Dale
As someone who devours astronomy, cosmology and physics, it's getting exceedingly rare to find new information, or a new way of looking at things. This book focuses specifically on the biggest mysteries of our universe, the questions we're so far from answering most scientists have stopped asking. It's not afraid to speculate, which can be a lot of fun, and it really revels in the sense of mystery that makes science so exciting, something a lot of science books gloss over in the rush to provide answers. It was nice to stop and remember how little we actually know, and how much mystery remains.
The dad-joke level humor was hit or miss, but does add to the charm of the book overall. I was also kind of hoping there would be chapter about how little we know about the phenomenon of consciousness, which is arguably one of the biggest mysteries of the universe, but these are all small complaints. A great read, and strongly recommended for arm-chair physicists with a philosophical leaning.
Amazing how well this book aged. And sometimes in ways I doubt the author intended or could even have predicted. The contrast between two societies and their values was presented compassionately, with the good and bad of each shown at face value. Whether it was the “civilized” taking a drug to avoid dealing with unpleasant truths, or self-flagellation of the “savage” to “atone” for natural impulses.
While I often wondered if the the book was written to extol the virtues of religion and moral conservatism, I wasn't always certain. I very much read it as a criticism humanity's propensity to extremes, of our unrealistic and often dangerous desire for utopia. Neither the mass produced and placated “civilized”, nor the “savages” with their baseless superstitions and self-imposed suffering struck me as enlightened, instead they were just two extremes to which humanity will reach for a place in the world.
It is often said there is a spectrum, with safety at one end and freedom at the other. Safety should be tempered with adventure, and freedom must be tempered by fact. The real take away from this book, for me, was that society will always inherently involve compromise.
As someone who's considered Devin Townsend their favorite musician for 15 years now, this was a great read. Over the years I've wondered what the motivations behind his songs were, what the meanings of the lyrics were, and what he was really like.
Why did he go from singing for Steve Vai to forming Strapping Young Lad to then quitting that and going to the Devin Townsend Band, and then finally letting that evolve into the Devin Townsend Project? What's his relationship with metal in general, since it seems like his entire music output comes from a tension between ultra-aggressive metal and sensitive expressions of more vulnerable emotions? What is his family life like, an aspect of his life only hinted at in his music? How did he avoid getting into drugs for so long, only to then go so deep into them, and finally quit entirely, and what is his opinion on them now?
This book answered a ton of questions I've always casually wondered while consuming his music constantly over the years. This was a fascinating window into a person who's creative output I've always been mildly obsessed with, and would strongly recommend this book to anyone else who has a similar obsession.
Only ok. I like the idea of a clear list of the fallacies and pitfalls we are prone to, but I've found better examples online.
This entire book is practically a Coles Notes of Nassim Taleb's work, and you can tell the author knows it. He credits Taleb at least once every 10 pages. That, on top of other extremely repetitive tendencies, like an insultingly reductionist evolutionary explanation for each fallacy listed, left me rather disappointed in this book.
An adequate entry point into logical fallacies and psychological pitfalls, but if you've done ANY prior research, this probably isn't worth your time.
A very fascinating read. You always have to read a book by a politician with a grain of salt, but it was more candid than I expected. She REALLY does not like James Comey!
She acknowledges that 2016 was voters looking for a revolution; between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, she was the status quo. She wasn't promising revolution, she was promising a sensible, realistic path to gradual improvement of the American democracy. She was the safe bet, when people were looking to gamble it all. In retrospect, the safe bet seems pretty damn appealing, because when you gamble it all, you can lose it all... And she knew this. She was arguably the most politically experienced candidate in America's history, and while most presented this as a negative quality, it was why she was most qualified, and it's a shame we won't see what she could have accomplished.
She discusses the legitimate reasons that contributed to why she lost the election (losing control of the media message, playing too cozy with the Wall Street big wigs she was claiming to oppose, some poorly worded statements about putting coal workers out of work and deplorables, etc) but also some of the many unfair and frankly insulting reasons: Conflated scandals (the emails got so much media coverage, and her policies and qualifications got almost no coverage), interference by FBI Director James Comey days before the election (while keeping the internal concern over Russian interference secret out of principle of not wanting to interfere with the election...), and the Russian interference not least of all. But the biggest factor no one likes to acknowledge is the role sexism played in the 2016 election. Anyone who can defend a candidate like Donald Trump winning the presidency without acknowledging a degree of sexism is delusional.
It was also interesting to finally get a window into the real person. I've never read a political autobiography before, so it was nice to be reminded there are real people behind all the scandal and posturing. From her clashing with Obama in the 2008 primaries to becoming great friends with him to clashing with Bernie during the 2016 primaries, and NOT becoming great friends with him. Or her progress from young, idealistic and naive activist in college, to hardened, practical and even a bit cynical as a woman exiting a lifelong career in politics.
Yes, you have to read these books with a grain of salt, but I've never jumped aboard the Hillary hate train. I think she would have been one of America's better Presidents, and instead we got the absolute worst, one who has permanently damaged the prestige of the title.
I wouldn't have thought a novel that gave insight into a subject like encroaching totalitarianism could be written in a light and fun way, but there you go. Very clever, and very effective: the use of increasingly restrictive language via banned letters conveys a sense of increasing powerlessness, but also the resourcefulness of the alphabetical rebels. I was impressed with this book, it definitely exceeded my expectations.
Great book. Each chapter is a new story about a different studio/game and the sacrifices it took to get it out the door (or how hard it was to see it cancelled). Could relate with a lot of the stories from my own experiences. It was really cool reading the chapter on BioWare and Dragon Age Inquisition, reading interviews from old co-workers from my time there. A great window into the harsh realities of game development.
Some interesting points, but feels a bit idealistic or unnuanced at times. He claims that lying is always unethical, short of war, however the way he uses the word war, it might as well be defined as “any situation which justifies lying”, at which point the philosophical claim loses all meaning. Quite a bit of jumping through hoops to support the preposition as well.
Some good points too though, about how living truthfully allows your life to be an expression, how the lie deprives everyone of knowing the world and themselves, etc. But these are hardly new concepts. Overall I can't say this book had anything new to say.
This was a fantastic read. It appealed to both my inner child, who remembers the games, the commercials, and the distinct camps of kids who chose one console or the other, but also to the adult version of that kid who grew up to work in the industry. From nostalgia over Toejam and Earl to relating with particularly tense business meetings, this book was right up my alley.
This is the rare occurrence where style over substance is a worthy trade off. I think this author could write an instruction manual and he'd still manage to inject it with such stirring fluent prose that I'd give it 5 stars.
That being said, while the style is what won me over, there is still substance here. Intriguing and convincing characters I was sad to leave at the end of the book. An enchanting setting at a forgotten inn on the oceanfront.
A very unique read, unlike anything I'd read before. I loved it.
A few friends recommended this book to me, and it was on my list for a while. I wanted to read it before the movie, and when I saw there was a trailer coming out I figured it was now or never. I managed to read the book before seeing the trailer, and I'm glad I did. I was surprised to discover this is probably my favorite sci-fi book to date! I immediately ran out and picked the other 3 Ender's books. If you're a fan of sci-fi space opera type books, I can't recommend this enough!
One of the hardest books I've ever read. It would've been hard enough as fiction, but knowing this actually happened to an innocent little girl is truly heart-breaking. I managed to keep my composure up until a segment that shows a photocopied excerpt from her diary as a child in captivity; that made it all too real. Her love for animals, and simultaneous optimism but (understandable) lack of self-confidence through her long ordeal put a personality to a victim, and as you read on, a real cost to a senseless crime.
I heard about this book through several Programmer friends (surprise, surprise) and thought the concept sounded really interesting. Anthropomorphising geometrical shapes and the dimensions they ‘inhabit' was a clever concept, but I was amazed at how well executed the story is. It simultaneously clarifies its mathematical concepts while managing to pull off some really interesting philosophical and religious allegory, ultimately managing to instill in the reader the nagging feeling there are questions we don't even know we should be asking. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
A common issue I have with non-fiction books is after the initial idea is presented I get excited and end up anticipating a lot of the implications upfront, then the rest of the book is just confirming the exciting revelations the beginning of the book inspired.
This was an issue for this book, especially as it can get lost in tedium. For example, a chapter on using the senses to attain the state of Flow could be summarized as “make a challenge of your senses, such as a wine connoisseur does with wine, or an audiophile does with music.” Instead, chapter after chapter gave several prolonged and predictable examples for each sense.
I also think I would have enjoyed this book MUCH more if I'd read it earlier in my life. The lessons this book imparts were sorely needed in my youth, but stumbled upon on my own in the past 4 years as I found my calling in the Game Industry, especially once I made the jump to Design and faced new exciting challenges every day. The value of Flow made itself known to me on its own, before reading this book.
There were still some interesting insights, especially into the practical implementation of inducing Flow in games to keep the Player engaged, but overall I found it hard to keep my attention on the book, which itself is sadly ironic.
I had no idea I'd enjoy this book so much. I'd already seen the movie, and I generally don't read a book if I've already seen the movie (hence I try to read books before I see their film counterparts), but I broke my rule for this one.
I found myself relating my youth to McCandless. Idealistic, stubborn, reckless, passionate, trying to make sense of a world he can't seem to find a place in. For every moment I found myself condemning his wanton ignorance, I also found myself admiring his determination to live life like an exposed nerve, open to all feeling.
The author's exploration of modern society's propensity to polarize the safe from the free was the glue that held the story together, and for me, precisely what made this book one of my favorites, while I found the movie to be largely forgettable.
I felt one or two of the paradoxes weren't sufficiently explained which was rather disappointing, but for the most part it was a very interesting read. The author often comes across as elitist, always jumping at the chance to remind the reader he's a physicist, and you are not. However, I did enjoy the fact that he wasn't afraid to offer his personal opinion on scientific mysteries, but always made sure to preface them as his own subjective opinions. I really enjoyed that personal element.
All in all there were some elements I quite enjoyed, others not so much. Not quite a paradox, but close enough to be a little ironic.
Some fantastic insights into current scientific discoveries. At times preachy about the limited role science has (or ‘should' have) in society. Still an exciting and educational read. Best, most understandable description of quantum mechanics and all the weirdness that comes with it that I've read to date.
This was a very enjoyable read. The premise is simple, and the plot is short and mostly predictable. Its real strength is the questions it inspires.
While reading this book, it subtly but masterfully prompts the reader to ask themselves some rather deep existential questions about how we define ourselves, how we define others, and the hypocrisy of that discrepancy.
Does privacy only matter if there are consequences to its invasion? Can we truly know anyone else? Can anyone truly ever know us? Is there even such a thing as a true self, or are we nothing but a collection of appropriate costumes? What does it mean to be seen, or are we all ultimately invisible? And if so, what does it mean to be happy?
While I may have some minor complaints about the plot itself, any book that manages to prompt these sorts of questions in me is an automatic winner.
This book bounced back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for me.
I'd known for some time that Irving's novels share a lot of patterns, but this only being my third, I'm only starting to see them now. Some of them are welcome little touches, like wrestling, bears, etc. But some of the more plot based patterns I found removed me from the story. My first Irving novel was The World According to Garp, which I loved. Reading Last Night in Twisted River, there were several instances where what would have been a moving plot point, instead felt like treading old ground. Sometimes it was all too easy to replace the characters of this book with characters from Garp. In the end there was enough unique moments and characters to merit that fourth star, but if Irving sticks too closely to his trademarks in all his novels, I fear my next Irving novel won't fare so well.
A friend was moving to a new city and getting rid of a bunch of books, and gave this one to me telling me he thought I'd like it. He was right.
I've always appreciated the darker side of things, and this book encapsulates evil so well, without getting sadistic or gratuitous. The story of a man who is empty inside so he fills himself with the hedonistic pleasures of the one thing he's good at, the sense of smell. A man who spends his life waiting to belong somewhere, even if through a lie.
It was an absolutely absorbing read. While being completely intrigued by the main character, I also just really loved how much time the author spent describing smell, the least appreciated of the senses. And the intricate descriptions of the profession of perfuming in the 1700's.
Loved this book all the way through.
I first read Oryx & Crake, and not realizing it was a piece of a larger puzzle, only found it okay. Reading Year Of The Flood, and having many questions answered, and beginning to see the bigger picture, it actually improved my opinion on the previous book. I'm looking forward to the third book, due out in 2013, to piece together this interesting dystopia.
At times both books can feel silly, almost Dr Seuss like in their portrayal of gene-spliced animals or overbearing corporations with such literal names as Anooyoo Spa. Another issue is it required a fair bit of suspension of disbelief to swallow the idea that in this heavily over-populated world of the near future, all the survivors of this all-pervasive pandemic just happen to be high-school buddies from the old-world. But these are small complaints in the face of such an addictive read, and such a clever unraveling of the mystery of The Waterless Flood.
Moral Relativism is a topic that has been coming up more and more in my life as I find myself at odds with those around me on the true nature of morality. Moral Relativism can mean so many different things though. I only know that I believe morality to be a construct of the human mind, and therefore fluid and subjective.
I was hoping to get more enlightenment on the Philosophy of Moral Relativism with this book. Unfortunately it was more of a Sociological book about the clashes of morality when cultures meet. This, of course, is another facet of Moral Relativity, and one that in itself can still be quite interesting, even if it's not what I was hoping for when I picked this book up. Unfortunately this book was nothing more than a collection of quotes from better minds, stitched together in a nearly unreadable rambling manner.
I will keep looking into Moral Relativism as a concept to better understand my views, or perhaps help change them, but this book offered no real insight for me.