Eduardo Santiago
Possibly the most heartening, joyful, and meaningful book of the past many years. (Ugh. This makes the book sound like self-help or inspiration or somesuch. It's not: it's purely science, with occasional side trips into philosophy).
The book covers so many of my favorite topics, so much of what I've learned over my life about how the Universe works and how to live in it: chaos; randomness; living with uncertainty; designing for efficiency vs resiliency; cognitive biases; the nature of consciousness; heuristics and probability; eudaimonia; and, most importantly, cooperation and doing good. Klaas gets it, REALLY gets it, and he's a brilliant writer to boot. Great pacing. His examples are fascinating, relevant, sometimes chilling, always insightful. Even his chapter on free will--a subject I find inane and tedious--had fresh perspectives. He has thought about everything I think about, in much greater depth, and he describes it all so elegantly. It irks me that he talks about lower-case stoicism without understanding the slightest bit of capital-S Stoics, but nobody's perfect. He can learn.
Reading this in January 2026, as I helplessly watch the U.S. collapse, is counterintuitively an exercise in hope. It reaffirms many of my most important life choices, those related to building and strengthening community. I will be recommending this book to everyone in my circles.
Possibly the most heartening, joyful, and meaningful book of the past many years. (Ugh. This makes the book sound like self-help or inspiration or somesuch. It's not: it's purely science, with occasional side trips into philosophy).
The book covers so many of my favorite topics, so much of what I've learned over my life about how the Universe works and how to live in it: chaos; randomness; living with uncertainty; designing for efficiency vs resiliency; cognitive biases; the nature of consciousness; heuristics and probability; eudaimonia; and, most importantly, cooperation and doing good. Klaas gets it, REALLY gets it, and he's a brilliant writer to boot. Great pacing. His examples are fascinating, relevant, sometimes chilling, always insightful. Even his chapter on free will--a subject I find inane and tedious--had fresh perspectives. He has thought about everything I think about, in much greater depth, and he describes it all so elegantly. It irks me that he talks about lower-case stoicism without understanding the slightest bit of capital-S Stoics, but nobody's perfect. He can learn.
Reading this in January 2026, as I helplessly watch the U.S. collapse, is counterintuitively an exercise in hope. It reaffirms many of my most important life choices, those related to building and strengthening community. I will be recommending this book to everyone in my circles.