Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback: reviews and opinions that no one ever asked for.
God, Human, Animal, Machine
A chatbot called ChatGPT, released last year by OpenAI, has brought new intensity to the controversy about artificial intelligence. If you haven’t used ChatGPT yet, I encourage you to try it. I’ve included some helpful links at the end of this post. Just like a lot of new technology, artificial…
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Hidden Figures
I heard about the movie Hidden Figures a few years ago but never saw it. Recently, the inscrutable algorithms at Instagram started dropping clips from the movie in my feed. I’ve no idea why but I’m grateful. They got me interested in reading the book. Hidden Figures:The American Dream and…
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Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
I’ve been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since I was a teenager. I’ve always admired the great detective’s ability to solve crimes with a combination of keen observation, deductive reasoning and imagination. I also envied his ability to discern someone’s occupation, family background, or where they’ve been recently just by…
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Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village
If you’ve ever read or watched any of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories, or seen the Midsomer Murders TV series, or even some of the episodes of Inspectors Morse or Lewis, then you’ll know that picturesque English villages are actually hotbeds of murder and mayhem. Nothing quaint about them at…
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Escape from Model Land
Have you noticed that whenever you buy something online they show you a bunch of other stuff under a heading like “you might also enjoy?” Obviously, the retailer is trying to get you to spend more money on their site. But how do they know which items might tempt you?…
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Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid
We know that climate change is having a devastating impact on our planet: rising sea levels, more intense forest fires, more frequent and more powerful storms. We also know that many plant and animal species are going extinct or suffering population collapse. But other species seem to be adapting, and…
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The Dark Side of the Moon
50 years age this week, Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon. On March 1 to be exact. It was the band’s eighth studio album and included their first hit single, Money. The Dark Side of the Moon has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, spent over 900…
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Mozart’s Starling
On the 27th of May 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wandered into a Vienna pet shop not far from his home and heard a starling singing a near-perfect imitation of a theme from his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major (K 453). Starlings are well-known as talented mimics and Mozart…
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Life Is Hard
Recently, I’ve read a couple of books about how you can take greater control of your life, particularly your time and your health. But there are lots of things in life you just can’t control. We all face adversity and tragedy. We all suffer. In Life Is Hard: How Philosophy…
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Younger Next Year
The authors of Younger Next Year boldly claim you can turn back your biological clock. By following their suggestions, a person in their sixties or seventies can be fitter and healthier than they were in their fifties. The book is a guide to aging well, mainly aimed at men approaching…
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The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
While bedridden and convalescing from a long and mysterious illness, author Elisabeth Tova Bailey adopts a snail. A visiting friend brings her some potted violets and, living among them, a common forest snail. Bailey is barely able to sit up in bed let alone walk around her room without becoming…
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The Disordered Cosmos
From a very young age, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein knew she wanted to be a scientist. By sixth grade, she’s reading about things called quarks that make up everything we can see in the universe. At 13, her mother drives her away from the city lights of their home in East Los…
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Four Thousand Weeks
On the cusp of a new year, it’s natural to reflect on our lives, to take stock of the things we’ve accomplished and the dreams we have yet to fulfill. Are we living our life the way we really want to live it? And if not, what changes should we…
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The Hidden Habits of Genius
Geniuses are among the most admired people in human history. Geniuses like Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, and Toni Morrison all stand way out there on the extreme edges of achievement in their respective fields. But what makes these people geniuses? And can we become geniuses…
Continue readingNonfiction November 2022 Week 5: New to My TBR
It’s been a wonderful month of sharing and celebrating with nonfiction bloggers! Now it’s time to wrap it all up with Jaymi @ The OC BookGirl hosting this final week. “It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to…
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The Book of Roads and Kingdoms
The Book of Roads and Kingdoms was a total impulse buy. On a recent vacation to Australia, I saw it prominently displayed in a Dymocks book shop. I’d never heard of the author and it’s about a topic I know almost nothing about, but I’ve always been intrigued by geography…
Continue readingNonfiction November 2022 Week 4: Worldview Changers
Wow, it’s already Week 4 of Nonfiction November! Our host this week is Rebekah @ She Seeks Nonfiction and the topic is Worldview Changers: “One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s…
Continue readingNonfiction November 2022 Week 3: Stranger Than Fiction
Welcome to Week 3 of Nonfiction November hosted by Christopher @ Plucked From The Stacks. The topic this week is Stranger Than Fiction: “This week we’re focusing on all the great nonfiction books that *almost* don’t seem real. A sports biography involving overcoming massive obstacles, a profile on a bizarre…
Continue readingNonfiction November 2022 Week 2: Book Pairings
It’s Week 2 of Nonfiction November and the theme is Book Pairings hosted by Rennie @ What’s Nonfiction. “This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title (or another nonfiction!). It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think…
Continue readingNonfiction November 2022 Week 1: Your Year in Nonfiction
I’m excited to participate once again in Nonfiction November, an annual celebration of and by nonfiction book bloggers. This is my 3rd Nonfiction November and it’s starting to become a highlight of the year for me. I’m looking froward to making new connections with nonfiction bloggers and renewing old ones,…
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Bewilderment
In Richard Powers’ latest novel, Bewilderment, astrobiologist Theo Byrne is a single father struggling to raise his nine-year-old son Robin. Robin himself struggles with emotional turmoil for which there’s no clear diagnosis. “So far the votes are two Asperger’s, one probable OCD, and one possible ADHD … Half the third-graders in…
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Ever Green
Forests are special places. Walking through a forest — I don’t do this often enough — makes me feel calmer and more alive at the same time. My senses seem more alert or maybe more receptive. And I know they’re special not just for the personal experiences they offer. They…
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What We Owe The Future
“Future people count. There could be a lot of them. We can make their lives go better.” That’s the central idea of What We Owe The Future, a provocative book by William MacAskill who’s an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford. Even if you disagree with some…
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Life Is Simple
Ever heard of Occam’s razor? It’s the principle that says the simplest explanation that fits the facts is most likely the correct one. It’s formally stated as “entities should not be multiplied without necessity.” Or informally as “keep it simple, stupid.” Occam’s razor is named after William of Occam (sometimes…
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The Last White Man
One morning in an unnamed city in an unnamed country, a white man named Anders wakes up to discover that his skin has turned dark brown. His facial features have changed too. He doesn’t recognize himself in the mirror. Anders isn’t the only one. Gradually, every white person in…
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