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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Scholastic’s A+ Guide to Book Reports by Louise Colligan

Colligan, Louise. Scholastic’s A+ Guide to Book Reports. New York: Scholastic, 1982.

I found a copy of Scholastic’s A+ Guide to Book Reports, authored by Louise Colligan, at a library book sale. It is in near mint condition. There is no crease in the spine. The pages are yellowed after 30 years, but otherwise spotless. The corners of the unfaded cover are slightly foxed, but I think that came from my handling. I guess I’m the first person who read this copy of the book. Presumably, someone who may have been in high school about the same time I was deprived himself of the good advice in this book.

This book is aimed at teenagers, especially high school students, who are assigned to write book reports. I’ve been out of high school a while, but I assume that still happens. Colligan’s advice still applies to that task, and some of it is applicable to other writing.

Part of the system described in the book involves good study skills and organizing work. It is simplistic, narrowly focused and prescriptive, but that is probably appropriate for a teen. I did not have such good habits in high school, and the demands of college and work pushed me into taking an organized approach to my work, which is second nature now. I recommend learning this skill as early a possible.

The rest of the system focuses on the book report, though still in an organized manner. Colligan provides ideas on how to select and appropriate book, approaches to reading with the task of writing a report in mind, and tips for writing different types of book reports. She also lists a number of creative alternatives to essay-style reports.

The understanding of the book is that this activity takes place in a school. Students are encouraged to get appropriate input from the teacher and to focus on the assignment, not going off on tangents.

One of the things that interested me was the list of recommended books. Because of its age, it doesn’t include anything published in the last 30 years. Classics, though, don’t go out of style. I was assigned a few in high school, such as The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, which I recommend. Like many boys, I enjoyed science fiction and fantasy and on my own read Dune by Frank Herbert and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (the one fantasy trilogy that rules them all).

Another interesting thing about the book is that there is no mention of the Internet. It didn’t exist. I don’t know how the Internet has affected the high school book report. I suspect that it has had little effect. Colligan’s sound little manual is probably as useful today as it was when I was a freshman, and I have a very nice copy available for a reasonable sum.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard
You Can Write for Magazines by Greg Daugherty
Your Intelligence Makeover by Edward F. Droge, Jr.

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Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman is possibly the most famous physicist and popularizer of physics of the 20^th Century. He was involved in the Manhattan Project, won a Nobel Prize, served on the Rogers Commission, which investigated the disaster of the space shuttle Challenger, and wrote several popular books on physics in addition to his scientific contributions.

One of those popular books was Six Easy Pieces. It is a collection of lectures prepared by Feynman for freshman and sophomore classes at California Institute of Technology (part of the larger collection Lectures on Physics).

It is also one of Feynman’s most popular books, possibly because of its breadth and simplicity. The book covers a wide range of physics from basic ideas about the structure of matter to physics in relation to other sciences, classical mechanics (Newton’s physics) and quantum mechanics.

It is easy in the sense that Feynman assumes his audience has a background in math and science typical of a high school graduate in 1962. There is very little math. Instead, Feynman takes an approach that focuses on commonly known facts, observation and reasoning. Readers won’t need a semester of calculus to follow this book.

Possibly the best thing about Six Easy Pieces is that it offers a view into the way a physicist thinks that is accessible to many people, even people with minimal scientific education. It is easy to think of science as an overwhelming pile of facts. Feynman’s book illustrates that science is also, and more importantly, a method of applying reason and experimentation to learn about the world we live in. The scientific understanding we have now was built on centuries of consideration, study, experimentation and evaluation that is often iterative, challenging, reconsidering and modifying scientific knowledge that was once widely accepted.

The book holds up well after more than 50 years. I might recommended it to a high schooler who is considering a career in science, especially physics, or anyone who is looking for an introduction or re-introduction to physics from someone who knew the subject well enough to not overcomplicate it.

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

Einstein’s Clocks, Poincare’s Maps: Empires of Time by Peter Galison 

Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson

The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios

Planck by Brandon R. Brown

A fictional version of Feynman appears in The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown by Paul Malmont (235).

Feynman, Richard P. Six Easy Pieces. New York: Basic Books, 1963.