If I only had a brain...

This past Saturday, the Boston Skeptics’ Book Club met in the park (on a very lovely day) to discuss An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks. There were seven different stories about individuals with interesting neurological conditions:

• A painter who went totally colorblind after a car accident and had to relearn his new “leaden” world
• A man who lost the ability to form memories past 1968 due to a benign brain tumor (which also made him blind and completely unaware of the fact that anything was wrong with him)
• A blind man who regained his sight after 50 years, only to be unsettled by what he was seeing
• A surgeon with Tourette’s whose tics disappear when he is operating
• An artist so obsessed with his childhood town that he was able to paint it from memory 30 years later from a 3-D model he had constructed in his head
• A young autistic artist (and other autistic prodigies)
• Temple Grandin, who talks about her “squeeze machine” and her own theories about how people with Asperger’s actually function and see the world

The book was only about 300 pages, and while some book clubbers enjoyed the stories about the individuals as described by Sacks, the overall consensus was that Sacks could have delved deeper into some of the mechanisms behind the neurological conditions. He went on in great deal about the ways that the brain can interpret color (as in the case of the colorblind painter), but he only touched on what may have been going on in the case of the artist who had a photographic memory of his childhood town (he alluded to epilepsy but that was about it). We were also curious about the surgeon with Tourette’s:
What exactly caused his tics to disappear during surgery? Was it because he was in the mindset of a surgeon or did his tics disappear only if he was in a routine (i.e. not a surgical technique that he just learned).

This book is a fun read, even if it raises more questions about the science of neurology than it answers, but it still provides an interesting perspective on how others see the world and deal with their particular conditions.

Our next book is Them: Adventures with Extremists by the utterly awesome Jon Ronson. Until now I’ve only heard his segments on This American Life, but if his books are anything like those then they should be very compelling. We’re planning on meeting at the Boston Commons this time, weather permitting, on August 28th at 3 pm. Also, this time we’re making it a picnic! Because nothing goes better with a good book than some strawberries and cheese (or John’s coffee). Please let us know what you’re bringing in the comments. And of course, bring yourself, no matter what stage of the book you’re at.

For those of you who want a head start on the book after this one, we will be reading a book suggested by our own skeptic Kerry: Who Goes First: The Story of Self-
Experimentation in Medicine by Lawrence K. Altman.

So far, the forecast is calling for a partly cloudy/sunny day with a high in the 80’s, so it should be a beautiful day to get together in our normal meeting spot at Christopher Columbus Park and discuss An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks. Meeting time is 3 pm, as usual. I’ll bring the SPF 70 sunscreen! (That is not an exaggeration.)

If you want a little extra, you should check out Temple Grandin by HBO Films (I saw it the other day and it was a pretty good biopic). It covers her early life and how she became such an accomplished scientist and how she learned how to deal with Asperger’s (and a good dose of sexism). If you don’t have HBO but you want to hear more about Temple, Terry Gross did an interview with her earlier this year that is definitely worth a listen.

Come one, come all! Even if you haven’t read/finished the book, you know you want an excuse to hang out in the sun and discuss science. See you there!

Poor little guy never had a chance

This post is late for a good reason for once: I’ve been busy the whole week packing up to move to Waltham tomorrow! And I’m exhausted, so please excuse me if my thoughts are a little loopy. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

This past Saturday, the BSBC met up for a beautiful day in the park to discuss all things parasitic in Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex. On the surface, parasites are disgusting (to me), but this book goes beyond the surface into the intricacies of parasitic life. In the beginning of the book, Zimmer discussed the origin and history of Parasitology and the history of what exactly scientists thought of parasites. Most scientists despised parasites, either because they were disgusted, thought the parasites were lazy, or feeling smug over their alleged evolutionary superiority, and as a result the science of Parasitology is not as established as other sciences.

Zimmer goes on to write about how parasites figure out where to go in a host and how they evade the immune system so effectively. In fact, labs have started researching the chemicals that parasites use to sooth the immune system because something like that could be used to treat auto-immune disorders (like allergies or Crohn’s Disease) or even help patients who have had organ transplants.

The parasites themselves are interesting, but just as interesting is how different plants and animals have adapted to fight off parasites. For example, sexual intercourse may have evolved as a way to fight off parasites by diversifying the genetics of a population of hosts (versus a population of hosts that reproduce asexually into a series of clones). Also, the book describes how the showiness of males of a given species is directly related to how infected the population is. Some plants, when bitten by caterpillars, will release a chemical that attracts parasitic wasps to kill the caterpillars.

Getting rid of parasites isn’t always desirable. In fact, in a given ecosystem with fish and birds, a parasite might infect a fish and make it flop around on the surface so that it will be easier prey for a bird, the parasite’s desired home. If the parasites were eradicated from the ecosystem, the fish population might thrive, but then the bird population might drop because of the lessened amount of prey. Some scientists are using parasites as a form of “organic” pesticide to tamper with ecosystems, but the results can be as helpful as they can be disastrous.  For example, in Africa the Cassava plant, a primary source of food for many people, was being destroyed by Cassava Mealybugs, so after a little research scientists flew in some foreign parasitic wasps to get rid of the mealybugs and save the day. However, on Hawaii scientists have also brought in parasites to eradicate undesired species, with the after-effect of wanted species being infected and also eradicated.

This book was an interesting read, because the first time I read it I was completely grossed out, but on my second read I really understood how amazing and intricate parasites are (as long as they stay away from me, of course).  And it goes without saying that you probably shouldn’t read this book if you’re going to eat a rare steak soon, or any dish that is especially noodly. I’d probably even stay away from Bubble Tea for a bit. In honor of Parasite Rex, I have composed a haiku:

Blood Flukes mate for life,
embracing and making sweet
love, in your liver.

Did you like the book or did you feel like it was too drawn out, like a Guinea Worm being slowly pulled out of your leg and wrapped around a stick over a period of days? Do you have any haikus or odes to parasites to add? Did the book skip over one of your favorite parasites that you really want to mention? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

The next book is An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks, described as a book about people who are “differently-brained”, like a surgeon with Tourette’s Syndrome who is plagued with tics except when he operates, a man with memory damage who can’t remember anything past 1968, an artist who gets in an accident and goes completely colorblind, and also a chapter about Temple Grandin (one of my favorite women to read about). Our next meeting will be on Saturday, July 24th at 3 pm, and location is TBD pending good weather.

If you find yourself wanting to come to a BSBC meeting but can’t make it because Saturdays aren’t good, please write your day suggestions in the comments! Now that I am moving closer to Boston and my shift is normal, we may discuss doing something on a weeknight or a Sunday, whatever works for the group.

At the request of one of our BSBC’ers, I’m going to list the book for the meeting after next, in case anyone wants to get a head start on it. It’s going to be Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (I haven’t yet read one of his books but I’m looking forward to it as he is one of my favorite contributors to This American Life).

In addition to having Scott Sigler ’round after his book event at Pandemonium on June 23rd, we’re doubly honored as we’ll have UK skeptic Simon Perry (Leicester Skeptics, Quacklash) on June 29th at Tommy Doyles.

Simon has joined the ranks of those who’ve moved on to putting the active in activism by taking the fight against woo to the government and medical overseers. The campaigns he’s been involved with have helped shutter bogus (my word, not his, UK legal system!) allergy testing outfits, psychics and sham medicine making curative claims for cancer, among other things.

You may have heard of him, as well, from his involvement with the Quacklash campaign which went after a slew of bogus (again, my word, not his *grin*) claims by reporting them en masse to the trading standards boards and the General Chiropractic Council.

Simon will be talking about the nuts and bolts of such fights as well as sharing some stories of the woo-tastic nonsense that he’s run up on while doing it. It should be fun!

FYI, this is a Tuesday night instead of the usual Monday. Also, we will be taking over the downstairs lounge for this one (with a but more support from the venue this time). So seating will be a little more limited, but also more intimate! =D

You can find SImon at:
http://adventuresinnonsense.blogspot.com and on Twitter as @Simon_Perry

I just checked the weather and it looks like everything is going to be bright and sunny, so bring your blankets, sunscreen, and a copy of Parasite Rex tomorrow to the Christopher Columbus Park down on the wharf. We’ll meet at 3 pm on the Plaza (same spot as last time).

For anyone who wants a podcast extra, check out this awesome Radiolab episode all about parasites (and the research being done on how hookworms might be a cure for allergies).

Come and have a licely…er, lively discussion about parasites with the Boston Skeptics! Even if you haven’t finished the book, you know you want to come anyway just for the conversation and factoids. (Just leave your uncooked meat at home.)

Scott Sigler, the world’s only skeptical horror author, is coming to Boston on his Ancestor book tour! Come check out his new book at Pandemonium Books and Games in Central Square, and/or join us afterwards for some drinking and socializing at our usual place, Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square. Check out Scott’s website if you aren’t familiar with his coolness. We have to show him how awesome we Boston Skeptics are, so BE THERE!

Don’t forget: Wednesday, June 23rd, 7pm.

Also, don’t forget to rsvp on our facebook page!

Brunch is back! And this time, not only will we have fun skeptical conversation, but also ACTUAL YUMMY FOOD! This month we’re heading to The Living Room in the North End (101 Atlantic Ave), which has a variety of quality food options, a WIDE variety of zippy beverages, and a comfy atmosphere as well.

Be there at 11:15 am on Saturday, July 10th, and don’t forget to RSVP on our Facebook page!

Last Saturday, we met up in the beautiful Christopher Columbus Park on the Waterfront to discuss The Madame Curie Complex by Julie Desjardins. The book mostly discusses the history of women in science since the 1880s, starting with Marie Curie. The title comes from the fact that Curie was often written about as a super-woman of sorts, who had time to raise her children and also win two Nobels. She was seen as a matronly martyr, even though that stereotype didn’t resemble her life at all. She was reclusive, brilliant, and seemed to prefer science over everything else. She was a Gold Standard of sorts for female scientists, who were supposed to be brilliant but only in a “womanly” fashion. Many early female scientists discussed in this book were seen as helpmeets or assistants to their male superiors. The women were mostly relegated to data collecting positions, as their “female brains” were supposed to be attentive to detail, while the analyzing and problem solving was something more suited to a “male brain”.

The book also discusses Lillian Gilbreth, the woman behind Cheaper By The Dozen, who pioneered workplace efficiency science with her husband and who continued to be a scientist of “domestic arts” (natch) after his death. The chapter about her is full of how awesome she was at managing her time and keeping her house run like a factory. She was portrayed as a mistress of domesticity, even though in reality she never cooked anything herself and had to make up a cake recipe on the fly for a publicity campaign.

The other women discussed in the book are: the women of the Harvard Observatory, the women who worked on the Manhattan Project, Rosalind Franklin, Maria Mayer (Nobel winner for the shell-orbit theory of atoms), Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, and many more.

Overall, I found the book informative but a little long in some parts. The author really enjoys belaboring some points while not focusing too hard on other points. The Manhattan Project section was a little jumbled and she jumped from scientist to scientist until I couldn’t tell who did what, while the chapter on Lillian Gilbreth went on and on about how efficient the woman was. However, it was still an enjoyable read for me, since I like to read about history, especially with a feminist analysis. Others in the BSBC wanted to learn more about the science that the women were doing but I found the history of institutionalized sexism the most interesting part and the book definitely talked a lot about that.

If you read the book but couldn’t make it to our meeting, leave a note in the comments! I want to find out your opinions, whether you liked it or didn’t. And don’t be shy–come out to our meetings! You don’t have to be a regular (or even finish the book) to join us and have a good time.

Our next book is Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures. Our next meeting date is June 19th at 3 pm, location is TBD for now until we know what the weather is like. If it’s sunny, we’ll meet again at the CC Park, otherwise we’ll probably meet at our usual Border’s Cafe. Come join us for a fun-filled parasitic chat!

The weather in Boston looks like it’s going to be pretty nice this weekend, so to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday we’re going to be meeting outside at the Christopher Columbus Park at 1 pm on Saturday, May 22nd. The park is right off of the Aquarium T Station on the Blue Line. We’ll meet by the sprinklers near the waterfront, and I just crudely photoshopped a big X onto the spot where we’re meeting below:

Christopher Columbus Park--X marks the meeting spot!

Bring a jacket because it can get a little chilly by the water! There are food places in the area for anyone who is looking for a snack. Come out and enjoy the sun with me and the rest of the BSBC as we discuss The Madame Curie Complex. (This time we won’t have to nervously look around for tables to snipe!)