Michael David S. Sy (Author of Cries and Whispers)

Michael David rated a book it was amazing Tristram Shandy (Armed Services Edition) by Laurence Sterne	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
During my reading life, I had a phase where I tried to read the heavy hitters of modernist literature, and even dabbled into early examples of iconic postmodern literature. Part of that was an ego boost: if I could read Joyce’s Ulysses, I could read ...more
23 hours, 33 min ago · 1 like · like · see review
Michael David rated a book did not like it Moral Responsibility Situation Ethics at Work by Joseph F. Fletcher	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I initially believed that with an orderly prolegomenon, Fletcher would organize core principles in a modern-day perspective of situational ethics. After all, he provided six propositions that established the fundamentals of Christian conscience, and ...more
Jul 16, 2026 08:26AM · like · see review
Michael David liked Carol's review of Moral Responsibility Situation Ethics at Work: "I didn't get much out of this book. It seem to meander and wonder. It tried to explain why we should view ethics as always changing to meet the situation. Which to me came out as meaning that there really are no ethics, because how you have any stand" Read more of this review »
Jul 16, 2026 08:25AM · see review
Michael David rated a book really liked it Focus On-Off: Fuel Your Attention, Get More Done by Mark Tigchelaar	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
These are quick, easy-to-read suggestions backed by neuroscience on how to improve one's focus. Among other things, the GTD method is helpful - Capture ,Clarify, Organize, Reflect, Enhance. Cognitive distribution is also helpful, which is simply offl ...more
Jul 15, 2026 08:52AM · like · see review
Michael David rated a book it was amazing Tristram Shandy (Armed Services Edition) by Laurence Sterne	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
During my reading life, I had a phase where I tried to read the heavy hitters of modernist literature, and even dabbled into early examples of iconic postmodern literature. Part of that was an ego boost: if I could read Joyce’s Ulysses, I could read ...more
Jul 14, 2026 08:48AM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael David rated a book did not like it Toward a Better Life by Mark E. Petersen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It's my first time reading literature/propaganda for the Mormons, and I must say that other than a few good points, it's absolute trash. Even though it's trash, however, it does have one good point going for it. The book is thoroughly against cigaret ...more
Jul 10, 2026 11:40AM · like · see review
Michael David rated a book really liked it The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses by Gary Botting (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I worked with a doctor (who later on became a good friend) who is a practicing Jehovah's Witnesses, and my conversations with him inspired me to read more on their religion. I arrived at a point where I read the texts written by the head of the organ ...more
Jul 08, 2026 10:11AM · like · see review
Michael David rated a book it was amazing Build Your Brain Power: The Art of Smart Thinking by Simon Wootton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is definitely one of the most integrative books on brain training and development. Not only does it situate its quizzes with evidence and facts, the quizzes themselves are also interesting and boost one's quality of thought. ...more
Jul 08, 2026 02:33AM · like · see review
Michael David is currently reading The Pornographers by Akiyuki Nosaka	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Michael David and 1 other person liked Mia's status update Mia is on page 100 of 292 of Stoner
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Michael David rated a book it was amazing

Tristram Shandy (Armed Services Edition)
by Laurence Sterne

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During my reading life, I had a phase where I tried to read the heavy hitters of modernist literature, and even dabbled into early examples of iconic postmodern literature. Part of that was an ego boost: if I could read Joyce’s Ulysses, I could read ...more

Michael David rated a book did not like it

Moral Responsibility Situation Ethics at Work
by Joseph F. Fletcher

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I initially believed that with an orderly prolegomenon, Fletcher would organize core principles in a modern-day perspective of situational ethics. After all, he provided six propositions that established the fundamentals of Christian conscience, and I initially believed that with an orderly prolegomenon, Fletcher would organize core principles in a modern-day perspective of situational ethics. After all, he provided six propositions that established the fundamentals of Christian conscience, and identifies that the only thing intrinsically good is love, and its antithesis, malice, the only thing intrinsically evil.

It was a good start. He also adds that justice is love which is weighted and assessed, and that decisions are to be made situationally, and not prescriptively. Those are three fundamental principles that could be built upon over the course of the book:

1) Love is the only thing intrinsically good.
2) Justice is love being weighted and calculated.
3) Decisions are to be made situationally.

He qualifies later on in the book that this love is agape, and it is love that is done or performed. This agape is different from philia or eros.

The problem, however, is that he spends the remaining text citing modern problems without proposing overarching principles. He first discusses the evolution of natural law through the Anglican Church and expounds upon its history, but does not spend time to return to the framework that he initially proposed. While a situationist is definitely fluid and flexible, it would have helped had the framework he initially constructed be buttressed by an algorithm with which to act. In a later chapter, he proposes a solution to poverty with "corrective taxation" (p. 214). Aside from being an instance of cognitive overreach, given that Fletcher is a philosopher, what do we need to do to achieve that? He himself avers that agape-love is that which is done, but action needs planning and an overarching principle, which he does not provide.

Further, he cites Kant's humanity formulation of the categorical imperative, but later equivocates by saying that sometimes, the means justifies the ends. This is in contradistinction to Kant's imperative that advises people to treat humans as ends in themselves. In Kantian ethics, he focuses on the rigor and consistency of what ought to be done. He does not admit of "sometimes," even with extreme examples, which exposes Fletcher's inconsistency: when does Kant apply, and when doesn't he?

Fletcher's knowledge of philosophy and even then-recent texts in psychology are not in doubt. He even cites Eric Berne's transactional analysis. However, knowledge without structure does not become wisdom. Simply providing examples of conundrums without providing overarching principles that would guide people how to act doesn't make for a productive discussion of situational ethics.

I think this is the book's primary problem. Had Fletcher been content with releasing a booklet that includes overarching principles alongside a few examples, it would have been a much better work. Naming a work Moral Responsibility: Situation Ethics at Work without providing guidelines how to be responsible or how to approach situation ethics cheats the earnest and well-meaning reader. ...more

Michael David liked Carol's review of Moral Responsibility Situation Ethics at Work:

"I didn't get much out of this book. It seem to meander and wonder. It tried to explain why we should view ethics as always changing to meet the situation. Which to me came out as meaning that there really are no ethics, because how you have any stand" Read more of this review »

Michael David rated a book really liked it

Focus On-Off: Fuel Your Attention, Get More Done
by Mark Tigchelaar

Rate this book

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

These are quick, easy-to-read suggestions backed by neuroscience on how to improve one's focus. Among other things, the GTD method is helpful - Capture ,Clarify, Organize, Reflect, Enhance. Cognitive distribution is also helpful, which is simply offl ...more

Michael David rated a book it was amazing

Tristram Shandy (Armed Services Edition)
by Laurence Sterne

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During my reading life, I had a phase where I tried to read the heavy hitters of modernist literature, and even dabbled into early examples of iconic postmodern literature. Part of that was an ego boost: if I could read Joyce’s Ulysses, I could read ...more

Michael David rated a book did not like it

Toward a Better Life
by Mark E. Petersen

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It's my first time reading literature/propaganda for the Mormons, and I must say that other than a few good points, it's absolute trash. Even though it's trash, however, it does have one good point going for it.

The book is thoroughly against cigaret It's my first time reading literature/propaganda for the Mormons, and I must say that other than a few good points, it's absolute trash. Even though it's trash, however, it does have one good point going for it.

The book is thoroughly against cigarettes even though they were at their peak at the time. Petersen leveraged scientific data that confirmed the carcinogenicity of cigarettes, which remains true today.
"Cigarets and Spirituality" is one of the few good articles precisely because of its unintended humor: "A squawking kid would cramp my style. Do you think I am going to stay up and walk the floor in the middle of the night with a squealing baby in my arms? None of that for me." (p. 79)
Though Petersen rails against people who do not want children, there was a kernel of sense there.
Other than this, however, Petersen manifests his sexism and unscientific reasoning: “"Man is largely responsible for the sins against decency and virtue, the burden of which is too often fastened upon the weaker participant in the crime." (p. 107-108) While ostensibly an exhortation to protect women, the quote also suggests that they are weaker and less capable individuals. This book is consistent with Petersen’s personality, as he was also a racist. In one of his speeches, he said:

“I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people sit. He isn’t just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. From this and other interviews I have read, it appears that the Negro seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that, we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have.”

In one early chapter, he predicted the moon landing as man was already flirting with space during the early 1960s. However, this argument was to posit the possibility of Elijah coming to Earth during 1844, which is suspect at best: "Elijah must have come a few years before 1844 in order to have started a movement." (p. 153) Petersen even doubles down with a very specious argument: "Every genealogical society, library, and magazine ... who is engaged in seeking after his dead, is a physical witness that Elijah came." (p. 154)

Paraphrased, his argument is that man going into space is plausible, so man falling into the earth from space is also plausible. Let’s ignore the definite possibility of Elijah, were he human, burning as he descends through the atmosphere.

He later wrote a jeremiad against Christianity being led by Constantine as it was supposedly transmogrified for political purposes, but welcomed the history of Joseph Smith’s financial pursuit as a treasure-hunter and thought that Joseph Smith was infallible: "I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the integrity of Joseph Smith." Petersen critiques Christianity while his own tradition rests on an additional, unsubstantiated contingency (the Book of Mormon) on top of the Bible, making it inherently less probable, not more credible.

Worse, he tended to recycle material: "Know for Yourself" is just a re-written "The Age of Faith", and references to Robert Millikan on Page 63 (for Know) and 178 (for Age of Faith) are pretty much copies of each other. Finally, like Elijah returning to the Earth, he also seemed convinced that gold plates in North America as medium of writing existed during the time of Joseph Smith. Other than testimonial Mormon sources, this claim has not been historically substantiated. ...more

Michael David rated a book really liked it

The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Gary Botting (Goodreads Author)

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I worked with a doctor (who later on became a good friend) who is a practicing Jehovah's Witnesses, and my conversations with him inspired me to read more on their religion. I arrived at a point where I read the texts written by the head of the organ I worked with a doctor (who later on became a good friend) who is a practicing Jehovah's Witnesses, and my conversations with him inspired me to read more on their religion. I arrived at a point where I read the texts written by the head of the organization, who was J.F. Rutherford during the World Wars. I still have a few rare works by Rutherford, but I gave most of it to my friend who will find it useful in his doctrinal interpretation.

This book by Gary Botting was in my To Read list for almost a decade. I was actually pondering whether to purchase a physical copy, but as I have a Kindle, I obtained an electronic one. I think the fundamental issue with the doctrine of the Witnesses is the easily falsifiable statements written and made across their literature.

For all of Charles Russell's capability as the founder, he was also prone to believing in pseudoscience as he believed in pyramidology. There are also dates used by the Governing Body that have been disputed or debunked by historians, such as the date 607 BC as the fall of Jerusalem. (This is disputed by historians as 586 or 587 BC.) The date has become a scourge to the Governing Body because they have had to update their predictions, calling it "new light" when in fact these are doctrines that were proven as false. Further, their backward perspectives on evolution such as the absence of real-time speciation are even debunked in my own undegraduate thesis in Biology: we observed the rufous hornbill being in the middle of incipient speciation where the subspecies Buceros hydrocorax hydrocorax and Buceros hydrocorax semigaleatus seemed to veer further away from each other.

Further, the Witnesses have predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1925, and 1975 - and all were mistaken. Of these years, 1975 was the most pivotal as it resulted to many Witnesses selling their land or maximizing their lives as they expected it to be Armageddon. Because they were wrong, a few high-ranking members of the Writing Department, including Ray Franz, who was a nephew of the then-leader F. W. Franz, was disfellowshipped despite balanced pleas. The Governing Body brooked no schism within their church even though the plaints by Ray Franz were relevant and scriptural. The inconsistencies were not Franz's fault, but the previous authors of literature.

This is where Botting anchors, quite correctly, his argument that the Witnesses are an organization similar to Orwell's Ingsoc in 1984. It thrives in doublethink and the "memory hole," where concepts that are inconsistent with the current doctrine (similar to Stalin's Russia) were silenced, ignored, or glossed over. The people who identified or represented these inconsistencies were disfellowshipped or excommunicated, such as Ray Franz.

To Botting's credit, however, he does not paint the Governing Body as evil. They are among the most dutiful Witnesses, as living in Bethel is a full-time profession and they truly believe the doctrine that they preach. Still, I do not welcome a religion that eschews critical thought and analysis: this is part of Christianity's strengths in that it encourages exegesis and critical analysis of scriptural text. The disadvantages are that unity among the Christian sects is nearly impossible, as there are minor differences across them, but the fact that Christianity encourages an open and questioning mind is definitely among its perks.

Overall, the book is an insightful dissection at the conceptual issues at the center of the Witnesses. ...more

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Build Your Brain Power: The Art of Smart Thinking
by Simon Wootton

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This is definitely one of the most integrative books on brain training and development. Not only does it situate its quizzes with evidence and facts, the quizzes themselves are also interesting and boost one's quality of thought. ...more

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The Pornographers
by Akiyuki Nosaka

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