Monday, December 18, 2017

Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen by Mark Buchanan

     Build a sand pile grain by grain. At some point one grain will cause others to fall. At first only a few fall but overtime one grain can cause all manner of avalanches, big or small, depending on the history of the sand pile and its current structure. There can be a critical state where one grain causes a big effect but there is no big cause just a grain dropping in the wrong place.
     The author illustrates with examples from earthquake prediction, forest fires, evolution, historical events and more. Trying to predict big earthquakes or historical crises may not be possible. Extinctions may not have great causes but may be just the result of an event at the wrong place in the historical flow.



Breathe: The Simple Revolutionary 14-Day Program to Improve Your Mental and Physical Health by Belisa Vranich

Proper breathing is essential for good health. It really does make a difference in ones physical and mental health. She recommends full breaths from the diaphragm so that the stomach expands and contracts not the shoulders. The books goes into details with analyses and exercises.

I just heard a lecture on mindfulness and regarding breathing, the slower animals breathe the longer they live. The author recommends longer deeper breaths so she is on to something. (Added 6-4-18)