Keith D. Swenson (Author of Mastering the Unpredictable)

Keith Swenson rated a book liked it Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease--and How to Fight It by Benjamin Bikman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Bikman writes about an important topic: insulin resistance (IR). Everyone should become familiar with this topic, and I learned a lot from this book. Bikman is a good writer. He presents things in an organized way that flows easily. Relevance and conn ...more
Nov 05, 2022 10:40AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Why We Get Sick by Benjamin Bikman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Why We Get Sick by Benjamin Bikman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson rated a book liked it How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It is important to form your opinions of what is going on based on firm unbiased evidence. This is what Smil sets out to do in this book: explain the operation of the world. I was disappointed by the book. It includes lots of facts and figures, and I ...more
Nov 05, 2022 10:13AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson and 3 other people liked Gordon's review of And No Birds Sang: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Oct 19, 2022 10:51AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson and 3 other people liked Gordon's review of The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health: "Irresponsible drivel, written for those with a death wish in the midst of a pandemic that has already killed well over one million Americans. This is equivalent to the number who died in World War I, World War II and the Civil War -- combined. For tho" Read more of this review »
Oct 19, 2022 10:50AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson rated a book it was amazing The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness by Mark Solms	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The hard problem of consciousness is thought by many to be unsolvable. Forever beyond our reach. But not Mark Solms and a band of cohorts forging a new frontier. It is amazing how far we have come in the last 10 years. Consciousness is a topic that ev ...more
Oct 13, 2022 10:02PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson is currently reading How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 13, 2022 10:01PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson and 5 other people liked Gordon's review of Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire: "The US has fought an ungodly number of wars in its 250 or so years of history, starting with the American Revolution itself -- more than 150, most of which you and I have never heard of. Mostly, these have been commercial wars, the familiar struggles" Read more of this review »
Oct 12, 2022 10:00AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson rated a book liked it Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire by Jonathan M. Katz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It is a very interesting slice of history that I did not get from school, and the author ties a number of events together in a way that makes more sense and I would not have guessed from what I knew before. I found it interesting, yet somewhat too le ...more
Oct 12, 2022 10:00AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson rated a book liked it The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Wow, this is an amazing book. First: I rate it three starts which means it is an excellent book, but one that is a bit esoteric and probably not for everyone. I reserve four and five for books that everyone should read, and this just does not fall in ...more
Aug 26, 2022 11:05AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Keith Swenson made a comment on his review of On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt " Luke wrote: "You said that being a believer is a factor . . ." To answer the question, I meant believer in Christianity. When you take a metaphysical p ...more "
Aug 21, 2022 09:35AM · see review

Keith Swenson rated a book liked it

Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease--and How to Fight It
by Benjamin Bikman

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Bikman writes about an important topic: insulin resistance (IR). Everyone should become familiar with this topic, and I learned a lot from this book.

Bikman is a good writer. He presents things in an organized way that flows easily. Relevance and conn Bikman writes about an important topic: insulin resistance (IR). Everyone should become familiar with this topic, and I learned a lot from this book.

Bikman is a good writer. He presents things in an organized way that flows easily. Relevance and connections are made with the appropriate amount of cross referencing and repetition when needed. I found the book easy to read, even though the topic is potentially quite dry.

The author should be heavily criticized for hyping the topic beyond what is reasonable. He sets out to establish that this is the single most important health issue ever. He repeatedly claims that 85% of Americans have this problem. Well, it turns out that this is a cherry picked statistic from one study done in Latin America. The real figure is 25% to 33% according to main research institutions best estimates. That is still very significant, but Bikman is taken on occasion to select only the most supportive studies and findings, and does not present a balanced and accepted view. Is he claiming that there is a conspiracy trying to hide this disease? Not directly, but he uses persuasive language that might easily support a conspiracy theory.

He spends the entire first half of the book making the claim that ALL modern diseases are caused by insulin resistance. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is caused by insulin resistance. Well, I checked some of the references. He makes this particular statement on page 14 without a reference, and the first cited reference on that does not actually contain the subject of the sentence that contains the citation. My research pointed out many papers covering that hypertension and IR tend to occur together, but there is no consensus on whether one causes the other. They both could simply be the result of poor diet and lack of exercise. In fact IR is correlated with many diseases that are associated with being overweight and out of shape. He boldly however insists that all hypertension is caused by insulin resistance, implying unrealistically that if IR was solved, there would be no more hypertension.

He presents many other diseases are caused by IR. Cancer? Well, he does not say that cancer is caused by IR, but he does say that cancer with IR is worse than cancer without IR. Well, yes, of course, cancer with ANY disease is worse than cancer without that disease. Duh!

How about heart disease? He lists a number of factors that correlate to heart disease, and IR is mentioned several times. The significance of this correlation is never reported. Then, on page 23 he simply jumps to stating "I hope it is clear . . . no single variable is more relevant to heard disease than IR." This actually was never shown, nor was there any research cited to support this, he is instead appealing the intuition of the reader based simply on the number of times he has mentioned IR. This is a logical fallacy.

If your IR gets bad enough, we call it diabetes. In fact IR has been called (or heavily overlaps with) pre-diabetes. Some of the figures he uses includes both IR and diabetes, or blurs the distinction, giving once again inflated figures for the non-diabetic IR.

Once you get past the heavy self-promotion of his subject, he moves on to a decent description of the disease itself, why it exists, and what to do about it. This is all quite science and evidence based, and I learned a lot. This is where the real value of the book lies.

He explains how insulin is a hormone that does a lot of things. One thing is to turn sugar into fat, which is the primary effect, but it is important to remember that there are other things it does: like promote cell growth. If you have a lot of sugar going though your blood, you need a lot more insulin. But once you have a lot of fat, those cells stop taking in more fat. Insulin stops working as well. Hence, insulin resistance. So the pancreas creates more of it, causing more of the other things that insulin does happen as a side effect.

His recommendation is sound as well. Watch your diet, avoid piling on the carbs, and get exercise. Again, this fully rational and supported by science.

Overall, this is a book that I learned from, but I can't say it is in excellent book because of the way he cherry picks evidence in order to promote this as the one main cause of all disease, and the associated implication that if we could solve IR, we would thereby solve all disease. This is a simplistic reductionist theory akin to a fad believed to the exclusion of other theories. Sorry, Bikman, it is just not that simple. There are 70,000 proteins floating around in humans, and the complex interactions have still be mapped out. Insulin resistance is an important problem that we need to be aware of, but it is not the cure-all for all disease. ...more

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How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil

How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
by Vaclav Smil

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It is important to form your opinions of what is going on based on firm unbiased evidence. This is what Smil sets out to do in this book: explain the operation of the world.

I was disappointed by the book. It includes lots of facts and figures, and I It is important to form your opinions of what is going on based on firm unbiased evidence. This is what Smil sets out to do in this book: explain the operation of the world.

I was disappointed by the book. It includes lots of facts and figures, and I have confidence that these are good and representative. However, I felt that Smil did not synthesize a clear picture of that world. The book did not engage me. I did not feel that there was any kind of organization to it that helped in understanding (other than grouping in to 6 categories by chapter). In other words: he did not tell an interesting story.

Perhaps I am being too critical? But reality was I had to force myself to get through to the end of the book, and the last chapter failed to bring it all together into a brilliant vision.

That is not to say that the book is bad. It is a treasure trove of details, most of which are important. Anyone who believes they have a grasp on what is going on in the world will benefit by the fine tuning that these details can provide.

Yet I felt sometimes the presented facts were included with no real rhyme or reason. On page 126, in a list of facts to support how significant shipping is al over the world, he includes that camels are shipped from Somalia to Saudi Arabia (across the Red Sea) -- a fact that has little relevance to understanding the world.

He also commits a mistake that many statistical documentors do: including raw absolute figure growth rate. For example, on page 125 he states that sea-born trade has tripled since 1973. However world population has doubled since then and does not mention that. So the increase is better understood as 1.5 times increase per capita. I have to say that he is far more careful than most on creating good and meaningful measures of how things are changing, but he is not perfect.

His final chapter, his vision of the future, is decidedly weak. Not to spoil the surprise ending, but what he says in the final chapter is that nobody knows what the future will be. I suppose he is advising us to always keep our eyes open, and that the future will depend on our actions. I give him an A+ for honesty.

So it is not a bad book. It is quite a good book. Just not a great book. ...more

Keith Swenson and 3 other people liked Gordon's review of And No Birds Sang:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Keith Swenson and 3 other people liked Gordon's review of The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health:

The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"Irresponsible drivel, written for those with a death wish in the midst of a pandemic that has already killed well over one million Americans. This is equivalent to the number who died in World War I, World War II and the Civil War -- combined.

For tho" Read more of this review »

Keith Swenson rated a book it was amazing

The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness
by Mark Solms

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The hard problem of consciousness is thought by many to be unsolvable. Forever beyond our reach. But not Mark Solms and a band of cohorts forging a new frontier. It is amazing how far we have come in the last 10 years.

Consciousness is a topic that ev ...more

Keith Swenson is currently reading

How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
by Vaclav Smil

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Keith Swenson and 5 other people liked Gordon's review of Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire:

Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M. Katz

"The US has fought an ungodly number of wars in its 250 or so years of history, starting with the American Revolution itself -- more than 150, most of which you and I have never heard of. Mostly, these have been commercial wars, the familiar struggles" Read more of this review »

Keith Swenson rated a book liked it

Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
by Jonathan M. Katz (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

It is a very interesting slice of history that I did not get from school, and the author ties a number of events together in a way that makes more sense and I would not have guessed from what I knew before. I found it interesting, yet somewhat too le ...more

Keith Swenson rated a book liked it

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
by David W. Anthony

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Wow, this is an amazing book. First: I rate it three starts which means it is an excellent book, but one that is a bit esoteric and probably not for everyone. I reserve four and five for books that everyone should read, and this just does not fall in Wow, this is an amazing book. First: I rate it three starts which means it is an excellent book, but one that is a bit esoteric and probably not for everyone. I reserve four and five for books that everyone should read, and this just does not fall in that category through no fault of its own.

History buffs who want to know more about the early and late bronze age will find a plethora of interesting and highly reliable facts about life at that time. The author goes into tremendous detail about specific cultures around the Black Sea at that time. Most of us will find this simply too detailed for a casual reading. It is an anthropologist treasure trove.

The author details the techniques used to figure all this stuff out. He actually went around inspecting ancient horse teeth to determine approximately what year the practice of putting a bit in the mouth of a horse became common. It was the domestication of horses and gave the people on the steppes the economic edge to then spread their culture essentially to half of the world's population. It is interesting how different terrains, such as the forest and the steppe, hosted cultures that remained different for thousands of years

Slowly the wheel was discovered and came into use. There is half a chapter on chariots and how those came into use and what it meant for the people (and armies) that used them. There are details on making things out of copper, and how slowly people discovered that adding tin made it stronger and more useful. He reconfirmed Jared Diamond's thesis that Europe became technologically superior because of the broad east-west span that could be traversed culturally, but at the same time point out that geographical features -- like the Ural Mountains -- caused some parts of this to be as much as 1000 years behind other parts.

The center of the book, and by far the most interesting, is how language itself becomes a kind of archeological site you can dig for evidence of culture long ago. Certain words and certain patterns formed BECAUSE of the life and culture of these people, and those patterns persist until today. These cultures, that started in Ukraine, and then traveled up the Dnieper and Danube valleys to western Europe echo in the words and phrases we use today. Absolutely amazing.

It is not an easy read. I admit to skimming large parts which consist largely of encyclopedic listings of artifacts found at various places. Yet, large stretches of the book are well written narratives telling entertaining stories of our ancestors and what life was like back in the nether reaches of history. Overall: entirely delightful. ...more

Keith Swenson made a comment on his review of On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt

On the Historicity of Jesus by Richard C. Carrier

" Luke wrote: "You said that being a believer is a factor . . ."

To answer the question, I meant believer in Christianity. When you take a metaphysical p ...more "

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	Mastering the Unpredictable: How Adaptive Case Management Will Revolutionize the Way That Knowledge Workers Get Things Done 3.76 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Social BPM: Work, Planning and Collaboration Under the Impact of Social Technology by Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Nathaniel Palmer, Sandy Kemsley 4.56 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eastern Odyssey: A Family Journal of Our Trek Through Japan and Russia in 1973 by Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Nancy L. Swenson, Barbara C Swenson 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	2010 Bpm and Workflow Handbook by Layna Fischer, Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Robert M. Shapiro 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BPM in Practice: A Primer for BPM & Workflow Standards by Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Robert M. Shapiro 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	iBPMS - Intelligent BPM Systems: Impact and Opportunity by Nathaniel Palmer, Robert Shapiro, Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Empowering Knowledge Workers: New Ways to Leverage Case Management by Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Steinar Carlsen, Nathaniel Palmer 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	When Thinking Matters in the Workplace: How Executives and Leaders of Knowledge Work Teams can Innovate with Case Management by Keith D. Swenson (Goodreads Author), Jim Farris it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Passports to Success in BPM; Real-World, Theory and Applications by Layna Fischer (Editor), Nathaniel Palmer, Frank Kowalkowski really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Business and Dynamic Change: The Arrival of Business Architecture by Jude Chagas Pereira, Frank F. Kowalkowski, Gil Laware 2.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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