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A Day in the Brain, by Susan Greenfield, translated by Han Meng and Fan Qiongyu, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, January 2021
The problem of consciousness has always plagued human beings, but now there is a new situation, on the one hand, artificial intelligence is striding forward, on the other hand, brain science is also developing rapidly, under the attack of two sides, the space that can still be delayed and dodged is getting smaller and narrower, and the time to face the problem is coming. Susan Greenfield is a neurobiologist who, from the latter direction, tries to explain how consciousness works. One of the fundamental questions that this type of book has to answer is what exactly does the conscious activity, or mental world, correspond to at the physical level of the brain? The authors' hypothesis is a collection of neurons, in which millions of neurons work in ad hoc synchronization at millisecond-level time levels. To make a crude analogy, it may be like flocks of birds forming shapes from time to time, never stopping and never repeating, neurons like birds don't know what they're arranged into, we just know. That's certainly not the answer, but this book at least connects cutting-edge research to the confusion of ordinary people, letting us know where scientists have come.
Silver, Sword, and Stone: The Triple Imprint of Latin America, by Marie Arana, translated by Lin Hua, CITIC Press, April 2021
Although television always says that countries are equal no matter how big or small, books in bookstores about Britain and the United States are lined up, and it is difficult to find those who talk about Colombia or Peru, and this "Silver, Sword, Stone" barely makes up for it. "Silver" refers to mineral deposits, which Europeans have been here for in the first place, and now multinational companies are here to fight for it. "Silver" looks at the economic history of Latin America for hundreds of years, and is the endless demand for resources by various people. "Sword" refers to violence, where slaughter and revenge go hand in hand, and violence does not untie any knots, but only crushes people. The "stone" is the temple of the Aztecs and the icon of Jesus, and the stone has always been connected to the spiritual world, but salvation has never come. The author intertwines the stories of three contemporary Latin Americans with the history of the past thousand years, writes three themes, has the story as a carrier, and the reader is like a light boat down the river, and does not feel tired of reading the millennium.
The Age of Nothingness: How We Live After God's Death, by Peter Watson, translated by Gao Lijie, Shanghai Translation Press, April 2021
It is said that after the Enlightenment, God died, and whether you sanctify love or art, or sacrifice the new idol of nationalism, you can't save that helplessness. Peter Watson is an encyclopedic thinker who combs through centuries of history of philosophers, writers, and artists fighting this spiritual crisis. As for the answer, it is not necessarily required to be in all books, the author has written a good question enough, the answer is different, each in the reader's mind, this is not without an answer, just as God died and took away the ultimate good, it is not that everything in front of him is indistinguishable from good and evil.
Searching for Shu: Sichuan from Archaeology, by Xiao Yi, Guangxi Normal University Press, April 2021
From Sanxingdui to Diaoyu City, civilization rises and falls, from Han coffins to portraits to Song tomb stone carvings, art continues. The author spreads out various archaeological findings in turn, outlining a more tangible Bashu cultural tradition. In addition to the advantages of smooth writing and rich knowledge, I am more concerned about another achievement accomplished by such writing, which breaks the monopoly on historical significance in a very peaceful and natural way.
Shen Dayuan