skids73

Much better than expected!

Reviewed: 10-03-22

I picked this up on a whim, mostly because the price was reduced significantly. From the description, I was pretty sure that I'd heard all of this at least once before and most of it several times before. Moreover, there was a good chance that the author would err on the side of being too pedantic.

I can't say that I learned something that I didn't already know from other sources. However, the author does an exceptionally good job of organizing and distilling the material. This isn't a random collection of anecdotes from someone who hasn't really digested the material. It's clear that the author(s) have spent an extraordinary amount of time actively engaging the content; resulting in a very effective presentation of the core issues. The anecdotes scattered throughout the book are interesting and provide useful context, effectively avoiding the pedantic pitfall that I feared before listening.

I'm a fan.

That said, where the heck is the PDF? This is a book could really use a pdf, if for no other reason than to provide chapter summaries and links to web sites.

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Frustrating!

Reviewed: 09-21-22

Don't be fooled by the title, this is a book about energy. The Flying Car is a metaphor for all of the things that could have been had we been provided with the abundant, inexpensive energy that we expected in the 40's and 50's. Much of the book is concerned with the social and political structures that have lead to the "great stagnation." There are a lot of compelling discussions about what could have been had we pushed harder on nuclear energy and nano technology. In the final verdict, it's worth the price of admission, but I can't bring myself to making a ringing endorsement.

This could easily have been a great book. Unfortunately the editor (if there was one) completely failed in their duty to make sure that the arguments were coherent. As it stands, the book is an interesting collection of rambling arguments that jump from one idea to another (we got from living in 4 mile towers to Dyson stars in less than 10 minutes) that leave your head spinning. Some of this is certainly due to listening rather than reading the material and the fact that Audible failed to provide a pdf, showing the plots (this is really inexcusable). However, I've listened to a large number of books that cover deeply technical material and never have I had so many, "how could what I'm hearing now possibly relate to what I was just hearing?" moments as with this book.

This is really unfortunate. The topic is important and the general approach is fascinating. Even with the random transitions between topics, I believe that I have learned a great deal in listening to this book and I've become aware of several of my blind spots. I expect that I'll pick up the Kindle version and listen to the material at least one more time. However, I won't be recommending this to others without significant caveats.

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Subtitle is misleading

Reviewed: 08-17-22

This really is a book about learning (as the primary title suggests) slanted toward teaching (and parenting) with a bit of self-improvement thrown in for good measure. References to machine learning and the theory of how our brains learn are few and far between. There is no attempt to address why brains are better than any machine, or even how to measure this. This is unfortunate as this would have been a fascinating topic to explore. That said, this is a very good book if you want to understand "How We Learn." The material is well organized and the arguments are well supported without being overly academic.

So, if you want to learn about "How We Learn," but don't care too much about, "Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine...for Now," you should get this book -- you'll learn a lot. If your interest is primarily about the relationship between "natural" learning and "machine" learning, you will find somethings here, but there are likely better sources.

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3 people found this helpful

Glad I didn't pay full price

Reviewed: 06-05-21

I picked this one up on a special deal -- I can't really recall the deal (2 for 1, daily deal, ...), but it was still overpriced.

The characters are weak, the plot is weak, and the story is incomplete. It's really not acceptable to have two independent story lines that never merge in a single "novel" - the editors, if there were any, should be embarrassed.

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4 people found this helpful

Losses all humor about 2/3 of the way through

Reviewed: 07-05-19

The premise is pretty good and the story starts off pretty well. Unfortunately, it becomes all too serious about two thirds of the way through the book. I finished the book in hopes that some of the humor would find it's way back into the story line.... it didn't. Will Wheaton does a great job, but his voice and intonations are wasted toward the end and serve as a continual reminder that you really want to hear something humorous.

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6 people found this helpful

Really enjoyed this one

Reviewed: 12-03-16

If you are looking for things to dislike about this book, I'm sure you'll find them. For me, it was a fun read/listen. The general narration on the "hero story" felt a bit academic from time to time, but it was integrated into the story line very well.

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1 person found this helpful

Fantastic story, well written and well read

Reviewed: 12-03-16

What a treat. This is a truly amazing story -- one that should be told and re-told. The content of this book is superbly written. The research is phenomenal and really well organized. The performance is also exceptional -- a perfect match for the story.

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It really is Young Adult.

Reviewed: 03-17-16

The book is OK, but the content really is young adult. I read other reviews, claiming that the story dealt with adult themes. Rubbish. It's really bad for the first half of the book, it gets better in the second half, but never really gets to anything I would consider an adult theme.

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Mixed -- some good, some bad

Reviewed: 01-18-16

This started out OK. Deets is (was) an interesting character, others less so. Jason Burke could go either way -- interesting or trite.

Based on potential, I bought the next book in the series.... my mistake. I listed to the whole book, hoping that there might be a little depth to the characters. Every time the author got close to doing something interesting with the characters, he took them right back to being superficial.

I don't understand all of the great reviews and the high ratings. I guess they are entirely based on the action - there's lots of action.

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TV for your ears

Reviewed: 06-04-15

The characters are thinner than tissue paper and not very interesting. The story moves along and will draw you in, but it lacks any credibility and parts of the storyline are dropped -- why was the apartment burgled? After listening to the story, I'm still trying to figure out why I cared to listen to the whole thing. Lucky it was short and I picked it up on a Daily Deal for $2.

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