A very interesting read about schizophrenia and the Galvin family.
As their twelve children passed through adolescence, Mimi and Don Galvin watched heA very interesting read about schizophrenia and the Galvin family.
As their twelve children passed through adolescence, Mimi and Don Galvin watched helplessly as six of them became psychotic. The author does a superb job balancing writing about the family with what is known about schizophrenia, including current research as well as the history of how it has been understood and treated over the centuries. Learning about the family members' motivations and how their lives were turned upside down really added to the human interest side of things....more
I started this with the audiobook, which was a mistake. For one thing, the illustrations are one of the best parts! For another, the narrator made a cI started this with the audiobook, which was a mistake. For one thing, the illustrations are one of the best parts! For another, the narrator made a choice to speak in a monotonous robot voice when reading things contributed by an AI. I understand this choice, but the hilarity comes from the absurd things being offered as totally normal, like “Star Sh*tter” being a serious suggestion as a name for a My Little Pony. Lastly, the audio just had this canned sort of quality that made it very conspicuous that I was hearing an electronic recording, not listening to someone speak to me.
The hilarity of the AI weirdness here is what you can already find on the author’s blog, but what this book also does (and does well) is explain what exactly AI is and is not, and what it can and cannot do, all in a way that’s geared to the layperson. You will learn about machine learning algorithms versus rules-based programs, recurrent neural networks, class imbalance, Markov chains, and much more. The educational bits are supported with examples such as AI-generated product reviews (“These workout DVDs are very useful. You can cover your whole butt with them.”), perfume fragrance names (“Santa for Women”), and Buzzfeed listicle titles (“18 secrets snowmen won’t tell you”).
I also enjoyed the stories of other research done on AI, and instances where it did unexpected things, like when a drug dealing NPC in the video game Oblivion kept not showing up for the quest he was supposed to be a part of because other NPCs found it was easier to murder him and steal the drugs than it was to pay him.
I thought this was an interesting and relevant point in the current AI art discourse:
Is all this art AI-generated? Absolutely. But is the AI the thing doing the creative work? Not by a long shot. People who claim that their AI are the artists are exaggerating the capabilities of the AIs—and selling short their own artistic contributions and those of the people who designed the algorithms.
In all, this was an informative and highly amusing read, and I really must insist that next Halloween someone dress up as a Failed Steampunk Spider or King of the Poop Bug....more
I love these guys, their internet content is pretty great. I enjoyed this book, but the silly parts included for entertainment were only mildly amusinI love these guys, their internet content is pretty great. I enjoyed this book, but the silly parts included for entertainment were only mildly amusing. The real draw is the parts where you can learn about Rhett and Link's lives, the history of their friendship and their business....more
Westover has written a memoir that includes what it was like to grow up in a survivalist family with a father who I thought this book was fascinating.
Westover has written a memoir that includes what it was like to grow up in a survivalist family with a father who was a religious extremist and conspiracy theorist, and then how it was to turn away from the morés and beliefs she was raised with to recreate herself as someone with the learning to make her own judgments about the world.
I've read some comments about this book that I vehemently disagree with. For one, Westover makes it exceedingly clear that she is not generalizing about all Mormons, to the point of writing a note at the beginning of the book saying as much. She repeatedly stresses that most Mormons she has met do not share her father's more radical beliefs and practices. People who claim that she is smearing the name of Mormonism are willfully ignoring the truth, apparently in order to promote an agenda of theirs.
And I just can't with the people who assert Westover is fabricating or exaggerating the physical abuse she suffered at her brother's hands. Some people say they don't understand why she kept putting herself in the position to be further abused by allowing herself to be alone with him, but I can think of only one instance when she had any real say in the matter after he had first showed his violent tendencies with her. This was toward the end, when I assume she thought the danger with him had passed, as they were both adults and, to her knowledge, her parents had addressed the issue with him and assured her it would no longer be a problem.
What does strike me is the number of stories where the author explains that the people involved all remember the details differently. And some of these are rather significant differences - like when she remembers a neighbor driving her brother to the hospital with her after a bad accident, but the neighbor denies having been present. Then there is the thought-provoking piece at the end, where Westover points out that the differences in recollections of two specific stories from her childhood would make a major difference in what kind of man her father is - "If the first fall was God's will, whose was the second?"
Then there is how impressive the author's academic trajectory was. I've heard of this kind of story once before, where a person who was inadequately homeschooled (no real structure or organization to it after the parents soon tired of it, leaving the children to fend for themselves in their education), who then went on to rock their college careers. I feel like these people have such a drive to advance their learning once they actually have the means to do so, and are less likely to take the opportunity for granted.
As I said, I found the whole story fascinating, at times just as sad and frightening as it is inspiring, and very well worth reading. Highly recommend!...more
Well, I certainly learned a lot from this book! I have to say, I do feel like my secondary school education was pretty lacking in regard to the federaWell, I certainly learned a lot from this book! I have to say, I do feel like my secondary school education was pretty lacking in regard to the federal (or state, for that matter) government and how it works/what it does. All I recall learning is about the system of checks and balances among the president, supreme court, and congress. That...that's pretty much it.
This book taught me that the Department of Energy not only manages the country's energy supply, but also is tasked with: making sure none of our nuclear weapons are lost, stolen, or explode when they're not supposed to; cleaning up the radioactive waste left by the process of making nuclear weapons; tracking down weapon's grade plutonium and uranium in the world and making sure it doesn't end up in the hands of terrorists; watching for dirty bombs at large public gatherings such as the Super Bowl; and supporting efforts to find alternative, cleaner sources of energy, instead of being so reliant on carbon.
I learned that the Department of Agriculture: manages 193 million acres of national forest and grasslands and is responsible for putting out wildfires; inspects all the animals we eat; protects animal welfare (i.e. prosecutes for animal cruelty); supplies free school lunches for children near the poverty line; maintains WIC and the food stamp program; helps farmers with price support subsidies; shoots fireworks at Canada geese that flock too near airport runways; and assists with rural development, which includes subsidizing health clinics and fire stations in rural areas, improving housing, and ensuring the delivery of electricity and clean water.
I learned that the Department of Commerce oversees the National Weather Service as well as the Patent and Trademark office, regulates the fishing industry, runs the United States Census, and collects all sorts of data that is then available for researchers to use in various efforts.
Lewis spoke with various people who had worked in these agencies and asked what they view as the most concerning risks to our nation today. The answers dealt with: maintaining and securing nuclear weapons; North Korea, which has been firing missiles into the sea, possibly as experiments in preparation for an attack of some sort; Iran, which now has much more freedom to obtain nuclear weapons of its own after the current administration backed us out of the Iran deal; the safety of the nation's electrical grid, which actually consists of a patchwork of not terribly well-managed regional utilities, and which underwent half a million cyber-attacks in 2016 alone; and project management. Or rather, the project mismanagement we risk when the government is run by people who don't understand how it works and are not disposed to listening to and trusting the experts, and who want to shrink the world down to a worldview.
The point Lewis makes in this book is that Trump's administration seems set on remaining ignorant of long term costs in favor of maximizing short term gains. Trump backed us out of the much-touted Iran deal, which makes it that much easier for Iran to obtain what they need to get their hands on nuclear weapons. His first budget eliminated grant programs for researchers in science, cut funds to the national labs, eliminated all climate change research, and halved the funding for the work to secure the electrical grid. The people he appointed to the USDA removed the inspection reports on businesses charged with animal abuse from the department's website, and lifted the requirement that school lunches meet certain whole-grain and sodium standards. Trump eliminated rural development altogether as its own sector of the USDA, despite how much its programs have helped the people who voted him into office. And the person he appointed to a position in the Department of Commerce, Barry Myers, was the CEO of AccuWeather. He is now in charge of the National Weather Service, and when it was suggested they provide their own weather app that would send push notifications of tornado warnings to all users for free, Myers would not allow it, because as it is now, only AccuWeather's PAYING customers get that information. Never mind that it could save lives, to him it's apparently all about the $. Even with liquidating his own shares in the company with his government appointment, the other shareholders consist of some of his family members, and who is to say he didn't sell his shares to them for $1 and will buy them right back for the same amount when he's no longer in his position in the federal government?
So even though I learned tons from this book, it's not exactly uplifting in its conclusions. All I can say now is that 2020 can't come soon enough....more
This is the second book I've read about the research being done into the therapeutic uses of psychedelics (the first being A REALLY GOOD DAY by AyeletThis is the second book I've read about the research being done into the therapeutic uses of psychedelics (the first being A REALLY GOOD DAY by Ayelet Waldeman), and I think it's just fascinating.
Although I found Waldeman's book more engaging, this one definitely covers a lot more ground. I was especially interested in the chapter on neurobiology - what is happening in the brain when someone is under the influence of a psychedelic.
A good read, and I must say I am very happy that things are starting to move forward with more FDA-approved clinical trials to look into how these drugs can best help people....more
I had a feeling before starting this that it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. The whole spirituality and mysticism thing usually isn’t, although therI had a feeling before starting this that it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. The whole spirituality and mysticism thing usually isn’t, although there are certainly kernels of wisdom regarding changing one’s thought processes that anyone can take from here and put into whatever context works for them. For me, I prefer the lens of cognitive behavioral therapy. For others, looking at it from a more religious viewpoint, as it is presented in this book, is more appealing. It’s about changing your thinking to bring yourself more peace and happiness.
Regardless of it content, the book was a bit of a slog to read because the author likes to make his points by repeating them over and over again. There will be paragraphs comprised only of one statement made again and again with only a few words changed here and there.
Now I know this is NOT what the author intended, but the “agreements” here almost sound like they could be in a how How to be a Narcissistic Sociopath Handbook (only hold good opinions about yourself, and if everyone else tries to tell you you’re a horrible person, they’re the problem, not you.) I don’t think the kind of person who chooses to read this book is in much danger of interpreting it this way, but it just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth after realizing that these could easily be the kind of thinking some people could use as excuses for rotten behavior....more
This book does a good job outlining a straightforward system to try with your behaviorally-challenging children. I haven't put it into effect yet so cThis book does a good job outlining a straightforward system to try with your behaviorally-challenging children. I haven't put it into effect yet so can't attest to how well it works in our case, but the book did have some good information and was very clear and user-friendly....more
This book taught me so much about the state of our country's housing dilemma for renters who live in poverty. I found it very interesting, but the besThis book taught me so much about the state of our country's housing dilemma for renters who live in poverty. I found it very interesting, but the best part is that it doesn't just explain the problem - at the end, Desmond offers possible solutions to help work toward fixing what has been broken for some time. Worth a read for sure....more
The stream of consciousness-like writing did not work for me. The biggest thing I took away from this book is that theI...don’t know what I just read.
The stream of consciousness-like writing did not work for me. The biggest thing I took away from this book is that the author and her husband are pretty horrible to each other. Also, her parents were awful.
And that’s it, that’s all I got. Many people love this “memoir” but obviously this style just doesn’t work for me....more
For some reason audiobooks just don't do as much for me as the same book in e-/physical form does. That being said, I think I find nonfiction a bit eaFor some reason audiobooks just don't do as much for me as the same book in e-/physical form does. That being said, I think I find nonfiction a bit easier to enjoy in this format than fiction. I am supposed to refrain from reading for at least two weeks after undergoing LASIK (and also avoid "screen time", but this is just a quick review posting and then I'll leave the computer, I swear!), and so it's audiobooks for me for a while. I find the easiest way to listen to them and not fall asleep is to upload them to my MP3 player and go for a nice long walk.
Despite this preference of mine, I Contain Multitudes was full of tons of fascinating information about microbiomes. I may have taken a bit more away from it if I had read it instead of listened to it, but I still got a lot out of it. If the subject of microbes and how they are an unseen yet essential part of our lives and the entire world is one that interests you, I suggest giving this book a try....more
An interesting memoir about the author's experience recovering from the stroke she had at age 33.
The writing was repetitive at many points, which got An interesting memoir about the author's experience recovering from the stroke she had at age 33.
The writing was repetitive at many points, which got kind of annoying. It didn't occur to me until near the very end that this might be intentional, since she describes a large part of her struggle being with short term memory. So perhaps it had the desired effect by introducing frustration, but still, what reader wants to be frustrated?
Not only were the bits about her brain recovering interesting, but also other disasters she then faced in life, such as divorce and postpartum depression, and how dealing with the stroke taught her how to deal with them. "I knew that pain and sadness and hopelessness were all temporary; healing involves inflammation and pain and struggle and purging."...more
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