What I’m Reading
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. – Ron Chernow
I’m looking for historical perspective on how politics and business interact during technological revolutions.
What I’ve Read
2024
Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense – Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, Robert MacCoun
I wanted to understand how to help parents deal with the firehose of information we’re trying to consume in order to raise our kids well.
A System for Writing: How an Unconventional Approach to Note-Making Can Help You Capture Ideas, Think Wildly, and Write Constantly – A Zettelkasten Primer
Helped improve my use of Obsidian for writing and thinking.
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI – Ethan Mollick
Excellent read to understand how generative AI will change work and education as well as learn how use it effectively.
2023
Klara and the Sun: A novel – Kazuo Ishiguro
This book feels even more relevant with the emergence of generative AI.
The Death of Uncertainty: a story of AI and free will – Michael Tan
Explores the meaning of free will in a world where AI can optimize every decision humans make.
2022
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again – Johann Hari
Learn why cell phones are so hard to resist and why parents should also delay giving kids a phone as long as possible.
2020
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers – Sönke Ahrens
This was my introduction to the world of Zettlekasten, and taking notes in a way that helps me retain information as well as write and think more effectively. Obsidian is my favorite app for this.
2017
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future – 
Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly developing. How will they displace jobs, and how do we best prepare our students for these significant disruptions?
2014
Screen Time: How Electronic Media—From Baby Videos to Educational Software—Affects Your Young Child – Lisa Guernsey
This book, written by a reporter trying to be a better mother to her young children, served as my first foray into this topic. Guernsey reveals that many of the early recommendations regarding young children and TV (and other video devices) weren’t based on solid research. More important than anything else are parent attitudes toward screen-based devices, and the relationships parents have with their children.
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