jack the nonabrasiveJan 7, 2023

My #BookReview of #WhyFishDontExist by #LuluMiller:

(https://multcolib.bibliocommons.com/v2/comment/2233612374)

Does an unstoppable will shape the fates or is the purpose of will to motivate a person to shake their fist at fate?

As I read this book, I was reminded of the Roger Zelazny story, A Rose for Ecclesiastes, where Zelazny has the main character read from the Book of Eccesiastes, noted for its dismal account of fate, and dismiss it defiantly as he deals with a dying Martian race and unrequited love.

/1

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Show threadjack the nonabrasive

Miller takes us to another side of that journey, not just shaking one's fist at fate, but deciding that one's needs and will define what fate must be, even if it involves sometimes fatally violating the agency and trust of others. /2

#BookReview #WhyFishDontExist

Jan 7, 2023 at 6:30pmWeb
Show threadjack the nonabrasiveJan 7, 2023

Do fish exist? Fish are the thing the main subject, David Starr Jordan, wraps his life around, like yesterday's newspaper. And, like, yesterday's newspaper, fish are old news, a category that only exists because of our point of view as land animals. /3

#BookReview #WhyFishDontExist

Show threadjack the nonabrasiveJan 7, 2023

Fish were killed by the cladists, who demonstrated a logical contradiction using cladistic analysis's nearest-common-ancestor approach. That proof is to taxonomy what the ancient Greek proof of the irrationality of the square root of 2 is to mathematics: fundamental, insightful, and mind-blowing.

/4

#BookReview #WhyFishDontExist

Show threadjack the nonabrasiveJan 7, 2023

Intertwined with her own, very personal, story, Miller tells us stories where will and one's point of view conflict with the nature of reality, and the destructive consequences when one ignores the logical implications of another point of view. It's a fast, engaging read, well-footnoted for further research. /5

#BookReview #WhyFishDontExist

Show threadjack the nonabrasiveJan 7, 2023

Oh, and both Louis Agassiz and David Starr Jordan were racist pieces of shit. /FIN

#BookReview #WhyFishDontExist