excessively detailed stories to only partially illustrate these points in his definition. Further, he barely touches upon the classes of strategies (types of heuristics), management side of engineering, and all the other things that would really explain to a student how to become a better engineer, or give a layperson ideas on how to apply these ways of thinking to their own life.

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Super fun page-turner; don’t let the pulpy cover fool you

Revisado: 06-21-23

The covers of this series look like cheap 1950s pulp sci-if of monsters from outer space. In reality , the book is written with thought put into every detail, main characters can die, and the characters are not paper thin. It’s a real page turner about humanity fighting back after being enslaved, with all the thought-provoking questions about humanity’s history and “what would you do?”

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