Thoughts on books.
Matthew Syed, ‘Rebel Ideas’
What’s it about:
‘Rebel Ideas examines the power of ‘cognitive diversity’ – the ability to think differently about the world around us.’ (From the author’s website)
Some key ideas I enjoyed:
P22/23 – often people buy unique gifts instead of sticking to wedding lists. These senders preferred unique gifts themselves; while those who sent from the list preferred to receive those from the list. An amazing example of how we see things from our own frame of reference.
P66 – the term ‘knowledge clustering’ where often graduates from the same schools, who have had the same lecturers will have one form of knowledge.
P114 – two forms of leaderships can form in groups – through dominance or prestige.
Page from book ‘Rebel Ideas’, p 115
Why it’s relevant right now:
Cognitive diversity is shown to be a key way to increase innovation and creativity and solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Interest factor: 4/5
Coffee table cred: 3/5
Ignorance of external world while reading: 5/5
Book cover design: 2/5
Help the existential crisis: 4/5
‘Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence’ by Anna Lembke
What’s it about:
‘In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain . . . and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check.’ (from the author’s website)
What Lynn learned:
Here’s a key summary of the lessons of balance, p.234.
P72 - There are some handy steps involved in dopamine fasting (‘goal of which is to restore a level balance… and renew our capacity to experience pleasure in many different forms’)
D- Data
O – Objectives
P – Problems
A – Abstinence
M – Mindfulness
I – Insight
N – Next steps
E – Experiment
A great guide to give insight into breaking up an overreliance on any unhelpful behaviour.
Fave quote:
P 196 ‘having too much material wealth can be as bad as having too little Dopamine overload impairs our ability to delay gratification. Social media exaggeration and ‘post-truth’ politics (let’s call it what it is, lying) amplifying our sense of scarcity. The result is that even amidst plenty, we feel impoverished.’
Why relevant right now:
We are living in an instant gratification world – it’s time to learn how it works and how to cope.
Interest factor: 3/5
Coffee table cred: 3/5
Ignorance of external world while reading: 3/5
Book cover design: 3/5
Help the existential crisis: 3/5
