I'll be honest. I bought this book because of the title. I was bored, stuck in an airport with a delayed flight, killing time in a bookshop and the title called to me from across the store - after all who doesn't like a good conspiracy? Despite its random impulse purchase status, I loved this book. … Continue reading Conspiracy (with a very interesting cast)
This book, written by a PHD mathematician who has worked as a maths professor, Wall Street quant and data scientist (in other words someone who knows what she is talking about) is essential reading (in my opinion) for contemporary humans. The book explains the biases built into big data and the resulting inequality and damage … Continue reading Weapons of Math Destruction
Following on from Sapiens, Homo Deus is as illuminating as its predecessor. This volume looks at transhumanism, that is the evolution of homo sapiens (that's us) into an entirely new species: Homo Deus, the first terrestrial species to emerge to have created itself, though a combination of biological, genetic engineering and technological enhancements, rather than to … Continue reading Homo Deus – A Brief History of Tomorrow
The first of Yuval Noah Harari's two best-selling books on the evolution of human society Sapiens, just like the book that follows it, Homo Deus (review coming soon), is a must-read for anyone interested in history or futurism. Sapiens tackles the same issues covered by Jared Diamond's (excellent) Guns, Germs and Steel, and Niall Ferguson's … Continue reading Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind
The latest book from one of my favourite authors, Niall Ferguson centres on the history and the importance of networks in building, shaping and re-shaping human history, throughout the ages. The evolution of virtual, digital and physical social networks, in the form of social finance, social credit scores and influencer power, are at the core of … Continue reading The Square and the Tower
They say that if you want to be a good futurist, you should read science fiction. It is hard to argue that forward thinkers like George Orwell and Margaret Atwood and called a lot of things right in Animal Farm, 1984 and the Handmaids Tale. The Tin Men was written in the mid-20th century and … Continue reading The Tin Men
"How the technology behind Bitcoin is changing money, business and the world." The book's blurb is on the money. The Blockchain technology behind bitcoin is revolutionary. Beyond the ICO bubble and the global crypto mania craze, hype there are some really interesting ideas taking shape and shaping the future. Essentially, the Blockchain is the new - smart, distributed … Continue reading The Blockchain Revolution
Michael Lewis is one of my all-time favourite authors. Behavioural economics is one of my favourite subjects. It is no surprise that I highly, highly recommend The Undoing Project to anyone who is interested in how we make decisions and how those same decisions can be manipulated using some really very simple physiological tricks. Not … Continue reading The Undoing Project
If you understand how and why your mind plays tricks on you, you can not only learn to make better, more rational decisions, you can also learn how to manipulate others into agreeing with you and doing what you want them to do - otherwise known as "sales and marketing". In You Are Not So … Continue reading You Are Not So Smart
