Attention, Freedom, Delight: Why We Read
ChatGPT: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs Introduction In The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, Alan Jacobs presents a passionate defense of reading as a joyful, liberating act. At a time when digital technologies overwhelm attention, he argues that books are not a duty but an […]
The Age of Diminished Expectations: Narcissism in Modern Life
ChatGPT: The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations – Christopher Lasch Christopher Lasch’s 1979 book The Culture of Narcissism examines how American society has shifted towards self-absorption, therapeutic values, and consumerism, eroding traditional ideals of community, responsibility, and progress. Written during a time of economic decline, political disillusionment, and cultural […]
Asteroid Alert: How We Spot Threats and Defend Earth
ChatGPT: 🌍 Asteroids and Planetary Defense: How We Watch the Skies A lecture handout 1. The Wake-Up Call: Asteroid 2024 YR4 2. How Scientists Discover Near-Earth Asteroids Ground-Based Surveys Space-Based Infrared Observatories Rapid Risk Assessment 3. How We Observe and Characterize Them 4. If One Were Headed Our Way — What Could We Do? A. […]
The MANIAC and the Birth of AI
ChatGPT: The MANIAC: Genius, Machines, and the Dark Edge of Progress Introduction Benjamín Labatut’s The MANIAC (2023) is a haunting literary exploration of John von Neumann’s life and legacy. Rather than a straightforward biography, it is a hybrid of fact and fiction, blending historical truth with mythic storytelling. Von Neumann, a Hungarian-American polymath, contributed to […]
Beating Anabolic Resistance: Strength and Mobility in Aging
ChatGPT: Anabolic Resistance in the Aging Population: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Strategies This article examines anabolic resistance, the age-related decline in skeletal muscle’s ability to respond to key anabolic stimuli like protein and exercise. It explains how this blunted muscle protein synthesis contributes to sarcopenia (muscle loss) and dynapenia (strength loss), leading to reduced mobility and […]
Unscaled – The founder’s edge against bureaucracy
ChatGPT: Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode: Lessons from Brian Chesky’s Talk This article reflects on a powerful talk Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky gave at a Y Combinator event in September 2024. Chesky challenged the conventional wisdom about how to scale companies, contrasting “manager mode” with what he and others are now calling “founder mode.” Conclusion […]
Alphabet, Characters, and the Bilingual Mind
ChatGPT: 🧠 The Reading Brain: Alphabetic, Logographic, and Bilingual Learning Introduction Reading is not a natural function of the human brain; it is a skill we acquire by repurposing existing neural circuits. Different writing systems place distinct demands on the brain, shaping how literacy develops. Alphabetic systems such as English rely on phonological decoding, while […]
How the Brain Learns to Read
ChatGPT: Neural bases of reading acquisition and reading disability This editorial from Frontiers in Neuroscience (2023) provides an overview of 14 studies on how the brain supports reading acquisition, reading development, and dyslexia. It examines behavioral, neuroimaging, and cross-linguistic research that sheds light on typical literacy growth and the challenges faced by individuals with reading […]
Money as Trust: How Finance Built Civilization
ChatGPT: Money: A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams What’s the Book About? David McWilliams weaves an expansive narrative revealing how money is far more than currency—it’s a social technology, deeply intertwined with the rise of civilization, culture, and human progress. From ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets to modern cryptocurrencies, he narrates 5,000 years of human […]
Cosmic Ripples: How Black Holes Shake the Universe
ChatGPT: Black Holes and Bangs – Chris Lintott (Gresham Lecture, 2024) This lecture explores the discovery and study of gravitational waves and black holes, showing how once purely theoretical concepts have become central to modern astronomy. Chris Lintott traces the journey from Einstein’s relativity to LIGO’s groundbreaking detections, the astrophysical significance of neutron star mergers, […]