Walter Isaacson

Years ago I read Ronald Clark's "The Life and Times of Einstein", remembering it as a difficult book to get through. Since I recall so little of that now I thought another attempt was in order, this time coming from noted biographer Walter Isaacson, particularly after reading glowing reviews for his Steve Jobs bio.

I am now about a quarter through and each page reminds me of how tough I found Clark's effort to be. Maybe that is indicative of a biography about a person's whose life work I have no chance of understanding. At any rate I will continue, as fascinated by Isaacson's seemingly (to him) layman's explanations of physics principles as I am Einstein himself.

UPDATE:

I completed the book a week or so ago. It remained interesting although for reasons I don't understand, Isaacson spent a lot of time demonstrating his knowledge of physics by going into more detail about much that had little to do with Einstein's life. Or at least it seemed that way to me. Nonetheless if that doesn't bother you, I recommend the book, particularly if you have an above average interest in physics.… (more)

Simply superb...

There is a section on Learning from Leonardo in the last chapter of the book (Conclusion) that lists the key attributes of Leonardo that made him the history’s most creative and universal genius. Here they are: Be curious, relentlessly curious; Seek knowledge for its own sake; Retain a childlike sense of wonder; Observe; Start with the details; See things unseen; Go down rabbit holes; Get distracted; Respect facts; Procrastinate; Let the perfect be the enemy of the good; Think visually; Avoid silos; Let your reach exceed your grasp; Indulge fantasy; Create for yourself, not just for patrons; Collaborate; Make lists; Take notes, on paper; Be open to mystery.

So true...… (more)

My second career was in biochemistry but I was more involved with proteins and enzymes than DNA and RNA. Obviously, I learned the basics of genetics but by the time CRISPR came along I wasn't involved enough to understand the technology but I remember attending a lecture at work about it. Isaacson's book explains enough of the technology to show how groundbreaking it is but, even more, it showcases Jennifer Doudna who won a Nobel Prize for her co-discovery with Emanuelle Charpentier.

Doudna credits reading James Watson's "The Double Helix" for inspiring her to work with genetics. She was only 12 years old at the time. She was obviously one smart cookie. And her scholastic and research careers bear that out. Doudna and Charpentier met at a conference and agreed to work together at their separate labs on developing CRISPR as a gene editing tool. They weren't the only scientists working on this but their work was the first published in 2012. Initially, the patent was awarded to researchers at the Broad Institute in Boston but eventually Doudna's group won the patent. The technology allows gene editing in all types of cells which has already been used to cure a person of sickle cell anemia and, more controversially, change the genes of twins to enable them to be resistant to HIV infection. Doudna herself supports using CRISPR to alter somatic cells which would not be passed on to the next generation but not germline cells which would change the genes of future generations. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Doudna convened experts to use CRISPR technology to address it. They developed a test for COVID which was faster and less costly than PCR tests initially used.

Anyone interested in biotechnology should find this book fascinating but I think it will appeal to a broader audience as well.… (more)

Esta es la historia asombrosamente íntima del innovador más fascinante y polémico del mundo, un visionario que ha roto todos los moldes y ha conducido al mundo a la era de los vehículos eléctricos, la exploración espacial privada y la inteligencia artificial. Ah, y el mismo que compró Twitter.
Durante dos años, Walter Isaacson fue la sombra de Musk, asistió a sus reuniones, recorrieron juntos sus fábricas, y pasó horas entrevistándolo a él, a su entorno y a sus adversarios. El resultado es un relato íntimo y revelador, repleto de historias asombrosas, éxitos y fracasos, que plantea la siguiente pregunta: ¿son los demonios que mueven a Musk necesarios para impulsar la innovación y el progreso?… (more)