Taleb spares no one, ripping professions, beliefs, jobs, and people—by name—apart. Especially Steven Pinker, Reads like the Burn Book from Mean Girls.
Taleb spares no one, ripping professions, beliefs, jobs, and people—by name—apart. Especially Steven Pinker, whom he calls out more than twice.
Highly offensive, I found this book a riotous good time, hilarious, and razor sharp.
This ended up being one of my favorite books of 2018, completed on December 31st.
I will read this one again next year, for, as Taleb points out:
"... learning is rooted in repetition and convexity, meaning that the reading of a single text twice is more profitable than reading two different things once, provided of course that said text has some depth of content."
"Extending such logic, we can show that much of what we call 'belief' is some kind of background furniture for the human mind, more metaphorical than real. It may work as therapy."
"Give me a few lines written by any man and I will find enough to get him hung" goes the saying attributed to Richelieu, Voltaire, Talleyrand (a vicious censor during the French revolution phase of terror), and a few others."
"The IYI (Intellectual Yet Idiot) joins a club to get travel privileges; if he is a social scientist, he uses statistics without knowing how they are derived (like Steven Pinker and psycholophasters in general); when in the United Kingdom, he goes to literary festivals and eats cucumber sandwiches, taking small bites at a time; he drinks red wine with steak (never white); he used to believe that dietary fat was harmful and has now completely reversed himself (information in both cases is derived from the same source); he takes statins because his doctor told him to do so; he fails to understand ergodicity, and, when explained to him, he forgets about it soon after; he doesn't use Yiddish words even when talking business; he studies grammar before speaking a language; he has a cousin who worked with someone who knows the Queen; he has never read FrédéricDark, Libanius Antiochus, Michael Oakeshott, John Gray, Ammianus Marcellinus, Ibn, Battuta, Saadia Gaon, or Joseph de Maistre; he has never gotten drunk with Russians; he never drinks to the point where he starts breaking glasses (or, preferably, chairs); he doesn't even know the difference between Hecate and Hecuba (which in Brooklyn's is 'can't tell sh**t from shinola'); he doesn't know that there is no difference between 'pseudointellectual' and 'intellectual' in the absence of skin in the game; he has mentioned quantum mechanics at least twice in the past five years in conversations that had nothing to do with physics."...more
Lyrical honey! This was one of my top 10 favorite books of 2018.
The audiobook was DIVINE, the narrator was perfect—definitely wish I could read/listenLyrical honey! This was one of my top 10 favorite books of 2018.
The audiobook was DIVINE, the narrator was perfect—definitely wish I could read/listen to this one again for the first time.
Song of Achilles is also excellent, but as I completed Circe first, it will always hold that magical first place for best Madeline Miller book.
Galatea is a very brief (20 page) short story, also by Miller, and it is also excellent. Basically, Miller is a goddess of mythological writing—can't wait for her to write more!...more
It’s hard to know where to start with this book other than 5 Solid Stars: Surprising, Imaginative, Powerful 🤯
“Behind her eyes, black flowers bloomed.”
It’s hard to know where to start with this book other than … WOW. What a trip. Imagine if the movie Mother!, Dr. Strange, and an M. C. Escher painting had a baby — you might be close to capturing the essence of this psychotropic tome.
“The explosive brightness was startling in the long, dreamy shadows of this suburban afternoon.”
Whichever way you look at it, this book is a wild ride you should definitely take. Unlike any other book I’ve read, this book steadily climbed the “star ladder.” At first, I had no clue what was happening. The beginning is bizarre and took me a minute to buckle up. Things pick up speed, and soon you’re hurtling into unknown territory. Shocking and violent, the plot intensifies punctuated with dark comedy. I couldn’t put it down after halfway, and powered through to the end. It *almost* felt like two books, as the plot takes a sharp left turn and heads out past the cosmos.
“Warm air spilled out, dry as desert wind and heavy with the scent of ancient dust.”
All I can say is read this book, and see for yourself.
PS—I first heard of this book from this article: Just Trust Me: In Praise Of Strange Books — piquing my interest with: "Give me something dark … Give me a book that sunk its teeth into you. One that changed you, left you a little different by the time you were done.”
The Library At Mount Char does not disappoint.
(Lab Girl, also recommended in the article, is another 5 star read.)
Favorite Quotes:
“Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.”
“No real thing can be so perfect as memory, and she will need a perfect thing if she is to survive. She will warm herself on the memory of you when there is nothing else, and be sustained.”
***2019 Update: Still one of my all time favorite books.***...more
10/5 ⭐️'s: An exciting, epic battle of survival; Stoicism to the nth degree. Truly incredible. 🏆
“The ship had been named the Polaris. After the sale, 10/5 ⭐️'s: An exciting, epic battle of survival; Stoicism to the nth degree. Truly incredible. 🏆
“The ship had been named the Polaris. After the sale, Shackleton rechristened her Endurance, in keeping with the motto of his family, Fortitudine vincimus—"By endurance we conquer."
Easily one of my all-time favorite books—ever—it's not hard to see why astronaut Scott Kelly brought it with him to the ISS not once, but twice. Although I hazily remembered Shackleton's voyage from history class, it wasn't until Kelly's Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery that Alfred Lansing's book was brought to my attention. Both books are amazing, dealing with life and death situations outside of civilization, on the forefront of exploration.
If you enjoy true tales of adventure, heroism, and strength of character in the face of insurmountable odds—look no further. Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition is nothing short of extraordinary.
The introduction alone was so striking, I listened to it four times. Narrated by Simon Prebble, it reads like the BBC Planet Earth documentaries, beautiful and riveting.
Stuck in "the icy wasteland of the Antarctic's treacherous Weddell Sea, just about midway between the South Pole and the nearest known outpost of humanity, some 1,200 miles away," the ship Endurance is abandoned a little more than a year after setting out from London in 1914.
All in all, the group of 28 men (all of whom survive) will have no contact with the outside world for almost two years, and not see land for 497 days. No radio, no satellite, no help from anywhere, only the guidance of maps, stars, and the indefatigable leadership of Ernest Shackleton.
"Thus their plight was naked and terrifying in its simplicity. If they were to get out—they had to get themselves out.”
After the Endurance sinks, the men take the sled dogs, lifeboats, and anything they can carry, setting out across the ice. Throughout their journey back to the known world, I found myself holding my breath and constantly amazed at how the men could endure such trials—even attaining a level of contentment with their primitive existence.
"The rapidity with which one can completely change one's ideas ... and accommodate ourselves to a state of barbarism is wonderful."
Developing a degree of self-reliance greater than they ever thought possible, it is clear the men take the time to savor the pleasure of simply being alive. Lansing seamlessly incorporates diary entries from the men, giving us incredible insight to the men's personal feelings.
Several camps are made on the ice, the last aptly named: "Patience Camp." Once the ice floes begin to break up, the men set out for the South Shetland Islands in two small boats, eventually landing on Elephant Island. Too weak to go on, a majority of the men remained there while Shackleton and five others set off in the James Caird for South Georgia. Covering a distance of 800 miles through the Drake Passage it is widely viewed as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever undertaken.
Once they reached King Haakon Bay, Shackleton and two others made the first confirmed land crossing of the South Georgia interior, arriving at the whaling station of Stromness. The men there are in shock and utter awe at the strength and determination of Shackleton and his men. As soon as he can, Shackleton goes back and rescues the rest of his party.
I often referenced maps of the expedition and ended up researching the various legs of the journey in greater detail—the photos alone are captivating. The whole story is phenomenal, and awe-inspiring—I really can't recommend this enough.
Favorite Quotes:
“In some ways they had come to know themselves better. In this lonely world of ice and emptiness, they had achieved at least a limited kind of contentment. They had been tested and found not wanting.”
“In that instant they felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. Though they had failed dismally even to come close to the expedition's original objective, they knew now that somehow they had done much, much more than ever they set out to do.”...more
According to TimeHop I read this book last year, so here's an anniversary update review:
Red Mars was amazing! An epic feat of space exploration, I couAccording to TimeHop I read this book last year, so here's an anniversary update review:
Red Mars was amazing! An epic feat of space exploration, I couldn't put it down. Then I read New York 2140 and gave it a rare one star—absolutely didn't care about anything in the book. This makes me nervous about reading Green Mars, and Blue Mars. I've heard they aren't as good as Red Mars anyway, and not sure I want to ... mar ... the memory of this atmospheric adventure.
Stand Out Scene:
Packing for Mars brought to mind the ethereal sex scene in Red Mars. It's probably top ten for favorite fictional love scenes. Who doesn't want to give it a go in zero-g?!?
Favorite Quotes:
."They were so ignorant! Young men and women, educated very carefully to be apolitical, to be technicians who thought they disliked politics, making them putty in the hands of their rulers, just like always. It was appalling how stupid they were, really, and he could not help lashing into them.
"And it came to her that the pleasure and stability of dining rooms had always occurred against such a backdrop, against the catastrophic background of universal chaos; such moments of calm were things as fragile and transitory as soap bubbles, destined to burst almost as soon as they blew into existence. Groups of friends, rooms, streets, years, none of them would last. The illusion of stability was created by a concerted effort to ignore the chaos they were imbedded in. And so they ate, and talked, and enjoyed each other’s company; this was the way it had been in the caves, on the savannah, in the tenements and the trenches and the cities huddling under bombardment."
“Beauty was the promise of happiness, not happiness itself; and the anticipated world was often more rich than anything real. But this time who could say? This time might be the golden one at last.”
Still open to reading more KSR — what should I read next?...more
*2020 Update* I still think of this book as one of my fLess is more—but better.
Will read again! 5+ stars!
Definitely one of my favorite books of 2017.
*2020 Update* I still think of this book as one of my favorites, and fancy myself as a bit of an essentialist. Might have to revisit soon.
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”
“What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? What if instead we celebrated how much time we had spent listening, pondering, meditating, and enjoying time with the most important people in our lives?” ...more
*2020 REREAD* Still as epic and excellent as I remember—one of my favorite books on the multiverse. I want to bottle up the essence of this book, drin*2020 REREAD* Still as epic and excellent as I remember—one of my favorite books on the multiverse. I want to bottle up the essence of this book, drink it, and exude literary coolness like Crouch. _____________________
One of my favorite books of 2017.
Short and packs a punch, I may revisit this one again soon—or at the very least—read another Blake Crouch book.
⭐️✨
“I’ve always known, on a purely intellectual level, that our separateness and isolation are an illusion. We’re all made of the same thing—the blown-out pieces of matter formed in the fires of dead stars.”
“For anyone who has wondered what their life might look like at the end of the road not taken.”...more
A wildly entertaining trip. Nutmeg and Cinnamon are two characters. Introspective, thought provoking, Murakami masterfully strikes a distinctly hauntiA wildly entertaining trip. Nutmeg and Cinnamon are two characters. Introspective, thought provoking, Murakami masterfully strikes a distinctly haunting chord.
“Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.” ...more
A mission to get through, Murakami is a master of setting a scene and describing innate, minute character details and nuances. Still loved it, in all A mission to get through, Murakami is a master of setting a scene and describing innate, minute character details and nuances. Still loved it, in all it's haunting, melancholy glory. A beautiful combination of parallel universes, mystery, and dealing with life alone, not always lonely.
Of course, Murakami is highly quotable and this book is full of delicate visual lines. His inclusion of an excerpt from Chekhov's "Sakhalin Island" especially struck a chord with me, as I was living in Beijing when I read it:
"Now there are not even traces left of those cabins, and, gazing round at the wilderness, the tall, beautiful female soldier seems like some kind of myth. They are building a new house here, for overseers' offices or possibly a weather center, and that is all. The roaring sea is cold and colorless in appearance, and the tall grey waves pound upon the sand, as if wishing to say in despair: "Oh God, why did you create us?" This is the Great, or, as it is otherwise known, the Pacific, Ocean. On this shore of the Naibuchi river the convicts can be heard rapping away with axes on the building work, while on the other, far distant, imagined shore, lies America ... to the left the capes of Sakhalin are visible in the midst, and to the right are more capes ... while all around there is not a single living soul, not a bird, not a fly, and it is beyond comprehension who the waves are roaring for, who listens to them at nights here, what they want, and, finally, who they would roar for when I was gone. There on the shore one is overcome not by connected, logical thoughts, but by reflections and reveries. It is a sinister sensation, and yet at the very same time you feel the desire to stand for ever looking at the monotonous movement of the waves and listening to their threatening roar."
*2021 Update*
I read this at the perfect time in my life, and often think about the passage on the Pacific Ocean quoted above. I wonder how a reread would go, but part of me wants to hold on to the the perfect memory I have of the whole experience.
It's been almost 10 years since I've read this book and I am still haunted by its beautiful ennui. Simply gorgeous, I'm now inspired to read more Murakami ... and soon.
These are my favorite Murakami books thus far, in descending order: 1Q84 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Kafka on the Shore Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World After Dark Norwegian Wood
History rich, a deeper look into the Western presence in Japan, 1862. Dangerous, lots of blood, samurais, spies, prostitutes - another well crafted maHistory rich, a deeper look into the Western presence in Japan, 1862. Dangerous, lots of blood, samurais, spies, prostitutes - another well crafted masterpiece. The building tension between the Japanese and the foreigners ... couldn't put it down the last half. ...more
Epic. I teared up a little, but I have in all Clavell's books. This one is definitely at the top, and also one of Tim Ferriss's favorite books. Epic. I teared up a little, but I have in all Clavell's books. This one is definitely at the top, and also one of Tim Ferriss's favorite books. ...more
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