Every other Thanksgiving weekend, the Logan clan gets together to eat and talk, talk and eat. I’m not sure which we do more. It doesn’t really matter: we love both.
We talk about everything, including religion and politics — even church politics. It can get interesting because we don’t agree on much everything. Hopefully, we do it without offending each other. (If I offended you this last weekend, please accept my apologies…)
As part of our discussions, I recommended quite a few books, web sites, and videos. Rather than send individual e-mails to remind those I talked to, I’m writing this post, sharing it on Facebook, and tagging those involved.
What We Should Be Good At
The heart of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future is a discussion of six “senses” that are necessary in the Conceptual Age: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Even better, after each chapter, Pink lists exercises and resources for developing that sense.
A Whole New Mind is the most recent book I finished in 2010.
Doing What We’re Good At
These books recommend that we focus on doing what we do well, rather than attempting to improve our weak areas. We’ll improve much faster and enjoy the process.
Here are my strengths according to Strengths Finder 2.0.
Why We Do What We Do
Do we do what we do for money or something else? The answer might surprise you. Read Daniel H. Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, or for a short introduction, watch the video summary below.
Universalism
If God is good and all-powerful, would He do anything other than save everyone? These books answer that question and then address how that answer should effect what we do.
Bible Interpretation
Does the Bible condone owning slaves, oppressing women, and killing homosexuals? The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart discusses how the Bible has been (re)interpreted to oppose slavery and liberate women and how the same techniques should be used to change Christian’s attitudes toward gays.
Evolution
What is Evolution? What is the evidence for it? Can it be consistent with Christianity? These three books answer those questions, and many more.
There are a couple more good books in the list of books I read in 2009.
Geology
What forces shaped the geography of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon? One major factor were the numerous Missoula floods. Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods is by the same author as many of the Roadside Geology series books (listed below).
Bicycle Truth
Bicycle Truth “is dedicated to pointing out those leaders in the Adventist community who do not believe like I do, mostly by publicly outing them in a “humble, loving, winsome manner” on this website as Philistine bicycle riders. This website collects some of the best thinking on the subject of bicycle prohibition from a Seventh-day Adventist perspective.” ;-)
The Black Swan
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable discusses exceedingly rare events with massive consequences. I’ve talked about this book to everyone. Read it, if only for its discussion on confirmation bias.
Nuclear Weapons
“Ben’s BBs” graphically illustrates the number of nuclear weapons the US possesses.
Winning Wars
In this bracingly honest talk, international security strategist Thomas Barnett outlines a post-Cold War solution for the foundering U.S. military that is both sensible and breathtaking in its simplicity: Break it in two.
Miscellaneous
- KinectHacks.net: “Welcome to KinectHacks.net! Our goal is to become the best news site and discussion community about the hacking of Microsoft Kinect.”
- Stanford Engineering: linear systems and optimization | the fourier transform and its applications: One example of how upper education is changing. People can now choose to get high quality education for free, only needing to pay if the parchment certificate is important. Does this compete with a traditional education or supplement it?
Conclusion
Did I forget to mention or link something I recommended? Let me know in the comments.
I bet you wish you were at the Logan family reunion. ;-)
2 responses to “I Recommend: A Reunion Bibliography”
Awesome post Brent! I've added several books to my amazon wish list! The RSA Animate video is very very interesting!
Thanks! I'd like to say I read the books so you don't have to, but it's not true. Once I read a great book, I want everyone else to read it, too. :-)
RSA Animate has a bunch of other great summary videos on YouTube. Check them out.