Lucy A. Pithecus

Intriguing stories & insightful analysis

Revisado: 10-02-24

A collection of fun and intriguing stories that systematically tell a series of connected insights like peeling an onion layer by layer. Great fun with lots of "yup" and "aha" moments.

It also shows readers that information is power —I can't unsee many things that the book points out, even though they had been either invisible or completely mysterious to me prior.

A perfect book to pair with this book is "Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI" by Yuval Noah Harari, which came out exactly one week earlier. The Nexus book provides a structured and insightful analysis of how real (and fake) information changes society at the individual and the collective scale. It also offers recommendations on how to view and leverage information to be mindful of manipulation. Together, they give me a new appreciation of how information and societal change intertwine and resist each other simultaneously.

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Why AI is not the winner of the 2024 Nobel

Revisado: 09-13-24

After I learned that both the 2024 physic and chemistry Nobel Prizes winners used AI tool in their winning projects, I found this book even more relevant and critical. The winners use AI as a tool, with clearly defined purposes and designs. AI was aiding (not guiding) their discovery process. This is the key point of this book - how and why information dissemination and its tools are what push history forward, but the human and how we use these tools. With AI this powerful, and even self-driving tool, designer and users need to be extra mindful of control and oversight. This book provides compelling reasons why and practical advices on how.

This book explains the current war between information, misinformation (unintentional mistakes), and disinformation (intentional misleading, aka lies) by providing a systematic and insightful analysis of information throughout human history and how it works to change individuals and society.

It provides relatable and enjoyable examples and useful tips on retaining control of our acquisition, dissemination, and utilization of information. The author's engaging style makes the discussion not just informative but also relatable and enjoyable.

A perfect book to pair with this one is "Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering" by Malcolm Gladwell, which came out exactly one week later. The Tipping Point 2 book offers a collection of fun and intriguing stories that systematically tell a series of connected insights, like peeling an onion layer by layer. Together, they give me a new appreciation of how information and societal change intertwine and resist each other simultaneously.

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Science! Fun, Alluring, Hardcore Science.

Revisado: 12-23-23

This book is from a scientist - it's informative, intriguing, engaging, and thought-provoking, leaving me wanting more.

I needed to learn more about this topic, not from a politician, an influencer, a journalist, or a social scientist, but from a natural scientist who studies this systematically with a skeptical mind specialized beyond the human-centric methodology. This book provides a highly satisfactory analysis beyond our 23 pairs of chromosomes but always ties back to how the findings relate to a human phenomenon.

Sex/gender is not polarized, but a spectrum - this book tells you why and how. Performance is the action to conform, confront, and challenge social and cultural expectations. The author contests the nature versus nurture argument in biological versus self-imposed sex/gender preference. He also interrogates the basic unit of selection - genotype vs phenotype. With rich, illustrative, and well-organized examples, coupled with eloquent and beautifully- argued theories, this book helps me understand.

I highly recommend it to anyone curious about this topic and willing to keep an open mind.

If you like this book, check out the author's previous book, "The Evolution of Beauty, How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us" (2017). If you want to read more about natural selection in the animal kingdom, try "Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others" by Lee Alan Dugatkin (2022); if you want more on biology for feminists, check out "Bitch: On the Female of the Species" by Lucy Cooke (2022).

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Curiosity-Satisfying & Mind-Opening

Revisado: 12-16-23

This is a beautifully written book to intrigue and inform. The authors approach curiosity from different angles and expand the understanding of why and how we are curious from neurologic, physiologic, cultural, behavioral, and emotional perspectives. In places, the contents are deep and require focus and pondering, which I enjoy very much.

I benefit both intellectually and emotionally from its themes of "being open and curious" and "everyone is curious in different ways". I also learned new ways to be curious, identify my intrigue, demonstrate my curiosity, and communicate my interests.

There is a missed opportunity for this book to have a male and a female narrator since it has two authors of different genders. The narration could also be softer at times.

If you are interested in the human mind and am curious in more angles, check out Touch Matters: Handshakes, Hugs, High Fives, and the New Science on How Touch Can Enhance Your Well Being by Michael Banissy (2023); The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life by Joseph Ledoux (2022); Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke (2021); and The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too), by Gretchen Rubin (2017).

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Best Companion for A Flight

Revisado: 12-02-23

What matches your miserable flight better than a book about why your flight is so gloomy? The book is a systemic review of the root, development, trend, and suggestions for reform. It also provides practical recommendations at the end. It's informative and insightful - I learned a lot.

This book tells the history of the flying industry at a high level and could benefit from a few human-centered stories, such as how its workers and owners were affected by the rise and fall of the industry as individuals, not just a class of economic roles. The narrative sounds lecture-like in places.

If you like this book, check out the author's other works. If you are interested in the insights of other industries that is part of our daily life, try (listed chronologically)
- Cyber security industry - Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks
by Scott J. Shapiro (2023)
- Health care industry - "Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It" by John Abramson (2022)
- Financial industry - "Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing" by Jacob Goldstein (2020)
- Grocery industry - "The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket" by Benjamin Lorr (2020)

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Could have been a blog or podcast

Revisado: 12-01-23

This book has some intriguing and practical techniques, such as 6 Thinking Hats to Boost Creativity and 6 Steps to Approach Problem-Solving. I would give it 5 stars if it were a blog, but there's too little meat for a one-hour essay.

The information is well-structured and not misleading. Unfortunately, less than 20% of the whole book has new information. More than half of the book is about common sense things (such as challenging the negative belief and replacing it with a more positive one), and the rest is about success stories.

I was intrigued by the concept of NLP but found it to be a repackage of common sense. The narrator sounds robotic and promotional.

For 45-minute-to-1-hour in length, the content would be better presented as a podcast than a narrative piece.

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A Pleasure to Learn More About Pain

Revisado: 12-01-23

This book is sobering and informative. It covers the most painful scenarios for human bodies one by one. I learned a lot about my body and appreciate my regular day-to-day activities a lot more.

It has both concrete examples to make you care about the characters (who are suffering all kinds of extreme pain) and scientific analysis to explain why/how that happens and what can be done to ease that. It’s a book you could listen to while doing something else and still fully be engaged and get much out of it.

If you like books on a specific perspective of human bodies as a system, check out
- "What Is Health? Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design" by Peter Sterling (2023)
- “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding" by Daniel Lieberman (2021)
- "Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive" (this book is excellent for kids, too) by Philipp Dettmer (2021).

For specific body parts, here are some of my favorites.
- Brain: "Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built" by W.A. Harris (2022)
- Heart: "Pump, A Natural History of the Heart" by Bill Schutt (2022)
- Hearing: "Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World" by David Owen (2019)

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Answers the Chicken & Egg Question Definitely

Revisado: 11-28-23

A fun and fascinating book on everything egg-related, and answers the question "chicken & egg - which came first" once and for all. I'm pleasantly surprised by the answer and wish I could have thought of it first.

Egg is a day-to-day food item for us human, the source of life for many species, and the fascination of generations across time and geography. This book covers the whole spectrum from all angles: culinary, biology, science, culture, economy, mythology, history, etc. It's definitely a perfect holiday read for fun facts & insightful information, and a great conversation starter, too.

If you want to read more on the crossing between culinary and culture, try "Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us" by George Zaidan (2020) & "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation" by Michael Pollan (2013, or any of his books). If you like books that explore the history and human society from a foodie's perspective, check out "The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket" by Benjamin Lorr (2020) & "A History of the World in 6 Glasses Paperback" by Tom Standage (2006). A fun food-theme fantasy/sci-fi is "Sourdough" by Robin Sloan (2017), which combines our love for bread and our fondness for robots.

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The (Rescue) Party Is On!

Revisado: 11-14-23

If you can do whatever you want to, what would you do?

A new book, a new story, and, in Murderbot's own words, "more innovative screw ups". This book continues Murderbot's adventures and journey of self-discovery (or practice to ignore humans and find time for watching media, depending on how you see it).

The story here closely follows "Network Effect", the 5th book in the series, both for the characters and the actions. We will see our favorites here - Murderbot, ART, their humans, and even the newly minted "free" SecUnit, Three.

The biggest difference, and a major challenge for all parties, is that, in previous books, the danger and difficulties are external, but in this book, it's internal (or existential). In other words, in most previous books, Murderbot is the hero, saving the day. But in this book, is he still?

Nevertheless, we love Murderbot for their sarcastic attitude, addiction to media, and "sunshine" perspective, which are all present here. The story is also refreshing and surprising (but totally reasonable).

If you are new to Murderbot and want to get to this book ASAP, you need:
Book 1 "All Systems Red" - for background on Murderbot and the world.
Book 2 "Artificial Condition" - for ART and their relationship.
Book 5 "Network Effect" - for the rest of the characters and the story background of this book.

Optional (in the order of my personal preference):
Book 6 "Fugitive Telemetry" (the story of which happens before book 5 chronologically in Murderbot's world) - a fun murder mystery in which Murderbot collaborates with the local security who resents him. Helpful for character development, but not crucial for the storylines.
Book 4 "Exit Strategy" - in which Murderbot embraces his affection and affiliation with his humans. Essential to the Dr. Mensah storyline, but not the ART storyline.
Book 3 "Rough Protocol" - in which Murderbot experiences a different type of bot-human relationship. Helpful to the Dr. Mensah storyline, but not the ART storyline.

About the dramatized version of the Murderbot series, unless you are a huge fan of dramatized story-telling with full casts, I suggest you stick with the Kevin R. Free version. Putting my feelings about the casting aside, the dramatized version is about 25% shorter than Kevin's version, as a result, everyone sounds like they are in a rush.

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I hear you, about the science and beyond

Revisado: 10-22-23

This book is an excellent example of how our scientific understanding can improve the lives of individuals and better society as a whole.

This book helps me understand and appreciate the importance of hearing. It shares the scientific basis of hearing as a biological function and its importance in social interaction and cultural context. It's well-organized and articulated. I finished it over the weekend and learned a lot.

More importantly, it shines a light on people with tinnitus and hearing loss and explicitly discusses the unspoken stigma for the hearing-impaired community. Many people suffer tinnitus silently, although their world is never quiet. The author offers some ways of potential relief and hope. For the unspoken prejudice towards the hearing-impaired, he also provides some ideas on educating the public and empowering the affected people.

If you like this book and its research examples and want more on hearing and other senses from the neurological perspective, check out "Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built" by W.A. Harris (2022 If you want to learn another body function/system other than hearing, check out "Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive" by Philipp Dettmer (2021) and "Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding" by Daniel Lieberman (2021). For more about ASL as a language, check our "Language and the Mind" by Spencer D. Kelly (2020).

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