The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

The life as we know it is a billion year old phenomenon. It started with the simplest to the complicated/conscious life forms that we see today (including humans).

However, the life came a lot late when the universe came into existence as we know it today with a bang. Happenstance of Big bang is a scientifically established point. While we definitely can't say what was before that, there are hypothesis about how the expansion which started with big bang is going to end.

The thing with hypothesis is that this gives the scientific freedom to critically build a theory and bring the proof if possible, mathematically or otherwise. The book describes the five major hypothesis/scenarios how the universe is going to end. None of them are very pleasant to hear but the universe doesn't care much about pleasantries. It is such a human trait to expect everything to behave in a way which is inline with what we understand as humans even the emotions that are very specific to us.

When the universe will end (less likely the Earth will survive that long) in a really long time, it is expected to go back to what it was before big bang, an unimaginably high density (not the material density as we know it) but with a hope that it will expand again (human psyche of pulsation or cycle which may or may not imply in case we don't remember that the universe don't behave in human terms and on hopes).

Definitely a good read to philosophize about how everything came into existence and how it is going to end. But end of universe is not the end of it, it is just the end of how we know it now. It will exist in a form that a human mind can't imagine right now or may not be able to for a very long time in the future.

Peace

Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence by Sara Imari Walker

Not the first one to seek an answer which defines life.

Its a century old question but as our knowledge grows the answer gets farther and more complicated. Imagine it taking it to a cosmological level.

We're never sure if the basic laws of physics and chemistry will apply to an eco system which is different from ours. How can we be sure that the way define the life on earth is not going to follow it. Are bacterias or cells the basic component of life like we've sub-atomic or even sub-nuclear particles the basic component of matter? Consciousness has been the biggest qualifier to call for the life but with AI being more and more independent, is that the case any more?

This small speck called Earth has been the only place which has any sign of an intelligent or otherwise life. It sounds very common to define life which mirrors the life as we see it around which is why all the aliens are always a mirror image of humans at least in nature if not in feature.

We don't need to agree to a frame work for defining life but think about the people who stay awake for this question.

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Probably the Best Book on Statistics Ever Written: How to Beat the Odds and Make Better Decisions by Haim Shapira

Nobody is going to beat any odds or getting better at making decisions because there is a higher probability that we never learn :) 

Maybe not the best book but if you don't remember the basic maths from high school its going to sound a lot of gibberish.

But this book puts a lot of guesstimates in the perspective, and most of the time these will prove wrong. Probability came out of the curiosity in casinos but it did a great service to expand the imagination and brought the statistics into the calculation of chances. But data will say anything that we want it to say. You just need to slice it from the most favorable dimension.

The chances are your chances are awfully good - Johnny Mathis

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The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Of course for the Nobel prize in literature.

The most remarkable past of this novel is how people internalize the trauma for a lifetime.

One of the common statements we here are that some people are more sensitive than others. Like sensitivity can be measured. This a coping statement, and doesn't really help the people who are going through it. Every single specie on this planet has faced trauma but it is the curse of cognition that humans internalize it the most. The response to it may differ among a larger group but the list of causes is not very big.

The story is told from three different perspectives but a reader can see that how disjoint they are. Mostly by design but if you keep adding more to it, it will become complicated to reach a conclusion. But fictional work are never looking for a conclusions. It is left for the users to find it for themselves.

The one statement which stays with you for long is “Why, is it such a bad thing to die?” and shows how people reach to such situations that death doesn't seem so bad. We can philosophize this or just let it be with inaction.

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Patriot by Alexei Navalny

Being in opposition is not easy. Specially, when the other side doesn't feel any moral compunction of their actions. This is not the first case of a suspected death but there has never been an approval or denials of any involvement. Which brings the things in grey area.

The book has a record of chronic health issues, and being in the toughest prison brings the works out of these issues. We'll never know if the prison broke the person first or the life force but this is just another name in the list of people who are not approved by power. But the power is never absolute, and there will be a day when the power will shift. Of course, it is the biggest fear of the powerful but it happens.

The second half of the book sounds like a prison diary (it is expected to be repetitive when the writer didn't survive the prison to tell the whole story). People had a right to hear the whole story but then the right is not everything in such a nation state.

You did not leave a legacy but you left a story memorable or otherwise.

Peace

Red Memory by Tania Branigan

Denial is the first of the coping mechanism. Not because it helps to forget but choosing not to remember it makes it tolerable. And once the denial has been long enough, it hardens the nonchalance.

The wrongs of the authoritarian is not in one person but in the collectivity. The book is full of instances where the people who were on the wrong side know this in the retrospective but don't want to do much about it. Even accepting it can change the lives forever. And the lives of the people who lived to not tell the story. The ones which are lost are never coming back.

Another important point is that it takes a lot of efforts to hide the things but the machinery always choose to put efforts in hiding the things rather then accepting and working on it. But working was never an option which is why they end up teaching everyone to live in denial. Even to the people who lost their loved ones.

But how long one can hide the truth? The truth survives the lives of everyone. The truth is just waiting in one person, one record, or even one memory, and when it is out it is not going to change the world but it will be the symbol of what happened.

Peace

Best Loser Wins by Tom Hougaard

A book about trading which doesn't really have a much information about trading. This is more about how to cope with the losses and trust in the process even when sometimes the results are not in your favor.

Trading is a game with loosing prominently irrespective of how long you've been doing it. You can learn the analysis and charts but this doesn't prepare you to face the losses and the situation that comes after the losses.

The book doesn't really have a framework for trading and it tries to force stoic in trading which is easy from a point where one ends up with making money. From the opposite side this is not easy to cope with. The loss is not just a financial loss but it also brings a the after effects of these losses.

Skip this one and, if possible, avoid using any telegram channel for trading/investment advice.

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How Migration Really Works by Hein de Haas

Can a rational scientific study clear the myths about migration? The myths that make the migrants others. The migrants who are targeted because the look, eat and speak different.

Maybe not because a lot of negativity against migration is politically motivated. Migrants are easy scapegoats who can be blamed for anything that is going wrong. This is a short term diversion from the actual problem but politicians who use this as a political tool don't understand the long term effects of such positioning. The short term effects are hate crimes, attacks, marginalization, exclusion etc but the long term effects are that these groups are never scene as one even after generations have lived in the same country.

This book provides a whole list of counter points against all the common myths against migrants with the data. So next time when you hear that migration is all time high, it causes job loss, walls are going to reduce migrations etc, you can cut the noise, and see through sloganeering.

Peace

Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis

This book started on a positive note but you can hear a lot of conspiracy theories in the background of this content. The idea of richest families or the biggest companies running the world is an old theory and never sticks.

Of course, big tech companies are very big and have so much information about people which can be used in various ways to influence a larger population but in the end these companies have their own demons to hunt. Their prime motive is to make more money. And to serve this purpose they serve a lot of masters. Not just the buyers or advertisers from a brand but for them anyone with money is a client.

There has been more awareness about how big the companies can be, and the arguments in favor of taking stringent actions to rein in the irresponsible hunger for growth is growing bigger. These companies do take advantage of various loopholes in the system, and influence the policy makers to stay on their side but this is not something new. This has been always the case with big be it power, people or companies.

The solution proposed in the end doesn't sound very practical and it is demeaning to call the individual users of the products from these companies as surf.

Peace

Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken

The food is still a problem. Some countries are suffering with shortage of it and others excess. This excess of food has been driven by a lot of innovation in food industry which is more focused on selling more. The food products which are advertised based on which user segment it targets. Nothing wrong in that because that is how the advertising works but there is also a motive of making it more appealing for the other reasons apart from its nutritional value.

This led to adding different chemicals, and processes which was introduced largely for three reasons - to increase the shelf life, bring the texture/taste by lab produced chemicals and second to make the production process scalable. A novel commercial idea was pushed into the market which created incorrect eating patterns and habits in the vast population. Preparing a meal was replaced by a ready to eat food, colas, drinks and what not.

Preparing a meal is still a challenge for a lot of people and the factors vary from lack of time/skills to availability of easy options of buying your food of the shelf. It is not possible to dictate what one should eat but eventually people will have to become more conscious of their consumption, and there need to be a more robust mechanism in place for food testing and approval. Both of them are not good but this is already starting in a lot of places, and expected to grow for the larger good.

Peace

Autocracy, Inc by Anne Applebaum

Gone are the days when a charismatic person full of rhetoric was able to usurp the power, and maintain it with an iron hand.

The latest form of autocracy has become decentralized in a true sense. Which means that all the autocrats that we see around are not in their position because they persuaded a larger population to follow their lead. Today, it is more complex with financial structures, state power, and propaganda machinery keep them where they are. This brings a longevity not because they are more stable but there are many more vested interests in keeping them in power. Which leads to a crackdown on free speech,  systemic graft, and a class of people who thrive in the proximity of such an eco system.

But what is the legacy of such systems/people? Most likely this is not the case of leaving a legacy. This is the lunacy of coming and staying in power for now, and as long as possible without giving any thought to the consequences or the legacy that it is leaving. The decentralization helps a lot with only one face in public and everything else hiding behind that. So, even if it ends, it is difficult to trace the connection between the systems, and bring them to justice. Once, it is over, the whole machinery moves on to building a new eco system to keep it working.

The face always stay in public domain as long as it can be kept. But only the power of people can depose this. But this leaves a vacuum for the others to fill that gap which is where it is important to keep a check on who replaces it.

Peace

Exponential by Azeem Azhar

The technology around us is growing so fast, and it is getting more and more complicated. This novelty of usage and implementation leads to a lot of void between the tow groups - the one who create this, and the one who need to find a way to regulate it.

There is no doubt that the regulation has been lacking in understanding of how to fill this gap. This is not an easy question specially when it requires two disjointed set of people to come and discuss in one language. This gap in communication has created a lot of loopholes and distrust.

What is important is that we understand and assign the liability or any new tech without limiting the functioning and scope of innovation. And this should come from both sides. Of course, tech can keep innovating new things but they should also need to understand that when this tech is released in a public domain, the safeguards are in place to avoid any misuse of it. Novelty makes it a bit difficult to put these checks in place but that can't be the reason to let the things growing unchecked.

Of course, a lot of the arguments go into a direction of potential stifling the freedom to build and choose but this is where a positive discussions and policies play an important role.

Peace

This Exquisite Loneliness by Richard Deming

Loneliness is a bit confusing. Not because it has negative connotations but because how it can be defined by and for different people. Loneliness epidemic is a new word because there are more research in identifying the people's mental state in a disconnected world. However, the world is not really that disconnected but a lot of people get lost in the modern way of meeting people. Anyone who can't connect in that way may end up being lonely.

But is being lonely that bad a state? Finding peace is one of the most common modern mantra. It looks like that people want the relationship or companionship which happens one way. It doesn't accommodate the needs of other people. It hopes to treat people on a drop of a switch. If only they could on and off people in their lives as they want.

This book is more positive. It brings the story of people who not only appreciated but used the loneliness as an opportunity. The stories of artists, philosophers, writers etc and how they dealt with their loneliness. It does lead to some negative aspects of life like depression, addiction which comes with it.

One point which might have been missed was that in all the stories, the loneliness happened by choice or by chance. And even if it led to some good things but everyone had that longing of being around people.

Humanity doesn't grow in isolation, which is why it is important that in a changing world, people are equipped to be a part of society in a better way where we can differentiate our condition as isolated, lonely or disconnected.

Peace

Invention and Innovation by Vaclav Smil

The gap between the invention and its widespread application is something that only time can fill or leave empty.

History is full of innovations which never felt like one until it reached at an adoption level that it became a part of civilization or changed the human perception. This book has the example of innovations which were amazing in the beginning and claimed to be bringing a new world order but couldn't stand the test of time. Other innovations which just failed, and the last which are still in progress and may or may not succeed to deliver what they promise now.

There is no point in listing these innovations here but the one thing that was missing in this book was the affect of these innovations on the environment and human behaviour. One can easily see that some of the innovations which eventually became successful were not successful for all, and it wrecked havoc on the ecology. The benefits of these innovations were limited to a set of people, and were cashed out blatantly in the name of innovation.

The whole idea of competition deriving the innovation was used so crudely while it actually meant that anything that could make the human life better was monetised. And if that was not enough there has been regular outcry against the regulations which define the ownership or responsibility of some innovations gone wrong.

There is nothing wrong in innovation. In fact, this is something that life forms, human or otherwise, thrive upon. But what do we do when the innovations do more harm than being beneficial. And the onus is not only on the innovators but also on the stakeholders who monetise it.

The book doesn't really provide a lot apart from the writer's own views on innovations. Nothing much to be missed here.

Peace

Food Isn't Medicine by Joshua Wolrich

The whole idea of fixing your life with food is a bit far fetched. Food is important but it is important to understand that a body need all the nutrition, and excluding or overdoing anything can lead to more imbalances.

This is a good book to get some real insights about dieting and the whole fed around the superfoods and what not. When there are dieting tips all around from an Instagram reel to food myths in blogs/magazines it is easy to get carried away by a trend just because it is trending. The idea of minding your food is not bad but not to the extent that you start looking at it as a solution for all your problems and start monitoring it instead of enjoying it.

And the most important lesson is to stop and think before you fall for misinformation.

Love

When Crack Was King by Donovan X. Ramsey

There will never be an exact estimation of how many people were lost during the crack epidemic in 80s and 90s. And it is more difficult to find the aftereffects on the people who lost a loved one in that epidemic.

This book tries to bring the stories of the people who saw and lived that epidemic first hand. For an outsider it is difficult to know what these people were going through but one can't oversee its outcomes with generations lost to crack.

But did we got over it after 80s and 90s? Sad part is that it was never over. It just had a different drug at different times. From opioids, to crack or to fentanyl now, it was always the addiction only the substance was different. In fact, in a lot of cases the chemistry was same.

It is not difficult to get people clean but it requires honesty from both sides. And before the blame game starts for the failure it is important to understand that there was a framework in place to support these changes at a larger level to contain this.

Peace

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

How far a business can go to make money?

Sackler is not really a dynasty. It is a bunch of people who didn't mind making money by any means possible. The irony is that with all this money they wanted to establish their stature in a society that they thought was important. They bought/sponsored all the arts and music but it might have been just another business deal. Highly likely they understood the price but never the value of those art pieces that they could buy.

Since no one ever got any jail time for their misdeeds, it is a prime example of what money can buy. And remember they were not the only one who minted money during those unfortunate years of opioid epidemic. But they were the only one who tried to hide it all behind the art and other things considered more humane.

Peace

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

This is the smallest book to give you direct pointers to identify what is happening around you. And it is so straight forward that one need to close his/her eyes for not seeing what this book projects.

Tyranny was never out. It was always there in one form or another, and not just in the countries that people know about but also where is got covered in the name of everything which was not real.

This is a must read book to understand what potential trends one should watch out for. Because not seeing them or ignoring them is not going to help anyone. It is important to see them and stand up against them. You may never see one face or a whole entity with a face of one person but the trends are going to show up anyways.

History is full of examples where tyrants were out fishing in a troubled water, and got a large number of people aligned with their agenda. So, in the end, it is always the people who give power to it, and its only people who can take this power back. Choose wisely what you stand with.

Peace

The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend by Rob Copeland

Story of money again. Or how the money corrupts things.

This is a story of a fund which made a lot of money for everyone involved but the Ray Dalio was the biggest beneficiary. And it is not much about how he made money but what he did when he earned a lot of it. Specially, the work culture at this fund.

From the narrative, one can see that the people were part of it because of their own interests, and mind it that they were not really poor or desperate. These people just couldn't let go the salary they were paid in return of going through all the weird things which were happening there. Most likely they never realised how they are paying back for those compensations.

Last thing, the founder was never a legend. He might be someone among a group of people with a lot of money but legend is not a right word in this context.

Peace

The Shortest History of India by John Zubrzycki

This is actually the shortest histories of India, and like any other short history doesn't provide a lot of details. However, it does provide the framework on which a reader can build a better understanding about a topic of choice.

The book is very well written with a tight editing but it does follow a very streamlined structure following the changes from all directions in India. Which leaves a lot of room to fill in with the details but ultimately providing the details is not the goal of this book.

So, don't take it for a full picture but more like a map to follow.

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