The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios

Kakalios, J. The Physics of Superheroes. New York: Gotham Books, 2005.

The Physics of Superheroes is a fun introduction to physics. Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, and childhood comic book fan, who created a freshman physics class that used examples from comic books to illustrate physics principles rather than traditional examples.

This book is not a physics textbook. For one thing, it is very light on math. Calculus was a prerequisite to the physics classes I took in college, but you can follow this book with no more math than a high school student would know. If higher math is necessary for a thorough understanding, Kakalios provides a general concept and moves on. This is a book for the nonspecialist.

Though written for a nontechnical audience, the book covers the range of physics you would find in an undergraduate physics curriculum. It moves from classical mechanics to thermodynamics to quantum mechanics. It demonstrates how seemingly esoteric and strange physical phenomena, particularly in the realm of quantum mechanics, make possible the technology that is all around us.

What makes the book entertaining is the use of comic books as sources of illustrations. Much of what is in comics is more fantasy than physics. Kakalios allows a “miracle exception” to explain the superheroes’ powers, but from their examines their feats form the point of view of solid science. Sometimes the comics get the science right.

Judging from the tone of the book, it seems that Kakalios has an affection for comic books. Though the main subject is physics, a secondary subject is the history of comics and some of their major characters. The comics fan will find something to enjoy as well as those seeking an approachable introduction to physics. Maybe it can bridge the gap between those with the button down collars and those in the Black Adam tee shirts.

This book shares something with more academic texts, namely footnotes. Kakalios’ footnotes deal more with the comics than the physics; he deals with the physics in the main text, but sometimes an explanatory note about the comics’ characters is helpful to the uninitiated. Some footnotes are tongue-in-cheek comments that lighten the tone of the more serious segments.

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Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore

 Psychotherapist Thomas Moore, a former Catholic monk, expressed some unusual ideas about depression in his book Dark Nights of the Soul. I feel I should preface my comments with a caveat. If you have clinical depression, or think you might, please seek help from an appropriate professional in psychology, counseling or medicine. If you need medication, take it. I think you can undertake the kind exploration that Moore suggests without abandoning traditional therapies, especially if you need them to mitigate extreme symptoms that threaten your life and health.

 Moore isn’t necessarily talking about clinical depression, though he doesn’t exclude it. He finds the term depression limiting. If someone is depressed, they have a disease and there is a treatment for it. It is a matter of curing and dealing with symptoms.

As an alternative to this approach, Moore focuses on the opportunities in depression, persistent dark moods and hard times—dark nights may take any of these forms—as opportunities to mature, grow and heal the soul. Instead of rushing to get by depression and get better, sit with it, explore it and learn from it.  It could be a calling from your truest self to examine your life and become deeper, more engaged person. Instead of a curse, the dark night may turn out to be a gift.

Moore draws heavily on religion and mythology. He also discusses dreams. In the mode of Carl Jung, he sees value in symbols to illuminate what is going on in your life, as well as the value of symbolic and ritual action.

For instance, he draws a model from myth for the experience of depression. It begins with a separation or departure. One feels cut off, alone or isolated, especially from normal life. In a myth, this leaving of normal life is the beginning of an adventure. The mythic adventurer enters a new world, often and underworld, where he is challenged and gains a new perspective. These challenges help him discover who he really is. It is helpful to be able to move back and forth between the underworld and night to the upper world and day, to be able to benefit from the darkness without being consumed by it. In the end, the adventurer returns to his normal life, but it is not always easy because he is changed by his experiences in the underworld. Hopefully the lessons of his dark night well help him integrate his new life with the best of his old home.

Perspective seems to be one of the big benefits of a dark night. Everything looks different in the dark. You can reevaluate what things mean to you, the seeming trash that is truly a treasure and the seeming treasure that is truly worthless. It's a chance to clear out the clutter. It pushes you to accept that the darkness is real and part of you. Because the underworld is essentially your inner life, you can find by exploring it those places that are abandoned, ignored, neglected or run over roughshod by your outer life.

Each chapter takes on the exploration of various aspects of life that may bring about a dark night. These include love, sex, marriage, family, art, beauty, anger, disease and aging.

These journeys into darkness need not be undertaken alone. Sometimes you need professional help. The honesty and vulnerability needed to properly explore the dark parts of yourself could help you be a more open person and deepen your relationship with others. To succeed in the journey, it helps to have the attitude toward yourself of a graceful healer participating in your own life, and that attitude can make you receptive to the healing grace of others and your role as a helper of others.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Beethoven Factor by Paul Pearsall

The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need by Paul Pearsall

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

Moore, Thomas. Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way through Life’s Ordeals. New York: Gotham Books, 2004.