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.

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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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Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi

Letters are one of the oldest modes of communication. And then comes the open letters.

This one is more of a collection of thoughts but it comes with its own problems of being one sided. It doesn't offer any solutions but voice the thoughts. It has been long with the thoughts without much progress in resolving the conflict.

Even if it doesn't resolve anything, it is an important collective of thoughts, and hopefully there will be a similar attempt on compiling the thoughts from the other side. It is not much but it is something which has the potential to show the way in the future.

Peace

My Promised Land by Ari Shavit

How far anyone can go only with the faith? Seems if there are enough people who believe in it, it can end up building a country back from a scratch.

Israel as a country looks like a miracle what it is today. A burgeoning economy which is dedicated to entrepreneur, arts, music and what not. It achieved something by the sheer will of people what seemed to be impossible to others. It will be too difficult to say which contributed most but it is a collective force which made it what it is today.

It is full of contradictions where there are different views seem to be equipoised to confidently tell which way the majority swings but these contradictions bring the beauty of thoughts where everything is open for discussion.

Its better not to go into drill down here what Ari has discussed in the book, but it gives you enough food for thought which can help you understand how Israel came to what it is today, and what potentially lies ahead of it in these times of uncertainities.

Peace

The Worlds I See by Fei-Fei Li

Great to read this memoir from someone who went to great lengths to make something which changed the perception of our thinking about thinking machines.

This is also an important read to show that a lot of people are just waiting for a chance to prove their worth. Not everyone gets it but the one who gets it and make it worthwhile is worth cheering for.

AI is a buzz word today but imagining it 20 years back when nobody thought where it can potentially go is bizarre. But here we're with it today.

Maybe not too many thoughts on it for now but it did sound a bit incomplete.

Love

I Am Dynamite! by Sue Prideaux

Even if you don't know Nietzsche you might have heard some of his brilliant quotes like below:

God Is Dead, and We Have Killed Him.

And Those Who Were Seen Dancing Were Thought to Be Insane.

To Live Is to Suffer, to Survive Is to Find Some Meaning in the Suffering.

That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger.

These quotes show his brilliance and the kind of life experiences he might had. But the biography is a different thing. It tells you less about the work but more about the person behind the work. It brings the human face behind those burning thoughts.

This one goes in detail about Nietzsche state of mind and living conditions while he was at a particular work. A man who had so many interests from God, philosophy, music and what not and up giving something that he was aware of before it became famous. He didn't keep his sight and senses to enjoy the reception of his work but once done it belonged to everyone else.

His work has been used in different context specially when her sister and others twisted his meaning to drive their own agenda but that is the beauty of a masterpiece. People can look at it, and interpret the way they deem fit. There is nothing wrong in having different ways to define these pieces until you twist them into a grotesque mask to hide behind.

Nietzsche was never there to explain his work otherwise he would have definitely opposed those grotesque masks but it doesn't diminish the sharpness in his works, and make them timeless which waits till the next one picks it up and found something in it.

Peace

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict by Martin Bunton

This is a good book to have some historical context of the issue.

The issue itself is very complicated and any answer is right or wrong. In the end it depends on the intention of the group who is going to implement it and wish the rationality wins to build the most humane outcome for everyone.

Peace

The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut

Intelligence is not a curse, and anything which comes out of it can be judged in the retrospective.

John von Neumann was a curious mind which tried to answer anything that was asked. A lot of current technological advances from quantum mechanics, nuclear weapons to game theory were influenced by his work. 

However, one problem with the book is that it is work of fiction based on facts. It is a problem because a reader who is not attentive enough may end up taking some fiction for the facts.

A lot of discoveries in science are actively industrialised. The key argument for this is that the business pays the bill for a lot of these researches, and not all of them turn profitable. This is not very valid argument but works well to lobby in favour of commercialisation without taking into the account of consequences, and responsibility.

We're proud of what we've built but we never know what was the real cost of it until all the currencies seem invalid in the face of consequences.

Peace

The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

I didn't know that this is the second book in the series of a working autobiography which led to some loose ends.

It is a quick read, and focuses on one phase of author's life. I didn't read the part 1 (planning not to) but with the sequencing, it seems that part 3 will be about later part of her life.

Why do we need to think about life in terms of business? Is life a business where we make the choices in terms of what we earn out of it, and if it is then what is the currency of this business? Is it a trade off? Every life is worth talking about but not be judged in terms of how much the life was invested in, and paid for. Not even in a metaphorical terms.

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Talking Zen by Alan Watts

This is a compilation of talks by Alan Watts about the elements of Zen.

It is difficult to understand from a book because it needs to be taught in practice. So, if you read this and not interested enough to read more or practice maybe read again, and decide.

Peace

The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green

Why the question of existence of other life forms in the universe is important for us?

This book looks for the possibility of life in the universe from a scientific perspective, and it does include the idea of other life forms that we get from the science fictions.

It sounds a bit absurd that humans need some other entities to make them feel more human. It is very less likely that an extraterrestrial life will bring humans closer. If you look at the famous fictional extraterrestrial lives, it is largely portrayed as a threat with all the weird body forms. Of course it is fiction but we are primed to not trust any such lives even if there is possibility in the near future.

As of now the absence of any such knowledge which proves that we're the only one here doesn't bring us closer to each other is a proof that finding such is not going to change this.

So, we should better look at it as a scientific quest, which if proven with some results will be commercialised for good or bad.

Peace

I Feel Love by Rachel Nuwer

MDMA is famous. If you're out there, you might know it by different names, and understand the legal complications if you're found with this in any country.

This book goes into the history of psychedelic with focus on MDMA, and also builds a case for its use in medical practices, specially in case of psychology. The drug has a chemical history, and later how it was used for the mind altering effects that made it popular among the young generation, and the drug traffickers equally.

And this is where the lines got blurred when a potential drug which could have helped people with trauma and other psycological issues, ended up being used as a drug in black market which makes you happy. Charging the authorities for banning it is not very good argument when the usage was not what it was intended to be. Of course, the authorities took the easy way out of banning, and literally putting a blocker for better informed studies, it can't be called all wrong.

It may get approved for medicinal purposes but that doesn't ensure that the abuse of this drug will not follow. And to get this right, it is important to get it presented not as an entertainer/panacea but a controlled drug which can be administered by a trained therapist under controlled conditions.

Also, just stop saying that it makes you feel love. Anybody who need a drug to feel that is not looking for love.

Peace

Defiant Dreams by Sola Mahfouz

A bright auto biography of a girl from Afghanistan who faced the challenges in a war torn country where all the odds were stacked against her.

From self-teaching all the subjects to sneaking into neighbouring countries to write the exams, securing a scholarship, a visa, and eventually becoming a quantum-computing researcher.

This sounds like a movie with all twists and turns where the protagonist eventually wins with a price paid for this win. The story of Sola is definitely an inspiration for someone who feels that life is not easy for you.

But this whole narrative has a very hidden sub story as well which is of the people who could never got the opportunity. Of course Sola came from a conservative family but there was always someone in the family who was the role model or finance was never a challenge. A stable internet connection and a laptop to work on was the real asset that brought the world to a small room for her. But did anyone else around her got the same support.

It is important that we know and celebrate the story of Sola but this should not stop us from remembering all the other Solas who couldn't make it but deserved it as much as anyone else.

Peace

Economics in America by Angus Deaton

Of course this one was picked because it is written by a Nobel prize winner.

But this is less about the Economics and more about the Economist. The people who explore the ideas behind Economics. As usual there is no strong consensus among the specialists about the best economic policy which depends on various ideas and preferences. Surprising thing is to know that the Economists don't have a lot of influence on policy making because policy has become an agenda and not a tool to identify the best framework, and work on it for the maximum benefit to the general public.

This is an honest book from an insider which has some really funny anecdotes but on a serious note it shows the limitation and flaws of how the practical economics is not coming from the right person but from the ones who are answerable to a small and powerful lobby.

Worth a read even if you're not into economics.

Peace

Owning the Unknown A Science Fiction Writer Explores Atheism, Agnosticism, and the Idea of God by Robert Charles Wilson

The best part of the book is the two short SciFi stories.

It was a bit difficult to follow the idea behind a science fiction writer exploring the God because most of the narrative was based on the myths. Which led to obscure thoughts that came from the imagination.

However, this was a quick read which gives you the idea of a supreme power imagined in a science fiction. The fictions are good but unfortunately they create a breeding grounds for incorrect ideas, and try to simplify things to an absurd level.

When there is a dedicated line of thoughts for analysing the existence or non-existence of god with the options to accept or reject any hypothesis at different levels, the idea of God shouldn't come from fiction.

God needs to be individualised, and not commonized.

Peace