Holland Gibson

Finally a book I didn't want to put down! It misses on a few realism fronts, but a good story nonetheless.

Contender for one of my best reads of 2024. The book could be slightly shorter but it reads very quickly nonetheless. “A jack of all trades is a master of one, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Oh how true this is. The absolute volume of people who made earth shattering discoveries is underserved by modern society and makes it seem like few exist when, in fact, a lot of different research, organizations, and people have discovered that generalization is the key to progress. Whether in sports, arts, or science or anything in between.

Never have I read a book I disliked so much despite agreeing with the underlying premise. After 90 pages I could endure it no longer. The problem is that the author tries too hard to be funny, which ok some humor is an acquired taste, but he rags on all sorts of professions (doctors, accountants, professors, etc) for them being intrinsically unethical - a hard stretch. Furthermore, he uses evidence that is wrong. The last straw was “…Fukushima nuclear reactor, which experienced a catastrophic failure in 2011 when a tsunami struck. It had been built to withstand the worst past historical earthquake, with the builders not imagining much worse…” which is patently false (see below). Ultimately the author is to focused on everyone else being wrong rather than showing what’s right and it got too distracting to finish.

Addendum: The reactor did not account for the rest of Japan being out of power for so long and should have been caught, yes, but the design spec was to survive a 8.25 magnitude earthquake, which was a very statistically rare event and within worldwide standards. Not to mention it survived the 9 magnitude earthquake just fine (it was the tsunami that was the problem).

Fantastic pop science. Really fun to get excited about paleontology as an adult rather than as a kid.

It was fine, decent for reference. If you have thought or been exposed to leadership/practicing management, then this book will feel a bit basic / repetitive. If you are the junior or mid engineer thinking about the next steps to becoming a tech lead/EM then this might be a really good fit.