Review: "Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything" by Philip Ball

Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything by Philip Ball
University of Chicago Press, Paperback, 9780226211695, 465pp. Publication Date: September 17, 2014

Today, citizens of the industrialized world almost universally consider curiosity to be a praiseworthy trait, and we consider it to be a fundamental attribute of the Scientist, the Jedi of Science, through which our place in the universe can be understood and our welfare enhanced. But humanity did not always consider curiosity to be praiseworthy.

It is certainly not evolutionary advantageous. How many curious hominids had their genetic lines snuffed out by eating unknown plants or entering dark caves or traveling to the next valley?

Review: "This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World" by Jerry Brotton

This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World by Jerry Brotton

My review in today's @FT - Elizabethan England and the Islamic World https://t.co/yHO5LKjpQk via

— Joe Moshenska (@JoeMoshenska) March 19, 2016

I have not read the book.

Documentary - Kareem: Minority of One

In November 2015, HBO released a documentary, Kareem: A Minority of One, about the National Basketball Association star Kareem Abdul Jabbar. If you are a sports fan or interested in the biography of a prominent Muslim-American, you really should check this out. It even has footage of Bruce Lee, with whom Kareem had formed a friendship!

Many of Kareem's problems in his personal life, including estrangement from his parents, stemmed from his commitment to following a religious path set out for him by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, leader of the self-described Hanafi Muslims. Only as he began to make decisions for himself did his spiritual life and relationships become as rich as his professional life.

You can follow Kareem on Twitter. He also has a website.