Category Archives: History
Nexus
Why are humans so good at acquiring information and power but not wisdom? In Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari explores how human information networks enable large numbers of people to cooperate over great distances and how those networks often prioritize order over truth and wisdom. AI could make matters even worse. Continue reading
How the World Made the West
How the World Made the West tells the story of surprisingly complex relationships of contact, trade and competition among small city states around the Mediterranean and Middle East starting around 4,000 years ago. In doing so, Josephine Quinn challenges conventional ideas about how civilizations develop. Continue reading
The Year Without Summer
The eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815 is the largest known eruption of the last 2,000 years. It knocked weather patterns across Europe and the eastern US out of kilter. Crops failed. Unrest followed. The Year Without Summer details Tambora’s impact on people, economics, politics and climate. Continue reading
On Freedom
Americans often think of freedom in the negative sense, as freedom from. Timothy Snyder argues that positive freedom, freedom to, is more important. On Freedom is a deep exploration of the nature of freedom that challenges conventional thinking. Very important and worthwhile in our era of freedom under threat. Continue reading
All the Beauty in the World
Patrick Bringley spent ten years working as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. All the Beauty in the World is a wonderful memoir of that time. It’s about art, of course, and about grief and joy and how art reflects them back to us. Continue reading
The Nutmeg’s Curse
Trading rare and exotic spices has been a powerful force in history and economics for many centuries. Nutmeg is no exception. In the early 1600’s, the Dutch East India Company, known by its Dutch initials VOC, formed as the world’s … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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, … Continue reading
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