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Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen

by Philip Ball (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 3 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0226238890
ISBN-10: 022623889X
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (April 8, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 022623889X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226238890
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #712,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 starsNow You See It, ....
By Rob Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER on July 4, 2015
Format: Hardcover
Everyone has, at sometime or other, imagined what it would be like to be invisible. The possibility of being able to observe, and possibly act, when no one else can tell you are doing so is a thrill that, despite its impossibility, has fired imaginations for millennia. We have been able to come to understanding of some previously invisible realms; we still can’t see ghosts with any reliability, but microbes are no longer invisible to us. The fascination with things we cannot see is detailed in _Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen_ (University of Chicago Press) by science writer Philip Ball. He has a huge topic, which he treats mostly chronologically, with impressive detail and a good deal of humor. Invisibility, from legends to camouflage to Hollywood to current technological tricks, is all here.

The first pages have to do with the moral challenge of invisibility: “If you could be invisible, what would _you_ do? The chances are that it will have something to do with power, wealth or sex. Perhaps all three, given the opportunity.” Even way back in Plato’s _Republic_ the moral problem of this imaginary power was considered. Plato acknowledged that none of us would be up to the task of staying moral if we could select invisibility. Turning invisible was such a desirable skill that procuring it was included in every good grimoire. During the Renaissance, understanding magic meant understanding natural magic, and anyone could realize that there were invisible forces at work in nature. Ball writes, “Mastery of the occult framework of natural magic was nothing more than a question of acquiring a deep understanding of nature: the objective today claimed by science.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsHo-hum.
By now what on May 8, 2015
Format: Hardcover
OK, I guess. A sort of philosophical (in the sense of grad student majoring in philosophy, the kind of "we're not really here" sort of deconstructionist process that seems to prevail) discourse on the various symbolic meanings of the concept of invisibility. Not really a fascinating topic, and gets into "who cares" territory often. Totally misses the point of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man;" Ball thinks the issue presented by Ellison was the idea that no one could see past the color of his skin to perceive the real human beneath, when in fact Ellison's narrator discovers that the personae he acquires by changing his attire (certain type of hat, certain type of sunglasses, etc.) create an illusion that prevents people from seeing the real human beneath. (He is taken for a succession of other people--preacher, dope dealer, etc.--just based on what he is wearing.) This is the most common error in comments on Ellison's novel, and when you see it you know that whoever makes this mistake is just repeating what someone else said (thus perpetuating and spreading the error) instead of having read the book himself. This is not a minor point; if Ball simply parroted someone else's misreading of Ellison, how much else in Ball's book is based on faulty research and flawed thinking?
The "Dangerous Allure" of the title is just a titillating come-on. No danger here, folks, just go on about your business.
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5.0 out of 5 starsI have been looking for sg like this. Thx
By Marabu on June 12, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Clever. I have been looking for sg like this. Thx.
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