Food
The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollen – Summary The Complete Guide to Fasting – Jason Fung – Summary The Longevity Diet – Valter Longo – Summary How Not to Die – Michael Greger – Summary
Book Summaries
The Neurotic Personality of Our Time Summary (7.5/10)
In The Neurotic Personality Of Our Time, Horney discusses the nature of neuroticism and normalcy. What is Normal? One needs to compete with others to acquire power or wealth in society. Competition is difficult on each person, but especially on the neurotic. Despite the happiness that life can offer, the facts of old age, sickness, … Read more
Simulacra and Simulation Summary (7/10)
In Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard produces a theory about cultural materialism. What is the simulacra? It is whatever replaces reality with its representation. The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth–it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. Ecclesiastes Disneyland masks the unreality of modern American society, says … Read more
The Top Books about Consciousness
The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes Author(s): Donald D. Hoffman First published: 2019 How can it be possible that the world we see is not objective reality? And how can our senses be useful if they are not communicating the truth? The Ghost in the Machine Author(s): Arthur Koestler First … Read more
Why Buddhism is True Summary (8.2/10)
Why Buddhism is True by Wright is about how the central insights of Buddhism with regards to habits and pleasure has been corroborated by modern scientific evidence. Evolutionary psychology is described as the study of how the human brain was designed—by natural selection—to mislead us, even enslave us. Natural selection has its virtues, and being … Read more
A Foolish Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard … Read more
The Top Books in Behavioral Economics and Decision Making
How We Know What Isn’t So Title: How We Know What Isn’t So Author(s): Thomas Gilovich First Published: 1991 Thomas Gilovich offers a guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. Summary 1 Summary 2 Thinking: Fast and Slow Title: Thinking: Fast and Slow Author(s): Daniel Kahneman First Published: 2011 System 1 is … Read more
The Selfish Gene Summary (8.2/10)
The Selfish Gene by Dawkins is an ambitious project that seeks to explain how and why evolution selected for the behaviors, characteristics, and ideas that are now prevalent in any society. The gene is the basic unit of evolution. It is essential information that can exist for a very long time, which is why it … Read more
The Triumph of the Therapeutic Summary (8.3/10)
“Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith After Freud,” written by sociologist Philip Rieff in 1966, is a seminal work that scrutinizes the shift in societal values and the rise of psychological man in the aftermath of Freudian thought. Rieff posits that Western society, having detached from traditional religious and moral commitments, is witnessing the … Read more
Girard’s Mimetic Theory Summary (8.7/10)
A great overview of Mimetic Theory, by Wolfgang Palaver. In a systematic careful synthesis of Girard’s thought, Palaver summarizes the mimetic insights that were derived from authors such as Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Flaubert, and Proust. And finally, he shows the precise stories of the Old and New Testament that confirm Girard’s thesis. What is Girard’s … Read more