51–60 of 256 posts
Sanderson's Skyward Flight series (a few things came out this year, it's young-adult but thoughtfully enjoyable and easy to consume).
I read a few Asimov's this year I hadn't gotten around to, but the two that really stood out were 'The Gods Themselve's and 'The End of Eternity'.
(I primarily read to sci-fi/fantasy)
I really loved Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Too often sci-fi feels cold, and detached with characters that feel akin to chess pieces moved in complicated schemes. His stories, even if they are sketches instead of paintings, exhibit a far more heartfelt, human ethos. The characters are real people with wants and unfulfilled wishes. The subjects are both technology but also mortality, fate, raising children, loss. It's sc…
Similarly, Bojack Horseman is one of my favorite shows. I had never looked into its creators and had no idea the creator also wrote short stories. I am now very excited to read this. Thanks!
As parents we wanted to be one of the better ones. A while back, we started with Bringing up Bébé , and since then learnt How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk ; we were even Prepared while Reviving Ophelia . This year , we realized, we want to just settle on being A Good Enough Parent . 1. https://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Up-Bébé-Discovers-Parenting/... 2. https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-W…
Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber of Bullshit Jobs , and, more importantly, this book. Graeber was an anthropologist, and he goes through the history of debt and how it became intertwined with our culture and morality with many, many examples. The book is chock full of ideas. Also The Dawn of Everything , which Graeber cowrote with archaeologist David Wengrow. The broader point of the book is that there is…
> Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber Graeber misinterprets the history and ideas of mainstream economics, calls the safest securities on the planet a debt that will never be paid and spins bizarre conspiracy theories about the Iraq invasion. You might learn about the quaint cultural practices of remote tribes but a lot of the ideas presented are complete nonsense. You might say it has good and original parts…
Can you provide a well researched body of literature that counters Graeber’s thesis as opposed to just stating an opinion?
"Thinking in Bets" Annie Duke. Changed how I feel "bad" decisions because, per Duke, bad outcomes can happen to good decisions. I also enjoyed how she framed truth seeking as the preference over groupthink. Finally, it was fact that she was speaking from experience (as a professional poker player) and just some idea she researched.
Further, in any given situation, variance swaps all - so don't expect to be able to say "i told ya so".
I firmly believe this book helps make my life better in terms of making better decisions, but it is not a book you want to trot out at cocktail parties unless you enjoy arguments. And I will also say - people get offended when you ask them to put money down on their perspective, even after you disagree. So it appears to be true, people know it's true when money is on the line, but will still argue with you.
Let it change how you think, but if you want something to discuss with others, go with Gladwell or Freakonomics.
Its an incredible older book looking at the mechanisms exploited by totalitarian systems to subdue their victims. Namely nazi Germany, soviet Russia and revolutionary China.
The author was part of the dutch resistance against the nazi occupation and headed the psychological department of the dutch army in exile after he had to flee mainland Europe. He later also acted as a witness for the defense in the trial against Frank Schwable for collaborating as a PoW in Korea.
In addition to the really interesting and still highly relevant topic his writing shows him to be among the other awe inspiring scientists of the "greatest generation". Its quite simply an extremely impressive yet pleasant to read opus magnum.
"Thinking in Bets" Annie Duke. Changed how I feel "bad" decisions because, per Duke, bad outcomes can happen to good decisions. I also enjoyed how she framed truth seeking as the preference over groupthink. Finally, it was fact that she was speaking from experience (as a professional poker player) and just some idea she researched.
"The Constructed Mennonite: History, Memory, and the Second World War" by Hans Werner It was a great read because it gave an insight into the "Russian" style perspective of the Anabaptist understanding, and the deep complications around: nonresistance, nationhood, language, and war. It is only a small slice of some of the horrifying realities the Anabapists' suffered at the hands of both Axis and Allies during WWII,…
Adventurer: The Life & Times of Giacomo Casanova by Leo Damrosch. About Casanova. Fears of a Setting Sun by Dennis Rasmussen. About the Founding Fathers loss of faith in the Constitution over time. The Greek Plays . Edited collection of 16 plays by Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. Fascinating reads. Grand Strategies by Charles Hill. Short book on literature and statecraft.