It's been a while since my last post as I've been taking some time off. But I'm back now with a new summary for Scarcity: The True Cost of Not Having Enough by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. As usual, the key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS What is scarcity? Scarcity is when we have less than we feel we need. While the book mainly discusses money and time scarcity, it can also apply to things like counting calories or...
19 days ago • 1 min read
I've just published a summary for Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World. It's a useful primer on geopolitics and made me examine maps far more closely than I've ever done before! As usual, the key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS Geography explains many differences between countries and significantly affects geopolitics. Countries’ borders often depend on natural geographical...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
In May, I only published one summary, and one (rather long) blog post. But I did some work behind the scenes — I moved the site to a new server and tidied up the Blog Archive page so that it's easier to navigate. Book summaries The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt - Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory suggests that there are at least 6 different moral foundations we draw upon to judge moral issues. Liberals and Libertarians rely heavily on 2...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
My latest book summary is for The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt. This book argues that there's more to morality than harm and fairness—we actually have at least 6 different moral foundations, which is why we’re so divided. As usual, the key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS We have at least 6 moral foundations, like how our tongues have multiple taste-receptors. Those...
3 months ago • 1 min read
April's been quieter than I expected. I only published one book summary—and the two posts I managed to put out were offshoots from that summary. I hope to get back to publishing two summaries in May. Book summaries Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie — well worth a read if you're concerned about climate change and other environmental problems we face, but sick of the 'doom-and-gloom' narratives we usually hear. Blog posts Solutions in "Not the End of the World" Environmental myths...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I've just published a new summary for Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie. Hannah Ritchie was the Head of Research at Our World in Data, so it's not surprise that the book is well-researched and backed up with a lot of, well, data. I've split out into separate posts the Solutions (both good and bad) discussed in the book, as well as some Environmental myths that it debunks so you can also jump straight to those. I'd...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Easter to you if you're celebrating it or just getting some time off work! This month, I published 2 book summaries and 1 blog post: Book summaries Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky - this book sets out a 4-step approach and dozens of practical tips to help you make time for the things that matter most to you. It's written by two former Googlers who have run lots of design sprints with startup companies. How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner - I'd recommend...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Why did the Sydney Opera House ruin its architect’s career? What can we learn about megaprojects from Pixar’s movies? My latest book summary is for How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, which explores why so many megaprojects are disasters and how to prevent these failures. As usual, the key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS Most megaprojects fail. Less than 1% of megaprojects come in on time, on budget, and...
4 months ago • 1 min read
My latest book summary is for Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. The book sets out a simple four-step approach and includes dozens of practical tips to help you spend more time on the things that matter to you. The key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS Make Time is about making time for the things that matter to us. It's about changing our defaults so that we spend our time more...
5 months ago • 1 min read