I am a voracious reader on a wide range of topics. To this point I have read at least eighty books cover to cover in 2024 and am reading four more currently. Below I provide brief reviews on five books about science that particularly intrigued me. I have strong opinions on these topics, but I try to stay curious and am willing to change my perspective if the information and the argument are persuasive.

Spurious Correlations by Tyler Vigen shows how if we search long enough, we can discover many correlations between completely unrelated events or within massive datasets. For example, does increased revenue at sporting events cause decreased consumption of products containing high fructose corn syrup? Now I am sure that innovative researchers could develop a series of steps to explain this curious relationship. Data dredging or mining, particularly in very large datasets can reveal such interesting relationships, but are they real? I confess that I picked up the book because I was irritated with published studies, particularly in BMJ, that demonstrate correlations between levels of ultraprocessed food consumption and classes of chronic disease. Now the journal article and a medical summary in another publication or online source carefully note that correlation doesn’t imply causation. By the time the story becomes online news UPF becomes the cause of this set of diseases or a note is made that correlation doesn’t demonstrate cause, but the data is so overwhelming that there is no doubt about the relationship.

To be fair, the correlations between UPF and specific chronic diseases does not relate directly to the spurious correlations noted in Vigen’s book. It is not unreasonable to think that UPFs high in sugar, saturated fat or salt could be factors in development of specific diseases, but BMJ and the scientific review articles that push this narrative stimulate spurious thoughts. In science however we develop a series of steps that relates the potential causative agent to the disease in question. This series of steps is called a mechanism, and each step has to be verified by experiments that are reproduced in other labs across the country or world. Demonstrating causation is much more complex than dredging or mining large datasets.

Supporters of strong evidence by correlation demand immediate action particularly among children as the number of Americans with chronic disease increases. Other scientists and medical practitioners are not convinced that changes to avoid ultraprocessed foods are merited based on the evidence. Nutritional guidance in the past, such as low-fat diets and reliance on nutritional labels to improve dietary patterns, led to unintended consequences. Will efforts to improve the nutritional status work this time or will we create more dietary problems than we solve?

The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell was one in a series of books about climate-change-associated disasters. After being storm-surged out of my permanent residence on a barrier island, I also read about fire and climate migration within the country. Droughts, floods, forest fires, persistent high temperatures, and wind are driving Americans out of their homes to seek less dangerous environs. Some communities relabel themselves as X Strong as they build back in defiance of the warnings. Many residents are ready to give up. Some pride themselves as resilient. The community I lived in for 8 ½ years was invaded by Ida two years ago and by Debbie, Helene, and Milton this year. When will enough be enough? Global climate change is rarely mentioned as a cause of the drought, storm surge, overflow of a river, ignition of a fire, record high temperatures, or windstorm. These events seem to be intensifying conditions once they hit.

Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters by Stephen E. Koonen tells a different story. He challenges the observations associated with global climate change. Looking for his motivation reveal employment as Chief Scientist at BP before becoming the Under Secretary for Science for the Obama Department of Energy. His work at BP might support his skepticism of climate change. His work in the Obama administration does not. The book is full of statistical explanations as to why we could be overreacting to changes in climates around the world. And yet, his approach to science—not jumping on the bandwagon and a careful study of the data—mirror my approach as well. I confess that I am not sufficiently qualified to grasp many of the points Koonen makes in Unsettled.

I was a climate-change skeptic before researching In Defense of Processed Food when I became a convert. Continue to classify me as a believer in climate change but not quite as certain as I was before I picked up his book. My analysis of this book can be wrapped up in a single word—unsettling!

On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci is another book on science that raises political hackles! Fauci is unapologetic for his roles at the forefront of public health for over 40 years. Although we tend to associate him with COVID-19 and his rocky relationship with President Trump, that is only part of the story. He was on the frontline in battles against AIDS, anthrax, smallpox, swine flu, Ebola, Zika and a host of other infectious diseases. He also cultivated healthy relationships with Presidents Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, and Obama. Like him or hate him, Dr. Fauci provides us with a front-row seat in over 40 years of disease spread and prevention in the United States.

The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike. DEI meets gender discrimination? A poignant look at the struggles women scientists face when trying to establish their careers in a male-dominated culture. One would think that a forward leaning institution like MIT would be more receptive to new frontiers in scientific accomplishment. Think again. Definitely told from the perspective of women scientists, it makes a strong case against imagined stereotypes and for equity in the system. I found it very convincing. During my career I tried to support my women colleagues, although I did encounter serious rivalries with at least two women on the faculty and one graduate student in a class. Looking back, I wonder if my behavior was justified or if I could have been more understanding.

Coming soon: Reading about food issues in 2024