June 2016

Math, common sense and daily life

Jun 072016

It is almost a universal principle to all students around the world that mathematics is boring or at least not the favorite subject for a sizable majority. The problem, as we have witnessed ourselves in our high school years, is not that math is boring, math teachers are. I may be overgeneralizing but the point is that mathematical thinking is something that paradoxically we don’t learn in math classes. “Math is a science of not being wrong about things, its techniques and habits hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument” argues the author. Learn in this book, a delightful reading, about the amazing facts and insights provided by math and how it encompasses and affects every realm of human endeavors when it is done the right way.

A personal anecdote: I always remember the disapproving gaze and eerie silence of my math teacher precisely when I asked him “When am I going to use this?”, the preface title of the book, after a series of lessons on mathematical logic. Only many years later, as a student of computer programming I clearly saw, by myself, the usefulness of that interesting subfield of mathematics. My math teacher had the opportunity to enlighten me about the power of mathematical thinking but he certainly did not do it, or simply did not know it himself.

How not to be wrong : The power of mathematical thinking. Jordan Ellenberg. New York: The Penguin Press, 2014.

Dawn of a new era? Actually, yes

Anthropology, Economy No Responses »

Jun 072016

This book predicts the decline of today’s professions and introduces the people and systems that will replace them. In an internet-enhanced society, according to Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind, we will neither need nor want doctors, teachers, accountants, architects, the clergy, consultants, lawyers, and many others, to work as they did in the 20th century.

The Future of the Professions explains how increasingly capable technologies – from telepresence to artificial intelligence – will place the “practical expertise” of the finest specialists at the fingertips of everyone, often at no or low cost and without face-to-face interaction.

The authors challenge the “grand bargain” – the arrangement that grants various monopolies to today’s professionals. They argue that our current professions are antiquated, opaque and no longer affordable, and that the expertise of their best is enjoyed only by a few. In their place, they propose five new models for producing and distributing expertise in society.

The book raises profound policy issues, not least about employment (they envisage a new generation of “open-collared worker”) and about control over online expertise (they warn of new “gatekeepers”) – in an era when machines become more capable than human beings at most tasks.

[NOTE: This review comes directly from the publisher’s Website].

The future of the professions : How technology will transform the work of human experts. Richard Susskind, Daniel Susskind. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Life challenges: how to grow, improve, strive

Personal Growth No Responses »

Jun 072016

13 things mentally strong people don't do

Talk about sound mental health habits to combat those bad habits (13 specific ones) that keep us from getting success. “Developing mental strength”, says the author: “is about improving your ability to regulate your emotions, manage your thoughts, and behave in a positive manner, despite your circumstances.” Whether some people are more predisposed to develop this type of strength, or whether genes, personality or life itself play an important role, you actually must be tough to tackle with grace all the curves that life throws at you. However, it is is not about positive thinking, or ignoring your emotions or feelings, but rather, embracing them, ‘controlling them’.

Personally I can attest to the power of a strong mind (or should we just say, the ‘power of the spirit’?) and this book breaks down into 13 chapters the strategy to become mentally strong, a strategy that indeed has also served me well. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself, don’t give away your power, don’t shy away from change, focus on what you can control, don’t worry about trying to please everyone, take calculated risks in a fearless way, don’t dwell on the past, turn the page, avoid making mistakes over and over, as if you never learned your lesson(s), do not resent other people’s success or talent, and don’t expect immediate results, since even failures are part of the road to success.

13 Things mentally strong people don’t do : Take back your power, embrace change, face your fears, and train your brain for happiness and success. Amy Morin. New York: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2014.