A gleeful scientific romp: Andrew Masterson’s Lolcatz, Santa, and Death by Dog.
‘Someone, millennia back, combined geometry, materials science and physics to invent the wheel,’ writes Andrew Masterson in the introduction to Lolcatz, Santa, and Death by Dog. ‘Other people later used that invention to enable rollerblades, Porsche Cayennes and the Panzer tank – none of which were the wheel’s fault.’
Enter Masterson’s curious, bizarre, deeply moving, and straight-up funny exploration of our world told through the sphere of scientific research. Through a rich collection of stories he mounts an argument for the value-neutrality of science and technology. His is a world where science – even in its weirdest forms – doesn’t care about your beliefs. Or, as Masterson puts it: ‘Cosmology no more prevents a belief in a god than the existence of Big Macs prevents a belief in a plate of spaghetti marinara accompanied by a glass of pinot grigio.’
Like hors d’oeuvres for this banquet for your brain, here are four Lolcatz, Santa, and Death by Dog chapter introductions, just to whet your appetite.
Bon Appétit!
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