What a reading! And what a beginning this book has! Really powerful and wise. Throughout the book, the author slaps you in the face, again and again. It is a very hard, yet hardening experience. Ferraiolo focuses on the "what", and not on the "how". Don't expect practical resources to achieve what you want to achieve. If you want something, work on it. Perhaps there is no how. Perhaps the how is a mere bla-bla-bla that will become a (futile) what in itself. Some parts of the book are quite awkward, like the abortion defence. The author also seems to be quite involved with firearms. I strongly despise this, and I am not happy with the non-inclusive language of the book either. I found this work 90% very good and 10% embarrassing. I decided to read it until the end, learn what I could (which was a lot) and discard the rest. The essence of stoicism seems to be this: worry about what is actionable, what is on your little sphere of action, and forget about others' spheres. I can agree on this, provided we don't fall into the trap of thinking that everything falls outside our radius of action. For example, take climate change. Of course it is way outside our radius of action to solve this problem, but it is well within our power to change our habits so that we are less harmful. So, don't conclude that you shouldn't worry about climate change because it is out of your radius, because it is not. I think that, well understood, this book is telling you to forget about complaining and start doing what is in your hand. If stoicism is bringing you to stagnation and cynicism, I think you got it wrong. The author does not seem to clarify this important aspect, though. Or perhaps it escaped me. The heart of stoicism begins by deciding what is under your sphere of action, and there is a potential misunderstanding in what this means. There is a lot of things you can do about what is important to you. Just focus on doing them instead of complaining about what others should or should not do. There is another dark aspect here. Throughout the book, the only sign of "cooperation" between people is a chapter about neighbours, which does not end very well. I find this book too individualist. And I am quite individualist, too. But you cannot throw cooperation to the garbage so easily. Sure, your actions are your own, and you cannot endorse other people's actions, and that is why cooperation is so difficult. I miss more meditations about interacting with other people. Finally, what about motivation? The author insists on "do what you have to do", "finish your work", and so on, but this is a pancake when you are already driven. What if you are not? And motivation is a social phenomenon. I don't mean you need to be showered with recognition, or pampered with likes. But virtue cannot be self-propelled either. Ferraiolo seems to rely on a perpetual-motion machine here. Without social interaction there cannot be motivation and consequently there cannot be a directed will towards a bold goal. Yet social interactions are not explored here. I get it: to say "an artist paints a tree because she sees other artists painting trees" does not sound rude and tough, which is the tone of the whole book. But my experience is that without other artists painting trees you would never try to be an artist painting a tree. And the same applies to Stoicism. Perhaps the mirrors in which the author reflects are Socrates and Marcus Aurelius, or Epictetus, but this is still a social interaction at the heart of the problem, and it is not discussed here. In all, my view is that this book has very prominent virtues and flaws. It can be a good source of wisdom for a critical mind, and it can have dangerous parts for a non-critical thinker. I will definitely come back to many of its meditations, but I could never publicly recommend it. It is a pity, because this book reaches extremely high-quality moments, but the embarrassing parts are not acceptable in a contemporary text.
Este es un libro que hay que releer tantas veces como sea necesario, es decir, cada vez que se te olvide lo que son las flores horarias, que olvides su música. También reléelo cada vez que olvides la importantísima lección de Casiopea. ¿Te has dejado robar el tiempo? ¿Todavías juegas? ¿Vives tu vida con una misteriosa prisa que te deja vacío? Quizás sea hora de volver al viejo anfiteatro.
Delicioso libro sobre Moguer, el pueblo de Juan Ramón Jiménez y sobre Platero, un pequeño y suave burro que, según entiendo, existió de verdad. ¿Quién tiene tiempo, paciencia, espacio mental para este nivel de lirismo hoy en día? Entre cada capítulo, el tiempo pasa, como no puede ser de otra manera. Pero en cada capítulo, el tiempo se detiene. Si padeces de impaciencia moderna cada párrafo se te hará sangrante. Este libro requiere estar en paz con uno mismo. Ríete tú del mindfulness. Esto sí que es verdadero presente, verdadero aquí y ahora. El autor se muestra amable con cada criatura, pero cuidado, porque al pobre burro lo monta, lo carga y lo pone a trabajar la tierra. Probablemente el burro más feliz de Moguer y alrededores, pero no el más feliz que pudo existir.
This is a different book. It begins with a very particular premise: the narration of a mathematical olympiad, held at the United States (which the author insists on calling America, as if America were not a whole continent comprising other countries as well). But each of the six problems of the exam is almost an excuse to talk about psychology. I wanted to read this book to know more about the participants, but instead I got a very interesting summary of psychological reflections concerning intelligence, talent and schooling. Quite a gem.
This book is absolutely delicious, in content and form. The author opens the door of her house not only to many birds that don't have changes in the wild, but also to you, as a visitor of such a singular place. As someone who knows what it means to live with a corvid, I can tell first-hand that she faithfully describes these marvellous creatures. She makes you love them even more. And, if you are not the empathic type, it teaches you to at least respect them. Corvids are among the most clever creatures on Earth, and they deserve all our attention and respect. What sanctuary Chicken and her friends found in Esther's home. How lucky they were, given their initial lack of luck, to find her.
Este libro es el primer volumen de una historia de Latinoamérica, supuestamente escrito para leer en la niñez. No me ha parecido que la lectura sea suficientemente crítica con el genocidio que llevaron a cabo Colón y compañía, pero es entretenido e informativo. Tampoco soy de la visión de que los colonizadores que llegaron a partir del 1492 fueran los únicos malos mientras que los nativos fueran los únicos buenos. Tengo muy claro que los nativos de hoy son los colonos del ayer. ¿Cuántas especies no aniquilaros esas poblaciones al llegar a aquellos territorios por primera vez? ¿Qué magnitud de aniquilación ecológica no harían? Cuando hablamos de Homo sapiens, hablamos de Homo sapiens, no de nativos y colonos. Todos potencialmente igual de violentos y destructores. Y todos potencialmente capaces de hacer las cosas mucho mejor.
Un libro que mi madre me leyó varias veces cuando era pequeño, para dormir. No es que sea yo especialmente adepto a la mitología, y menos aún a la egipcia, la cual me es completamente desconocida. Pero el libro es delicioso de principio a final, embelesándote en cada capítulo. Sobre todo la historia de Isis buscando a su amado Osiris. La mitología es muy poderosa porque narra historias que tienen sentido, y las personas tenemos tendencia a creer la primera narrativa con sentido que escuchamos. Todavía hoy construimos mitología alrededor incluso de figuras y acontecimientos científicos. Una pequeña joya.
Me ha gustado mucho esta pequeña historia de un niño que desafía la fe que los adultos pueden tener en él. El autor, sorprendentemente, no te deja entrar por la puerta a ti tampoco, lo cual me parece un aspecto genial, por no caer en lo fácil. También me ha encantado descubrir al Nueva York indio que respira en cada capítulo de esta pequeña delicia.
Una deliciosa historia para leer tanto en la infancia como en la adulfancia en la que vivo. No hay acción trepidante aquí, sino mucha emotividad medio escondida que está narrada con auténtica solidez. Paulina es una especie de Heidi más interna tanto psicológicamente como físicamente, ya que es más reservada y también más casera. Su "Pedro" también es muy especial.
Huxley vs Orwell. But maybe +-------------+ | Huxley | | +--------+ | | | Orwell | | | +--------+ | +-------------+ The problem is not junk TV, but TV pretending not to be junk: news, politics, education... Education: from "how can I use TV or computer to control education" to "how can I use education to control TV or computer".
This book is a must for those who want a serious and extensive analysis on the concept of God. This is the third book I read from this author. I thought he could not repeat the immense level of The Selfish Gene or The Extended Phenotype, but here he is, doing it again. A masterpiece of thought and provocation. Believers always get the easy part in life, thinking that they will live after death, thinking that life has meaning. Well, here, for the first time, it is us the atheists who have a less tough time while reading this book. There is always a first time.
Simply, wow. Amazing, extraordinary, deep, satisfying... I lack the proper words to describe such a masterful piece. One of the best novels I have ever read. So powerful, so intense... And so relevant today, where so many people live under extreme bullying. If you are one of those people who have built such a tolerance that you don't easily become moved or impressed, this is your book. High voltage here, not for the faint of heart.
After loving The Martian, and not having read Artemis, I have found here a story as good, at least, as his first book. It is full of humour, full of good love for science. It is the perfect book for a science teacher and for a science student. It is clever, tender, funny, moving, grandiose... Beware of spoils from now: Some books and films try to explicitly describe aliens and they miserably fail. Others, aware of the difficulty, leave them implicit, which is wise. But Andy Weir achieves a miracle: a very long, detailed description of an alien without failing, for the first time in history, I think. I am expecting a very big and a very difficult film now. Reading this book has been an incredible experience. As if I had truly lived it.
I am fascinated by this book. By its scope, its relevance, its depth. The roots of modern encryption are extremely well explained here, and the author makes an extraordinary effort to make you understand the theory, without the mathematical details, of course, otherwise he would have needed twice (or more) the number of pages, which is already a big number. Don't expect a brief account, or lack of details. Don't expect lack of extremely critical thinking either. There is a strong feeling, after finishing the book, of silence. The author does an incredible effort to explain a hugely silenced story, but once the book finishes, you know the story continues up to this day, yet you don't have the author any more explaining and putting the pieces together. I would love him to extend this book until the present time.
What a book! It is enormous, in both size and scope. Also in engagement. If you love computers, you will love this book. If you don't love computers, you will love them after reading this book. The same I can say about video games. I am amazed at the astounding level of effort that the author has done to pull all this richness of information, to place the pieces together, and to narrate them as if it was an easy story. We are not facing just an author here, but a truly masterful journalist. A true hacker is not what you think if what you think is someone who penetrates security systems or exclusively focuses on security. This is only a (not small) part of it. The word "hacking" is much wider: it encompasses a deep curiosity for how things work, for how things can be understood, disassembled, reassembled, improved... Who said that technology lacks spirit? Here you have the story of great people that did great things in high spirits. The extensive chapters about video games are especially fascinating. They made me go back into text-adventures.
Nuevamente una obra que te deja helado. Esta vez hablamos de una violación en toda regla. La obra podría ser perfectamente moderna si al final no se "arreglara" de la forma en la que se arregla, que es casando a la víctima con su violador. Por lo demás, la obra es magnífica, llena de acción, con uno de los criados más agudos y brillantes que recuerde. Últimamente pienso que para representar una obra de Calderón hoy día hay que ir con pies de plomo. Además, no tengo claro si quiero seguir leyendo una y otra vez estas historias en las que quedan patente unos valores tan funestos. El verso es magnífico, pero se me está atragantando. Con Lope esto no me pasaba. ¿O no era tan consciente de ello?
A very short and a very naive book. A good mathematician doing bad philosophy. Very elitist and college-centred. He obtains conclusions with n < 10, which is not very rigourous... Annoying references to Littlewood, which may be his colleague and friend, but why should we care? According to him, a mathematician beyond 50 is unable to do anything good. And as a proof, his book, lacking all kind of originality. At least he is mature enough to be concerned by the war applications of math and science. Although his conclusions are really naive. I suppose it was the inspiration for "A mathematician's lament", but the latter has fire, while Hardy's book feels dim and has aged quite badly. Also, the book is recent enough to give women some credit, but he prefers to say that mathematics is a young man's game. Elder and women, we are not welcome to Hardy's world. I don't say that he is wrong about age. I just don't know. But he does not show proof. And this is what matters. What if, instead of being a young person's game, it is a game for which you can only last a few years? If you begin at 20 you are dry at 40, but maybe you begin fresh at 30 and you become dry at 50, and so on. Why not? Or perhaps it is a game in which, if you don't take care of your brain's age, you become dry at 40, but if you do, then you can still be original at 60. There are good things in the book, though. I would recommend every person interested in maths to read it, and I will certainly read it again.
Horrorosa, espeluznante. El horror del honor. El horror de la mujer atrapada. El ensalzamiento de hombres que matan y pasan por héroes. Horrible, pero reveladora. Hombres que hoy día matan a sus mujeres. Lo mismo que el "gran Don Lope" en esta obra. La calidad literaria de esta obra es más baja que en otras. Pero la lectura moderna es insoportable.
Hilarious and instructive. I did not understand everything, but enough to appreciate how evolved products compete against designed alternatives. You never know to which extent they are serious. It seems as if they really love Unix and at the same time hating it. I don't think Apple or Windows can never be alternatives to Unix, but it seems that projects previous to Unix were more promising and never took off. The tales here are not just about computer. They are essentially human, too human.
What an intense book! You want action. Here you have an overdose. I cannot evaluate how advanced was Wells' vision. I suppose it was really advanced. But from my perspective, I have not enjoyed this book very much. The Martians' perspective is only taken into account at the very beginning. I never empathised with the protagonist or his brother. This book has not given me anything.
This is a big book: big in scope, big in quality and big in size! The author introduces many different topics with astonishing clarity and depth. He peeks your interest in an astounding variety of approaches to society from a physicist's point of view. It is extremely clever and delightful. I would need a second or even a third reading to really assimilate what this book offers. It has taken me almost a year to complete it, since each section makes you think and you need to stop and reflect. Not a book for the impatient or for the diagonal reader. But for someone searching for deep thoughts, this is your book. Of course, the author is not the author of the content explained here. The author is just a good journalist or narrator. He accompanies you in a tour of other people's works. But oh boy, what a tour. Extreme non-linearity applied to society. For a physicist coming from the Statistical Mechanics field, this is pure candy. People treated as irrational but strongly interacting particles. Complex phenomena arising from extremely simple, but non-linear rules. A work full of really modern, perhaps revolutionary ideas.
Helado y aturdido. Pasmado quedo con la fuerza y la garra de esta tragedia. Es que me quedo sin palabras para describir el tormento, el dolor y la amargura del destino, y de los celos. No sé si hay mejor obra en la literatura que esta. Al menos por momentos, se llega a lo más alto que ningún otro docto pincel llegó.
I had fun reading this book. But it is not good literature. It feels like eating junk food: pleasure while you read it, and feeling the trash later. I share the fascination for the 80's. But it was a bit too much. Clearly a junk reading.
This is a book that will last for ever in my heart. A woman without equal, so brave, clever and with such a big soul. I don't know how to express the enormous scope of this book. I have learned so much, but also cried so much. Cried in despair. One of the best books I have ever read.
Estremecido me quedo de leer esto. Un horror sangriento, de celos, venganzas y malentendidos. Qué obsesión con el honor de la mujer. Y nunca el honor del hombre es puesto en cuestión, más que a través de ella. Y qué final tan extraño, lleno de injusticia y postreras amenazas a su nueva mujer. Escalofríos me dan. Si alguien escribiera un alegato reflejando el horror de la mujer no sabría hacerlo mejor que Calderón. Aunque no creo que él lo hiciera con esa intención. Que sacerdote era. O igual sí, que genio era también. Horror, horror y más horror. Patología de los celos. Reflexiones muy profundas, como la de la dieta del silencio. Una obra oscura que te deja helado.
This is a naive book, but naive on purpose and proud to be it. This is a strong reason for me to like it, being myself naive as well and also proud of being it. It is written in English by Nadya herself, which is also a great thing. Were this book translated or corrected by an English native, the book would be ruined. I love her approach, her directness, her strength, determination, wisdom and values. Read and Riot is a great double advise. Under a superficial skin there is much to learn here. Simplicity is not easily achieved, yet she manages to write in a deep and simple way. I wish I could know here in person and learn to jump into trash containers with her. I am very close to her style and way of thinking. And how I have enjoyed seeing how unshameful she is of talking despite of her acknowledged limitations. Or how she defends her shitty music and art in general. A brilliant book. Don't forget. Read first and then Riot. No riot, no pussy.
Una obra que va claramente de más a menos. La descripción inicial de Cenobia es apabullante, prometiendo una mujer increíble. Y lo es. Pero a medida que avanza la obra, el amor, opio de las mujeres, se apodera de ella, y acaba presa de él. Cada vez se le da menos voz hasta verse reducida a una mera esclava de su amado, que en el final muestra ser tan déspota como el propio tirano al que destrona. Una gran Cenobia a la que el amor derrota. No puedo tampoco poner a caldo a Calderón por no tener una visión tan moderna, pero da rabia, porque el inicio sí es revolucionario, con una mujer que puede con todos, que desafía al sistema hombre-céntrico. Podría haber sido mucho más increíble a los ojos de hoy, pero quizás es más actual de lo que parece, reflejando quizás lo que acabaría pasando hoy también. La obra está, por supuesto, llena de auténticas joyas. Pero no es la más brillante, y hay personajes como el de Persio, que quedan olvidados sin más.
Retomo mi tradición de leer una obra de teatro en domingo. Ha sido una delicia leerla. Está llena de maestría, de situaciones escénicamente geniales, de metáforas preciosas, de sabiduría infinita. El trasfondo es de honor, de preservar la dignidad. Quizás tiene algo de anticuado y también algo radicalmente moderno. Los personajes femeninos son Flor, Fléride... todo flores que deben mantener su pureza y castidad. El honor lo es todo. Pero por otra parte veo algo radicalmente interesante en la integridad, el honor, la preservación de la pureza, no la sexual, pero sí la del alma. La modernidad se jacta de igualdad, una igualdad que en el fondo no posee. Pero no se lamenta de su falta de valores nobles. Como si la nobleza no tuviera cabida. Algo tan antiguo como el honor me parece revolucionario en la mentalidad actual. Estoy esperando con fervor leer la siguiente.
This is a nice book. Just nice. First of all, I expected a book about coding/programming, and I could not be more wrong. Not a single mention to coding. On the other hand, I learned quite interesting things, as how crime is approached from a computational view. I am amazed at how a lot of software is used in justice, police, etc while being closed source. And the author does not even mention this problem in an open, explicit way. Hannah Fry seems to me too correct, with too little passion for what she is writing. In the acknowledgements section you can find why: she admits writing this book was something forced. Perhaps she is just being sincere while other authors disguise themselves as naturals. In any case, I enjoyed the book, full of amazing facts and packed with questions that make you think. This is the 2nd book I read from this author and I would read a third without a doubt. But I would prefer that she could be less correct and more into depth and details.