Upcoming book announcement! “How We Taught Computers To See”

How is it that computers can drive cars, interpret MRI scans, and recognize our children in photographs? For decades, we hand-crafted image analysis algorithms for computers to follow. Now, we set computers loose with more general algorithms and mountains of data, and the machines learn on their own. Both of these approaches are fascinating, incorporating … Continue reading Upcoming book announcement! “How We Taught Computers To See”

“So Simple A Beginning,” A Popular Science Book about Biophysics

Descriptions of my general-audience book on biophysics are scattered across multiple blog posts, in some cases with outdated information like old versions of the title. Since it’s useful to have one definitive post to point to, here it is! So Simple a Beginning: How Four Physical Principles Shape Our Living World is a popular-science book … Continue reading “So Simple A Beginning,” A Popular Science Book about Biophysics

Book draft done!

On July 4, I finished a draft of the fourth and final part of Building Life, my popular-science book on biophysics. There’s still a lot to revise, based in part on comments from my editor and others on Parts 1-3 and, I’m sure, comments to come on Part 4, but nonetheless I’m delighted to say … Continue reading Book draft done!

Readings in Biophysics, part III (Popular Science)

I’ll conclude a three-part series of posts on useful or interesting readings in biophysics with the shortest list: popular science books. I’ve often thought it unfortunate that there aren’t more books for the general public on biophysics.  The physics underlying the squeezing of DNA into viruses, the crawling through tissues of patrolling immune cells, the … Continue reading Readings in Biophysics, part III (Popular Science)

Favorite Popular Science Books

Inspired by a conversation yesterday, I’m posting a list of popular science books (i.e. science for the non-scientist reader) that I particularly like. Disclaimer: I don’t read lots of popular science — most of my non-fiction reading consists of travel writing. The Trouble With Testosterone: And Other Essays On The Biology Of The Human Predicament … Continue reading Favorite Popular Science Books