Expired. Covid. The Untold Story by Clare Craig

Superb read. My third book on Covid. This one focuses on myths and false beliefs, which led governments, authorities, 'experts', and the general public to make harmful mistakes. To transform the somewhat mild threat of an airborne virus into a catastrophic threat to modern civilisation and humanity. A threat coming from made up rules, with no scientific grounding, designed to make people fear an almost non-existent threat and comply. This book lists 12 FALSE BELIEFS and explains why they are wrong. I liked how Craig delves deep into science (biology, Virology, statistics) and highlights the ethical and moral issues of some decisions as well as showcasing the harms caused to all of us, especially children. 1. Covid only spreads through close contact. 2. Everyone is susceptible. 3. Covid would likely kill me. 4. Death certificates are never wrong. 5. A new variant spells doom. 6. If you test positive you have covid. 7. People with covid spread it while asymptomatic. 8. Lockdown saved lives. 9. Lock Lockdowns are not harmful. 10. Masks reduce transmission. 11. Children are resilient. 12. Zero covid is achievable. Key thing to know: covid is an airborne virus. It spreads through droplets in sneezing and coughing but mostly through aerosols from talking and breathing. The virus in aerosols can be in the air for long periods of time and cannot be stopped by face masks, social distancing, or lockdowns. Asymptomatic spread is a myth and an excuse to cover for the assumption that covid spreads only through close contact. When so many people got covid without having close contact with infected people, the assumption was that it should have been through contact with asymptomatic people.

The Collected Toppi. Volume Nine: The Old World

Obviously, love the stories, love the art. "... tales of mystery and folklore set in Tuscany, Portugal, and elsewhere during the age of exploration."

Light by M. John Harrison

Confusing at points, near zero exposition (no info dumping), and some nice prose. Light is character driven, I think. I didn't manage to see an actual plot but maybe an exploration of concepts like how little we understand our universe. It's thriller, space opera, and cyberpunk packed together like lasagna. A read that I enjoyed at points and suffered at others, and which I kept reading because I wanted to understand what I was reading. The ending did not answer all of my questions, but it felt somewhat satisfying.

Reality + Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy by David J. Chalmers

We create simulations in this reality, computer simulations made up of 0s and 1s. Now imagine some entity at a higher level, which simulates us using atoms, quarks, and whatever. Atoms, quarks as well as 0s and 1s are building blocks that create different kinds of realities. They are different, but they are realities non the less. So, even if we live in a simulation, this is still our reality, not an illusion. In a few decades/centuries, technology could be so advanced to make perfect digital copies of our brains. And if the brain copies are so perfect, they could potentially be conscious. We could build simulations inhabited by conscious Sims (simulated people). Since they are conscious, they posses moral status. It follows then that the creation of simulations would need ethical considerations, to not violate Sims's rights. There is so much on this book, a good chunk of which goes beyond me, I can not summarise, so I included a synopsis below.

Nuclear War. A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

Annie Jacobsen creates a hair-raising scenario which most people, I guess, would think as taken from science fiction or apocalyptic literature. The thing is, this scenario is based on interviews with people who were or are involved in the nuclear sector for decades, on declassified documentation showing the actual plans, mainly in the USA (& elsewhere) to respond to a nuclear attack. To start a nuclear war. The problem is, as this books reveals, any nuclear war will end with the annihilation of our civilisation. To me, the actual idea of responding to a nuclear attack with more nuclear attacks is irrational. It will end the world. The more missiles you launch the more you will get back. These nuclear nutters think life and the world are a video game, where you can restart if you lose. But you can't.

Zaha Hadid by Philip Jodidio

Nice short book, with insights into the architect's work and inspiration. Excellent read. Amazing photos. Spent more time looking at the photos than reading the text.

Incandescence by Greg Egan

Two storylines in alternating chapters. Liked the characters and the stories. But I loved this book because of its hard science fiction concepts! From panspermia to a mysterious civilisation inhabiting the galactic core. Immortal digital beings, originally dna-based, looking for challenges to make their lives worth living. Mortal beings who live in a vegetative/automatic pilot state with their interests and curiosity turn off, until smth happens which compels them to try to understand their universe using mathematics and physics. There's a lot of Einstein's and who knows what else. I tried to follow the details but couldn't sometimes, but it didn't matter. The story is tops and the ending too!