By Larry Niven.
Another sci-fi classic. Nothing I really want to remember about this book. It's a fun read. Not particularly deep.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Saturday, October 13, 2018
The Forever War
By Joe Haldeman
This is a classic of war-sci-fi. Apparently it's modeled on the authors experience in Vietnam, and the alienation he felt upon returning to society.
In the book, humanity is in a war against the Taurons. The actual war may have only been a few years, but owing to relativistic time dilation, it was stretched out to over a thousand years.
Through the war a soldier fights the Taurons, rising up in the ranks of the military. He periodically returns to earth, or it's colonies. Each return to civilian life is farther into the future due to relativistic time dailation. Each visit is more and more strange.
This is a classic of war-sci-fi. Apparently it's modeled on the authors experience in Vietnam, and the alienation he felt upon returning to society.
In the book, humanity is in a war against the Taurons. The actual war may have only been a few years, but owing to relativistic time dilation, it was stretched out to over a thousand years.
Through the war a soldier fights the Taurons, rising up in the ranks of the military. He periodically returns to earth, or it's colonies. Each return to civilian life is farther into the future due to relativistic time dailation. Each visit is more and more strange.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts
By Marshall Goldsmith
Change is hard. Goldsmith doesn't suggest that even with constant coaching there is a very small change of making lasting change in an adult.
How do you do it? Well, he has someone call him every evening and ask him the same 10 questions and how well he performed on these topics during the day.
At the end of meetings, he suggests people ask themselves the following...
Change is hard. Goldsmith doesn't suggest that even with constant coaching there is a very small change of making lasting change in an adult.
We can't make too many changes at once. The fewer we engage in the more likely we are to succeed. Goldsmith suggests that we can tackle one of each of...
1. Creating new behavior.
2. Eliminating an old behavior
3. Accepting something regretful
4. Preserving, or growing something positive.
How do you do it? Well, he has someone call him every evening and ask him the same 10 questions and how well he performed on these topics during the day.
At the end of meetings, he suggests people ask themselves the following...
Thursday, October 4, 2018
The Emperor of all Maladies. A Biography of Cancer
By Siddhartha Mukherjee
Cancer sucks.
The Emperor of all Maladies tells the history of Cancer. From it's ancient history as an untreatable disease. To modern times, where it's much more treatable, some of the time.
Cancer still sucks. The book isn't overly optimistic about curing it as cancer is an almost inevitable side effect of any creature that with cells that reproduce. It's not a question of if you will get cancer, but when, and to what degree. The author speculates that in the fullness of time, cancer will be chronically manageable condition. We will still get cancer. Treatments may keep it at bay for years.
Cancer sucks.
The Emperor of all Maladies tells the history of Cancer. From it's ancient history as an untreatable disease. To modern times, where it's much more treatable, some of the time.
Cancer still sucks. The book isn't overly optimistic about curing it as cancer is an almost inevitable side effect of any creature that with cells that reproduce. It's not a question of if you will get cancer, but when, and to what degree. The author speculates that in the fullness of time, cancer will be chronically manageable condition. We will still get cancer. Treatments may keep it at bay for years.
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