Books?

[vnatale]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

[Libertarian666]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

[vnatale]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

From what I've learned about you so far I'd be shocked if it did NOT appeal to you. But to convince yourself, first watch the above interview with him and you'll know exactly what the book is all about.

Vinny

[Smith1776]

This is going to be a weird contribution, but I did not genuinely fall in love with math until I read the work of Ivan Savov.

https://www.amazon.ca/No-bullshit-guide ... 601&sr=8-2

His books really made me realize how fascinating math truly is. Math is the language for ascertaining what the truth of a given matter is. Basically the strictest form of reasoning that we have.

And when it is taught in plain english, it "takes" in the mind like an engrossing novel or a great movie.

[vnatale]

This is going to be a weird contribution, but I did not genuinely fall in love with math until I read the work of Ivan Savov.

https://www.amazon.ca/No-bullshit-guide ... 601&sr=8-2

His books really made me realize how fascinating math truly is. Math is the language for ascertaining what the truth of a given matter is. Basically the strictest form of reasoning that we have.

And when it is taught in plain english, it "takes" in the mind like an engrossing novel or a great movie.

MUST be a good one as it still has a fairly high used price for a 5 year old book!

Vinny

[Libertarian666]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

From what I've learned about you so far I'd be shocked if it did NOT appeal to you. But to convince yourself, first watch the above interview with him and you'll know exactly what the book is all about.

Vinny

I know what it's about because he has described it on one or more of his podcasts.

I have two reservations about it:
1. It's too expensive for a Kindle book at $13.99.
2. He gets over his skis sometimes in thinking he is analyzing issues logically when his analysis is full of holes.

On the positive side, I see that the negative reviews on Amazon were obviously written by numbskulls.

[Libertarian666]

This is going to be a weird contribution, but I did not genuinely fall in love with math until I read the work of Ivan Savov.

https://www.amazon.ca/No-bullshit-guide ... 601&sr=8-2

His books really made me realize how fascinating math truly is. Math is the language for ascertaining what the truth of a given matter is. Basically the strictest form of reasoning that we have.

And when it is taught in plain english, it "takes" in the mind like an engrossing novel or a great movie.

Actually programming is even stricter because it is subjected to the judgment of a machine that pays no attention to what you wanted it to do, only what you told it to do. It's more likely that a mathematical proof is wrong than that a computer doesn't do what you told it to do.

[dualstow]

This is going to be a weird contribution, but I did not genuinely fall in love with math until I read the work of Ivan Savov.

https://www.amazon.ca/No-bullshit-guide ... 601&sr=8-2

His books really made me realize how fascinating math truly is. Math is the language for ascertaining what the truth of a given matter is. Basically the strictest form of reasoning that we have.

And when it is taught in plain english, it "takes" in the mind like an engrossing novel or a great movie.

Cool. I wanted to buy ‘The Number Devil’, but decided I was too old for it. The Savov book might be right for me.

[Smith1776]

This is going to be a weird contribution, but I did not genuinely fall in love with math until I read the work of Ivan Savov.

https://www.amazon.ca/No-bullshit-guide ... 601&sr=8-2

His books really made me realize how fascinating math truly is. Math is the language for ascertaining what the truth of a given matter is. Basically the strictest form of reasoning that we have.

And when it is taught in plain english, it "takes" in the mind like an engrossing novel or a great movie.

Actually programming is even stricter because it is subjected to the judgment of a machine that pays no attention to what you wanted it to do, only what you told it to do. It's more likely that a mathematical proof is wrong than that a computer doesn't do what you told it to do.

I fear this may lead down to a debate that would be ultimately circular.

Since a computer’s reasoning is also entirely mathematical it’s basically one expression of math vs another.

Either way, I love both fields!

[vnatale]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

From what I've learned about you so far I'd be shocked if it did NOT appeal to you. But to convince yourself, first watch the above interview with him and you'll know exactly what the book is all about.

Vinny

I know what it's about because he has described it on one or more of his podcasts.

I have two reservations about it:
1. It's too expensive for a Kindle book at $13.99.
2. He gets over his skis sometimes in thinking he is analyzing issues logically when his analysis is full of holes.

On the positive side, I see that the negative reviews on Amazon were obviously written by numbskulls.

I'd be interested in hearing when you think his analysis is full of holes.

Vinny

[Libertarian666]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

From what I've learned about you so far I'd be shocked if it did NOT appeal to you. But to convince yourself, first watch the above interview with him and you'll know exactly what the book is all about.

Vinny

I know what it's about because he has described it on one or more of his podcasts.

I have two reservations about it:
1. It's too expensive for a Kindle book at $13.99.
2. He gets over his skis sometimes in thinking he is analyzing issues logically when his analysis is full of holes.

On the positive side, I see that the negative reviews on Amazon were obviously written by numbskulls.

I'd be interested in hearing when you think his analysis is full of holes.

Vinny

I don't recall a specific incident of that but I'll take note of it the next time it happens.

Edit: Here's an example from a comment that another commenter made, about a recent podcast of his (https://youtu.be/qT-dwjVR49I)

"My comments today are about your comments yesterday, You actually stated the the Gulf of Tonkin and the Weapons of Mass Destruction were just simple mistakes, They were CIA operations that were purposeful lies. Both caused millions of deaths and cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars and left dead and wounded thousands of Americans and people from other countries."

[vnatale]

Tonight started and have read 65% of: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America Hardcover – November 5, 2019.

I think it would appeal to many here.

You can also watch the interview with him here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?466664-1/ ... ng-america, which is how I discovered the book today.

Vinny

I've been thinking about buying this book. I already knew about it because I listen to his podcasts sometimes.

From what I've learned about you so far I'd be shocked if it did NOT appeal to you. But to convince yourself, first watch the above interview with him and you'll know exactly what the book is all about.

Vinny

I know what it's about because he has described it on one or more of his podcasts.

I have two reservations about it:
1. It's too expensive for a Kindle book at $13.99.
2. He gets over his skis sometimes in thinking he is analyzing issues logically when his analysis is full of holes.

On the positive side, I see that the negative reviews on Amazon were obviously written by numbskulls.

I just finished reading it. Here is what he closed with:

cience tells us that people retain only a small part of what they learn, so I will close by telling you which parts you should try hardest to remember.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

Don’t engage in mind reading. It isn’t a human skill.

Think of your ego as a tool, not your identity. Track your predictions to build up some useful humility about your worldview. Put yourself in embarrassing situations regularly to teach yourself there is no lasting pain.

The past no longer exists. Don’t let your attachment to the past influence your decisions today.

If you haven’t mentioned the next best alternative to your proposed plan, you haven’t said anything at all, and smart people would be wise to ignore you.

If you are arguing over the definition of a word instead of the best way forward, you are not part of the productive world.

If you are sure one variable is all you need to grasp a complicated topic, the problem is probably on your end.

Occam’s razor (the idea that the simplest explanation is usually correct) is utter nonsense in the way it is commonly employed. We all think our

opinions are the simplest explanations.

Fairness cannot be obtained in most cases because of its subjective nature. The closest you can get is equal application of the law.

If your argument depends on that one time something happened, you do not have an argument. You have a story.

If your argument depends entirely on the so-called slippery slope, you don’t have much of an argument. Everything changes until there’s a reason for it to stop. Mowing your lawn is not a slippery slope to shaving your dog.

Coincidences usually mean nothing. And they are the fuel of confirmation bias. If your argument depends entirely on not knowing how else to explain coincidences, you have a poor imagination, not an argument. Coincidences might tell you where to look first for confirmation of a theory, but that is as far as they can go.

Avoid halfpinions that ignore either the costs or the benefits of a plan.

Don’t use analogies to predict. Look to causes and effects.

Don’t judge a group by its worst 5 percent. If you do, you’re probably in the worst 5 percent of your own group.

Understand the limits of expert advice, and be skeptical of experts who have financial incentives to mislead.

Those are the most powerful points to take away, but I hope you find value in the rest of the book as well and refer to it often. I also hope you find a reason to gift it to someone in your life who could benefit from more productive ways of thinking.

Thank you for reading my book!


Vinny

[vnatale]

Finally, I'm a BIG information person, using two 23" monitors on this computer as I do in my office. Getting information from a tiny (relative to 23" monitors) is just way too inefficient.

23"? I haven't used a monitor that small for years. I'm currently using a 4K 55" monitor.
Here's what I would probably buy today, for under $400:
https://www.costco.com/samsung-55%22-cl ... 55707.html

This is still your recommendation?

I'm about to get a new office computer (with an CPU three times faster than the i5 in my current computer). Would make sense to upgrade the two 23" monitors to two monitors much larger.

Vinny

[vnatale]

Thank you, Vinny.

Believe me, I have been pushing beyond the comfortable speed ever since I saw how many words you read per minute.
Interesting about the down-the-middle with swirls approach. I remember seeing a suggested technique of kind of slanting down and to the right.

The closest I’ve come to speeding up is reading aloud in my head but as if an audiobook narrator has been speeded up. Anything beyond that and the reading comprehension suffers greatly.

In fiction, it helps to visualize everything, and certain books really lend themselves to that. A book on economics, though- I’d be screwed.

Have you kept up pushing?

And, I left this out. Many people worry that if they increase their reading speed, their comprehension will suffer. It's the opposite. The faster you read, the more you comprehend. If you are reading so slow your mind is wandering because it is not being provided information fast enough.

And, vocalizing the words (when you see people's lips moving when they are reading) or hearing the words in your head is putting an upper limit on your reading speed of about 200 words per minute.

200 words per minute is about the average speed of speaking. For me when I'm listening to a speaker provide information at that rate my mind is wandering because it is not being provided information at a fast enough rate. It now wants to get 900 words a minute. Another reason why I prefer to get my information via reading as opposed to listening. It comes in 4 1/2 times as fast as listening to it. I'll listen when my eyes are otherwise occupied and not available for reading.

Vinny

[dualstow]

It depends on the content, but in general no, I have been slowing down and sounding the words out in my head. Sometimes I use the voice of the Frontline narrator. Lately I can hear the neighbor’s TV through the wall, and it’s distracting.

When it’s quiet and I’ve had some coffee in the morning, I do try speeding up.

[vnatale]

It depends on the content, but in general no, I have been slowing down and sounding the words out in my head. Sometimes I use the voice of the Frontline narrator. Lately I can hear the neighbor’s TV through the wall, and it’s distracting.

When it’s quiet and I’ve had some coffee in the morning, I do try speeding up.

Today I at the eye doctors office and waiting to be seen. Pulled out my Kindle to read a book. But there were simultaneous conversations going on around me. As much as I tried to ignore their content, I could not and they were quite distracting to my attempt to read. Pulled out my iPod, put it on loud, drowning out all those conversations, and the reading speed greatly improved.

Vinny

[Libertarian666]

Finally, I'm a BIG information person, using two 23" monitors on this computer as I do in my office. Getting information from a tiny (relative to 23" monitors) is just way too inefficient.

23"? I haven't used a monitor that small for years. I'm currently using a 4K 55" monitor.
Here's what I would probably buy today, for under $400:
https://www.costco.com/samsung-55%22-cl ... 55707.html

This is still your recommendation?

I'm about to get a new office computer (with an CPU three times faster than the i5 in my current computer). Would make sense to upgrade the two 23" monitors to two monitors much larger.

Vinny

Yes, although I don't know about two 55" monitors. I can't imagine what desk setup would make sense with that.

Remember, a 55" monitor has 4x the screen real-estate of a 27" monitor, or almost 6x a 23" monitor.

[vnatale]

With all my routines out the window these past few weeks...it'd been not since last week that I read any of this book...

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead

https://smile.amazon.com/Call-Sign-Chao ... 8&qid=&sr=

In what I'd prior read I'd already read the huge premium that Mattis puts on reading.

At the end there was a reprint of this article about him:

General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis Email About Being 'Too Busy To Read' Is A Must-Read

https://www.businessinsider.com/viral-j ... nes-2013-5

At the end of the book he had a list ofrecommended books (from the above email / article).

But I'm now seeing that, unlike the book, this article does not list those books. I'll look for them elsewhere.

Found a source: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/425 ... al_Reading

I've hardly read any. except for:

Did read Black Hawk Down (and watched the movie several times. One of my all-time favorite war movies.)

Read Hillenbrand's Unbroken (and have never seen the related movie but also read the subject's own book).

This appears to not be the same list as was in the book as the book has Gates's "Duty" which I did partially read.

Or, Tuckman's "Guns of August" which I also read and which was excellent. After I read her description of the person who'd been assassinated which was the catalyst for World War I I immediately made the parallel between that person and George Bush (2nd). I was reading that while at our end of year softball playoffs. As soon as I read the paragraph description I gave the book to my coach, told him to read the paragraph, and to tell me who it described today. He said, "Bush".

I did not read the particular recommended Max Hasting book he cited but I've read other of his and he is absolutely astoundingly outstanding in his writing and providing me information about World II that I'd never previously known, a historical period of which I'd prior read a lot.

Vinny

[vnatale]

After finally finishing that Mattis book I picked up this one to read:

The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

https://smile.amazon.com/Intelligence-T ... l_huc_item

Excellent book so far and will going back to it shortly.

Here is one fact from it: The average IQ of accountants, lawyers, engineers is 125. The range is 97 to 157.

By the way, having started out at a math / science / engineering college and then finally finding that my correct path was in the business school (accounting -- though I always wondered if I'd not been in such a purely theoretical program as a math major but, instead, been in a more practical one that I could have also been an actuary, at the top of the list the ratio to highly paid / low stress)… I come out with this general hierarchy of intelligence...

1) Engineers
2) Lawyers
3) Accountants

Anyone I've known who has an undergraduate degree in engineering and then gone on to get an MBA has given the impression that getting the MBA was "baby" work.


Vinny

[vnatale]

Here is what is on the first two pages of the book....

Vinny

Capture.JPG (103.3 KiB) Viewed 6076 times

Capture1.JPG (116.86 KiB) Viewed 6076 times

[vnatale]

Have also learned from the book that:

If Steve Jobs did have an arrogant mind and followed medical life he'd probably still be alive today.

Similarly, Einstein due to the same, wasted the last 25 years of his life.

The book has already caused me to buy these two books:

Improbable Cause: The War on Terror’s Assault on the Bill of Rights

https://smile.amazon.com/Improbable-Cau ... l_huc_item

Dancing Naked in the Mind Field

https://smile.amazon.com/Dancing-Naked- ... l_huc_item


Vinny

[Libertarian666]

After finally finishing that Mattis book I picked up this one to read:

The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

https://smile.amazon.com/Intelligence-T ... l_huc_item

Excellent book so far and will going back to it shortly.

Here is one fact from it: The average IQ of accountants, lawyers, engineers is 125. The range is 97 to 157.

By the way, having started out at a math / science / engineering college and then finally finding that my correct path was in the business school (accounting -- though I always wondered if I'd not been in such a purely theoretical program as a math major but, instead, been in a more practical one that I could have also been an actuary, at the top of the list the ratio to highly paid / low stress)… I come out with this general hierarchy of intelligence...

1) Engineers
2) Lawyers
3) Accountants

Anyone I've known who has an undergraduate degree in engineering and then gone on to get an MBA has given the impression that getting the MBA was "baby" work.

Vinny

I agree that engineers are the smartest.
Of course I might be biased, since I'm a "software engineer".

[vnatale]

After finally finishing that Mattis book I picked up this one to read:

The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

https://smile.amazon.com/Intelligence-T ... l_huc_item

Excellent book so far and will going back to it shortly.

Here is one fact from it: The average IQ of accountants, lawyers, engineers is 125. The range is 97 to 157.

By the way, having started out at a math / science / engineering college and then finally finding that my correct path was in the business school (accounting -- though I always wondered if I'd not been in such a purely theoretical program as a math major but, instead, been in a more practical one that I could have also been an actuary, at the top of the list the ratio to highly paid / low stress)… I come out with this general hierarchy of intelligence...

1) Engineers
2) Lawyers
3) Accountants

Anyone I've known who has an undergraduate degree in engineering and then gone on to get an MBA has given the impression that getting the MBA was "baby" work.

Vinny

No question in my mind. When I was in high school I was a star. At the math / science / engineering school I was just an average student. Left that to go to undergraduate business school I was again a start. But graduate business school I was back to average.

Vinny

I agree that engineers are the smartest.
Of course I might be biased, since I'm a "software engineer".

[Mountaineer]

After finally finishing that Mattis book I picked up this one to read:

The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

https://smile.amazon.com/Intelligence-T ... l_huc_item

Excellent book so far and will going back to it shortly.

Here is one fact from it: The average IQ of accountants, lawyers, engineers is 125. The range is 97 to 157.

By the way, having started out at a math / science / engineering college and then finally finding that my correct path was in the business school (accounting -- though I always wondered if I'd not been in such a purely theoretical program as a math major but, instead, been in a more practical one that I could have also been an actuary, at the top of the list the ratio to highly paid / low stress)… I come out with this general hierarchy of intelligence...

1) Engineers
2) Lawyers
3) Accountants

Anyone I've known who has an undergraduate degree in engineering and then gone on to get an MBA has given the impression that getting the MBA was "baby" work.

Vinny

I agree that engineers are the smartest.
Of course I might be biased, since I'm a "software engineer".

I think some of the data is flawed. An IQ average of 125 for engineers is way, way too low, unless of course, that is the average of the bottom 1%.

[vnatale]

After finally finishing that Mattis book I picked up this one to read:

The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

https://smile.amazon.com/Intelligence-T ... l_huc_item

Excellent book so far and will going back to it shortly.

Here is one fact from it: The average IQ of accountants, lawyers, engineers is 125. The range is 97 to 157.

By the way, having started out at a math / science / engineering college and then finally finding that my correct path was in the business school (accounting -- though I always wondered if I'd not been in such a purely theoretical program as a math major but, instead, been in a more practical one that I could have also been an actuary, at the top of the list the ratio to highly paid / low stress)… I come out with this general hierarchy of intelligence...

1) Engineers
2) Lawyers
3) Accountants

Anyone I've known who has an undergraduate degree in engineering and then gone on to get an MBA has given the impression that getting the MBA was "baby" work.

Vinny

I agree that engineers are the smartest.
Of course I might be biased, since I'm a "software engineer".

I think some of the data is flawed. An IQ average of 125 for engineers is way, way too low, unless of course, that is the average of the bottom 1%.

It said the average for those three groups. Therefore, if there were equal numbers of all three then the average for each could be:

120 - accountants
125 - lawyers
130 - engineers

That would fit my preconceptions for each group and would come out to 125 as the average for the three groups combined.

Having gone though part of an intense math / science / engineering regimen and then upper level business / accounting courses I can first person testify that the intellectual prowess is far greater to be able to meet the demands of the former than the latter.

Vinny