December 2016

A good advice is never old for the new year

Dec 312016

There are many books, magazines and websites for those consumers who want to know how to deal with an economy where everybody wants your money, This book is a great “insider’s guide” to how to take control and wisely manage your money when it comes to practically all aspects of your everyday life. These are the 1,001 things that they won’t tell you related to your family, your children’s education, your home, your money, your goods & services, your food & drink, your mind & body, your medical & dental services, your car and everything related to your free time and entertainment. This guide was published back in 2009, but, except for minor tidbits of information, it still applies. Based on the SmatMoney magazine’s “Ten Things They Won’t Tell You” column, it covers 100 businesses and professions that readers interact with daily.

May you have a prosperous and healthy New Year 2017!

1,001 things they won’t tell you : an insider’s guide to spending, saving and living wisely. Jonathan Dahl. New York: Workman Publishing, 2009.

The USA needs to get back to manufacturing or else

Economy No Responses »

Dec 302016

This is one of those books that states the obvious, that makes us look at the emperor’s new clothes (the obsession with the information age and everything digital over anything else) and that should be read by those who are in power in government, in private companies, in academia. How apt to start a new year, 2014, with a fresh perspective for the USA, a country which, in a sort of reverse Faustian bargain sacrificed its manufacturing industry, the one that contributed enormously to nation-building and world admiration, and domination, in exchange for low cost and low quality goods produced mostly in Asia, where those countries, notably China, got away with all the know-how and the knowledge behind the business of manufacturing.

To quote the publishers: “In Made in the USA, Vaclav Smil powerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history and that the loss of American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smil argues that no advanced economy can prosper without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector and the jobs it creates. Reversing a famous information economy dictum, Smil argues that serving potato chips is not as good as making microchips.”

Made in the USA : the rise and retreat of American manufacturing. Vaclav Smil. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2013.

Revolution or simply evolution: Big Data is here to stay

Information, Science No Responses »

Dec 162016

In the beginnings of the information era, “data” was simply a collection of facts organized and represented in a suitable form for processing by a computer. Along came the “relational database management systems” or RDMS that since the 1980s constitute the database model, i.e. rows and columns neatly organized in tables and then these tables interrelated to each other, which is the predominant form of storage, even today, of any type of information. The revolution, or rather, evolution, that big data encompasses has to do with the power of connecting and associating disparate pieces of information in a vast sea of data such as the Internet. “The real revolution is not in the machines that calculate data but in data itself and how we use it” but most importantly how scientists, companies and ordinary people will make decisions and try to interpret reality in ways that no longer are subject to a predetermined worldview. Social media, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and their astronomical number of “interactions” among users all over the world, every single second of the day, produces, generates, begets, in fact, “big data.” On a side note, we should say that this book would have benefited of an introduction explaining the title of each one of its 10 chapters or simply the editorial orientation intended: Now, More, Messy, Correlation, Datafication, Value, Implications, Risks, Control, Next.

Big data : a revolution that will transform how we live, work, and think. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier. New York City: An Eamon Dolan Book. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

Portrait of an extraordinary human being

Biography No Responses »

Dec 062016

The news came yesterday: Nelson Mandela has departed forever from this world. However, his life, his actions, his legacy will live forever. This is the life of a man who against all odds transformed not only himself but a whole nation and the entire world. He spent 27 years in prison for opposing the execrable Apartheid regime of South Africa and once freed, in 1990, instead of claiming revenge or being bitter, he stood tall and instead of retribution he asked for reconciliation. Reconciliation between those oppressed and their persecutors. He said “"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison" and that’s because he did not give in to resentment since, as he put it, “resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies." The publisher of this book, which came out 7 years ago, calls it “one of the most lavishly illustrated and comprehensive tributes to Nelson Mandela’s life and work ever produced” and whether that is true, given the fact that a myriad of books have been, and will be, written about him, the important thing is that this is great starting point to learn about Mandela. Add to that the fact that his closest comrades from Robben Island prison, Mac Maharaj and Ahmed Kathrada, are the book editors. The more you read and learn about Mandela the more you understand why he is revered all over the world. The result is sheer inspiration.

Other two pearls of wisdom from Mandela. On freedom: "To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." And on education, one of our core beliefs: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Mandela : the authorized portrait. by Mac Maharaj (editor) , Ahmad Kathrada (editor) , Archbishop Desmond Tutu (introduction) , Bill Clinton (foreword). Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2006.

Can big businesses also be environmentally sustainable?

Economy No Responses »

Dec 022016

Big multinational companies, the likes of MacDonald’s, Walmart, Nestlé and Coca-Cola, to name just a few, are now increasingly helping their bottom line with the inclusion of sustainability in their business plans and actions, more than promoting sustainability of life on Earth as it may seem at first glance. The authors call this eco-business or “taking over the idea of sustainability and turning it into a tool of business control and growth that projects an image of corporate social responsibility.” This book will however reveal that “much of what big brands are doing involves defining and using sustainability as a business tool in ways that are actually increasing risks and adding to an ever-mounting global crisis.” This valuable book, well researched, cleverly written and with extensive notes and bibliographic references, will no doubt interest equally economists, environmental activists, business leaders and educated consumers.

Eco-Business : a big-brand takeover of sustainability. Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2013.