The vocabulary of ‘sims’, and ‘VR’ makes for entertaining examples of traditional philosophical concepts; but the author’s core arguments about simulation and physical reality seem to implicitly assume a suspicious form of Cartesian dualism.
Contrarian thinking is a powerful weapon, if combined with genuine curiosity and a deep respect for facts and data
Richard Feyneman – Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman
Not all anecdotes have aged well but there are enough gems to make the book worthwhile.
The success of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics is an excellent example of how accidental biases affect scientific progress
A well-written account of the history of quantum physics in the wake of the Bohr v. Einstein controversy.
Structural shifts in energy production and usage (especially shale oil and EVs) have fundamentally affected the global power balance
The ‘it is all about oil’ narrative of international politics over the last 20 years made explicit is a comprehensive yet digestible form.
Metaphysical theories are constraint by the scientific knowledge, but plenty degrees of freedom remain for those in search (or need) of meaning
Sabine Hossenfelder – Existential Physics
Elegant combination of depth, playful curiosity and humbleness.
From its earliest origins math has been seen both as an formalization of divine perfection and as an effective, practical tool for solving real-world problems
Paolo Zellini – The Mathematics of the Gods and the Algorithms of Men
Guided tour through the philosophy of mathematics, seldomly deviating from the expected and missing in-depth reflection on the role of data science in this regard.
Africa and Africans have never been taken seriously by the Western world, simplifying the story of the continent to ‘famine and safaris’
Dipo Faloyin – Africa is not a country
Well known story told in a fresh style, which unfortunately still serves a purpose.
The lack quality control on generic drugs opened the door to fraud and deceit, endangering health and lives of the world’s poor
Katherine Eban – Bottle of lies
Impressive and concerning whistleblower story illustrating the subtleties in developing and producing effective generic drugs.
When managing your enterprise data, you should aim for a flexible, loosely coupled architecture that can handle large-scale batch and streaming data as well as APIs
Piethein Strengholt – Data management at scale
Thorough expose that goes through a lot, over-indexing on the architecture side.
To succeed in business: conform to reality, be cunning, but stick with whatever moral compass you have
Robert Ringer – Million dollar habits
Life advice packaged as ‘business zen’ but lacking elementary kindness towards others and ‘borrowing’ its title from the more well known Bryan Tracy book.
Since the invention of the micro processor, chip production has become of imminent strategic importance for both the USA and other geopolitical power blocks
Nice historical overview, very topical in an era where technology significantly affects the Ukraine war and the power play between the USA and China around Taiwan.
Silicon valley types and tech icons all recommend using OKRs for business steering, but each means something slightly different
John Doerr – Measure what matters
If you look past the author’s boundless Andy Grove adoration, there are some useful lessons to be learnt.
The issues and conflicts plaguing modern Spain are rooted in a troubled history that until shockingly recently was a dictatorship
Great overview that brings together different perspectives in a shocking narrative without becoming judgemental.
The subtle nuances that can be achieved by varying ingredients, shaping, and timing of your bread are under-appreciated
Dan Lepard – The handmade loaf
Impressive collection of inspiring perspectives and variation on bread making.
Protective parenting and the quest for emotional safety hurt the mental resilience of gen Z
Greg Lukianov and Jonathan Haidt – The coddling of the American mind
The writers provide valuable life lessons for individuals, but (unfortunately) do not discuss the broader societal function of protest movements.
The struggle to keep the legacy of the Roman empire alive has shaped much of Ravenna’s history
A front-row seat to the decline and fall of the (Western) Roman empire.
To bring a socio-techincal concept to life, you need a lot of technology
In capable hands, data governance can actually be made into a sexy topic.
Rivalry and pursuit of personal glory are major drivers for scientific progress
Walter Isaacson – The Code Breaker
History blessed the author with a pandemic that made his subject even more topical, but unfortunately he could not resist the temptation to make it more a memoir than a biography.
Consumer brands should prioritize investment in mental and physical availability
Some basic statistical concepts (regression to the mean, conditional probability) presented with much fanfare are sufficient to marvel marketeers.
Polls are certainly not perfect, but they are much less bad than public opinion suggests
G. Elloitt Morris – Strength in Numbers
The explanation of combining online and offline methods is insightful, though somewhat superficial