Felipe Antolinez's Weblog: german

Die Vermessung der Welt by Daniel Kehlmann

2026-02-02T08:03:55+00:00

Die Vermessung der Welt by Daniel Kehlmann

Rating: 4 – Really Good

Started: 31st January 2026 • Finished: 1st February 2026

Summary

A fictionalized dual biography of 19th-century German scientists Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt. The two geniuses pursued radically different approaches to understanding the world. Humboldt explored jungles, climbed mountains, and measured everything he encountered, while the reclusive Gauss concluded that space must be curved without leaving his home.

My Thoughts

The story has two main themes: experimental vs. theoretical science and aging.

The naturalist von Humboldt tried to understand the world by personally experiencing the unknown, while the theoretician Gauss studied it by observing the stars and measuring magnetic fields from his home in Göttingen—drawing conclusions from pen and paper alone.

The aging theme runs quietly through the book. Both men achieved their greatest insights young, and the novel doesn't shy away from showing what comes after. The brilliance that came so easily in youth becomes harder to access. And now the world has moved on without them.

The book is entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking at the same time. However, I found myself wishing the scientific side had a bit more depth. Kehlmann keeps the actual discoveries, especially Gauss's mathematics, deliberately light. Some more detail on how their work shaped their era and influenced what came after would have made it even better.

Tags: books, fiction, german, biography

Quoting Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt (p. 293)

2026-02-01T16:31:00+00:00

Aber während die ersten Vororte Berlins vorbeiflogen und Humboldt sich vorstellte, wie Gauß eben jetzt durch sein Teleskop auf Himmelskörper sah, deren Bahnen er in einfache Formeln fassen konnte, hätte er auf einmal nicht mehr sagen können, wer von ihnen weit herumgekommen war und wer immer zu Hause geblieben.

— Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt

Tags: books, german

Wenn Russland Gewinnt: Ein Szenario by Carlo Masala

2026-01-07T00:00:00+00:00

Wenn Russland Gewinnt: Ein Szenario by Carlo Masala

Rating: 2 – Just Okay

Started: 4th January 2026 • Finished: 7th January 2026

Summary

A thought experiment ("scenario") by political scientist Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University Munich. Russia wins in Ukraine, keeps its occupied territories, and Europe fails to rearm. A few years later, Russia tests NATO's Article 5 commitment with a limited operation in Estonia. How does the NATO alliance react?

My Thoughts

I read this because Alastair Campbell recommended it on the podcast The Rest is Politics. At ~120 pages it's a quick read, and it does what it sets out to do: make you think about uncomfortable questions.

Would NATO be prepared to go to war? Under what circumstances? And what about Switzerland? Where are the actual red lines, and what happens when they're crossed? What about nuclear weapons? European countries have become accustomed to resolving conflicts through diplomacy and consensus. But at what point do we accept that diplomacy failed? And what do you do then?

Those questions stuck with me more than the book itself. The scenario follows a single linear path. Russia wins, Europe sleeps, NATO struggles to decide how to react. I would have found it more interesting if the scenario explored different branches and was something closer to a decision tree than a fixed narrative. The title also oversells what's inside. The end of the book gets to the start of "Russia winning", but the book stops before dealing with what that actually means.

Tags: books, german, politics