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I read this because I felt that I functioned as part of many systems, that they were largely dysfunctional, and that I wanted to change that.

I learned about some ways of thinking about complex systems, and some ways they fall into dysfunctional behaviors. I learned about some sorts of stimuli that seem to have more or less impact on systems. I also read about an attitude towards existing with systems that was focused on harmony and not on control. This helped articulate a new lens with which to see the world; it also illuminated another aspect of what sort of life I want to lead.

Definitely worth the time spent reading and thinking.

A fun dive back into the world of the Sprawl. Some of the characterization was kind of weak but that's okay - I'm in this for:

- capitalism is bad
- technology also
- criminal/corporate intrigue
- molly millions beats up everyone, again

It took a while to set up the different threads of the story, and the way he tied them together was neat but fairly predictable, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

Pretty enjoyable story, if messy at times. It seemed like there were lots of things in the story and world that could have gone interesting directions but instead went nowhere. There was, however, also a bunch of stuff that ended up going places! Overall the world was gripping and the characters were fine. I would believe it if I I kept thinking about these characters years down the line, so in that sense it's a pretty good book.

Read this because of an Instagram comment.

This turned out pretty boring and drags out a lot of stuff like "wow in The Orient 'crisis' is danger and opportunity" which is just so tiresome. I found the examples and analogies to be confused (as opposed to purposefully confusing).

I think that the Leonard mastery book has a lot more clear thinking around the theme of spirituality in practice, so read that instead if this book interests you.

W.A. Mathieu's Harmonic Experience is also currently a really wonderful read that is both very musically focused and expresses a certain spirituality.

This was a pretty interesting book about the ways in which I can fool myself into being unhappy. In general I'm pretty good at not doing that, but knowing about these "cognitive distortions" as well as the exercises Dr. Burns uses to combat them increases my awareness of them.

I feel like this has led to some amount of greater self-understanding, and will probably help me talk to friends about their feelings too.

This is your corny uncle trying to talk about statistics, but he is also a real statistician.

The first time I tried to read this book I was put off by the tone but this time I made it through and by the end I thought it was very cute.

In terms of statistics I do feel like I have a slightly better intuition for things now. I would still love to actually work through some proofs etc to really understand some stuff but I feel like this has given me a good context in which to do that.

I read this book straight through; I am not an experienced composer. I'll be back in the future once I run into specific problems when making music.

In the meantime I've learned a lot about how to listen to music and for that it is already worthwhile. I found the sections on attentive listening, effective melodic composition, harmonic vs surface rhythm, and composition forms all very enlightening. This is another one of those books that seems to uncover a whole slice of the world by giving me the tools to think about it.

Cute little book that goes over the basics of making things move, as well as a general approach to making stuff in an exploratory way. There are some fun tricks in here that I'll probably reach for in the future.

I'm totally new to this "Labor Law" thing and picked this up because someone sent me an email about it. Things I learned:

- individual workers need to be protected from unions as well as their employers; though on balance unions are probably more interested in the workers' benefit than their employers are
- collective action need not be through a formal union
- there's a lot of trickiness around what's legal to do and what's not - doubly so if you're part of a formal union

Things I need to think about:
- this seems very geared at traditional 'working stiffs.' How does this apply in a tech industry context?

I picked this up on a whim. I found the thinking muddled & the old-memes tone grating. There are better books with fewer words that teach you to look at things - Picture This by Molly Bang comes to mind.

It's good to recognize historical and technical influence on design but I found the treatment here surprisingly flat.

I particularly enjoyed the dialogue around "building a teaching community," which prompted me to think critically about my own actions and how they reinforce or transgress against existing power structures. Overall this book did not feel revelationary to me but provided another perspective on power, on teaching, and on critical thinking. My biggest beef would be that I don't feel like I understand what she meant specifically by "liberatory practice" or "education as the practice of freedom." Does she mean that, by encouraging students in their development as whole human beings, you are freeing them from... something? Freeing them to be their best selves? Given how central that is to the book maybe I should have a better understanding after finishing it. Maybe the next time I encounter this idea, this book will have given me a good foundation for "getting it."