The World's Best Book Summaries
What is an annual wealth tax? How can it help increase wealth equality? A wealth tax is an annual tax on a person’s net worth, which includes personal assets and ownerships. In the book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty says that a global wealth tax has many benefits, including the even distribution of economic resources. Continue reading for an overview of the proposed wealth tax.
What are the most effective ways of tapping into intuition? How can using intuition help you make positive changes in life? Embracing your intuition involves being guided by a deep sense of inner truth. According to self-help author Glennon Doyle, when you deeply understand yourself, you can make confident decisions. Keep reading to learn why tapping into intuition is key for changing your dreams into reality.
What was the Stanford Prison Experiment? What do the results of the experiment tell us about human nature? In 1971, a team of psychologists led by Stanford professor Philip Zimbardo turned the basement of the Stanford psychology department into a “jail.” Zimbardo recruited 24 male college students, half of whom would play the role of guards and the other half the role of prisoners. After a few days, the guards began to treat the prisoners with brutality—they subjected them to strip searches, emotionally and verbally tormented them, and even physically abused them. Here’s why we shouldn’t make sweeping conclusions about
What’s Carl Sagan’s baloney detection kit? How can you use it to get at the truth about science and everything else? Scientists are trained with what Carl Sagan calls a “baloney detection kit.” They’re given tools for critical thinking and healthy skepticism that help them cut through the fog in the pursuit of truth. Sagan argues that we all need this kit, whether we’re trying to figure out the truth about the moon landing or an ad’s claim about toothpaste. In The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan explains how commercial culture tends to discourage critical thinking, shares three questions that foster healthy
What makes a good presentation? What are some things you should keep in mind when delivering a business presentation? An effective presentation is one that distills your message clearly and concisely, leaving no room for interpretation in your audience’s mind. To that end, you must define one main idea your want to convey and flesh out your talking points around it. Here are a few tips on how to prepare and deliver an effective presentation that gets your message across.
Why should you have passive income? What can passive income do that active income can’t? Working for wages is no way to achieve financial freedom. That’s the view of Naval Ravikant, who argues that passive income is the way to go. He explains why that is, and he identifies what he thinks is the best way to generate passive income. Keep reading to learn Ravikant’s view on why passive income is important.
Why should we be optimistic about the future? Why is infinite knowledge vital for our future? There are so many pessimistic predictions about the future, but there are based on our current knowledge. Accepting that there is more to learn can better improve lives and create an optimistic outlook for the future. Read why The Beginning of Infinity‘s author David Deutsch says infinite knowledge creates infinite optimism.
What are the effects of gender inequality in the workplace? What causes gender inequality in the workplace? In Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez explains that gender inequality at work is caused by the gender data gap. One effect of this inequality includes disadvantaged hours that work for men, but not women. Read about the other effects of gender inequality below.
What are some good ways to practice gratitude? What difference can it make in your life? The Gap and The Gain describes two ways of thinking that measure your progress in life. Gap-thinking is focusing your thoughts on the “gap” between where you are now and where you want to be. Gain-thinking is focusing on how far you’ve come, or the “gains” you’ve made. The authors believe that practicing gratitude is a great way to stay in the Gain mindset. Keep reading to learn three gratitude exercises that can help you maintain your focus on Gains.
What does the history of astronomy look like? What is the birthplace of science? In his book Cosmos, Carl Sagan outlined the history of astronomical thought, from 600 BC to the 17th century. He tells the story of how Thales of Miletus broke the status quo by rejecting the supernatural all the way up to Newton’s discovery of gravity. Here’s a brief timeline of the history of astronomy.