Psychohistory in real life Comments Off

In Isaac Asimov’s famous Foundation series an central and intriguing role is played by the so-called science of Psychohistory. Quoting Wikipedia: “Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make (nearly) exact predictions of the collective actions of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire”.

As so many things from science fiction that seem to come to life, lately (see mobile phones, the Internet and tons of other gadgets), psychohistory doesn’t seem to be so far fetched anymore.

I’ve recently finished reading the brilliant Guns, Germs and Steel book by Jared Diamond and the thought that kept circling around my head was: “This is so psychohistory”. And in a sense is, Diamond argues at one point, same as Asimov in his books, that the actions of individuals are lost in the sea of actions by the masses.

If you ever wondered why Eurasia became the center of power on our planet, want to understand what influences the development of societies or you just are a geek that would like to see how psychohistory looks in real life, read Guns, Germs and Steel, it’s a fascinating book.

Sir David Attenborough – Storyteller Comments Off

I’ve been a fan of Sir. Attenborough for many years. As a kid I used to devour all kinds of books about animals and plants and dinosaurs and space. His programs have always been fascinating stories about our planet and the natural world. I’ve always admired them and watched them with fascinations.

Now, I had the chance to listen to the audio version of his wonderful memoris, Life on air, and Sir. Attenborough managed to make me an even bigger fan. Besides the wonderful tale of how his many programs were filmed, it is a story of an incredible life told with the skill of the greatest writers. Funny and subtle, it’s one of the best books I had my hands on for some time, a great inside look at the wonderful world of animals and the people that document and study their behaviour.

As much as I enjoyed the book, as a story, I liked it most because it ignited anew that spark of curiosity and wonder about nature that I had as a child. That, I believe, is the greatest gift a book can give someone.

I recommend anyone to read, or even better, to listen to it, it’s story of a great life and a great passion for life.

Below are is a clip I love about persistence hunting and below it a clip about which Sir. Attenborough talks in his book.

The Lyre bird

Shoot the donkey Comments Off

In the movie Patton, from 1970, there is a scene where the convoy of the whole 3rd Army is held up by a couple of donkeys stuck on a bridge, not wanting to move. Patton gets out of his jeep, takes out his ivory-plated gun and shoots the animals, pushing them in the river. Problem solved. This animal-cruelty story is based on real events.

Later on Patton said that he didn’t like killing the poor beasts but compared to the alternative of his army getting massacred by an air raid, while crossing the bridge, he preferred to do that. Sensible choice, if you think about it. Tough choice, something he didn’t like to do, but he did it, he had to.

We have to shoot our own donkeys every day, we have to take choices we are not necessarily found of but which can save our army. It takes guts and it takes brains to do it.

This story is so powerful because it’s simple – killing a poor creature to save a great number of people. In real life it’s not that simple, is it? Work a couple of hours on a weekend or spend them with your family. Quit your job or linger on. Buy a new car or invest the money. What is the donkey? In every case you have to decide for yourself, but once you find it, shoot the long-eared thing.

This story is also inspired by the book Tuned In, where they speak of the “Shoot the Donkey” series by Expert Access

Don’t judge a book by its cover Comments Off

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”, that’s easy to say. And easy to do if you have a bookstore with 5 books in it. Add a few digits to that number and it’s not so easy to do anymore, is it? And that’s the story with most products we buy these days… So many types of the same product and not so much time.

There are a few privileged products, usually the expensive ones, like high-end phones, laptops, and other gadgets that force us to consider carefully our options, because of the risk of buying the wrong thing for a lot of money .

But what about products like wine? Go to your local supermarket and you will find row upon row of wine bottles averaging around 5-6 euro a bottle and from all around the world. If you’re not Gary Vay-ner-chuck, you’re in trouble.

But not me! I judge the book by the cover, in such situations! Take a look at some of the wines I have at home.

The first one in called Fat Bastard and has a hypo on it, the second is Lounge Dog and has a long dog who’s rear end extend all the way to the back label and the third is just colorful,

You can tell straight away how much I know about wine. One label is colorful and the other two are just funny. Actually the one with the dog is quite good. For me it’s hard to make a difference between wines and I can only judge with – I like it / I don’t like it. Hence the label is the only thing that guides me through the sea of wine. If it attracts my attention and what is written on it sounds good enough – there is a sale.

But this is not true just for wine, is it? Even books are the same. Go to your local store and look around. You will most likely pick up to browse through the books with the most interesting covers.

However, wine and books are the lucky ones because the content still matters! Think about the sea of products that are too dull to tell apart, like tomatoes in a supermarket (not a farmers market). It’s most likely you will pick up the ones that are most conveniently packed.

Hate it or not, I don’t believe there are too many people who don’t judge a book by its cover. Prove me wrong!

Thoughts about – In Praise of Slow (book) – thought #1 Sunrise and Clocks Comments Off

During the winter holidays I’ve started reading “In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed” * by Carl Honore. The book itself is well written but not a masterpiece. The ideas  Carl talks about are most likely not new to you (slow food, slow cities and so on). But it’s still an interesting read and something I would recommend for everybody to take a look at. There are many little things that you can take away from it.

Among the ones that stuck in my mind is something that has nothing to do with the subject of the book. It’s actually a fact. Here it goes. Have you ever thought why many battles or duels were held at sunrise, in the not-so-distant history of mankind? Well, if you think about it, when you have no clock you need some common, distinguishable moment of the day. And sunrise is one such moment. Cool fact, isn’t it?

Somewhat related to this is the idea that clocks can be oppressive. There is a story in the book about a fellow who became obsessed with his very precise clock. And this fellow calmed down a little when he changed that clock to an old wind-up clock. Armed with this small revelation I turned with the face to the wall a couple of clocks, in my house, that were really aggressive with their bright red numbers. And you know what? It has some effect. I always know the time but the red devilish glow of the clocks doesn’t haunt me so much anymore. Try it yourself! Put away some of the clocks you look at all the time and see what happens.

*The book has an Amazon affiliate link. So if you buy the book through the link in this post I’ll actually make my first cents with this blog :).