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Book Review: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 I must admit, I would have never chosen this book out of just needing something to read. What a shame that would have been if I had missed the opportunity to read it. My interest in the book stemmed from a trip where I visited the Panama Canal, Panama, during my trip to Central America. I thought I should have a bit of history about the canal itself, Continue reading

Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business I have to admit that my life experiences prior to reading this book led me to the bias that crowds almost always produce worse results than rational individuals acting independently. While that may still be true in (the frequent) cases where crowds suffer from conformity and "groupthink", this book made me reconsider my thinking about the value of crowds the rest of the time. Here is the common sense reason described in the book: Continue reading

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain If you find the study of economics and finance is best suited as a treatment for insomnia rather than pleasurable reading on a relaxing Sunday night, then you're like most people. As it turns out however, finance and economics doesn't have to be dry or boring, it just has to be approached the right way, which is why the authors of Continue reading

Book review of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. When I first heard about this book, I went through my usual routine to access the book through my overdrive library account. I was delighted to find that the audio book was indeed available, except that I ended up being number 142 for ten copies. Ugh, a long wait indeed. I got impatient, because I was really looking forward to reading this book. Continue reading

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Despite my recent book reviews, I don't strictly read health related books, I read some for enjoyment as well, though usually the ones I recommend are based on facts, so I don't write reviews often on "silly" books. But sometimes you need a break, Continue reading