The World's Best Book Summaries
Was Steve Jobs an artist? How are Steve Jobs’s creations like art? Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve Jobs, depicts the entrepreneur’s highs and lows throughout his career. While reflecting on Jobs’s successes, Isaacson compares Apple products to works of art. Learn the similarities between famous artists and Steve Jobs’s art.
Which forms of discipline are good for children? What do experts say about punishing your kids? According to author Alfie Kohn, good discipline for children relies on unconditional support and acceptance, not rewards and punishments. Kohn’s book, Unconditional Parenting, has received praise for its rejection of mainstream parenting techniques, choosing compassion in the face of bad behavior. Keep reading to learn Kohn’s advice for learning good discipline skills that will help children, not harm them.
What are strategic inflection points? Is your business facing such a crisis? Drawing on his experience as the CEO of Intel, Andrew Grove provides clear guidance on preparing for, identifying, and adapting to the kinds of upheavals that send less agile companies out of business. He calls these crises “strategic inflection points.” Keep reading to learn what strategic inflection points are and how to determine whether your business has reached one.
What is creative time management? How much time should you spend on a creative project? In The Practice, Seth Godin says that time management is extremely important for creative people. By setting aside a specific time of day for your project, obstacles won’t slow you down. Let’s look at creative time management in practice.
What is emotional granularity? Why do psychologists say it’s so important? How can you improve your emotional granularity? Neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett says that emotional granularity is your ability to understand and differentiate specific emotions. People with high emotional granularity are able to better regulate and cope with stress and other negative emotions, according to Barrett. Read on for a more detailed definition of emotional granularity, plus how to improve it, according to Barrett.
Do trees talk to each other? How do trees communicate with one another? In Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne Simard says trees are intertwined via fungus in a complex resource-sharing network. She further claims that trees “talk” to each other via this network to share resources and nutrients. Keep reading to learn why trees talk to one another.
When it comes to building an army for war, what does Machiavelli advise? What’s the secret to finding loyal soldiers? In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli distinguishes three types of armies: hired forces, borrowed forces, and personal forces. He cautions princes to avoid hired forces, to be wary of borrowed forces, and to opt for personal forces when possible. Continue reading for a brief discussion of Machiavelli on war forces.
Do Black Americans have the same right to self-defense as white Americans? What does America’s past have to do with the right to self-defense? The right to self-defense is leniently granted to white people while often being withheld from Black people. These injustices can be attributed to the Black stereotypes that persist from slavery. Specifically, Black people are still perceived as uncivil and dangerous. Here’s why Black people are denied the right to self-defense.
What was Steve Jobs’s personality like? How did he treat his employees at Apple? Steve Jobs was one of the leading figures in electronics when he was alive. His biography by Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, claims this is because he was a strict and intense leader who strived for perfection. Learn more about Jobs’s determined personality below.
What can anxiety lead to? How are alcoholism and substance abuse caused by anxiety? According to Dr. Judson Brewer in Unwinding Anxiety, our brains rely on a basic behavioral cycle to learn. If this cycle is started by a negative behavior (such as anxiety), it can lead to even worse behaviors. Keep reading to learn what types of behaviors anxiety can lead to.