Here you will find a chronicle of what I’m reading right now, the ideas that are shaping my ever-changing world view. Feel free to read along with me.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot, learn, unlearn and relearn”. - American Futurist, Alvin Toffler In a world where the half-life of skills is shrinking, we have to get comfortable with the idea of learning and re-learning, just like Alvin Toffler says … Continue reading On Writing
Ficciones is a collection of some of Jorge Louis Borges most compelling, philosophical (fictional) fantasies. The mind-expanding Library of Babble and the Garden of Forking Paths are among the outstanding short stories contained in the book. Borges's gift is to take complex concepts about subjects as obtuse as quantum physics, multiple futures, time travel, and … Continue reading Ficciones
Anyone interested in the future is (or should be) familiar with Yuval Noah Harari's work. He is one of the great philosopher-historians of our time and he poses the questions all of us should be asking ourselves and each other. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is his latest offering. It's not my favourite book … Continue reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
"A great company is a conspiracy to change the world." "Darwinism may be a fine theory in other contexts, but in startups, intelligent design works best." "Computers are compliments for humans, not substitutes. The most valuable businesses of coming decades will be built by entrepreneurs who seek to empower people rather than try to make … Continue reading Zero to One
Things are transformed one into another according to necessity, and render justice to one another according to the order of time. ~ Anaximander The Order of Time is a mind-expanding little book. Part physics, part philosophy, the book is packed with strange and wonderful ideas about how the very fabric of the universe works and … Continue reading The Order of Time
It's no secret, Terry Pratchett is my all-time favourite author, and has been since I was an 11-year-old girl-child, told by my English teacher to "go read this book [Lords and Ladies] at the back of the classroom. You're too smart for what I'm about to teach the rest of them." (true story). Although dismissed … Continue reading A Slip of The Keyboard
"Appraising the book by the peak-end rule, I overconfidently urge everyone to buy and read it." ~ Jim Holt, New York Times I concur with the quote. Daniel Kahneman's seminal work on behavioral economics and decision making, Thinking Fast and Slow, is one of the world's least-read best sellers. This puts the book in good company, also on the … Continue reading Thinking Fast and Slow
The monstrously complicated monetary system we have today is responsible for the greatest leaps and bounds of human prosperity, and for the most depressing of depressions suffered by civilisation to date. Want to understand how it works? The Ascent of Money is a good place to start.
This is a strange and wonderful book, filled with strange and wonderful people, and their strange and wonderful ideas. Read this book to be inspired by the power of thinking differently to everyone else - and the marvelous, amazing inventions that can be wished into existence through sheer willpower, imagination, and tenacity. You will meet … Continue reading The Odditorium
Although Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins was written over 100 years ago, it is still brilliantly readable and packed with astute instructions on what makes marketing work - and how to measure it properly to make sure it does. As the old adage goes, "what gets measured gets managed" (The quote is attributed to management … Continue reading Scientific Advertising
