Author Archives: Harry Katz
Machine, Platform, Crowd
Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital FutureBy Andrew McAfee and Erik BrynjolfssonW. W. Norton & Co., New York, 2017 Machine, Platform, Crowd is an update to Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson’s fabulous 2014 book, The Second Machine Age. (My review … Continue reading
Mr. O’Byrne
I’ve been remembering my high school calculus teacher, Mr. O’Byrne, over the last few days. It started while I was reading a lengthy article about neural networks and how they’re trained using backpropagation and analytic gradients. There’s not that much … Continue reading
Thank You for Being Late
Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of AccelerationsBy Thomas L. FriedmanFarrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2016 It’s a good thing Tom Friedman is an optimist. Reading his latest book, Thank You for … Continue reading
Beethoven’s 9th
I can’t remember when, or even if, I’ve ever listened to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 from start to finish. I’ve certainly never heard it performed live. Until last night. We attended a performance of the Ninth by the Seattle Symphony … Continue reading
How Will You Measure Your Life?
How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth & Karen Dillon HarperCollins, New York, 2012 Clayton Christensen is best known for his groundbreaking book The Innovator’s Dilemma, probably one of the most important business books ever … Continue reading
Post-Election Reading
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in CrisisBy J. D. VanceHarperCollins, New York, 2016 The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott WalkerBy Katherine J. CramerUniversity of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2016 Before … Continue reading
The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future
A PhD in cultural anthropology might seem like an odd background for someone writing a book about our national electricity grid. But Gretchen Bakke sees the grid as more than just generating plants, transmission wires, substations, poles, meters, outlets and … Continue reading
State-wide Blackout in South Australia
Yesterday the entire state of South Australia, about 1.5 times the area of Texas, suffered an electricity blackout due to a severe storm that knocked out major transmission lines. Photo: Electranet Network Services Here’s an interesting report on the causes … Continue reading
The Chemistry of Burning Stuff
Whenever we burn fossil fuels, be it gasoline, natural gas or charcoal, one of the byproducts is carbon dioxide ( CO2). That’s a big worry these days because the huge amounts of carbon dioxide we’re putting into the atmosphere is … Continue reading
Swainson’s Thrush
They’re back! Swainson’s Thrush have returned to the North Cascades forests. I’m not a birdwatcher – glasses too thick – so I’ve never seen this bird close enough to identify it by color or markings. But I sure have heard … Continue reading
Unsolicited Feedback 