Donovan Laganiere

Mind-Blowing As Usual

Revisado: 12-15-22

Astounding creativity. Maybe I'm just an ordinary monkey, but things always turn out so differently (in a good way) than I've anticipated. Great story and great narration. It's been a pleasure.

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Third Time Listening

Revisado: 06-22-20

This book, while a bit complicated or fast at points, has been an amazing experience. The first read was great... but the next and the next? This book is a work of the highest form of modern art. Is it political commentary? Is it philosophy? Is it just science fiction? It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, this book kicks major ass.

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Poor Narration and Incoherent Theory

Revisado: 02-09-20

To start, the narration seemed almost intentionally robotic---as if the goal of the job was to sound like a text-to-speech program.

I don't want to write two full paragraphs on the narrations, but I separated this sentence because I want to stress: IT WAS BAD.

Aside from the choppy and tortured narration (please, click the sample button before dropping a credit on this) there was an overload of outdated dogmatic psychobabble. I say this because psychology is still undergoing dramatic shifts at its foundations: there is a push for a complete overhaul of the DSM's structure, many opting for a dimensional (rather than the count-the-symptoms (which themselves vary drastically in severity) approach still used in modern psychology).

I couldn't listen past the first ten minutes, which consisted almost entirely of narcissist bashing (we were raised by narcissists, we already know exactly how we've been tortured). I was hoping for something more insightful, but this came off as whiney complaining rather than helpful guidance.

This came recommended after reading Pete Walker's book on CPTSD, and that's the only reason I gave it a shot. Both production quality and content quality are severely lacking here.

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Fourth Time Reading and I Still Fall Apart

Revisado: 02-06-20

This is ... Just listen. I've never heard anything like it. Doubtful I will again.

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Had me to tears.

Revisado: 01-03-20

No need for a full review. More great work by great authors; if you've enjoyed their other work, then you'll definitely enjoy this.

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Good oration, bad philosophy

Revisado: 12-03-19

Almost none of the distinctions constructed in the first couple lectures hold any water. That is, the foundations given for this series of lectures is not fit to support any serious thinking. Here, it's as though the author puts his pen to paper (or gets in front of a class) and lets the words flow without any regard to the convenience of the reader (or listener). One should worry that simply looking at it might cause the whole thing to collapse. Steven Goldman's history of the evolution of science is much more enjoyable and systematically worked out. I would recommend his works for anyone interested in this subject material. And, if you're absolutely serious about the matter, there is no better system of thought than that of Schopenhauer. Reading him, however, is a serious undertaking that involves great demands upon the reader. I would not recommend him unless you're ready to devote years of your life to philosophical investigation.

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Not terrible, but chapters are not aligned w/ book

Revisado: 07-03-19

Reading this for a class, and it's not bad. There is some questionable stuff (I'm thinking of Larson's interpretation of uniformitarianism and it's role in the history of science), but most is pretty solid. Also, now that I'm reflecting about it, the portrayal of the historical tension between religion and science is another bit that is sketchy. Okay, there are a bunch of little things to nitpick about in this book (poor characterization of materialism, who counts as a materialist, and there being no mention of the resurgence of vitalism are some more things coming to mind). The history of science is hugely complex, however, and there's no getting everything right. Like I said, it's not bad. THE REAL PROBLEM is the "chapters" into which it is divided. They are arbitrary, roughly 40 minute chunks instead of the actual chapters as outlined by the author... you know, in the book. Audiobooks with this problem, even ones that aren't for a class, are the bane of my existence.

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Content falls short of true complexity theory

Revisado: 07-01-19

Let me just start with this: complexity theory is great. Instead of shying away from interdisciplinary science, recklessly embracing specialization with no regard for truth, it aims at a comprehensive picture of all science. It's the big papa. However, that's not what I got from this lecture series (though I only made it through a few of the lectures before becoming too disgruntled to continue). If you're interested in understanding complexity theory in its full, unbridled form, then pick up Sapolsky's "Behave". This will by no means give you a full understanding of how interconnected all of science is, but it's a great start. Certainly better than this. If you're into older stuff and like a real challenge, then Schopenhauer's works are another way to get into complexity theory (though the term wasn't around at the time). I can't say that this is the worst introduction to complexity theory, but you can find better (free) stuff on YouTube to get started. Look up systems theory and start from there (starting with chaos theory is chronologically the way to go, but it's not that digestible off the bat). Sapolsky also has free lectures on there that are great. I don't think this is worth the money. I almost want to give it a worse rating to balance out the over-hyping of other reviews on here, but that seems a bit too brutal.

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Starts seemingly naïve, but don't be fooled!

Revisado: 01-26-19

At first I thought the political philosophy driving the story was shallow and boring. However, once things get fleshed out (and we meet "Skippy"), things start getting interesting! I haven't finished it yet, but the odds of the end being bad after what I've heard so far seem extremely low. Definitely worth the credit I spent on it.

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Great so far

Revisado: 12-19-18

Only 5 lectures in, but Professor Johnson has already touched on so many things I've meant to explore yet didn't know how. I'll probably update this when I'm further along, but out of the 20-or-so Great Courses audiobooks that I've listened to, this is one of the best.

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