Book suggestions, vote, vote!!!

Just in case you didn't get the mail with the information, or just because you want to re-read the options, there they go, our candidates for the summer reading:

From Arantxa:

Here you can find the newThings The Grandchildren Should Know, Mark Oliver Everett

How does one young man survive the deaths of his entire family and manage to make something worthwhile of his life? InThings The Grandchildren Should Know Mark Oliver Everett ,also known as E, front man for the alt-rock EELS, tells the story of what it's like to grow up the insecure son of a genius in a wacky Virginia Ice Storm-like family. Left to run wild with his sister, his father off in some parallel universe of his own invention, Everett's upbringing was 'ridiculous, sometimes tragic and always unsteady.' But somehow he manages to not only survive his crazy upbringing and ensuing tragedies -- he makes something of his life -- striking out on a journey to find himself by channeling his experiences into his, eventually, critically acclaimed music with the Eels. But it's not an easy path. Told with surprising candor, Things The Grandchildren Should Know is an inspiring and remarkable story, full of hope, humor and wry wisdom.

From Jorge:

Brazil Red by Jean-Christophe Rufin

A dazzling combination of daring adventure, bravery and treachery, greed and intrigue, of old loyalties put to the test and new loves discovered Just and Colombe are brother and sister, heirs to the Clamorgan estate. A scheming aunt and shortage of suitable interpreters, however, means the children soon find themselves aboard a ship bound for the Bay of Rio. As they embark on the journey of their lives, they encounter a world they could never have imagined, a world marked by uneasy alliances and illness, by double-dealings, lies and spies. Amidst fanatics, zealots, cannibals and villains, Just and Colombe can no longer be sure who is friend and who is foe, and soon learn they can take no-one for granted - not even each other. As the story builds to its dramatic climax, conquerors and conquered are - like Just and Colombe - forced to reconsider the nature and future of their relationship.

From Macarena:

Don’t Cry, Tai Lake: An Inspector Chen novel. By Qiu Xiaolong

Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is offered a bit of luxury by friends and supporters within the Party – a week’s vacation at a luxurious resort near Lake Tai, a week where he can relax, and recover, undisturbed by outside demands or disruptions. Unfortunately, the once beautiful Lake Tai, renowned for its clear waters, is now covered by fetid algae, its waters polluted by toxic runoff from local manufacturing plants. Then the director of one of the manufacturing plants responsible for the pollution is murdered and the leader of the local ecological group is the primary suspect of the local police. Now Inspector Chen must tread carefully if he is to uncover the truth behind the brutal murder and find a measure of justice for both the victim and the accused.

From Rocio:

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown, by Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux is a great travel writer, I have already read his interesting journey on the trains around China and I really enjoyed his entertaining way of telling what he saw, who he met, what he felt, and pass on a lot of information. I lived in China after, and I recognized many things that I had read. Theroux really allows you to travel with him from your own couch, so that's my ambition for the next reading, to go from Cairo to Capetown on a road trip!!!

So which one do you prefer???

An Optimist's Tour of the Future: Part 4 Reboot

So we have followed Mark in his world tour looking for the future, optimistically, and have had the chance to meet though him very interesting, intelligent, controversial, geek, fantastic people... And we have got to the end, what do you think now? Do you see the future as a better place? Or a more scary one? Do you picture yourself living 1000 years and talking to your robot friends? Will the Amazon survive? What are you doing to make it better? Glad to hear your views! We hope you are enjoying the summer so far!

An Optimist's Tour of the Future, part 3

It seems the summer and the increasing heat are slowing down our reading pace… Still, here we are! 
We hope you keep enjoying learning about what is going on in different places of the planet that could make our lives in the future better.
Though, like almost with everything, there are different ways to understand challenges, innovation, changes and experiments. For instance, when it comes to global warming, what is your approach? Sceptic, pessimistic, optimistic, hesitant…
Let us know how you see it!

An Optimist's Tour of the Future, part 2

With humor and an easy tone, Stevenson keeps telling us about interesting and surprising facts about what the future could bring, for the good... and for the worse.

What are your thoughts about this second part? Can you see a scenario with robots claiming their rights or becoming our masters? What about the nanotechnology manufacturing? Do you see yourself spending your summer holidays in a hotel in Mars?

As always, looking forward to reading your comments!

An Optimist's Tour of the Future, part 1...

Sorry we are late, but we've been so busy lately that is hard to find time for everything... so does anyone want to start with comments on part One? I promise I'm catching up in the next few weeks... shame on me but something called "War and Peace" from this Tolstoi guy got in the middle and it's not exactly the kind of book that you read in a weekend,  (but great book, sure I can see why is more than 100 years old and still there!). So any optimists out there that want to lead the discussion?

An Optimist's Tour of the Future: reading schedule is ready!

Check it out on our reading schedule page. Ready to take the optimist ride? We hope so!

Next book!

Since we are done learning about thin-slicing and how to read facial expressions, it is time to look into the future. After having Mark Stevenson's offer to talk to our reading group, some of you told us that you would be willing to read his book, "An Optimist's Tour of the Future". A book that has been defined as sharp and fascinating by the Wall Street Journal. 

So, time to go to your corner, online, huge or small bookshop or library and get your copy!

Suggested reading schedule coming soon.

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for being there and keep reading and sharing with us!

Blink. Final Discussion

In the last part of the book, Gladwell keeps providing us with examples that illustrate the theories about rapid recognition.

Because decisions are mostly based in personal experience, most time that experience interferes with the capability of making (good?) decisions. For instance, in the cases of Kenna’s music or the Aeron chair, in which it seems there was mistrust, rather than dislike, for something new and different. Have you ever felt that you were confused about disliking and at the same time being attracted by something? And if we could be confused by our own feelings, are we better off leaving it to the “experts” to tell us what we should and will like?

According to the author, we all have unconscious reactions that come from a locked room we can’t access. Therefore, can we ever know ourselves wholly and understand the reasons and motivations behind our moves? Have you ever found yourself reacting towards something or somebody in an unexpected way even for your own self?

Regarding Eckman and Friesen’s theories about facial expressions, do you think it does apply to everybody? What about politicians? Have you ever watched someone else speak badly about another individual only to then turn around and greet them with a warm, gushy hello? Is that 'friendly' expression false or an attempt to make amends?

What about “mind-blindness”? Have you ever experienced it?  Do you have any trick to control your reactions in extreme stressful moments? And, as the book concludes, are you ready to listening with your eyes?

Finally, our own likeness thermometer: in the blink of an eye, would you say "yes" or "no" for another book of Gladwell?

Blink, chapters 3 and 4

So why do we fall for tall dark handsome men? What about Paul Van Riper's victory? What are your views on the Blue Team and Red Team strategy? What do you think of the excess of information as an obstacle to making the right decision? I'm a little overwhelmed by so many theories, because I'm not really sure of the fact, can we actually find the reasoned answer to all these questions? Or we just go with our gut (our blink moment) and sometimes we get lucky and sometimes don't? Really willing to hear your views!

Blink - Till chapter Two included

Hello NoCookies,

I was a bit sceptical when I read the note on the author in the prologue: a journalist having written articles about “childhood, development and the flu, not to mention hair dye, Shopping and what it takes to be cool”… what could he say about neuroscience? Well, I must say I am enjoying the reading. It’s easy to read. He does not deepen into complicated explanations but he gives instead plenty of examples to prove the snap decision theory. That’s the point that I like most so far.

What I am curious about is the continuation, he has for the time being illustrated that we all have this unconscious intelligence and that we are capable of thin slicing information. But how can he train us to take advantage of it? Always following our guts? Let’s see…

If you are interested about this subject and how free we are to chose against our unconscious , you can watch the following Punset’s programs. It’s amazing how biological factors decide for us!

Redes - Sabemos que no sabemos lo que decidimos

Redes - Las decisiones son inconscientes