Book Review: The Sirens of Titan

“…everything that ever has been always will be, and everything that ever will be always has been”

Kurt Vonnegut reveals great ambition The Sirens of Titan. He strives to explain the physical, political and emotional laws that govern the Universe without losing the reader’s attention. Vonnegut comes closer than most in realizing his ambition.

At it’s heart The Sirens of Titan is a philosophical venture. One that is described by war and whimsy. Vonnegut spins an intriguing tale, promising within the first chapter a voyage to Mars, Mercury and Titan along with an unlikely coupling. From there, he rarely breaks a step, delivering one interesting twist after another to his tale. He steers clear of seeming too crazy, by providing a keen observation at every turn, making room to pontificate. The Sirens of Titan provides meaningful insight to the heart of leadership, friendship and spaceships. A difficult and enjoyable feat.

The Sirens of Titan has something for everyone - adventure, romance, battle and meaning. Despite all of this, the book is lighthearted and flows seamlessly. I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing read.

Book Review - Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much

"The problem is not the person but the context of scarcity"

Mullainathan and Shafir introduce a new way of thinking about the impact of scarce resources in Scarcity. The book is explains how having less to accomplish a certain goal forces us to ignore other goals. The compounded effect of this ignorance leads to a lifestyle defined by lesser resources for all goals, at all times. If this resource is time, it describes the busy, if this resource is money, it describes the poor. Both conditions lead to ignoring other goals, ones that are not immediate. The authors emphasize how irrespective of whether the initial scarce resource is time, money or something else, it leads to a scarcity of bandwidth for other priorities, this in turn leads to inefficiencies and threatens to trap the individual in their busy or poor state.

Scarcity is about familiarizing the reader with some of the mechanics of a mind faced with shortage of a resource. The authors demonstrate how the cognitive performance of an individual changes with their financial state. This leads to individuals taking higher risks, borrowing and planning less for the future. They emphasize how this is a generic human behavior, not a phenomenon endemic to a subsection of the population. The poor are not necessarily bad at managing their finances, they just don’t have the mental bandwidth to take the longterm view of their finances. Similarly, the busy are not bad at prioritizing, they just don’t have the mental bandwidth to take stock of all their current and future priorities. Adopting this attitude can help provide more effective improvements to the situation of the poor and the overly busy.

Scarcity proposes to a new way to look at age-old issues. It suggests that maybe what we deigned as causes (lack of analytical and cognitive skills) are in fact the symptoms of these issues. Therefore, we should seek a solution for them instead of blaming them. The authors bring together the perspectives offered by economics and psychology, to present a more holistic picture of a mind living in scarcity.

Maybe

Deep in the changeling universe,

there lies a volcano,

simmering and seething,

I stand at its edge,

enclosed in the warmth,

my feet burnt.

Below, lies the ocean, cool and open,

Maybe I should leap into the ocean,

leave behind the demons I have known and grown,

without me, they will die

they were mine,

without me, a part of me will die too.

Maybe I should leap into the ocean,

frolic with the waves,

heal the burning,

there won’t be any ground beneath my feet,

the warm embrace will cease too

without ground, a part of me will cease too.

The wind tousles my hair,

teasing me, inviting me impatiently,

part of me is convinced,

I want to leap,

to feel something new,

part of me stays on the volcano - clinging to the burnt bits.