Books
Book Notes: Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
I was stuck in my writing so decided to do some very elaborate procrastination by reading this book. I was initially drawn because it seemed to focus more on writing for marketing and general purposes rather than creative writing.
Book Notes: Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
In 2023, I wanted to improve how I retained and utilised my personal knowledge. I’d always been one to keep my digital files well stored and organised, but seldom were able to use it to any real advantage. In this book, the author introduces the PARA method, a lightweight way to organise your knowledge that maximises actionability.
Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work—whereas economics represents how it actually does work. Freakonomics
This book has a special place in my life. It sparked my interest in quantitative social science which led to a career in data.
It’s a very light read that goes through various anecdotes generally exploring the themes of unintended consequences, when good intent is not enough to produce good outcomes, and incentives more broadly . The book explores rather taboo topics with a careless irreverence, earning it its title.
It can become a bit difficult to verify some of the claims in the book as the author introduces papers and studies very casually. It may be prudent to treat all the claims in this book with some skepticism.
At the end of the day, though, I don’t think the point of the book was to convince the reader of the absolute veracity of its analyses, but to introduce the reader to a new way of thinking that is completely pragmatic, a fresh perspective when compared to the dogmatisms of many personal and professional spheres today.