Podcast Summary: EconTalk – David McRaney on How Minds Change
The traditional information deficit hypothesis thought you could change people’s minds by giving them facts. That hypothesis turned out to be wrong.
Author: To Summarise
The 48 Laws of Power is Not a “How To” Book
The 48 Laws of Power is written like a “how to” book, but should not be read as such. If read that way, it’s a terrible book. Not only does it encourage you to be an awful person, it doesn’t give much guidance on how to apply the laws in practice.
Should we even seek power?
A question that The 48 Laws of Power does not address is whether you should even seek power – and what lengths you should go to to seek it. Greene assumes that everyone wants power and that more is better. He’s wrong.
Book Summary: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
This summary of The 48 Laws of Power outlines every law in Robert Greene’s book. Each chapter of the book establishes one […]
Is “The 48 Laws of Power” Evil?
Is The 48 Laws of Power evil? Yes and no. Reading the book isn’t evil. The laws themselves aren’t evil. But the book is kind of evil.
Podcast Summary: 80k Hours – Will MacAskill on what we owe the future
In this podcast summary, Will MacAskill talks about longtermism and his recent book, “What We Owe the Future”. The original podcast is 2 hours 54 minutes. The estimated reading time for this summary (excluding “My Thoughts”) is 42 minutes.
Podcast Summary: 80k Hours – Hilary Greaves on Pascal’s mugging, strong longtermism and whether existing can be good for us
Summarising a podcast is a new one for me, and my decision to attempt this was a bit experimental. The original podcast […]
Book Summary: A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley
A Mind for Numbers is about learning how to learn. Oakley doesn’t just give study tips (though it certainly does include many). She also explains why those study tips or strategies work, and supports that with evidence.
Book Summary: The New New Zealand by Paul Spoonley
Spoonley discusses the demographic challenges facing New Zealand over the next few decades. The book tackles an interesting and neglected topic and its overall message (i.e. that there need to be informed, national discussions about this) seems sensible enough. Unfortunately, however, Spoonley’s writing isn’t great, and he relies too heavily on secondary sources.
Book Summary: Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
The premise of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone sucked me in. Unless you’re a therapist, you’ll never know what goes on in the therapy room. Even if you’ve been to therapy, you might wonder what other patients talk about in therapy, and what therapists really think of their patients. The premise piqued my curiosity, and Gottlieb delivered.