121–130 of 166 posts
I haven't even finished it yet, but my favorite book of 2021 is certain to be Rutger Bregman's Humankind . If you are feeling cynical about your species thanks to climate change, COVID, etc. it may be exactly what you need.
The articles I read about was thinking it was superlative.
I follow his lists/ recommendations and in the process have read some very good fiction/non-fiction books.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I liked a lot of the ideas in PHM. I found the protagonist insufferable throughout, though. Perhaps Weir was going for a more flawed character after Watney? (Never read Artemis, so I can't comment there.) I still think it's a good book, and well worth the read. But man did that character grate on my nerves.
I either listened to or read an interview with Andy Weir where he said that he was aiming for just such a flawed protagonist in PHM. I think he felt the Watney character was criticized for being the fantasy self-projection of a certain variety of nerd/geek (a variety that is over-represented on HN) and so he decided to try to make a hero who was not as likable, brave, or self-sacrificing as people like to think they…
I recently read Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, by Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. Written during the 2008 recession, it's so much more than a business book. It highlights in detail how the financial industry at large leeches so much wealth for itself while creating so little, and offers insights from someone truly introspective of life, business, finance, and the future of the country. Highl…
The title "Enough" made me think of this great poem/story from Kurt Vonnegut: True story, Word of Honor: Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer now dead, and I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island. I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel ‘Catch-22’ has earned in its entire history?” And Joe said, “I’ve got somethin…
I haven't even finished it yet, but my favorite book of 2021 is certain to be Rutger Bregman's Humankind . If you are feeling cynical about your species thanks to climate change, COVID, etc. it may be exactly what you need.
Have anyone read the recently released 'Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity' by David Graeber and David Wengrow. The articles I read about was thinking it was superlative.
Something that I have read, and highly recommend, is Steven Pinker's latest book, his 17th: "Rationality." As a person who considers himself to be coldly rational, I found the book quite humbling.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
things just grow on their own sometimes, especially if you're successful enough. it's perfectly reasonable for a multi-billionaire to want to write a blog to publish his thoughts on various things. the existence of "the gates notes" is pretty normal. and when you're rich, you hire somebody to run the website for you. web design and marketing are pretty interlinked, so the guys running the blog do some promo, and gene…
It's interesting to think about how they'd measure success with this. Like, I guess with normal marketing for a product, it's already difficult but at least you have metrics around increased sales etc. What do they measure here, positive sentiment for Bill Gates?
I haven't even finished it yet, but my favorite book of 2021 is certain to be Rutger Bregman's Humankind . If you are feeling cynical about your species thanks to climate change, COVID, etc. it may be exactly what you need.
Have anyone read the recently released 'Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity' by David Graeber and David Wengrow. The articles I read about was thinking it was superlative.
Both provide ample hope that humanity can mature (back) out of some of the destructive states we've found ourselves in, and provide historical context and supporting evidence.
The Dawn of Everything is already becoming one of those books that I'll remember forever as one of those identity-shaping texts that most readers will be familiar with. And I'm not even halfway done.
I recently read Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, by Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. Written during the 2008 recession, it's so much more than a business book. It highlights in detail how the financial industry at large leeches so much wealth for itself while creating so little, and offers insights from someone truly introspective of life, business, finance, and the future of the country. Highl…
The title "Enough" made me think of this great poem/story from Kurt Vonnegut: True story, Word of Honor: Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer now dead, and I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island. I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel ‘Catch-22’ has earned in its entire history?” And Joe said, “I’ve got somethin…
I recently read Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, by Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. Written during the 2008 recession, it's so much more than a business book. It highlights in detail how the financial industry at large leeches so much wealth for itself while creating so little, and offers insights from someone truly introspective of life, business, finance, and the future of the country. Highl…
The title "Enough" made me think of this great poem/story from Kurt Vonnegut: True story, Word of Honor: Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer now dead, and I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island. I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel ‘Catch-22’ has earned in its entire history?” And Joe said, “I’ve got somethin…
https://commencement.me/kurt-vonnegut-at-rice-university-199...
So what does this Methuselah have to say to you, since he has lived so long? I’ll pass on to you what another Methuselah said to me. He’s Joe Heller, author, as you know, of Catch 22. We were at a party thrown by a multi-billionaire out on Long Island, and I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to realize that only yesterday our host probably made more money than Catch 22, one of the most popular books of all time, has grossed world-wide over the past forty years?”
Joe said to me, “I have something he can never have.”
I said, “What’s that, Joe?”
And he said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
His example may be of comfort to many of you Adams and Eves, who in later years will have to admit that something has gone terribly wrong — and that, despite the education you received here, you have somehow failed to become billionaires.
> Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir No. Just no. It is hard science fiction, but there is no character development. I had no empathy for the main character and did not care about him or his fate. Also he is unusually prude, which he blames on being a school teacher, but even his inner dialogue consists of “HOLY COW!” when surprised. I mean, really??