lizzie

Chopra and Kafatos make an argument that the universe is pure consciousness - that mind creates matter. They make the argument that science has come to an empirical end and cannot explain our origin story using the scientific method, but there were so many leaps and bounds and assumptions that I really cringed to get through the book without arguing with it. Regardless, it is fascinating to read different origin and meaning of life stories from scientists ... and I learned a lot about popular science theories by reading this book. However, I don't know that I really followed a lot of the conclusions “if this, then that — if not this, then definitely that” style of argument presented in the book. I am interested by consciousness and I don't doubt that consciousness is a frontier ... that what we know about it is barely surfacing... but I also don't know that they have really hit the nail on the head with this theory.

Read with an open mind.

A people's history I highly recommend.

“[T]he work of achieving justice for American Indian peoples involves everyone, Indigenous and settler alike, because colonization dehumanizes both the colonized and the colonizer.”

This book got me right in the feels. Adichie points to so many universal hypocrisies about the way people treat one another - by gender, specifically, but also applicable to divisions of race, class, nation, etc. - in an appeal of the most compassionate kind.

Her calls to action are direct and sincere. “Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not in our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” She is generous in her optimism for our capacity to change, to share a vision of what we can do together.

My son loves this book. Sometimes we tickle in a fit and others we just read it together while he looks at the illustrations, which are HUGE and adorable. My little dude seems to laugh much more at the wordplay than the tickles, “arm-pitties” being the point where he erupts in laughter every time. We really like this book, but I do wish there was a board book version because our copy has been ruined now with tears and spills. I'll have to buy another and keep it in the closet because we can't be without it. :)