Nonfiction

The Original Sin

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

Taken at face value, the premise of the book inspires to abandon all hope for the humanity’s future. It’s not the question of if - but when - the superintelligent AI arrives and takes us apart for our atoms right before consuming the rest of the solar system. The authors do offer a solution: banning all AI research immediately and locking GPU clusters under a watchful eye of international oversight group. The solution is not viable and the authors themselves seem to agree as Nate Soares stated in a recent interview that he stopped saving for retirement.

At Home

Bill Bryson walks us through his house, using the rooms as a framework to share a wealth of knowledge about human history and story behind everyday objects. Few things that surprised me: How recently (historically speaking) humans discovered and pursued comfort. The life of Kings and Queens in the 19th century was positively dreadful in comparison with modern standards How history is woven from random chaotic events How little knowledge is preserved about most common things Somewhere between learning about scurvy, Thomas Jefferson design issues with Monticello and origins of word ‘dandy’ I forgot what the book was actually about, but to me it didn’t really matter.

Challenger

The book took four years to create and it’s a well researched detailed record not just on Challenger disaster but on history of space travel in US and NASA as organization. Weaving personal stories and backgrounds in-between dry technology explanations and facts, ‘Challenger’ culminates to a single possible conclusion - a tragedy should not have happened and yet it was unavoidable. The book is much more than a discussion about space travel.

How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will

John Kennedy is both insider and outsider of Washington. He is an unvarnished senator, breaking unspoken rules and bringing up uncomfortable topics. The book is his commentary on realities of political life. It’s worth the read just for “one day in the life of a senator” and refresher on state elections and immense power of unelected staff. While I enjoy sarcasm and dry humor, marketing positioning of this book as “hilarious” distracts from the value. Kennedy’s one-sentence witty descriptions of well-known political figures make them more relatable, adding personality to political news.

The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You

First published almost 15 years ago, the book sounded an alarm that extreme personalization of the internet and served news will create a reinforced opinion bubble, preventing the exposure to random experiences that required for creativity and growth. Since then, the personalization algorithms had grown even more sophisticated, and yet I cannot agree with the presented argument because it attributes the bubble to modern times and technology and places little weight on personal curiosity and responsibility.

Made in China

This book was a hard read, raising really hard to swallow topics - although I would prefer to see a more rounded approach. Forced labor still exists -as a world wide problem. Political prisoners not limited just to China. Consumerism of cheaply made goods hurts everybody, including our planet. What is the common reason for all of these problems? The book lists one cause - consumers. If customers were not demanding, companies would not have to use the lowest cost providers that follow questionable practices.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

TLDR; - a book that has some great ideas but could have been shorter :) While the subject is not groundbreaking for any software practitioner familiar with the “flow” firsthand, I found a few insights to optimize planning my days. Part I: The context The first half of the book sets the stage by outlining the idea and asks - do you want to win? Then you must master these two skills by utilizing deep work: