R.J.'s bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 20 Nov 2024 09:02:32 -0800 60 R.J.'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue]]> 36681909 An NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2018!A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called "one helluva page-turner" and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as "riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a fantastic read." Pick up the book everyone is talking about.In 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical of Gawker Media, outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker, its bankruptcy and with Nick Denton, Gawker's CEO and founder, out of a job. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental--it had been masterminded by Thiel.For years, Thiel had searched endlessly for a solution to what he'd come to call the "Gawker Problem." When an unmarked envelope delivered an illegally recorded sex tape of Hogan with his best friend's wife, Gawker had seen the chance for millions of pageviews and to say the things that others were afraid to say. Thiel saw their publication of the tape as the opportunity he was looking for. He would come to pit Hogan against Gawker in a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, while Gawker remained confidently convinced they would prevail as they had over so many other lawsuit--until it was too late. The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean--for the First Amendment? For privacy? For culture?In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious--and successful--secret plots in recent memory.Some will cheer Gawker's destruction and others will lament it, but after reading these pages--and seeing the access the author was given--no one will deny that there is something ruthless and brilliant about Peter Thiel's shocking attempt to shake up the world.]]> 334 Ryan Holiday 0735217661 R.J. 5 3.97 2018 Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
author: Ryan Holiday
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves:
review:
If you want to understand the rise of alt-right and Trump's popularity in silicon valley, start with this. It's the real story of a billionaire acting in the shadows and bankrolling the takedown of the once (in)famous gawker media group. But it's much more than that; it's a raw slice of the society we live in. It's a story about personal identity and political identities. It's a story about the right to privacy in the era of sextortion and revenge porn, and the balance we have to strike with free speech. Ultimately, it's a story about the invisible hands at play and how we are all susceptible to the games that the powerful play.
]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson R.J. 5 4.35 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/12
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves:
review:
Absolutely loved it. As with all Brandon's books, it does take its sweet time to get going. But once it gets going, it's a force to be reckoned with. The insights and wit in the last few chapters were jaw droppingly good. If you're new to Sanderson, start with this one.
]]> Other Minds 28116739
In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how subjective experience crept into being—how nature became aware of itself. As Godfrey-Smith stresses, it is a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind’s fitful development, Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing, acting, and signaling. As these primitive organisms became more entangled with others, they grew more complicated. The first nervous systems evolved, probably in ancient relatives of jellyfish; later on, the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous mollusks, abandoned their shells and rose above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so. Taking an independent route, mammals and birds later began their own evolutionary journeys.

But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? Drawing on the latest scientific research and his own scuba-diving adventures, Godfrey-Smith probes the many mysteries that surround the lineage. How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually “think for themselves�? What happens when some octopuses abandon their hermit-like ways and congregate, as they do in a unique location off the coast of Australia?

By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind—and on our own.]]> 257 Peter Godfrey-Smith 0374227764 R.J. 3 nonfiction 3.86 2016 Other Minds
author: Peter Godfrey-Smith
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> Piranesi 50202953
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.]]> 272 Susanna Clarke 163557563X R.J. 5 fiction 4.22 2020 Piranesi
author: Susanna Clarke
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: fiction
review:
This book is one of those symphonies that start out mellow and slowly increases in crescendo until the final act, where everything comes together to a climax of epic proportions. I loved it. There is darkness and there is light. There is a reality amidst the magic. And there is a fantastical place that reality cannot quite touch. These are the kind of books that inspire me to write.
]]> <![CDATA[Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger � only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X R.J. 4 fiction 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves: fiction
review:
The origin story of a legendary witch (or a childless cat lady as they are called these days). From start to finish, Brom had my attention. There's hope in this story, but also darkness. Not the kind of darkness that is irrational, but the kind of darkness that makes sense. Yes, there are a few two dimensional characters - but it doesn't take away from the overall realism. Can't wait to read more of his work.
]]> <![CDATA[A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence]]> 54503521 288 Jeff Hawkins 1541675819 R.J. 5 nonfiction
Tldr; don't buy the book for the hype or expecting some grand epiphany. Buy the book to experience an arguably brilliant mind grapple with an age-old problem that we might be close to solving. ]]> 4.01 2021 A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
author: Jeff Hawkins
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves: nonfiction
review:
There's a lot of things to like about this book. Even if you don't think Jeff's ideas are original and even if you don't like the reductionist approach to "solving" the problem of consciousness (yeah I'm calling out the ridiculous reviews on goodreads), there is still value in reading books like these - because it gives a glimpse in to a personal story - the story of technologist who reinvented himself just so he could study the inner workings of the brain. Although I wish the author could've gone more into detail about how reference frames allow us to create models of the world (with solid examples rather than just abstract thought), I understand this exercise may be too complicated for a popular science book.

Tldr; don't buy the book for the hype or expecting some grand epiphany. Buy the book to experience an arguably brilliant mind grapple with an age-old problem that we might be close to solving.
]]> <![CDATA[Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food]]> 62586003 A manifesto to change how you eat and how you think about the human body.

It’s not you, it’s the food.

We have entered a new age of eating. For the first time in human history, most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food. There’s a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, it’s UPF.

These products are specifically engineered to behave as addictive substances, driving excess consumption. They are now linked to the leading cause of early death globally and the number one cause of environmental destruction. Yet almost all our staple foods are ultra-processed. UPF is our food culture and for many people it is the only available and affordable food.

In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. The solutions don’t lie in willpower, personal responsibility, or exercise. You’ll find no diet plan in this book―but join Chris as he undertakes a powerful self-experiment that made headlines around the world: under the supervision of colleagues at University College London he spent a month eating a diet of 80 percent UPF, typical for many children and adults in the United States. While his body became the subject of scientific scrutiny, he spoke to the world’s leading experts from academia, agriculture, and―most important―the food industry itself. But more than teaching him about the experience of the food, the diet switched off Chris’s own addiction to UPF.

In a fast-paced and eye-opening narrative he explores the origins, science, and economics of UPF to reveal its catastrophic impact on our bodies and the planet. And he proposes real solutions for doctors, for policy makers, and for all of us who have to eat. A book that won’t only upend the way you shop and eat, Ultra-Processed People will open your eyes to the need for action on a global scale.]]> 384 Chris van Tulleken 1324036729 R.J. 4 nonfiction
Pros:
1.) The book will give you a lot of motivation, about eating healthy and avoiding processed food.
2.) It will give a breakdown of what ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are.. For instance, I knew emulsifiers were questionable, but I didn't know the softness of the food engineered to increase rate of intake was inherently bad for the digestive system.
3.) It'll help you literally "trust your gut" more. And realize the dangers of flavor extracts and flavor enhancers.
4.) The book is sprinkled with British humor. YMMV of course, but I love the ridiculousness mixed with serious topics, so this is a pro for me.
5.) Gives you insight into the food-industrial complex and conflicts of interest in science.
6.) Gives you insight into food corps aggressive marketing and exploitation of rural communities that are not equipped to make rational decisions for themselves.

Cons:
1.) The author claims if you eat 80% UPFs for a week, you will be converted and see the danger of UPFs. I mean yeah - if you eat 80% broccoli for a week, you'd probably feel that way too. The dose determines the poison, so it's kind of false experiment.
2.) Processed food have reduced world hunger to a great extent, and have literally saved lives. This version of history needs to be told alongside the dangers of UPF. I felt like that was touched upon but not elaborated. Without that context, some of the babble seems like outright doomerism.
3) A moderate amount of rambling, and beating around the bush. But hey, that's typical non-fiction in the 21st century for you.
4.) Equating activists working with the industry almost akin to working with the devil. Yes, as a rule of thumb big corporations are bad. But there are humans working inside those corporations that are genuinely working for change. Why not work together - rebellions can come from the inside too.

]]> 4.40 2023 Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food
author: Chris van Tulleken
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: nonfiction
review:
I really want to give this book 5 stars because it made me radically change the way I eat. And no book has ever done that. :) But I have a few issues. So let's do some pros and cons:

Pros:
1.) The book will give you a lot of motivation, about eating healthy and avoiding processed food.
2.) It will give a breakdown of what ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are.. For instance, I knew emulsifiers were questionable, but I didn't know the softness of the food engineered to increase rate of intake was inherently bad for the digestive system.
3.) It'll help you literally "trust your gut" more. And realize the dangers of flavor extracts and flavor enhancers.
4.) The book is sprinkled with British humor. YMMV of course, but I love the ridiculousness mixed with serious topics, so this is a pro for me.
5.) Gives you insight into the food-industrial complex and conflicts of interest in science.
6.) Gives you insight into food corps aggressive marketing and exploitation of rural communities that are not equipped to make rational decisions for themselves.

Cons:
1.) The author claims if you eat 80% UPFs for a week, you will be converted and see the danger of UPFs. I mean yeah - if you eat 80% broccoli for a week, you'd probably feel that way too. The dose determines the poison, so it's kind of false experiment.
2.) Processed food have reduced world hunger to a great extent, and have literally saved lives. This version of history needs to be told alongside the dangers of UPF. I felt like that was touched upon but not elaborated. Without that context, some of the babble seems like outright doomerism.
3) A moderate amount of rambling, and beating around the bush. But hey, that's typical non-fiction in the 21st century for you.
4.) Equating activists working with the industry almost akin to working with the devil. Yes, as a rule of thumb big corporations are bad. But there are humans working inside those corporations that are genuinely working for change. Why not work together - rebellions can come from the inside too.


]]> <![CDATA[Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power]]> 150247407
Systemic Shame is the socially engineered self-loathing that says we are solely to blame for our circumstances. It tells us that poverty is remedied by hard-working people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, that marginalized people are personally responsible for solving the problem of their own oppression, and that massive global crises like climate change can be solved with individual action. Feeling overwhelmed? That’s your problem, too. The more we try and ultimately fail to live up to impossible societal standards of moral goodness, the more shame we feel—and the more we retreat into isolation and despair.

Social psychologist Dr. Devon Price knows firsthand the destructive effects of Systemic Shame; he experienced shame and self-hatred as he grappled with his transgender identity, feeling as if his suffering was caused by his own actions rather than systems like cissexism. And it doesn’t just end with internal feelings of anguish. It causes us to judge other people the same way we fear being judged, which blocks us from seeking out the acceptance and support we need and discourages us from trying to improve our communities and our relationships.

In Unlearning Shame , Dr. Price explores how we can deal with those hard emotions more effectively, tackling the societal shame we’ve absorbed and directed at ourselves. He introduces the antidote to Systemic expansive recognition, an awareness of one’s position in the larger social world and the knowledge that our battles are only won when they are shared. He provides a suite of exercises and resources designed to combat Systemic Shame on a personal, interpersonal, and global level through rebuilding trust in yourself, in others, and in our shared future.

By offering a roadmap to healing and a toolkit of actionable items, Unlearning Shame helps us reject hopelessness and achieve sustainable change and personal growth.]]> 368 Devon Price 0593581210 R.J. 4 nonfiction 4.22 Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power
author: Devon Price
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.22
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Growing up in an age where "personal is political" was used as a device for guilt and shame, this book did make me question my own beliefs. Although most of the focus is on gender/sexuality based shame, the same principles can be applied to any kind of of systemic shame. The only thing I wish the author could've done was to include a chapter on practicing moral responsibility in the age of systemic shame - it would've made the message more balanced and more recommendable. Still, a worthwhile read.
]]> <![CDATA[How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen]]> 112974860 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER � A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives—from the author of The Road to Character and The Second Mountain

As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.�

And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to?

Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and his determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.

The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.]]> 304 David Brooks 059323006X R.J. 5 nonfiction
But� the ideas presented here will take time to sink in. And I imagine a lot of you benefit from reading the book twice or thrice, at various stages in your life. Here's a little summary/cheatsheet that might help you build some structure into the insights the book provides.

Diminishers vs Illuminators

Diminishers usually can't see past their own anxiety, or their own ego and make assumptions about people by generalizations. They also reduce other people to static mind-sets and think that everyone else has lesser minds than them. They have a naĂŻve realism that can't penetrate other's subjective realities.

Illuminators on the other hand are receptive, have an active curiosity, and have an aura of tenderness and affection about them. They have are generous with their time and have a more holistic attitude that prevents them from classifying people's traits (kind, wicked, energetic, apathetic etc). Strive to be an Illuminator.

Constructionism vs naĂŻve realism

NaĂŻve realism is the idea that reality is what we see. Constructionism, on the other hand is the idea that even though there is an objective reality out there, what we see is a construct of that reality and not necessarily a direct one to one relation. Constructionism therefore gives value to subjective experience - "People don't see the world with their eyes. They see it with their entire lives.". To understand other people, we have to step into that subjective experience, however unreal that may seem to us.

Conversation as an act of exploration

Getting to know someone is like floating in a river and feeling the river run through you. It's not about winning, it's about playing and being present, being the accompaniment and complimenting the score instead of trying to rise above other instruments.

Somebody floats a half-formed idea. Somebody else seizes that idea, plays with it, offers their own perspective and subjective experience and floats it back so the other person can respond.

What are the practical things you can do to facilitate such a conversation?

1.) Pay attention - sit up, lean forward, ask questions, acknowledge the speaker (nod and keep eye contact, be a loud listener)
2.) Keep others attention by focusing on the familiar. There's a novelty penalty to pay if you bring in a new subject to the conversation. Make sure to bring novelty only when it makes sense.
3a.) Ask small questions. Loop back around and see if you got what they really said.
3b) Ask Big questions. Ask open ended questions. Don't be afraid to look dumb.
4.) Don't fear the pause.
5.) Midwife the conversation. Be there as she gives birth. You are only there to support.
6.) Don't be a topper - "I know exactly what you mean" might not be the flex you think it is.
7.) Disagree with grace. Always assume good intentions. Find the disagreement under the disagreement.
8.) See the difference between the official conversation and actual conversation. The words you say about current events are the official conversation. The emotions underlying it (being threatened, disrespected etc) are the actual conversation.
9.) People like to tell their life stories. Give them the chance.

Navigating Identity politics

Unhappy societies create the politics of recognition. Identity politics (both on the left and right) usually arise because someone is trying to affirm their identity, against a seemingly judgmental society, and wants to regain status and visibility. While this is not always done in bad faith, it will lead you to sadness and loneliness. One researcher claims that mass shooters are not loners; they are failed joiners. "Love rejected, comes back as hatred." and "victimhood turns into villainy".

How do we bridge this gap? Learn to have hard conversations. Realize that when we meet people, we meet them in a landscape of distrust and disconnection, in a landscape where people see each other as members of opposing groups and with all the baggage that has been historically inherited in those groups. You might not subscribe to those ideals (slavery, elitsm, sexism, bigotry, etc) but realize that you inherit these group prejudices in the eyes of the other person. It's in that context you have to establish conversation and connection.

Don't be afraid to clarify and assert your own experience but also be ready to reach across the aisle and understand the other persons grievances. Be ready to have a difficult conversation, be ready to ask questions, be ready to respect the other persons activism by letting them stay in their frame.

The other part of identity is that, people go through transformations where they want to transcend their group. Understanding that not everyone at every moment in their lives identifies with their demographic is another important point to consider.

Navigating Depression

Depressed people usually don't have the desire to do things. So giving them ideas on how to fix their depression will go no where and likely lead into them think you just don't get it. It's not your job to cheer people up. Instead acknowledge the reality of the situation, show respect and love and show that you haven't walked away from them.

"Depression is the malfunction of the instrument we see reality with." No amount of intellectual reasoning can bring that back.

There's a lot more in the book about a personal tragedy, that I'm not summarizing here.


Navigating the terror of being abandoned

The neurons in our brain that we use to feel love for others is the same ones we used to love our parents in early childhood. If we received conditional/anxious love as a child, we would anticipate the same in adulthood. "If I didn't have that uneasy ache, that prickly anxiety around someone, how would I know it's real love?"

The manifestation in being abandoned comes in many ways:
1.) Avoidance - Since emotions in relationships hurt, people try to shy away from them. They overintellectualize and avoid their own emotions.
2.) Deprivation - The "I'm not worthy" excuse. Blaming themselves for the harm that others cause.
3.) Overreactivity - seeing neutral faces as angry faces. Interpreting ambivalent situations as menacing situations.
4.) Passive aggression - someone who fears conflict and hasn't dealt with emotion in a healthy way, will resort to self-pity and passive aggression

These defenses are not necessarily bad. They help people navigate a fraught past. But such defenses are not controllable. They control you.

The author argues that one should be empathetic (mirror, spot emotions, and co-regulate) towards such individuals. This is probably the one area that I disagree with the author. Compassion without empathy is a better solution. But that's a conversation for another time.

Navigating Grief

Grief is one of the strongest emotions that someone could go through. The author paints a compelling picture with vivid examples and argues that to really know someone, you have to go through how they have processed loss in their lives.
The process of excavation - going back into the past and reinventing the stories of your life - can bring people together. These are some actionable ways to achieve that.

1.) Ask questions about the deep values that were embedded in childhood. What were they allowed to do? What were they not allowed to do?
2.) Write a first person narrative of the past year of your loved one's life. And then let them read it.
3.) Fill the calendar - walk through periods of the others life.
4.) Free form writing about your own emotional experiences.
5.) If you've lost someone close to you, tell stories about that person to your friends.

The 5 big traits

Extroversion, Conscientiousness, Neurotism, Agreeableness, and Openness can predict many things about a person. Spotting these features in other humans will help you navigate the conversations you have with them and avoid pitfalls.

Integrity vs Despair

Types of Consciousness in development psychology: lantern consciousness, imperial consciousness, interpersonal consciousness. These evolve with each stage of our life, and it's important to realize where we are in the journey. Even people who have not succeeded in imperial goals (career, life achievements) or interpersonal goals have a chance at redemption in later life generative acts of mentorship.

"An infant believes I am my parents, then they realize I am not my parents. A teenager may believe that I am my friendships, but then they realize they are just a person who likes friendships."

The problems we create cannot be solved at the same levels of consciousness that we created them.

Tl:dr: Read the book. You'll not only learn to know a person, you will learn to know thyself. If I was non-fiction writer, living a different life, I could certainly see myself writing this book. I say this not as a cheeky jab, but because my subjective experience thinks it's the highest form of compliment I can give. :)


]]> 4.09 2023 How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
author: David Brooks
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/29
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: nonfiction
review:
This book collects a lot of great ideas and presents them in a digestible format, peppered with plenty of personal stories, famous cameos, and downright clever epiphanies that will delight the avid non-fiction reader. I would go far as to say this is probably one of the best non-fiction books I've read since "Thinking fast and slow" by Daniel Kahneman.

But� the ideas presented here will take time to sink in. And I imagine a lot of you benefit from reading the book twice or thrice, at various stages in your life. Here's a little summary/cheatsheet that might help you build some structure into the insights the book provides.

Diminishers vs Illuminators

Diminishers usually can't see past their own anxiety, or their own ego and make assumptions about people by generalizations. They also reduce other people to static mind-sets and think that everyone else has lesser minds than them. They have a naĂŻve realism that can't penetrate other's subjective realities.

Illuminators on the other hand are receptive, have an active curiosity, and have an aura of tenderness and affection about them. They have are generous with their time and have a more holistic attitude that prevents them from classifying people's traits (kind, wicked, energetic, apathetic etc). Strive to be an Illuminator.

Constructionism vs naĂŻve realism

NaĂŻve realism is the idea that reality is what we see. Constructionism, on the other hand is the idea that even though there is an objective reality out there, what we see is a construct of that reality and not necessarily a direct one to one relation. Constructionism therefore gives value to subjective experience - "People don't see the world with their eyes. They see it with their entire lives.". To understand other people, we have to step into that subjective experience, however unreal that may seem to us.

Conversation as an act of exploration

Getting to know someone is like floating in a river and feeling the river run through you. It's not about winning, it's about playing and being present, being the accompaniment and complimenting the score instead of trying to rise above other instruments.

Somebody floats a half-formed idea. Somebody else seizes that idea, plays with it, offers their own perspective and subjective experience and floats it back so the other person can respond.

What are the practical things you can do to facilitate such a conversation?

1.) Pay attention - sit up, lean forward, ask questions, acknowledge the speaker (nod and keep eye contact, be a loud listener)
2.) Keep others attention by focusing on the familiar. There's a novelty penalty to pay if you bring in a new subject to the conversation. Make sure to bring novelty only when it makes sense.
3a.) Ask small questions. Loop back around and see if you got what they really said.
3b) Ask Big questions. Ask open ended questions. Don't be afraid to look dumb.
4.) Don't fear the pause.
5.) Midwife the conversation. Be there as she gives birth. You are only there to support.
6.) Don't be a topper - "I know exactly what you mean" might not be the flex you think it is.
7.) Disagree with grace. Always assume good intentions. Find the disagreement under the disagreement.
8.) See the difference between the official conversation and actual conversation. The words you say about current events are the official conversation. The emotions underlying it (being threatened, disrespected etc) are the actual conversation.
9.) People like to tell their life stories. Give them the chance.

Navigating Identity politics

Unhappy societies create the politics of recognition. Identity politics (both on the left and right) usually arise because someone is trying to affirm their identity, against a seemingly judgmental society, and wants to regain status and visibility. While this is not always done in bad faith, it will lead you to sadness and loneliness. One researcher claims that mass shooters are not loners; they are failed joiners. "Love rejected, comes back as hatred." and "victimhood turns into villainy".

How do we bridge this gap? Learn to have hard conversations. Realize that when we meet people, we meet them in a landscape of distrust and disconnection, in a landscape where people see each other as members of opposing groups and with all the baggage that has been historically inherited in those groups. You might not subscribe to those ideals (slavery, elitsm, sexism, bigotry, etc) but realize that you inherit these group prejudices in the eyes of the other person. It's in that context you have to establish conversation and connection.

Don't be afraid to clarify and assert your own experience but also be ready to reach across the aisle and understand the other persons grievances. Be ready to have a difficult conversation, be ready to ask questions, be ready to respect the other persons activism by letting them stay in their frame.

The other part of identity is that, people go through transformations where they want to transcend their group. Understanding that not everyone at every moment in their lives identifies with their demographic is another important point to consider.

Navigating Depression

Depressed people usually don't have the desire to do things. So giving them ideas on how to fix their depression will go no where and likely lead into them think you just don't get it. It's not your job to cheer people up. Instead acknowledge the reality of the situation, show respect and love and show that you haven't walked away from them.

"Depression is the malfunction of the instrument we see reality with." No amount of intellectual reasoning can bring that back.

There's a lot more in the book about a personal tragedy, that I'm not summarizing here.


Navigating the terror of being abandoned

The neurons in our brain that we use to feel love for others is the same ones we used to love our parents in early childhood. If we received conditional/anxious love as a child, we would anticipate the same in adulthood. "If I didn't have that uneasy ache, that prickly anxiety around someone, how would I know it's real love?"

The manifestation in being abandoned comes in many ways:
1.) Avoidance - Since emotions in relationships hurt, people try to shy away from them. They overintellectualize and avoid their own emotions.
2.) Deprivation - The "I'm not worthy" excuse. Blaming themselves for the harm that others cause.
3.) Overreactivity - seeing neutral faces as angry faces. Interpreting ambivalent situations as menacing situations.
4.) Passive aggression - someone who fears conflict and hasn't dealt with emotion in a healthy way, will resort to self-pity and passive aggression

These defenses are not necessarily bad. They help people navigate a fraught past. But such defenses are not controllable. They control you.

The author argues that one should be empathetic (mirror, spot emotions, and co-regulate) towards such individuals. This is probably the one area that I disagree with the author. Compassion without empathy is a better solution. But that's a conversation for another time.

Navigating Grief

Grief is one of the strongest emotions that someone could go through. The author paints a compelling picture with vivid examples and argues that to really know someone, you have to go through how they have processed loss in their lives.
The process of excavation - going back into the past and reinventing the stories of your life - can bring people together. These are some actionable ways to achieve that.

1.) Ask questions about the deep values that were embedded in childhood. What were they allowed to do? What were they not allowed to do?
2.) Write a first person narrative of the past year of your loved one's life. And then let them read it.
3.) Fill the calendar - walk through periods of the others life.
4.) Free form writing about your own emotional experiences.
5.) If you've lost someone close to you, tell stories about that person to your friends.

The 5 big traits

Extroversion, Conscientiousness, Neurotism, Agreeableness, and Openness can predict many things about a person. Spotting these features in other humans will help you navigate the conversations you have with them and avoid pitfalls.

Integrity vs Despair

Types of Consciousness in development psychology: lantern consciousness, imperial consciousness, interpersonal consciousness. These evolve with each stage of our life, and it's important to realize where we are in the journey. Even people who have not succeeded in imperial goals (career, life achievements) or interpersonal goals have a chance at redemption in later life generative acts of mentorship.

"An infant believes I am my parents, then they realize I am not my parents. A teenager may believe that I am my friendships, but then they realize they are just a person who likes friendships."

The problems we create cannot be solved at the same levels of consciousness that we created them.

Tl:dr: Read the book. You'll not only learn to know a person, you will learn to know thyself. If I was non-fiction writer, living a different life, I could certainly see myself writing this book. I say this not as a cheeky jab, but because my subjective experience thinks it's the highest form of compliment I can give. :)



]]> Convenience Store Woman 36739755 Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura.

Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,� she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction―many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual―and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal� person excellently, more or less. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action�

A brilliant depiction of a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures we all feel to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.]]> 163 Sayaka Murata 0802128254 R.J. 5 3.65 2016 Convenience Store Woman
author: Sayaka Murata
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/24
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves:
review:
Hilarious, subtle and doesn't overstay it's welcome. A+
]]> <![CDATA[Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?]]> 30231743 Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition―in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos―to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we’ve underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal’s landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal―and human―intelligence.]]> 275 Frans de Waal 0393353664 R.J. 5 nonfiction 3.96 2016 Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
author: Frans de Waal
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/14
shelves: nonfiction
review:
There is so much nonsense in the review section for this book. I get it, some people think they already know the answer to the question in the title and they come here to whine about the author not understanding it. If you are one of those people this book is not for you! If you do want to understand the intricacies of what goes behind the scientific process - especially the battles fought between strong ideological fronts regarding consciousness and animal cognition, this might be the book for you. The book shines light on the prejudices inherent in the science establishments and goes through the new experiments and the work of researchers who have tried to course correct it. It shows the reader that scientists are not infallible, but the scientific process is. I do think the author could've expounded a lot more on animal cognition experiments and spent a little less time on making it an opinion piece - but that's a minor complaint. I enjoyed it overall, and learnt quite a bit about the surprising political power struggles of apes, facial recognition of crows, language sensitivity of elephants, meta cognition in rats, playfulness of octopuses, the altruism of chimpanzees, and many more.
]]> <![CDATA[The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion]]> 11324722 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780307377906 can be found here.

Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens? In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding.
Ěý
His starting point is moral intuition—the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right. He blends his own research findings with those of anthropologists, historians, and other psychologists to draw a map of the moral domain. He then examines the origins of morality, overturning the view that evolution made us fundamentally selfish creatures. But rather than arguing that we are innately altruistic, he makes a more subtle claim—that we are fundamentally groupish. It is our groupishness, he explains, that leads to our greatest joys, our religious divisions, and our political affiliations. In a stunning final chapter on ideology and civility, Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation.]]> 419 Jonathan Haidt R.J. 3 nonfiction
I had great expectations for this book after watching the author give an introduction in the Colbert report. However, the book didn't hold up to it's namesake. These are some of grudges I have against this book:

1.) The author doesn't tackle conservative vs. progressive morals in the philosophical sense. He tackles left wing vs. right wing morals.

To illustrate what I mean; in America, conservatives fight for free markets, the freedom to bare arms, and less government intervention. However in countries that have not embraced capitalism as much, the liberals (or progressives) are the ones who fight for free markets, less government intervention and individualist ideals such as the right to bare arms and freedom of speech.

It would've made much more sense in a philosophical context if the argument was about progressives (who want change) and conservatives (who want the things the way they are). But Haidt's main goal seems like to bridge the gap between the American Right and American Left. Unfortunately this caters to the "enlightened centrists"; which brings me to the second point.


2.) The author tries too hard to stay on the "middle ground".

Have you ever witnessed fights where you absolutely know that one party is being unreasonable, and someone comes along and tries to be "fair" to both parties? Obviously the unreasonable party profits and the reasonable party loses because the negotiations were trying to be "fair" to both parties. It's a simple case of the "Anchoring effect."; whoever anchors the furthest from the truth, wins.

3.) The author's epiphany comes from his visit to India, where he associated conservatism with likeable people. He probably didn't stay long enough to see the dark side of the culture.

Unlike the author, I was born in the East. And I can tell you first hand that the morals which seem to paint a pretty picture of eastern culture, is just a pretty picture - nothing more, nothing less. Hiding behind that pretty picture is a culture of corruption, a culture where shame and guilt are the driving forces of society and a culture where an individual is judged by his/her group (race, creed, school, hometown etc). A culture where you must bow down to someone just because they are older than you, or are in a higher paygrade than you.

Having said all that, the book is a good read. It's written beautifully with a style commonly found in most best selling non-fiction books these days. It get's you thinking, even if it's in the wrong direction. And it does point towards why there's a rift between left-wing and right-wing American political groups. I agree with the author that a lot of left-wing supporters just go with the tide and need to realize where the right-wing groups are coming from. What I don't agree is placing the philosophical ideal of conservatism on the same ground as the philosophical ideal of progressivism.
]]> 4.18 2012 The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/04/18
date added: 2024/03/08
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Disclaimer: This is NOT a critique of Haidt. This is a critique of the ideas that Haidt brings up in the "The Righteous Mind" book. It is not a condemnation but (what I hope is) constructive criticism. Haidt has done more rigorous work on social media's influences on the adolescent mind which is worth reading (see more at )

I had great expectations for this book after watching the author give an introduction in the Colbert report. However, the book didn't hold up to it's namesake. These are some of grudges I have against this book:

1.) The author doesn't tackle conservative vs. progressive morals in the philosophical sense. He tackles left wing vs. right wing morals.

To illustrate what I mean; in America, conservatives fight for free markets, the freedom to bare arms, and less government intervention. However in countries that have not embraced capitalism as much, the liberals (or progressives) are the ones who fight for free markets, less government intervention and individualist ideals such as the right to bare arms and freedom of speech.

It would've made much more sense in a philosophical context if the argument was about progressives (who want change) and conservatives (who want the things the way they are). But Haidt's main goal seems like to bridge the gap between the American Right and American Left. Unfortunately this caters to the "enlightened centrists"; which brings me to the second point.


2.) The author tries too hard to stay on the "middle ground".

Have you ever witnessed fights where you absolutely know that one party is being unreasonable, and someone comes along and tries to be "fair" to both parties? Obviously the unreasonable party profits and the reasonable party loses because the negotiations were trying to be "fair" to both parties. It's a simple case of the "Anchoring effect."; whoever anchors the furthest from the truth, wins.

3.) The author's epiphany comes from his visit to India, where he associated conservatism with likeable people. He probably didn't stay long enough to see the dark side of the culture.

Unlike the author, I was born in the East. And I can tell you first hand that the morals which seem to paint a pretty picture of eastern culture, is just a pretty picture - nothing more, nothing less. Hiding behind that pretty picture is a culture of corruption, a culture where shame and guilt are the driving forces of society and a culture where an individual is judged by his/her group (race, creed, school, hometown etc). A culture where you must bow down to someone just because they are older than you, or are in a higher paygrade than you.

Having said all that, the book is a good read. It's written beautifully with a style commonly found in most best selling non-fiction books these days. It get's you thinking, even if it's in the wrong direction. And it does point towards why there's a rift between left-wing and right-wing American political groups. I agree with the author that a lot of left-wing supporters just go with the tide and need to realize where the right-wing groups are coming from. What I don't agree is placing the philosophical ideal of conservatism on the same ground as the philosophical ideal of progressivism.

]]> <![CDATA[Transdimensional Tea: A Tale of Myths, Megastructures & Meandering Moons]]> 205580087
Naga's children � Tartarus, Gaia, Iapetus and Mnemosyne � have mixed feelings about their newly reborn mother and about each other. Remembering their own trials and tribunals, they rediscover themselves and take a stab at understanding consciousnesses, complexity and what it means to be alive.

This jovial journey of cosmic proportions merges mythology, philosophy, and modern scientific understanding with a dash of humor, existential dread and the prospect of what humanity may eventually leave behind.]]> 159 R.J. Kamaladasa R.J. 5 4.17 Transdimensional Tea: A Tale of Myths, Megastructures & Meandering Moons
author: R.J. Kamaladasa
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) 60929
The Oankali survive by genetically merging with primitive civilizations—whether their new hosts like it or not. For the first time since the nuclear holocaust, Earth will be inhabited. Grass will grow, animals will run, and people will learn to survive the planet’s untamed wilderness. But their children will not be human. Not exactly.]]> 248 Octavia E. Butler 0446603775 R.J. 4
One of the main points that I found fascinating about the alien race (without giving away too much spoilers), is that their singular drive towards the benefit of evolution. The psychedelic sex was awesome too, but as a species they are able "think objectively" without getting entangled in human emotion which in contrast seems so puny, childish and even insignificant. Again, the author doesn't explicitly say this because she's writing from the human narrative, but for the inquisitive reader, it's pretty darn obvious.]]> 4.15 1987 Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/14
date added: 2015/12/14
shelves:
review:
Good solid science fiction. Although the main story is woven around alien-human sex, it's not graphic. The book dwells into the power struggles between captive and captor and let's the reader think hard and fast about subjects like sexual consent, conscious leadership/manipulation, evolutionary programming and xenophobia that drives very close to home. What I really like about the book is that the author doesn't blatantly point out what's right and wrong. She gives the opportunity to the reader to ask such questions.

One of the main points that I found fascinating about the alien race (without giving away too much spoilers), is that their singular drive towards the benefit of evolution. The psychedelic sex was awesome too, but as a species they are able "think objectively" without getting entangled in human emotion which in contrast seems so puny, childish and even insignificant. Again, the author doesn't explicitly say this because she's writing from the human narrative, but for the inquisitive reader, it's pretty darn obvious.
]]> The Gods Themselves 41821
Only a few know the terrifying truth--an outcast Earth scientist, a rebellious alien inhabitant of a dying planet, a lunar-born human intuitionist who senses the imminent annihilation of the Sun.ĚýĚýThey know the truth--but who will listen?ĚýĚýThey have foreseen the cost of abundant energy--but who will believe?ĚýĚýThese few beings, human and alien, hold the key to the Earth's survival.]]> 288 Isaac Asimov 1857989341 R.J. 4 4.10 1972 The Gods Themselves
author: Isaac Asimov
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/04
date added: 2015/12/14
shelves:
review:
Solid read. Loved the huge plot twist at the second stage of the book where all the alien interactions had to be looked again through a new light. The human parts of the book were kind of drag, and might possibly be intentional on the authors part. Loved how the moon born human culture was explained and described. It's realistic enough to get you back on ground and start dreaming about all the potential cultural explosions that might happen with space colonization.
]]> <![CDATA[Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame]]> 13237633 Moral Origins, he offers an elegant new theory.Tracing the development of altruism and group social control over 6 million years, Boehm argues that our moral sense is a sophisticated defense mechanism that enables individuals to survive and thrive in groups. One of the biggest risks of group living is the possibility of being punished for our misdeeds by those around us. Bullies, thieves, free-riders, and especially psychopaths—those who make it difficult for others to go about their lives—are the most likely to suffer this fate. Getting by requires getting along, and this social type of selection, Boehm shows, singles out altruists for survival. This selection pressure has been unique in shaping human nature, and it bred the first stirrings of conscience in the human species. Ultimately, it led to the fully developed sense of virtue and shame that we know today.A groundbreaking exploration of the evolution of human generosity and cooperation, Moral Origins offers profound insight into humanity’s moral past—and how it might shape our moral future.]]> 432 Christopher Boehm 0465020488 R.J. 3
If the book was more objective in it's approach and focused more on case studies and trying to forcefully drive a point, I would've enjoyed a tad bit more. ]]> 3.62 2012 Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame
author: Christopher Boehm
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/01
date added: 2015/11/01
shelves:
review:
Felt more like an essay than a science book. The author has some good points but the evidence for most of the claims he makes are so-so. It was interesting reading the various real life examples of humans/chimps/bonobos in the wild and that was probably the only thing that kept me going. Even those examples however are interpreted through the lens of the author who tries hard to drive the point of uniqueness of humans that are supposed to have special moral traits like shame and conscience.

If the book was more objective in it's approach and focused more on case studies and trying to forcefully drive a point, I would've enjoyed a tad bit more.
]]> <![CDATA[Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking]]> 18378002 Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful "imagination-extenders and focus-holders" meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will. With patience and wit, Dennett deftly deploys his thinking tools to gain traction on these thorny issues while offering readers insight into how and why each tool was built.


Alongside well-known favorites like Occam’s Razor and reductio ad absurdum lie thrilling descriptions of Dennett’s own creations: Trapped in the Robot Control Room, Beware of the Prime Mammal, and The Wandering Two-Bitser. Ranging across disciplines as diverse as psychology, biology, computer science, and physics, Dennett’s tools embrace in equal measure light-heartedness and accessibility as they welcome uninitiated and seasoned readers alike. As always, his goal remains to teach you how to "think reliably and even gracefully about really hard questions."


A sweeping work of intellectual seriousness that’s also studded with impish delights, Intuition Pumps offers intrepid thinkers—in all walks of life—delicious opportunities to explore their pet ideas with new powers.]]> 496 Daniel C. Dennett 0393348784 R.J. 4
The one thing that I dislike about the book is perhaps the long winded (but playful) narration that seems to be an overkill. Simple concepts that can be explained in a sentence or a paragraph goes on to be chapters. But since Dennett is a philosopher it's all forgiven. If you don't like this playful elongated writing style, and prefer concise and direct communication, it may ruin a perfectly good book.

There are several things I found fascinating about the thinking tools. I won't list all of them, but there seems to be a few major points he tries to paint with stacking several intuition pumps together. And those messages are worth mentioning.

1.) There is no wonder tissue that makes us humans unique. We're simply chemical machines. The deliberate wanting to place a hidden mystery to the workings of the brain is merely an attempt at convincing ourselves that we are special.

2.) The meaning of life and the intentions that we have can probably never be deciphered. We Sorta know our inner programming, but really we don't. The only programming that makes sense is the narrative of the Selfish Gene. The one that wants to propagate itself towards the future by beating all the odd balls that the environment can throw at it.

2b.) Genetic Engineering is perhaps one of the most important things that humans have created. It's a revolution in evolution.

3.) Consciousness and Self are illusions, but effective and useful illusions. Kind of like the concept of a center of gravity or axis of rotation. There is no such physical thing as a center of gravity but having a concept of such a point makes the physical world easier to explain.

4.) There can be free will in an in-deterministic world. From all the things that Dennett describes in the book, this was news to me. And I loved the way he walked the reader through his thinking process.

But I think beauty of this book is not necessarily in the conclusions but in the philosophical discussions that lead to the said conclusions. The thinking tools that are required to comprehend these truths are not necessarily straightforward. It requires sitting down, wrapping your head around intuitive concepts and then extending what you've learnt to other problems. That's where the book shines, and that's possibly why you should read it.

]]> 3.76 2013 Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
author: Daniel C. Dennett
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/12
date added: 2015/10/27
shelves:
review:
Finally, a book worth reading and reviewing.

The one thing that I dislike about the book is perhaps the long winded (but playful) narration that seems to be an overkill. Simple concepts that can be explained in a sentence or a paragraph goes on to be chapters. But since Dennett is a philosopher it's all forgiven. If you don't like this playful elongated writing style, and prefer concise and direct communication, it may ruin a perfectly good book.

There are several things I found fascinating about the thinking tools. I won't list all of them, but there seems to be a few major points he tries to paint with stacking several intuition pumps together. And those messages are worth mentioning.

1.) There is no wonder tissue that makes us humans unique. We're simply chemical machines. The deliberate wanting to place a hidden mystery to the workings of the brain is merely an attempt at convincing ourselves that we are special.

2.) The meaning of life and the intentions that we have can probably never be deciphered. We Sorta know our inner programming, but really we don't. The only programming that makes sense is the narrative of the Selfish Gene. The one that wants to propagate itself towards the future by beating all the odd balls that the environment can throw at it.

2b.) Genetic Engineering is perhaps one of the most important things that humans have created. It's a revolution in evolution.

3.) Consciousness and Self are illusions, but effective and useful illusions. Kind of like the concept of a center of gravity or axis of rotation. There is no such physical thing as a center of gravity but having a concept of such a point makes the physical world easier to explain.

4.) There can be free will in an in-deterministic world. From all the things that Dennett describes in the book, this was news to me. And I loved the way he walked the reader through his thinking process.

But I think beauty of this book is not necessarily in the conclusions but in the philosophical discussions that lead to the said conclusions. The thinking tools that are required to comprehend these truths are not necessarily straightforward. It requires sitting down, wrapping your head around intuitive concepts and then extending what you've learnt to other problems. That's where the book shines, and that's possibly why you should read it.


]]> <![CDATA[The Ocean at the End of the Lane]]> 15783514
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.]]> 181 Neil Gaiman 0062255657 R.J. 5
Don't get me wrong. This book will not be emotional for everyone. Nor will it strike a chord with the majority of people, but for those who have triggers in their childhoods, this will be quite a transformational read. I found a part of myself all over again again by reading this. I was able to look back lucidly at the memories I've forced myself to forget. Neil Gaiman weaves a beautiful fantasy land where in the end, everything comes together in the end.

Read it if you dare. ]]> 4.00 2013 The Ocean at the End of the Lane
author: Neil Gaiman
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/11/01
date added: 2014/12/06
shelves:
review:
This should've been a short read. But it took me forever to finish the book. Not because it's bad. But because it stirred up in me some childhood memories. There were moments that I put the book down and wept for hours.

Don't get me wrong. This book will not be emotional for everyone. Nor will it strike a chord with the majority of people, but for those who have triggers in their childhoods, this will be quite a transformational read. I found a part of myself all over again again by reading this. I was able to look back lucidly at the memories I've forced myself to forget. Neil Gaiman weaves a beautiful fantasy land where in the end, everything comes together in the end.

Read it if you dare.
]]> The Stranger 49552 The Stranger has long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature. Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list. Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."]]> 123 Albert Camus R.J. 4
I guess historically, this book changed the perception of the society it was written in. And for that I am grateful. But there has to be better existential literature out there. Maybe crossing over to the Absurdism regime..I can only hope. ]]> 4.04 1942 The Stranger
author: Albert Camus
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2014/11/01
date added: 2014/12/06
shelves:
review:
The stranger, acclaimed by many to be the epitome of Existentialist literature, was kind of strange to me. Instead of finding a protagonist who takes existence one step at a time, I found a man who's lost in very fleeting thoughts that the mind creates at a given instance. A slave to his own bodily functions. Is this really existentialism? Many a time while reading the story I wondered why the protagonist couldn't escape his reality. There was a distinct lack of hope, lack of internal dialogue that the hero lacked.

I guess historically, this book changed the perception of the society it was written in. And for that I am grateful. But there has to be better existential literature out there. Maybe crossing over to the Absurdism regime..I can only hope.
]]> Thinking, Fast and Slow 11468377 Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.

Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.]]> 499 Daniel Kahneman 0374275637 R.J. 5 nonfiction
The book is a lengthy, self-conscious and a challenging read but highly recommended if you're interested in why human beings behave the way they behave. It's given me so much 'oh snap, so that's why we're so dumb' moments that at this point I don't even want to admit I'm a human to any space-time traveling race that comes in collision of 21st century Earth.

Citing behavioral research studies, he's convinced me that human confidence is a measure of whether a person has built up a coherent story not that the person truly knows what she's doing. He's convinced me that the feeling of 'ease' is just cognitive familiarity. He's convinced me why first impressions matter more than we think due to the Halo effect. He's convinced me that the human mind doesn't understand non-events. We think we understand the past, but we really don't. We create coherency by attributing causality to events, but not to non-events. In other words we underestimate the role of luck or the role of unknown variables in a given situation. He has given me reason to believe that in low validity environments, it's better to use formula's than to listen to expert human judgment. For example, the stability of a marriage can be better predicted by a simple equation like [stability = frequency of love making - frequency of arguing] than an expert opinion.

But one of the most interesting hypothesis he builds up is the existence of two systems in the mind. System 1 is prone to cognitive biases described above, but it's also where morality comes from. Not to mention intuitive judgment and hueristic answers to life's everyday questions. Would you believe it? Morality is more of an intuitive thing than a logical and reasonable framework! And the funny thing is without system 1, we'd won't survive a day in the life. Not to mention we wouldn't act human. System 2 on the other hand is more introspective, rational and is capable of being aware of the cognitive biases created by System 1. If my understanding is correct then, we can replicate system 2 by a machine or artificial intelligence. But that machine will not have the same extent of morality that we have.... food for thought!

In later chapters of the book, he describes another variation of duality in the human mind. An Experiencing Self and a Remembering Self. With countless examples (both experimental and anecdotal) he vividly paints a picture of how humans have this notion of "I am my remembering self, and strangely my experiencing self is a stranger to me." We're actually okay with letting our Experiencing Self suffer for the good of the Remembering Self!! This ties in to the cognitive bias of "focusing Illusion" (Focalism) and how we tend to overestimate a certain aspect of life.

To put the icing on the cake he finalizes the book by analyzing how we appreciate, value and judge the quality of our lives with all these biases combined. And it's amazing how irrational we are in doing so. Not only have I realized from this book that I should stop worrying about societal standards (because they are mostly based on irrational biases) but that I should spend a significant amount of my time and effort to into creating a value structure ideally suited for myself. Now, only if I had bit more memory and cpu speed on System 2...]]> 4.17 2011 Thinking, Fast and Slow
author: Daniel Kahneman
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/15
date added: 2014/01/06
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Hands down, one of the best books in its genre.

The book is a lengthy, self-conscious and a challenging read but highly recommended if you're interested in why human beings behave the way they behave. It's given me so much 'oh snap, so that's why we're so dumb' moments that at this point I don't even want to admit I'm a human to any space-time traveling race that comes in collision of 21st century Earth.

Citing behavioral research studies, he's convinced me that human confidence is a measure of whether a person has built up a coherent story not that the person truly knows what she's doing. He's convinced me that the feeling of 'ease' is just cognitive familiarity. He's convinced me why first impressions matter more than we think due to the Halo effect. He's convinced me that the human mind doesn't understand non-events. We think we understand the past, but we really don't. We create coherency by attributing causality to events, but not to non-events. In other words we underestimate the role of luck or the role of unknown variables in a given situation. He has given me reason to believe that in low validity environments, it's better to use formula's than to listen to expert human judgment. For example, the stability of a marriage can be better predicted by a simple equation like [stability = frequency of love making - frequency of arguing] than an expert opinion.

But one of the most interesting hypothesis he builds up is the existence of two systems in the mind. System 1 is prone to cognitive biases described above, but it's also where morality comes from. Not to mention intuitive judgment and hueristic answers to life's everyday questions. Would you believe it? Morality is more of an intuitive thing than a logical and reasonable framework! And the funny thing is without system 1, we'd won't survive a day in the life. Not to mention we wouldn't act human. System 2 on the other hand is more introspective, rational and is capable of being aware of the cognitive biases created by System 1. If my understanding is correct then, we can replicate system 2 by a machine or artificial intelligence. But that machine will not have the same extent of morality that we have.... food for thought!

In later chapters of the book, he describes another variation of duality in the human mind. An Experiencing Self and a Remembering Self. With countless examples (both experimental and anecdotal) he vividly paints a picture of how humans have this notion of "I am my remembering self, and strangely my experiencing self is a stranger to me." We're actually okay with letting our Experiencing Self suffer for the good of the Remembering Self!! This ties in to the cognitive bias of "focusing Illusion" (Focalism) and how we tend to overestimate a certain aspect of life.

To put the icing on the cake he finalizes the book by analyzing how we appreciate, value and judge the quality of our lives with all these biases combined. And it's amazing how irrational we are in doing so. Not only have I realized from this book that I should stop worrying about societal standards (because they are mostly based on irrational biases) but that I should spend a significant amount of my time and effort to into creating a value structure ideally suited for myself. Now, only if I had bit more memory and cpu speed on System 2...
]]> The Tao of Pooh 48757
Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey. Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and his companions, the author of this smash bestseller explains with ease and aplomb that rather than being a distant and mysterious concept, Taoism is as near and practical to us as our morning breakfast bowl.

Romp through the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh while soaking up invaluable lessons on simplicity and natural living.]]> 176 Benjamin Hoff 1405204265 R.J. 5
While reading the book, it also dawned on me that I've played all the characters of Winnie the pooh in real life; the wise-owl, anxious-piglet, OCD-rabbit, depressed-Eeyore, the existential Pooh and positive-psychology tigger! And what's more, I can bring each of these characters to life with a snap of the finger.

I don't believe the ultimate premise of the book though: that we should all strive to be existential Pooh bears. I think it's more important to build an awareness of the character that you're playing right now, and be able to change it through the power of will. Or drugs or exercise or a social life; whichever floats your boat at the time.

So yeah, read the book. It's certainly a joy to read. But come to your own conclusions. ]]> 4.02 1982 The Tao of Pooh
author: Benjamin Hoff
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/10
date added: 2013/12/20
shelves:
review:
Loved it. I think this is a great introduction to Taoism, and also a refresher for those who are already initiated. I enjoyed the way it compared the other characters of Winnie the Pooh, to the various personality disorders that's common in modern life. I also realized that Buddhism was kind of a bitter take on life (when compared to Taoism) and Confucianism was a rigid and conformist take on life.

While reading the book, it also dawned on me that I've played all the characters of Winnie the pooh in real life; the wise-owl, anxious-piglet, OCD-rabbit, depressed-Eeyore, the existential Pooh and positive-psychology tigger! And what's more, I can bring each of these characters to life with a snap of the finger.

I don't believe the ultimate premise of the book though: that we should all strive to be existential Pooh bears. I think it's more important to build an awareness of the character that you're playing right now, and be able to change it through the power of will. Or drugs or exercise or a social life; whichever floats your boat at the time.

So yeah, read the book. It's certainly a joy to read. But come to your own conclusions.
]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)]]> 8695 alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMilan, a fellow Earth refuge who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, who suffers nothing and no one gladly.

Source: douglasadams.com]]> 250 Douglas Adams R.J. 5 4.22 1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1980
rating: 5
read at: 2013/11/28
date added: 2013/12/20
shelves:
review:
Splendidly fun and a great follow up to the Great Guide. The audiobook by Martin Freeman was an excellent hearing and a welcome distraction through a long-distance drive. The ending would seem anti-climatic to most, but I thought the compromise that Author made for the promise of a great lay was hilarious and does justice to the existential nature of the Adam's philosophy of the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Even if the series ended on this note, I would've been completely content.
]]> Permutation City 156784 Permutation City is the tale of a man with a vision—how to create immortality—and how that vision becomes something way beyond his control. Encompassing the lives and struggles of an artificial life junkie desperate to save her dying mother, a billionaire banker scarred by a terrible crime, the lovers for whom, in their timeless virtual world, love is not enough—and much more—Permutation City is filled with the sense of wonder.]]> 352 Greg Egan 006105481X R.J. 5
This book gives me Hope. Hope about the human condition. Hope about Existentialism/Absurdism. Hope about Artificial Intelligence. Hope about Enlightenment/Nirvana. Hope about theoretical physics and it's pursuits to understand the Universe. And perhaps most importantly, hope about the genre of Science Fiction.

Sure, there's less character build up and less depth to the characters than one would expect. But that's not the point of the genre. The point of science fiction is to transcend current culture/morality and weave a future of higher ethics, one that would be in-line with the practical development of technology and philosophical understanding that new science may bring. This book does exactly that.

Without giving away the plot, I will tell you this. The author plays with the idea that a Self comes into being as long as it's coherent and has no internal inconsistencies. In that sense, our consciousness can be mapped to a computer simulation and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Taking this a step further, as long as a string of information is coherent and has no internal inconsistencies, the Self will always form, even if the information is scattered throughout Time and Space. The information will always find itself, and the concept of "you" will always be there. With or without a computer to simulate it. Enlightened yet? But wait, there's more. The Universe itself is a Self. As long as the laws of physics are coherent and has no internal inconsistencies, Time and Space will find itself and create itself. A universe out of nothing. We are here because we can.

Cellular automation and artificial life, artificial universes with its own laws of physics, virtual realities and computing power economies, "Solophist Nations", speculations about general relativity, immortality, death, rebirth, transcending physical emotion, there are so many ideas that the book plays with, it's impossible not to have your jaw dropped while reading some of the chapters.

The book comes with a very high recommendation. Go and read it!
]]> 4.08 1994 Permutation City
author: Greg Egan
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2013/09/28
date added: 2013/10/02
shelves:
review:
This is what Science fiction should be. If you're tired of the post-apocalyptic bullshit that comes out every other day, this should be a breath of fresh air.

This book gives me Hope. Hope about the human condition. Hope about Existentialism/Absurdism. Hope about Artificial Intelligence. Hope about Enlightenment/Nirvana. Hope about theoretical physics and it's pursuits to understand the Universe. And perhaps most importantly, hope about the genre of Science Fiction.

Sure, there's less character build up and less depth to the characters than one would expect. But that's not the point of the genre. The point of science fiction is to transcend current culture/morality and weave a future of higher ethics, one that would be in-line with the practical development of technology and philosophical understanding that new science may bring. This book does exactly that.

Without giving away the plot, I will tell you this. The author plays with the idea that a Self comes into being as long as it's coherent and has no internal inconsistencies. In that sense, our consciousness can be mapped to a computer simulation and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Taking this a step further, as long as a string of information is coherent and has no internal inconsistencies, the Self will always form, even if the information is scattered throughout Time and Space. The information will always find itself, and the concept of "you" will always be there. With or without a computer to simulate it. Enlightened yet? But wait, there's more. The Universe itself is a Self. As long as the laws of physics are coherent and has no internal inconsistencies, Time and Space will find itself and create itself. A universe out of nothing. We are here because we can.

Cellular automation and artificial life, artificial universes with its own laws of physics, virtual realities and computing power economies, "Solophist Nations", speculations about general relativity, immortality, death, rebirth, transcending physical emotion, there are so many ideas that the book plays with, it's impossible not to have your jaw dropped while reading some of the chapters.

The book comes with a very high recommendation. Go and read it!

]]> <![CDATA[Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything]]> 6346975 The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory

An instant bestseller that is poised to become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.]]> 307 Joshua Foer 159420229X R.J. 4
The book however is a remarkable and personal tale of journalist who covered the US and World memory championships, trained himself and eventually become a memory Grand Master himself. It is quintessentially the American Dream. The dream that if we put enough effort, we will achieve our goals. The dream that you can achieve the seemingly impossible with proper training, and perhaps (in)adequate sleep. The dream that no mountain is too high to climb if you take it one step at a time. The book also gives you an inside look at how the world of memory champions. At least for myself, I no longer see memory champions as "out of the ordinary". They are just people, like me and you, trying to bring out the best in themselves.

The book flows effortlessly from personal narrative to the techniques of memory enhancement and back again to interviews with savants and others the author met on his conquest to find out the inner workings of memory. What I really like about his personal narrative is that the amount of humility that the man has. If you've ever read books like the "The China Study" you know how authors can be so full of themselves. Joshua is definitely an exception to the rule.

The memory enhancement techniques don't take up much of the text, but they give an adequate description, and if you've ever read a pop-science book on neuroscience you can see how these techniques become effective. You're essentially building associations. Making the brain work and activating the senses. You give meaning to otherwise meaningless numbers, cards and words, and in doing so they become engraved in your mind. Simple as that. I think somewhere in the middle, the author talks about "OK plateaus", and how most people don't go the extra-mile because they are OK with where they are. I thought that was a pretty neat explanation.

Anyways, bottom line: The book is definitely worth reading. It is not a science book, nor is it a step-by-step guide to improving your memory. It is however a book about human achievement, about what makes the outliers different from the rest, and a man's remarkable journey into understanding the often misunderstood world of memory championships.
]]> 3.86 2011 Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
author: Joshua Foer
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/31
date added: 2013/08/31
shelves:
review:
This is one of those books you have to read without expectations. If you do that, you will get a lot out of it. I think the problem that many people have with this book is that they expect it to be a guide for improving their memory. Nope "the art and science of remembering everything" is not a manual for increasing your memory. It points you in the right direction, gives you examples of what needs to be done; but it is not a guidebook for memory enhancement. Also, this book is not a "science" book. The author is not a scientist, and therefore he goes on an empirical evidence search down memory lane, rather than a scientific approach to the subject.

The book however is a remarkable and personal tale of journalist who covered the US and World memory championships, trained himself and eventually become a memory Grand Master himself. It is quintessentially the American Dream. The dream that if we put enough effort, we will achieve our goals. The dream that you can achieve the seemingly impossible with proper training, and perhaps (in)adequate sleep. The dream that no mountain is too high to climb if you take it one step at a time. The book also gives you an inside look at how the world of memory champions. At least for myself, I no longer see memory champions as "out of the ordinary". They are just people, like me and you, trying to bring out the best in themselves.

The book flows effortlessly from personal narrative to the techniques of memory enhancement and back again to interviews with savants and others the author met on his conquest to find out the inner workings of memory. What I really like about his personal narrative is that the amount of humility that the man has. If you've ever read books like the "The China Study" you know how authors can be so full of themselves. Joshua is definitely an exception to the rule.

The memory enhancement techniques don't take up much of the text, but they give an adequate description, and if you've ever read a pop-science book on neuroscience you can see how these techniques become effective. You're essentially building associations. Making the brain work and activating the senses. You give meaning to otherwise meaningless numbers, cards and words, and in doing so they become engraved in your mind. Simple as that. I think somewhere in the middle, the author talks about "OK plateaus", and how most people don't go the extra-mile because they are OK with where they are. I thought that was a pretty neat explanation.

Anyways, bottom line: The book is definitely worth reading. It is not a science book, nor is it a step-by-step guide to improving your memory. It is however a book about human achievement, about what makes the outliers different from the rest, and a man's remarkable journey into understanding the often misunderstood world of memory championships.

]]> <![CDATA[Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience]]> 66354 303 Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 0060920432 R.J. 5
This is not a full review of the book, but a glimpse of what the author has to say. What the book describes is far more important to be buried down a criticism of literature.

1.) We overcompensate our efforts in work, and under-compensate our efforts in our leisure lives.
2.) If you fine tune your life's challenges so that they are sufficient to keep you from being bored, and not limited to ensure minimal stress and anxiety, you are ready to achieve "Flow"
3.) Flow can be achieved in all areas in life: work, thought, music, sex, food, exercise, friendship, marriage and even casual conversation.
4.) Flow is not necessarily moral. It is however, very efficient state of mind.
5.) The concept of entropy of the mind. How the mind can wander if it's not subject by external controls or internal ambitions.
6.) Why solitude is perhaps the most Mental Entropy inducing agent in our lives. This is why even though "Hell is other people", we constantly seek the company of other humans.
7.) How television and drugs can temporarily decrease mental entropy.
8.) The importance of non-self-conscious self assuredness in achieving flow. And the "Autotelic" personality.
9.) The importance of setting achievable goals and going through with them. - Basically the Absurdist philosophy of life.

In terms of readability, the book is okay. There's quite a bit of redundancy but it has it's own "flow" to it (pardon the pun). The author could have done a bit more with it though, by connecting modern psychological studies and philosophy rather than giving anecdotal examples. But he got the point across, and it did change how I look at things quite a bit. So thumbs up!
]]> 4.11 1990 Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
author: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2013/08/18
date added: 2013/08/18
shelves:
review:
Five stars because it broadened my perspective on life.

This is not a full review of the book, but a glimpse of what the author has to say. What the book describes is far more important to be buried down a criticism of literature.

1.) We overcompensate our efforts in work, and under-compensate our efforts in our leisure lives.
2.) If you fine tune your life's challenges so that they are sufficient to keep you from being bored, and not limited to ensure minimal stress and anxiety, you are ready to achieve "Flow"
3.) Flow can be achieved in all areas in life: work, thought, music, sex, food, exercise, friendship, marriage and even casual conversation.
4.) Flow is not necessarily moral. It is however, very efficient state of mind.
5.) The concept of entropy of the mind. How the mind can wander if it's not subject by external controls or internal ambitions.
6.) Why solitude is perhaps the most Mental Entropy inducing agent in our lives. This is why even though "Hell is other people", we constantly seek the company of other humans.
7.) How television and drugs can temporarily decrease mental entropy.
8.) The importance of non-self-conscious self assuredness in achieving flow. And the "Autotelic" personality.
9.) The importance of setting achievable goals and going through with them. - Basically the Absurdist philosophy of life.

In terms of readability, the book is okay. There's quite a bit of redundancy but it has it's own "flow" to it (pardon the pun). The author could have done a bit more with it though, by connecting modern psychological studies and philosophy rather than giving anecdotal examples. But he got the point across, and it did change how I look at things quite a bit. So thumbs up!

]]> <![CDATA[Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain]]> 721609

Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.

In SPARK, John J. Ratey, M.D., embarks upon a fascinating and entertaining journey through the mind-body connection, presenting startling research to prove that exercise is truly our best defense against everything from depression to ADD to addiction to aggression to menopause to Alzheimer's. Filled with amazing case studies (such as the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois, which has put this school district of 19,000 kids first in the world of science test scores), SPARK is the first book to explore comprehensively the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run---or, for that matter, simply the way you think]]> 294 John J. Ratey 0316113506 R.J. 4 nonfiction
As with most brain-based non-fiction books in the market today, Spark goes through various empirical examples to drive the point in. How the Naperville school district managed to get the best results consecutively for years by incorporating an innovative physical-ed class before tough classes is hammered to death in several chapters. And the inquisitive reader is left with the question "well that's a nice correlation, but do you have a conclusive theory that has been tested and that can be used to analyze and treat my condition?" Maybe the science isn't there yet, maybe the author didn't do enough research, maybe it's impossible to formulate a general physiological theory of exercise that fits most humans? Whatever the reason, the book doesn't convey it clearly.

But if you can get past that expectation, this is actually a pretty nice read. What the book repeatedly says is that exercise is good for you. And not just exercise alone, but also exercise that incorporates the social aspect (like dancing or yoga) and also how to maintain the incentive for exercise by incorporating challenges like beating your own records etc.

The book touches on how exercise increases the human growth hormone (BDNF) and GABA- the natural calming agent of the brain.
It also contains anecdotal evidence that exercise can decrease depression without the use of anti-depressants and their notorious side-effects. The examples on how a parent made significant strides in a custody battle by starting to exercise regularly and how a man regained his enthusiasm for his relationships and life are uplifting real life personal examples that the author draws upon. They give enough fuel to make you want to go out and exercise right now than. But again, it's a guide for those who need convincing to stop sitting around and do some exercise, than an actual scientific reference that you can rely on to change the way you exercise. ]]> 4.11 2008 Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
author: John J. Ratey
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/10
date added: 2013/08/15
shelves: nonfiction
review:
This book is more for the policy maker than for the fitness enthusiast. If you've already established an exercise regime, you might feel that the author could've done a bit more. For example, which types of exercises increase what type of neurotransmitters, or perhaps what type of training regiment would you want to focus on if you have a certain ailment? But if you're a teacher, parent, or an education policymaker this might be the book for you.

As with most brain-based non-fiction books in the market today, Spark goes through various empirical examples to drive the point in. How the Naperville school district managed to get the best results consecutively for years by incorporating an innovative physical-ed class before tough classes is hammered to death in several chapters. And the inquisitive reader is left with the question "well that's a nice correlation, but do you have a conclusive theory that has been tested and that can be used to analyze and treat my condition?" Maybe the science isn't there yet, maybe the author didn't do enough research, maybe it's impossible to formulate a general physiological theory of exercise that fits most humans? Whatever the reason, the book doesn't convey it clearly.

But if you can get past that expectation, this is actually a pretty nice read. What the book repeatedly says is that exercise is good for you. And not just exercise alone, but also exercise that incorporates the social aspect (like dancing or yoga) and also how to maintain the incentive for exercise by incorporating challenges like beating your own records etc.

The book touches on how exercise increases the human growth hormone (BDNF) and GABA- the natural calming agent of the brain.
It also contains anecdotal evidence that exercise can decrease depression without the use of anti-depressants and their notorious side-effects. The examples on how a parent made significant strides in a custody battle by starting to exercise regularly and how a man regained his enthusiasm for his relationships and life are uplifting real life personal examples that the author draws upon. They give enough fuel to make you want to go out and exercise right now than. But again, it's a guide for those who need convincing to stop sitting around and do some exercise, than an actual scientific reference that you can rely on to change the way you exercise.
]]> <![CDATA[The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism]]> 11910905 The Charisma Myth is a mix of fun stories, sound science, and practical tools. Cabane takes a hard scientific approach to a heretofore mystical topic, covering what charisma actually is, how it is learned, what its side effects are, and how to handle them.]]> 264 Olivia Fox Cabane 1591844568 R.J. 5
I read this book a week before facing to a stressful interview. So I really had an incentive to learn. I practiced the techniques on total strangers I met the street as well as on people at work. The results were immediate, amazing and they turned out to be some of the most memorable interactions that I've had with anyone, ever. (I apologize for using that over-used american superlative, but it really is true.) A week later, I faced the interview, breezed through it, and felt really good about myself. I'm sure I left an impression on the interviewers, but more than that I left a lasting impression on myself.

Do yourself a favor. Get this book. Read it, but more importantly, practice the things in it. Your interactions with others will change by orders of a magnitude. ]]> 3.90 2012 The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism
author: Olivia Fox Cabane
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/01/01
date added: 2013/03/10
shelves:
review:
This is a practical book.

I read this book a week before facing to a stressful interview. So I really had an incentive to learn. I practiced the techniques on total strangers I met the street as well as on people at work. The results were immediate, amazing and they turned out to be some of the most memorable interactions that I've had with anyone, ever. (I apologize for using that over-used american superlative, but it really is true.) A week later, I faced the interview, breezed through it, and felt really good about myself. I'm sure I left an impression on the interviewers, but more than that I left a lasting impression on myself.

Do yourself a favor. Get this book. Read it, but more importantly, practice the things in it. Your interactions with others will change by orders of a magnitude.
]]> Midnight Robber 71409 here.

It's Carnival time, and the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. But to young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favourite costume to wear at the festival--until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgivable crime.

Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. Here monstrous creatures from folklore are real, and the humans are violent outcasts in the wilds. Here Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth--and become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen's legendary powers can save her life...and set her free.]]> 329 Nalo Hopkinson 0446675601 R.J. 3
But if you can ignore that part, it's a rather sad and endearing story about a girl lost in a distant foreign land, learning to stand up by herself and trying to keep it together.

I wouldn't recommend this book. There are many others in its genre that offer richer environments, multi-faceted characters, and better storylines.]]> 3.92 2000 Midnight Robber
author: Nalo Hopkinson
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2012/02/01
date added: 2013/03/10
shelves:
review:
I wouldn't have picked this up if it wasn't for its Science Fiction component. I usually hate books that emphasize gender roles and racial quirks. Written by Nalo Hopkinson, an African-American woman, this book ranks high on the list of books that overemphasize race and gender.

But if you can ignore that part, it's a rather sad and endearing story about a girl lost in a distant foreign land, learning to stand up by herself and trying to keep it together.

I wouldn't recommend this book. There are many others in its genre that offer richer environments, multi-faceted characters, and better storylines.
]]> <![CDATA[Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder]]> 13530973
In The Black Swan Taleb outlined a problem; in Antifragile he offers a definitive solution: how to gain from disorder and chaos while being protected from fragilities and adverse events. For what he calls the "antifragile" is one step beyond robust, as it benefits from adversity, uncertainty and stressors, just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension.

Taleb stands uncertainty on its head, making it desirable, and proposing that things be built in an antifragile manner. Extremely ambitious and multidisciplinary, Antifragile provides a blueprint for how to behave—and thrive—in a world we don't understand and which is too uncertain for us to even try to understand. He who is not antifragile will perish. Why is the city state better than the nation state, why is debt bad for you, and why is almost everything modern bound to fail? The book covers innovation, health, biology, medicine, life decisions, politics, foreign policy, urban planning, war, personal finance, and economic systems. Throughout, the voice and recipes of the ancient wisdom from Phoenician, Roman, Greek, and Medieval sources are heard loud and clear.]]> 426 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 1400067820 R.J. 4
The only grudge I have about this book is that the author uses a lot of political examples to prove his point. Politics and history can easily be misinterpreted and attributed to the wrong reasons because there are so many variable at play. Having said that, Taleb still manages to make a point, so this book comes with a very high recommendation. ]]> 4.08 2012 Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/02/01
date added: 2013/03/10
shelves:
review:
The book did a good job of changing my view of the world. The writing style of Taleb is better suited for a newspaper feature article, rather than a book. But hey, it got the job done.

The only grudge I have about this book is that the author uses a lot of political examples to prove his point. Politics and history can easily be misinterpreted and attributed to the wrong reasons because there are so many variable at play. Having said that, Taleb still manages to make a point, so this book comes with a very high recommendation.
]]> The Painted Bird 18452 The Painted Bird is a dark novel that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love.]]> 234 Jerzy Kosiński 080213422X R.J. 4
However, if you do: you're missing a good story. A story about a boy coming of age. A child trying to survive whilst taking effort to make sense of the nonsensical world. An adolescent trying to find meaning with the limited experience that he's had of the world. You'll be missing a book that tries to look at how morality is constructed in a young human, without trying to sugarcoat the whole deal.

Perhaps the thing I like the most about the book is that the protagonist is not a white knight or a saint. He does various horrific deeds not realizing the harm he is doing to himself and others. There is no regret in his mind because his perspective of the world is skewed. The book doesn't stop to show remorse or regret, and in that sense the Painted Bird is so much more mature than the typical "Hero's Tale."

Bottom line: If you think you can handle and perhaps overlook the extreme violence in this book, by all means go ahead and read it. If you're not comfortable with the morbid reality of human savagery, or if you're not comfortable with the subtle nature in which the moral fabric is woven in the mind of a child, I highly recommend my little pony. ]]> 3.91 1965 The Painted Bird
author: Jerzy Kosiński
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/06
date added: 2013/01/06
shelves:
review:
There's a lot of hate out there for this book, and I can understand why. Riding the holocaust wave, the torture and violence added in the book just for the shock value, the morbid sexuality and the various rape scenarios, are all good reasons to never touch this book.

However, if you do: you're missing a good story. A story about a boy coming of age. A child trying to survive whilst taking effort to make sense of the nonsensical world. An adolescent trying to find meaning with the limited experience that he's had of the world. You'll be missing a book that tries to look at how morality is constructed in a young human, without trying to sugarcoat the whole deal.

Perhaps the thing I like the most about the book is that the protagonist is not a white knight or a saint. He does various horrific deeds not realizing the harm he is doing to himself and others. There is no regret in his mind because his perspective of the world is skewed. The book doesn't stop to show remorse or regret, and in that sense the Painted Bird is so much more mature than the typical "Hero's Tale."

Bottom line: If you think you can handle and perhaps overlook the extreme violence in this book, by all means go ahead and read it. If you're not comfortable with the morbid reality of human savagery, or if you're not comfortable with the subtle nature in which the moral fabric is woven in the mind of a child, I highly recommend my little pony.
]]> <![CDATA[Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool]]> 9968232
In Nerve , Taylor Clark draws upon cutting-edge science and painstaking reporting to explore the very heart of panic and poise. Using a wide range of case studies, Clark overturns the popular myths about anxiety and fear to explain why some people thrive under pressure, while others falter-and how we can go forward with steadier nerves and increased confidence.]]> 320 Taylor Clark 0316042897 R.J. 4
The book is loosely categorized into chapters that from the first glance doesn't make sense. But the author ties them up into a story that builds up as it goes so it's rather fun to read. He starts by emphasizing that fear is an emotional response and it cannot be put out by rational thought. He describes how fear has been a powerful conditioner that's helped us learn lessons that has saved our lives and how fears are 'embodied in our DNA'. But he also describes why fear should not be used as a 'learning tool' or a memory enhancer.

The book then takes you on a journey of hypercondriacs who fear about their health all the time, firefighters who take decisions without thinking, heroic veterans and civilians that seem superhuman but who are really afraid like the rest of us, baseball superstars who suddenly choke and have performance anxiety, a woman with short-term memory that remembers fear response but doesn't understand why and evil doctors who conditioned toddlers to fear fluffy animals. Together, these stories paint a picture of what fear really is.

Read this book. It may very well change your life, or at least the way you react to your own fears. ]]> 3.97 2011 Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool
author: Taylor Clark
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/12
shelves:
review:
The thing about fear is that it's a rather straightforward and simple subject when you're not afraid. However, when fear takes over your mind, it's another story. Hence the science behind fear might seem trivial, but it is very real, and is extremely practical. In this context, the science that's described in the book might seem trivial, yet it adds so much practical value that this book might end up being the best thing you'll read.

The book is loosely categorized into chapters that from the first glance doesn't make sense. But the author ties them up into a story that builds up as it goes so it's rather fun to read. He starts by emphasizing that fear is an emotional response and it cannot be put out by rational thought. He describes how fear has been a powerful conditioner that's helped us learn lessons that has saved our lives and how fears are 'embodied in our DNA'. But he also describes why fear should not be used as a 'learning tool' or a memory enhancer.

The book then takes you on a journey of hypercondriacs who fear about their health all the time, firefighters who take decisions without thinking, heroic veterans and civilians that seem superhuman but who are really afraid like the rest of us, baseball superstars who suddenly choke and have performance anxiety, a woman with short-term memory that remembers fear response but doesn't understand why and evil doctors who conditioned toddlers to fear fluffy animals. Together, these stories paint a picture of what fear really is.

Read this book. It may very well change your life, or at least the way you react to your own fears.
]]> Women 38500 291 Charles Bukowski 0061177598 R.J. 4
Obviously not all women are like this. And not all men are like the protagonist. Yet it's interesting how many people do sub-consciously fall into similar relationships and end up frustrated, angry, sad and yet begging for more. ]]> 3.85 1978 Women
author: Charles Bukowski
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/29
date added: 2012/11/06
shelves:
review:
For a semi-autobiographical novel, it's pretty raw - to say the least. Most people would throw this away as plain, bland misogynistic erotica. I know I would have, if I read this 3 years ago. But the interesting thing is how many women tolerated the apathy, objectification and sadism. It's as if they couldn't love anyone who was gentle, kind or considerate.

Obviously not all women are like this. And not all men are like the protagonist. Yet it's interesting how many people do sub-consciously fall into similar relationships and end up frustrated, angry, sad and yet begging for more.
]]> <![CDATA[Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone]]> 11797459 Going Solo, renowned sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg proves that these numbers are more than just a passing trend. They are, in fact, evidence of the biggest demographic shift since the Baby Boom: we are learning to go solo, and crafting new ways of living in the process.

Klinenberg explores the dramatic rise of solo living, and examines the seismic impact it’s having on our culture, business, and politics. Though conventional wisdom tells us that living by oneself leads to loneliness and isolation, Klinenberg shows that most solo dwellers are deeply engaged in social and civic life. In fact, compared with their married counterparts, they are more likely to eat out and exercise, go to art and music classes, attend public events and lectures, and volunteer. There’s even evidence that people who live alone enjoy better mental health than unmarried people who live with others and have more environmentally sustainable lifestyles than families, since they favor urban apartments over large suburban homes. Drawing on over three hundred in-depth interviews with men and women of all ages and every class, Klinenberg reaches a startling conclusion: in a world of ubiquitous media and hyperconnectivity, this way of life can help us discover ourselves and appreciate the pleasure of good company.

With eye-opening statistics, original data, and vivid portraits of people who go solo, Klinenberg upends conventional wisdom to deliver the definitive take on how the rise of living alone is transforming the American experience. Going Solo is a powerful and necessary assessment of an unprecedented social change.]]> 273 Eric Klinenberg 1594203229 R.J. 3
The book could have gained much more appeal if there was more research done on the economics (how consumer markets have shifted due to the) rise of singledom.

The main take home point that I took from this book is that singledom, with the current ethical climate, is not going to be an accepted political force that easily. Even when they outnumber the married population. Why? I'll leave that for your imagination.]]> 3.37 2012 Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone
author: Eric Klinenberg
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/09/07
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves:
review:
Written by a married man, Going Solo was a pleasantly optimistic take on the rise of singledom throughout the world. I learnt a few interesting facts in the first few chapters but the last chapters seem to be filled with anecdotes and what a bunch of people had to say about their experience with living alone. The problem with trying to build a thesis with this kind of evidence is that people tend to justifify how they live as a result of hindsight bias, there will be anchoring biases depending on which questions are asked first, there will be Focusing illusions due to the attention of events in life rather than non-events, and the list goes on.

The book could have gained much more appeal if there was more research done on the economics (how consumer markets have shifted due to the) rise of singledom.

The main take home point that I took from this book is that singledom, with the current ethical climate, is not going to be an accepted political force that easily. Even when they outnumber the married population. Why? I'll leave that for your imagination.
]]> <![CDATA[Pulp and Paper (Iowa Short Fiction Award)]]> 11250478 Pulp and Paper captures lightning in a bottle, excavating the smallest steps people take to move beyond grief, heartbreak, and failure—conjuring the subtle, fragile moments when people are not yet whole, but no longer quite as broken.Ěý]]> 192 Josh Rolnick 1609380525 R.J. 4 3.95 2011 Pulp and Paper (Iowa Short Fiction Award)
author: Josh Rolnick
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves:
review:
Nice collection of short stories that are thoughtfully written with a bit of seriousness to them. I enjoyed the distraction.
]]> Straight Man 414298 391 Richard Russo 0375701907 R.J. 5
Quite easily one of the funniest books I've read. The story is about a middle-aged English Professor, which I have very little in common with, but I found myself easily drawn in to the character. What I like about this book is that it's not dramatic about dramatic events. It doesn't emphasize the acceptable social reactions to a given situation like freaking out when you find out your son-in-law is cheating on your daughter. The protagonist is actually happy when his best friend hits on his wife. And I don't think this a far fetched scenario either: when you're married to a woman whom you love for so long, insecure feelings like jealousy are bound to be irrelevant. The climax close to the end of the book which has something to do with his career, is a really metaphor for life's great question: do we really know what we want for ourselves?

]]> 4.01 1997 Straight Man
author: Richard Russo
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/06
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves:
review:
[Warning: a few vague spoilers ahead, don't worry it won't spoil the story]

Quite easily one of the funniest books I've read. The story is about a middle-aged English Professor, which I have very little in common with, but I found myself easily drawn in to the character. What I like about this book is that it's not dramatic about dramatic events. It doesn't emphasize the acceptable social reactions to a given situation like freaking out when you find out your son-in-law is cheating on your daughter. The protagonist is actually happy when his best friend hits on his wife. And I don't think this a far fetched scenario either: when you're married to a woman whom you love for so long, insecure feelings like jealousy are bound to be irrelevant. The climax close to the end of the book which has something to do with his career, is a really metaphor for life's great question: do we really know what we want for ourselves?


]]> <![CDATA[The Diving Pool: Three Novellas]]> 1337973
Hauntingly spare, beautiful, and twisted, The Diving Pool is a disquieting and at times darkly humorous collection of novellas about normal people who suddenly discover their own dark possibilities.]]> 164 YĹŤko Ogawa 0312426836 R.J. 5
After coming to the US, I think I've been caught up with sensationalism inherent in American culture. I find myself constantly searching for something better, something new, even though my life is pretty damn great. Even the fiction that I've read here have larger than life plots, extravagant characters and a restlessness about them, that I've only come to realize after reading the Diving Pool.

The Diving Pool by the Japanese author Yoko Ogawa is quite in contrast to contemporary Western fiction. It strikes up the mundane, brings up the finer points in life, and is completely unashamed to dive into the raw physicality of the human emotions. It does not place women on a pedestal (which is quite common with popular literature which stems from the "women are wonderful" effect) and is not overly focused on trying to leave the reader with a message.

I definitely need to find more mature fiction like this. And stop reading books like "A thousand splendid suns" or "Shadow of the Wind". ]]> 3.75 1990 The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
author: YĹŤko Ogawa
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/29
date added: 2012/08/30
shelves:
review:
I really don't know how to review fiction without spoilers, so rather than reviewing the book let me tell you how I felt after reading this. I felt awake. I felt human. I felt at peace.

After coming to the US, I think I've been caught up with sensationalism inherent in American culture. I find myself constantly searching for something better, something new, even though my life is pretty damn great. Even the fiction that I've read here have larger than life plots, extravagant characters and a restlessness about them, that I've only come to realize after reading the Diving Pool.

The Diving Pool by the Japanese author Yoko Ogawa is quite in contrast to contemporary Western fiction. It strikes up the mundane, brings up the finer points in life, and is completely unashamed to dive into the raw physicality of the human emotions. It does not place women on a pedestal (which is quite common with popular literature which stems from the "women are wonderful" effect) and is not overly focused on trying to leave the reader with a message.

I definitely need to find more mature fiction like this. And stop reading books like "A thousand splendid suns" or "Shadow of the Wind".
]]> <![CDATA[Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It]]> 8727466 An eye-opening, myth-shattering examination of what makes us fat, from acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes.

In his New York Times best seller, Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes argued that our diet’s overemphasis on certain kinds of carbohydrates�not fats and not simply excess calories—has led directly to the obesity epidemic we face today. The result of thorough research, keen insight, and unassailable common sense, Good Calories, Bad Calories immediately stirred controversy and acclaim among academics, journalists, and writers alike. Michael Pollan heralded it as “a vitally important book, destined to change the way we think about food.�

Building upon this critical work in Good Calories, Bad Calories and presenting fresh evidence for his claim, Taubes now revisits the urgent question of what’s making us fat—and how we can change—in this exciting new book. Persuasive, straightforward, and practical, Why We Get Fat makes Taubes’s crucial argument newly accessible to a wider audience.

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century, none more damaging or misguided than the “calories-in, calories-out� model of why we get fat, and the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulin’s regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid?

Packed with essential information and concluding with an easy-to-follow diet, Why We Get Fat is an invaluable key in our understanding of an international epidemic and a guide to what each of us can do about it.]]> 272 Gary Taubes R.J. 4 nonfiction 3.99 2010 Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It
author: Gary Taubes
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2012/08/01
date added: 2012/08/15
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Advocates the Atkins diet. Underlying theme is controlling insulin which acts to store fat in your body. The first few chapters seemed a bit repetitive and is more of social critique than the answer to the topic in question. But the book has some interesting points, and forced me to change my diet. Good book, recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Time's Eye (A Time Odyssey, #1)]]> 64936
Scattered across the planet are floating silver orbs impervious to all weapons and impossible to communicate with. Are these technologically advanced devices responsible for creating and sustaining the rifts in time? Are they cameras through which inscrutable alien eyes are watching? Or are they something stranger and more terrifying still?

The answer may lie in the ancient city of Babylon, where two groups of refugees from 2037: three cosmonauts returning to Earth from the International Space Station, and three United Nations peacekeepers on a mission in Afghanistan have detected radio signals: the only such signals on the planet, apart from their own. The peacekeepers find allies in nineteenth-century British troops and in the armies of Alexander the Great. The astronauts, crash-landed in the steppes of Asia, join forces with the Mongol horde led by Genghis Khan. The two sides set out for Babylon, each determined to win the race for knowledge . . . and the power that lies within.

Yet the real power is beyond human control, perhaps even human understanding. As two great armies face off before the gates of Babylon, it watches, waiting. . . .]]> 379 Arthur C. Clarke 034545247X R.J. 3 3.72 2003 Time's Eye (A Time Odyssey, #1)
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2012/08/01
date added: 2012/08/15
shelves:
review:
Arthur C. Clarke's Science is always relevant and way ahead of his time. But I found this story to be somewhat forced and rigid. It's like he had some heroic figures in history that he wanted to bring together and bam, he does it. No plot twists, no 'oh snap' moments, no dramatic change in perspective..I found the book to be rather bland.
]]> Lord of Light 13821 296 Roger Zelazny 0060567236 R.J. 3 4.08 1967 Lord of Light
author: Roger Zelazny
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1967
rating: 3
read at: 2012/03/05
date added: 2012/03/05
shelves:
review:
When I started reading this, I thought it was definitely going to be a masterpiece. The Buddha bringing down the gods and unveiling the treacheries of heaven to mankind, the fall of class-system, and the dawning of the age of enlightenment - all set in a future of our own making; this is the stuff that legends can be made of. Yet, the author uses too much violence, too much hatred, too much blandness to paint Siddhartha's battle against heaven, it ends up being no interesting than a war fought by two ordinary mortals. Oh Roger, you could've so easily used Buddhist sub-text to make this a literary tribute to the concept of Nirvana, but you miss the mark by a couple of football fields.
]]> Time Enough for Love 353 589 Robert A. Heinlein R.J. 4
That being said, it isn't an unreadable book. I found the lack of inhibition for sexual taboos to be refreshing, although I can't say many of you will share my perspective. If you're turned off by consensual incest and open-relationships then skip this one.
]]> 3.96 1973 Time Enough for Love
author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1973
rating: 4
read at: 2012/03/05
date added: 2012/03/05
shelves:
review:
The premise of the book is ideal to make it into a philosophical masterpiece but the author falls short in following through. The story is about a man who's lived for thousands of years and have fallen into the contemplation that life is no longer worth living: he has done all there is to be done. His ancestors (not as fortunate in terms as longevity as he is) tries desperately to make him fall in love with living again. With this, the book had the potential to dwell into how we give meaning to our lives (from existentialism to absurdism) and go through the various schools of philosophies with every life that the protaganist has. Imagine one man's journey through slave-trading meritocracies to the self-righteous democracies, how his morals change with shifting social tide. But alas, the only thing that the Author can think about is Love. Love as the meaning of Life! Oh the tragedy!

That being said, it isn't an unreadable book. I found the lack of inhibition for sexual taboos to be refreshing, although I can't say many of you will share my perspective. If you're turned off by consensual incest and open-relationships then skip this one.

]]> Cloud Atlas 49628
Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . .

Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.

But the story doesn't end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.

As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.]]> 509 David Mitchell 0375507256 R.J. 4
I was slightly pissed at the stereotypical disutopian future the author brings down on us: it's kind of like a plague that's hit science-fiction so hard that everyone takes it as the norm. Why can't people see the trend in our increasing humanity throughout history and paint a future filled with higher moral standards than the present? There can still be cognitive dissonances for sure, but the future has to be brighter than the present. For that alone, I take out one star from the book. (And also there was way too much running around with Bill Smokes; for a film it maybe an acceptable level, but for a book definitively way too much.)]]> 4.02 2004 Cloud Atlas
author: David Mitchell
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2012/02/11
date added: 2012/02/11
shelves:
review:
This is one of those books you have to read till the very end. In that way, it's kind of Life of Pi. At first I thought why the hell would the author bring up all these independent stories together - loosely tied up under physical circumstances. It's only when you read the last two pages you realize the metaphysical (for the lack of a better word) connection these characters have.

I was slightly pissed at the stereotypical disutopian future the author brings down on us: it's kind of like a plague that's hit science-fiction so hard that everyone takes it as the norm. Why can't people see the trend in our increasing humanity throughout history and paint a future filled with higher moral standards than the present? There can still be cognitive dissonances for sure, but the future has to be brighter than the present. For that alone, I take out one star from the book. (And also there was way too much running around with Bill Smokes; for a film it maybe an acceptable level, but for a book definitively way too much.)
]]> <![CDATA[Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain]]> 9536930 272 David Eagleman 1847679382 R.J. 2 3.92 2011 Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
author: David Eagleman
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2012/01/20
date added: 2012/01/20
shelves:
review:
Unimpressed. Very short and intended for the extremely clueless about modern psychology. The author could have done much more with the topic, but alas..
]]> Bento's Sketchbook 11193849 A meditation, in words and images, on the practice of drawing, by the author of Ways of Seeing

The seventeenth-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza—also known as Benedict or Bento de Spinoza—spent the most intense years of his short life writing. He also carried with him a sketchbook. After his sudden death, his friends rescued letters, manuscripts, notes—but no drawings.

For years, without knowing what its pages might hold, John Berger has imagined finding Bento’s sketchbook, wanting to see the drawings alongside his surviving words. When one day a friend gave him a beautiful virgin sketchbook, Berger said, “This is Bento’s!� and he began to draw, taking his inspiration from the philosopher’s vision.

In this illustrated color book John Berger uses the imaginative space he creates to explore the process of drawing, politics, storytelling and Spinoza’s life and times.]]> 176 John Berger 1844676846 R.J. 0 to-read 4.01 Bento's Sketchbook
author: John Berger
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void]]> 7237456 The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity.

Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? have sex? smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?

To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.]]> 334 Mary Roach 0393068471 R.J. 4 nonfiction 3.93 2010 Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
author: Mary Roach
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2012/01/05
date added: 2012/01/12
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Hilarious at times. Doesn't shift to heavy science, but skims over the logistics of space travel for lay earthlings. Not much of a page turner, but not bad either.
]]> <![CDATA[Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World]]> 11361213 290 Sam Sommers 1594488185 R.J. 0 to-read 3.76 2011 Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World
author: Sam Sommers
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Childhood’s End 414999
But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind . . . or the beginning?]]> 224 Arthur C. Clarke R.J. 4
Perhaps this is not Arthur C. Clarke's best book on human nature, as most of the characters are portrayed as extremely honest and gullible. Even the religious fanatics are shown to have rationality and acceptance of reality. Maybe he didn't envision FoxNews 50 years ago, maybe he thought that future humans would transcend self-deception.. But the book doesn't fail to shine since it's more concerned about extraterrestrial intelligence than human intelligence. And maybe the two dimensional characters were a necessary causality to transcend the reader from everyday human drama.

They say that predictions about the future tell more about the the time that the predictions were made than the actual future. I kind of see that, and I kind of see how the author's personal history influenced many of his predictions about the alien culture. Arthur C. Clarke spent a great amount of his life in a country which was colonized by the British, and saw first hand how the locals reacted to the invasion and how the British empire inturn tried to "civilize" the natives. He also spent a considerable time dwelling into what some people call "meta-physics". I remember I watched one of his documentaries about the truth behind telepathy and reincarnation when I was small. Even though he had a background in science, I think he had a childlike sense of wonder about the mystical. You can definitively see those aspects of him in this book.

Highly recommended. ]]> 4.12 1953 Childhood’s End
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1953
rating: 4
read at: 2011/09/19
date added: 2011/09/19
shelves:
review:
If not for a few points here and there it would be hard to believe that this book was written in 1953. This is no doubt a sci-fi classic. And for those of you who are bored to death or even angry at the constant stream of dystopian first contact fiction and films that are masquerading as science-fiction, this may well be a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps this is not Arthur C. Clarke's best book on human nature, as most of the characters are portrayed as extremely honest and gullible. Even the religious fanatics are shown to have rationality and acceptance of reality. Maybe he didn't envision FoxNews 50 years ago, maybe he thought that future humans would transcend self-deception.. But the book doesn't fail to shine since it's more concerned about extraterrestrial intelligence than human intelligence. And maybe the two dimensional characters were a necessary causality to transcend the reader from everyday human drama.

They say that predictions about the future tell more about the the time that the predictions were made than the actual future. I kind of see that, and I kind of see how the author's personal history influenced many of his predictions about the alien culture. Arthur C. Clarke spent a great amount of his life in a country which was colonized by the British, and saw first hand how the locals reacted to the invasion and how the British empire inturn tried to "civilize" the natives. He also spent a considerable time dwelling into what some people call "meta-physics". I remember I watched one of his documentaries about the truth behind telepathy and reincarnation when I was small. Even though he had a background in science, I think he had a childlike sense of wonder about the mystical. You can definitively see those aspects of him in this book.

Highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind]]> 20628
Now, for the first time, philosopher and evolutionary psychologist David Livingstone Smith elucidates the essential role that deception and self-deception have played in human--and animal--evolution and shows that the very structure of our minds has been shaped from our earliest beginnings by the need to deceive. Smith shows us that by examining the stories we tell, the falsehoods we weave, and the unconscious signals we send out, we can learn much about ourselves and how our minds work.

Readers of Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker will find much to intrigue them in this fascinating book, which declares that our extraordinary ability to deceive others--and even our own selves--"lies" at the heart of our humanity.]]> 256 David Livingstone Smith 0312310390 R.J. 4 nonfiction
I thought I'd be a bit troubled after reading the book, but on the contrary it's shown me to appreciate the subtle things in social interactions (even internal conversations), and to accept any kind of morality with a grain of salt. Perhaps the most important thing the book brings to light is the lie that we are completely conscious beings. ]]> 3.54 2004 Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind
author: David Livingstone Smith
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2011/09/01
date added: 2011/09/19
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Wonderful book on how evolution led us to self-deception. The book strays away from science but does so cautiously and warns the reader when it does. Many ideas in this book aren't new, and I've seen them elsewhere, but the author seems to have put it to a coherent believable story.

I thought I'd be a bit troubled after reading the book, but on the contrary it's shown me to appreciate the subtle things in social interactions (even internal conversations), and to accept any kind of morality with a grain of salt. Perhaps the most important thing the book brings to light is the lie that we are completely conscious beings.
]]> Why We Lie 11090857
Because we are frightened of being humiliated, being treated like an object, being rejected, losing control of things, and, most of all, we are frightened of uncertainty. Often we get our lies in before any of these things can happen. We lie to maintain our vanity. We lie when we call our fantasies the truth. Lying is much easier than searching for the truth and accepting it, no matter how inconvenient it is. We lie to others, and, even worse, we lie to ourselves.

In both private and public life, we damage ourselves with our lies, and we damage other people. Lies destroy mutual trust, and fragment our sense of who we are.

Lies have played a major part in climate change and the global economic crisis. Fearing to change how they live, many people prefer to continue lying rather than acknowledge that we are facing a very uncertain but undoubtedly unpleasant future unless we learn how to prefer the truths of the real world in which we live rather than the comforting lies that ultimately betray us. We are capable of changing, but will we choose to do this?]]> 364 Dorothy Rowe 0007357974 R.J. 2
I wish this book was more scientific (or at least mentioned why they drifted out of the scientific method like how David Livingstone Smith does in his book with the same title), because the first chapter promised so much more than the whole. ]]> 3.68 2010 Why We Lie
author: Dorothy Rowe
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2011/09/01
date added: 2011/09/19
shelves:
review:
The book started out great. The author built up a good theory on why we lie; to maintain a constant sense of Self. But then she started interpreting her own version of reality (which is always subjective, even you one of the greatest minds on Earth), and starts attributing various different reasons as to why she thinks that certain people and political parties behave the way they do. I'm all for deconstruction, but what the author does is not merely deconstruction; she actively constructs a whole new world according to her hopes, dreams, aspirations and beliefs.

I wish this book was more scientific (or at least mentioned why they drifted out of the scientific method like how David Livingstone Smith does in his book with the same title), because the first chapter promised so much more than the whole.
]]> <![CDATA[Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference]]> 8031168
Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Cordelia Fine debunks the myth of hardwired differences between men’s and women’s brains, unraveling the evidence behind such claims as men’s brains aren’t wired for empathy, and women’s brains aren’t made to fix cars. She then goes one step further, offering a very different explanation of the dissimilarities between men’s and women’s behavior. Instead of a “male brain� and a “female brain,� Fine gives us a glimpse of plastic, mutable minds that are continuously influenced by cultural assumptions about gender.

Delusions of Gender provides us with a much-needed corrective to the belief that men’s and women’s brains are intrinsically different--a belief that, as Fine shows with insight and humor--all too often works to the detriment of ourselves and our society.]]> 338 Cordelia Fine 0393068382 R.J. 5 nonfiction 4.07 2010 Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference
author: Cordelia Fine
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2011/08/01
date added: 2011/08/26
shelves: nonfiction
review:
A powerful book on gender. Every feminist and chauvinist should be encouraged to read this.
]]> Thinking In Systems: A Primer 3828902 Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute’s Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.

Some of the biggest problems facing the world—war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation—are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking.

While readers will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner.

In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.]]> 218 Donella H. Meadows 1603580557 R.J. 4 4.17 2008 Thinking In Systems: A Primer
author: Donella H. Meadows
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2011/08/01
date added: 2011/08/26
shelves:
review:
Read it from beginning to end in a day. The message is quite simple and even more simple for anyone with knowledge of control systems. But the insight is priceless.
]]> Life of Pi 4214 460 Yann Martel 0770430074 R.J. 5
There's much to be said, but I can't say it without spoiling the plot.
This book comes highly recommended!]]> 3.94 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2011/01/09
date added: 2011/08/05
shelves:
review:
The book came with the claim that it will make me believe in God. It didn't. However it did make me see why people "believe in the belief of God". This book is not a masterpiece of literature, it's a masterpiece of the human condition. It's not a book by Mark Twain, it's a book by Kafka. At times while reading this, I wondered how such a brutally unclever book could make it to the bestsellers list. At times I felt that even I could've done a better job at narrating the events that happened. But the last few pages of the book turned my whole world around. At first the impact was nauseating, literally nauseating (my current condition of health didn't help either). But then it sank and gave away to clarity. As I tried to reconjure the chapters in my head, the subtleties and brilliance of every event that took place hit me like a Benegal tiger slashing it's prey: brutally effective, graceful and incredibly powerful.

There's much to be said, but I can't say it without spoiling the plot.
This book comes highly recommended!
]]> Stumbling on Happiness 56627 � Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to regain their sight?
� Why do dining companions insist on ordering different meals instead of getting what they really want?
� Why do pigeons seem to have such excellent aim; why can’t we remember one song while listening to another; and why does the line at the grocery store always slow down the moment we join it?

In this brilliant, witty, and accessible book, renowned Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert describes the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight that cause each of us to mis-conceive our tomorrows and mis-estimate our satisfactions. Vividly bringing to life the latest scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, Gilbert reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there. With penetrating insight and sparkling prose, Gilbert explains why we seem to know so little about the hearts and minds of the people we are about to become.]]> 263 Daniel Todd Gilbert 1400077427 R.J. 4 nonfiction
The book goes on to describe what it means to be human, how difficult it is for us to fathom anything except the present, how our memories deceive us, how our forecasts of the future is utterly flawed, and how our bodies experience while the mind simulates. Although the book's narrative tie everything back to "happiness", there are many intriguing things that you will learn about the human condition. If you're a careful reader that's willing to spend some time going through the references, you'll be rewarded exceptionally.

However I'd like to note one thing that Gilbert overlooks or takes for granted. Which happens to be the underlying assumption of the book - that our ultimate goal in life is to achieve happiness. This is a tricky assumption to disprove because it'll depend on how we define happiness - and as Gilbert himself points out, many a college professors have made lucrative livings out of defining happiness. To me, Survival, Purpose, Meaning and Tranquility are clearly different than happiness and are equally important things that I pursue in life. Thus at times the narrative runs into definition problems that creates an obvious dissonance with intuition. It's like reading Russell and having WTF moments when he assumes that all actions of men are driven by the pursuit of power.

Then again, I'm also grateful for the fact that the book cares less about philosophy and focuses more on science. And so, using the Umbrella word "happiness" to describe everything we pursue in life, and then contradicting the narrative later, isn't much of a big deal when you see the wealth of information and perspective change that this book gives the reader - and does so by referencing scientific studies.

]]> 3.82 2006 Stumbling on Happiness
author: Daniel Todd Gilbert
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2011/07/01
date added: 2011/07/17
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Entertaining, informative and scientific. Three words rarely used to describe a book on happiness. But yes, it's true; Daniel Gilbert's acclaimed book lives up to it's hype and even exceeds it.

The book goes on to describe what it means to be human, how difficult it is for us to fathom anything except the present, how our memories deceive us, how our forecasts of the future is utterly flawed, and how our bodies experience while the mind simulates. Although the book's narrative tie everything back to "happiness", there are many intriguing things that you will learn about the human condition. If you're a careful reader that's willing to spend some time going through the references, you'll be rewarded exceptionally.

However I'd like to note one thing that Gilbert overlooks or takes for granted. Which happens to be the underlying assumption of the book - that our ultimate goal in life is to achieve happiness. This is a tricky assumption to disprove because it'll depend on how we define happiness - and as Gilbert himself points out, many a college professors have made lucrative livings out of defining happiness. To me, Survival, Purpose, Meaning and Tranquility are clearly different than happiness and are equally important things that I pursue in life. Thus at times the narrative runs into definition problems that creates an obvious dissonance with intuition. It's like reading Russell and having WTF moments when he assumes that all actions of men are driven by the pursuit of power.

Then again, I'm also grateful for the fact that the book cares less about philosophy and focuses more on science. And so, using the Umbrella word "happiness" to describe everything we pursue in life, and then contradicting the narrative later, isn't much of a big deal when you see the wealth of information and perspective change that this book gives the reader - and does so by referencing scientific studies.


]]> <![CDATA[Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art]]> 6361913
Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history. Investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo brilliantly recount the tale of a great con man and unforgettable villain, John Drewe, and his sometimes unwitting accomplices.

Chief among those was the struggling artist John Myatt, a vulnerable single father who was manipulated by Drewe into becoming a prolific art forger. Once Myatt had painted the pieces, the real fraud began. Drewe managed to infiltrate the archives of the upper echelons of the British art world in order to fake the provenance of Myatt's forged pieces, hoping to irrevocably legitimize the fakes while effectively rewriting art history.

The story stretches from London to Paris to New York, from tony Manhattan art galleries to the esteemed Giacometti and Dubuffet associations, to the archives at the Tate Gallery. This enormous swindle resulted in the introduction of at least two hundred forged paintings, some of them breathtakingly good and most of them selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many of these fakes are still out in the world, considered genuine and hung prominently in private houses, large galleries, and prestigious museums. And the sacred archives, undermined by John Drewe, remain tainted to this day.

Provenance reads like a well-plotted thriller, filled with unforgettable characters and told at a breakneck pace. But this is most certainly not fiction; Provenance is the meticulously researched and captivating account of one of the greatest cons in the history of art forgery.

]]> 327 Laney Salisbury 1594202206 R.J. 4 nonfiction
Compared to the first few chapters, the final few flew by. I'm not saying that the first few chapters are bad, I'm saying that the last few chapters (especially the final chapter) was brilliant.

The only thing that I can complain is the lack of illustrations in the book. Since it goes into depth about art and forgeries, it would've been nice if there were a few Giacometti's here and there. At least for us folk who know next to nothing about modern art. ]]> 3.90 2009 Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
author: Laney Salisbury
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2011/06/01
date added: 2011/07/17
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Loved the book. The fact the story is real, makes it even more lovable. I've dealt with pathological liars in my school days, and have always been curiously fascinated by their extraversion, charisma and how the people around them conveniently overlook their lying habits. Thus the main character of this book "Professor Drewe" hit close to home.

Compared to the first few chapters, the final few flew by. I'm not saying that the first few chapters are bad, I'm saying that the last few chapters (especially the final chapter) was brilliant.

The only thing that I can complain is the lack of illustrations in the book. Since it goes into depth about art and forgeries, it would've been nice if there were a few Giacometti's here and there. At least for us folk who know next to nothing about modern art.
]]> <![CDATA[Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior]]> 6283340
Evolutionary psychology-the compelling science of human nature-has clarified the prehistoric origins of human behavior and influenced many fields ranging from economics to personal relationships. In Spent Geoffrey Miller applies this revolutionary science's principles to a new the sensual wonderland of marketing and status seeking that we call American consumer culture. Starting with the basic notion that the goods and services we buy unconsciously advertise our biological potential as mates and friends, Miller examines the hidden factors that dictate our choices in everything from lipstick to cars, from the magazines we read to the music we listen to. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understanding-and improving-our behaviors. Like Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, Spent is a bold and revelatory book that illuminates the unseen logic behind the chaos of consumerism and suggests new ways we can become happier consumers and more responsible citizens.]]> 384 Geoffrey Miller 0670020621 R.J. 3 nonfiction
Don't get me wrong. This is an excellent book, for the first half. It covers fitness indicators and how we're using consumerism as a modern way to express them. It covers psychology's current obsession with personality traits and how they fit neatly with our consumer behaviour. So far so good - I mean how rarely does scientific models fail to describe the world? You'd have to really suck at science to fuck that up. And Geoffrey Miller doesn't. He lives up to his reputation.

Where he fails is where most men and women of science fail. That is applying the theory to the real world and making predictions and policy decisions. He goes on about marketing for the six personality traits, preaches on how to avoid consumerism, builds up an agenda to tax consumerism, and encourages people to live in racially segregated communities to build up community spirit. Midlife crisis much? Maybe, I dunno. He sure builds up a strong case for it.

Maybe I'm an optimist, but I'd like to see an evolutionary psychology book for once that takes into account the human condition and tells us how to exploit it and be better than it. We're not supposed to be bogged down by Human nature. We're supposed to rise above it. Isn't that what humanity has achieved in the past few centuries? The study of evolution is the study of our past. If we let our past dictate our future, who are we but prisoners of our own past lives?

Anyone up to the challenge? Matt Ridley, are you listening?]]> 3.83 2009 Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior
author: Geoffrey Miller
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/06/24
shelves: nonfiction
review:
When you give a man a screwdriver, he thinks that all the world's problems can be fixed by screwing around. That's essentially what's happened to Geoffrey Miller.

Don't get me wrong. This is an excellent book, for the first half. It covers fitness indicators and how we're using consumerism as a modern way to express them. It covers psychology's current obsession with personality traits and how they fit neatly with our consumer behaviour. So far so good - I mean how rarely does scientific models fail to describe the world? You'd have to really suck at science to fuck that up. And Geoffrey Miller doesn't. He lives up to his reputation.

Where he fails is where most men and women of science fail. That is applying the theory to the real world and making predictions and policy decisions. He goes on about marketing for the six personality traits, preaches on how to avoid consumerism, builds up an agenda to tax consumerism, and encourages people to live in racially segregated communities to build up community spirit. Midlife crisis much? Maybe, I dunno. He sure builds up a strong case for it.

Maybe I'm an optimist, but I'd like to see an evolutionary psychology book for once that takes into account the human condition and tells us how to exploit it and be better than it. We're not supposed to be bogged down by Human nature. We're supposed to rise above it. Isn't that what humanity has achieved in the past few centuries? The study of evolution is the study of our past. If we let our past dictate our future, who are we but prisoners of our own past lives?

Anyone up to the challenge? Matt Ridley, are you listening?
]]> <![CDATA[The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature]]> 16176 The Red Queen compels us to rethink everything from the persistence of sexism to the endurance of romantic love.

Referring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass, a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place, Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators. The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture—including why men propose marriage, the method behind our maddening notions of beauty, and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband. The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved.]]> 405 Matt Ridley 0060556579 R.J. 4 nonfiction 4.05 1993 The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
author: Matt Ridley
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2011/06/01
date added: 2011/06/24
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Solid introduction to Evolutionary Biology. Would recommend this to anyone who wants an updated version of the Selfish Gene. I would really like to see an updated edition to this, with current research added to breathe life back into this book. But for someone seeking an introduction to this field, this would be the place to start.
]]> <![CDATA[The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves]]> 7776209
Yet Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. Prosperity comes from everybody working for everybody else. The habit of exchange and specialization—which started more than 100,000 years ago—has created a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend. The mutual dependence, trust, and sharing that result are causes for hope, not despair.

This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.]]> 448 Matt Ridley 006145205X R.J. 5 nonfiction
Edit: Also, this book, if you read between the lines, is the ultimate self-help book. As Einstein put it "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving". As Gouthama and Heracletus put it "The only constant in this world is Change". Thus the path to enlightenment is not the search for tranquility by staying constant, but acknowledging and being aware of Growth. When Matt built up his argument for the pervasive "equilibrium searching" side of Science, my heart skipped a beat.

Anymore detail, and I would spoil the book. Hence I will stop here.

P.S.
This book is on Obama's Summer reading list. Depending on the votes it get he might read it in August. So if you've read it and think it's worth the president's time, please go the below link and vote for it.


]]> 3.94 2010 The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
author: Matt Ridley
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2011/05/31
date added: 2011/05/31
shelves: nonfiction
review:
A Masterpiece. Matt Ridley is always a pleasure to read, but this puts the icing on the cake. If I claimed The Rational Optimist to be the most important non-fiction book I've read in my entire life, it wouldn't be far from the truth. I'll be going through the individual references next week, and looking at their citations for more insights, but seriously, this is a must read. If you want to fight poverty, save the environment, and build a better world - look no further. READ THIS BOOK.

Edit: Also, this book, if you read between the lines, is the ultimate self-help book. As Einstein put it "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving". As Gouthama and Heracletus put it "The only constant in this world is Change". Thus the path to enlightenment is not the search for tranquility by staying constant, but acknowledging and being aware of Growth. When Matt built up his argument for the pervasive "equilibrium searching" side of Science, my heart skipped a beat.

Anymore detail, and I would spoil the book. Hence I will stop here.

P.S.
This book is on Obama's Summer reading list. Depending on the votes it get he might read it in August. So if you've read it and think it's worth the president's time, please go the below link and vote for it.



]]> <![CDATA[Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race]]> 8163722
Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our achievements in society, government, religion, science and culture -- all in a tome of approximately 256 pages with lots of color photos, graphs and charts.

After two weeks of hard work, they had their book. Earth (The Book) is the definitive guide to our species. With their trademark wit, irreverence, and intelligence, Stewart and his team will posthumously answer all of life's most hard-hitting questions, completely unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity, or even accuracy.]]> 246 Jon Stewart 044657922X R.J. 4
The sarcasm wasn't bitter and condescending but neutral and indifferent (in a good way). In fact, I wouldn't call it sarcasm. It's more like the playful semi-definitions that Douglas Adams uses in Hitchikers guide to the galaxy. Ok, maybe it's not that good - but it's still pretty darn good.

The only negative thing that I have say about this is that it's too short!

]]> 3.91 2010 Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race
author: Jon Stewart
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/05/30
date added: 2011/05/30
shelves:
review:
Loved the audio-book! I was a bit skeptical when I saw Jon Stewart on the cover, because frankly his mass-appeal jokes in the Daily Show rarely appeals to me. But this was a breath of fresh air. It's like a more graceful side of the man, which I've never seen - and possibly rarely will due to the audience he's catering to in Television.

The sarcasm wasn't bitter and condescending but neutral and indifferent (in a good way). In fact, I wouldn't call it sarcasm. It's more like the playful semi-definitions that Douglas Adams uses in Hitchikers guide to the galaxy. Ok, maybe it's not that good - but it's still pretty darn good.

The only negative thing that I have say about this is that it's too short!


]]> <![CDATA[The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York]]> 1742032
In Paris at the elegant Hermès, we see Jean Claude Ellena, his company's new head perfumer, given a he must create a scent to resuscitate Hermès's perfume business and challenge le monstre of the industry, bestselling Chanel No. 5. Will his pilgrimage to a garden on the Nile supply the inspiration he needs? The answer lies in Burr's informative and mesmerizing portrait of some of the extraordinary personalities who envision, design, create, and launch the perfumes that drive their billion-dollar industry.]]> 306 Chandler Burr 0805080376 R.J. 3 nonfiction
But having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Being the very secretive industry that it is, Chandler Burr gets the maximum out of the chance he got to spend with 2 great perfume houses and writes elegantly and somewhat humorously about the time he spent with Sarah Jessica Parker, and the master perfumer Jean Claude Elena. The latter came as a pleasant surprise to me because I personally love Terre d' Hermes and how it stands out to be masculine but yet a refined, subtle and non-aggressive fragrance that you can wear without attracting unwanted attention. The book doesn't talk about the making of Terre d' Hermes (it talks about making the Jardin Hermes fragrance), but none-the-less the life and inclusion of Elena made the book so much appealing to me.

The book also goes dwells into the economics of the perfume industry, but it could have done better. There is a reason why there is a growth in the fragrance creation just like constant growth of hard-drives and CPUs. The author doesn't go as far. So I'm a little disappointed there as well.

But all in all, it was an OK book. Educational, somewhat humorous and a relaxing read. A bit more effort on fine tuning the broadness, and I would've given this 4 stars. ]]> 3.83 2008 The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York
author: Chandler Burr
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2011/05/01
date added: 2011/05/30
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Technically, this shouldn't have been titled "The perfect scent". 'A year inside the perfume industry in Paris and NY' would've been sufficient. If you advertise your book as the Perfect scent, then that would entail giving details into how and why the receptors in our nose become sensitive aromas, and the science behind making a "perfect" scent. The book does not go that far. It doesn't even try.

But having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Being the very secretive industry that it is, Chandler Burr gets the maximum out of the chance he got to spend with 2 great perfume houses and writes elegantly and somewhat humorously about the time he spent with Sarah Jessica Parker, and the master perfumer Jean Claude Elena. The latter came as a pleasant surprise to me because I personally love Terre d' Hermes and how it stands out to be masculine but yet a refined, subtle and non-aggressive fragrance that you can wear without attracting unwanted attention. The book doesn't talk about the making of Terre d' Hermes (it talks about making the Jardin Hermes fragrance), but none-the-less the life and inclusion of Elena made the book so much appealing to me.

The book also goes dwells into the economics of the perfume industry, but it could have done better. There is a reason why there is a growth in the fragrance creation just like constant growth of hard-drives and CPUs. The author doesn't go as far. So I'm a little disappointed there as well.

But all in all, it was an OK book. Educational, somewhat humorous and a relaxing read. A bit more effort on fine tuning the broadness, and I would've given this 4 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets]]> 90844 278 John McMillan 0393323714 R.J. 3
However, I found the balanced narrative between free-market and controlled markets a little too bland for my taste though. That probably has something to do with my Libertarian views of a Utopia than anything else. What the book came close to saying, but eventually didn't say it was, "Markets are not evil, it's the implementation of markets above the existing system that makes people falter." So again, I wish the book had better personality than trying to balance out the two extremes. Pursing the middle way might be academically safe, but it doesn't do justice to the reader.

Bottom line: read the book. If not for the underlying message, at least for the examples. ]]> 3.91 2002 Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets
author: John McMillan
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2011/05/15
date added: 2011/05/16
shelves:
review:
The book makes solid ground as a layman's guide to Economics. It goes on to describe by observational experiments rather than laboratory experiments how, why and when markets have worked. And when they've not worked. This example by example storytelling is one of the strengths of this book.

However, I found the balanced narrative between free-market and controlled markets a little too bland for my taste though. That probably has something to do with my Libertarian views of a Utopia than anything else. What the book came close to saying, but eventually didn't say it was, "Markets are not evil, it's the implementation of markets above the existing system that makes people falter." So again, I wish the book had better personality than trying to balance out the two extremes. Pursing the middle way might be academically safe, but it doesn't do justice to the reader.

Bottom line: read the book. If not for the underlying message, at least for the examples.
]]> Room 7937843
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience—and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.]]> 321 Emma Donoghue R.J. 0 to-read 4.04 2010 Room
author: Emma Donoghue
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, #1)]]> 7315573
This is an epic of love, hatred, war and revolution. This is a huge novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women.
It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution. In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, "Fall Of Giants" moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.]]> 985 Ken Follett 0525951652 R.J. 0 to-read 4.31 2010 Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, #1)
author: Ken Follett
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close]]> 4588
The key belonged to his father, he's sure of that. But which of New York's 162 million locks does it open?

So begins a quest that takes Oskar - inventor, letter-writer and amateur detective - across New York's five boroughs and into the jumbled lives of friends, relatives, and complete strangers. He gets heavy boots, he gives himself little bruises and he inches ever nearer to the heart of a family mystery that stretches back fifty years. But will it take him any closer to, or further from, his lost father?]]> 326 Jonathan Safran Foer 0618711651 R.J. 3 nonfiction
The story doesn't run deep, and neither do characters. But I think that's one of the strengths of this book. It takes the lives of ordinary people (subject to an extraordinary event) and blows up the aftermath.

Recommended. I would've given it 4 stars, but the book is overrated. It doesn't deserve this much attention. ]]> 3.98 2005 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
author: Jonathan Safran Foer
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2011/01/01
date added: 2011/01/30
shelves: nonfiction
review:
This is a very emotionally tiring book. At times I felt it was too dramatic. At times I just threw the book away because there was too much selfishness in the first person narrative. But I kept wanting to read it because of it's raw, uncensored, and unabashed style. The book reminded me to slow down. To see the everyday struggles of other people. To see that every person who steps out has a destination in mind, a purpose that they want to fulfill and the ever-present desire for belonging.

The story doesn't run deep, and neither do characters. But I think that's one of the strengths of this book. It takes the lives of ordinary people (subject to an extraordinary event) and blows up the aftermath.

Recommended. I would've given it 4 stars, but the book is overrated. It doesn't deserve this much attention.
]]> <![CDATA[The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century]]> 1911 593 Thomas L. Friedman 0374292795 R.J. 3 nonfiction 3.69 2005 The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
author: Thomas L. Friedman
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2010/11/28
date added: 2010/12/16
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Not as good as I expected. Same old same old. Learned a few things. Just not enough to give the book a better rating. Found myself skimming over (speed-reading) roughly half of the book.
]]> A Thousand Splendid Suns 128029
With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.]]> 372 Khaled Hosseini 1594489505 R.J. 5 The other wonderful thing about the book, is that it slightly touches a brief history on Afghanistan. How the Soviets and Americans nurtured the Afghan warlords, the extent of corruption and authoritative self-righteous rule of the police and militia, as well as how the conservative patriotic bland men took over the progressive liberals.
All in all, a must read! ]]> 4.44 2007 A Thousand Splendid Suns
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2010/12/12
date added: 2010/12/16
shelves:
review:
Maybe it was the vodka that I took while reading this, but it was sure hell of a ride. The book is rightly dedicated to the women of Afghanistan, but I felt that it stretched out to everyone who's gone through some kind of oppression in their lives. Having been at both ends of power-distant relationships, it resonated and brought up some past experiences that I now have the ability to look at a different paradigm. In short, the book dug out my deepest secrets (the ones that I've kept from myself), and gave me perspective.
The other wonderful thing about the book, is that it slightly touches a brief history on Afghanistan. How the Soviets and Americans nurtured the Afghan warlords, the extent of corruption and authoritative self-righteous rule of the police and militia, as well as how the conservative patriotic bland men took over the progressive liberals.
All in all, a must read!
]]> <![CDATA[The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism]]> 10238 366 Fritjof Capra 1570625190 R.J. 3 3.97 1975 The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism
author: Fritjof Capra
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1975
rating: 3
read at: 2010/10/17
date added: 2010/10/21
shelves:
review:
Is a great intro on modern physics. Covers both relativity and Quantum Physics with great precision and candor, and is recommended for the laymen and beginners of physics. What it does not do however is understand eastern mysticism. The history of Buddhism and taoism is accurate, but the book takes religious literature literally, and not in the metaphoric sense that it should've been taken. With a title like this the book could've easily captured the essence of taoist philosophy rather than going into beliefs, but I guess the author fell into temptation. But it should be said that Capra does account some of better sutra's. Although with the progress that modern neuroscience has had over the past decade into the divided brain and synaptic notion of self, these ancient scriptures could've been appreciated with better vigour and reasoning than this.
]]> <![CDATA[The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently, #2)]]> 357 307 Douglas Adams 0671742515 R.J. 3 Nonetheless a good book if you like the genre. ]]> 4.05 1988 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at: 2010/10/20
date added: 2010/10/21
shelves:
review:
It's not hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, but it is written by Douglas Adams. So if you love his writing style you'll love this. It tries to be creative bringing in Norse mythology, and sometimes it succeeds. The problem I have with the book is that it could've been so much more brilliant. But alas, the ending was so abrupt and anti-climatic that you'd think Adams was on a deadline.
Nonetheless a good book if you like the genre.
]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)]]> 1232 487 Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn R.J. 5


Overall a good read. Recommended. ]]> 4.26 2001 The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)
author: Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2010/10/08
date added: 2010/10/14
shelves:
review:
This book is by far the most intriguing book that I've read in years. Every conversation has an intelligent romanticism about it that transcends traditional life, but the fact that the book is based on a conventional familiarity in Barcelona with all the cultural mishaps makes it a rich and enthralling experience. It kind of makes you want to reinvent every moment of your life. The book deals about a story of boy who hasn't lost his innocense to the world, not just yet. And each step he takes is both a celebration of the human condition as well as welcome invitation to regain our lost optimism. This by no means implies that the book is unrealistic (well the story might be, after all it is fiction), but subtle interactions between characters and the witty remarks that escape their tongues certainly make up for the drama.



Overall a good read. Recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World]]> 6968772
McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recent research in neuroscience and psychology to reveal that the difference is profound: the left hemisphere is detail oriented, while the right has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity. McGilchrist then takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western culture, illustrating the tension between these two worlds as revealed in the thought and belief of thinkers and artists from Aeschylus to Magritte.


Emisfero destro ed emisfero sinistro: una delle poche cose che tutti sanno è che il nostro cervello è anatomicamente diviso in due metà. Già gli antichi greci speculavano sulla possibile esistenza di un cervello bipartito, ma oggi siamo ormai al luogo comune, che tutti hanno sentito o letto da qualche parte, secondo il quale l'emisfero destro, quello "femminile", sarebbe adibito alla creatività e alla sensibilità, mentre quello sinistro, più "maschile", sarebbe predisposto alla logica e alla praticità: due modi inconciliabili di vedere il mondo. Ma qual è la vera natura di questa dicotomia? Quanto c'è di scientifico e quanto di impreciso o fuorviante? Lo psichiatra, neuroscienziato e studioso di letteratura Iain McGilchrist ha dedicato una vita di studi a questo problema, ricavandone una tesi tanto affascinante e profonda quanto rigorosa e solida, basata su un approccio interdisciplinare che spazia da Platone a Freud, da Shakespeare a Roger Sperry, neuroscienziato vincitore del Nobel per le sue ricerche sulla specializzazione emisferica. Secondo McGilchrist, ciascun emisfero decifra la medesima realtà in un modo coerente, ma incompatibile con quello dell'altro: l'emisfero destro fa esperienza del mondo nella sua interezza e complessità tralasciando i dettagli, mentre l'emisfero sinistro è analitico ma per forza di cose frammentario. Quale delle due modalità guida il nostro comportamento? In Il padrone e il suo emissario, McGilchrist racconta l'inevitabile lotta per il potere di cui i due emisferi sono protagonisti. I segni di questo confronto sono rintracciabili nella storia della nostra civiltà, e ancora ben visibili nei contrasti che animano la cultura occidentale contemporanea. Oggi, in un mondo sempre più disincarnato e dominato dalle tecnologie digitali, sembrerebbe che l'emisfero sinistro stia prendendo pericolosamente il sopravvento su quello destro, forse cambiando per sempre il nostro modo di pensare e di comprendere la realtà in cui viviamo.]]> 608 Iain McGilchrist 030014878X R.J. 3 nonfiction So rather than giving the high-ground to one hemisphere, this book would've been so much better if it was balanced. Rather than a Master and an Emissary, it would've retained it's scientific touch (which it does so brilliantly in the first few chapters) if the story was about two masters, struggling, co-existing and co-inhabiting the brain. ]]> 4.34 2009 The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
author: Iain McGilchrist
name: R.J.
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/09/20
date added: 2010/10/05
shelves: nonfiction
review:
I'm being a bit harsh giving this 3 stars because it is a really good book and everyone should read it. But there are inherent flaws on Iain's arguments that I cannot come to terms with. The first being that he treats the Right Brain as superior to the Left brain (the master and the emissary), which in itself is a hierarchical (left brain) way of thinking. Second, the author doesn't realize that religion is mostly left brain oriented. The inability of the left hemisphere to deal with uncertainty is the cause of all this God, karma, reincarnation hypothesis. The third and most important is the fact that the author doesn't warn about the right-brain impulsivities that plague most of the Eastern world. The herd mentality, the lack of individualism, the lack of introspection, the lack of proactiveness are all causes of a dominant right-hemisphere suppressing the left brain. And anyone who's lived in an eastern country (or even a small village) would immediately realize this.
So rather than giving the high-ground to one hemisphere, this book would've been so much better if it was balanced. Rather than a Master and an Emissary, it would've retained it's scientific touch (which it does so brilliantly in the first few chapters) if the story was about two masters, struggling, co-existing and co-inhabiting the brain.
]]> American Psycho 28676 American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.]]> 399 Bret Easton Ellis 0679735771 R.J. 4 3.82 1991 American Psycho
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: R.J.
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2010/10/03
date added: 2010/10/05
shelves:
review:
A distant and more recent cousin of Camus' "The Stranger", this book gave a ray of clarity to modernism and the constant 'pursuit of happiness'. Even though the book is about a serial killer, the author doesn't try to bring in an artificial morality to it. The sex scenes are graphic and the murder scenes are doubly so. But the real delight of this book is that it touches your own inner demons and beckons you to realize that modern society has pushed you to the edge of psychotic breakdown. That the serial killer in us all is not that distant as we think. A must read. I'm off to find the film..
]]>