Just Finished Reading: Post Truth – Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It by Evan Davis (FP: 2017) [302pp] 

Bullshit seems to be everywhere these days and not just in the political realm. Of course, it may be just because the level has been rising for some time now from the previous ankle deep to the present waist deep plus the fact that the smell is getting worse. It’s certainly nothing new and, contrary to some opinion has been around LONG before Donald Trump made its use increasingly blatant. 

We are, of course, used to BS in advertising. Indeed, I’m sure in some language advert & BS are synonyms. Over the decades we’ve individually and as a society developed mental defences against the exaggerated and (when they can get away with it) bogus claims of advertisers and discount most of what they say about any particular product or service. The good question is why do they continue to bullshit us if they know we discount it? Part of the answer rests with us – because we expect them to lie to us, if a company just told us the plain (unexciting) facts about a product we’d still discount it and be even less likely to buy it. So, bullshitting doesn’t ‘work’ but NOT bullshitting is an even worse option. 

Until relatively recently if a politician was caught to rights in a lie, they would initially deny it and then (generally) confess – often with some added BS to smokescreen things – and then, hopefully for them, we’d either forget about it or something would come up to distract the public. Being caught in a scandal – often presaged with a period of lying/bullshitting - would normally end a politician’s career at least temporarily. Today the playing field has shifted. Not only do politicians lie – as they always have – but now they lie more frequently and FAR more blatantly. As always, they use ‘political speech’ to say things in certain ways (often so that they can’t be accused of actually lying) but today the use of “alternative facts” - AKA bullshit of the 1st order – has taken things to a whole new level. When you can stand up and tell people not to believe their own eyes but to believe only what a politician SAYS is happening you know we’re no longer in Kansas. The problem – for us not them – is that far too many people either believe the bullshit or ignore it as irrelevant. Facts and actual truth (yes, it does exist) are no longer seen as important or relevant, at least not compared to other things. In a lot of ways this is OUR fault (and not just the politicians who spout this stuff or the media who reports (or ‘reports’) it. Politicians today know that they can get away with blatant lies because, even at the ballot box, there are no real consequences. When they’re caught in a lie they can simply deny it, attack their accuser, throw up smoke screens and 100 other deflections. Even when, much against their better judgement, they are forced to apologise everyone knows – including the person making the apology – that its far from sincere. Even if, in the very rare occasion it happens, someone is forced to resign over an issue you can bet that they’re back onboard their particular political gravy train in quick order. 

This was an interesting read despite the fact that I agreed with the author quite a bit – which usually means the book bored me (not true in this case). As an Economics journalist he’s had his fair share of bullshit to work through and has struggled through his whole career to understand WHY politicians and others use it knowing that we know what they’re doing and that they know that we’re discounting much of what they say. There’s lots of insight into the use of language – especially of the political type – and how we detect when people are bullshitting us. There’s also the sad truth that said bullshitting isn’t going away anytime soon. Although this was written 7 years ago now (so has only taken me 6 years to get around to) I really don’t think we’ve hit PEAK bullshit just yet. I do wonder (and hope against hope) when we’ll all get royally sick of it? Recommended. 

Just Finished Reading: How to Speak Whale – A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication by Tom Mustill (FP: 2022) [249pp] 

When a seemingly peaceful whale almost kills you, it’s reasonable to ask why. When the author and a friend were kayaking off the Californian coast and encountered a number of whales, they rightly considered it a magical moment. But when one of them breached and landed almost on top of them (caught on camera below), capsizing their boat and almost killing them both it turned, momentarily, into a nightmare. But the author, a wildlife filmmaker, was more intrigued than afraid. Why had the whale acted that way? Was it afraid, annoyed or something else? Did it even know they were there and, most intriguingly, did it make a conscious effort to avoid landing directly on top of them – which would surely have killed them both. So, his journey began to find answers until one scientist made what appeared to be an off-hand comment that directed his investigation in a whole new and fascinating trajectory. When asked if the whale HAD made any effort to avoid them – after it breached and maybe for the first time noticed they were almost directly underneath it – the scientist responded: “Well, it’s not like you can *ask* it”. At which point the author mused: Why not? 

Whales have been known to ‘sing’ for centuries and probably gave rise to myths of mermaids and sirens. But no one, so far, has been able to determine why (we’re actually getting closer to the question of How though...) or if the ‘songs’ ‘mean’ anything. While whale song certainly isn’t just random ‘noise’ it’s far from clear if it's a form of communication, never mind a potentially understandable language that could, again potentially, be used for two-way communication with these elegant beasts. Many have tried, and failed, to understand what, if anything, the whales are ‘saying’ to each other but recent developments in cryptology and AI have opened a possible window to understanding. Together with much better methods of recording both songs and behaviour simultaneously for context clues there is hope that if enough song data can be accumulated it might enable the understanding of any ‘language’ structure which could lead to real communication between our species. Even the thought of such a breakthrough is mindboggling. 

This was a completely fascinating look at the numerous projects across the world trying to understand animal communication – mostly in regard to whales but in other species too. Most surprisingly there are groups out there making real progress and we could, within decades, be directly speaking to these creatures and really communicating with each other. The ramifications and potentials are immense – not only here on Earth but possibly for any future communication with aliens beyond our world. I did wonder if we’re seeing the very beginnings of a true Universal Translator! There is SO much going on between these pages that it's impossible to summarise it all, but needless to say, if you have any interest in whales or even the hint of a possibility of talking to them – plus primates, dogs or even birds – this is most definitely the book for you. Highly recommended.   

Just Finished Reading: The Book of Humans – A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War and the Evolution of Us by Adam Rutherford (FP: 2018) [233pp] 

We are, according to Charles Darwin, the paragon of animals. But what makes us so? Many animals are faster, stronger or more prolific. There are animals that can fly, swim, dig in the earth much better than we can. So, what makes us so special? An age-old answer is that we are tool users. But over the years this has been shown to be far less unique than we first thought. Not only were other Homo species also tool users but the precursors to the whole Homo genus seemed to use tools too. Likewise other living creatures are tool users – not only other primates but birds, dolphins and numerous insects. Even our use of fire no longer seems exclusive any longer. Again, other primates use fire for their own ends and even birds have been recorded spreading fire deliberately to flush out game or feast on the cooked remains of animals who couldn’t escape the flames. War seems to be a defining ‘quality’ of humanity, but chimps especially engage in long running campaigns to eradicate opposition and take their land. We are likewise notoriously sexual beings but have nothing on some of our fellow primates who use sex far more frequently and in far more inventive ways than even we do. Even homosexuality, long considered to be a so-called ‘perversion of nature’ is nothing of the kind, indeed it is so common throughout the animal kingdom that it is hardly worth the mention. About the only thing that is substantially different – in scale rather than kind – is our use of culture and especially our use of language. In both these areas we far outpace any other creature on Earth. Our language(s) allow the passage of information – often in great detail – to exist at levels can only be dreamt of by other animals. Our culture can be preserved in writing and can cross boundaries in both time and space than have never existed before and, therefore, can be built on over the millennia allowing us to both expand across the whole planet and build entire civilisations on the foundations of those who have gone before. Although some has been lost much has been retained and expanded over the ages. 

This is a really good start to the years reading (although I actually read it about 2-3 weeks ago). I have a long-standing fascination with human evolution which never seems to fade. Despite there being still much to discover about our tangled origins and both our precursors and our contemporaries on the evolutionary tree, we are slowly filling in the gaps and, interestingly, pushing back the timelines of ‘firsts’ - tool use, painting, burial rituals and so on – that enrich our past. I was particularly struck here by the discussion on the origins of language in our earliest ancestors both from a genetic point of view and from a physiological one. Language use is so important to our early dominance of the world that it's interesting to see the genetic ‘quirks’ that gave rise to a brain capable of such complex vocalisations. 

If, like me, you’re always looking for new information or new insights into our species you could do far worse than pick up this often-fascinating book. The only thing I’d warn some readers about is that there’s quite an extensive (around 60 pages) look at sex – human and non-human – which might put some people off. But it does help to illustrate that there’s little new under the sun. You might not look at giraffes quite the same way though... Recommended and more to come, both on the topic and by this author.   

Just Finished Reading: Transcendence – How Humans Evolved through Fire, Language, Beauty and Time by Gaia Vince (FP: 2019) [243pp] 

A great many events, accidents and preparation made us the global species we are today. Without them we would still be the minor hominid we were for most of our existence. Indeed, without the ‘luck’ of the asteroid impact 65 million years ago that led to the ultimate demise of the dinosaurs we, as the species we know and love/hate, wouldn’t be here at all. 

In this fascinating look at the very earliest history of our species the author looks at 4 themes that have influenced our evolution: Fire, Language, Beauty and Time. Fires seems to be the most obvious factor that made us so formidable in the survival stakes. We saw it naturally occur and clear large areas of brush and imitated it to startling effect (so much so that regular burning of scrubland led to the greater expansion of grassland that favoured vast herds of herbivores), we corralled it and used it to cook our food – making it both more edible (leading to an increase in brain size which increased our overall survivability) and greatly reducing the impact of parasites – and we used it to produce the first pottery which allowed us to store and transport food and liquids vastly more easily. Later fire allowed us to extract the first metals and produce (at first) crude weapons and cutting tools which increased our power even further. All of these advances fed into each other in positive feedback loops driving our evolution forward and forever separating us from our less able primate contemporaries. 

Fire also allowed us to protect ourselves against predators and changed the way we spent the dark dangerous nights. Rather than up in the trees away from predators we stayed on the ground, huddled around the fire, and talked to each other. Language developed as a tool for social interaction, social grooming, social bonding. We became better organised, better coordinated, able to hunt in teams with an understanding of what we hoped to achieve, powered by imagination and foresight. 

On our hunting trips we saw things of beauty and, if possible, brought these beautiful things back to the group. Shell necklaces have been found in graves and caves going back to the very dawn of mankind. Possibly worn as status symbols and certainly traded across hundreds of miles – shells with bore holes for various types of cord have been found a LONG way from any coast – things of natural or enhanced beauty were probably the foundation of trading systems. 

No doubt as we looked at the sky, we quickly saw patterns in the movement of the sun, the phases of the moon and the sweep of the night sky. We learnt to discern the days, months and seasons knowing when to plant, about tides and we began predicting events such as migrations of prey animals and much else besides. Knowledge of time led to questions about causes and speculation led to experimentation. 

The above hardly does justice to this total gem of a book. Despite its comparative shortness there’s a LOT packed in here covering millennia and the whole planet. Not only did I discover (or become reacquainted with) an updated view of humanities earliest times but the beautifully written text left me (again) fascinated with the whole subject – so brace yourself for more of this sort of thing! Definitely one of the best evolution/anthropology books I’ve read to date and definitely the science highlight of the year (so far!). A MUST read for anyone interested in humankind and the processes behind what made us the species we are today. Very highly recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Mighty Dead – Why Homer Matters by Adam Nicolson (FP: 2014) [251pp]

This was, as you might expect, an impulse buy. Although I know of (as does just about everyone in the West) the existence of the Illiad and the Odyssey I’ve never read either (although I have of late been dipping into an old – 1950 – translation of the Illiad) and the closest I’ve come to them so far is a few modern interpretations and the epic movie Troy which I honestly enjoyed a great deal. I’d heard that Homer might not be an actual person who wrote these iconic tales of western cannon but that he was, possibly, either a composite of several writers, a generic term for those who told the tales (prior to them finally being written down) or even the name of the first person to translate them from the spoken word to the written text. The author goes over each of these theories and shows on multiple occasions and in multiple ways just how far back in time – literally to the days before History – the tales go, teasing out individual word use, descriptions of weapons and armour and so on to show that the tale existed LONG before the age that finally immortalised it. But that was just the beginning.

I won’t even try to precis this book but will, instead, look at some of the themes the author covered. Naturally both tales are central to the books overall narrative but many questions need to be asked (apart from where they came from and did the Trojan War actually happen for real). When the Illiad is considered the first question that needs to be raised is ‘Which Illiad?’ Not only have there been, over the centuries since it was first written down, many, many translations of varying quality but there are multiple versions of the original text dating back far into antiquity. The Librarian’s at Alexandria tried to produce an ‘authorised’ version but were not wholly successful. Then there’s the question of just how it was possible to remember and ‘sing’ such a long and complex narrative – which naturally leads on to the many quirks and repartitions in the text that allow such a prodigious feat of memory to be achieved.

The thing that jumped out at me most however was not really about the text but about the war itself. Troy was a comparatively minor city – rich as it was – on the edge of an Asian empire. The Greeks, in contrast, were a rabble of squabbling tribes barely out of the Stone Age. Rather than the heroes of the piece, despite thousands of years of propaganda to back their case, they were in fact the bad guys – most literally the barbarians at the gate. That, of course, flips the whole narrative on its head. I wonder if there are books out there telling the siege of Troy as a tragedy from the Trojan point of view?

Coincidentally I have just finished a relatively recent updated narrative about the Trojan War told from the point of view of Patroclus, lover and friend of Achilles. As stated previously I dipped into the 1950 Penguin translation of the Illiad that I’ve had for years/decades and it looks very readable (and is, therefore, probably a rather ‘free’ translation!) so there’s more Homeric texts to come. It almost feels like Fate…. But if you’re a fan of two of the truly great classics of western literature this is definitely the book for you. Starting from an admittedly low base I definitely learnt a lot about the background to the stories and their ongoing importance in the western cannon. Most definitely more to come. Highly recommended.

Awards

Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2014

Just Finished Reading: Enough Said – What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics by Mark Thompson (FP: 2016)

I think it’s hard to argue against the fact that something is very wrong with the language of politics and politics itself today. With the ever present rise in Populism across the West as well as the ever plummeting trust in political leaders it is easy to become both cynical and despondent about the whole process. More often than not (and I largely agree with the author here) that is because of the language used – the political rhetoric – of politicians themselves as well as the journalists who report them. But this has not always been so nor need it continue (or if possible get worse).

Despite its poor reputation the skill of rhetoric has long been taught to and prized by those interested in political office. Part of the decline in the language of politics can be traced to the long decline in education in this skill – not just in the ‘political classes’ and journalists but also in the public itself. To be fully engaged in the political process of a nation a politically educated citizenry, an electorate, should be able to analyse a political utterance to understand what is being said and, more importantly, what is being left unsaid. Rhetoric is designed to sell a point of view and it is up to an educated voter to be able to discern if they are being sold something they actually wish to buy. But it is easy to portray all politicians as liars. Their political opponents certainly do – either directly or indirectly. When no argument is debated on its merits and where all facts are held up as nothing of the sort it should be expected that the voters either turn away in disgust or become hopelessly confused.

It is not surprising – all across the West – that Civility is becoming a faded memory. It is not enough that an opponent’s arguments are disputed they must, in full public view, be destroyed and the proponent themselves ridiculed and called out for being a fool or worse. Today, on both Right and Left, there is little room and even less appetite for compromise (and increasingly ‘dirty’ word) on any issue big or small. All beliefs strongly held are fundamental beliefs and any discussion, or even the possibility of debate, is viewed as practically heretical. If things can be admitted to be up for debate than one side or the other can be proven to be wrong (or at least weak) giving room for the other side to win. This is, it seems, literally unthinkable – never mind publically admissible.

That, the author rightly points out, is the fundamental problem today. We have lost our civility and, partially because of that fact, we are becoming increasingly uncivilized. With a widespread bunker mentality and a winner takes all philosophy we can only find ourselves in a war of political attrition where no side can ever claim ultimate victory without creating a desert and calling it some kind of peace. We all, politicians, journalists and members of the public need to understand political language, use it appropriately and call out those who abuse rhetoric to hide the facts, misdirect attention and try to still up populist sentiment to gain power. This book is a valuable contribution to that turn away from the political wilderness we seem to be heading towards. Knowing how our politicians and news outlets seek to manipulate us with the spoken and written word is a good start and this book is a good launch point if you want to be well armed or well defended in the political fights to follow. Recommended. 

Just Finished Reading: Rhetoric – A Very Short Introduction by Richard Toye (FP: 2013)

It’s something we hear most days and have been increasingly used to – almost without realising it. In one sense or another we swim in a sea of Rhetoric and not just from the places we expect it: Politics. At base the art of rhetoric is the art of verbal persuasion. At its best it should be used to explain the truth of things, to explain and illuminate an argument but, as critics have pointed out since the earliest days of Greek thought, it can also be used to bolster the weak argument maybe in ways that weakness can win over a better argument badly put. This is the rub and why the art of rhetoric has such a bad name – the possibility that it’s admitted power can be used to blind rather than enlighten and to raise to positions of power those who have much more style than substance.

But there is another side to rhetoric – being knowledgeable about the subject to know when such manipulation is taking place, to recognise rhetorical devices and to see them for what they are. In other words to have to power to defeat the users of rhetoric at their own game – after being inoculated against its use. For the danger – however much exaggerated both by the practitioners and teachers of rhetorical skills – is that those with a will to do so could manipulate you though the use of language without you ever being aware of such a thing. Knowledge of their techniques could stop that dead in its tracks.

Finally knowledge of rhetoric improves the skill in argument formation and can increase basic clarity of thought. Knowing how persuasive arguments are constructed, knowing what to emphasise and what to leave out, knowing how to attack opposing arguments and knowing how to make emotional connections can improve essay production, aid in public speaking, increase confidence in interviews and much else besides. Not for nothing has rhetoric been taught across the West for thousands of years and was long considered a cornerstone of a classical education.

Despite its mere 112 pages this interesting little book was packed full of useful information, exercises and a few case studies from some of the great speeches and great speakers of the 20th century. What’s more (and something I always look for) it has a very useful bibliography to help you follow up any interest in the subject. This is something I will definitely be doing in future. Recommended.    

Just Finished Reading: English as a Global Language by David Crystal (FP: 1997)

It’s a standing joke as well as a truism that the English expect everyone else to speak their language when they go ‘abroad’. I’ve actually heard it myself in Paris when an English tourist complained that all of the road signs were in French! Fortunately for people like that it does appear that English is indeed becoming a truly Global Language and might have already reached the point of no return. That’s the author’s opinion anyway which he manages to back up pretty well in this slim volume.

Whilst a little academic at times – complete with tables, graphs and maps – this is a very readable text full of interesting observations, studies and stats. Although on a global scale the number of people speaking English as a first language is, and will remain, in decline (through simple demographics) the number of people who speak English as a second or foreign language has been increasing for decades and is expected to do so for the foreseeable future. Only something truly major can, again according to the author, stop this rise to dominance.

What the author makes very clear is that English isn’t dominant for reasons people sometimes bring up – the languages flexibility, its ability to take in words from other languages and incorporate them, the lack of ‘gendered’ nouns and so on. No, the authors says it’s due purely to historical reasons around power – in the past the British Empire (and it’s Dominions) and presently with the economic and cultural power of America on the world stage. Between them they make the ever expanding number of people across the globe learning English unstoppable.

The author most certainly makes a good case for his idea. With the level of my knowledge on the subject (low) I certainly couldn’t fault it. This is a book that can be read by the non-specialist (like me) with the expectation that you’ll get something out of it. The English language is, I think, a fascinating beast and not just because it’s the only language I’m reasonably fluent in. A well-constructed sentence is, I think, a thing of beauty. Get enough of them together and you produce a work of art. It’s one very good reason why I try to read as many good books as possible and why I keep returning to the classics such as Jane Austen who I think is one of the greatest proponents of the English language still in print. Whilst I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is a ‘must read’ it might be worth you picking up a library copy if you have more than a passing interest in the subject.

Just Finished Reading: The Etymologicon – A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth (FP: 2011)

It all started with an apparently simple question from a stranger – where does the word ‘Biscuit’ come from (twice baked before you Google it). After regaling the poor slob for the next 10-20 minutes of all the connections between biscuit and bicycle and much else besides he managed to escape never to look back. The author, after being sat down for an intervention by his closest family and friends, decided he had a problem which needed to be addressed – by putting all of his energy and knowledge of the English language into a book which he called The Etymologicon.

If like me you’ve ever wondered where some of the words and phrases you hear every day or maybe even use every day come from this is most definitely the book for you. Full of interesting stories (some of which I honestly had problems swallowing whole), the highways and byways of the planets global language – until it’s eventually replaced by Chinese – and revelations of the true meanings of some of the phrases that, on the face of it make no sense at all (my favourite bug-bear is ‘the exception that proves the rule’) this book will make you laugh out loud, nod sagely, bore people to death with language based revelations and generally make a nuisance of yourself for days on end. What it also did to me is deepen the love of the quirkiness of my native language all the more by letting me into some of its secrets and seeing just how random some of the sources are – not only from across the world but by the English mishearing, misunderstanding or simply modifying existing words to ‘make more sense’ and thereby changing them forever. If you never really considered language as a living, evolving thing this book will definitely change your mind on that count!

Above all else this is a delightful cornucopia of trivia, history, human fallibility, hubris, and the messy reality of language in all its glory. Highly recommended for any language geeks out there and for anyone who wants to dip into a work that is pretty much guaranteed to leave you chuckling after a few pages. 

Just Finished Reading: Unspeak – Words are Weapons by Steven Poole

I’ve been dipping into this book for a while and thought that it was about time I actually finished it. Unspeak is a timely reminder that the words people use, abuse and often choose very carefully indeed are usually nothing like what they appear to be on first hearing. Phrases such as ‘sound science’, ethnic cleansing’ and (my particular favourite) ‘collateral damage’ pepper not only the sound-bites of politicians but drip off the tongues of journalists and, all too easily, become part of everyday speech without giving them the consideration they deserve. Steven Poole gives them that consideration and then some. He analyses with great aplomb and not a little humour the words and phrases we hear everyday on the news and read in our newspapers. After reading this timely volume you’ll never quite listen to ‘buzzwords’ in the same way. But be warned though – this book will (probably) increase your scepticism and cynicism whenever you hear that ‘enemy combatants’ are planning ‘outrages’ against ‘coalition forces’ or when ‘repetitive administration’ is used on ‘terrorist suspects’ after they have been successfully ‘rendered’.

This book is definitely one for those who would like to read between the lines and behind the banner headlines. It will make you pause, consider and think before you accept the words being used – often with deliberate intelligence – to make you react in certain ways and to believe certain things without seeming to do so. When words are accepted at face value it is difficult if not impossible to wonder what they really mean and to consider why one word or phrase was used instead of another. Especially when speech writers produce the sound-bites we know and hate we must realise that such things are crafted artificial ways of getting words inside our heads hopefully bypassing our critical faculties. This book will help everyone to build up those faculties and reduce the chance of us being manipulated by those who want our votes or our money. Highly recommended. Read it today.