The Engineer's Book Club

Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto is the author's follow-up work to The Omnivore's Dilemma. If you read The Omnivore's Dilemma you might have been left with questions like I was, namely, "OK now I know all this about food what should I eat?" A lot of people asked the author the same question and his answer was this book, In Defense of Food. The Omnivore's Dilemma was reviewed here earlier this year and you can read the reviews here: Part I and Part II.

The author starts off with the bold statement that most of what we Westerner's are consuming isn't actually food. Starting with the refining of flour in the 1870's, we've moved as a society from eating foods to eating nutrients. Foods have been broken down into their nutrient components, and nutritionism at its heart ascribes to the tenant that foods are the sum of their nutrient parts; and some nutrients are good for us and others are bad. Pollan questions the validity of this position as dietary guidelines are framed in terms of nutrients and we are eating according to these guidelines, but we're getting fatter and sicker. We're told to eat less of the bad nutrients but more of good nutrients, and we do! But we're eating more than we are giving up, and according to Pollan, "a whole lot more, at least 300 more calories a day than we consumed in 1985."

In the second part of his book Pollan takes a hard look at the Western diet and questions the idea that dietary fat leads to chronic illness. In the 1970s when saturated fats were pointed to as the primary evil behind heart disease, Americans shifted the balance in their diets from fats to carbohydrates. But, while fat as a percentage of total calories declined, we never cut down on our total consumption of fat, we just ate more of other things. This led to an increase in the incidence of both obesity and diabetes in America. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight and a third of us are on the road to type 2 diabetes.

Nutritionism supports a convergence of interests among manufacturers of processed foods, marketers and nutritional scientists. Nutritionism gives food scientists a job, it allows manufacturers to ever further refine their products to include the latest in fashion nutrient (just look at Omega-3 fatty acid, it's everywhere!) and it allows marketers to then slap health claims on just about everything (Is that sugary cereal REALLY 'heart healthy?'). According to Pollan, a staggering thirty-two billion dollars a year is spent advertising the various "food" products that line the grocery store shelves. It's no wonder we don't know what to eat or how to eat it!

So again, what should we eat and how should we eat it? Pollan's answer is: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. And he has a few tips on how to do so. I won't list them all here, but give you a few of the choice ones that resonated with me.

• Avoid products containing ingredients that are A) Unfamiliar, B) Unpronounceable, C) More than 5 in number or that include D) High-Fructose Corn Syrup.
• Avoid products that make health claims
• You are what you eat eats too
• Eat well grown foods from healthy soils
• Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does
• Eat meals, at a table, with other people

I really enjoyed this book. I found it a well researched and thoughtful follow-up to The Omnivore's Dilemma. It provided an in depth analysis of what Pollan sees as wrong with our current Western diet. It gives many tips on how to alter this diet, some easy, some of medium difficulty and some very difficult, but all ultimately achievable. Even if you can adopt a just few of these lifestyle changes, which I am trying to do, it will take you off the path of poor health that the Western diet has set us on.

Well, this is a tough one to approach in terms of a review. It's a modern classic with a cult following and the 2000 Hugo Award winner for best novel. It's also an incredibly dense 1,168 page (mass market paperback version) journey through history covering code breaking, cryptography, early computer programming, and hi-tech treasure hunting. Its part techno-thriller, part historical fiction, part sci-fi, part-cyberpunk, and fifteen other genres all mashed up with a lot of scientific and technical details. Cryptonomicon is a grand vision, but it's also in need of a good editor.

The story bounces back and forth between World War II and "Today", focusing in the 1940s on mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse and soldier Bobby Shaftoe and later, their grandchildren computer programmer Randy Waterhouse and ocean wreck salvager Amy Shaftoe. It's interesting to note that Stephenson uses distant relatives of these characters and others in his less-well-read epic work, The Baroque Cycle (three books, 3,500 pages covering 1663-1713, the rise of the British Royal Academic Society, the birth of coin-based commerce, the "war" between Leibniz and Newton; all wrapped up with the requisite political and religious intrigue, piracy, slavery, royal courtliness and the like – I've just started the third book The System of the World, so that may be the focus of a later Engineering Book Club Entry).

As I mentioned earlier, an editor is needed on this work, as Stephenson has the tendency to go off on long tangents about the system of pressurized tubes within the human body; the tool Randy uses to prepare Cap'n Crunch so that it remains crisp, but won't scrape the roof of his mouth (a true engineering feat); and modular arithmetic as it relate to code-breaking. These aren't one paragraph asides. They go on for pages. At the same time I say "a good editor", because it is specifically these asides that make the book jaw-droppingly good. You'd need a good editor to decide what to cut without removing some of the real fun of the work. It's also important to note that what seem to be small asides, such as a discussion on van Eck phreaking, turn out to be important to the plot. You're never really sure upon which concept the plot will turn. Similarly, though the book does engage in many inter-chapter segues that often leave the reader confused as to where in time and location the reader has been dropped.

As a semi-technical reader, many of the discussions of mathematics, ciphers and algorithms went over my head. Instead, I latched onto the varied takes on history and geography. Stephenson's use of historical figures like Alan Turing, Hermann Goering, Ronald Reagan and Douglas MacArthur all make appearances lending both a cognizance that these were momentous times as well as a surreal tie-in with the real world. That said the portrayal of MacArthur seems to be built on his legend more than the man in real life. Similarly, his interweaving of real places like Manila and Bletchley Park outside London, with fictitious realms like Qwghlm and Kinakuta give Stephenson ample room to maneuver.

You'll notice I'm entering my fifth paragraph on Cryptonomicon and I still haven't addressed the usual focus of a review – the plot and how the book flows. That's the hard part with this book. Ostensibly, Lawrence and Bobby are members of a secret British code-breaking force called Detachment 2702 whose goal is to make sure that Germans do not realize that their Enigma code has been cracked. This is made more difficult by the fact the lead German code-breaker is a friend of Lawrence's from college – as was Alan Turing, who plays an important role.

Lawrence's code work against the Germans and Bobby's military activity in the Pacific theater, specifically in the Philippines directly affect their grandchildren in the future. The later day story revolves around Randy Waterhouse's attempt to build a data haven in the Pacific nation of Kinakuta. Randy's company hires the Shaftoe's salvage company to help them both lay cable to make the data haven functional and later to help locate a missing German sub which is rumored to contain millions of dollars in gold bullion.

And, that's only about the first 500 pages….Don't worry, I haven't given anything important away.

I think I really enjoyed this book, enough so that I read other works by Stephenson, but at the same time something feels off about it. Like, maybe it could have been done in 500-600 pages? But again, I don't know what I would cut. I have the same feeling about the Baroque Cycle, but I'm into book #3. So, for those who have read Cryptonomicon, did you come away with the same feeling? Also, for the more technically minded, what about his extrapolation on waves, code-breaking, higher math, etc.? Did it shed light on the novel's plot that I may have missed?

Thanks for reading along, and here's our upcoming schedule. As always, if there's a book you'd like to discuss, let me know and I'll be happy to turn the blog over to you for a day.

April 22: To Engineer is Human by Henry Petroski

May 6: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

Can a head live without a body? Can a body live with two heads? Is there such a thing as "beneficial" brainwashing? Can a monkey raised with a child learn as much and as quickly as the human infant? How do cats see? What happens if a person stays awake for eleven days? What happens if you give an elephant a massive dose of LSD?

Some of these questions may be worth answering, others…probably not. What do these questions have in common? Well, each one was the subject of at least one real experiment and is chronicled by Alex Boese in his book Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments.

Elephants on Acid covers a litany of unusual experiments that have been undertaken in the name of science. Some are disturbing, some amusing, amazing, educating and/or titillating. And while some are just bizarre in scope and follow-through, others, such as "The Stanford Prison Experiment" are landmark cases of scientific, sociological and/or psychological experimentation.

Boese's coverage is, in general, a mix of camp and snark when dealing with "pseudoscience", although he does know when to focus when dealing with some very significant experiments. There is no flowing narrative within the book, just generally short profiles (2-4 pages) of the experiments in question. Boese breaks the experiments down into ten chapters, each with a topical focus:

Frankenstein's Lab – Gruesome experiments involving human and animal bodies.
Sensorama – Experiments designed to test the human senses – taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch.
Total Recall – Memory tests on human and non-human subjects.
Bedtime Stories – Experiments focusing on sleep learning, sleep deprivation, sleep walking and the like.
Animal Tales – Strange experiments on animals.
Mating Behavior – What is the cause of love, fetishes and arousal? Few answers were found, but some of the tests are funny.
Oh, Baby! – Tests involving training, scaring and isolating infants and toddlers.
Bathroom Reading – Scatological tests.
Making Mr. Hyde – Testing the good and bad in individuals and groups.
The End – Experimenting with subjects close to or at the time of their deaths.

I enjoyed the book, although it's tough to read page after page. It's best handled as a "bathroom book" – read an experiment or two, then put it down and go back to it later for another experiment or two. There's a lot of thought provoking material within, although most of what I learned was useless trivia. However, I was happy to see that I have been involved in recreations of at least two of the experiments covered: "The Mock Tickle Machine" and "The Invisible Gorilla."

One important note: This book does include some very gruesome photos of decapitations, exposed brains, unnatural graftings and the like. Additionally, some of the experiments are of a sadistic nature towards both people and animals, so if you are squeamish or offend easily, you may want to pass it by.

Thanks for reading along, and here's our upcoming schedule. As always, if there's a book you'd like to discuss, let me know and I'll be happy to turn the blog over to you for a day.

April 1: The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion by Henry Darger

April 8: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

April 22: To Engineer is Human by Henry Petroski

May 6: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

Already Reviewed:

Feb 26: Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 by Nathaniel Philbrick

March 11 & 12: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen

I'm going to deviate a little from the usual Engineer's Book club model today to praise Arthur C. Clarke who passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke was a prolific writer, best known for the classic science fiction series Space Odyssey (2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey) and the Rama series (Rendezvous with Rama, Rama II, The Garden of Rama, and Rama Revealed). His works focused on science, space and technology providing the tools for man's improvement. However, he wasn't just a science fiction writer. Among his many non-fiction works stretching back to 1940s were conceptual works on space and ocean exploration. His paper "Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?", published in Wireless World in October 1945, is viewed as one of the first works to conceptualize the use of geostationary satellites as telecommunications relays.

Through his 90 years, Clarke received many awards and accolades. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1994, presented with the Sri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka) in 2005, named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of of America in 1986, appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989, and knighted in 2000.

For more information on the man, in his own words, check out his 1989 autobiography, Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography, about his early days as a pulp sci-fi writer and the melding of real science into fiction.

His final work, The Last Theorem, written in conjunction with Frederick Pohl is in the final stages of manuscript preparation and is scheduled to publish in November of this year.

For those not familiar with his works, I suggest 2001, Rendezvous With Rama, Childhood's End, the non-fiction work Glide Path, about his experiences as a radar station operator during World War II, and the Sentinel, as well as the short story collection, The Best of Arthur C. Clarke. For the lazy among you, check out the film version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed and co-written (screenplay) with Stanley Kubrick. Actually, it's a great film, so you should watch it even if you're not lazy.

I'll leave you with a link to a video of Clarke's final recorded words, wherein he ruminates on aging, space travel, technology, communication and compassion.

Welcome to the second part of my review of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. You can check out part 1 here. We continue today with meals #2 and #3.

Meal #2: Chicken & Vegetables from Polyface Farms: Sustainable Farming

Unlike agribusiness farming where as many cattle (or chickens, hogs, etc.) as possible are squeezed onto/into fields and pens, sustainable farming is all about metrics and numbers. How much pasture land is available? How often can the pasture be opened to grazing? How long must a parcel of land lay fallow so that it can avoid nutrient depletion? What methods are available to revive and restore grazed lands?

In the sustainable farming model put forward by Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms, its all about balance. It's possible to mathematically determine when a field is at its best as pastureland. If too little time is allowed between grazing, the roots of the plants will be damaged, if too much time is allowed, weed material that is not of interest to the cattle will take over lessening the field's nutrient value. When the field is at its best (for a few days within a 21 day cycle), the cattle are allowed to graze for a few days. Then, all the cattle are moved to another field to begin the cycle there.

In the meantime, chickens are allowed onto the first pasture to eat the worms that have been turned up by the cattle and to eat the parasites and grubs from the cattle manure. In doing so, the chickens scatter the nutrients throughout the field, while adding their own waste to the mix, helping the grasses to recover. However, the chickens can only be allowed to stay on a given field for a measured amount of time, else their nitrogen-rich waste will burn the grass.

All of these variables are complicated by the size and number of fields into which the cows and chickens can be moved, the number of animals needed for sustainability, the amount of sun, water and air temperature. If any of these variables changes, the whole system can get out of balance and collapse. Needless to say this is a laborious, before sunrise to after sunset job. There are no days off and there are always cows to move, fences to mend, manure to spread, etc.

Overall, the flavor, health and lack of hormones make for better quality meat. But it does take longer in this scenario for a head of cattle to mature (two years as opposed to one year in the agribusiness model). Additionally, the labor intensiveness of this system would make it difficult to sustain if the entire U.S. population wanted to shift this way, unless the amounts of meat we are willing to eat were dramatically lessened. Salatin himself, attempts to maintain this balance by selling products to folks who are only within 100 miles of his farm. In his worldview, it isn't about getting rich, but doing things right.

This section also profiles the growth of the organic food movement from its nascent revolution against agribusiness to its current methodology which in many ways is indistinguishable from that which it rebelled against. The main difference between factory farms and "organic" farms are quite blurry. In many cases the same agribusinesses that they rebelled against now offer "organic" products. Although organics hold true to a no pesticide model, they still bag and ship their produce around the country. And in truth, many of the products they produce grow in such a short time frame (like baby lettuce) that they wouldn't have received pesticide treatment in a non-organic system. This isn't to say that organic is a sham – as the no pesticide methodology is held strongly – but the mythology of the small family farm, and ideas like "free-range" chicken aren't exactly the case.

Meal 3: Pork and Mushrooms: Hunting & Gathering

On a whole, Hunting & Gathering is probably the weakest section of the book. Much of the time is spent ruminating on the morality of killing animals. This rumination goes on far too long and is somewhat off base. Once one makes the decision to eat meat (as opposed to not eating meat), the question of morality is largely moot – as in is it more or less moral to kill your own food or allow someone else to do it for you. It simply Doesn't matter. And before you get on me about being some kind of anti-meat vegan, please read a previous comment by me about the subject. Beyond that, the hunter / gatherer section just isn't that enlightening. Even if you don't hunt, you can envision the process; you stalk your prey and shoot it, or forage for plants and mushrooms. While I'm not a hunter, I am an avid amateur botanist who has taught classes on wild edibles and truly enjoys the act of foraging. Perhaps that where my disinterest lies – I know this and I've read many books where the act of foraging is better explicated. Heck I'm even working on one myself (and have been for about 8 years, so don't look for it anytime soon).

Omnivore's Dilemma is at its best enlightening, and occasionally a frightening read. At times, however, it does drag. Agribusiness is by far the most astonishing read and later sections simply can't compete with the pace it set, so they feel lightweight by comparison. That said, OD is a very good read and anyone interested in where their food really comes from should check it out. If, however, you're satisfied buying sterile packages from your local grocer, then this book may not be for you.

Author Michael Pollan has also written In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, which follows many of the themes put forth in OD. I haven't gotten to it yet, but it is on my very long "to read" list.

Until March 25^th when we review Elephants on LSD and Other Bizarre Experiments by Alex Boese, remember, you are what you eat.