This year's edition was not as interesting to me as the 2003 edition. Sarah Hrdy's essay arguing that like many animals humans practice cooperative breeding, that is, raising children is most successful when it is a community (or at least extended family) effort was probably my favorite work in the book. Five years later the "Eco-optimist" essay on Bjorn Lomborg, the environmentalist skeptic, is truly anachronistic. Statements like "the price of oil adjusted for inflation is half the price in th...

This year's edition was not as interesting to me as the 2003 edition. Sarah Hrdy's essay arguing that like many animals humans practice cooperative breeding, that is, raising children is most successful when it is a community (or at least extended family) effort was probably my favorite work in the book. Five years later the "Eco-optimist" essay on Bjorn Lomborg, the environmentalist skeptic, is truly anachronistic. Statements like "the price of oil adjusted for inflation is half the price in th...

This year's edition was not as interesting to me as the 2003 edition. Sarah Hrdy's essay arguing that like many animals humans practice cooperative breeding, that is, raising children is most successful when it is a community (or at least extended family) effort was probably my favorite work in the book. Five years later the "Eco-optimist" essay on Bjorn Lomborg, the environmentalist skeptic, is truly anachronistic. Statements like "the price of oil adjusted for inflation is half the price in th...

This year's edition was not as interesting to me as the 2003 edition. Sarah Hrdy's essay arguing that like many animals humans practice cooperative breeding, that is, raising children is most successful when it is a community (or at least extended family) effort was probably my favorite work in the book. Five years later the "Eco-optimist" essay on Bjorn Lomborg, the environmentalist skeptic, is truly anachronistic. Statements like "the price of oil adjusted for inflation is half the price in th...

The best thing about “best” anthologies is that you usually get nothing but great writing. This anthology is no exception. Of note in this collection is Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s piece on new research about cooperative mothering. Julian Dibbell’s essay, “Pirate Utopia,” looked at interesting ways to hide information on the Internet and managed to talk about Hakim Bey’s ideas. Also worth mentioning are essays on the failed war on cancer, a profile on a plastic surgeon, and a look at a guy who has spen...

The best thing about “best” anthologies is that you usually get nothing but great writing. This anthology is no exception. Of note in this collection is Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s piece on new research about cooperative mothering. Julian Dibbell’s essay, “Pirate Utopia,” looked at interesting ways to hide information on the Internet and managed to talk about Hakim Bey’s ideas. Also worth mentioning are essays on the failed war on cancer, a profile on a plastic surgeon, and a look at a guy who has spen...

The best thing about “best” anthologies is that you usually get nothing but great writing. This anthology is no exception. Of note in this collection is Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s piece on new research about cooperative mothering. Julian Dibbell’s essay, “Pirate Utopia,” looked at interesting ways to hide information on the Internet and managed to talk about Hakim Bey’s ideas. Also worth mentioning are essays on the failed war on cancer, a profile on a plastic surgeon, and a look at a guy who has spen...

Definitely interesting to read.. but I had quite a few discrepancies with a lot of the conclusions in this book.

Definitely interesting to read.. but I had quite a few discrepancies with a lot of the conclusions in this book.

Definitely interesting to read.. but I had quite a few discrepancies with a lot of the conclusions in this book.

Definitely interesting to read.. but I had quite a few discrepancies with a lot of the conclusions in this book.

Definitely interesting to read.. but I had quite a few discrepancies with a lot of the conclusions in this book.

I've read the whole series - this one has some truly amazing essays in it.

I've read the whole series - this one has some truly amazing essays in it.

There are 21 essays here that span nearly the entire range of scientific inquiry. Some are more interesting to me than others, but they are all well chosen and well written. My particular list of 3 favorites might not be the same as yours, but I enjoyed Julian Dibbell's "Pirate Utopia" about steganography (hidden writing), David Berlinski's "What brings a world into being?", and Steven Weinberg's "Can science explain everything? Anything?".One of the most interesting experiences I had reading th...

There are 21 essays here that span nearly the entire range of scientific inquiry. Some are more interesting to me than others, but they are all well chosen and well written. My particular list of 3 favorites might not be the same as yours, but I enjoyed Julian Dibbell's "Pirate Utopia" about steganography (hidden writing), David Berlinski's "What brings a world into being?", and Steven Weinberg's "Can science explain everything? Anything?".One of the most interesting experiences I had reading th...

I have now read all but three of the selections. I do think it is rather slim pickings for the "best" of the year. Nonetheless, some of them stood out. A repeated theme is examination of how scientists operate in practice, which can be informative: the battle for NASA funding in "Shadow Science"; in "George Divoky's Planet" (a good one), an uncommonly dedicated fieldworker and how his goals changed over time; conflict between scientists in "Rethinking the Brain"; the collision of public percepti...

I have now read all but three of the selections. I do think it is rather slim pickings for the "best" of the year. Nonetheless, some of them stood out. A repeated theme is examination of how scientists operate in practice, which can be informative: the battle for NASA funding in "Shadow Science"; in "George Divoky's Planet" (a good one), an uncommonly dedicated fieldworker and how his goals changed over time; conflict between scientists in "Rethinking the Brain"; the collision of public percepti...

This book delivered fairly on well on it's title, giving me a nice selection of good science essays around a healthy variety of topics. "Crimson Tide" by Atul Gawande was a fascinating look into something I had never heard of, i.e. an uncontrollable blush response, in this case centered around the story of a woman who wanted to be a newscaster, but was hampered by this unusual physical ailment. "Medicine's Race Problem" by Sally Satel deftly handled the nuance around considerations of race and e...

This book delivered fairly on well on it's title, giving me a nice selection of good science essays around a healthy variety of topics. "Crimson Tide" by Atul Gawande was a fascinating look into something I had never heard of, i.e. an uncontrollable blush response, in this case centered around the story of a woman who wanted to be a newscaster, but was hampered by this unusual physical ailment. "Medicine's Race Problem" by Sally Satel deftly handled the nuance around considerations of race and e...