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Dan M. (plutotheocracy) - Reviews

1 to 7 of 7
59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
Author: Richard Wiseman
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 11/5/2013


Fantastic little book, packed with practical advice that can be immediately or quickly applied. Cuts out a lot of the 'fluff' of other books like this and gets down to the techniques that actually work.


Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
Author: Tom Bissell
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 11/5/2013


Great book with a number of loosely related essays on why Video Games are important by someone who can actually write. I particularly liked his essay about playing Grand Theft Auto while high on cocaine.


Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who are Bringing Down the Internet
Review Date: 11/5/2013
Helpful Score: 2


Disjointed and somehow already dated. It seems like it was written by someone who doesn't understand the technology that they were writing about. MIght be worth reading if you are very into InfoSec but otherwise give it a pass.


The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays
Review Date: 11/5/2013


A solid if unspectacular book about the history of the NFL game. My only beef with the content is that the latest game detailed is from the Rams/Patriots Superbowl in 2001, so my personal connection to many of the games was limited. That being said, it has great football insights and history.


The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America
Review Date: 11/5/2013


Not my favorite Steven Johnson work: it is less about science and more about history.


The Man Who Lied to His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships
Review Date: 11/4/2013
Helpful Score: 1


Basically, people interact with machines in ways that mirror the ways that they would interact with other people. I was hoping for a book about UI design, but this book is really a standard psychology book, only all of the experiments are performed using machines as the researchers' secret conspirator rather than using a human.


Pandora's Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization
Pandora's Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization
Author: Spencer Wells
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 11/5/2013


It's hard for a book that is so short to be so sprawling, but Pandora's Seed manages it. Wells touches on a lot of interesting topics but leaves the reader to follow up on them. Even so, as he weaves together topics including anthropology, history, hunter-gatherers, indigenous cultures, population growth, diseases, climate change, evolutionary biology, sustainability, agriculture, evolution, genetics, and the environment, you manage to learn a bit about each. Worth a read.


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