“Superintelligence” was a great and valuable read but it left me depressed. There seems to be so many dangers with AI and just so much time for us to get a grip on the control problem before It arrives. To lift myself up I started to read “How to Live: or a life of Montaigne” […]
Thoughts on: “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer
“Into Thin Air” is Jon Krakauers gripping first hand account of the May 1996 Mt. Everest disaster. Standing on the top of the worlds highest mountain he couldn’t see any signs of a deadly storm coming in. But he was wrong. When the group arrived at base camp, the mountain had claimed 5 lives and […]
Thoughts on: “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall
4 years ago I was in the worst shape of my life. I felt that something needed to be done and that it was time to get my priorities straight. — About this time I found this book and it really sold me on long distance running. It was a perfect fit for me. I’m […]
Thoughts on: “Walk Like a Buddha” by Lodro Rinzler
“All of you are perfect as you are, and you can use a little improvement” Zen Master Suzuki Roshi This is a very practical and accessible book about how to apply the teachings of the buddha to different aspects modern life. It has a question/answer format like: What would the buddha do in this and […]
Thoughts on: “Thank You for Being Late” by Thomas L. Friedman
As a professional within software development I really felt the increase in the speed with which new technologies replace older one in recent years. We are barely able to get familiar with the basics of the latest tech before it’s considered “old” and in need of replacement. Thanks to Moore’s Law, the law that says […]
Thoughts on: “Principle-Centered Leadership” by Stephen R. Covey
Stephen Covey, of “7 habits”-fame, shares his formula for what he calls principle-centered leadership. The book has start with broad, general and timeless guidelines to enhance the life you lead. You will have heard a lot of it before, but it’s these fundamentals we tend to forget in our busy everyday life. A refresher might […]
Thoughts on: “Silent Spring” – Rachel Carson
Sometimes there are books that keeps getting referenced again and again in book I read. Silent spring is one of them. —————————————— Being the book that kicked off the American environmental movement, I thought it would be interesting to see what it was all about. —————————————— Rachel Carson describes the damage being done to plants […]
Quick Review: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Christopher McCandless was found dead in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. He graduated 2 years earlier, having what we would call a “promising” career ahead of him. But Alex had other plans. He donated his 25.000$ worth of savings to charity, left his family and society as a whole. Disgusted by […]
Thoughts on: “Hardcore Zen” by Brad Warner
Brad Warner is punk rocker turned Zen master. He is “controversial” because he is not part of either of the two dominating fractions of Zen in the west; the overly intellectualized one or the woo-woo New age version. —————————————— He wants to make Zen available and practical for to regular people with normal lives and […]
Thoughts on: ”The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr
Maybe you were suppose to do something important right now, but got distracted by a notification. Or you talked yourself into that it might be a good idea to check your social media. It has been 10 minutes, something might have happened? Nicholas Carr modern classic The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our […]