Marlies
Mijn lage waardering kan misschien een beetje misleidend zijn; als je dit boek op het oog hebt omdat a) het over wolven gaat, dan ben ik er zeker van dat je het boek interessant gaat vinden.
Het is gemakkelijk leesbaar en bevat tal van interessante feiten en observaties over wolven.
Als je dit boek op het oog hebt omdat b) de ondertitel leest “wat mensen kunnen leren van wolven”, dan ga je bedrogen uit komen. Elk hoofdstuk sluit af met wat mensen zouden kunnen leren van wolven, maar deze “wijsheden” zijn uit de lucht gegrepen en absoluut nergens op gebaseerd. Zo wordt de hele mensheid er op afgerekend dat we niet meer in het hier-en-nu leven en dat de wolven dat zo geweldig kunnen... Tja, ze hebben niet veel keuze.
Als je een makkelijk te lezen boek wilt met interessante feiten over wolven -en je kan om de onbehulpzame tips van de schrijfster heen lezen-, dan kan je deze prima lezen. Maar als dat je doel is dan bestaan er denk ik wel betere boeken om te lezen.
Terrific book!
I read it at just the right time, wanting a bit more of a story book rather than an educational book. Educational snippets still pop-up though, but what do you expect from a book about Mr Feynman.
Several times I laughed aloud, several times I was positively surprised that Feynman's greatness at some points was just shear luck and several times I was inspired to dive more deeply into technical subjects and get a deeper understanding of physics.
Recommended for people who are looking for an ‘easy' book to read, but still being informative/educational and especially for those wanting to get to know more of this charismatic person.
Oh wow! I was searching for a book on ecological land use and the price of agriculture on our land and for the environment and boy did I find it!
A book I certainly would recommend everyone to read, though, I do give permission to skip over some of the passages. Pollan deftly deeps into the details of the Industrial, Organic and Pastoral food chains, with “fun” facts about each system that almost had me underlining a passage each page.
One example; corn has become such a cheap commodity, we are putting it in everything, most importantly in animal feed. But did you know that cows are not made to eat corn, and that their rumen (the organ which turns the cow's food into protein/gains) will become slimy, causing bloat and the suffocation of the cow, as well as turning it acidic, which makes the E. Coli bacteria (that are present in 80% of cows), resistant to acidic environments so that our digestive system is no longer acidic enough to get rid of these bacteria?
Pollan interweaves his personal story in between these facts, going to visit feed lots, pastoral farmers and going on a hunting&gathering mission. At the beginning of the book I enjoyed these in between passages, to take a break from information overload. However the entire last chapter is on the ethical dilemma of killing & eating animals and the experience of eating food and was a bit to dreamy/spiritual for my liking. So, I really encourage everyone to at least read the first part, I really enjoyed the Pastoral part, but only read the last part if you're more focused on the spiritual/ethical dilemma.
The book chronicles the life and death of the author, Kalanithi, who is a neuroscience doctor and later cancer patient. The author gives a description on how he views death from both the perspective of first a doctor and later a patient. Unfortunately, Kalanithi died before he got a chance to finish the book, and his wife has added a chapter at the end, detailing the last days of the author and giving her description of who Kalanithi was.
I selected this book since it was praised and a recommended read. Reading the description I thought it would give interesting points on death, indeed since the author has the unique perspective on death from both a doctor and a patient. Maybe it would give me an understanding of what it means to die, and thus, what it ultimately means to live.
However, I did not find clear and concise arguments on this. The book was halfway finished when the author died and indeed to me it feels like the author did not have time to clean up his arguments, but that the book is rather a collection of unfinished thoughts.
The chapter at the end, by Kalanithi's wife, at first read as a way to close off the book, describing the final days of the author. However, at the end I felt like she “took over” the book and described how much she missed him and how great he was, which I don't think fits in with the goal of the book.
It's a great retelling of real-life experience of a terminal ill person, and how his unsure future affects his life. However, for the doctor's aspect of the story I would rather advise ‘This is going to hurt' by Adam Kay, which is more entertaining and clearer to follow. For a tragic end-of-life story I would advise ‘the Heart' by Maylis de Kerangal.
Kolbert has gone on many expeditions to discover the status of several animal species (Golden Frogs in South-America, the Brown Bats in America, Auk's in Iceland etc) and tells in an entertaining though disheartening fashion how they became (or becoming) extinct.
To round it all of these stories are interspersed with how humans discovered how there have been past extinctions (including the famous extinction of the dinosaurs, which was only discovered in the 80's).
I had expected that the book would have a stronger opinion on the role of humans in the sixth extinction, but it is surprisingly neutral on this. Of course it explains which effects climate change will have on the future of animal species, but it tells this in a manner of fact way and by the way, one of the other extinctions was also caused by massive climate change, so you can see what kind of effect that had.
Would recommend because:
Features a nice explanation of the different extinctions that have already taken place on earth (there were already 5, while I mostly only knew about the dinosaurs one) and what kind of effects they had.
Still curious about:
What kind of effects will the current extinction have on earth. What will the future look like with acidic oceans and animals missing from the foodchain?
One of the best books I've ever read!
I tried to write a short review doing this book justice, but its impossible. If you're doubting to buy this book? DO IT!
I honestly believe this is a book everyone should read at least once and Rosling makes it super easy; easy language, the chapters are perfect length and even line spacing is optimized for easy reading.
Picked this book up because I was interested in Leonardo's way of thinking, which was peaked by a lot of recommendations for Walter Isaacson's biography. However, that book has the size of an elephant! Decided to pick this average sized book instead which also has a comparable score here on Goodreads.
As I'm a Design Engineer I was mostly interested in Leonardo's sciency side, rather than the painter and I wanted to get some take-aways which I could implement in my own life. Luckily, Capra starts with the argumentation that more designers/engineers/scientists can learn a lot from (and should adapt more of) Leonardo's way of working (and that their current way of working is flawed).
I strongly disliked Capra's formulation of this statement, but did really enjoy how he explained the state of affairs during Leonardo's time and how he was different from other contemporaries at the time. It's a really compact read on Leonardo's life and work giving some great detail and context.
I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Leonardo da Vinci's life who wants to get a sizeable introduction, however would recommend other books for engineers etc. When I have the time I'm looking forward to dive deeper into the subject with Walter Isaacson's book.
What I learned from the book:+Genius during the Renaissance was used to indicate the 'Gen', a sort of guardian spirit. If someone/thing was recognized as a genius than this was due to his/her/it's guardian spirit.+ Signs of geniuses: 1) insatiable curiosity, 2) extraordinary concentration and focus, 3) ability to memorize lots of information. + During the Renaissance the world view changed where in the Middle Ages a person's characteristics where created by God (fixed mindset), where in the Renaissance they acknowledged that understanding and knowledge came from the person (growth mindset). The goal became to know of many fields of study (the universal man). Leonardo went one step further and not only knew of a lot of different fields, but also interconnected that information. + Leonardo had a way of drawing where he sketched a line numerous times until he was satisfied with its perfect shape and than retraced that one. Makes me think of generative design, but then in sketching. **I should try this technique more, focusing on really lightly drawing until I know the end shape for certain.+ Leonardo spent his childhood outside in the fields and hills of Vinci. I've heard this from other recognized people and do think that this is best for your development; you learn to observe and really experience the world (street wise?) compared to only observing if you sit behind your computer for example.+ **Leonardo kept a notebook with him AT ALL TIMES and recorded everything. Even simple thoughts, Latin words he wanted to learn, etc.+ During the Renaissance a lot of the 'old knowledge' (Greek & Roman) was rediscovered. Arguably this was due to Christianity where the focus was on God and his creation and there was no room for Science. (In contrary, Islamic culture focuses more on practicing compassion, social justice and wealth and therefore offers more room for scientific exploration). During the Renaissance again came room for scientific exploration, but most of this was focused on re-reading the old texts and not on doing new discoveries (what Leonardo did do). + Middle-ages + Renaissance; worldview is nature based. During Scientific Revolution (from the Renaissance onwards), this view shifted to one where the earth is a machine. In a machine everything can be measured, you have clear inputs and outputs, components can be replaced etc. However, Leonardo thought, as well as current scientists, that everything is indeed more like a living being; everything is connected and complex. You cannot measure everything, but you can give a description of proportions for example. **Can you explain something, but you cannot use man-made definitions like length, time and weight?+ Leonardo always planned to convert his notebooks into treatises/books and publish them. Some texts are therefore also written like; "if you want to paint this scene, you shall do this and that". I think this is a great way of also getting to understand a subject, its similar to the Feynmann technique.
Did not finish the book. Picked it up because I wanted to increase my argumentation skills and diminish misunderstandings.
The author argues that we act in order to decrease our own cognitive dissonance (for example; I have given a gift to that person - i would not give gifts to people I dont like (this would create a dissonance) - therefore I must like this person (a strategy Benjamin Franklin used to get an political opponent to like him)). To diminish this cognitive dissonance we come up with all kinds of argumentation why we do what we do, or self-justification.
This is explained in the first chapters and the book continues on with loads of examples and how cognitive dissonance and self-justification manifests themselves.
I did not find the book interesting enough to continue after that.
Enlighting book which takes an entertaining look at what the afterlife looks like, beside the black and white view of heaven and hell.
The first few stories are really fun and entertaining and make you eager to read all the different views the author has on the afterlife.
However, this certainly is a book you should read at a leisurely pace, with a story every now and then, as otherwise it becomes quite repetitive.
This is an author trying to convey his enthusiasm for materials with the reader and he is able to do it in both an enthusiastic and informative tone.
Miodownik combines personal experiences (being stabbed by a knife to delve into metals), musings about a specific material (a chapter on paper musing about note paper, paper bags, glossy paper, tickets, etc) and extensive material science knowledge (all the different material structures of carbon) in an easy to read book.
Really loved the chapter on glass, explaining that, although the Chinese were way ahead of Europe on materials science, they did not start to develop glass (as they were happy sipping tea from porcelain). However, the Romans were not satisfied drinking their expensive wines from opaque containers, so they developed glass.
This knowledge of glass lead to the development of lenses, microscopes and of scientific tools (petri dishes, test tubes, etc), leading Europe into the scientific age.
This knowledge on glass makes me interested to read ‘the Silk Roads' by Peter Frankopan, which explores these ages of development in full.
Did not finish.
This is a very interesting read and there's so much to learn about trees which you don't generally get to know. However, there are no clear images that illustrate the trees that are mentioned in the book. So, while I was walking in the woods not too long ago, I knew there was a ton to tell about the trees along the road. However, I had no idea what.
Will need to revisit when I have an overview of the trees and insects mentioned.
Heard an interview between Weinberg and Jordan Harbringer which was really interesting. Interested to read more from Gabriel's knowledge.
Also, mental models.
Picture the person you love the most. Picture them sitting on the couch, eating cereal, ranting about something totally charming, like how it bothers them when people sign their emails with a single initial instead of taking those four extra keystrokes to just finish the job —
Chaos will get them.
Chaos will crack them from the outside — with a falling branch, a speeding car, a bullet — or unravel them from the inside, with the mutiny of their very own cells. Chaos will rot your plants and kill your dog and rust your bike. It will decay your most precious memories, topple your favorite cities, wreck any sanctuary you can ever build.
It's not if, it's when. Chaos is the only sure thing in this world. The master that rules us all. My scientist father taught me early that there is no escaping the Second Law of Thermodynamics: entropy is only growing; it can never be diminished, no matter what we do.
A smart human accepts this truth.
A smart human does not try to fight it. But one spring day in 1906, a tall American man with a walrus mustache dared to challenge our master.
His name was David Starr Jordan, and in many ways, it was his day job to fight Chaos. He was a taxonomist, the kind of scientist charged with bringing order to the Chaos of the earth by uncovering the shape of the great tree of life — that branching map said to reveal how all plants and animals are interconnected. His specialty was fish, and he spent his days sailing the globe in search of new species. New clues that he hoped would reveal more about nature's hidden blueprint.
Amongst others from Derek Siver's book list.
Want to read: intermittent fasting and hopefully no-electronics before sleep are tiny habits that have a positive effect. What more can habits do?
Did not finish.
Why did I pick this book
As many people probably do, I came across varying quotes from John Muir, and mentions of the powerful nature essays he's written. Interested, especially now that days are getting shorter and colder, I decided to pick up a copy from the local library.
The book
As the title says, this is a collection of various wilderness essays by John Muir, written throughout his lifetime. The first one when he is just a young man on the farm, writing about the oxen that drive their carts. Later as a nature researcher, on ‘missions' to examine a river etc.
My recommendation
This is a very old book, and its clearly visible in the style of writing. Long sentences, old words.. For me the style of writing was too ‘slow' and too outdated. I enjoyed the essay, where he paddles down a river with a group of men, accompanied by a stray dog that someone sort of adopts and which causes all kinds of trouble, the most because something actually happens.
If you like old-timey books and nature this is definitely worth a read, but I'm afraid its too slow for current generations.
Why?
From Tim Ferriss 5-bullet friday. Gizmodo has written that “the arrival of a new piece of short fiction by Ted Chiang is always cause for celebration and parades and wild dancing.”
Did not finish.
Why did I pick it?
This book is about metaphors we (subconsciously) use in our language. I find it a very intriguing topic and after I had it recommended multiple times decided to pick it up from the local library.
The book
As I said it's about metaphors that we use in our everyday language. One interesting example is how we use the metaphor of war for arguing: he won the argument, that argument is weak, etc.
Breaking from this specific example means an argument can become a moment to learn from one another, and collectively seek the truth, rather than win a possibly invalid argument.
The book is structured in quite a few short chapters. Maybe on average 6-10 pages. These are structured around a statement the authors want to explain. It's a very structured way of bringing their idea across and easy to skip some info or dive into a certain topic.
My recommendation
As much as I was interested in the topic, I did not really like the book and decided not to finish it. It has a really informational/scientific way of bringing the information, while I had expected (/hoped) for a more entertaining read.
For me each chapter is a small essay/paper on a certain hypothesis that the writers want to argue for. It goes really deep into the matter and the nitty-gritty of language construction.
I would therefore recommend the book for people who use language in their profession to get a deeper/broader understanding of how to construct complex structures.
For the casual reader I would skip to something else...
I had to stop reading this book because it was just so difficult to get through.
The Why
I wanted to read this book because it just has sooo many recommendations. I don't have an example of lists-of-books-to-definitely-read where this book is not featured on. As I could get it secondhand at a bargain I bought it and started reading it.
What it's about
Daniel Kahneman is a researcher who has done tons of research on human decision making and thinking, together with his colleague and friend Amos.
Most of this research focuses on the human's two types of thinking; Type 1 which is fast and mostly subconscious, and Type 2, which is slower and more deliberate.
The book explains the differences in these two modes of thinking and what kind of effect this two-mode of thinking has on human decision making. One such example of an effect is what is called the Availability Bias, which I notice a lot in daily life surrounding the choice for Nuclear power. Disasters such as Fukushima and Chernobyl come easily to mind, so the risk of a nuclear disaster is assessed to be higher than it actually is (with newly designed plants almost zero).
How its written
I'm really interested in the books subject; Cognitive Bias and how persons make decisions (and how to make better decisions myself). Unfortunately this book explains these Biases and Heuristics by way of describing experiments. So there were researchers, they did a certain experiment and they found this and that.
Super dry and non imaginative.
Verdict
For me the writing style makes it too boring to read for extended periods of time. I plan to skimp through this and highlight the different heuristics and will dive deeper into a specific section if I want to further my knowledge of a specific heuristic.
If you're more of an “easy-reader” I suggest Factfulness by Hans Rosling, which is soooo much more entertaining to read. Het bestverkochte boek ooit (met deze titel) by Sanne Blauw for the Dutchies amongst you, which focuses on faults in our use of numbers.
Also the podcast from Jordan Harbringer with Gabriel Weinberg is focused on Cognitive Biases, but then with a lot of real-world examples thrown in.