Lessig addresses the burgeoning copyright issues that we are seeing spawned by the internet. He argues that we need to strike a new balance between allowing the amateurs to engage in a “read/write” culture and protecting the copyright of artists without forcing modern creatives to run from the law.
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“Why We Make Mistakes” by Joseph T Hallinan
This book provides a solid overview of, and antidotes for, the most common reasons we make mistakes. Some of the more common reasons for mistakes (antidotes) include overconfidence (be less confident), unrecognized biases (take a step back to identify what is influencing your decision) and familiarity (have someone else take a look at your your project). Hallinan keeps the whole book light, but meaningful and includes many, often humorous, examples.
Interesting tidbit: Patients who had a reversible version of a surgery performed were more likely to be less happy than patients who underwent the permanent version of the surgery. Hallinan cites Loewenstein: “Hope impedes adaptation.” In other words, as long as we have a chance, we resist adapting even if it means sacrificing our own happiness.
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Rives: Reinventing the encyclopedia game
Rives introduces us to an encyclopedia game that he calls “Chimborazo!” From his website:
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Enter any word in the search bar.
3. Read until you find a fun fact.
4. Make note of your fact.
5. Click on the hyperlink of an interesting word.
6. Make note of your word.
7. Read until you see another interesting hyperlinked word.
8. Repeat Steps 5-7 until your current link contains your first word. Your back where you started!
9. Find another fun fact and make note of it. -
David Christian: The history of our world in 18 minutes
A fantastic overview of the life, the universe and everything. -
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths” by Kevin Dutton
Delving into the fascinating realm of psychopathy, Dutton focuses on the many virtues that can be gleaned from this 1 to 2 percent of the our population. Contrary to many myths, most psychopaths are fully functional members of society and include CEOs and US Presidents. Indeed, many of their core attributes–stoicism, the ability to make hard decisions quickly, a lack of emotional attachment–makes functional psychopaths more ideal than the average person for high pressure, fast paced positions. Dutton also makes an interesting connection: many attributes of psychopaths are also shared by the “spiritually enlightened.”Interesting tidbit: psychopaths are more likely to offer and provide unsolicited aid to someone who obviously needs it (such as someone having difficulty functioning with a broken limb) than a normal person.