Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion : What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception

Rating:
Summary: Educationally entertaining
Review: I measure a book by my own reaction to it. When I have finished the last page, if the thoughts within the work compel me to look at the world around me--or within me--in a new and different way, it is a good book. Rare are authors who are capable of opening new doors upon this experience we call life. Gerry Callahan is one such author.

Using the immune system as a basis for analogy, he describes the fascinating tasks the human body's immune system must perform in distinguishing "self" from "not self" in order to keep our bodies from being consumed by the microbial world. But this is not a dry text about immunology. It is a personal and philosophical story about the beauty and elegance of life. It is a story about lymphocytes and mitochondria, but it is far more a story about Gerry L. Callahan, his perceptions, his joy, his pain, his truths, and his lies. Equally, it is about all members of the human species.

"It isn't nature that abhors a vacuum, it's humans. We humans don't believe in the limits of human knowledge, even temporary limits. We don't accept the spaces between what we know and what is. So we lie. We lie to fill in those spaces and smooth the fabric of reality. Otherwise this universe, this life, would be unmanageable, overpowering, and terrifying. We lie to make it manageable-all of us."

This book is about Gerry L Callahan filling in the spaces to smooth the fabric of reality. For me, it opened another door.

Rating:
Summary: The Lies we tell
Review: I measure a book by my own reaction to it. When I have finished the last page, if the thoughts within the work compel me to look at the world around me--or within me--in a new and different way, it is a good book. Rare are authors who are capable of opening new doors upon this experience we call life. Gerry Callahan is one such author.

Using the immune system as a basis for analogy, he describes the fascinating tasks the human body's immune system must perform in distinguishing "self" from "not self" in order to keep our bodies from being consumed by the microbial world. But this is not a dry text about immunology. It is a personal and philosophical story about the beauty and elegance of life. It is a story about lymphocytes and mitochondria, but it is far more a story about Gerry L. Callahan, his perceptions, his joy, his pain, his truths, and his lies. Equally, it is about all members of the human species.

"It isn't nature that abhors a vacuum, it's humans. We humans don't believe in the limits of human knowledge, even temporary limits. We don't accept the spaces between what we know and what is. So we lie. We lie to fill in those spaces and smooth the fabric of reality. Otherwise this universe, this life, would be unmanageable, overpowering, and terrifying. We lie to make it manageable-all of us."

This book is about Gerry L Callahan filling in the spaces to smooth the fabric of reality. For me, it opened another door.

Rating:
Summary: Mentally Stimulating
Review: The book was like doing mental calisthenics. Every chapter was fresh, with a new view on life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys delightful writing that stimulates their mind. Not your general book. Very unique. Written for veteran readers.

Rating:
Summary: Educationally entertaining
Review: What Stephen Jay Gould does for evolutionary biology, Gerald N. Callahan does for immunology. This book is a "must read" for the scientific mind that is looking for a new way to view life. Do we live on an "immunologicentric" planet? Read the book then decide.