Julian's Jabberings

What the heck is e-mail?

2007-06-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a funny 1977 ad that explains the strange new concept of email (from reddit).

Brief reviews, part 1

2006-10-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have a massive piles of books to review, going back a year. Short reviews are the only way I’ll get through them (with +, 0, and – indicating position, neutral, or negative overall opinions.)

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (+)
Gladwell considers the subtle reasons why certain products, ideas, and behaviors spread across society. Among other things, he discusses the factors behind the propogation of Hush Puppies, Sesame Street, New York crime, and teenage smoking. It’s a pleasure to read, and both the general concepts and specific examples are interesting.

I, Claudius, by Robert Graves (+)
This fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor Claudius is awesome. Graves paints a vivid picture of life in ancient Rome, breathing life into historical personas such as Claudius, Augustus, and Caligula. In addition to the exceptional writing, the intrigue, corruption, and immorality of the Roman aristocracy makes for a great story.

Self-Made Man, by Norah Vincent (0)
Vincent spent a year-and-a-half impersonating a guy, to learn about how men experience life. She involved herself in the most masculine parts of society: a bowling league, strip clubs, dating, a monastery, aggressive sales, and the men’s movement. Though she sheds some light on the male condition, it’s clear that she’s a somewhat unbalanced person. Susan Faludi’s Stiffed is much better.

Breaking the Spell, by Daniel Dennett (0)
Dennett, an atheist philosopher, considers religion from the perspective of evolutionary biology. There are some worthwhile ideas scattered throughout the book, but not enough to justify reading it.

Java Concurrency in Practice, by Brian Goetz (+)
For anyone who writes multithreaded Java code, this is a fantastic book full of valuable concepts.

Journey of the Jihadist, by Fawaz Gerges (0)
The author, an American scholar who grew up in Lebanon, spoke with several Islamists about who’s involved in the Islamic Jihad, their views and motivations. This book had such potential, but its organization was too incoherent to be that revealing. However, the portion of the book dealing with the current Iraq War and the perspective of the insurgents is well worth reading.

The Soul of a Doctor, multiple authors (0)
This book is a collection of essays by Harvard medical students, describing their initial exposure to patients and the practice of medicine. Times of transition, such as becoming a doctor, are of general interest. However, the writing and insights don’t measure up to Atul Gawande’s Complications.

The Double Helix, by James Watson (+)
This is Watson’s classic account of his research that revealed the structure of DNA. It’s a light, readable story of scientific discovery. Like any autobiography, it’s probably a biased perspective, but it conveys how a major participant felt at the time.

The Pro-Growth Progressive

2006-07-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Gene Sperling, author of The Pro-Growth Progressive, was one of Bill Clinton’s top economic advisors. He advocates policies that he believes will increase the size of the economy (pro-growth) and will assist working and middle-class Americans (progressive). Naturally enough, these are the centrist economic policies pursued by the Clinton administration.

He convincingly argues that policies benefiting average Americans - progressive taxation, the EITC, family leave laws, increased education spending, etc. – also stengthen the economy. While I’ve long believed that social programs, by investing the nation’s human capital, leads to economic gains, it’s reassuring to hear an economist agree with those views. Sperling also slams Bush’s right-wing policies, in areas such as tax cuts and Social Security changes, as having a negative economic impact at enormous cost.

Sperling’s support of free-trade agreements and balanced budgets was less persuasive. While his claims have some merit, I’m not sure about the overall effect of trade agreements or whether reducing the deficit outweighs the moral benefits of increased social spending. As Clinton did in his autobiography, Sperling highlights second-tier economic programs that most people haven’t heard of, but which are the kind of thing you want White House staffers to spend time on (and are another reason to elect Democrats to public office).

Economic books are generally kind of dry, but this book is better than most. At least Sperling avoids abstractions and focuses on real-world issues that people face and the policies to address them. It’s a decent read for policy wonks, though of course Sperling tries to play up the economic accomplishments of the Clinton years and positions himself for a role in a future Democratic administration.

The Great War for Civilisation

2006-06-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Robert Fisk’s The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East is an extended account of the last few decades of Middle East history. Fisk focuses on the events he covered as a journalist, including some elements of a memoir as he describes, for example, what it was like to cover the Afghan rebellion against Russian control. He portrays other historical incidents, such as the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, which he sees as particularly important.

Fisk emphasizes the suffering of the Middle East inhabitants, whether caused by war, tyranny, or sanction-induced poverty. While the accounts of war, torture, cancers arising from depleted uranium exposure, etc. can be overwhelming, they serve as a counterpoint to way most histories downplay the human suffering aspect. Fisk is very critical of most government actions, and his writings will piss off anyone who holds a high opinion of any country’s behavior in the Middle East: US, Britain, Israel, Iran, or any Arab nation.

While I found the book quite worthwhile, it’s not for everyone. Only read it if you have liberal/pacifist views and you’ve already read multiple books on the Middle East. While the book started and ended with gripping topics – Fisk’s interviews with Osama bin Laden and the current war in Iraq – it dragged at times in between. William Cleveland’s A History of the Modern Middle East and Anthony Shadid’s Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War are better books to read first, after which you can read Fisk’s 1000-page book for more details.

Bait and Switch

2006-05-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

Barbara Ehrenreich intended Bait and Switch to be a follow-up to her Nickel and Dimed, except that she’d try out a mid-level corporate career instead of menial labor. However, despite being intelligent and educated, she didn’t receive an offer, or even an interview for a salaried position. Instead, she wrote about her unsuccessful efforts, along with the harrowing job market that people without specialized skills face.

Ehrenreich was very naive at first, being surprised, for example, at the detrimental impact of having gaps in your resume. However, her depiction highlights how difficult it can be for many people to find employment, since none of the fellow job seekers managed to find decent careers. Bait and Switch was less compelling than Nickel and Dimed, partially because a stymied job search isn’t exciting and partially because I’ve known several people who’ve struggled with periods of unemployment. Still, it’s a quick and easy read that emphasizes how tough the American economic system is for large segments of society.

Medicare phrasing

2006-05-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Mercury News has a Medicare story that begins,

Medicare's long-term financial woes deepened over the last year as the program's main funding source for hospital care is projected to go broke in 2018 - two years sooner than predicted last year, according to an annual report by the program's trustees.

However, when you read further, it turns out that the 2018 is the first year in which Social Security benefits exceed revenue. In reality,

The program will no longer be able to pay benefits at promised levels in 2040, one year earlier than predicted last year.

That's like saying that someone is broke the day after they retire, since their expenses exceed their income. Unfortunately, most people will take the newspaper headline Study: Medicare to go broke in 2018 (which doesn't appear in the online version) at face value.

The IT Crowd

2006-05-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

There's a British TV comedy called The IT Crowd, about a small IT department led by a computer-illiterate manager. I heard about from Ned Batchelder's blog, which includes YouTube links to each episode.

The first episode was silly, but it was funnier and more entertaining than any US sitcom I've seen in a while. Other geeks, or people who deal with them on a regular basis, might want to check it out.

My Name is Asher Lev

2006-04-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

The title character of Chaim Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev is a Hasidic Jew who possesses an amazing artistic talent. The book’s central tension involves the conflict between Asher’s artistic drive and the devout religious traditions he grows up with. Potok pulls you into the world of mid-20th century Hasidic Brooklyn through his portrayal of someone who has difficulty follows the standards of that society. Though Asher’s characterization as a young boy seemed a little contrived, before long you get pulled into his struggle to reconcile his artistic genius with his ultra-orthodox beliefs.

The Man Behind the Microchip

2006-04-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

Leslie Berlin’s The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley, as a biography and a business book, isn’t the kind of book I normally read. Still, as a software developer in Silicon Valley, it was interesting to gain some historical background, from the perspective of a seminal figure in the area. Noyce was of the inventors of the integrated circuit and a founder of Intel. He possessed a charismatic, adventuresome, larger-than-life personality and had a massive influence on the high-tech industry. The book is well-written and an easy read, with a reasonable balance of the biography, technology, and business aspects. Berlin studies recent scientific and technological history and she’s written an impressive account of Noyce’s life.

The Wimp Factor

2006-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

The first part of psychologist’s Stephen Ducat The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity was so-so. He started off with some psychological foundations. Many American men feel compelled to prove their masculinity, since much of popular society looks down on guys who are effeminate, weak, or homosexual. That idea is credible, but some of Ducat’s more psychological ponderings are dubious. The second chapter examined views towards masculinity in 19th century American, a moderately interesting topic.

Things picked up in the remainder of the book, when Ducat analyzed how masculinity concerns affected recent Presidential politics. George H. W. Bush struggled to overcome the perception of being a wimp, which many voters view and the media view as a fatal flaw in a Presidential candidate. In 1988, Republican strategists managed to mitigate the “Wimp Factor”, aided by Michael Dukakis’s utter lack of machismo. While The Gulf War made Bush appear more masculine for a short time, it wasn’t enough for him to win the 1992 election.

The following chapter examines the nation’s reaction to Hillary Clinton, which Ducat connects with male fears of female sexuality, female power, and castration. Ducat’s analysis of the popular opinion of Hillary was very interesting. The next chapter, about Bill Clinton, divided his Presidency into two phases: before and after Monica Lewinsky. Before Monica he was viewed as a weak man dominated by his wife, while the revelations of infidelity made him appear as more of a macho guy.

The rest of the book investigates the mental association of liberalism with being effeminate and conservative beliefs with masculinity. These associations gave rise to the gender gap in voting patterns and views towards social programs, war, and other policy issues. The 9/11 attacks and the administration of George W. Bush made masculinity even more of an issue. Overall, The Wimp Factor gives you a lot to think about, if you don't mind the author’s liberal beliefs.

A History of the Modern Middle East

2006-04-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

William Cleveland’s A History of the Modern Middle East is an excellent narrative history. Though it starts with the rise of Islam, two thirds of the 550-page book cover the period after World War I. It presents a clear account of the formation and subsequent events of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other nearby nations. It concentrates on the politics, power struggles, and wars, while neglecting social and cultural developments. Except for a discussion of the aftermath of the first US-Iraq Gulf War, Cleveland doesn’t spend much time on the human suffering arising from the wars and from government repression. Overall, the book provides a valuable context for understanding current events in the Middle East.

How to Survive a Robot Uprising

2006-03-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion addresses the scenario that occurs in countless sci-fi movies. Daniel Wilson, the author, is a robotics grad student at Carnegie Mellon, and he consulted with various robotics experts for advice. The book is largely the repetition of a joke that wasn’t that funny in the first place. Still, it’s full of interesting information about the capabilities and vulnerabilities of robots, making it a decent introduction to the subject. Besides, it’s short and full of illustrations, making it a quick read. While it’s a so-so book, it would be a good gag gift for a science-fiction fan.

Imperial Grunts

2006-03-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

In Imperial Grunts, journalist Robert Kaplan presents the perspective of US soldiers stationed around the world. On the positive side, it’s good to hear the perspective of the “grunts”, in this book Army Special Forces and Marines, who are assigned difficult, arduous, and dangerous responsibilities. In addition to the expected time Kaplan spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kaplan also visited Yemen, Colombia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa.

My main frustration was Kaplan’s extreme conservative, pro-military stance, in which the soldiers are presented as flawless heroes. I wouldn’t characterize anyone in the worshipful tones Kaplan applies to every American soldier he comes across. He’s dismissive and contemptuous of academics, liberals, the mass media, and everyone else, none of whom can compare to his beloved soldiers.

Plus, he’s a 100% embedded journalist who makes no effort to seek outside information that could conflict with what the soldiers are telling him. For example, he quotes a local Afghan leader praising US efforts while surrounded by soldiers, without considering that five years ago the official was probably praising Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in similar terms. If you want to understand what’s going on somewhere, you shouldn’t just listen to how an occupying army views the situation.

When Kaplan gets to Iraq and Afghanistan, subjects that I’m familiar with, the disconnect between his vantage point and mine is enormous. He praises the exemplary efforts of the military to avoid civilian casualties during the US assault on Fallujah. In Afghanistan, Kaplan complains that the rules of engagement force American soldiers to treat captured insurgents too leniently, when a more aggressive interrogation would provide needed information.

Kaplan is a vivid writer, and I do trust his observations of the daily lives and attitudes of soldiers. Still, the book gets repetitive after a while, and the continual military jargon gets tiresome. Women are presented from an ogling perspective, always described in terms of their attractiveness and their skimpy attire. The most infuriating aspect of the book was Kaplan’s jingoist attitude, and I wouldn’t recommend the book to anyone. As an antidote, I’m now reading Robert Fisk’s new book on the Middle East.

Married to the Job

2006-02-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

In Married to the Job, psychologist Ilene Philipson describes people whose excessively strong attachment to their workplace is akin to marriage in intensity. Those people, many of them her patients and a majority of whom are women, aren’t obsessed with their work accomplishments or the material benefits of their careers. Instead, their relationships with their coworkers and recognition by their supervisors can become more important emotionally than their families are. Philipson points out that many American have issues about emotional attachment to their jobs, even if it doesn’t go as far as “marriage”.

Several societal factors are pushing people in that direction. As described in Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone, Americans are less socially involved in their leisure time. At home, more time is spent in solitary, less engaging activities like watching TV and surfing the net (when they aren’t taking work home with them). Work hours are increasing. And many companies, especially those in Silicon Valley, have cultures that push their employees to be more emotionally involved.

The book itself is a light read, full of personal anecdotes. I could relate to sense of my job being more meaningful than other aspects of my life, except for my real marriage. Though there aren’t any profound insights, Philipson mentions how psychology has traditionally downplayed the importance of one work environment, compared to family and childhood experiences, and the book is an attempt to counter that. Though the book drags at the end, when she describes the value of therapy and provides some self-help style suggestions, overall it’s worth reading.

Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe

2006-02-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Erik Wielenberg's Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe is mainly a rebuttal of arguments by Christian theologians. He attempts to demonstrate the philosophical foundations of ethics in a naturalistic (godless) worldview. He frames the question as someone who has shifted from Christianity to naturalism, making his arguments less relevant to someone from a different religious background or who has never accepted religion.

Wielenberg starts by considering how one can find meaning in life in the absence of supernatural forces. He then searches for a basis for morality, countering theist claims that ethics is in some dependent on God. Then he explores why one should act morally if no divine judge makes you account for your actions. Another chapter examines traditional Christian virtues such as humility and charity.

Though Wielenberg makes some good points, I didn't get that much out of the book. In part, elaborate philosophical discussions about ethics are less convincing than my visceral feeling that, for example, murder is wrong. He didn't cover my ethical ponderings: ambiguous ethical trade-offs and the variation in ethical beliefs among different people and cultures. The book would probably be a lot more pertinent to present or former Christians contemplating ethical concerns.

Encyclopedia Idiotica

2006-02-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

Stephen Weir’s Encyclopedia Idiotica: History's Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them is all right. It’s a light, breezy account of 50 historical events that struck the author as particularly idiotic. The sections about historical periods I was more familiar with contained a few inaccuracies and oversimplifications. Also, some of the perceived idiocies were plausible mistakes (the Mariner I spacecraft failing because of a missing hyphen in its software). Others, such as the explosion at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, are better characterized as greed or indifference than idiocy. Still, it’s entertaining to learn more about the subjects I knew little about, such as Custer’s Last Stand or Florence Nightingale.

The Kite Runner

2006-02-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner largely takes place in Afghanistan, providing a glimpse of what life is like there. The novel’s protagonist is Amir, the son of Baba, a well-off and overbearing father. Amir and his father flee to America after the Russian invasion, but Amir returns to an Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban a few years later. The perspective of an Afghan-American makes the narrative accessible to an American reader.

A central part of the story involves Amir’s relationship with Hassan, a boy Amir’s age who’s the son of the family servant and a member of the Hazara, a disliked ethnic group. Hassan is in some ways a friend of Amir’s and in some ways a social inferior, leading to some uncomfortable situations. Amir’s interactions with Hassan and with Baba, the father whose standard he can’t satisfy, form the human side of the book.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile, well-written novel that presents a vivid portrayal of Afghanistan. As a warning, a couple of the scenes are kind of disturbing.

Huck’s Raft

2006-01-29T22:33:00.000-08:00

Steven Mintz’s book Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood is a thorough discussion of the topic. He goes from early colonial times to the modern day, covering children of all races, classes, and backgrounds. For example, the book depicts life as a young black slave, an Irish servant girl, or a teenager fighting on either side of the Civil War.

Mintz demonstrates how the life of children and the adult perception of them have changed over the centuries. It’s a long book, at almost 400 pages, full of vivid personal accounts and factual content. Huck's Raft is impressive and well-written, if you have the persistence to get through it.

First, Do No Harm

2006-01-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

In First, Do No Harm, journalist Lisa Belkin examines how life-and-death decisions are made at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. She describes a handful of ethically challenging cases. A terminally ill teenager requires additional desperate measures to prolong his painful existence. A premature baby stays alive through massive intervention techniques, but has a poor long-term prognosis. A poor immigrant is paralyzed from the neck down by a bullet wound, but indicates by blinking that he wants to continue living.

Belkin presents the views and feelings of the main players involved in each case: doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, family members, and when possible, the patient. She records the dynamics of the hospital ethics committee that handles any contentious decisions. She presents the arguments made by each side, without stating her own judgment about the right course of action.

The events of the book occurred in 1988, and medical technology and processes have obviously evolved since then. Still, medical practitioners continue to face similar issues about how far to go in prolonging someone's painful existence and who should make the final decision. The book itself reads as a novel, painting a vivid picture of the people at the hospital and their concerns.

Iraq events

2006-01-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Several Iraq news stories have caught my eye lately.

Regarding the early stages of the war,

Paul Bremer, who led the US civilian occupation authority in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, has admitted that the Americans 'didn't really see' the threat coming from insurgents in the country.

The Bush administration's gross incompetence continues to expose US soldiers to unnecessary risk (from Daily Kos).

A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.
...
The vulnerability of the military's body armor has been known since the start of the war, and is part of a series of problems that have surrounded the protection of American troops. Still, the Marine Corps did not begin buying additional plates to cover the sides of their troops until this September, when it ordered 28,800 sets, Marine Corps officials acknowledge.

The Army, which has the largest force in Iraq, is still deciding what to purchase, according to Army procurement officials. They said the Army is deciding between various sizes of plates to give its 130,000 soldiers; the officials said they hope to issue contracts this month.

The true cost of the war, even in purely economic terms, is vastly more than official estimates. (from Daily Kos).

The real cost to America of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion, up to 10 times more than previously thought, according to a report written by a Nobel prize-winning economist and a Harvard budget expert.

The study, which expands on traditional estimates by including such costs as lifetime disability and healthcare for troops injured in the conflict as well as the impact on the American economy, concludes that the U.S. Government is continuing to grossly underestimate the cost of the war.

In addition, 11 American soldiers died in a single day last week, while over the weekend (from AmericaBlog),

A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq, killing all 12 Americans believed to be aboard in the deadliest crash in nearly a year, while five U.S. Marines died in weekend attacks, the military said Sunday.

On a lighter note,

Bernard Planche, 52, was kidnapped on his way to work at a water plant. Planche worked for a non-governmental organization called AACCESS and was found Saturday night near a checkpoint in the Abu Ghraib neighborhood. His captors had demanded the withdrawal from Iraq of French troops - even though the country has none in Iraq.

I shouldn't laugh, since being captured must have been terrifying for Planche, who is now safe, but I can't resist.

Us and Them

2006-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

David Berreby's Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind covers an important topic -- how people divide themselves into groups by race, religion, nationality, etc., and the effects of that grouping. However, the book as a whole was a disappointment. He spends chapters going over basic points, such as the arbitrariness of the way societies categorize people and consider the various categories, along with the changing nature of those categories across cultures and over time. A less well-read audience would probably appreciate the book more.

A History of Twentieth-Century Russia

2006-01-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Robert Service's A History of Twentieth-Century Russia is a good piece of narrative history. His perspective focuses on those at the top: the power struggles among the leaders and the policies they pursued. He spends less time discussing Russian society and the lives of typical people. That kind of analysis explains the functioning of the Soviet state, though it's less illuminating about how the Communist revolutionaries gained power in the first place.

He doesn't emphasize the horrors of the Russian Civil War, World War II, and Stalin's purges, which seems a little odd but keeps the book from being depressing to read. I was most interested to learn how people like Stalin and Gorbachev came to power, topics that were covered in great detail. It's a worthwhile history, though the big picture was sometimes lost in all the details. Note that an updated version of the book, A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin, was published several months ago.

Freakonomics

2005-12-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

Despite its title, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics: A Rough Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything isn't about economics. Instead, it's a mathematical and statistical investigation of various down-to-earth social phenomena.

The most interesting chapter analyzes declining US crime rates over the last few decades. Lots of press attention focuses on the authors' persuasive claim that legalized abortion has reduced the crime rate, since many potential criminals were never born in the first place. They also concluded that longer prison terms and larger police forces have reduced crime, while a growing economy, innovative police practices, gun law changes, and capital punishment have exerted a limited effect.

Another chapter examines what factors in a child's environment correspond to higher standardized test scores and finds patterns that challenge conventional wisdom. For example, children with many books at home tend to do better, but whether or not their parents read to them doesn't really matter. The general conclusions agree with Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate - who the parents are matter more than what they do.

The other chapters are less exciting, but still worthwhile. Overall, the book an easy, fast read; I finished it in three days while trying to maintain a slow pace. A couple of the arguments were unconvincing, but overall Freakonomics gives you plenty to think about.

Brothel

2005-12-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

In Brothel: Mustang Ranch and its Women, medical student Alexa Albert explores the secretive world of legalized prostitution. As a research project, she lived at the Mustang Ranch for months, and visited other brothels, to understand the day-by-day lives of the women who worked there.

To my surprise, many of the prostitutes had pimps: men who brought them into the trade and received a significant fraction of the women's incomes. The author describes how other women deal with boyfriends, husbands, or children while living at the brothel. She summarizes the kinds of men who visit the brothel, and how many of the women take pride in their ability to please them. She reveals the social dynamics between the women, ranging from animosity to close bonds.

The book is a very humanizing and accessible portrayal of life in a brothel. The author starts off hostile to prostitution, but ends up much more sympathetic to it. Whatever your opinions, Brothel provides a fascinating view of a subculture rarely exposed to outsiders.

Stupid headline

2005-12-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

When reading the paper this morning, I came across this headline:

Stakes as high for Iraqis as for Bush administration

This may sound radical, but perhaps the Iraqi people have a little more at stake than Bush does.