Book Notes
A running catalog of every sci-fi book I've read, organized by author and series.
A framework for thinking about systems that gain from disorder, where the real edge comes from tinkering and embracing shocks rather than predicting them.
A walk through the computer science concepts that quietly shape how we search, sort, schedule, and decide our way through everyday life.
How cycles, psychology, and credit interact to shape markets, and why most investors get the timing exactly wrong.
Notes on why most predictions fail and what separates the rare forecasters who actually get it right, from Fermi estimates to Bayesian updating to the courage of saying "I'm not sure.
Why the tools we use keep pulling us toward shallow work, and what that means as organizations grow.
Notes on how organizations grow without losing what made them good, from mindset and accountability to cutting cognitive load and knowing when to subtract.
Notes on building stronger arguments by breaking claims into reasons and conclusions, defining your terms, and narrowing your scope so your thinking actually lands.
Notes on what separates real strategy from dressed-up goal setting, and why the hard part is choosing what not to do.
Every decision is a bet on the future, and getting better at life means learning to separate skill from luck while respecting the role of both.
Judea Pearl's argument that statistics abandoned causation, and how Bayesian networks, counterfactuals, and causal diagrams bring it back.
Notes on how modern applications quietly become bespoke data systems, and the surprisingly tricky problems of replication, partitioning, and consensus that follow.
Notes on William Zinsser's classic about cutting clutter, writing with clarity, and finding the humanity in every sentence you put on the page.
Most people don't find coaching valuable because they're overthinking it, but a few small habit changes can fix that.
Notes on how we abstract meaning through language, why all statements are probabilistic, and how primitive semantics persist even as technology accelerates.
A look at why meaning, not money, drives our best work and how easily that motivation can be destroyed.
Notes on Ray Dalio's approach to decision-making, intellectual humility, and why writing down your principles matters more than most people think.
Notes on how humans went from underdogs to ecological serial killers through fire, gossip, and the strange power of shared fiction.
Charlie Munger's investing wisdom distilled into mental models, psychological traps to avoid, and why the best investors spend most of their time reading, thinking, and waiting.
Notes on feedback, management, and why caring personally and challenging directly work best together.
A look at Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done framework and why understanding the real reasons people buy things matters more than the data you already have.