I like what I read, but hilariously enough, I had a hard time getting myself to finish. I think because it touched some raw nerves, and I would've rat...moreI like what I read, but hilariously enough, I had a hard time getting myself to finish. I think because it touched some raw nerves, and I would've rather been knitting.(less)
Date read is a wild guess...I happened to remember this book after someone tweeted about first sleep/second sleep, then posted an Ask MetaFilter quest...moreDate read is a wild guess...I happened to remember this book after someone tweeted about first sleep/second sleep, then posted an Ask MetaFilter question because I couldn't remember the name! http://ask.metafilter.com/208842/Look...
I do remember that I enjoyed it, and little bits of what I learned from it still filter into my head from time to time. (Ergo first/second sleep, which is something I learned about in that book. Very common before industrialization, people falling asleep at dark, waking for a while in the middle of the night, then sleeping again. Was totally normal, is almost forgotten today.) I'd sort of like to read it again.(less)
Vague memory: enjoyed it, mostly. Some interesting tidbits on the nature of randomness and human beings' instincts for creating patterns out of nothin...moreVague memory: enjoyed it, mostly. Some interesting tidbits on the nature of randomness and human beings' instincts for creating patterns out of nothing. I don't think I finished it, and had to return it to the library. Might want to read again sometime.(less)
Started reading in ebook, and enjoyed it so much that I actually bought a copy. (At Borders in downtown Seattle at 30% off, FWIW.) Condenses lots and...moreStarted reading in ebook, and enjoyed it so much that I actually bought a copy. (At Borders in downtown Seattle at 30% off, FWIW.) Condenses lots and lots of psychology research that I've read elsewhere combined with plenty that was new to me. For the practical person, includes exercises, quizzes, tips...which was why I wanted a copy, since those bits were tough to read on my phone, and I wanted to write in the margins! A quick read in an engaging tone. Each chapter covers a different area of human psychology (motivation, relationships, happiness, etc), looks at the most current research on what works and doesn't, and then makes specific recommendations for how to use that research in your own life. Liked it a lot, planning to reread it, probably fairly regularly.(less)
It's been a while since I read this (early July?), and I wish I'd gotten all the way through before it had to go back to the library -- I didn't read...moreIt's been a while since I read this (early July?), and I wish I'd gotten all the way through before it had to go back to the library -- I didn't read all of the supplementary/how-to material in the back. Interesting stuff, some of which I'd read before, about how rewards can backfire and other things about motivation & behavior. But as a cog, generally speaking, in the employment wheel, somewhat disheartening. It's hard to see how one can influence a larger system to go in a more rational direction. Might try it again to see if there are tools I can integrate into my life, though.(less)
Fascinating. Gawande is just a great writer, to start with, connects practice and theory really well. Walks through the problem of medical errors, esp...moreFascinating. Gawande is just a great writer, to start with, connects practice and theory really well. Walks through the problem of medical errors, especially in surgery, and then connects it to other fields handling complex decision-making: flying and construction in particular. I want to put this stuff to work in my professional and personal life.
[ed, 4/2/2011: I realized on Friday that I already do some of this. I was updating Drupal on my work site, and I have a very clear checklist that I've refined over the last year, so that I don't leave out any crucial steps. I often find that I would have forgotten something, either in back up or in the actual order of updating, too! Checklists FTW.](less)
Didn't finish, but did enjoy what I read. Would like to read again; he has a tone that manages to be both enthusiastic & sympathetic. (Contrast to...moreDidn't finish, but did enjoy what I read. Would like to read again; he has a tone that manages to be both enthusiastic & sympathetic. (Contrast to Rework, which I started about the same time & couldn't get into.)(less)
For someone who's read a lot on psychology & brain science, not tons new here. But a nice mini-reference with a fun conversational style and a few...moreFor someone who's read a lot on psychology & brain science, not tons new here. But a nice mini-reference with a fun conversational style and a few "party trick" bits.(less)
They pull together a lot of the literature around the psychology of personal change and organizational change into something very clear. (Much like Ma...moreThey pull together a lot of the literature around the psychology of personal change and organizational change into something very clear. (Much like Made to Stick, as you might imagine.) It's been a couple of weeks since I actually read it, so some of the details are weak in my memory now, but the overarching metaphor remains helpful. Would like to pick up a copy for my personal reference.(less)
I happened to run across this book at the library having forgotten that it was in my "to-read" list. I'm SO glad I did, and given a certain pair of so...moreI happened to run across this book at the library having forgotten that it was in my "to-read" list. I'm SO glad I did, and given a certain pair of somewhat ranty posts a couple of months back, only wish I'd read it sooner! I literally could not put it down - as in: "no really, I need to go to bed/back to my desk from lunch/off the bus, I have to put the book away."
In short, social construction of gender: you're soaking in it. (And especially, your brain is soaking in it.)
1) Priming & stereotype threat affect everything. Just checking gender on a form before taking a test changes womens' performance, especially on math tests. More priming (being told that the test relates to gender, watching a gender-stereotyped commercial, etc) increases the effect.
2) Most of the "science" as it's filtered through to the popular media is a disaster of half-baked assumptions, small and/or poorly-constructed experiments, and willful misunderstanding of the actual results. (She tears apart one popular writer; it's kinda fun.)
3) Worse, those lame results create a feedback loop, combined with the impossibility of gender-neutral child-rearing, that increases the problem of stereotype threat, and makes genuine social change more difficult.
Le sigh. Not only is the feminist struggle not over, we may actually be hitting a really hard spot.
On the plus side, I'm fired up now. Not just that, but I'm thinking more about my own personal construction of gender identity, including my history with math and science.
There's a post I wrote about my life with math a while back, and there I wrote about it as a choice between writing and math - now I'm seriously looking back and wondering about the effect of gender stereotypes, and whether I might have come to computing sooner given different circumstances. I think it's worth noticing that choices exist in a constrained environment, constrained both by the external world, and by our own unexamined or incompletely-formed attitudes.
As for the writing style, it's a delightful read. She's got a sharp conversational tone that pulled me in; I even read the footnotes.
Thoughtful & passionate look at the condition of women throughout the "third world", seen through the lens of a few specific issues, ending with t...moreThoughtful & passionate look at the condition of women throughout the "third world", seen through the lens of a few specific issues, ending with the rallying cry that the liberation of women is necessary for development & social growth. Some really horrifying/scary stuff here, but also inspiring stories.
(BTW, my first ebook read on my new phone, checked out from the library. A pretty decent reading experience, although a few lines at the bottom of the screen were occasionally cut off.)(less)
I've been torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars, or 4 stars, so 3 it is. The good parts are fascinating, and I think potentially very useful to me in...moreI've been torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars, or 4 stars, so 3 it is. The good parts are fascinating, and I think potentially very useful to me in work and at home. Some smart techniques and interesting quotes. I may even recommend it to my colleagues.
On the other hand...it's hard for me to take seriously a book that uses "thought leader" non-ironically. And so it has a lot of that sort of thing going on: oh, look, there's Chris Anderson! Malcolm Gladwell! IDEO! etc., etc. And plenty of eye-rolling material for sure.
So if you can get past the eye-rolling, it's probably worth reading. Thankfully, it's pretty short. (I read it in an afternoon while sitting in the park.)(less)
I've been done with this for at least a week, maybe two, but I've been procrastinating writing my review. (So much so that the book has expired out of...moreI've been done with this for at least a week, maybe two, but I've been procrastinating writing my review. (So much so that the book has expired out of Overdrive, which means I lost all my bookmarks. Argh.) In any case, for someone with a family history of hoarding -- particularly my paternal grandmother -- and a personal tendency that way, this was fascinating, illuminating, and scary. Very compassionate, deals less with the cases that end up on TV than the otherwise normal-seeming people who have houses crammed with things, and the various psychological issues involved. I feel like I need to read it again and make notes. (FWIW, I think I have a lot of digital hoarding issues, too; bookmarks that will never be read, recipes that will never be made, etc., etc.) Very highly recommended.(less)
Review of the evidence for cooking as an important part of our evolution, looking at the fossil record, the habits and physiology of other primates, a...moreReview of the evidence for cooking as an important part of our evolution, looking at the fossil record, the habits and physiology of other primates, and the practices of modern hunter-gatherer groups.
He spends a chapter taking down the raw-foodist movement, mostly based on a German study, before getting into the evidence for cooking in our evolution. Most of that study's participants were at a chronic energy deficit, and a number of the women suffered from amenorrhea...and they had access to all the foodstuffs and processing devices of the modern world!
The physiology bits were fascinating: the trade-off between energy use in the gut and energy use in the brain, the differing jaw and teeth formations.
There's quite a bit of just-so-story of the kind that one often finds with evolutionary psychology & biology, but it seems more carefully constructed than some. The chapter(s) on cooking and the evolution of the pair-bond relationship are troubling but hard to refute, at least by me. (Cooking leading pretty much directly to patriarchy. Damn.)
I could have used some graphics, both to show the actual differences, and to keep track of the timeline. I often had to jump back to remember which groups were which, and who might have evolved what when.
Great review of all the science on gender differences in children, and how our gendered society conflates tiny differences into separate childhood cul...moreGreat review of all the science on gender differences in children, and how our gendered society conflates tiny differences into separate childhood cultures. On a practical level, each chapter includes how to compensate for the weaknesses and use the strengths that do have a genetic component. (She has 3 kids, by the way, 2 boys and a girl, and uses them as anecdotes from time to time.)
If you have ever gnashed your teeth walking through a Toys R Us, this book is for you.(less)
Not to be totally corny, but if you only read one book this year, this would be a damn good choice. Former head of the FDA, a guy who's also had his o...moreNot to be totally corny, but if you only read one book this year, this would be a damn good choice. Former head of the FDA, a guy who's also had his own struggles with food and weight, examines the psychology of eating in our current food landscape.
"Conditioned hypereating" is how he describes it, encompassing both overweight and not: the obsession with food, the difficulties in resisting hyperpalatable modern foods.
The science stuff is fascinating, the section on food company research is terrifying, and there's some excellent concrete advice in the last section. I really needed to read this after putting back on some (not a lot) of the weight I lost a couple of years ago.(less)
Couldn't get into this one enough to finish it. Very good and important information, but dry. HIDEOUS charts, too. There's a great popular book hiding...moreCouldn't get into this one enough to finish it. Very good and important information, but dry. HIDEOUS charts, too. There's a great popular book hiding in all the data, but this isn't it.(less)
Interesting review of aspects of modern society where emotional reactions and political positions overwhelm scientific thinking. Mostly focuses on the...moreInteresting review of aspects of modern society where emotional reactions and political positions overwhelm scientific thinking. Mostly focuses on the anti-vaccine nutters and organic food (and its problems for feeding larger numbers of people). Not in agreement with everything he has to say, and the end trails off awkwardly, but good reading.(less)
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