Blogs vs. Books

“The game of chess originated in present-day India during the sixth century CE, the time of the Gupta Empire. It was invented by a very clever man who traveled to Pataliputra the capital city, and presented his brainchild to the emperor. The ruler was so impressed by the difficult, beautiful game that he invited the inventor to name his reward. The inventor said, sure - give me a grain of rice and double it for every square on the chess board. The emperor quickly responded, sure I can do this.” Question, what happens next?

1. The inventor lost his head
2. The emperor lost his country

In the Second Machine Age, the author uses this illustration to remind us all how fast data is currently doubling and how we are currently entering into the 2nd half of the chess board and how the numbers become indescribable. Even if you disagree with the transformative power of Moore’s Law it's a mental game changer.

Books have the ability to let us see the world differently. It’s my belief blogs are 15 second advertisements and videos will give us another 60-90 seconds which are tremendous connections at the surface.  Books, on the other hand, have the opportunity to take you into the depth of thinking which will change your life forever. Ask someone what is the best book they have read recently and it will be interesting what their answer is…and it will tell you a lot about them.

Here are a few books I have read recently which I highly recommend:

• The Second Machine Age by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee
  “In the next twenty-four months, the planet will add more computer power than it did in all previous history. Over the next twenty-four years, the increase will likely be over a thousand-fold.”
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  If Big Data is your bacon then this book allows you to eat a little slower.
• Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
  If you have aging parents, this is a must read.
• A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
  What happens if you you sleep with a question?

Here are a few worldview game changer books:

• The Evolving Self by Robert Kegan
• The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe
  Maybe history is not linear but cyclical/seasonal?
• Lexus and Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman
• The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  You can rarely ever predict a black swan - you make money on their coattails. *If you want to see what happens when you can predict a Black Swan read The Big Short.  

Enrich someone’s life by sharing your best worldview game changer book and your recent best read book!

Jeff