matthewmincher finished reading Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Liu Cixin
Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Liu Cixin
A satirical fable, a political allegory and an ecological warning from the author of The Three-Body Problem. In a sunlit …
Not for me
User Profile
This link opens in a pop-up window
matthewmincher's books
2025 Reading Goal
76% complete! matthewmincher has read 40 of 52 books.
User Activity
RSS feed Back
matthewmincher stopped reading Refactoring by Kent Beck
As the application of object technology--particularly the Java programming language--has become commonplace, a new problem …
Bill Bryson is one of the worlds most beloved and bestselling writers. In A Short …
Super interesting
3 stars
I wasn't sure I was going to finish this, but it really picked up about 30% of the way in.
It's a relatively light overview of a load of stuff (no prizes for guessing that bit)
You're probably familiar with all of it, but there will be gems and additions to knowledge that are delightful.
A highlight for me was the discussion of time, the age of the universe and how our understanding of that has changed (and is still changing)
matthewmincher reviewed The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand …
Same conspiracy theories, different time
4 stars
Started off a bit weak but was well written and compelling by the end. Possibly a bit too much time spent on aliens.
Considering this book was published in 1997, it still applies today. I took away a note that conspiracy theories just evolve and fill a fundamental default need when we don't understand or are confronted with uncomfortable things.
Sagan emphasises a need for education, the scientific method, and critical thinking. I don't think he'd be happy how that has trended since writing this.
Something that interests me is how I see the supposed scientific method corrupted and used as a weapon by conspiracy theories and people pushing them. There's lots of calls for citizen science, making your own observations, and trusting yourself over experts.
It feels like that's not a bad thing, if only it could be channeled into something positive - not just people finding things that …
Started off a bit weak but was well written and compelling by the end. Possibly a bit too much time spent on aliens.
Considering this book was published in 1997, it still applies today. I took away a note that conspiracy theories just evolve and fill a fundamental default need when we don't understand or are confronted with uncomfortable things.
Sagan emphasises a need for education, the scientific method, and critical thinking. I don't think he'd be happy how that has trended since writing this.
Something that interests me is how I see the supposed scientific method corrupted and used as a weapon by conspiracy theories and people pushing them. There's lots of calls for citizen science, making your own observations, and trusting yourself over experts.
It feels like that's not a bad thing, if only it could be channeled into something positive - not just people finding things that support something they want to believe, or contradict something they don't want to believe.
matthewmincher wants to read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set …
matthewmincher started reading Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Liu Cixin
Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Liu Cixin
A satirical fable, a political allegory and an ecological warning from the author of The Three-Body Problem. In a sunlit …
matthewmincher finished reading Source Code by Bill Gates
matthewmincher started reading Source Code by Bill Gates
matthewmincher finished reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson is one of the worlds most beloved and bestselling writers. In A Short History of Nearly Everything, he …
matthewmincher wants to read Slow Horses by Mick Herron (Slough House, #1)
Slow Horses by Mick Herron (Slough House, #1)
Slough House is Jackson Lamb's kingdom; a dumping ground for members of the intelligence service who've screwed up: left a …
matthewmincher wants to read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)
A rollicking space adventure with a lot of heart
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't …
matthewmincher wants to read Playing Possum by Susana Monsó
Playing Possum by Susana Monsó
How animals conceive of death and dying—and what it can teach us about our own relationships with mortality
When the …
matthewmincher started reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson is one of the worlds most beloved and bestselling writers. In A Short History of Nearly Everything, he …
matthewmincher finished reading The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths …
matthewmincher reviewed No Cunning Plan by Sir Tony Robinson
Open and interesting
4 stars
This book is a refreshingly open look at lots of parts of his life. It goes into more personal detail than I expected.
Good to get a bit of a peek behind the curtain on the well known shows. The audiobook is narrated by Robinson himself which was obviously great.
I can't believe we almost didn't get him on time team or his version of Baldrick. I guess it's also an interesting lesson in serendipity and persistence.
Loved the bits on Mick Aston - it's good to hear he was as wholesome as he always seemed.