The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life afterAI

Cory Doctorow

Renown sci-fi writer offers up a hot new take on the current state of the world vis-á-vis the AI invasion. Doctorow is not necessarily anti-AI, but he is decidedly anti-power and anti-techbro. He lays out a pretty clear picture of the status quo, describing the relationship between users, tech developers, content creators, copyright and money. In a nutshell, the thesis is:

When using technology, don't simply think about what the technology can do, consider who it is doing for and who it is doing to. 

This thinking will really lay bare the true purposes, the money trail and what to watch out for with nearly any technology. And probably also any legislation, new product, etc. It is a very fast read and since it makes you think, well worth it. 

3 stars (out of 4)

Code Girls

Liza Mundy

The Code Girls are the thousands of women who were recruited in WWII to work for the Army or Navy intelligence services on breaking codes and ciphers of Germans and Japanese. It is a well researched book and relies heavily on personal statements by the participants. We hear not only the story of the development of codebreaking skills, but also of life for women in the service during the war, the friendships that developed, and the massive & unifying effort that the war was. No-one in the US was not a participant or affected somehow. A fabulous telling of history for the next generations. The downside is the lack of a narrative thread. There are so many people involved (which is part of how astounding everything is) that there are too many to keep track of, and the resulting story is a meander through time and space that isn't always linear enough to be a story.

3 stars (out of 4)

Who is Government?

Michael Lewis

A set of essays that follows a Washington Post series highlighting individual civil servants in government. The idea is that the U.S. Government is so vast, that we can't really grasp what it does. So these essays each fixate on one hyper-narrow function, and bring it to life. Three of these were particularly interesting/effective for me in understanding government - an essay describing the work of an engineer working on coal mine safety, an essay highlighting the work of the office in charge of national cemeteries, and one illuminating the function of the National Archives. Each of these pulled one person and dug in, but it is amazing to think about the tens --> hundreds of colleagues and supporters in those offices that make the whole machine work. It really does make you appreciate the taxes you pay, and lament the dismantling for the sake of dismantling that we are currently seeing. 

4 stars (out of 4)

What if We Get it Right? Visions of Climate Futures

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Johnson is a well known marine biologist, climate activist who brings us an action book on climate. Stipulating in the opening that climate change is causing all kinds of catastrophe, this book is not about being an apologist for "Climate Change is Real" or "Climate Change is Bad". Instead, she spends time interviewing industry leaders across a wide range of influence and expertise. In these interviews, Johnson asks: "In your field, what will the future look like if we make the right decisions and actions right now?". And in the course of these interviews, we of course get to know what those decisions and actions should be. This is largely an inspiring series of discussions. But make no mistake, it is not intended to be motivational treatise. It is a call to action, with actionable ideas. 

Maybe the most disheartening part of the entire book is that is was published midway through Biden/Harris, and is quite positive reflecting on the government commitment to environmental policy and funding. Reading this now, one year into Trump 2, many of the "get it right" actions have been actively reversed or deleted. Even so, highly recommend ... 

4 stars (out of 4)

Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing)

Sal Kahn

This is a review written by Kahn (of Kahn Academy) trying to 1) describe the current state of AI in education and 2) prognosticate about the future of AI in education. First and foremost, Kahn has a particular point of view - he is selling an AI product that has been developed by Kahn academy. The book has some useful nuggets and is pretty straight forward about how AI is affecting students right now. But even on reading it, I found it to be behind. The LLM world and educational culture is moving too fast. Or maybe more likely, the educational culture has been shifting since Covid, and we are only now, as educators, seeing the chasm between where we are and where students are (mostly I am talking about motivation and educational culture here, not student content acquisition). So Kahn's product is selling a particular point of view (highly regulated tools for motivated learners) that is simply not the reality of the current wild west of AI. 

2 stars (out of 4)

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Stacy Schiff

The story of Sam Adams and his role as provocateur in the lead up to the American Revolution from England. He was nearly universally regarded as the prime voice developing the push for American rights in Massachusetts and organizing a collective voice for the colonies. He was very the twitter-bot of his time, publishing in newspapers under over 15 different pseudonyms, and really not very concerned with the veracity of the facts that he published. He had a point of view and was going to promote that regardless of the truth (which is reminiscent of the fake news / conspiracy trends of the past decade). As presented in this telling, it was also very clear that the colonists were in the right in every way, so even this telling had a point of view. The blinders showed especially in letters Adams wrote to Native Americans asking for their support, suggesting that the crown would continue to abuse them, but colonialists would treat them with respect and honor their sovereignty. Maybe he really believed this, but in hindsight it is so ridiculous that is seems self serving at best. Overall, a fascinating biography. 

3 stars (out of 4)

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

Cathy Park Hong

An outstanding book. Hong refers to it as an essay, but is a bit memoir, a bit sociology, a bit historical reflection/interpretation. She is a poet who is describing her journey of discovery about how to integrate her Asian identity into her art, without letting it become the identity of her art. It is an illuminating exploration of immigration, integration, race and identity. While I can't really quote any particular story or moral, I do feel like I have a bit more insight into Hong's experience as an Asian American, and I am thankful for her publishing this work. For me, it is likely a read-again book to catch what I missed the first time.

4 stars (out of 4)

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Linda Brent

This is an autobiography written in 1861 by Harriet Jacobs under the Brent pseudonym. It is the story of Jacobs life from about the age of 10 through 25 or so. The story tells of her years as a slave and travel to the north after escape. I won't summarize the story here, but please read this. It is a fascinating primary source telling of slavery by a particularly unique woman in so many ways. Through the telling her life story, Jacobs illuminates so many misconceptions about slavery that exist even today. She powerfully captures many of the root emotions associated with slavery, and the generational impacts of slavery on both black and white, north and south. This is not a book about slavery, but an exposure of humanity, the corruption of power, persistence, and self worth. Read!

5 stars (out of 4)

The will to change: Men, Masculinity and Love

Bell Hooks

This is my first introduction to Hooks. The book is an investigation of male feminism (both shortcomings and possibilities) for men in a "imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy". She talks about the development and shortcomings of feminism for men, and of the implications of patriarchy, particularly for black men and for women who profess to fight against it. I found her critique of patriarchy to be on point, but wished she would have given more direction for further action or reading. Maybe in 2004, there were not resources available. She states (again, in 2004)

No significant body of feminist writing addresses boys directly, letting them know how they can construct an identity that is not rooted in sexism. There is no body of feminist children's literature that can serve as an alternative to patriarchal perspectives, which abound in the world of children's books.

and I would add in the world of sci-fi/fantasy. So my question is, in the past 15 years, does this body of work now exist? Are there role models and characters in literature (especially in YA lit) that promote alt-patriarchal thinking?
4 stars (out of 4)

I'm Still Here

Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Austin Channing Brown

For me, this book reminded be of Between the World and Me, but from the female perspective. Brown is not writing a letter, but she is writing explicitly about what it means to be black in a white world. Coates book is offering the reader a peak behind the curtain into a personal conversation about blackness, and it is frank and explicit and direct. Brown is up front about her purpose for writing, to teach about and illuminate blackness. Her tone is softer, but weirdly more direct. As a result is comes across as preachy. While reading, I felt like it was good for me to read and informative. Today, I couldn't tell you a single detail.
2 stars (out of 4)

Building Equity: Policies and Practices to Empower all Learners

Dominique Smith, Ian Pumpian, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher

This is part motivational writing to justify why equity is important in schools, and part 'how-to' for districts to assess current equity. They propose an Equity Taxonomy so you can work on different foundational problem areas, and have accompanying checklists for assessment. The book says it is for all educators, but the emphasis (most examples) are from public school districts and mostly lower schools (K-8). So while systemically this might be good for my private high school as a self assessment tool, it is not particularly useful for the individual teacher. The one exception would be the Instructional Excellence chapter that had a few good reminders on the value of explicitly establishing purpose and how to think about progression toward student centered learning.
2 stars (out of 4)

Lab Girl

Hope Jahren

A memoir telling the 20 year story of what it is like being a woman scientist. Jahren is a botanist who documents her journey through grad school and subsequent setting up of 3 separate labs as she moves from school to school to find her home. Along the way, we are invited into her life story where she details the subtleties of scientific thinking, work relationships, funding, mental illness, family, students and humanity's relationship with the planet. All of this is chronicled in a way that truly provides insight into the mind of a scientist. Jahren uses a storytelling device where each chapter is preceded by a short description of something fascinating from the world of plants that she then parallels in her own story. She clearly loves plants and the earth and the amazing life that these plants are. This is clearly communicated and gives the reader a true appreciation for both the complexity of life and the crazy adaptability of living things to make live over generations possible. This is a fabulous story. At the same time, I found it to be a story that easily walks that middle ground of books. Every time I sat down to read it, I was enthralled and educated and engaged. But is was not a thriller/page turner such that when I set it aside, it did not demand that I come back. As such, I was allowed to read this over a longer span that I normally spend on books, and maybe because of this, the appreciation set in more slowly, and more deeply.

4 stars (out of 4)

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived

Adam Rutherford

History of genetics, what we know, how we know it, and what it will tell us soon. Most books in this 'popular science' genre are simultaneously fascinating and so-dry-they-are-a-chore-to-finish, and this book is exactly that. Get it, keep it handy, and read a bit now and then. Don't try to power through, and don't get frustrated that you can't finish it. Even in short spurts, I learned something every time I picked it up. Some of the most interesting things that stick with me are how we can use genetic comparisons to tell us something about the history of migration and what genetic testing does/does not tell us about race. 

Read (slowly)

Jesus and the Disinherited

Howard Thurman

Written immediately post WWII as a treatise on what it means to be a follower of Jesus at the same time you are a member of an oppressed class. Thurman talks about fear and deception as tools that the oppressed utilize to cope with their reality, or as tools to 'get over' on the oppressor. The argument here is that these tools are precisely what Jesus was teaching against and offering alternate ways to cope and 'get over'. Thurman takes the additional step, arguing that in fact, utilizing these will always turn back on the user, in effect ceding your power to the oppressor instead of giving you power over them. In his opening section, and supported thereafter, Thurman sets an important foundation for the argument by showing how important it is to read Jesus life and teaching first knowing the context from which he lived and taught. The book was a foundational work for radically nonviolent social justice movements that followed over the next several decades, and is unsurprisingly still relevant and challenging today.
Read

The Last Season

Eric Blehm

This is the true story of the disappearance of Randy Morgenson. Morgenson was a super experienced, seasonal employee of the National Park Service who worked every summer as a back country ranger in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Forest. These national forests contain the most rugged terrain of any land in the country, with only 1% of the area actually accessible to the public by trail. As a back country ranger, Morgenson was responsible to patrol, both the 1% and the 99%. But in the summer of 1996, he disappeared leaving only a "Ranger on patrol for 3-4 days" note. This book tells the story of Morgenson, before and after the disappearance, giving the reader a pretty good understanding of the person, and of the type of person who is a back country ranger. It also tells the story of Kings Canyon and Sequoia, fully characters in their own right, which would have been exactly what Morgenson would have insisted on. A fascinating read, made more so if you have been to any part of the national forest in California and have an image of the landscape to follow you around the telling.

Read

Frankenstein's Cat

Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
Emily Anthes

Anthes is a science journalist who has put together an overview of the current state of the art science in biotech. And by current, I mean 2013, which in biotech is probably not current anymore. Regardless, as an amateur in the field, she necessarily presents the material in a completely accessible manner, giving the scientific background for genetic modification, cloning, species extinction reversal, bio-tagging and bio-tracking, and cyber-neural interfaces. This is all very exciting science and potentially very useful and/or very scary. Recognizing this, Anthes does discuss the complex ethical issues associated with these new technologies, presenting arguments and issues that are raised by proponents and opponents equally. Only occasionally does she offer her own perspective, leaving the reader to digest the complexity. I particularly appreciated the broad approach to biotech. In the current public discourse around GMO food labeling, there is a lot of misinformation and propaganda being produced by both activists and the food industry. On the specific topic of GMO food, Anthes is able to clearly outline what it is, what it is not and why people care. And then proceeds to place this small issue back into the larger context of biotech. As an introductory survey to biotech, covering so many areas of science and ethics, I would recommend it as an excellent starting point for inquiry into the field.
Read

Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Written a letter to his 16 year old son, Coates explores what it means to grow up and live as a black man in America. He is unapologetic in his identification and descriptions of a systematic racism that exists, and seemingly will continue to exist forever, in this country. His arguments stem from the foundation of this country on slave labor, and the deep capitalist identity that this country has owned. One cannot have a capitalist identity (where capital is god) without recognizing that the first infusion of capital has human. Coates primary language of this capital is Body. He is eloquent in his description of the role of the physical body in the identity of blacks. Admittedly, he recognizes that he does not have a faith system that allows him to spiritualize anything. So when a black person is killed, his body is taken from him, and that is all. For Coates, there is no higher meaning than body.

Contrast this focus on the biology with an NPR piece I heard on the radio about "Gender Fluidity". Here we were introduced to people who argued that their gender could change day-to-day. That is, they were not gendered male, but with a female body. Instead, regardless of the biology of their body, they could wake up one day male and the next female. This completely disregards the biology of the body and pushes the source of gender identity somewhere else.

Is body everything... or is body nothing...

Definitely read this book, and then go talk to someone about it. Regardless of your place on the body/spirit spectrum, Coates presents an important perspective on race history and identity in this country. As he states, just as a male will never truly have an idea of what it means to be female, to live in and protect a female body, I will never truly have an idea of what it means to live in an protect a black body. I can read, discuss, be sympathetic, but am always at least one step removed from the body.

Read

My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store

Ben Ryder Howe

A memoir-style telling of the relationship between Ben, a white, pure-bred New Englander, and his wife Gabbie, a first generation Korean American. The story explores the cultural divide between the two as Ben (an editor for the Paris Review) and Gabbie (a corporate lawyer) both change their lifestyle in order to purchase a NY deli as some sort of compensation for Gabbie's mother Kay. The two end up living in Kay's basement in Staten Island (along with several other extended family members) as a way to save money and keep the money pit of a deli alive. It really is a fascinating look at small business, immigrant mentality, asian family systems, upper-crust publishing and multi-cultural relationships. There are so many compare/contrast scenarios that it is a stark reminder that the cultural divide is not just asian/american. It is also wealthy/middle class, white collar/blue collar, commuter/local. Unfortunately, the book either goes on too long, or loses its Mojo because after about 2/3 of the way through, I lost interest. So fun, engaging, too long...

Wait

The Invention of Air

Steven Johnson

Nominally, this is a biography of Joseph Priestley, the late 18th century English natural philosopher (scientist), theologian, politician. More accurately, it is the story of how science worked 250 years ago, using Priestley as a protagonist to walk us through the process. And more importantly, Johnson intersperses commentary throughout to highlight how "doing science" has changed, both for better and worse. So while this is a biography and presentation of the historical record, it is also an opinion piece and a persuasive essay. Mixing this all together is ambitious, but Johnson is up to the task and, at least from the point of view of this scientist, hits a home run.

The foundation for the story is the scientific life of Priestley and his experimental investigation of air. He, along with Ben Franklin and a group of intellectuals that refer to themselves as "The Honest Whigs", over the course of 10 years in the 1770's are discovering the physical properties of air. Before this time, air was invisible nothing, and therefore there was nothing to discover. But new equipment (accurate scales, air pump, etc.) make investigation possible. Priestley is credited with "discovering" oxygen, and recognizing that plants and animals affect "common air" differently.

What I love about this book is what Johnson refers to as "the long zoom view". The fact that plants and animals affect air differently could be just a scientific fact. But these intellectuals are not just scientists. They are theologians, politicians, industrialists, etc. as well, which allows them to see "fact" differently. In this case, Franklin takes the 'affect air differently' fact and posits a systems view of life on earth. That is, he suggests for the first time ever the idea of an ecosystem and the possibility of a necessary global homeostasis. This is astounding insight. But it is not just his. Johnson suggests that most of the discoveries and scientific epiphanies that occur during this time are really the result of two social artifacts:

1. the communal nature of science. The Honest Whigs did not have a proprietary sense of knowledge. Instead, they were acting proponents of open source knowledge, sharing everything with each other and even with their scientific and industrial rivals. So Franklin on his own never makes this ecosystem observation, and
2. the long term "leisure" life of the scientists. That is, Priestley had 20-30 years of a hunch about the scientific fact of air being different that the common understanding of air. During this time, the idea was percolating and bouncing around as he investigated other things, as he shared ideas with others, as he delved into theology. Were Priestley to be working on a government funded grant that demanded results in a few years, perhaps he never makes the discoveries and history changes (the oxygen idea leads to better gunpowder production by the French, which is sold to American revolutionaries, giving them a military advantage over the British). 

Today's scientific research has neither of these factors. However, you can see elements of them when looking at hot new scientific fields. Big change is happening where open source knowledge prevails, and we the interface between traditional specialties (fields of biophysics, biochemistry, materials science (chemistry + physics), medical physics, etc.) all revealing ground breaking discoveries.

The book is a super fast read, and a great combination of scientific biography and meta-scientific sociology.

Read

behind the beautiful forevers

Katherine Boo

Narrative non-fiction. Boo spent about 5 years interviewing people and learning about life in a small slum called Annawadi, near the Mumbai airport. She follows several "characters" to explore what life is like in what she calls the undercity. Abdul is one of 9 siblings working in the recycle trade, Manju is the daughter of an aspiring slumlord and one of the few who is attending college. As these two lives intersect with the city around them, we discover just how small their world is as they rarely leave the area surrounding the airport. For most of the book, the fact that it read like a novel was distracting. I continuously wondered if it was actually true, how could Boo have known what characters where thinking or feeling. And as a novel, it wasn't really that engaging. Boo was restricted in her storytelling by only being able to attribute thoughts and feelings that were coming out of her research. Even with these literary limitations, I found the book fascinating, giving insight to Hindi-Muslim relations, corruption, politics, slum life, caste restrictions and hopes & expectations for a progressive life. For some reason, it also made me start to wonder about parallels between Indian poverty and US poverty. Are race and class issues in U.S. cities similar to the caste issues in India? From the perspective of the local poor, how big of an issue is government corruption? Are the hopes for upward mobility in the U.S. just as strong (and just as unrealistic) as described for the Mumbai slum? As a final note, I will also recommend as a companion Shantaram, which is the fictional story of life in Mumbai's underworld, with both books referencing some of the same landmarks and slum life descriptions.

Read