3 ms·
> 3rd third of the book: ??? I usually give up at this point History of science books thankfully stave off that final third until at least 80%. However, their
by BeFlatXIII 3y ago
> 3rd third of the book: ??? I usually give up at this point
History of science books thankfully stave off that final third until at least 80%. However, their final chapter or two universally manages to be a letdown. It's either wild optimistic speculation, hype for a theory that's debunked 5 years after publication, or a focus that accidentally happened to predict the course of science post-publication. The story is told in a tonally jarring manner compared to the tight narrative in the rest of the book.
My #1 suspect for this disease is a desire to connect the content of the book to real life. Such attempts miss more often than they drive the point home, even if they're factually correct.
- geokon 3y agoCounter example: The selfish gene The last 20% shifts in tone and goes into speculating on a general framework for genetic selection outside of biological systems. Very speculative, interesting, and birthed the term meme
- BeFlatXIII 3y agoI haven't read that one, but your description makes it sound to be the exception that proves the rule.