Reviews¶
Book reviews 📚
Textbooks
MML ⭐⭐ The best collection of relevant exercises to get a taste for machine learning as a whole. Although the linear algebra foundations chapters were extremely powerful at laying a foundation, consider supplementary texts for the statistics and optimization chapters.
VMLS ⭐⭐ The authors do a great job setting up a foundation for simple and powerful least squares methods introduced in later chapters.
Linear Algebra, Shilov ⭐ Too formal.
Linear Algebra, Savov ⭐ Too colloquial. Together, Shilov and Savov have made textbooks that are perfect compliments for understanding Linear Algebra!
Calculus, Kline ⭐⭐ Very fun and intuitive explanations of what feels like the most elegant segment of math.
Python, Ramalho ⭐⭐ Fun exercises, too verbose.
Python, Downey ⭐⭐ Fun exercises, too succinct. Ramalho and Downey have made textbooks that are perfect compliments for understanding Python!
Unix, Taylor ⭐ Enjoyed playing with the lesser known commands but ultimately a reference book.
Coding the Matrix One can hope that in a not too distant future, academics will instill standards on the quality of their content, to which this seems a fair standard for firing.
Getting Started with p5js ⭐⭐ Made me enjoy coding again, and was ultimately a seed for thousands of hours of coding in p5 later.
Not Textbooks
All Things Shining ⭐⭐ If Social Dilemma was interesting to you at least conceptually, consider this the literary version of that movie, with profound insights about what impact Nietzsche’s “God is dead.” has had.
Deep Work ⭐ Great stories about how prominent figures cultivated deep work, but ultimately the best thing I found from this book was to read “All Things Shining”, a more potent (and somehow ~20 pages shorter!) version of Deep Work.
Soul of a Tree ⭐⭐ If ever were there a master of a trade, this is what it must look like.
Delivering Happiness ⭐⭐ Rest in Peace. Tony Hsieh sounds like he would have been an awesome guy to have great conversations with, and also someone enjoyable to work with. Two character traits rare enough on their own.
Allegory of the cave ⭐⭐ Ironically, the way people share this story is in itself an allegory of the cave, for only 1/5th of the dialog is the typical allegory. The rest of the dialog has fascinating arguments about the pitfalls of education, poor education among politicians, and the impact of math.
Pragmatic Programmer ⭐ Enjoyable analogies like “no broken windows”, but underwhelming as the premier book on what it is to master writing quality code. Open to reccs on this topic!
Infinite Powers ⭐⭐ A fun book about the history of calculus, something I wished I had learned the first time I encountered calculus.
A Mathematicians Apology In this disappointing reminder of academic elitism, G.H. Hardy shows why few people seem to enjoy math.
Walden ⭐ Thoreau sounds like he would have been an awesome guy to have great conversations with, but probably not someone enjoyable to work with.
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism ⭐⭐ The path of finding a great teacher, and of sustaining an appreciation for the few things that matter – two things I was struggling with.
GEB ⭐⭐ This is the best explanation of cognition I’ve come across yet. Hofstadter shows a deep understanding of the mind worth aspiring to.
Tipping Point ⭐ The archetypal non-fiction author builds strong arguments for ideas about virality in society, but the ostensibly underlying reasons seem wanting for underlying reasons themselves.
1984 ⭐⭐ Orwell was the first to show me there’s probably something corrupting about typical adulthood.
Movies 📽️
WIP
Soul I would have liked for the team to really tackle the big after-life question but I can understand the apprehension, I suspect some of the negative feedback it’s received has been religious. Overall one of my all time favorite movies along with the Toy Story series.
The Pianist I went into this movie with expectations that did not prepare me for the raw torment of a ride it exposes a viewer to. Powerful, in the category of Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful, but the glimmering seeds of hope sown throughout felt like caramel rations.
Sound of Metal Beautiful, deeply insightful, nearly monastic, the final scene shares a resemblence with some of my favorite scenes in Soul.