Ali
I was getting the vibe that this is just a “privileged people's guide to mourning”, but then there came references to some studies and acknowledgement that less privileged people have more challenges.
So this is still basically a narrative of a privileged person going through loss of a loved one, and it is touching and sad in that, since the core feeling of losing someone doesn't consider bank account balance or social status. Yet there are few takeaways in it for common folks with less privilege.
I do agree with a premise in the book, that adversity can be the fuel for growth and people that do grow after facing an adversity, often shift their focus to less mundane matters in life.
Like other books of Mr Gawande, this gives a nuanced and balanced narrative by focusing on particularities in last few months of life for terminal patients. This is a reality most of us would face sooner or later, either for loved ones or ourselves, being prepared for it and taking more parameters into account, rather than just focusing on prolonging life, would result in better outcomes both for the patient and the family.
Although it is a series of essays, you can find a cohesive narrative throughout the book. Practices presented in this book is not to be treated as baseline standards, but goals to be achieved, moon shots if you like, but not unattainable ideals. This is a must read for anyone (not just *Ops people) that work as a software engineer.
Good wrap-up on aspects of defection, pressures and various forms of security. Most of the examples are from areas we don't usually consider security or take seriously.
A key takeaway: the cost is defection is often born by all members of the relevant society, but on the other hand eliminating defection is not feasible, a healthy amount of defection in societies is more realistic from cost/freedom perspective and also provides fuel for change.
There are a lot of unpopular ideas in this book, even more than previous works of Taleb. It challenges some of my dearly held beliefs acquired through reading science books and skepticism!
I like Taleb's works mostly because he challenges ideas and beliefs from a novel point of view, even if I don't end up agreeing with his views, it is a good practice to expose my ideas to that challenge from time to time.
The author provides some OK narratives on the big four (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) but all through some anecdotes or overstretched, often remotely relevant facts. For example he stipulates that homo-sapiens were hunter gatherers (a fact) hence they like shopping and physical stores (gathering in this age), and builds a chapter on this.
There are lots of wisdom shared in this book a some novel perspective for looking at things. Some sounded like collection of anecdotes or (relatively hasty) generalizations, others were rooted in research.
Overall, timing IS important in most human endeavors, so include it in your equations or plans.
This overlaps in some parts with other books of the author. This includes some fine tips and anecdotes regrading intricacies of remote work.
Also conveying that they are cool doing whatever they do, super cool almost, with extra points on how to get as cool them, and the fact that it might not work for most people.
