2021-06-15

Books

• A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age. I started this book some time ago, but didn’t really get into it. This time, I think I’ll finish it. The first part is a mostly personal history, which is interesting, but part two is really where it starts to get good. As someone completely unfamiliar with information theory, the basic concepts are presented very well and clearly. You can see more reflections here and [here](../book-notes/a-mind-at-play.md]. I’ll add more to the latter as I go.
• The Dispossessed. I’ve never read Ursula Le Guin. This seemed to be the top choice in a five minute internet search. I checked out the audiobook from VPL after reading a tweet requesting recommendations on science fiction utopias. It’s like comparative politics, economics and philosophy, sprinkled with philosophy of science, wrapped up in a character driven plot. I like.

Articles

• Ross Douthat responding to Marc Andreesen’s reality privilege riff. I don’t know if I buy the basis of the reality privilege argument simply based on my experience as a baker and barista. Also it just feels… wrong. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle, as Douthat suggests, but I’d probably push the counter argument further still. This is something is like to think more about.

Podcasts

• This episode of the Hidden Forces podcast. Rene Girard send to be having a moment. I suspect it has something to do with Peter Thiel
• Diana Uribe’s history of Mexico (March 12 is the date of the first episode). This is awesome. Diana Uribe is a cronista, locutora y difusora de historia that had been telling the story of Latin America and the world for over 20 years. She has a wonderfully hyperbolic, magical realist style that makes me feel like I’m intercepting a radio signal from somewhere across the border, thirty years ago.