News2Novel - Nobel Prize for Physics, Chemistry and Medicine #7
3 novel suggestions based on Nobel Science Prizes
Hello! This is the 7th issue of News2Novel - the newsletter that suggests novels to read based on recent news.
For new subscribers, here’s why I started this series:
Today’s edition is based on the 2022 Nobel Prizes (for Sciences).
Let’s dive in.
#Physics ➡️ A Tale for the Time Being
The Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to three scientists who conducted experiments using entangled quantum states - where two particles behave like a single unit even when separated
Their mind-bending results have paved the way for new applications in communications, computing and cryptography
Quantum theory was once dismissed by Einstein as "spooky action at a distance" - but today is attracting major funding and has even given rise to a literary genre: quantum fiction
Cue A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013) - a novel that I will forever recommend
It’s about the quantum relationship between two women (Ruth and Nao) who are separated by time and space, and connect through a diary found in a washed-up Hello Kitty lunchbox
Ozeki also bridges quantum theory with Zen Buddhism: Nao is sent to live with her 104-year-old Buddhist grandmother and observes the interconnectedness (‘entanglement’) of all things (‘particles’)
#Chemistry ➡️ Elective Affinities
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry went to three scientists for pioneering ‘click chemistry’ and bringing Chemistry into the era of functionalism
Click chemistry is like Lego: a way of building complex molecular structures and linking them together
The field makes it possible to create an almost endless variety of (stable) molecules - thus has important applications, such as more targeted cancer treatment
Chemical reactions also make for intriguing social metaphors, as depicted in Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - an 1809 novel that centres on four characters (‘elements’) and the shifting relationships (‘reactions’) between them
Goethe could not have made the metaphor more explicit:
‘Provided it does not seem pedantic,’ the Captain said, ‘I think I can briefly sum up in the language of signs. Imagine an A intimately united with a B, so that no force is able to sunder them; imagine a C likewise related to a D; now bring the two couples into contact: A will throw itself at D, C at B, without our being able to say which first deserted its partner, which first embraced the other’s partner.’
This is shown below:
AB + CD → BD + AC
‘Now then!’ Eduard interposed: ‘until we see all this with our own eyes, let us look on this formula as a metaphor from which we may extract a lesson we can apply immediately to ourselves. You, Charlotte, represent the A, and I represent your B; for in fact I do depend altogether on you and follow you as A follows B. The C is quite obviously the Captain, who for the moment is to some extent drawing me away from you. Now it is only fair that, if you are not to vanish into the limitless air, you must be provided with a D, and this D is unquestionably the charming little lady Ottilie, whose approaching presence you may no longer resist.’
#Medicine ➡️ The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneticist who produced a complete Neanderthal genome - by retrieving genetic material from 40,000-year-old bones
Pääbo’s discoveries have deepened our understanding of how modern humans evolved from their extinct ancestors
His work also has practical consequences: during COVID-19, he found that infected people who carried a gene inherited from Neanderthals were more at risk of severe illness
In talks of science and genetics, we sometimes lose sight of the stories and everyday lived experience of Neanderthals - which is why works like The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel deserve attention
Published in 1980 and set between 25,000 and 35,000 years ago, the story follows Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon girl who was orphaned and adopted by a Neanderthal clan
Ayla is physically and intellectually more evolved than people of the clan and struggles to conform to their rigid expectations
Before you go…
Here are some final morsels and thoughts:
I’m writing an essay on what virtual reality (VR) means for fiction and have been thinking more broadly about fiction’s relationship with the future:
This fascinating conversation with author N.K. Jemisin inspired me to take worldbuilding a lot more seriously - you might enjoy it too:
If you end up reading any of the novels mentioned in News2Novel, I’d love to hear about it! Just reply to this email or tweet me @dhrupadkarwa
Do share this newsletter with anyone who might enjoy the suggestions
Have a beautiful week filled with fiction and possibilities! ✨
Dhru