How To Invent Everything: Good Audiobooks to Listen to Whilst Walking with Dogs
A while ago, I promised to write reviews about audiobooks I would recommend for my fellow dog-lovers, books to accompany you on your lovely meandering walks with dogs. Books that were enlightening about at least some of my fave four topics for dog owners: dogs, humans, learning, and science. If you’re keen to join me in my audiobook journey, my first selection is a doozy in the best way possible…so head on over to your library or audiobook service and find "How to Invent Everything: A survival guide for the stranded time-traveler” by Ryan North.
This book is a repair guide. It’s a repair guide for a time machine - the FC3000™ - sent back to our world from the distant future. We know it’s from at least the year 2045 CE. We know it’s a rental-market time machine, loaned out to members of the general public. (From the book’s website)
Although the premise of the book is a bit circuitous, the execution is pure clever perfection. The author, Ryan North (…or some future iteration of Ryan North, we presume), manages to make us laugh and learn in equal measure. He reads the audiobook himself, but don’t let that sway you: although normally author-read audiobooks are a bit painful, North comes across like someone who you’ll just really want to be friends with. The kind of friend, in fact, who makes you laugh so hard you snort. In other words, the best kind.
The book is, as promised, a how-to guide to reinvent civilization if you’re stranded in the past. You’ll learn how to mine iron ore and smelt it, what logic is, and how to create the musical note “A” using just a wheel and some paper (you’ll learn how to invent that, too), among hundreds of other building blocks of civilization.
dogs
Although there is nary a peep about dog training, this book will open your eyes to the process which brought dogs into our lives: domestication in general, and dog domestication specifically. Dogs’ bodies and brains changed in important ways during domestication, and understanding the process can help us understand our own canine companions. North’s obvious love of dogs is—of course—endearing as well, and the Socratic conversation between a windmill apologist dog (getting a belly rub) and a waterwheel supporter was at least the hundredth time this book made me laugh like a hyena whilst out by myself, walking dogs.
humans
Humans are humans almost wholly because of culture, both social and material. A human without language and…well, stuff is a very different beastie than the person you look at in the mirror every day. North manages to make what might be a rather dry dissertation about modern human evolution into something fast-paced, groan-worthy, and at the same time, really full of wonder. He comes down pretty hard on people (and why did it take us so long to figure out buttons, anyways?) which might get a bit tiresome if self-effacing humour isn’t your thing, but the straight-up amazing achievement of humans will boggle your mind. Humans wrest metals from rocks using fire that we’ve tamed and a bit of clay. We sit around and ponder philosophy. And over a relatively short period of time, we took a grassy weed and made wheat out of it, and then bread, and then pizza and beer. We’re pretty cool.
n.b. if self-effacing humour is your thing, you’re in for a treat. Also, we can be friends.
learning
Dear Ryan,
If you write a companion book, please consider adding something about pedagogy. And thimbles. Why aren’t thimbles included? You try sewing something out of poorly-tanned animal hide and tell me how you feel.
I remain,
Your humble servant,
Kristi Benson
science
The scientific method has been such a boon to humans (and dogs) that its importance simply can’t be overstated. Despite the absolute fact that humans and canines alike would be living hungrier, sadder, and more meager lives without science, there remains pockets of push-back against it. North describes the scientific method clearly and invitingly, and it’s…just plum golden. The next time you’re pondering a new dog training technique or nutritional supplement, the framework of the scientific method will help you to understand if there is real support for it.
cons
Photo by William Iven on Unsplash.
In any book that covers a vast array of topics in many disciplines…and aims for factual treatment thereof…there are necessarily going to be some errors. With the advance of science in the last few centuries (see ‘scientific method’, above), no one human can be a jack-of-all-trades and get it all right, all the time. Some of the information presented as fact may change as science marches on, or might be a particular interpretation of the knowledge base as it currently stands. Sadly, we must not rely on the presumption that the book truly was written in 2045 and all the questions have been settled, although North does a good job of highlighting the evolving nature of scientific knowledge using his editorial end notes.
Go ahead and fast forward through the discussion of NAND gates and other logic gates too, if you want. If you are indeed a stranded time-traveller, you can always come back to it when you need it. It, uh, won’t be soon.
To sum: This book brought me pure joy and bountiful guffaws. We need more joy and guffaws in our lives, just as our dogs do. Four paws up.
How to Invent Everything: A survival guide for the stranded time-traveler is 12 hours and 55 minutes long. It was published by Penguin Audio and released on September 18, 2018. It is available in English. Cover photo used with permission.