Ivan Kreimer

Great book!

Reviewed: 07-09-19

A pretty interesting book on the true engines of motivation. Unlike what most people think, motivation doesn't come from external (extrinsic) sources, but from within (that is, intrinsic source). The key is to foster intrinsic motivation through three levers:

1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose

The book is mostly geared towards companies and managers, despite the author talks about using the three levers in the personal life of individuals.

Because I actually read Deacy and Ryan's paper on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, most of what was explained in this book wasn't new to me. What's more, the author summarizes many of the latest information on motivation science, mostly from the positive psychology school of thought (Csikszentmihalyi, Dweck, etc); authors which I've read or whose theories I was aware of.

Albeit its few drawbacks, Drive is a great short read for anyone who likes psychology and motivation.

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Business book meets creativity book

Reviewed: 07-09-19

Creativity Inc. is the best business book I've ever read from a non-business person, something that makes this book even better. Instead of falling for the typical advice "gurus" give to make organizations more creative based on "deep analysis" or "decades of experience," Ed Catmull, one of Pixar's founders, explains the story of the company and how he managed to make his company into a top animation studio.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't expecting anything out of it. I've read so many great reviews that I thought it'd be a good idea to start reading it. What a surprise I got.

Sadly, the audiobook didn't let me take any notes, so I will have to re-read it and highlight all the golden advice Catmull shares throughout this book.

Whether you're a business person or not, Creativity Inc. will help you discover the true origin of organizational innovation and creativity.

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Finally, a book I liked from Malcolm Gladwell

Reviewed: 07-09-19

Success isn't coincidental; it's a matter of context. Outliers don't become outliers due to their skills, but to the way (and date) they've been born, the way circumstances led them to success, their culture, their network, their family, and luck.

That's the entire point Gladwell makes in the book, and from all the other books I've read from him — all, except David and Goliath — this is the one I liked the most.

I know some people complain about some of his ideas, and I agree he may not be 100% correct in all of them. But from all the books he's written, this is the most convincing, coherent, and engaging.

I can finally say I liked a Malcolm Gladwell book. Thank you, Mr. Gladwell; now I'm no longer an outlier; I'm like everybody else who has liked your books.

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A true masterpiece

Reviewed: 07-09-19

Another wonderful book by one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century. In this book, Yuval Noah Harari takes us in a journey of human history, but instead of focusing on the past, like he did in his previous book Sapiens, he takes us into the future: what does the future hold for humanity?

Some interesting aspects of this book, which at first bothered me a little bit, was his fascination with the double standards humans have with animals. Sure, we can't let a poor kid in Africa die of hunger, but a cow? Forget it, they're inferior, let them die for us. He goes back to that point over and over, and at the end, he makes good sense. Just because cows don't have consciousness doesn't mean they don't suffer, and if they suffer, do we have the right of making them suffer?

Also, the author seems worried that the Silicon Valley elites, the tech-technocrats, will drive us to a potential world of super-humans ruled by machines and technological autocrats.

All in all, it's an incredibly intriguing book that raises a lot of useful points for the future. While some of his points may not materialize, we can't ignore them. The future of our species depends on it.

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What an incredible screwed up story!

Reviewed: 07-09-19

A captivating story about the nefarious rise and fall of a modern con-woman, Elizabeth Holmes. The author, who was severely criticized by the company, paints a somber yet balanced picture of the story.

This story, more sadly, shows the risks of the "fake it until you make it" attitude of the Silicon Valley and how people can be led to be a part of an evil organization by fear and manipulation. Even sadder is the absurdity (not to say the absolute idiocy) of the investors of the company, many of whom have been world leaders in their prime (Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, among others). It shows that power and money corrupts; it shows that truth doesn't exist; and it shows that a narrative can win over reality when such narrative is needed (let's not forget people wanted a young woman like Elizabeth Holmes to succeed for equality purposes, and to regain the lost feeling of heroism the tech industry lost after Steve Jobs' death).

All in all, a wonderful story for anyone who's a member of the tech industry, and most importantly, a key story for students of power relations.

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What an incredible book!

Reviewed: 07-09-19

This is by far one of the best books I've ever read. The name of the book sells its idea right away: it's a not-so-short (albeit very short by the amount of content you could pour in it) history of nearly every hard science. From oceanography to quantum physics to geology to genetics and beyond, this book touches on the history of each of these sciences and how they all play together a role in the way we see and live in our world.

The author transmits his passion and curiosity through every page of the book, something that makes the reading experience flawless. If you're a curiosity geek — one of those people who can't resist checking random Wikipedia pages — then this book will be a choice you won't regret.

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A wonderful book, except that...

Reviewed: 07-09-19

Honestly, I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but the author made one fatal mistake: he forgot the point of his book.

It's true as some reviewers have said that the author spends too much time explaining too many things that aren't related to On Nature of Things, but that's what makes it such a wonderful book. If you're a history buff like me, you will love this book. You will learn about the history of books, papirus and paper, Epicurus, Lucretius, and the Western Schism.

But the last two chapters, the one where the author talks about what was inside On Nature of Things and how it impacted on later humanists and scientists, it lacks the impact you'd have thought. I don't mind learning so many things from the context of the poem, but if you can't explain specifically how it changed the world and how, as the name says, "the world became modern," then you missed the point of the book.

A shame because the first two/thirds were amazing and highly enjoyable as an audiobook.

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Everything is better than ever!

Reviewed: 07-09-19

For those of you who were born in a golden cradle in the first world, this book is a must-read. You probably think that outside your comfortable lifestyle, there's a world of pain, death, and insurmountable problems. It's not like that.

Coming from a country in what the authors call "Level 3," I know things can be bad at times, but in general, the world is doing better than most think. I know it's hard to believe it; all the time the media loves to chant about the problems of poor people and how much they're "exploited."

Hans Rosling, his son and his wife, show ups that the world has been improving steadily since the Industrial Revolution started. In contrast to Matt Ridley's "The Rational Optimist," the authors don't believe capitalism and trade have been the main engine of progress. In fact, the authors don't give explanations as to why the world is doing better; they simply show you things are improving.

Factfulness is the perfect book for those people who constantly read the news and are worried that the world is going to end in a tragic way. As the authors explain, the world is far from being perfect — it could do much better — but at least things are better than you think.

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A great concept badly organized

Reviewed: 07-09-19

A highly interesting book that, for many parts, seems to lose sight of what's important. There are times where the author gives wonderful explanations of how the genome actually works...and there are moments where he goes off to explain random facts of human anthropology.

While I enjoyed most of the book, it seemed to me that in many parts of this book the author felt like he had to write a chapter without a clear idea of what he was trying to explain. The author seems a bit too interested in reading himself than thinking whether what he's writing is important to the main idea of the chapter (or book).

Still, I liked it a lot, and the parts that are interesting (like the last chapter) are worth the pain.

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1 person found this helpful

A fun story

Reviewed: 07-09-19

A fun autobiography from the founder of McDonald's (at least as the gigantic company it is today). There are some interesting blurbs here and there, but overall it's not as well-written or interesting as Shoe Dog, which seems similar (both man who built a huge retail empire from almost nowhere), but it's not. Since it's short and easy to read, I recommend it to anyone who likes to read biographies of business founders, but not as a way to learn much about the actual tactics used by McDonald's to become what it is today.

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1 person found this helpful