Whoo. Four stars. OK, 5 stars for philosophical arguments and hard science content, 3 stars because it is hard to listen to for hours on end. This is an important book, and one that argues that over the time scale of humanity (decades, centuries and millennia), instead of at our puny scale of 24-hour news … Continue reading Book review: The Better Angels of our Nature
Tag: Books
Gladwell writes about autonomous cars and digital music (must read!)
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/when-autonomous-cars-rule-what-will-happen-to-car-culture-feature Malcolm Gladwell does it again. I picked up last year's Car and Driver when at the barber this weekend. C/D created a 31 page spread on Autonomous vehicles, or as they cleverly put it "Auto: No 'Mo Us." Gladwell edited the contributions of about a dozen authors, but his final essay was a stunner: … Continue reading Gladwell writes about autonomous cars and digital music (must read!)
Coursera: Yale’s “Science of Well-Being”
Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale U. Here we are again, learning from a MOOC (massive, open, online course). This time, I read an article by the NYTimes regarding Laurie Santo's massively popular Yale course for undergraduates called Psychology and the Good Life. It was apparently, the most popular course at Yale, ever. So, it was … Continue reading Coursera: Yale’s “Science of Well-Being”
Book review: All The Pretty Horses
Rating: 5 stars. Another book pilfered from my daughter's bookshelf, reading for her seniors English course. Published in 1992, and a National Book Club winner. The first paragraph is astounding, a panoply of senses, wistfulness, loneliness and a tremendous sense of loss. Read that first paragraph here: https://books.google.com/books/about/All_the_Pretty_Horses.html?id=BN2JDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button Polysyndeton is one of many words my … Continue reading Book review: All The Pretty Horses
Book review: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
This is a fascinating speculation into the future of human space travel to the Stars. What would happen if you were born, the sixth generation to live on a starship? What if your planet destination was questionably habitable? What if your cohort decided to return to star travel? What if things progressively went wrong? What … Continue reading Book review: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Book Review: Between the World and Me
Five stars. This is thin ice for me, a well-assimilated Asian, reading and commenting on the African-American experience of disenfranchisement. I'm currently immersed in the world of West Baltimore: 'powerdisking' seasons of The Wire, amazed at the lingo, the culture, the down-and-out police and detectives who get up every morning to face the jungle, in … Continue reading Book Review: Between the World and Me
Remember that you will die. (WIRED)
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-break-up-with-your-phone/ Wired magazine is starting to re-invent itself again; now as a paid-subscription service with interesting articles on a website called Backchannel. The first few articles are doozies: incredible thought pieces on the near-future of technology. I'm inhaling these; love the thoughtfulness behind the reporting. This article speaks about the stranglehold our devices have on … Continue reading Remember that you will die. (WIRED)
Book Review: The Mezzanine – Nicholson Baker
Five stars. I’m re-reading this book, out loud, with my family as we travel on vacation at the end of a hard working summer by both teens and both parents (delayed post from August). On our travel across the expansive Colorado landscape, it is fun to break open and read (in chapter-sized chunks) a book … Continue reading Book Review: The Mezzanine – Nicholson Baker
Book Review: A River Runs Through It
Five Stars. I've read and listened to this book several times. And seen the movie. And yes, it is more than just Brad Pitt and his muscles. The book is lyrical, especially its passages on fishing, and the beauty of the wild. QUOTE “Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are … Continue reading Book Review: A River Runs Through It
Book Review: The Undoing Project; Michael Lewis
Five stars. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky are my psychology heroes. Their groundbreaking work in psychology, “Thinking Fast and Slow” is a book I’m digesting a second time, piece by piece. Ideas such as “anchoring bias” are astounding ideas. Ask a group of college students for example, to write down the last 2 digits of … Continue reading Book Review: The Undoing Project; Michael Lewis