Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction, page 8

Reviewing A Primer On Decision Making: How Decisions Happen

A Primer On Decision Making: How Decisions Happen, by James G. March, New York, The Free Press, 1994, from his lectures at Stanford University.

This is a treasure trove of timeless one-liners—for anyone who is involved in making decisions, which is most of us. Jim March challenges us with a plethora of ifs, ands, buts, and might-have-beens, if we would only step back from our assumptions and take a good look at what we might be missing.

Based on lectures given while a professor of political science and sociology at Stanford University, the book is divided into six sections—the limits to rationality, problems with decisions based on rules, and on “multiple actors” working in teams and in politics, problems with “ambiguity and interpretation” and problems with “using knowledge.”

March begins by noting the role of ignorance in decision making and ends the book with the role of knowledge and power. He keeps our feet to the fire by listing all the ways we manage to avoid difficult decisions, even when making contracts. Among our limitations, he pays attention to cognitive dissonance (without naming it), environmental limits, bio-constraints, and the future.

Read this book with a pencil and notepad in hand, so that you can write down all the examples that come to mind when reading his summary observations. The world will be made a better place when you act on those notes.

Reviewing The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen

The Honor code: How Moral Revolutions Happen by Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York, W. W. Norton, 2010.
How are human beings motivated to discard ancient or long-term practices that do harm? In this thoroughly researched, notated, and indexed book, Princeton professor Appiah tells three compelling stories of how codes of honor gone awry were finally brought down by the one thing that could undermine their powerful, damaging hold on human society—shame.
The first story tells how dueling in defense of honor was brought down. The second story, the binding of women’s feet in China, ended for a similar reason. The war against women in Pakistan is still being fought. Here again, historical honor plays a huge role. In all cases a sociological sense of honor trumps compassion or common sense.

This brings to mind our current situation—our obsession with the need for economic growth in an overpopulated Full Earth. Can we Americans face the fact that we have used up resources at a great rate? Can we be shamed into changing our ways and cutting back—demonstrating to the world how to Not overuse the Earth?

Review of John Cleese So, Anyway...

John Cleese So Anyway... by John Cleese, all of it, almost every word, New York, Random House, 2014.

I received John’s book (“John” because I feel I know him very well now) for my birthday last November, picked it up last April, and again in May or June (I forget). Then I read a few pages every night until now, when I couldn’t put it down.

The first time I picked it up (racked with guilt because I had delayed so long after receiving such a kind gift) I wondered why I was staying awake--reading all the details about Cleese’s classmates calling him “Chee-eese! etc.” Where was the humor I expected? Why did I care that his predicament was that he was a “very tall little boy.”

The next time I picked it up, I giggled a little and realized I had missed some wonderful dry humor the first time around. It was sometimes subtle, then not, then maybe I didn’t get it. In any case, I kept reading, every night, just a few pages, until I suddenly found myself learning about how comics (namely Cleese and his friends) go about writing humor.

I also learned about persistence and hard work--hours critiquing, rewriting, letting it settle into the pages, then rereading and re-writing, sometime resurrecting old themes or dumping scripts that didn’t work.

In the end of the book, including the index at page 391, after Cleese and cohorts celebrate the Python years, the author includes (for free, because my brother had already bought the book) some scripts (too few!) he found in someone’s dark closet somewhere. I laughed out loud. What wonderful silly fun! Most of their recorded shows had been lost, since the huge old tapes were reused in those days.

Near the end, while unable to put the book down, I ran into one serious comment that reflected a concern that has left me disturbed now for some years. Cleese noted that “...while attitude to swearing and vulgarity have shifted...another set of values seems to be threatening comedy...the life-denying force called political correctness...hijacked and taken ad absurdum...”
We need more comedy these days; it helps us stay real.

Now I know why I kept reading. It wasn’t just the interesting stories about his writing and comedy career, it was his charming take-it-or-leave-it-and squeeze-it-good-when-possible attitude toward life and the English language.

A Review of DEEP FUTURE:The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth

by Curt Stager, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2011.

Climatologist Curt Stager speculates on the long-term prospects for Earth’s life forms, based on two scenarios—a moderate “path” if we limit CO2 levels to 600 ppm and a “Super-Greenhouse” situation if we “consume all our easily accessible coal,” reaching a peak of 2000 ppm around 2300 A. D.

Armed with a Ph. D. in biology and geology from Duke University, Stager explores the details of various life-threatening scenarios for both futures and notes that we will probably experience a warming similar to that of the early Cenozoic, 50 millions years ago. At that time “...global average temperatures were 18 to 22o F (10-12oC) or more above today’s mean for several million years. Life had moved north, as evidenced by dense Arctic forests. Many species survived the heat.

Stager introduces his detailed analysis of what might happen to polar bears and other currently familiar life forms by suggesting that our fate would be far worse if the next ice age were to make its expected (but poorly understood?) cyclical appearance on Earth. Such ice could wipe out everything in its path, a much worse scenario than what our CO2-induced long-term hot spell might inflict. We may do better if our long-term warming cancels the next ice age.

I recommend this book for general reading because the author is careful to present current findings with well-balanced, readable analyses. He presents the many facets of each complex situation that human cultures and animals will face. As a result of our current load of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, he says, “Welcome to the Anthropocene...We’ve stopped the next ice age in its tracks.” It will take tens of thousands of years for current temperature levels to return to preindustrial conditions.

By understanding the details of our options, we could avoid arguments that oversimplify or exaggerate. In any case, we need to do our best to find a safer pass for life into its warm future. Then we might have a better chance of surviving the needed move north.

A summary review of The Great Transition by Lester R. Brown, author or Plan B

The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy by Lester R. Brown, New York, W.W.Norton, 2015.
The author of Plan B, called the “...best achievable road map” to the future, provides us with encouraging news—we are making the transition to wind and solar to meet energy needs. Costs of wind and solar are “...falling so rapidly that they are starting to squeeze out coal.” Unlike fossil fuels, their use “...does not reduce the amount [of energy provided] tomorrow.”

Other benefits are becoming clear, and soon pollution may trump the enormous fossil fuel subsidies by government and tax policies. Brown proposes shifting transportation to electricity. Biofuels won’t do the trick. One tank of biomass fuel for a large SUV requires growing enough grain to feed a person for one year. Wind and solar do not require the large amounts of water that fossil fuel production does.

Thanks goes to governments and billionaires who have already poured huge efforts into renewable energy. Wind provides 62% of Denmark’s electricity. Brown notes other benefits of the transition, like local control, use of rooftops, no fuel costs for installation, a viable alternative for energy companies who make the switch, and avoiding economic trauma as oil production peaks.

The current issues discussed include the use of coal and nuclear power, and the potential for geothermal and hydropower. Brown’s recommendations include a revenue on carbon to offset taxes on labor and raising a significant tax on gasoline while cutting income taxes—strategies that are also good for the economy, along with energy efficiency, which is cheaper than building “...new generating capacity.”
The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy

Asking the Genre Question

An Alien’s Quest The Archives of Varok series will be expanding soon, and the fourth book, Shawne: An Alien's Quest will make them even more difficult to shelve. I can't in good faith call them Science Fiction, because the aliens placed in our solar system (as much as I love these dear old friends) are tools to help me explore some realistic human problems. Here are the one-phrases that encapsulate the themes:
THE VIEW BEYOND EARTH--Self-actualization and personal growth
THE WEBS OF VAROK--
A picture of a steady state economy, its requirements and vulnerabilities.
THE ALIEN EFFECT--
Current human denial and challenges.
AN ALIEN'S QUEST--
Personal integrity and the meaning of existence.
THE UNHEARD SONG--
Dealing with communication problems and overpopulation stress (A history of the ellls encountering varoks for the first time.)

And here are the updated log lines and summary:
THE ARCHIVES OF VAROK
A series of five books set in a realistic mid-to-late 21st century,
in which Earth discovers sympathetic but challenging neighbors
who reflect a critical overview of human civilization.

What Is It All About? Book club and discussion topics:

Book 1- THE VIEW BEYOND EARTH—How would dispassionate Others view us?

Book 2-THE WEBS OF VAROK—What must we do to insure a satisfactory future?

Book 3-THE ALIEN EFFECT—Are we headed for extinction or can we evolve into something better?

Book 4-AN ALIEN'S QUEST—How can we find Meaning, when our lives are driven by unpredictable complexity?

Book 5-THE UNHEARD SONG (coming in 2017)—Inescapable certainties: to secure the future all populations must communicate and hold to steady numbers.


So is this Sociology? Psychology? Women's fiction? Literary fiction? (I don't think so.) YA or Adult? Action? Philosophy? Religion? What?

Two Reviews of "Common Ground On Hostile Turf"

Common Ground On Hostile Turf: Stories From an Environmental Mediator by Lucy Moore, Island Press, Washington, 2013
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Author and Mediator Lucy Moore shares her professional experiences by describing her work in New Mexico, where there was “...stress over land and water resources against a backdrop of cross-cultural tension and a high rate of poverty.” Various arguments came from several angles: Hispanic and Native American, environmental and business, state and federal agencies, and funding from the East and Midwest.

Moore believed that everyone involved needed to know who was involved, so she encouraged all to share their personal life stories. It worked very well to “...help people express themselves honestly and to ensure that others are genuinely
listening.” When she insisted on that same kind of life-sharing in another case, however, it backfired. The participants simply wanted to get down to work finding solutions.

The rules Moore formulated over her years of mediation provide a useful guideline for us all—Seek common goals and specific solutions, find enemies in common and satisfy curiosity. She asks participants to respect the privacy of the talks, to speak using the “I” word, and to refrain from personal attacks. “...trust and respect among adversaries are possible,” she says, “...once everyone is able to be honest, vulnerable, open and respectful. Then the “...logjam of warring studies and legal threats may break loose.”

For me, one of the most revealing findings in her work was the long-time residents’ view of the “entremetides—those who interfere where they don’t belong.” Environmentalists’ focus is philosophical; residents’ caring is personal. Environmentalists worry about wildlife and the planet’s future, while residents worry about losing their land tomorrow, losing it for family.

One of Moore’s observations is the need to be sensitive to issues of power as well as to differences in caring. Lawyers use legalese; scientists use data; bureaucrats raise barriers to ideas; “tribals” play history or culture cards. If problems are approached honestly and communicated immediately, mediation can work in three areas: substance, process and psychology.

With her very readable story-telling in this book, the author opens up possibilities in the world of difficult communication for all of us.

Guest Blog
Posted on 04/01/2015 by Don Neeper. Thanks to him for these excerpts.

In her book, Common Ground on Hostile Turf, Lucy Moore shows that resolution of conflict depends more on the sharing of personal stories than on the facts, legal arguments, or moral claims of the parties.
Living in Santa Fe, Lucy Moore served for decades as a mediator in southwestern land, water, and waste arguments. With a profound sympathy as well as professional analysis, she offers ten cases in which the opposing parties either devised a resolution, or failed to do so, depending on whether they had trust or grew into trust by sharing personal histories, feelings, and preferences.
Although Moore’s own ten stories in this book bring the reader into empathy with land and water issues of the Southwest, the lessons are universal, lessons familiar to professionals who work with the conflicts in marriages, churches, schools, corporations, and governments. Moore shows how culture, historical events, sense of power, and personality affect negotiations. Trust and respect are possible among adversaries, but first each must come to understand the life and experiences underlying the opponent’s position. That understanding develops through each person’s telling his/her own story—how he came into the conflict, how he grew up, what children the person has, what experiences affected him most. Personal sharing creates vulnerability, and vulnerability generates trust. Trust might allow a resolution other than winning and losing..
Conclusion
Instead of focusing on victory, those who resolve conflicts must tell stories about their homes, what they treasure most, the friends they relish, their worries, and what they would like to see when they look out on the world, even for their last time. Moore didn’t say it quite that way, but I think that statement captures her message. Before we can resolve hostile turf, we must find common ground.
For the entire blog see http://neeper.net/blog-74-common-grou...

The Archives of Varok—The Genre Dilemma

What do you do when you realize that your books don’t fit common genre expectations? What category should you suggest when your publisher applies for a fiction contest? What discussion groups would you join on LinkedIn or here on Goodreads?

Book stores, even Amazon, need to find a place—a shelf or category—that defines literature so readers can find the kind of books they love. Finding the right shelf for your books isn’t easy, because most readers eventually gravitate toward books of any genre that tell in beautiful language a powerful story. Those are the books that last on the best seller lists for years, not just weeks. Those are the books we keep, to read over and over again.

As writers who love words and the process of crafting story and characters, we are caught in the genre dilemma if our books don’t follow the currently defined formulas. My example are the books called The Archives of Varok. What shelf should I put them on?

The stories explore issues critical for teens to consider, but the protagonist is an adoptive mother, a professional microbiologist. (So Adult fiction?) Her child is two years old in the first book, grows up in the second (YA!), meets her first love and her greatest challenge in the third, and redefines her life in the fourth book in her twenties. (Is there a shelf called New Adult?)

On the YA shelf, the protagonist is supposed to be . . . how old? One teen reader said the Archives are appropriate down to seventh grade. An elder reader recently noted that The View Beyond Earth was definitely adult. It explores how we would “realistically” react if we discovered that friendly, savvy, attractive, very-subtly-but-profoundly-aliens lived near Earth?

Aliens? The trap springs shut, and the AOV books land on the scifi shelf. But the aliens are fun, not horrible and dangerous, not even drooling. The covers suggest they love children. Some are even cute, like the ahlork on The Webs of Varok cover. I feel that the books’ covers reflect the theme and tone of the series—an exploration of who we are, we human beings.

Current realism is not the worst feature that makes me want to take the AOV books out of the Scifi Shelf. I am also a realist when it comes to space travel. In my “scifi” books, traveling to Jupiter takes time, costs lots of energy, and damages living beings. Answers to our horrendous problems like overpopulation stress, fossil fuels, and cognitive dissonance are more easily portrayed in a realistic setting.

I decided my stories would be more palatable if they provided good entertainment, so I populated them with challenging aliens that were fun to meet. Fun? Humor? In Science Fiction? Or are they YA? Maybe New Adult from the beginning? Or should AOV be on the Sociology shelf? Maybe Political Science, since the books portray a formula for achieving an equitable, democratic long-term steady-state?

How about the Speculative Fiction shelf? Most contests don’t list that category. It’s a bit broad. After all, readers want to know what a book is about. So we have to rely on writing the one-liners and the marketing paragraphs agents love. No one shelf seems to fit; the second book in the AOV series, The Webs of Varok, won a silver Nautilus award for adult science fiction and was a YA ForeWord Book of the Year finalist.

I suspect I’m not alone in this dilemma. What do you think?

A Must-read: Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)

Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, New York, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishinig Company, 2007.

Written by social psychologists, this is an in depth description of how we deceive ourselves and how we can set ourselves right. It is a must-read eye-opener because the authors describe clearly and carefully how much harm self-justification does to our lives, how our memory can be warped, how science can be compromised, how our legal system has been corrupted, and how marriages fall apart.

At first it seems unbelievable that “...when directly confronted with proof that they are wrong, [people] do not change...but justify it even more tenaciously.” Even politicians might admit “error, but not responsibility. Such is the power of self-justification, “...more powerful and more dangerous than the explicit lie.”

The authors’ explanation for the source of this power is “cognitive dissonance”—the mental tension that results when “...a person holds two cognitions [beliefs or attitudes]
That contradict each other. The book is full of extensively detailed examples, including some generally accepted theories in economics and psychology that are obviously not supported by evidence or everyday experience.

Most disturbing are examples the authors describe taken from legal situations or psychotherapy, where dissonance was reduced by minimizing damage or blaming victims, as in the use of the notorious Reid Technique for gaining confessions.

The most obvious cases of cognitive dissonance are climate change deniers as they watch Arctic ice and glaciers melt and classical economists who don’t recognize the limits to Earth’s resources. But the most egregious and dangerous dissonance must reside in the minds of those who imply that the Earth can support its projected population with a reasonable standard of living.

Such denial is a trap easily sprung, for there seem to be no workable solutions. How do we reach a sustainable consensus to stabilize all human populations? How do we curb our appetites or revise the mantra that growth and fossil fuels are necessary?

We can preserve resources for the future and protect the precious diversity of life on Earth. The tasks seem overwhelming, but to allow ourselves to sink into despair or denial is to become part of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The difficult way out is quite clear: we simply can’t have our cake and eat it too. Understanding self-justification and cognitive dissonance is a good first step out of the trap.

This book is a treasure for anyone interested in growing as a responsible individual, true to both self and reality.

E-books for all Archives of Varok books are now available.

The series is now up to date. E-books are available for the rewrite of A Place Beyond Man. It is called The View Beyond Earth, and includes a new beginning and corrections in copyediting, as well as updates on how we might actually relate to friendly aliens who live too close to ignore. Start with this one if you like backstory--who are these characters?

The award-winning book The Webs of Varok is the second book in the series. It focuses on issues portrayed on an alien planet--issues that could impact our long-term future. They do not deny our need for facing very tough choices. Falling back on old -isms won't work; we need to recognize the limit to resources.

The Alien Effect is the third book in the series. Like the others, it follows the mixed alien-human family in time, but is a standalone if you don't need extensive backstory. Set on Earth, the family faces some of our most troubling cultural issues.