Author Archives: Harry Katz
2019 Recap: A Meta-Post
New Year’s Eve seems like a fitting occasion for a meta-post; a post about posts. Looking back over 2019, I wrote 19 posts. Coincidence? They break down into these categories: Management & personal development: 4 Environment & energy: 4 Personal … Continue reading
Range
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World By David Epstein Riverhead Books, New York, 2019 I didn’t finish Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World for the same reason I don’t eat chicken wings: too much effort for … Continue reading
Peak Stuff
I’m going to try something different in this post. Instead of reviewing a book, I’m going to look at a research paper called “Peak Stuff — did the UK reach a peak in material consumption in about 2001-3?” Sounds pretty … Continue reading
High Output Management
High Output Management is one of the most disappointing books I’ve ever read, and in some places it flat out pissed me off. The focus is always on output. Everyone and every team produces output. A manager’s job is … Continue reading
More From Less
More From Less is a book about dematerialization Demawhat? No, it’s not some sort of Star Trek transporter technology. Dematerialization is the phenomenon of producing the same goods from less material and energy. It’s real, it’s important, and Andrew McAfee … Continue reading
Growth
People used to think growth was a good thing. Politicians, economists and business leaders brag about healthy or robust growth in jobs, GDP, and profits. But that’s changing. These days, growth is often described as excessive, uncontrollable, and unsustainable. In … Continue reading
100
I just checked my stats page and discovered to my delight that 100 people are following this blog. Thank you! I started blogging about 10 years ago. In fact, the original platform was a now-defunct Microsoft product called Spaces. Microsoft … Continue reading
Talking to Strangers
I’ve read most of Malcolm Gladwell’s books and quite a few of his New Yorker articles. I love his podcast Revisionist History. He is a terrific writer and storyteller. Though he has a tendency to wander off on maddening digressions, … Continue reading
How To Be An Antiracist
How To Be An Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi One World, New York, 2019 Donald Trump says he’s not racist. In fact, he claims to be the “least racist person that you have ever met.” In his latest book, How … Continue reading
Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing By Delia Owens G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2018 I don’t read much fiction these days, but it’s summertime and the last book I read was about the history of calculus, so I figured I’d try … Continue reading
