Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller

Another gem from Keller. It is about idolatry as a unifying principle of our sin nature. His arguments are clear but it is his biblical examples that really shine. As we read the book to each other, the one who got to read those parts felt lucky. His discussion of Leah was new to us and amazing.

This would be a great book for a small group discussion.

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb

This book promises but doesn't deliver. It almost explains why the brain misunderstands probability. Almost explains Popper, Hume, option trading, stoicism, epicureanism. Almost explains Soros, Monte Carlo engines, chaos theory, black swans. Almost explains because answers are plagued by randomness, emotion and irrationality, and opinions change. Perhaps he is thoroughly post-modern. For similar style with much more substance, stick with Berlinski.

The HP Way by David Packard

A short but interesting telling of a story and a vision. HP started in a garage and grew into a giant in industry. It followed sound management principles. I think Hewlett and Packard never forgot who they were and I think their relationship guided them in dealing with others.

Packard was friends with Hoover in his later years. He was briefly assistant secretary of Defense under Nixon.

Signature in the Cell by Stephen C. Meyer

This carefully reasoned and exhaustively documented argument deals with the DNA enigma. Where does the complex, specified, functional information originate? This entire problem comes from the biochemical fact that the order of the base pairs of the four amino acids in DNA is not contingent. No physical or chemical force or bond determines what order the bases appear in. It is a code. It conveys information. The further question asked in the book is whether there ever is a cause other than an intelligent agent for complex, specific, functional information. Meyer has done the debates and read all the literature. He presents all the arguments and criticism. His case to me seems sound and scientific. His discussion about what constitutes science is especially good.

Linked by Albert László-Barabási

A very good introduction to networks. Many good examples with many good explanations. Raises a lot of questions that I am surprised have not been answered. Is the field new or is it extremely difficult? Probably some of both, and probably he knows more answers than he can tell to non-mathematicians in an understandable way.

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

This is an amazing, important book. It is very disturbing. The main premise seems to be that the situation for women in many places in the world is unimaginably dire. To their credit, the authors face the inescapable evidence that many (but not nearly all) of these places are Islamic cultures.

Though I give credit for this, my own biased view is that in an effort to "balance," the authors understate the role Christianity has had in helping women. They give way too much credit to government.

In fairness, the efforts of Christian missionaries in Africa and other places have been small and spotty, but efforts for fistula repair and equal medical care for women did not begin with the people cited in the book. Their efforts seem finally to be having a broad effect, which I applaud, but emphasis on maternal and child health in developing countries has been going on, however feebly, for decades.

I do, however, hope this book is read by millions of people. The suffering they describe must stop. People of faith must work with others to help women.

Of course I am completely mystified how a book like this cannot make abortion one of its main concerns. It is only preferential abortion of female fetuses (babies) that is of concern in this book. In fact, those of us who oppose abortion and its support are lumped with those who don't want girls to go to school and those who support genital cutting as those holding back efforts to help women.

I think everyone should read this book and when finished should ask themselves the question, "We know these treatments of women and girls are evil and wrong, but what is the basis of this knowledge and how can we be sure?"

The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith

This is a pleasant love story set in Scotland, told with warmth and color. Of course, one character stands out, Isabel Dalhousie. She is an independently wealthy but unostentatious editor of an obscure journal of philosophical ethics. Not theoretical ethics but applied ethics, mind you.

The author, against all odds, is to my mind completely successful in presenting a woman who is both thoughtful and full of thought. She takes self-awareness to a very high level without self-absorption. She is constantly ruminating but not to the point of serious self-doubt. It is analysis without paralysis.

I enjoyed her and laughed at her moral hesitations. But as with most ethical dramas, I remain unsatisfied. Ethical satisfaction requires a foundation. Scotland, home, friends, social convention can inform and delight but fail to answer the deepest questions of love.