An interesting read and worth it if for no other reason than to make you think.
It made me think back to how most people thought that computers could An interesting read and worth it if for no other reason than to make you think.
It made me think back to how most people thought that computers could never be used to translate languages, or not very well. “Languages are too subtle, too complex for computers,” a lot of people said. I may have said that; I'm no visionary. When Google Translate came along, it was literally a joke, at first. People would make videos of trying to use it to communicate with people who spoke other languages with hilarious hijinx. That was then.
No one is laughing now. I literally saw with my own eyes how GT muddled through the Spanish conditional tenses, mangling them horribly at first. I was puzzled because these aren’t very complex constructions and translate fairly smoothly into English by anyone with a decent knowledge of both languages. Now GT can send these tenses back and forth instantly and perfectly. What few realized at its inception was what GT had on its side were the vast numbers of people inputting into their system, literally tens or hundreds of millions of users making corrections.
Imagine inputting every book that has ever been translated between English and Spanish. This is a mindboggling huge amount of information, but easily handled with digital technology. When Spanish friends ask me to translate something for them, I tell them to use GT, not because I’m too lazy (I am), but because GT is infinitely better and faster than any human. Of course, mistakes are made by the program, but, in general, its work is extraordinarily good (Por supuesto, el programa comete errores, pero, en general, su trabajo es extraordinariamente bueno).
My point is that technology has opened up a can or worms that no human can fully appreciate or predict. The results can and often take on a life of their own. This guy is just trying to wrap his head around this....more
Defending Islam is a job I certainly would never want. In this discussion, Maajid Nawaz is sort of like The Generals playing against Sam Harris’s HarlDefending Islam is a job I certainly would never want. In this discussion, Maajid Nawaz is sort of like The Generals playing against Sam Harris’s Harlem Globetrotters, if that makes any sense, and if it does, can you explain it back to me? I’m an atheist, so I mostly hate all religions, but some are worse than others and Islam is pretty lousy.
I should point out that I’m hardly ignorant on the subject of Islam having studied it for many years along with Arabic. To call it the religion of peace is to ignore its entire history which was mostly built upon conflict and war. As much as I despise religion, I have a much deeper hatred of war and opposed America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our continued belligerency in the Middle East has done nothing to bring peace or make the USA any safer.
This sort of dialogue will go a lot further to promote understanding and tolerance than Bush’s two failed wars....more
« L’histoire, plus des rois, plus des guerres. - Jean Paul Belmondo
I know that history is much more than wars and kings, but this particular battle was« L’histoire, plus des rois, plus des guerres. - Jean Paul Belmondo
I know that history is much more than wars and kings, but this particular battle was such an iconic moment for that entire era that it was good to get the play-by-play. Spoiler Alert: The Ottomans storm the castle and kill or enslave everyone inside, just in case you hadn’t heard. Because up until the final pages of this exciting story, you think the defenders may have a chance.
This is my third or fourth history by Roger Crowley. The man can write. I plan to read every word he’s ever written. This story was a slam dunk because it is just a thrilling tale from start to finish, and by finish I mean the annihilation of the Roman Empire, or at least its Eastern branch.
As a life-long atheist, I didn’t really have a dog in this fight, although you really have to go with the defenders, just folks living their lives and trying to get by. The Ottomans had no claim to this city, none whatsoever. So much for Islam being the religion of peace. I really wish people would stop saying that. The entire Islamic Empire was forged by the sword, so I don’t understand the peaceful bit.
All religions are bad, but some are certainly worse than others. Crowley barely mentions the religious aspect to this war, in spite of the title. I’m sure he’s been accused of Islamophobia simply on the basis of the title.
I’ve read reviews calling this history both boring and to popular in appeal to be serious. Bullshit. It was a fucking blast to read, like the best sort of action adventure that also shored up a few major holes in my understanding of history. I could never ask more of a book....more
Yet another self-help book that could have been reduced to a bumper sticker or, at most, a 3X5 index card. Here in Spain, they put little life-lesson Yet another self-help book that could have been reduced to a bumper sticker or, at most, a 3X5 index card. Here in Spain, they put little life-lesson quotes on the sugar packages at cafes. This book could work well in that format. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big believer in kindness; I just don't think you need an entire book to beat this into your head.
They should make everyone read this book every time they get behind the wheel of an automobile. The most churlish behavior in modern society is produced by drivers. Ride a bike!
Kindness is Viagra for your arteries. Literally!
So, kindness makes my arteries hard? I thought that was a bad thing?
We’d been dating for a couple of months when one night, after going for a walk, we were sitting on a bench and I felt cold. I asked if I could borrow his jacket, but he wouldn’t give it to me. He said he would be cold as he only had a shirt on underneath.
First of all, if she’s cold, why not go inside, like to a warm. cozy bedroom? And according to the new rules outlined in the #ME TOO movement handbook, a woman shouldn’t accept a coat from a guy even if he begs her to take it, right? Isn’t that what they’re saying? Next, she’ll be expecting him to buy her a drink. But then I see that her name is Hazel so perhaps this was written back in 1803.
Find out what a loved one or friend really wants and provide it for them
I wish a friend or loved one had provided me with what I wanted at 17: two nurses at the same time. They didn’t even have to be board certified, just the slutty Halloween uniforms would have been enough. I would have settled for them just wearing a hat with a red cross on it.
Buy a book for someone.
And have them hit you in the back of the head with it as soon as you turn around? Buy a teenager a book instead of a video game at your peril.
Tell someone they look great.
Yeah, right. Then go directly to your human resources department and confess.
Buy a large box of cakes and pastries and give them out on the street.
Start in front of a grade school. Be sure to wear a raincoat even on a sunny day.
When a new person joins the company you work for or moves into your street, make them feel welcome by taking them for lunch.
Especially if they are totally hot. Don’t worry about the ugly and fat ones; they’re someone else’s problem.
Slip some money into the purse or pocket of someone who needs it, so that when they find it they think they must have misplaced it.
This is like reverse pickpocketing and assumes you have this skill in your repertoire.
Give someone a hug for no reason.
And then wait patiently for the cops to arrive and put the cuffs on you.
Write a poem or song for someone.
I can’t think of anything further from kindness than a truly awful poem or song. Only try this if you are Stevie Wonder.
Search out inspirational or funny videos on YouTube, Facebook or any other social media outlet, or other inspirational or funny material, and send it to someone who needs it.
What? Like a picture of a kitten hanging from a tree branch and a quip about how shitty Mondays are? Send that tripe to me at your peril.
There are other sources to find ideas on kindness.
Acts of Kindness You May Have Never Thought About (but the mafia has)
1. Give your cocaine dealer a little something extra every other week.
2. Send flowers to the funeral of that Crip gang member you murdered last week, and include a thoughtful and inspirational message to his family.
3. After throwing a beat-down on some punk for stepping out of line, give him a little hug.
4. If one of your henchmen digs a shallow grave a little deeper than absolutely necessary, give him a compliment.
5. If a friend wakes you up at three in the morning to help him get rid of a body, pick up coffee and donuts before you get to his house. It’s the little things....more
Nothing new in this book, at least not for me. I am what you would call a life-long atheist. I never, ever believed in god of any of the myths of reliNothing new in this book, at least not for me. I am what you would call a life-long atheist. I never, ever believed in god of any of the myths of religion. My family was very Catholic, and I just remember being bored to tears with all of it.
It was the idea of hell which turned me into an atheist as soon as the light went on in my thinking mind. I was about 5-6 years old. The concept of Hell just seemed too gruesome to punish any of the sins of this world. Heaven seemed boring to my young mind. You want to live forever? Really?
This book is more a call to arms, and the author is absolutely right in taking this approach because religion is ruining democracy in America, or what passes for it. Islam does even more damage in the countries where that religion rules. I couldn’t even imagine how horrible it must be to live under Islamic laws and attitudes. ...more
I was very disappointed in this as I was expecting a lot more and for it to be a lot more interesting. Instead, it reads like a Wikipedia page. The auI was very disappointed in this as I was expecting a lot more and for it to be a lot more interesting. Instead, it reads like a Wikipedia page. The author bends over backwards to point out that the Muslim world was keeping the light on in the sciences during Christian Europe’s Dark Ages.
First of all, I was fully aware of the contribution to scholarship in the Arab world during the centuries of their short-lived dominance. I studied Arabic and the Muslim world for many years. Her exuberance to inform the ignorant of the Arab achievements at times seemed to be unnecessary cheerleading, or a lecture on political correctness. She points out again and again the lack of medical education in Europe during the centuries between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, but what did anyone, anywhere contribute to medical science in that era? Not much. It wasn’t until the late years of the 19th century that any real progress was made in medicine.
She includes only a sentence or two to mark just when the light went out in the Muslim world around the middle of the 15th century. Sic transit Gloria mundi, as the Latins would say. The lights went out even earlier in Spain, well before the final Reconquest of 1492 in Granada. More and more religious Muslim sects ruled Al Andaluz who almost completely abandoned scholarship and learning.
She also makes a lot of hay over the supposed religious tolerance of the Muslims, something that has been repeated ad nauseam although it's a bit of a myth, or at least an exaggeration. Of course, they treated women as badly as anyone in history, so at least half of their subjects were political prisoners, at best, and few, if any were educated....more
People who have rated this poorly seem to miss sight of the fact that the author isn't a scientist but a historian making this a history book with mucPeople who have rated this poorly seem to miss sight of the fact that the author isn't a scientist but a historian making this a history book with much of it based on pre-history. I found the book very useful to help formulate questions about humankind which is often even more important than getting answers.
This is one of those volumes that I will come back to again and again to reread and poke around with. The author presents so many ideas and theories that for the reader it’s like juggling fifteen things at once. It’s also a book I would recommend to everyone of this species (if you don’t read, perhaps you aren’t and should get a DNA test—reading is what separates us from the other animals).
The sheer scope of the book is absolutely mind-boggling, as is the intellect of the author once you dig into reading it. It’s not only that he read every book ever written, but he understands them and took heavy notes. For whatever reason, I thought this was going to be a science book about humanity and our species, but I quickly understood that the author is a historian.
If you are religious and this book doesn’t rattle your intellectual foundation, you weren’t paying attention. As a life-time atheist, nothing he writes comes as any sort of surprise.
His brief history of capitalism and economics will probably be extremely useful to anyone without much understanding of these topics, and even for someone who has studied economics in great detail (me, sort of), it was a fun review.
When I reread this book (probably in the near as opposed to the distant future) I will add to this flimsy review....more
Here is my rewrite for this very short short story:
You were on your way home when you died.
The End
Sorry, I don't believe in an afterlife or a soul or Here is my rewrite for this very short short story:
You were on your way home when you died.
The End
Sorry, I don't believe in an afterlife or a soul or god or any sort of rubbish this story addresses. Not looking for explanations or speculation (and religion is all speculation). ...more
Something Dawkins stated in his book The Ancestor’s Tale has never left me: “My objection to supernatural beliefs is precisely that they miserably faiSomething Dawkins stated in his book The Ancestor’s Tale has never left me: “My objection to supernatural beliefs is precisely that they miserably fail to do justice to the sublime grandeur of the real world.” There is nothing in the holy books to compare with what science has opened up for human understanding of the world around us. I am humbled by my own ignorance of science but my ignorance doesn’t drive me to become anti-science. If your religion forces you to turn your mind away from science then it’s time to find another religion…or just drop your silly beliefs once and for all. I grew up in a Catholic family but I never for a single conscious moment believed in any the teachings held by the faith of my parents. I have never believed in a god, ever.
I would like to add “and that has made all the difference” but simply being an atheist doesn’t get you anywhere on its own. For that you need to open up your mind and put your elbows on the table, as we like to say in Spanish about studying. It’s astounding to me that there are many, many people in the world today who don’t know why we have seasons, or that the earth is billions of years old, or that matter is made up of atoms. Instead, they cling to fairy tales written thousands of years ago to explain these phenomena.
I have read things written by Muslims who try to show how the Koran explains science and how their prophet was centuries ahead of his time. Nonsense, just like everything in that book. The same is true of the Bible and the Talmud, and all the others.
But don’t think of this book as being anti-religion but pro-mankind. And what is wrong with that? I am so tired of Dawkins’ critics labeling him as strident and belligerent towards religious people.
If I were the king of the world I would make everyone read this book and then they would have to prove that they read it and understood it. After that, if you want to go on believing in the offal your religion sloshes out then go right ahead. Since I won’t be king any time soon then perhaps we can make this book available to every adolescent so that they can make their own choices because there are only two: myth or science....more
For all of the church ladies out there offended by mere words I would suggest having your smelling salts in hand when reading this book which is a fucFor all of the church ladies out there offended by mere words I would suggest having your smelling salts in hand when reading this book which is a fuck-fest of the fuck word. The word is coded out of the title and written as F*ck which is so completely childish that it offends me. I saw a Spanish TV talk show with an American guest in which he and the host discussed English profanity while dropping every profanity in the vocabulary of any U.S. Marine. No harm done. If you are offended by profanity you should grow the fuck up.
His thoughts on entitlement make the book worth reading. For this reason I rate the book as I did. Interesting insights aren’t that easy to find these days.
His self-help advice, or whatever it is, covers no new ground. All of this stuff comes from the same pile of offal....more
I had a review of this book almost completed in my spiral notebook that I keep in my backpack and that I take everywhere (now there is a highly effectI had a review of this book almost completed in my spiral notebook that I keep in my backpack and that I take everywhere (now there is a highly effective habit!) but every brilliant insult I wrote about this load of fertilizer has to take a backseat because I just discovered that there is a website 7habitsstore.com which forced me to rethink all of the vitriol I'd penned while sitting in a café thinking about this book (sitting in cafés and thinking: another highly effective habit) because the merchandizing of this book somehow lowered my already rock-bottom opinion of 7 Habits.
Just looking through the obscenely over-priced merchandise is enough to merit a 1 Star rating for the book on Goodreads. How about a 7 Habits poster for your children for only $39.95? Seriously, if someone I knew were teaching their child the word “synergize,” I would call protective custody immediately and have the child removed from that home. Just that thought makes me shudder. There are dozens of spin-off books, so this toxic waste site and “self-help” book has spawned a library of moronic literature. Someone please pound a stake through its heart!
Here’s the thing, I think that the people who claim that this book somehow guided them on their path to riches and fame just don’t give themselves enough credit for working hard. They could also credit the fortune cookies they have read along the way which have a stronger intellectual base than anything in this idiotic treatise. His list of 7 habits are either completely stupid or mind-numbingly commonsensical. I have often said that most self-help books could be reduced to a 3x5 index card. If there is anything even remotely interesting contained in this book, it could fit on the back of a postage stamp using a marker pen.
He actually uses the fable of the Golden Goose and spins it into a chapter. Wow, what an intellect! The lesson is to take care of things or they won’t work well for long. Now there is a great lesson to teach people…except almost everyone learns that one at around age 6.
¡Spoiler Alert! Here are the 7 habits and I am not making this shit up:
1 - Be Pro-active 2 - Begin with the End in Mind 3 - Put First Things First 4 - Think Win-Win 5 - Seek First to Understand 6 - Synergize (Yeah, I don’t know what that word means either) 7 - Sharpen the Saw
The thing is, no one can define success or effectiveness for anyone else. I'm sure that many people feel that Donald Trump is effective and successful. I think that he's a huge asshole and a total loser. It all depends on your perspective....more
Here’s my plan: I’m going to distract this woman while one of you throws a net over her. Then we’re going to get her back on her meds along with a fewHere’s my plan: I’m going to distract this woman while one of you throws a net over her. Then we’re going to get her back on her meds along with a few shots of tequila. Next, we'll take this OCD head-case to Mexico, in chains if necessary, and find a filthy bus station bathroom (a pretty easy thing to find, by the way). Then we will force her to lick every surface until the place is as clean as an operating room.
The next step in her therapy is to make her rewrite her book by replacing every use of the word “tidying” with “just throw that anywhere.” I've been very successful with this aggressive therapy and often these lunatics become creepy hoarders which is a million times better than the human being this woman is trying to build.
Perhaps I’m too far gone as a consumer, but I just don’t see how material minimalism, in itself, is a philosophy worth following. You throw out all of your shit and you’re sleeping on a futon in an empty room. Now what? What makes me happy? Making music, reading, writing, biking, exercise (biking can be exercise, but it’s so much more), eating, and personal relationships (I’ll just rest with that euphemism). Tossing out a bag of old clothes isn’t going to help me with any of those pursuits.
As far as uncluttering-decluttering your life, the easiest way is to commit a crime and go on the lam like I did. I'd wager that anyone on the FBI Top Ten Most Wanted list would put this woman to shame as far as traveling light....more
Nothing much new here for me but this book is a must-read for anyone who needs to fortify their argument against the wrath of the religious majority iNothing much new here for me but this book is a must-read for anyone who needs to fortify their argument against the wrath of the religious majority in America. Of course he is preaching to the choir and religious morons won't read this book but the choir needs all of the knowledge it can get....more
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by Vincent Bugliosi, I expected that this book would be a bit interestinSpoiler Alert! There is no god.
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by Vincent Bugliosi, I expected that this book would be a bit interesting. Bugliosi completely embarrasses himself with this book. It turns out that his arguments—especially those directed against atheists—were completely childish and uninteresting. Recently, I listened to a friend the position that agnosticism is somehow morally and intellectually superior to atheism (although they, too, didn’t seem to have the same ax to grind against believers as they did against atheists). To me, the difference between agnosticism and atheism is a completely meaningless distinction.
Bugliosi spends most of his book criticizing Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. His critiques of both are completely asinine and illogical. He adds nothing new to the argument about whether intelligent people should or should not believe in a god or follow a religion.
I wouldn’t spend a second of my time defending Christopher Hitchens, a man who has held so many opposing viewpoints that he must have been constantly dizzy before he croaked, but be careful when you target Richard Dawkins. Bugliosi calls Richard Dawkins superficial, shallow, and a host of other similar adjectives, yet he himself goes on to mouth some of the most incredibly puerile arguments against Dawkins.
Bugliosi says on more than one occasion in the book that “there is some evidence for evolution” as if there are but a few hints of this earth-shattering observation by Charles Darwin. He seems to rate evolution only a notch above creationism or intelligent design. Dawkins has already deconstructed every silly argument that Bugliosi presents in this unfortunate book.
I wasn’t the least interested in what he had to say about religion and believers. I have come to my own conclusions about religion starting from about the age of five. His arguments added nothing to my own arsenal of doubt and skepticism I have for anything religious. It’s all too silly for me to even ponder at this stage in my life.
To put atheists in the same category as believers is patently absurd. Is Bugliosi also agnostic about the existence of fairies? Why is it any different in the case of religion? Just because some people have devoted their lives to religion doesn’t make it any sillier to me than believing in leprechauns, or unicorns, or the Seattle Mariners winning the World Series. Just because we can’t explain everything about the cosmos doesn’t mean that the void leaves room for some sort of supreme being.
I had no interest in reading this entire book....more
This is a veiled swipe at anyone who has bothered to actually continue learning since age five. It’s another brick in the wall of pop culture that makThis is a veiled swipe at anyone who has bothered to actually continue learning since age five. It’s another brick in the wall of pop culture that makes people feel good about the fact that they are stupid motherfuckers who have never worked hard to develop their minds. What they are saying is, “It’s OK to be quasi-literate; everyone else is just like you.” Everyone except the adults sitting around the dinner table of life. I’ll admit that I’m sort of a dumb shit but it’s not from lack of trying.
I’d rather read a book called Everything I know I learned During a 3 Week Opium Bender with a Lady-Boy in a Bangkok Brothel but what I’d really rather read is a book by an author who doesn’t have the prose style of Ned Flanders. He has a list of things he learned while he was peeing his pants every day in kindergarten. Some of them are so stupid that even Ned would probably take a swing at him for saying. #9 on his list is “Flush.” I would rather hang out with someone who has never flushed a day in her life than with anyone who found this book worth reading (I think I read bits of it years ago but I was looking at the reviews here today while researching something else).
Yet another in a long list of books people latch on to with the hope of answering all of their questions about life, books like Eat, Pray Love, Five People The You Meet in Heaven, anything by Anthony Robbins, The Bible, The Koran, etc....more
I have not read this book nor do I plan on doing so.
Great, a religious media empire. I can't imagine causing the world more harm. Why not start the woI have not read this book nor do I plan on doing so.
Great, a religious media empire. I can't imagine causing the world more harm. Why not start the world's biggest small pox epidemic or cause the world's biggest tidal wave?
And what the hell is a "network of miracles?" Since there is no such thing as a miracle does this mean that it's the same thing as a network of lies? Or maybe a network of fairy tales?
And another thing, maybe if about 99% of nuns didn't look like this busquaffalo (sp?) priests would keep their hands off the alter boys. Seriously, she looks like an enforcer for the Philadelphia Fliers hockey team....more
Open this book up to any page at random and more than likely it won't make a bit of fucking sense. There are a couple of good stories. I like Exodus. Open this book up to any page at random and more than likely it won't make a bit of fucking sense. There are a couple of good stories. I like Exodus. Most of it is utter nonsense and Revelations is pure madness....more
Every bit as stupid and boring and pointless as the Bible. "Men are the maintainers of women." This book is full of medieval rants which modern peopleEvery bit as stupid and boring and pointless as the Bible. "Men are the maintainers of women." This book is full of medieval rants which modern people should discard. ...more
The world's leading atheists explains exactly why religion is for chumps. I love the fact that it was/is a bestseller in America.
This book is somethinThe world's leading atheists explains exactly why religion is for chumps. I love the fact that it was/is a bestseller in America.
This book is something of a weapon for atheists of all stripes to use when they are bludgeoned by the horse shit heaped on them by the religious. I wish that someone could have slipped this book I front of my during one of my relentlessly boring catechism classes I was forced to endure as a child in a Catholic family. I never, ever believed in any of the crap I was taught, and it would take years of reading and study to be able to properly defend my position. This book would have speed up that process by a few decades. Even if you are religious, your children should be offered this book. If your faith is so flimsy that you fear the work of a single human being, you are doomed. ...more
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