Seth's Blog : Books (and more)

Books (and more)

Brad Feld has been contributing to and leading the tech community for more than thirty years. His books have always been inspiring and useful, but his new book takes it to a higher level.

Adam Becker has written two books that I recently devoured. The first is philosophy, history and political drama, all woven together to explain, perhaps for the first time most people will truly understand, how quantum mechanics works (and doesn’t). It’s thrilling and highly recommended.

That led me to his new book, an articulate and well-reasoned takedown of the absurdity of Mars missions, transhumanism and a sterile AI future.

Which leads to this recent video. We’re likely on the cusp of a cultural doom spiral caused by realistic fake AI videos. I’m not sure that the clarity and urgency of this message will be sufficient, because video is such a powerful (and trusted) medium and people are hesitant to give up the trust they have in it. “I saw it with my own eyes,” means less every day.

People bought snake oil even after they understood that snake oil doesn’t work.

Recoding America by Jen Pahlka is important, timely and worth the read. It explores systems we rarely notice but are often frustrated by. She’s been working tirelessly to bring agile and user-focused design to community services like government, and the book is powerful and persuasive.

Validation is a quick read, and it highlights a simple truth about almost everyone: it helps to be seen. We get the chance to do this–not to manipulate people, but to open a connection so we can accompany them on their journey forward.

My friend Dannagal Young has written a profound book about persuasion, systems and media. It helps us see how propaganda and misinformation are easy to spread.