top of page
parikhrima

Why Science and Books?

Updated: May 11, 2021

To me, books were always about stories. Stories about people, places, events and ideas that I would not otherwise know or hear about in the small town in the western part of India where I grew up. Books were hard to find in those days, but my Dad was an avid reader and story teller and we always had a good supply of material at home. As very young kids, I remember every night all the children in the house gathering around him and begging him to tell us a story. Sometimes he read, but a lot of times he made up stories from things he had read and experienced. As I grew up, that love of stories stayed with me and I looked for more stories in local bookstores. There weren't many, but I frequented the ones I found. A few hole-in-the-wall used book stores. I cant imagine where the owner got his books but he had quite the eclectic collection and I remember finding absolute gems in one of those little places. Two of my all-time favorite discoveries - Ayn Rand and P.G. Wodehouse - talk about polar opposites!


But I digress. As I launched into a career in computer science and technology and started reading more technical books, every now and then I would run into an author who actually told stories to explain the concepts. What a thrill! Now I could learn and enjoy a good story at the same time. Over time, my husband and I have gathered quite a collection of scientific and technical books and as I looked back at those recently, I realized most of those were attractive to us because they explained the concept through stories. And that was my ah-ha moment. I know people love stories, we humans learn through stories and what better way to learn a new idea or concept than through stories!


Then I ran into Alan Alda's work. I was familiar with M*A*S*H. But this was a whole another world.

His books on communication, the TV show - Scientific American frontiers - and his latest podcast - Clear and Vivid. He has done a fantastic job weaving together stories and humor and science over his lifetime. And I was hooked! That is where the idea of the Thinking Spot was born. If I could do 1/1000th of what Alan Alda does every day to make science fun and interesting and accessible to all, I wanted to give it a try. So here I am, attempting to create The Thinking Spot where together we can read the stories of science past, science yet to come and the people behind it all.




34 views0 comments

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page