Digging through a dusty geologic treatise, I unearthed this little gem, embedded in the text:

Geologists make better detectives that biologists or physicists, because they are used to working with faulty data!


Actually a very interesting book which is 750 pages, took 20 years to write and covers the entire geological history of the Earth. And still very well written and quite readable. Although I may never actually finish it...

Dont feel bad.
 

It is not like anyone else posted anything interesting in the past day or so.

I am sure it will be an interesting read. ;)

Peace

I think my book has taken at least that long to write. It will take even longer to get published. :)

Man talk about quiet weeks on the board!....

It's interesting trying to figure out the backgrounds, interests, and beliefs of some of the people on this board. 750 pages on the geologic history of the earth?!?

Is Juulie...

A) suffering from insomnia?
B) a closet rock hound?
C) a pun detective who will go to any length to "dig up" material? or
D) really desperate for basketball to start this fall?

Bard --

You forgot to include "E) All of the above"

And I may not be getting any basketball for a while, since I may be physically incapacitated for a few weeks. It's enough to drive someone like me to insomnia, closet rocks and desperate puns.

I hope you're ok...

Another book sort of along the same lines is Gun, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond. The basic question he asks is "How were a handful of Spanish soldiers able to travel across an ocean and defeat tens of thousands of powerful Incans and why didn't the Incans come to Europe first to defeat the Spanish?" His starts with the assumption that all humans have equal abilities and then explains the disparities between various cultures on a purely environmental basis. He does a good job making his case.

Hey Dan-ref, I'll bite. The premise sounds interesting. Why did the Europeans come west, instead of vice-versa?

And now, for something completely different . . . :D

I do admit, however, this book discussion is better than the fighting and insults on the "other" board.

Essentially this:

1. Climate/topography plays a big role in early widespread use of plants that were nutritous, could be domesticated, improved on, and could be stored for a long time (not nearly as common as you might think).

2. Variety of large mammals that would accept domestication for work and improvement by breeding in captivity (also rather rare).

3. After generations of living closely with domesticated animals people become mostly immune to very nasty diseases that cross from animal to human.

The first 2 factors let some civilizations "advance" at a faster rate than others and explorers tended to carry germs that wiped out huge numbers of the population they visited. Doubtless the Inca would have carried new diseases to Spain, but they didn't get the chance. Particularly nasty were the "animal" diseases they carried.

Notice that there is nothing concerning "superior" ability in this argument, just the luck of the draw as to where you happened to settle. It's a good book and a pretty easy read.

I hope you're ok...

Another book sort of along the same lines is Gun, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond. The basic question he asks is "How were a handful of Spanish soldiers able to travel across an ocean and defeat tens of thousands of powerful Incans and why didn't the Incans come to Europe first to defeat the Spanish?" His starts with the assumption that all humans have equal abilities and then explains the disparities between various cultures on a purely environmental basis. He does a good job making his case. [/B][/QUOTE]

I am just fine and if I never had this surgery it wouldn't make any difference in my daily life, but it's affecting my basketball, and I just want to get it over with. It's more embarrassing than anything to talk about it, so if there are no major complications I will never say another word about it. The only thing any of you will feel is if I get so desperate for basketball that I start showing up at Padgett's games and razzing him.

We don't even get anymore WNBA around here, since Portland blew it bad in the last couple of weeks. AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!

Dan this book actually does sound very interesting and I may very well add it to my reading list for the hospital, if it isn't too heavy (physically and mentally). Book I mention above is 750 pages of geology, not exactly light reading!!