Ed Young is a contributor for the Atlantic. I Contain Multitudes is his fascinating book about the story of microbes, their origins and functions, our relationship with them so far, and how this relationship will develop in the future. Friendly Fire We usually think of microbes as inconveniences. We may wonder how much more pleasant … Read more
Don’t Tell People What To Do (or What Not To Do) The human mind is innately rebellious. Often, it is said that children are rebellious, but that is not true, everyone is rebellious, and it has everything to do with control. The loss of control physiologically causes us great stress. In fact, completely different areas … Read more
This book is about Ikigai – a Japanese philosophy for how to live a long life and enjoy it. The authors make references to well-known psychological ideas such as Flow and Logotherapy, but also criticizes Western psychoanalysis for placing too much emphasis on control, direction, and intellectualizing – this is the opposite of Morita Therapy, … Read more
The Philosophy of Little Bets Little Bets by Peter Sims is about making many low-cost experiments and investing in what works, rather than investing in one big idea from the start. This philosophy isn’t new, it has been discussed in other books including The Learn Startup by Eric Ries and 4 Steps to Epiphany by … Read more
In Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart, Dr. Gordon Livingston, a psychiatrist, imparts 30 pearls of wisdom in this short book. He has had his share of suffering in life. Within a year, one of his sons committed suicide and another died in an accident. He was also run over by a snowmobile while standing … Read more
The Female Brain Summary The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine is about how female brains differ from male brains. Studies around the world showed that women are more likely to be depressed than men are by a ratio of 2:1. As a medical student, Brizendine thought this was because of the patriarchal oppression of women, … Read more
Edward de Bono is known for his books about thinking. He coined the term “lateral thinking” that is now commonplace. An Introduction to Lateral Thinking De Bono wrote in the 1960’s when creativity was considered rare. He thought that lateral thinking could be an “insight tool” for solving problems. The concept of lateral thinking emerged … Read more
Why is Sex Fun? by Jared Diamond tries to explain a seemingly obvious question contained in the title. To most people, the answer is obvious and needs no further explanation. People have sex all the time, because sex is fun, there’s nothing else to explain. But to a scientist like Diamond, this answer is not … Read more
The Perfect Channel I have a question for you. Let’s say you wanted to create a media channel that was unbiased, scientific, truthful, fact based, insightful – what would it look like? How would it be different from what currently exists? How would it be funded? And how would it protect itself? Perhaps it would … Read more
The Story of the Human Body by Daniel E. Lieberman is about how our bodies have evolved across time, how the environment and culture affected our development, and what, if any kind of behavior or lifestyle, is considered optimal for human beings. A Return to the Past Some have called for a return to the … Read more