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matt819

(10,749 posts)
Mon Sep 2, 2013, 04:11 PM Sep 2013

Some interesting reads: adoption, cops with tanks, math, and deceit.

Well, at least I think they're interesting.

I generally slog through non-fiction as penance for reading as much crime fiction that I do. At the end I feel smug and very self-righteous, and then head on back to Scandinavian crime fiction, serial killers, and the like.

OK, here's what I'm reading at the moment:

The Child Catchers: I'm only a few chapters in, but I am horrified by what I'm reading. In short, it addresses what seems to a burgeoning adoption movement among American evangelicals. Basically, their goal is to create as many little evangelicals as they can, adopting many multiples of children, and it doesn't matter where from - eastern Europe, Haiti, Ethiopia, Korea. Frankly, I find the whole thing disgusting, but maybe that's just me.

Math on Trial: About the use - or really misuse - of math in the courtroom. Most of the stories deal with the use of percentages to prove that the defendant is the only possible person on the planet who could have committed the crime. Of course, the prosecution is mostly wrong. Interesting story about Charles Ponzi. Quite the character.

Rise of the Warrior Cop & Government of Wolves: About the rise of militarized police departments and questionable (to say the least) police tactics, the use of SWAT teams to collect overdue library fines, and the like. I've just started both, but I'm enjoying them. I believe that the author of Rise of the Warrior Cop is a dyed-in-the-wool libertarian, but given the subject matter, that's not a bad thing.

Tangled Webs: Using just a few incidents from recent years/crimes, James B. Stewart delves into how and why we lie and, well, how we create tangled webs. I've read a few of Stewart's books. He's a good writer and storyteller.

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Some interesting reads: adoption, cops with tanks, math, and deceit. (Original Post) matt819 Sep 2013 OP
Working my way through Kahneman at the moment GeoWilliam750 Sep 2013 #1
I bought Thinking Fast and Slow matt819 Sep 2013 #2
Alas, too many people just don't get math. SheilaT Sep 2013 #3
Truly astonishing sometimes GeoWilliam750 Sep 2013 #4
But in general, a lot of people actually could use basic algebra. SheilaT Sep 2013 #6
Some other good reads that I might recommend GeoWilliam750 Sep 2013 #5

GeoWilliam750

(2,519 posts)
1. Working my way through Kahneman at the moment
Mon Sep 2, 2013, 05:16 PM
Sep 2013

Thinking Fast and Slow - Not a quick read.

But I like the look of a couple of the things you list above, and will watch for them the next time I am in a book store.

matt819

(10,749 posts)
2. I bought Thinking Fast and Slow
Mon Sep 2, 2013, 10:59 PM
Sep 2013

But haven't quite got around to it. All in due course.

Another to add to my list: Pilgrim's Wilderness. Fascinating story of abuse in the name of, you guessed it, religion. About a guy from Dallas - was in same high school as Lee Harvey Oswald for a bit - who was responsible for the death of his girlfriend - who happened to be the daughter of the governor of Texas - and then essentially became a hermit. With one variation. He was married and spent the bulk of his time impregnating his wife, staying off the grid, and, as noted above, abusing his children, all while presenting himself publicly as the last Alaskan frontiersman.

I suppose there is something of a happy ending, though happy is probably not the right word. Mostly it's just a tale of one nasty son of a bitch. It's a bit of a slow read, but if you want to get your blood pressure raised, give it a try.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
3. Alas, too many people just don't get math.
Tue Sep 3, 2013, 03:29 AM
Sep 2013

They did badly in high school algebra and have gone out of their way to forget what little they knew.

Which means, when presented with numbers of any kind, their eyes glaze over and they haven't a clue how to evaluate what's presented.

I have no cure for this. I can only say that I had an amazing high school math program (UICSM, which stands for the University of Illinois Committee on School Mathematics) from which I've retained large amounts some fifty years later. I've also taken more math as an adult, including a semester of calculus, and two different semesters of statistics and probability. Wow. I love that stuff. The important part is that I can generally understand math and statistics as presented in the media, which is enormou7sly helpful.

GeoWilliam750

(2,519 posts)
4. Truly astonishing sometimes
Tue Sep 3, 2013, 08:26 AM
Sep 2013

I work in a numbers intensive business, and it never ceases to amaze me how little people are actually able to understand basic arithmetic. In all fairness though, 98% of people will not actually need more than 7th grade algebra on even an annual basis.

I agree that statistics are fascinating, and the ability to manipulate them can be a lot of fun when inflicted on the uninitated.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
6. But in general, a lot of people actually could use basic algebra.
Tue Sep 3, 2013, 01:04 PM
Sep 2013

And an understanding of basic statistics would keep people from being bamboozled about all sorts of thing.

GeoWilliam750

(2,519 posts)
5. Some other good reads that I might recommend
Tue Sep 3, 2013, 08:35 AM
Sep 2013

The Brain That Changes Itself - an intriguing book on neuroplasticity.

In the Shadow of the Sword - a tome on the rise of the Middle East to become what it is now. It is by Tom Holland, and anything he writes is very good, his best being Persian Fire.

The Ghost Map - A history of the cholera epidemic in London, and the beginning of modern epidemology (sp?) by Doctor John Snow. Truly fascinating.

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