Book Review: Field of Gourds

*** Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review. ***

Intellectual, geeky, and highly creative, Field of Gourds: A Guide to Intellectual Rebellion is presented as a dialogue between Rob Fisher with his dog, Bella. They explore the nature of rationality and discuss how, as a society, we are on the verge of losing what constitutes the foundation of individual and spiritual freedom. The author argues that most people are trapped in an intellectual prison, consuming ideas and culture like they are eating macaroni and cheese their mothers cooked for them. Believing knowledge—culture, art, science, and religion—are consumables meant to be received from others, they might find some interesting, others boring, but they never think of exploring for themselves. In other words, they fail to wield their own intellectual prowess. They do not construct knowledge, or even realize that they have an active and critical role to play in building their own understanding of things. Rather than take responsibility for what they think, believe, or feel, they passively digest other people’s visions of the world, and in the cacophony of viewpoints that characterize modern life, they wonder why they are left feeling confused with no sense of purpose. As it entertains, inspires, and challenges the reader, this book romps through some big ideas on the interrelationships among science, economics, technology, politics, democracy, religion, and theater and suggests how one should navigate the modern world. A unique cross between the self-help genre and philosophy of science, it shows how to free your mind from false traps and actively engage in creative and collaborative projects with those around you in order to manifest your full capabilities and achieve ultimate happiness. It could even change your life.

Amazon: Field of Gourds
Goodreads: Field of Gourds

Our Thoughts:

Overall I really liked this book.  I gotta warn you though, it's not a quick read. It's meant to make you stop and think.  Really think, about the process of thinking - what is truth, and how we can never really know if something is really and truly true - only that something is consistent with what we've observed so far.  Field of Gourds gets down to the roots of the scientific process - a purpose/question, bold conjectures, criticism, and then a new/improved purpose/question (and repeat) - and shows how it is applied across our existence, from science itself, to politics, race, and spirituality to name a few. 

It was fascinating to me to realize this is exactly what I've done, and continue to do with my son and his health - starting with a purpose (to stop his seizures), conjectures (exploring guesses as to what caused them), criticism (was I right or not), and then a new/improved purpose/question (based on what I learned, exploring a new path regarding the cause of his seizures).  I understand now why nightshade foods triggered his seizures, and I may have come across why carrots triggered them too, but I still don't know why sweet potatoes did as well. And in this process, I observed what I thought to be true change to something else (at first I thought nightshades foods over-quieted his sensory input, but now I believe it over-stimulated it, which then caused it to shut down).  It's a learning process.   I've applied this same sort of thinking to everything in life - I no longer take given "knowledge" to be absolute truth, as I was taught growing up, but to question everything, do my own research, and come to my own conclusions.  But not to stop there - to continue to question my own conclusions again and again.  Everything I do is continually improved upon.  Why do something (anything, really!) a certain way just because that's the way it's always been done? 

I'd love to see Field of Gourds be used as a textbook in a school setting. It's written much like a textbook, with a lot of repeated information to summarize.  Bella the dog adds a humorous touch, as do the drawings by Fisher's daughters.  I've often had conversations with my own dogs that go much the same ways.

I definitely recommend reading Field of Gourds - it just might change your life - or at least your way of thinking!

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in the review are my own and were not influenced in any way.***