Great concepts, another temoporary solution
352480
This book definitely offers some wonderful ideas (such as stopping some of the negative thoughts associated with dieting), and I can see how, upon first read, it gives a great deal of hope to most dieters. The problem? While this book is camouflaged as a healthy lifestyle change, it is still upholding the dieting mentality. It requires a huge amount of willpower that is just not feasible for long term maintenance. If willpower was all that people needed, any diet would work. Bottom line, I tried this, it worked off an on for a few weeks, and the result was just like any diet-I was still waaaay too preoccupied with food and ended up giving up and binging.

I decided to check out the Intuitive Eating book, instead, and I really recommend this for others who are just tired of failing diets. Intuitive eating will not work for you if you aren't willing to accept that diets don't work, and if you want fast results (even if they don't last). The idea is that if you stop dieting and restricting yourself, food will lose some of it's guilty allure and you will, hopefully, find it easier to enjoy what you want, when you want it, but with moderation. I just think that this book makes more sense with human mentality. The Beck Diet solution might work if you can actually afford to visit a therapist continually to avoid relapse, but that just isn't feasible for most of us.
2500448
This is a very welcomed volume. This is the third in a series of anthologies published by Technology Review (the first was TRSF [2011]; the next Twelve Tomorrows [2013]). They get better every time.

The goal here is to publish stories that use current technological innovation as a springboard for stories of the near future. With Bruce Sterling on board as guest editor this time, how can they fail?

Favorite images: an Olympics for bio-engineered athletes (Lauren Beukes is the author); and an internet of smart appliances and devices, all responding to odd human behavior (Pat Cadigan's entry).

Check out all three volumes!
2946191
As a compilation of ecologically sound, sustainable options and practices regarding housing, this is fantastic. A great summary of your options with just enough information to let you figure out which ones you want to research further, with great resources listed in the back.

My one criticism is that the author writes with the assumption that everyone agrees with him that Global Warming is THE problem in the world today, and that focusing on carbon emissions are the way to fix it. I happen to disagree with him that global warming is man made and that we face far bigger problems in the form of pollution and landfills and endangered species etc. I believe that the solutions to these problems are made on a much more personal and active level than waiting on tax breaks and government recommendations to do our work for us. This sadly made a beautiful (many of the photographs are simply stunning and very inspiring) book that should have been very enjoyable to read into something that I grit my teeth through.

Nevertheless, it is a good book, and Mr. Conran's expertise in actually designing these houses shines through.
3471147
I am most passionate about Creativity and Innovation.

How do we come up with expressions (artistic, scientific, business, military, political, etc), that completely change the perspective of a particular problem or field of study and after some tinkering with the idea ... we reach the Eureka! moment ?.  "There you have it"  a totally new way of looking at the problem, a great solution which appears to come out of nowhere, and turns the previous notions on their head.

Then, happily we march on, applying the solution as a template until we run into another wall.

What used to bother me was that Idea generation, seemed to be a human activity delegated to an elite of individuals (Artists, Intellectuals, Generals, Scientists, Business Managers, etc). We know the problems of the world are too many, and the number of this "elite people" are so few. Are we then, stuck ? do we have to wait for the "elite" to solve our problems? or can we come up with a method of producing the ideas we need "on demand" ?  just like with any other industrial process?.

Why wait for the Eureka moment ? is the challenge of the BrainStore Switzerland team ( [...])

In this book, The Idea Machine written by Nadja Schnetzler (co-founder of BrainStore). I find that YES ! it is possible to produce IDEAS On Demand, not only it is possible, but it can be done every day, on a routine basis.

Can you imagine? creativity, the production of ideas to solve problems or to innovate, made into an industrial process?

I have been following BrainStore for a good number of years, and I had the pleasure to visit BrainStore in Switzerland a couple of years ago, and was very impressed by the real world application of this method. I was there for a whole week, observing and learning each step of the way as The Idea Machine was put into practice to solve problems for BrainStore clients.

From my notes and recollection, there is close to nothing different in the process "live" from the process described in the book. The reason for this, said Markus Mettler (Chairman and Co-founder of Brain Store), is that Brain Store approaches idea production with an Open Source mentality. It is a way of forcing his team to keep refining and innovating the Idea Production Factory.

I encourage you to get this book, read it and apply it. And if you are in the market for Ideas to get you out of the rut, contact Brain Store and do business with them. In any case, I like to think that you will be pleased with the results.
407856
I love this "parabolic" method of getting wisdom across to those who will listen and imagine. The parables have to seem simple but I know often it is difficult and involved to write "simple" stories that leave lessons to be learned by the reader/listener. Overall, the author has done an admirable job of this. The "devotional questions" at the end of each parable helped me to re-think the story from my perspective. Even though a lot of Bible was inherent in the questions, that is fine because the Bible is a great source of wisdom.

"Snapped" and "Hairpin Turns" worked well with very little confusion. But "The Pair of Bills" was a bit didactic and needed too much explanation on the part of the characters. "The Cyborg" nails home some human vs. machine truths we need to consider. "Paradise Skit" also makes me think of how we often "take it all with us when we try to get away from it all."

Every parable has links to the author's blogs on the central theme of the parable. These are very good too. So, all in all, the author displays very imaginative and thought-provoking stories and questions. I'm sure his next series of parable collections will even be better. Wonderful! However, I'd rethink the title as the parables are about much more than just the one subject of financial freedom. They are about all of life.
4689025
A great synthesis of the diverse learning spaces using four interesting metaphors: campfires (la fogata), waterholes (el abrevadero), caves (la cueva) and live (la vida). It resulted very useful the connection of a specific learning theory with each of them; particularly Vygotsky's, Piagets and Papperts. Besides the metaphors, I got plenty of ideas for supporting my students learning process. It is encouraging that David Thornburg ideas came from his practice in Brasil (a country with similar challenges that Mexico, my homeplace) and not only in the developed word. I liked the integration of the four learning spaces into a hollodeck (una cmara hologrfica) by using project oriented (or problem based learning, roleplaying and technology.
681800
Use the Latest Science to Organize your Mind
Jill was a patient of Dr. Hammerness who was plagued by the consequences of her disorganization and forgetfulness.  She was helped by the creation of a launch pad, where she could empty her pockets upon arriving,  and find her keys when she was preparing to leave the apartment. This was example of the application of simple principles.

In Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time. Paul Hammerness, MD, a Harvard Psychiatrist and Margaret Moore, an Executive Coach authored this guide to curing Mental Distractions and much more. John Hanc also contributed as a coauthor (though his contribution might have been as an editor, because there was no visible footprint in the reading).

The approach taken suits the expertise of both Hammerness and Moore. The steps to getting control of our crazy life are introduced as Rules of Order as explained below:

  Tame the Frenzy - Acknowledge and manage emotions
  Sustain Attention - Maintain Focus and ignore distractions
  Apply the Brakes - Inhibit or stop actions or thoughts, when appropriate
  Mold Information - Capitalize on working memory to focus, analyze and process
  Shift Sets - Nimbly move from one  task or thought to another (NOT multitask)
  Connect the Dots - Bring together and apply all the rules.

Each section covers one of the Rules. It starts with a case study of some one struggling with the mentioned principle and reviews the latest science about brain structure and behavior as relates to the principle. Finally Moore calls upon her experience as a professional coach in helping people make the necessary changes.

This approach seems in line with recent self help books that reference the latest brain science. The recent progress in brain imaging has been remarkable and seems to do a lot to explain more about why we act as we do. There are references included in the back of this book that allow the reader to probe deeper, though the number of references seem a little light for a book of this scope.

There are good ideas shared by Moore to implement change, but the connection between the science and rules seems a little contrived. As if the book started with the rules and then the science was added to give it credibility, or to make it an interesting read. "Mold Information" was an example of a concept that did not completely make sense to me. The case study is of a man who is very busy, but suffers from forgetfulness, and the section concentrates on Working Memory, but does not fully make the connection between that and Mold Information. The science referred to is gone over very lightly and includes mention of a Japanese study about the plasticity of the brain, but offers few details about it. The tips in Meg's section make good sense and are worth considering.

I like one piece of guidance given for the Rule "Sustain Attention". We are encouraged to look at the moments in life where we are in Flow. We need to analyze what is it that causes the Peak Attention at that moment. Maybe it is when we are addressing our specific strengths. She recommends taking a strengths assessment if we have not already. Such as :

  viacharacter.org
  strengthfinder.com
  strengths2020.com

She gives some tips to convert regular moments into flow activities.

The section of Mold Info also has some good ideas where work by Dr. Marie Pasinski  author of Beautiful Brain, Beautiful You: Look Radiant from the Inside Out by Empowering Your Mind is referenced.

The Appendix 2 of Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time shares the Top 10 Disorganizational Complaints and their solutions. The solutions are simple and serve as a nice reminder of guidance shared by the book.

I recommend taking a look that this book and its practical guidance to get control of your disorganized mind.
1667141
The serious criticisms of this book are well-placed:  There is too much emphasis on status and image; the book is very repetitive, given that the mindset itself (a "growth" attitude and belief) is very sensible and easy to state; the stories in the book are not sufficiently scholarly, given the author's scientific claims; etc.  These minor criticisms aside, the book was extremely enjoyable and imaginative.  Despite the repetition of the "point" the author is driving at, over and over again, seeing the application in many different perspectives, especially by telling interesting stories, was quite enjoyable, and, in the end, I believe, very inspiring.  After all, status and image may help many people adapt the mindset, but we are sometimes faced with serious "tests" in life, and adapting strategies associated with the mindset that one can work at something and improve can be something that is important to bear in mind, because we do often get discouraged by perceived limitations, and fail to reach our potential as a result of our "closing doors" on ourselves, not the world.  I highly recommend this book.
4351955
Erik Olin Wright has done a great service with his latest, ENVISIONING REAL UTOPIAS.  He applies his analytical powers (Wright is a founder of "analytical marxism") to the question of how to move beyond capitalism.  This 373-page book continues the Real Utopias Project which Wright began with others in the early 1990s after the collapse of the USSR, which has so far led to six books from Verso and this new one. According to Wright, what he and his collaborators "...wanted to achieve was a clear elaboration of workable institutional principles that could inform emancipatory alternatives to the existing world."

One of Wright's contributions is to separate socialism from statism, so that capitalism becomes one of three possibilities.  Not only the right, but the left as well, has come to conflate socialism and statism, and it is a crucial step toward mental as well as social emancipation to stop reinforcing the right-wing's narrative by supporting this conflation.

Here is the table of contents:

1) Introduction: Why Real Utopias?
2) The Tasks of Emancipatory Social Science

I) Diagnosis and Critique
3) What's So Bad About Capitalism?

II) Alternatives
4) Thinking About Alternatives to Capitalism
5) The Socialist Compass
6) Real Utopias I: Social Empowerment and the State
7) Real Utopias II: Social Empowerment and the Economy

III) Transformation
8) Elements of a Theory of Transformation
9) Ruptural Transformation
10) Interstitial Transformation
11) Symbiotic Transformation

Conclusion: Making Utopias Real

Ruptural transformation is basically revolutionary or Leninist, interstitial transformation is basically anarchist, and symbiotic transformation is basically social democratic.  Wright does not advocate one or the other, but analyzes the obstacles, potential benefits and limitations of each.  Clearly he leans toward symbiotic or social democratic transformation, but he is aware that so far it has not led beyond capitalism.  He concludes by calling for creative and energetic experimentation guided by the "socialist compass" of social empowerment.

Russell Jacoby threw a tantrum and called it a review of this book, but that's his problem.  If you think that simplistic emotionalism is going to do the job of replacing capitalism with an egalitarian world, then this is not your book.  If you think, to the contrary, that it is going to be difficult and might require some serious thought, then do not be dissuaded.  (Jacoby also attacked sociology in its entirety, and I am a sociologist, so I am not inclined to take him seriously.  He's just a historian and an essayist.)

This book is of great potential value for anyone on the left trying to think about how to move forward in the 21st century!
1863388
Nice to have someone else come up with ideas!  Thanks.
3061849
We loved the concept and story of creativity, independence, and working with nature to improve one's life.

As we read it to our toddler, we do two small 'on the fly edits': we eliminate the first 'scene' where Wesley is bullied by his friends for thinking differently (unnecessary, in our minds, to introduce this early the association of creative smart people getting chased for it); and we 'add' that he found that the fruits were edible in an old, old book; then he also saw squirrels eating them (we try teaching our kids that foraging takes knowledge).

Notably, we were introduced to this book as part of a permaculture for kids conversation from a respected permaculture coauthor&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Practical-Permaculture-for-Home-Landscapes-Your-Community-and-the-Whole-Earth/dp/1604694432/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Practical Permaculture: for Home Landscapes, Your Community, and the Whole Earth</a>, and we love how the book isn't preachy about collaborating with nature, avoids doom-gloom about the effects of not doing so, etc. and paints nature as the system within which we live and can draw everyday needs from - not just rows of crops to be extracted- in a positive way that highlights each individual's opportunity to be stewards.
2462683
Wonderful food for thought - what I especially appreciated, aside from the excellent flow-through of the history of modern scientific discoveries and thoughts, is the author's appeal to common-sense and critical thinking. That allows me to make up my own mind about things, on the basis of what I can recognize as being truly reasonable ... which I find far more preferable than being told what I should believe by someone I am supposed to accept as an expert while telling me I am not properly qualified to understand the profound and complex issues s/he is kindly understanding and interpreting on my behalf. That was the very thing that turned me off from institutional religion, and I recognize, as this book also helps make clear, that in the name of modern science, another kind of dogmatic institutionalism has arisen. As a result, its conclusions are afforded some kind of uncritical protective sanctuary, as opposed to being subjected to such attempts to falsify them as are in fact intrinsic to the scientific method, and which St. Clair has so excellently achieved here. Scientific progress and complacency go ill together - and St Clair has done a superb job in actually advancing the cause of real science.
1862751
I recently re-visited this book after reading it years ago.  It has improved with age for me, as I have become more knowledgeable and so able to "interface" with it better.

It is always good to read about E.O. Wilson, but there are other books which offer interesting profiles, including his own.

The section I came back to is the one on Fredkin -- the one who thinks the universe is "digital."  I think he's right in thinking that spacetime is discrete as opposed to analog.  As string theory founders, or at least doesn't seem to be going anywhere into what you'd call testable, it's worth thinking about the idea I thought was pretty outrageous the first time I read it, of a truly digital universe. (If you get REALLY into exploring that set of ideas, you can find his website on line, with his papers and a forum.)

But that's only one of the ideas packed into this book.  I found on revisiting it that I'd put about 100 placemarkers and marginal notes in this the first time I read it. I didn't AGREE with everything said in this book, but it did stimulate quite a bit of thought.
4786425
With the metaphor of the Cybion, central concept of the Symbiotic Man, Joel de Rosnay has jumped a new step since the Macroscope. The first part of the book will delight a reader who likes imagination and vision. This part describes a lot of conceptual ideas and requires a serious attention when reading it. On the other hand, the second and third parts are more practical with many political, economic and social examples and graphics illustrating the ideas of the first part. One of the characteristic of the book is the possibility to open the book at any page and extract relevant information. This book would be particularly suited to be published on the Internet in order to navigate between main ideas and examples ! Before reading this book, I had a very imprecise idea of chaos, rigidity, fractal evolution, order, complexity. No I understand these notions when applied to organisations and society.
1863112
Great book - again another way to cure the incurable.
4255363
Placher has done a wonderful job of delivering on a whole host of ideas.  He has made some very complicated ideas much more accessible than many authors.  He writes in a captivating way that is almost like reading a story than a textbook presenting ideas.
From the influence of Greek philosophy to the "End of Christendom", he touches on many key ideas in a way that makes you want to read more.  He is clear and at times puts in a bit of his own opinion in an educated manner.
This is still just an introduction, since you cannot be comprehansive in so few pages.  But he brilliantly solves this problem by giving a very good bibliography at the end of each chapter.  Moreover, he has a basic and advanced bibliography for each which helps you decide how "deep" you want to get into a subject. It is unfortuante that some of the books are out of date.
I highly recommend this for any theological student.
4786671
The premise of this book is more or less that we can all go back living on our little farm, cooking with our solar oven, composting our waste, storing our food without a fridge, etc. What I like about this book is how it portrays Peak Oil not as a cataclysm but as an event that can be dealt with, given a bit of resourcefulness and patience. It is certainly the most constructive, uplifting book on the subject and stands in stark contrast to some of the fearmongering that abounds elsewhere.

But is this approach realistic? Can we really "downsize" to a simpler lifestyle this painlessly? I guess the problem is ascertaining if Peak Oil will be apocalyptic or if it will lead us to a simpler, more bucolic, and probably even healthier lifestyle. Was industrial civilization just a phase that we will eventually outgrow to our benefit? It is difficult to say, but perhaps just the idea that this uncertain future is something that can be managed on an individual basis is reassuring in itself.

And if you don't think this is what the future will hold for us, treat the book as a history lesson about what people used to be doing _before_ our current (and perhaps quite fragile) technological bonanza...