91–100 of 282 posts
At the same time, it's saddening to see that important issues he's mentioning 40-50 years ago still not solved, such as climate change and the threat of nuclear warfare.
How the World Really Works by Vaclac Smil is one of the best book I've read this year. It gives such a great perspective on how much energy and material we use. It's one of the most readable books by Smil and has gems like this : “Moreover, within a lifetime of people born just after the Second World War the rate had more than tripled, from about 10 to 34 GJ/capita between 1950 and 2020. Translating the last rate int…
- Ecclesiastes by Qoheleth: In my opinion, superior to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. "Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white; let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." (Eccles 9:11)
- Amusing ourselves to death by Neil Postman: We thought we had to worry about 1984 and big brother. We were wrong. We are living in Huxley's Brave New World where digital media has made us dumber, distracted and cut our connections with one other. Our smartphones substitute rosaries and entertainment becomes the dogma.
- Structure and Intepretation of Computer Programs by Hal Abelson and Gerlad J. Sussman: Need I say more? This books makes me fall in love all over again with programming every time I pick it up.
- Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle: What does it mean to live well? How can we be happy? Aristotle makes the striking claim that everyone knows how to be happy, but we have to create the habits that are in accord with reason and right judgement in order to get there. Also, happiness is not a state but rather the result of our active will and right ordering of desire. Required reading for any political leader.
- Theory of Computation by Michael Sipser: Javascript frameworks come and go, language standards change, Computer platforms rise and fall, but math and the underling concepts of computation stay the same. Knowing what computation is, what its properties are, etc. will not only make you a better programmer but a better thinker. Church-Turing Thesis essential reading for anyone serious about algorithm design and analysis.
A beautifully written, immensely moving, very funny novel with a really nuanced but profoundly important message.
It’s essentially a call for empathy.
I thought of myself, a white male, as progressive and very aware already of the issues of gender and color in our societies’ power structures. This book made me very humble. It made me look at the place women, and women of colour in particular, have in today’s society in a completely different way.
Just give it a go guys, just the reading experience is worth it.
Fiction: Dune and Asimov's The Last Question.
Top 2 so far: * Washington: A life by Ron Chernow * The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won by Victor Davis Hanson The Washington book is a very detailed by clear overview of his life. Easy to follow (even for complex situations) and very week written. The WW2 book is amazing. Compares the countries fighting in around 20 different areas (technology, leadership, geography, aircraft) and…
Neuromancer and Snow Crash
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton [1]. A haunting and disturbing account powerfully told and rendered. Beaton is well known for Hark! A Vagrant, but this is her best work to date. The Kalevala [2]. I am familiar with the Eddas, the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the Finnish national epos was beautiful and refreshingly different. While I'm sure the English translation pales next…
Bobiverse and Project Hail Mary They're sci-fi but fun reads.
Not a scifi guy, but really enjoyed Project Hail Mary. It felt almost like a puzzle, tickling the part of the brain that does problem-solving *amaze amaze*. Not the epitome of writing, but it got the job done, and first time I think I've felt something for a rock. *jazz hands*