by Kathryn Hulick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very practical introduction discussing Occam's Razor, coincidence and the idea that the most logic idea must be the truth if there is a lack of evidence either way. There are ten broad categories that encompass many different mysteries in the book. The categories range from alien encounters, sea monsters, zombies, ghosts and more. Each category touched on has examples from around the world (including starting off right with the 1961 Hill alien abduction story in Montreal, Canada --sorry the proud Canadian in me can't resist but be excited). The illustrations by Gordy Wright are equally creepy and accurate. From alien ships to Bigfoot to illustrated maps and scroll designs. Wright has done an excellent job of both activating the imagination, while keeping the known articles to their 'fairly' factual design (given they are illustrated).
There is a lot of skepticism in Strange But True. I do like that it almost never says people who have experienced supernatural events are lying. But instead it offers many other explanations that combined may start to account for the types of things people say they have experienced. For example in the opening category of alien abduction we learn about sleep paralysis, highway paralysis, TV show illustrations, preconceived notions of ideas (ie: we exist so why not aliens?) and pareidolia which is most common with clouds (where our brain likens a shape to something we know already), etc. All of which together can explain many of the different alien abduction or experiences stories from around the world. No one thing is clear or obvious; but combined it is seen as powerful to have the large majority of the alien incidents complying.
So we move through the book from aliens, Egypt, Bigfoot and more into our last category, Sea Monsters. And now here is where I love what writer Kathryn Hulick has doe. She has taken mostly explainable phenomena and ideas and disproves them. Except for one; the giant squid. In 2012 the Triton deep sea vessel found a real-life giant squid and photographed it. The photograph is amazing and the intricacies of the intelligence in the eye of the squid are enough to make anyone wonder about all the mysteries of the world and what else we might not know exists but have legends or myths about it. This is the perfect ending as it leaves the door open to encourage the reader to keep searching; keep looking and keep hypothesizing about everything and anything. A truly clever way to bring to light some clear and obvious misconceptions; while still keeping the imagination alive.
As a child of the 90's (I was a preteen when X-files first came to TV); myself and most of my friends of a like-age are fascinated by the supernatural. This would have been a perfect book for us between the pages of 8-13. For those, like me, that hope there are more unique sea monsters, Bigfoot, etc. out there it's an opportunity to link to aliens and perhaps accept that humans are far from the only intelligent life. All of these opportunities and more are left for anyone to explore at the end of Strange But True.
While there may be no magic in this book, or if there is it's likely disproven, I believe it certainly does have a magic that proves there is always more to learn. That science is never ending and that we can always strive to know more, find more and exist beyond our own mortal lives. Whether that's as a famous scientist or even a ghost. One thing is surely for certain; anything is possible after finding a giant squid; it's just that some scenarios are more likely to be true than others.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very practical introduction discussing Occam's Razor, coincidence and the idea that the most logic idea must be the truth if there is a lack of evidence either way. There are ten broad categories that encompass many different mysteries in the book. The categories range from alien encounters, sea monsters, zombies, ghosts and more. Each category touched on has examples from around the world (including starting off right with the 1961 Hill alien abduction story in Montreal, Canada --sorry the proud Canadian in me can't resist but be excited). The illustrations by Gordy Wright are equally creepy and accurate. From alien ships to Bigfoot to illustrated maps and scroll designs. Wright has done an excellent job of both activating the imagination, while keeping the known articles to their 'fairly' factual design (given they are illustrated).
There is a lot of skepticism in Strange But True. I do like that it almost never says people who have experienced supernatural events are lying. But instead it offers many other explanations that combined may start to account for the types of things people say they have experienced. For example in the opening category of alien abduction we learn about sleep paralysis, highway paralysis, TV show illustrations, preconceived notions of ideas (ie: we exist so why not aliens?) and pareidolia which is most common with clouds (where our brain likens a shape to something we know already), etc. All of which together can explain many of the different alien abduction or experiences stories from around the world. No one thing is clear or obvious; but combined it is seen as powerful to have the large majority of the alien incidents complying.
So we move through the book from aliens, Egypt, Bigfoot and more into our last category, Sea Monsters. And now here is where I love what writer Kathryn Hulick has doe. She has taken mostly explainable phenomena and ideas and disproves them. Except for one; the giant squid. In 2012 the Triton deep sea vessel found a real-life giant squid and photographed it. The photograph is amazing and the intricacies of the intelligence in the eye of the squid are enough to make anyone wonder about all the mysteries of the world and what else we might not know exists but have legends or myths about it. This is the perfect ending as it leaves the door open to encourage the reader to keep searching; keep looking and keep hypothesizing about everything and anything. A truly clever way to bring to light some clear and obvious misconceptions; while still keeping the imagination alive.
As a child of the 90's (I was a preteen when X-files first came to TV); myself and most of my friends of a like-age are fascinated by the supernatural. This would have been a perfect book for us between the pages of 8-13. For those, like me, that hope there are more unique sea monsters, Bigfoot, etc. out there it's an opportunity to link to aliens and perhaps accept that humans are far from the only intelligent life. All of these opportunities and more are left for anyone to explore at the end of Strange But True.
While there may be no magic in this book, or if there is it's likely disproven, I believe it certainly does have a magic that proves there is always more to learn. That science is never ending and that we can always strive to know more, find more and exist beyond our own mortal lives. Whether that's as a famous scientist or even a ghost. One thing is surely for certain; anything is possible after finding a giant squid; it's just that some scenarios are more likely to be true than others.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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1 comment:
I recently read some story about the intelligence of octopi, so I am totally on board with a hyper intelligent giant squid sea monster society or something! :D
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