March 2024 – Notes

w/RB: The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell is Rewriting the Story of Life, Alfonso Martinez Arias

* The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell is Rewriting the Story of Life, Alfonso Martinez Arias, 2023

March 2023…

I am reading this book with RB, a chapter or two at a time. My first impression is that it is going to be a great read. It has interesting and new-to-me science straight from a scientist who has spent his career studying this area, and it is well written too.

The premise of the book is that DNA gets too much credit for its role in shaping organisms, and that it is also important to pay attention to the ways in which cells carry out the ‘instructions’ of DNA. Unlike DNA, cells can respond to their environment, sense ambient conditions at the cellular level, and respond to distance and orientation. Quite a number of things that we would presume would be determined by genetics — everything from finger prints and retinal patterns to birth defects, propensity to diseases, and the location of organs in the human body — are determined by cells rather than DNA.

LS: A Wilder Time,* William E. Glassley

*A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice. William E. Grassley, 2018.

A lyrical book that provides an account of a geologic expedition to gather evidence for a 1.8 Ga collision between continents that resulted in a series of shear zones in western Greenland. Also important for providing evidence that plate tectonics has been going on for a long time, something that has been contested. Content is quite interesting, but I also appreciate it for its lyrical writing about landscape and geology, which is this focus of my “LS” project.

EP#15: The Making of the American Essay*

*EP#15: The Making of the American Essay, John D. Agata (Graywolf Press, 2016)

This is the 15th volume CT and I have taken up in our essay reading project. Here we return to the type of book we began with — the broadly historical anthology. This differs from previous anthologies we’ve read in that it appears that the editor introduces each piece, something we’ve wished for in the past, especially when we’ve been mystified by why an essay was selected.

Later: Now that we’re farther into it, I’m a little less keen on it. A lot of the material in here are not actually essays: there are short stories, one sermon, a book chapter or two, and some very long pieces (Mark Twain’s A Letter from Earth), none of which strike me as essays. I had hoped for essays, or at least short essay-like pieces… and there are some, but quite a lot is other material. Although his initial introductions were pretty good at situating selections, as the book moves on the introductions are less about the selections, per se, and instead his sort of personal arc through American History. He is also quite fond of experimental work — work that, while it might have raised questions at the time, or contributed to discourse among the literati, is difficult to imagine anyone reading for pleasure or even enlightenment.

March Danceness: Notes on an Essay Contest

March 2024

Today I went to the “March Danceness” web site to check out the context for Kate C’s essay. I found the essays quite interesting and, as they are all supposed to be about ‘dance music’ from the ’00’s, I also enjoyed them as a window into a musical era and genre of which I was unaware. It also attracted a certain demographic, and I find it both interesting and a little amusing to hear those in their 30’s and 40’s lamenting their ages.

The contest is modeled on the metaphor of a sports playoff, where a large set of candidates pair up, are voted on, and then the winners pair up again… I am a week late to the party, but at least today I read all the essays for March 8, and voted on entrants. What follows are my notes for each day, though I think it unlikely that I will keep this up throughout the month.

Reflections on Nine Drafts of an Essay

7 March 2024

This evening I had a productive discussion about the process of developing an essay. I was allowed to look through a series of drafts the led to a just-published essay, and discuss the author’s process with the author. Although different people obviously have different processes, it was a great exercise.

EP#14: 2023 Best Science & Nature Writing–Overview

* The Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2023 (ed. Carl Zimmer)

February – March 2024

CT and I selected this book to continue our essay project. However, after reading the first three pieces, we have reconsidered. Although the articles are interesting, they are not what either of would call essays. It’s really journalism, with the focus on ideas. The prose is generally clear and workman like, but as yet we have not encountered any writing that makes us pause to savor the phrase. We intend to look through the book, and — by paying attention to where the piece was originally published – see if we can come up with more essay-like pieces. However, we both suspect, that the book will not past muster vis a vis our project, and that we will move on to something else following our next meeting.