A lovely expansion and refinement of content from youarenotsosmart.com. Each chapter covers with examples and referenced research a psychological misc...moreA lovely expansion and refinement of content from youarenotsosmart.com. Each chapter covers with examples and referenced research a psychological misconceptions most of us are unaware we have or make. Very readable and eye opening. To remember even half of what the book contains would give you a fresh set of eyes to perceive the world with.
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Information as we call it today has a rich history and this book explores all that goes into our present day understanding of it. The central characte...moreInformation as we call it today has a rich history and this book explores all that goes into our present day understanding of it. The central character is a man named Claude Shannon who wrote the seminal paper on information theory but touches on many other key individuals like Charles Babbage, Samuel Morse, and Alan Turing. The book reads easily despite the wide range of topics and concludes with astute observations about the role of information in today's world.(less)
An enjoyable world encompassing romp building heavily on computer geekery circa 2010. At times bogged down in extraneous exposition it otherwise follo...moreAn enjoyable world encompassing romp building heavily on computer geekery circa 2010. At times bogged down in extraneous exposition it otherwise follows a fanciful but plausible storyline, casts intriguing characters, and concludes with one of his better written endings.(less)
**spoiler alert** A strange trip through drug induced multiple universe merging. The storyline wraps up quickly at the end but by that point I was hap...more**spoiler alert** A strange trip through drug induced multiple universe merging. The storyline wraps up quickly at the end but by that point I was happy to escape the mind bending world. I would have enjoyed a little more exposition on the ramifications of the concept and how the multiverse merges.(less)
The succinct writing style drives the story quickly and produces lovely nuggets of crisp dialog and narrative quips. The use of the protagonist as the...moreThe succinct writing style drives the story quickly and produces lovely nuggets of crisp dialog and narrative quips. The use of the protagonist as the author of the book is offset by the interlude of reading the diary of his lover, although the voices sound similar. The author's mastery of language makes the book very enjoyable even though I felt the ending too preachy.(less)
I found this an intriguing book but didn't absorb as much of the advice as I should of. The biographical bookends offer a peak into why Stephen King w...moreI found this an intriguing book but didn't absorb as much of the advice as I should of. The biographical bookends offer a peak into why Stephen King writes the type of novels he does along with his harrowing tale of being hit by a car. Make no mistake the author has strong opinions about what works in writing and how to become a writer. He firmly believes that most will never become great writers but that it possible to go from being a competent writer to a good writer by following the sage advice he lays out in the heart of the book. As someone that doesn't have plans to become a professional writer if I'm able to take away one or two tidbits I know that will help.(less)
The book explores the significance of science and recent developments that may alter how we think about the world. The theme throughout the book is ab...moreThe book explores the significance of science and recent developments that may alter how we think about the world. The theme throughout the book is about scale from the smallest to the largest, the theories being explored at both ends of the spectrum, and experiments being performed now or with the help of the LHC that will help validate or disprove those theories. I found the chapters that focused on physics informative and well reasoned, while those that delved into philosophy and policy wanting. I suspect individuals unfamiliar with the role and benefit of science or the growing religious pseudoscience trend would necessarily be reading this book (i.e. confirmation bias) and as a result some sections were a slog to get through. The informal tone of the prose made for enjoyable reading but included conversations felt more like name dropping then contributing distinct interviews. While I learned from reading the book I feel the same information could have been conveyed in a book half as long.(less)
The book explores the author's premise that mathematics is the sixth revolution to impact biology following those of the microscope, classification, e...moreThe book explores the author's premise that mathematics is the sixth revolution to impact biology following those of the microscope, classification, evolution, genetics, and DNA's structure. The first third of the book examines the history of each of those revolutions and the impact on biology. The remainder of the book consists of vignettes about the interplay between mathematics and biology. The breadth of material exposed me to fascinating tidbits about animal patterns, evolutionary niches, and general biology. Alas the chapters are loosely coupled and the drive to prove that mathematics is the sixth revolution for biology is barely mentioned at all. In fact the book concludes that "I doubt that mathematics will ever dominate biological thinking in the way it now does for physics, but its role is becoming essential." While I found the book enjoyable to read it's lack of depth or cohesiveness left me wanting more.(less)
An appropriately opinionated exploration of JavaScript. The exhaustive diagraming of the language syntax and common methods can be skipped by those wh...moreAn appropriately opinionated exploration of JavaScript. The exhaustive diagraming of the language syntax and common methods can be skipped by those who have used the language before. The observations in the chapters on Functions (4), Inheritance (5), Style (9), and lists of gotchas in appendices Awful Parts (A) and Bad Parts (B) make this a must read for anyone developing with JavaScript. The author has a very strong point of view that is presented throughout the book, but I found warranted given the number of ways on can unintentionally harm yourself in JavaScript.(less)
This book offers an exploration of various programming paradigms (object oriented, prototype, constraint-logic, and functional), concurrency models (a...moreThis book offers an exploration of various programming paradigms (object oriented, prototype, constraint-logic, and functional), concurrency models (actors, futures, and transactional memory), and programming constructs (list compression, monads, and matching). None of the topics are covered in great detail but for those curious what Ruby, Io, Prolog, Scala, Erlang, Clojure, and Haskell are all about, this book does a reasonable job of introducing and demonstrating each language. The writing is uneven between the chapters and some concepts (like monads and monitors) could use much better code examples. As the introduction emphasizes, to really get the most put of the book, you will want to work through the exercises at the end of each day, as that is the best way to get a feel for each language. Be warned there aren't answers to these problems, despite what the introduction alludes to.(less)
I couldn't help but think this book influenced "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" even though Gibson wasn't mentioned by Larsson. In any case...moreI couldn't help but think this book influenced "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" even though Gibson wasn't mentioned by Larsson. In any case this is by far the most contemporary story of Gibson's that I've read. His protagonist is a quirky female trend recognizer that finds herself pursuing the creators of the biggest phenomenon to hit the Internet. All of the science is well within the realm of believability but is frequently twisted through the perceptions of the characters. An enjoyable read albeit fairly predictable at times.(less)
An easy to read exploration of plastic through objects we interact with everyday. The book uses a comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, gr...moreAn easy to read exploration of plastic through objects we interact with everyday. The book uses a comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card to gradually introduce all aspects of plastic. This includes the chemicals involved, people behind breakthroughs in plastic, companies producing raw materials and finished products, impact on society and environment, and the growing greening movement around plastic. The book is filled with intriguing characters and stories and offers a balanced look at all the benefits and drawbacks of plastic.(less)
Presented as a collection of loosely related essays, I found the book neither compelling nor informative. The details, history, and explanations of th...morePresented as a collection of loosely related essays, I found the book neither compelling nor informative. The details, history, and explanations of the various conditions covered in the book is minimal leaving me aware of issues such as face blindness, sense of space, and visual agnosia but wanting to know more. That knowledge may come from the reading the other books by the same author citied frequently in the footnotes, which made this book feel more like an introduction to his other work. While presenting a broad overview of many conditions that affect our senses and how certain people responded to those changes, I found it hard to enjoy the book.(less)
An exploration of four common fish driven by a personal narrative of fishing for them. Along the way current trends in aquaculture, genetic research, ...moreAn exploration of four common fish driven by a personal narrative of fishing for them. Along the way current trends in aquaculture, genetic research, alternative fish types, and legislation are explained. Human greed and fisherman psychology seem to a driving force behind how we got to where we are today with fishing and it seems that without drastic measures nothing will change. The author doesn't advocate ceasing fishing as some other authors have. Instead the author recommends starting over thinking about what we eat using Francis Galton's criteria: hardy, endowed with an inborn liking for man, comfort-loving, able to breed freely, and needful of only a minimal amount of tending. Making strong international policy changes to: profoundly reduce fishing, create large no-catch areas, protect unmanageable species, and protect the bottom of the food chain. With those in mind he advocates creating a fishing industry build around: efficiency, nondestructive to wild systems, limited in number, adaptable, and functional in a polyculture.(less)
A well researched and cleanly written survey of the current state of knowledge and action concerning global warming and climate change. The book explo...moreA well researched and cleanly written survey of the current state of knowledge and action concerning global warming and climate change. The book explores the topic from many different perspectives including political, economic, personal, with a focus throughout on the growing scientific body of knowledge. A key concept throughout the book is the dual roles of adaptation (reducing our vulnerability to climate change) and mitigation (reducing our emissions). The book addresses the potential gloom and doom if the world doesn't address the issue but also presents change communities are already making and a Green Apollo proposal of how to make a great leap forward. The author's repetitive use of sound-byte phrases like "avoid the unmanageable, manage the unavoidable" throughout the book is one of my biggest gripes in an otherwise wonderful book.(less)
A wonderful space drama that introduces interesting technology and great characters. It includes a novel new race and a plausible scenario that the ac...moreA wonderful space drama that introduces interesting technology and great characters. It includes a novel new race and a plausible scenario that the action unfolds under. Simply a great science fiction read.(less)
**spoiler alert** I delightfully dark tale of a mastermind using bio-engineering to create what he hoped would be a utopia told from the perspective o...more**spoiler alert** I delightfully dark tale of a mastermind using bio-engineering to create what he hoped would be a utopia told from the perspective of an unwilling participant in the events.(less)
A delightful exploration of playing with perception and escaping from the drudgery of life. I felt disoriented like the characters towards the end and...moreA delightful exploration of playing with perception and escaping from the drudgery of life. I felt disoriented like the characters towards the end and that was a good thing. Definitely a book to read and reflect on just what happened.(less)
When reading this book the classic nature versus nurture discussion kept playing in my head. Throughout the book for those that become hugely successf...moreWhen reading this book the classic nature versus nurture discussion kept playing in my head. Throughout the book for those that become hugely successful (the outliers) there are clearly elements of nature at play (you need to be good enough) but overall nurture clearly plays a bigger role in the authors view. I'm lumping being in the right place at the right time (aka luck) under nurture since that seems to be a common theme especially when it comes to when you were born. The other clear theme I found was that outliers don't just happen, there is a clear lineage of accumulative advantage at work. That for me was particularly telling in the chapter that touched on the Baltimore students and the California Achievement Test. Less advantaged students showed similar gains those more more advantaged during the school year but lost that gain during the summer. Overall I found the pacing and presentation of the book to be uneven but still demonstrating the key theory well, if not offering any counter examples.(less)
I couldn't finish this book. It reads like a repetitive alarmist rant. When the author started making mostly unsubstantiated conspiracy theory allegat...moreI couldn't finish this book. It reads like a repetitive alarmist rant. When the author started making mostly unsubstantiated conspiracy theory allegations against higher education and American media I hit my limit. Coming into the subject of bees and colony collapse disorder (CCD) with little knowledge of either I was hoping for an introduction to bees, CCD, and an unbiased exploration of what might be leading to it. I found none in this book. While there maybe truth in some of what the author says it is hidden among a writing tone and style that makes me distrust him more than the supposedly corrupt institutions he continually lambasts.(less)
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