A charming book that a friend recommended as an introduction to philosophy. Part fictional that escapade through existential landscapes and part exposition of the beliefs and theories of philosophers from the early Greeks through to the 21st century, it’s an ideal introduction for teenagers and adults alike. Just what I was looking for to get … Continue reading Sophie’s World. A wonderful introduction to philosophy
I have dipped in and out of this book, not a thorough reading at all. Here for my own purposes, I will record only the list of people towards the back of the book who have in some way epitomised knwoledge and occasionally wisdom, who might be worth knowing more about some time. This is … Continue reading Knowing what we know by Simon Winchester
In university in the early 90’s a group of us came across the Santa Fe Institute. It wasn’t part of the syllabus, it was an outgrowth of the discussions of a group of wonderful friends, studying mathematics, statistics and actuarial science: shout out to Greg, Steven in particular. If I recall correctly it was Greg … Continue reading Complexity – A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell and the Santa Fe Institute
Based on the book Dominion by Tom Holland, this post covers the period of the Enlightenment c 1750 through to the modern Era A Jewish student of Manasseh, Baruch Spinoza, expelled by the Jewish synagogue in Amserdam, in 1656, writes a book, his Theological-Political Treatise in defence of religious liberty. He brought a new philosophy, … Continue reading A brief history of Christianity (part 4 of 4)
Based on the book Dominion by Tom Holland. This post covers The discovery of the New World, the reformation period from c1500 to c1750 and overlaps with what we now call the Renaissance era… In Spain Isabella is queen of Castile, and her husband, king Ferdinand of the neighbouring realm of Aragon have pushed back … Continue reading A brief history of Christianity (Part 3 of 4)
Based on Tom Holland’s book Dominion. This section covers c1000 to c1500, including the Latin Reformatio, and the crusades. In c1025 some clerics in Orleans claimed there was no such thing as the church and are the first to be executed as heretics. Up to this point priests, unlike monks, had never pledged themselves to … Continue reading A brief history of Christianity (part 2 of 4)
This is based on my reading of Dominion by Tom Holland, who gives a detailed narrative the history of the development of Christianity and its influence on global thinking over two millennia. In the words of Jewish scholar Boyarin, Christianity emerges from the Roman Empire as ‘the most powerful of hegemonic cultural system in the … Continue reading A brief history of Christianity (1 of 4)
If you haven’t watched it, stop now, go and rent it, and watch Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One“ (RPO). The movie is set in “the Stacks”, a high density city of container homes situated in Columbus Ohio in 2045. It is a world where everyone spends most of their time online in Virtual Reality world … Continue reading Ready Player One: a vision of the future
This book was recommended by so many podcasts and work colleagues and I finally got around to reading it. It’s an excellent read I would thoroughly recommend it as one of the most potentially life changing reads you could complete. As a society we don’t understand sleep, and don’t value it. This book will change … Continue reading Why we sleep by Matthew Walker
A fascinating read about human evolution from c 12000 bc by a scientist anthropologist with tremendous real world experience. He hypothesises about the key driving forces that have really made the world as we know it today, a world largely dominated by Eurasian societies and provides compelling evidence in support of those hypotheses. This book … Continue reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Here's something that inspired me... 