My Favorite Books of 2016 • Hacker News Board

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#61

Post by hanoz » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:32 AM UTC

Cyph0n wrote: post #27

knz wrote: post #3

"Honorable mention: The Grid, by Gretchen Bakke. This book, about our aging electrical grid, fits in one of my favorite genres: “Books About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating.” " The author of this book was on NPR/Fresh Air in August. It was a great listen/read if you are interested in the subject. http://www.npr.org/2016/08/22/490932307/aging-and-unstable-t... I heard it a couple of days after a weather re…

I think the word "mundane" is out of place. Whoever isn't fascinated by the modern power grid is slightly dead inside. The same applies to a ton of other "mundane" things, like road and rail networks, sewage systems, garbage disposal and recycling, and so on. I think a better term would be "rarely noticed".

That's only because those with contempt for the mundane hold sway on the connotation of the word, essentially "of the world", and therefore quite rightly more fascinating than any of the airy fairy arty farty nonsense favoured by those higher ups.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#62

Post by GavinMcG » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:34 AM UTC

Cyph0n wrote: post #27

knz wrote: post #3

"Honorable mention: The Grid, by Gretchen Bakke. This book, about our aging electrical grid, fits in one of my favorite genres: “Books About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating.” " The author of this book was on NPR/Fresh Air in August. It was a great listen/read if you are interested in the subject. http://www.npr.org/2016/08/22/490932307/aging-and-unstable-t... I heard it a couple of days after a weather re…

I think the word "mundane" is out of place. Whoever isn't fascinated by the modern power grid is slightly dead inside. The same applies to a ton of other "mundane" things, like road and rail networks, sewage systems, garbage disposal and recycling, and so on. I think a better term would be "rarely noticed".

Aren't we all slightly dead inside, then? I'm sure there are things you take no interest in, until it's pointed out to you.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#63

Post by GavinMcG » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:35 AM UTC

mememachine wrote: post #55

xenihn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Whoever isn't fascinated by the modern power grid is slightly dead inside. The same applies to a ton of other "mundane" things, like road and rail networks, sewage systems, garbage disposal and recycling, and so on. I feel like the vast majority of people have absolutely no interest in learning about these things, even in a calamitous context.

how unfortunate for them

I agree, but I down voted the comment for now because it doesn't really contribute anything to the conversation and doesn't seem like it means to.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#64

Post by e1g » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:36 AM UTC

QuarterReptile wrote: post #46

bduerst wrote: post #18

Side topic: Does anyone know any good podcasts that fit his genre of “Podcasts About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating"?

Econtalk. Russ Roberts is a fantastic interviewer, with only a few weak performances in his decade of weekly podcasts. He probably skews a bit libertarian for the typical HN'er to agree with, but he gives voice to a lot of points of view, and he brings on good guests. At least half of the podcasts have sufficiently interesting titles that they could be easily voted to HN front page, and the depth of discussion is goo…

+1 for Econtalk. Despite the name, the podcast is not about the (relatively boring) econ theory, or even the direct application of it. Econtalk uses economics in the same way as "Freakonomics" - as a framing device to talk about incentives, complex systems, and far reaching effects that are not obvious on the first pass.

I find Econtalk discussions meaningful and rigorous, in contrast to carefree series like "99% Invisible" / Invisibilia / Startup. The latter are great as a chewing gum for the brain, but they are mostly trivia and I do not recall learning anything useful from them over the years.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#65

Post by leodeid » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:40 AM UTC

jrowley wrote: post #31

intro-b wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you elaborate on your first point? i've read fringe theories relating modern healthcare philanthropy with a sublimated form of eugenics, but they've all struck me as somewhat polarized and devoid of evidence

I wouldn't call it eugenics, but there certainly are some ethical concerns about Gates funded research in India on cervical cancer. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25101547 The TLDR is that the researchers did not prepare subjects sufficiently before they consented to study, so they did not give informed consent. This most likely has lead to the avoidable death of 254 women. Disclosure: I'm friends with the a…

This (and the other) article seems to be adamant that the study was horribly put together. Was the intent of the original study merely to determine the efficacy of screening? That sounds like a really really weird study to want to run, as I'd think you can just get that from already existing cases. (I'm not a medical research person, but I'd expect that there's some cancer.gov database of diagnoses/histories/outcomes that you could chew on.)

I don't know how the Gates Foundation functions, so the level of which Bill should be implicated in the failings of this study are unclear to me. It sounds like the study would have been fairly inexpensive, and thus relegated to maybe just a footnote on one afternoon for Bill.

The eugenics-style arguments seen up in the parent comment seem to be a result of over-extrapolation of his "Innovating to zero" TED talk[1]. He alludes to, but does not cite, statistics correlating quality of life, health, and number of children. I also cannot find a concrete source, but playing around with wolfram alpha, it seems like there is at least a correlation according to their datasets[2].

[1] https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates/transcript?language=en#... [2] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=life+expectancy+%7C+ch...

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#66

Post by sheltron » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:41 AM UTC

bduerst wrote: post #18

Side topic: Does anyone know any good podcasts that fit his genre of “Podcasts About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating"?

https://gimletmedia.com/surprisingly-awesome/

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#67

Post by TheAceOfHearts » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:46 AM UTC

rubicon33 wrote: post #29

I wonder, did he read this much when he was founding Microsoft? I ask because, as someone who would love to read, I feel like I never have the time. And strangely, I feel morally guilty for prioritizing other things like career growth etc.

Audiobooks are always an option! Since I spend most of my day in front of a computer, I tend to favor audiobooks. You can also listen to em while commuting or eating.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#68

Post by jackfrodo » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:47 AM UTC

Awesome to see DFW on HN. Infinite Jest's tennis scenes helped shape the way I view the world. There's one particularly great one where a father is giving some life lessons to his son via tennis. And it is excellent Here's a link to (most of) the scene: https://books.google.com/books?id=Nhe2yvx6hP8C&pg=PT200&lpg=...

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#69

Post by a_bonobo » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 1:56 AM UTC

rubicon33 wrote: post #29

I wonder, did he read this much when he was founding Microsoft? I ask because, as someone who would love to read, I feel like I never have the time. And strangely, I feel morally guilty for prioritizing other things like career growth etc.

I take public transport to work instead of driving so I have more time for reading.

Re: My Favorite Books of 2016

#70

Post by ForrestN » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 2:07 AM UTC

Flagged for undesirable ideas/politics:

"Myth of the Strong Leader, by Archie Brown. This year’s fierce election battle prompted me to pick up this 2014 book, by an Oxford University scholar who has studied political leadership—good, bad, and ugly—for more than 50 years. Brown shows that the leaders who make the biggest contributions to history and humanity generally are not the ones we perceive to be “strong leaders.” Instead, they tend to be the ones who collaborate, delegate, and negotiate—and recognize that no one person can or should have all the answers. Brown could not have predicted how resonant his book would become in 2016."