The WEIRDEST People in the World - Joseph Henrich

 A potentially fascinating book exploring the psychological and conceptual differences between the Western European psyche and culture and that of the rest of the world, and how this helps explain the rise and dominance of the West.  He looks at all kinds of things - individualism vs. social and familial integration,  social cohesion vs. individual perception and judgement, the locus of causality and guilt, and many others.

One interesting point that he makes is how the Catholic Church revolutionized social relations in the West by forbidding cousin marriage, thereby forcing people to reach out beyond their immediate familial circles to develop a wider web of relations.

Unfortunately, the book delves into the background, research and experiments a bit too deeply and it begins to drag.  I would like to read a version with the main themes and conclusions and a simple summary of the background related to each.  Because of this quality, I couldn't finish the book.

Try again, reading only the beginning and end of each section for the main points and themes.

How to Change Your Mind - Michael Pollan

Basically a look at the history of psychedelic drugs in the U.S. , and an account of some personal experiences.
As a look at the actual psychedelic experience, there are other better books out there, the old classics by Huxley, etc.
In this book though, there are some very interesting facts:
- psychedelics (mostly LSD) were used by psychiatrists in the 50s and 60s to treat alcoholism and some other serious mental illnesses with considerable success
- there was a lot of research done on this topic - for political reasons, during the late 60s, this all ended when these drugs were listed as restricted.
- psychiatrists are now again looking at using these drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions, depression, anxiety
- the counterculture use of these drugs as spiritual tools has never really died out, just gone underground - there are people who work as guides for this kind of experience if you are interested

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow - Yuval Noah Harari

A very interesting look at some of the possible important trends emerging as a result of technological change largely.  A look at how human potential is shifting as technology changes.
Some main themes:

- human immortality; the possibility of drastically increasing the human life span

- the slow, step-by-step ceding of control of decisions to technology (smartphones), big data and AI; what happens if (when?) AI begins to set its own priorities

- a brutal look at how humans have manipulated biology to produce the modern meat factory;  the possibility that intelligent computers could come to treat humans in a similar fashion

- the importance of the stories we tell in the evolution of humans and society

- threats to liberalism as humans become less necessary as a work force

- the concept of living beings as algorithms; problems and issues with this idea

A brief summary.  A very dense book.  Worth rereading.

The Moral Lives of Animals - Dale Peterson

A fascinating book with personal anecdotes and scientific research centred around the presence of such "moral" values as empathy, selflessness, helpfulness, generosity, kindness, fairness etc.  He offers many instances of animals demonstrating this moral attributes that are often seen as originating in religion.  The book presents the case that these traits go way back from an evolutionary point of view as useful behaviours, especially in the context of social animals and animals living in groups.  

Worth rereading as it is impossible to truly appreciate the wealth of information and reflections around this topic in just one read.

The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe - Marija Gimbutas

Subtitled "Myths and Cult Images"

This is an overview of ceramic decoration and various cult figures produced in pre Indo-european Europe in the late Neolothic period.  The artifacts are arranged by ritual functions, goddess and god myths or religious roles.

The decorative art work on the ceramics is spectacular.

I find it an interesting book for several reasons:

1)  The image Gimbutas creates of  a pre Indo-european culture and society built on very different grounds from the social structures and arts of the warrior culture of the Indo-european newcomers.

2)  The fact that some of the mythology, gods and goddesses and totemic animals survive even into Greek culture, especially in their drama - animal characters, performance with masks.  Greek culture than seems to occupy an intermediary position between this very ancient world and the european culture that grew out the the renaissance rediscovery of the Ancient Greeks.

3)  It is interesting to see mythical or symbolic or totemic thinking behind some of the images and cult figures from that time period.  It is striking how grounded in daily experience of the world this type of thinking is - so different from rational, linear, causal thinking.  Almost a "sideways" kind of thinking.  The purpose of this kind of thinking doesn't seem to be power and control so much as recognition of and participation in larger cycles or forces.
At first it seemed to me that we have largely lost this way of thinking but in fact it has just changed realms - from religion and the big unfolding of life, to consumerism.  Our myths are lifestyle myths; our cult priests and priestesses are celebrities, and our totemic figures and symbolic decorations are our purchases that allow us to identify with the myth, partake of it in some small way.  (Interesting how even such  longstanding human basic psychological process or structure can be coopted by the consumer society and the drive for profit...)

Gimbutas also has another book on this period that focuses on fleshing out more fully the life, religion and society of these Old Europe peoples.

Saints of the Shadow Bible - Ian Ranking

A post-retirement Rebus novel.  Another meditation on the self-serving self-involvement of the members of society's leadership.  Also another look at how the vacuous, impersonal rights and respect babblings of modern corporate culture blind us and make us incapable of engaging with elements that endanger our social order.  There are crossovers in Rankin's view of the modern police force with the ideas in John Gray - this living in a mythical, fantasy world that in the end blinds us to the world around us, leaving us in a hollow echo chamber of our own babble.

Another great book by Rankin.

The Silence of Animals - John Gray

Subtitled "On Progress and Other Modern Myths"

Collection of short essays that flow from on to another but shift between topics.

Interesting examination of his usual issues, but also of our very concept of what it means to be human and how we set ourselves apart from the natural world - again a reflection on the role of Christianity (and other Eastern Mediterranean religions) in shaping the mythology (personal, historical, political, social of our time).

He also spends time examining the concept of our "true self, real me" that is at the heart of modern western economics and social mythology.

In sections he explores the experience of animals and the world from other nonwestern religious points of view.

A book to reread repeatedly if you want to get everything out of it.

The Science Delusion - Curtis White

Interesting read.  An attack on scientific materialism.  I don't relate that much to Curtis' indignation, but then again I don't have to put up with the arrogance of scientists on a regular basis, not working at  a university.  I am currently reading one of the books he criticizes so sharply - Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing:  A Universe from Nothing.  I have realized I don't see scientific cosmology as a threat in itself (how it is used by politics and Big Business is another matter).  To me, current research and theories on cosmology, the nature and origin of the universe, life, etc. are fascinating stories (which is a bit of an insight in itself RE me and my attitudes...)  Other stories from other domaines can be just as fascinating - I am reminded of Italo Calvino's Cosmicomiche.

What this books has, though, is an amazing set of references to writers on ontological perspectives and speculators on the nature of reality.  A real mine to be explored.

The Big Disconnect - Giles Slade 2012

Slade sums up the focus of the book in the Introduction:  "What you will read in the coming pages is a description of how we progressively sacrificed the quality of human life for our economic well-being.  If, currently, your best friend is your iPhone or iPad, after reading this book you will understand why that is so, and also you will finally understand the real cost of numbing the pangs of human loneliness with human-mehanical neo-friendships."

In the course of the book, Slade traces the development of this condition of substituting technology for real human activity and interaction.  To my surprise, he traces it back to the introduction of the radio.  And already at that time, you see the clever marketing trick of audience ratiocination - the cosy image of the family huddled together around the radio apparently only lasted 3 or 4 years.  Radio manufacturers quickly saw their sales taper off as most families soon had a radio.  What to do? Create target audience specific programming, encourage tribal identities, so everyone in the family soon needs their own radio so they can confirm their new identity by listening to the shows targeted at them.  Brilliant marketing... not so brilliant social phenomenon, according to Slade.

Here is another quote he includes in the book from William Deresiewicz:  "We have given our hearts to machines, and now we are turning into machines."  Faux Friendships, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 2012  This is another interesting point, and I see it connect to that other elusive subject I am interested in - the essence or zeitgeist of the corporate structure/mindset/organizing principle.  You can see this trend from early on in the mass production revolution - humans become extensions or servicers of the machine.  Corporate hiring practices now are like this too.  Instead of submitting a carefully thought out, creative resume, you go through their on-line process, responding to a set collection of questions in categories.  The questions and categories are determined by the software, the algorithm, the computer process they use for screening applications.  You, the prospective employee, are no longer yourself, you are an extension of the machine.  Efficient, yes, but also completely dehumanizing.  This is maybe one of the key points of the corporate Way - everything is reduced to a cog of the larger machine, a process dictated by efficiency, profit (for a few), and technology.  This has been said before, and has been true for a while now, but this corporate ethos is invading more and more areas of our life.  (Which is what Rukhoff talks about in this book, Life Inc.)

Another point Slade brings up is the origin of a materialistic society in the U.S.  He place that origin right at the end of the second world war.  Social leaders were worried about the returning soldiers willingness to return to the narrow confines of the poor worker's life after experiencing their strength during the war, and making so many sacrifices in defence of "free" society.  The strategy that was hit upon was to increase availability of material goods and create the possibility of acquiring ever more bigger and better material goods.  (This increase in availability is also tied to the mass-production corporate structure itself.)  This is an interesting point worth exploring further.

Yet another area of interest is his discussion of trust in modern society.  In smaller, agrarian society trust is based on directly knowing people.  In large urban, industrial societies, you don't really know anyone -society is anonymous and distanced.  The need for trust was then extended to the "expert" and we see a growth in the importance and role of experts.  Unfortunately, these days even this trust in experts is waning, as it becomes more and more obvious that the main concern of experts is to protect their position and interests (or the interests of who is paying them).

An important book - a few sections are a bit of a slog, but well worth reading.  I wish he had included a bibliography.

Fooled by Randomness - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Like his other book, Antifragile:  Things that Gain from Disorder, this book is really too big and too complex to discuss in any kind of succinct way.  There are also far too many good quotes to even start transcribing them.  In fact, there are also too many leads to even note down.  Only thing to do is buy it, get a few highlighters, and then try to not just highlight the whole book...
As I digest his complex web of ideas, I'll try to add more here.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain

An interesting read for anyone who is an introvert who hasn't figured out what it's all about yet.  A good look at the current cultural stereotypes around the most valued personality types.  The book also does a good job of highlighting the strengths and value of introverted personalities, mostly in the work place.

The Bed of Procrustes - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

An entertaining and insightful collection of aphorisms.  Satirical, cutting but accurate - reminds me of The Devil's Dictionary.
A good combination with his other book, "Antifragility" - explores many of the same ideas but in a more succinct form, or in a form applied to different domains of life.

"An idea starts to be interesting when ou get scared of taking it to its logical conclusion."

The Happiness Advantage - Shawn Achor

While a bit skewed towards business leadership, this book is still worth the read.  It makes some interesting points regarding achieving goals, being satisfied in life.  I particularly the idea of studying the outliers in successful, happy lives as opposed the norm of studying the outliers of unhappiness, disturbance and sickness.  This is part of a general movement in psychology referred to as the 'Positive Psychology' movement - it would be worth checking out their presence on the internet.

He has seven principles in creating the happiness advantage:

- happiness advantage:  retraining the brain to focus more on positive experiences in life

- fulcrum and lever:  adjusting expectations, way of looking at things to more positive, achievement        oriented set

- tetris effect:  changing the patterns we perceive in the world to focus on opportunities and possibilities

- falling up:  using failures, stressful situtions as learning opportunities

- zorro circle:  learning to divide large goals and difficult tasks into manageable bits that can be completed successfully one step at a time

- 20 second rule:  changing patterns and habits by making it as easy as possible to follow the new path you want to set for yourself - limit the amount of choice so it's easier to get started on the new habit or activity you want to set

- social investment:  the importance of establishing relationships and using them as support when experiencing difficulties

Each chapter has some techniques to help develop each mindset or skill, though many of them apply to a business environment more than a personal environment