The reading collection
Psychology, geopolitics, philosophy—and everything in between.
152 readings · 73–84
We’ve all heard the saying “tough times create strong men.” But is that really true? Does going through difficult experiences make us stronger, or do they just reveal who we already are? While it’s impossible to give…
“Return of the Sun God" in "The Myth of the Machine" delves into the profound transformation of Western thought and society, marked by the resurgence of solar theology and the dawn of the scientific era. This shift…
Chapter 9: Immigration Some cultures might be better than others Globalization made it easier for people to explore other cultures, but also made it easier for people to be offended by their differences.
“Cobalt Red” shines a light on how important cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is for our gadgets and electric cars. It talks about the journey of batteries from their start in the 1970s to powering…
In Man Disconnected*, Zimbardo writes about the plight of the male in the modern world. A combination of excessive gaming, porn abuse, a lack of responsibilities, a lower quality education has all contributed to the…
The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker argues that violence has declined with time. He does this by discussing the threats of violence one by one, going through what the statistical data shows us.
In "The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of Power", Lewis Mumford describes the transformative period starting in the late 15th century, known as The Age of Exploration. This era was marked by significant…
In 1985, Neil Postman wrote a book called [Amusing Ourselves to Death](https://www.amazon.
Chapter 8: Religion God now serves the nation Considering the failure of modern ideologies, governments, and scientific experts in creating a vision for the future, can religion play this role better? Secular people…
In Living in the End Times*, Zizek writes about the four horsemen of the imminent apocalypse. These are the ecological crisis, social divisions, the biogenetic revolution. and economic inequality.
In Sapiens*, Harari mentions Buddhism a couple of times, as a means of escaping the absurd mission of our lives: the constant chase of positive feelings and repression of negative feelings. When you crave positive…
Mark Tessler's "The History of the Palestinian Israeli Conflict" provides a comprehensive historical analysis, challenging the notion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stems from ancient ethnic or religious…