Spirit of the Laws [Presentation Thursdays]

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Another set of slides on Political Thought, this time pertaining to Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu.

Although I based this slide deck on Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws, the objective wasn't to make a distinction between the letter of the law (what it says) and the latter's spirit (what the law is supposed to mean), per se. Rather, one of the key arguments Montesquieu was trying to make was that laws were as much about context as they were a matter of content. This contrasts with other perspectives on law, such as that of Aquinas, for instance.

It's unfortunate that Slideshare doesn't always display fonts correctly; but at least the text is still (somewhat) readable. On another note, the slide template is one of the better ones from PowerPoint XP, though I can't imagine how anyone would use it for other kinds of presentations.

[For more about Presentation Thursdays, read the first in the series].

Why an E-Book is Better than a Print Book

1. Hyperlinks.
   
   
2. Reflowable text.
   
   
3. Searchable content.
   
   
4. Purchase once, read on multiple devices.
   
   
5. Multiple books, one device.
   
   
6. Portrait? Landscape? Portrait and landscape.
   
   
7. No dust, dogears, mold, or smudges.
   
   
8. You can zoom into (and out of) pictures.
   
   
9. Strictly speaking, there's no way to burn an e-book.
   
   
10. You'll never crack the spine.
    

(Since I have argued the opposite case, I thought it would only be fair to write this up. Truth is, I find that I prefer some books in print -- particularly those that involve a lot of visuals -- and others in electronic format. And notwithstanding the above, no, I don't think print will ever go out of style.)

Problem Solving 101 [Review]

A few years back, former McKinsey & Company management consultant Ken Watanabe (not the actor) wrote a book for children about problem solving and critical thinking. It became a massive bestseller in his native Japan, so much so that even adults were reading the book and spreading the word.

That book, Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People, is now available for English-speaking audiences.

It's easy enough to see why the book would have such appeal and generate so much interest. First, the team at Penguin's Portfolio imprint did an amazing job with the book's layout and design: it's easily one of the most charming and best-looking books I've seen of late, particularly for younger readers. Second, and most importantly, where the content is concerned Problem Solving 101 is a practical playbook on the rudiments analytical thinking, mainly introducing readers to a simple framework for using decision trees effectively.

However, it's important to be clear that Problem Solving 101 is a book aimed squarely for readers primarily of the tween to early teen age bracket. By and large, students of that age will get the most out of the book. This isn't to say that adults won't find it useful -- Seth Godin is probably right in his impression that "there are many people...who need to read it, who should read it, who will benefit enormously from reading it" -- but the book's main audience of children and teens would benefit more from picking up the critical thinking skills described in the book at their relatively early age.

Brain Trust [Review]

I like trivia in general. In fact, I seem to have a knack for picking up disparate bits of information and just...filing it away in my head (or so my wife thinks, anyway). That said, it's not like I make it a point to read up on trivia as such. Quite the opposite, actually: for me to pick up a book on trivia, it had better be either uniquely interesting or have some other compelling reason to capture my fancy.

Science writer and self-professed geek Garth Sundem's book Brain Trust certainly meets both criteria.

Granted, it's not a trivia book in the conventional sense of a compendium featuring obscure facts and statistics (although some are mentioned in passing). On that score, the book's subtitle best describes its unique selling proposition: 93 Top Scientists Reveal Lab-Tested Secrets to Surfing, Dating, Dieting, Gambling, Growing Man-Eating Plants, and More! That's it: Brain Trust is a hodgepodge of things to know from the esoteric (such as how to create cyborg bugs) to the practical (uh...always be the person seated in a speed-dating situation), each explained by a Nobel prize-winning scientist, PhD degree-holder, and at least one world-class Scrabble player.

You bet it's awesome.

When I think of the work that Sundem had to do for Brain Trust -- he writes about this in the book, and it's hilarious -- I can't help but admire the guy. He is, clearly, a very capable writer with personality in spades. But managing to put together a book such as this, on such disparate topics, and based on interviews with individuals at the frontier of their individual disciplines? That's medal-worthy at the very least. While it could be argued that Sundem occasionally tries too hard to inject humor into the book to make it more interesting, I suppose this is just par for the course -- after all, you can't expect someone to interview so many great intellects without becoming a little unhinged.

But I digress (and jest, in case you missed it). Brain Trust is a wonderfully entertaining and informative book well worth readers' time and attention.

[This review is based on a pre-publication proof obtained through NetGalley.]