A provocative peek into the real-life mechanics of the scientific process.
Bock details the unscientific response to the Zika virus panic in Brazil in 2015 and reflects on its ramifications for today.
As the author observes, the emergence of the Zika virus in 2015 in Brazil quickly sparked a wave of alarm despite a paucity of scientific evidence justifying it. In fact, Zika was discovered in 1947 in Uganda and has never been linked to any major illness. Also, it is physically and genomically all but identical to dengue fever, making the two viruses notoriously difficult to distinguish. Some linked a rise of microcephaly to Zika, but microcephaly is also exceedingly difficult to diagnose, and the number of known cases, despite the terror widely spread through media channels, remained statistically insignificant. Then, inexplicably, Zika simply vanished from the globe, despite the absence of any vaccine to counter it. Bock, equipped with 30 years of experience as a primary care physician, astutely dissects the way in which a scrupulous process of rigorous research was bypassed in favor of a manufactured drama, one that, to this day, has never been adequately corrected. “Despite billions of research dollars spent and thousands of investigative papers created within the instantly busy Zika research field, all of the original concepts of the Zika–microcephaly connection seem fairly intact and unchallenged within the scientific community.” The author painstakingly marshals mountains of evidence, all lucidly explained, in favor of this thesis, and convincingly paints a less idealistic portrait of scientific progress than is often imagined. Bock connects the failings of the response to Zika to Covid-19, another pandemic that ignited more panic than was consistent with the evidence available, a remarkable discussion since Dr. Anthony Fauci interpreted the global management of Zika as a “roadmap for future challenges.” The author delivers a fascinating and meticulous account of the ways in which the major health organizations in the world overstated the alleged crisis—all of them spread panic, but none of them conducted the kinds of empirical investigations necessary to fully comprehend Zika’s impact. Bock explores possible reasons for these missteps in a way that avoids the self-aggrandizing posturing of panoramic conspiracy theories. Instead, he considers an array of reasons for the failure—including political opportunism (pro-choice activists used Zika to push for relaxed restrictions on abortion), careerism, and the sensationalistic tendencies of the press.
The author is at his best contrasting idealistic ideas about the nature of the scientific process with what actually happens (the latter being the outgrowth of the messiness of human motivation): “Science has the pretense or appearance of its facts being scientifically derived; however in reality there may be some similarity with the process, through popularity and consensus, of determining celebrity or fame – including ‘we know it when we see it.’ ”
A provocative peek into the real-life mechanics of the scientific process.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 280
Publisher: manuscript
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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