From Moscow to the Moon - Happy Readings in 2018

WYSIATI is an acronym I learnt this year coined by Daniel Kahneman. It is an abbreviation for “What you see is all there is” used in the context of human biases and our (not so rational) thinking. Kahneman discusses it in length in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" [Here is a quick video on WYSIATI by Kahneman]. I loved that acronym, and have been using it (with the right hat tip of course) in many of my presentations/keynotes on AI, and I couldn't think of a better way of starting an article on my readings than a mention of WYSIATI.

Its been a super year of readings in 2018. I discovered some great new authors whom I will avidly follow and wonderful, brain changing (literally apparently) books that will stay with me for a long time.

I have a target of two books a month which I track with the help of Goodreads.com. The books I have read in 2018 (in reading order):

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
2. Turtles All the Way Down
3. Origin (Robert Langdon, #5)
4. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
5. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
6. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
7. String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis
8. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
9. Big Mushy Happy Lump(Sarah's Scribbles, #2)
10. The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)
11. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
12. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
13. Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp
14. The Design of Everyday Things
15. Small Gods (Discworld, #13)
16. The Elegance of the Hedgehog
17. A Gentleman in Moscow
18. Man's Search for Meaning
19. Rules of Civility
20. The Lost Man
21. Thinking, Fast and Slow
22. The Great Gatsby
23. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon
24. Hit Refresh

While I would recommend all the above for a read, my top five (in no order) this year are:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

The book tracks the history of humans from evolution of early humans through to the 21st century. Over the years I have read the many parts in various forms from textbooks through to documentaries, this is the first time I saw them brought together so eloquently. A must read for all humans.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Now the comparisons to Tony Stark makes sense.

I knew of the Paypal connection and Tesla of course, and a vague idea (my bad) of the SpaceX connection. But boy! Elon Musk is so much more. Sure everyone gets ideas, often grand ideas - but he takes the cake. If you are looking to be inspired by the sheer grit and drive someone needs to have to make big ideas into reality, read this book.

A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

Given my usual preference for non-fiction, I was happily surprised that this was probably the book I enjoyed the most this year - and its a wonderful work of fiction!

Sure Rostov is a figment of Amor Towles' rich imagination, but something about the character stayed with me well after the book was over. I smiled at his cocky humour at the Bolshevik tribunal in the beginning and grew attached to Rostov's views and responses to the world around him as the story and his character unfolded over his 30 years at the Metropol Hotel. This is a happy, relaxed read.

Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon, by Jeffrey Kluger

The sheer audacity of human endeavours - that's what came to my mind when I turned the last page and took a breath.

The book chronicles the launching of the first manned flight around the moon - its people and their journeys. Three things stood out for me beyond the heroism of the mission. Firstly, the planning process: the maths done to plan the whole journey - every arc, timing of thrust, angle of entry, etc. was pre-calculated to the second, and accurate! Secondly, how the teams worked together, trusted each other (often with their lives) and celebrated together. Finally, the fact that this was a government funded and run project - they succeeded in pulling the mission(s) off almost with a start-up mentality. This was a thrilling read as much as an educational one.

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John Medina

I thought I knew a little about how my brain worked - you know the usual stuff, right brain/left brain - we use use 11% of our brain, our brain rests when we sleep. Little did I know that I knew nothing!

This book covers 12 topics about the human brain and how it works. The book is engaging and very thought provoking. I had my share of "Really?! - that's what happens?" moments while reading this book. It is a must read if you are working with others regularly and for appreciating how we function.

Now, I know I said I will mention my top five, but I had to make a special mention of Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow". The book talks about a two system functioning of our brain - System 1 and System 2. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical (I drew an immediate parallel to IBM Watson's Assistant and Discovery technologies). The book goes on to talk about human biases, irrational thinking, overconfidence and techniques on how to identify and possibly overcome them. I had to read this book slowly to digest as much as I could, and would highly recommend it.

Well, that was my readings in 2018, and I have a exciting reading list set up for next few months already. If you enjoyed any of my twenty four I mentioned or you have you own reading gems that you discovered, please feel free to comment below!

Have a great holiday season and a wonderful 2019!

Happy readings.