Psychology – Page 12 – Ryan's Book Blog

The Reader

January 30, 2020 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Published in 1995, “The Reader” captured enough attention to be made into a movie in 2008. It is the story of an ex-Nasi prison guard the life she tried to live after the war and the young man who fell for her.

My Thoughts

My thoughts are all over the place on this one. It was suggested to me by a helpdesk lady when I was asking about books to read. When I started the book, I was so racy I thought, “Was she coming on to me?” (Easy now Mrs. Robinson!) However, then I got further into the book… Fortunately there was no come on.

This was a pretty dark book which explores the inner psyche of someone who was forced to do something terrible, didn’t know what to do and was forced to live with it. We studied several studies in college which seem to show that most of us are capable of some pretty terrible stuff if we are put in certain circumstances.

Recommendation

I’m mixed on this. This was one of those books that we should probably read because it forces us to think. However, it will be very disturbing to some.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

January 16, 2020 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Published in 2003, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is an exploration of just about everything dealing with the dead, or at least dead humans. This is the book that started Mary Roach on the path of several 1 word titled books on very specific subjects; Spook, Bonk, Gulp, and Grunt. She threw in “Packing for Mars” in 2008, I’m assuming, just to spice things up.

My Thoughts

The author has a playful sense of humor which comes out in her style of writing. It feels like she had a lot of fun writing the book and I enjoyed reading it. I was surprised that it was written in 2003 as several of the facts presented seemed a lot more contemporary.

Recommendation

It’s worth the read.

Brief Answers to Big Questions

December 9, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Published in October of 2018, just a few months after the author’s death, Brief Answers to Big Questions is a book from one of the most recognizable scientists of our time. Hawking shares his thoughts on; Space, AI, Power, Gene Editing, Earth, God, and others along with what made him famous, Black Holes.

My Thoughts

I didn’t know what to think about this one. However, I’m glad I read it. I enjoyed his view on a number of subjects and I thought he treated them with respect I hadn’t seen in some of his past writing. Most of the subject matter has been covered again and again but this work took them slowly and methodically as opposed to some quick sound bites.

Recommendation

It was worth the read.

Flatland

November 25, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

First published in 1884, Flatland has been expanding the thoughts of readers for nearly a hundred and fifty years. It is the story of what happens when a two dimensional world discovers a world of three dimensions. It also tries to give us a framework of how we might start to conceive of yet another dimension beyond what we know.

My Thoughts

I remember my friend Chris trying to explain this to me back in the 90s. He was so excited by the concepts and I was interested. Just obviously not interested enough to bother to read the book. It was exciting to read. There was a lot of time and attention given to how the land of one dimension must work. Also how the land of two dimensions would try to cope with what we see as such a huge disadvantage. Part of the charm of the book is it does a good job of showing us how we may be horribly limited and yet not know it.

Recommendation

A great read for everyone

12 Essential Scientific Concepts

November 20, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Scientist and Opra star Dr. Indre Viskontas, shares her knowledge in a series of 24 lectures about science. Her upbeat and detailed lecture style helps the subject matter become more accessible and entertaining to learners. Published in 2014, these lectures go a step further than most classrooms.

My Thoughts

This was a very well done lecture series. I consider myself to be fairly well versed in the basics of science. Yet, I found myself lost from time to time as she went a little deeper than I had heard before.

Some concepts need time to sink in and work through. I believe I went too fast through this lecture to really get everything out of it. It did spark some interest to go back some of the chemistry and theoretical physics which I haven’t refreshed in some time. I found myself very rusty in these concepts.

Recommendation

A good lecture. Not for the beginner.

Gulp

November 12, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Published in 2013, Gulp is just under 400 pages detailing the trip food makes through a human and the stops in between.

My Thoughts

Mary Roach is an engaging writer who makes snarky comments as she goes about her descriptions. In short, I enjoyed it. The subject matter wasn’t as new to me as perhaps I was expecting. There were some side information like Elvis’s colon which I hadn’t hear but that wasn’t really what I came for. Still, I felt the book was well done and I enjoyed it.

Recommendation

It is worth the read.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

October 29, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Published in 2014, this 94 page book talks about; relativity, quantum mechanics, the architecture of the cosmos, elementary particles, quantum gravity, black holes and how we fit in.

My Thoughts

This book went by in a flash. The science part was good but I could have done without the narrative toward the end.

Recommendation

Interesting but I won’t be reading it again

How to Stay Human in a Fd up World

September 30, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

A relatively new book, this was published in July of 2019 by Tim Desmond who was one of the organizers of the “Walk on Wallstreet”. He currently leads a team at Google helping others with emotional support.

My Thoughts

This book wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. As an “esteemed Buddhist”, I felt Mr. Desmond had a lot of anger still left in him. Perhaps it was simply rhetoric to connect with the younger audience but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

Recommendation

I would pass on this one.

The Power of Habit

September 20, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

The power of habit was published in 2012 and outlines habits as consisting of three elements: a cue, a routine, and a reward. It gives some history as to when these principalities started being used by companies and gave some ideas as to how they are being used today.

The book also spends some time discussing how someone can change their own habits.

My thoughts

In general, I liked the book. I think some concepts were forced into the theory put forward but on the whole, It seemed like it was well written and gave some good ideas about how to go about change in life.

Recommendation

Not a bad book.

Thank You for Being Late

September 7, 2019 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written in 2016, this book as about modern life and the breakneck speed that everything seems to be changing. Three time Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist Thomas Friedman shares his perspective on how quickly things have changed and his quasi-biographical observations of how to deal with it and what else might be coming down the line.

My thoughts

I started reading this because my boss’s boss’s boss made an off handed comment about it. Now that I’ve read it, the comment didn’t make any sense. But that’s motivation for you…

The book was very interesting as it seemed to catalog the technological growth throughout my career. There were a number of antidotes that I felt could have easily been my experience. I don’t know that I agree with all of the observations but I do agree that we haven’t seen anything yet in terms of technology and general disruptions to our lives in general.

Recommendation

It is worth the read.