Todd Allen > Recent Status Updates

Great book so far!

Buy BITCOIN! Buy ETHER! (Buy low, sell high, in case you were unaware.)

A classic that just turned 40. As relevant now as it was then.

I've been meaning to read this for years. Coincidentally, a podcast I am listening to, Inquiring MInds, mentioned this book during one of its episodes, how it's the go-to book for con men. I can see why.

This is the first book I've read written by Bill Nye. Complicated though the intricacies of climate change are, The Science Guy is able to outline for the reader the basics in an understandable way. He provides background for how we've gotten to where we are, and reveals the challenges and opportunities in our fight to save the planet. Lots of good stuff!

Entrancing book that details the history and science that has brought us to our present understanding of what makes our nearest star tick. Lots of wit intertwined with the science makes the book very readable, and actually quite funny at times!

This is kicking my butt, but I'm marshalling on, for now anyway. A multiverse makes sense from the standpoint of our evolution in understanding reality: We thought the world was flat. Then we thought the sun revolved around the Earth. After realizing the opposite, we thought our solar system the only one. Realizing this not to be true, we thought our galaxy was the only one. If we extrapolate...

Just started the book. Was prompted by an excellent presentation, available on YouTube, entitled Intelligent Life Beyond Earth. The author, Chris Impey, is a renown University of Arizona Astronomy professor, has much written material to his credit, including many books. This one is based on his experience teaching science to Buddhist monks in Tibet. The book is quite engaging so far!

Fantastic book so far. Great overview of our species beginnings and the recent evidence backing up the theories that attempt to unravel why it was us who were 'chosen' to survive rather than our other close relatives.

Great book/ reference combo. Took me a long time to get through it. I picked it up and put it down many times during and between books. Fortunately, the 'plot' was always easily recalled!

Fascinating perspectives, mostly.

Great book. Its title pretty much says it all.

Interesting perspective on the concept of spirituality from one of today's most outspoken atheists. A Hocus Pokus free guide that attempts to unravel the difficulties that have made the benefits of deity-free Eastern meditative practices inaccessible to most Westerners. Being a practitioner himself, Sam Harris reveals his lifelong efforts in reconciling the spiritual states he has achieved.

Another page turner from the founders of the Reality Club, presently Edge.org. Many worrisome things if you think about it. Not that as individuals we have any conscious power over the direction of complex systems per se; being aware of them makes for restful sleep, however.

This is not a difficult read. There are multiple chapters dedicated to the discussion of people who had an impact on Asimov's life. These I find a bit tedious at times. Nonetheless a very pleasant read so far.

A revealing and sometimes not-so-flattering recount from a man who never had a problem telling himself how smart he was, and reconciling any information to the contrary---in his favor, of course! (I say this tongue-in-cheek, as Mr. Asimov portrays himself as a person able to admit his faults almost as easily as he is able to list his attributes.)

Great preface by Richard Dawkins. Memes, Universal Darwinism, the suggestion that one may be a special case of the other, and an unambiguous definition of evolution has been my fare thus far. Looking forward to the rest.

This is the first book I've attempted by this author. His name has been referenced, sometimes reverently and sometimes not, in other material I've read over the years. Definitely worth the wait. Lots of eye-opening perspectives on ways to think.

This reading ground to a halt a little over a month ago. I'm going to shelf it for now. Whether its innards will ever reflect off the gleam in mine eyes is TBD.