"And so, he writes, “in the end respiration and burning are equivalent; the slight delay in the middle is what we know as life.” Wait, what? The slight delay in the middle is what we know as life? I think when I first read that I might have skipped a heartbeat."
The exact same line in the book evoked the exact same reaction in me when I read it for the first time. I stopped reading and just stared at the horizon, wondering if this is what life is! Thank you for this post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. :)
It seems I took the exact same path. I dreaded biology when I was in school, to later in my life, dreaming what I could have learnt had I continued with biology. What turned me towards it was the Eric Kandel's book - In Search of Memory (...). I was awestruck reading about mitosis and meiosis, espacially meiosis - what makes the life so diverse and interesting.
Textbooks are not supposed to be interesting. They are supposed to succinctly summarize knowledge. Early biology courses need to provide the vocabulary and function of basic terms and structures. AFTER that one can dig deep into interests. This is true for almost every field. Physics is very cool, but you cannot do it before you learn calculus. I studied economics, and you need to get past intermediate theory (micro & maco) as well as calculus and linear algebra before you can even begin to understand the interesting stuff.
Complex subjects are based upon sophisticated concepts. Often, no, more like always, require core math understanding and a foundations in the basics. Even something relatively easy like learning another language does not get fun until after you memorize lots of words and study grammar.
The pop science books are easier to read, and the authors who write such books earn a living by making the subjects interesting. Remember that they do not care if your understanding is bad or even false, they just want you to buy more books. This is why so many seemingly intelligent Americans have idiot beliefs in biology, economics,.... when I graduated from university my girlfriend laughed at my sister's friend who planned to start a family in her forties. My sister and her friend were offended, but to my Chinese girlfriend, it was absurd to think a human female thought she could easily give birth at that age. With modern fertility technology that is sometimes possible, but in most of the world women know the age range in which women can easily conceive and give birth, but not here. Our new President Trump is a walking advertisement for economic illiteracy.
Today so many of us hold incorrect and confused knowledge on subjects because we read a few books written by authors who neither understand nor care about teaching the subject upon which they write. What they care about is selling books. It would be reckless to promote pop science books instead of textbooks that have been reviewed by industry insiders. School is not supposed to be fun. It is supposed to educate. The only class we could change to be more interesting is English, yet that is the one most fiercely defended against such views (no one will suffer for reading science fiction instead of Shakespeare). For core subjects, we need to teach core knowledge and expose students to subjects so they have some understanding when they choose a university major. Tricking students by having them read pop science books would only lead to more angry university drop outs.
Learning dry, unexciting things is one of the most important aspects of life. People are thrown into the unknown every day. I never studied programming, but I had to learn on my own in my first job out of university. It was boring, but better than high school English. I have had to learn all kind of dry topics about databases, probability distributions, building codes, hurricanes, earthquakes and how they relate to building codes, wild fires, terrorism, workplace injuries, court judgements on workplace injuries, medical malpractice, mortgages, differing state laws on foreclosure, all kinds of silliness related to Congress and upcoming laws,....
Learning how to read and understand boring stuff is a core life skill. Schools should do more of it, and less of the social engineering BS such as group projects, field trips, gym class, yeah, gym class is the ultimate useless waste of time, but in general we learn too little in school, and all the relate spare time leads to boredom and drug use and bad behavior. We could learn a lot from East Asian countries that do a far better job at elementary and secondary education.
If only NCERT textbooks narrated chapters with the elegance of storytelling—infusing genuine curiosity, wonder, and enchantment—then subjects often buried under intimidating jargon and fearsome diagrams might finally flourish in the minds of students. Imagine what innovation could spring forth if knowledge was not just delivered, but felt.
One of my favorite stories about science and discovery comes from Mastery by Robert Greene. It recounts how a seemingly simple act—introducing gloves during medical examinations—drastically reduced maternal mortality rates. That revelation left a deep impact on me. It was a powerful reminder that sometimes, the most profound scientific breakthroughs are rooted in humility, empathy, and observation—not complexity.
"And so, he writes, “in the end respiration and burning are equivalent; the slight delay in the middle is what we know as life.” Wait, what? The slight delay in the middle is what we know as life? I think when I first read that I might have skipped a heartbeat."
The exact same line in the book evoked the exact same reaction in me when I read it for the first time. I stopped reading and just stared at the horizon, wondering if this is what life is! Thank you for this post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. :)
thank you for reading and for your kind words -- glad you liked it!
Hh
finally someone who loves Mukherjee’s writing :)
It seems I took the exact same path. I dreaded biology when I was in school, to later in my life, dreaming what I could have learnt had I continued with biology. What turned me towards it was the Eric Kandel's book - In Search of Memory (...). I was awestruck reading about mitosis and meiosis, espacially meiosis - what makes the life so diverse and interesting.
Textbooks are not supposed to be interesting. They are supposed to succinctly summarize knowledge. Early biology courses need to provide the vocabulary and function of basic terms and structures. AFTER that one can dig deep into interests. This is true for almost every field. Physics is very cool, but you cannot do it before you learn calculus. I studied economics, and you need to get past intermediate theory (micro & maco) as well as calculus and linear algebra before you can even begin to understand the interesting stuff.
Complex subjects are based upon sophisticated concepts. Often, no, more like always, require core math understanding and a foundations in the basics. Even something relatively easy like learning another language does not get fun until after you memorize lots of words and study grammar.
The pop science books are easier to read, and the authors who write such books earn a living by making the subjects interesting. Remember that they do not care if your understanding is bad or even false, they just want you to buy more books. This is why so many seemingly intelligent Americans have idiot beliefs in biology, economics,.... when I graduated from university my girlfriend laughed at my sister's friend who planned to start a family in her forties. My sister and her friend were offended, but to my Chinese girlfriend, it was absurd to think a human female thought she could easily give birth at that age. With modern fertility technology that is sometimes possible, but in most of the world women know the age range in which women can easily conceive and give birth, but not here. Our new President Trump is a walking advertisement for economic illiteracy.
Today so many of us hold incorrect and confused knowledge on subjects because we read a few books written by authors who neither understand nor care about teaching the subject upon which they write. What they care about is selling books. It would be reckless to promote pop science books instead of textbooks that have been reviewed by industry insiders. School is not supposed to be fun. It is supposed to educate. The only class we could change to be more interesting is English, yet that is the one most fiercely defended against such views (no one will suffer for reading science fiction instead of Shakespeare). For core subjects, we need to teach core knowledge and expose students to subjects so they have some understanding when they choose a university major. Tricking students by having them read pop science books would only lead to more angry university drop outs.
Learning dry, unexciting things is one of the most important aspects of life. People are thrown into the unknown every day. I never studied programming, but I had to learn on my own in my first job out of university. It was boring, but better than high school English. I have had to learn all kind of dry topics about databases, probability distributions, building codes, hurricanes, earthquakes and how they relate to building codes, wild fires, terrorism, workplace injuries, court judgements on workplace injuries, medical malpractice, mortgages, differing state laws on foreclosure, all kinds of silliness related to Congress and upcoming laws,....
Learning how to read and understand boring stuff is a core life skill. Schools should do more of it, and less of the social engineering BS such as group projects, field trips, gym class, yeah, gym class is the ultimate useless waste of time, but in general we learn too little in school, and all the relate spare time leads to boredom and drug use and bad behavior. We could learn a lot from East Asian countries that do a far better job at elementary and secondary education.
If only NCERT textbooks narrated chapters with the elegance of storytelling—infusing genuine curiosity, wonder, and enchantment—then subjects often buried under intimidating jargon and fearsome diagrams might finally flourish in the minds of students. Imagine what innovation could spring forth if knowledge was not just delivered, but felt.
One of my favorite stories about science and discovery comes from Mastery by Robert Greene. It recounts how a seemingly simple act—introducing gloves during medical examinations—drastically reduced maternal mortality rates. That revelation left a deep impact on me. It was a powerful reminder that sometimes, the most profound scientific breakthroughs are rooted in humility, empathy, and observation—not complexity.