Influences

//A collection of works that have shaped my understanding of our world

Many people way smarter than me are putting real research into the topics I explore. The following is a non-exhaustive list of resources that have influenced my thinking. If you find something interesting here, consider exploring the works of these authors further. They’re the real minds. I’m just taking notes and regurgitating what I’ve learned from them in a way that makes sense to me and hopefully to you as well.

This list should change over time. That feels appropriate.

Books

Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Systems Bible by John Gall
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
The Nordic Theory of Everything by Anu Partanen
Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
The Responsibility Process by John Kania, Mark Kramer, and Peter Senge
Empire of AI by Karen Hao
Addiction by Design by Natasha Dow Schüll
The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu
Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Thomas Kida
Sources of Power by Gary Klein
Abundance by Ezra Klein
The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Z. Muller
The Intelligence Trap by David Robson
Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Atomic Habits by James Clear
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Julia by Sandra Newman
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan Impro by Keith Johnstone
The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod
Debt by David Graeber
The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark
The Weirdest People in the World by Joseph Henrich
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
The History of Almost Everything by Bill Bryson

Documentaries

It Runs On Water (1995)
The Social Dilemma (2020)
Bob Lazar:Area 51 & Flying Saucers (2018)
Inside Job (2010)
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Citizenfour (2014)
DEFCON: The Documentary (2013)
Mythbusters (2003-2016)
Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-1998)
The Magic School Bus (1994-1997)

Podcasts & Radio Shows

StarTalk
Freakonomics
RadioLab
This American Life
CarTalk
Planet Money
Smodcast

Books

YouTube Channels

Documentaries

Podcasts & Radio Shows