- 21 lessons for the 21st century -- by Yuval Noah Harari [Online]Link visible for attendees
New York Times Bestseller. National Bestseller. In Sapiens, he explored our past; in Homo Deus he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues.
How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children? 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the unchartered territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, as hacking becomes a tactic of war, and as the world feels more polarized than ever, Yuval Noah Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.
In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari builds on the ideas explored in his previous books, untangling political, technological, social, and existential issues and offering advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we live in. How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like and how should we ready ourselves for it? How should we deal with the threat of terrorism? Why is liberal democracy in crisis?
Harari's unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers around the world. Here he invites readers to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. In such a world deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. The ability of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century to present complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly makes it essential reading.
═════ Discussion questions:
TBD
Facilitator: Andrei═════ $$ Donations:
Our events are free but donations are much appreciated. Your money will support our subscriptions to Meetup.com and Zoom. Please consider an e-transfer to toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com, using either https://www.paypal.com or Interac (suggested $2 per event or PWYC). Thanks!
═════ Meeting format:
- A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants 1-2 days prior to the meeting.
- Please check your communication settings at https://www.meetup.com/account/comm/Non-fictionBookclubToronto/ to receive updates.
- We meet to discuss the book after having read it beforehand.
- A facilitator guides the discussion ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak, one person at a time.
- Please read our Discussion Groundrules: https://www.meetup.com/Non-fictionBookclubToronto/messages/boards/thread/28765172
- Warning: Participation in a book club is a dangerous activity. You may encounter opinions different from yours. By joining the group you agree to assume all risks.
═════ Land Acknowledgement:
Toronto is part of the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations and is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. Learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Purchase - Work rules! : insights from inside Google -- by Laszlo Bock [in person]Kathmandu Restaurant, Toronto, ONCA$0.01
From the visionary head of Google's innovative People Operations comes a groundbreaking inquiry into the philosophy of work -- and a blueprint for attracting the most spectacular talent to your business and ensuring that they succeed.
"We spend more time working than doing anything else in life. It's not right that the experience of work should be so demotivating and dehumanizing." So says Laszlo Bock, former head of People Operations at the company that transformed how the world interacts with knowledge.
This insight is the heart of Work Rules!, a compelling and surprisingly playful manifesto that offers lessons including:- Take away managers' power over employees
- Learn from your best employees-and your worst
- Hire only people who are smarter than you are, no matter how long it takes to find them
- Pay unfairly (it's more fair!)
- Don't trust your gut: Use data to predict and shape the future
- Default to open-be transparent and welcome feedback
- If you're comfortable with the amount of freedom you've given your employees, you haven't gone far enough.
Drawing on the latest research in behavioral economics and a profound grasp of human psychology, Work Rules! also provides teaching examples from a range of industries-including lauded companies that happen to be hideous places to work and little-known companies that achieve spectacular results by valuing and listening to their employees. Bock takes us inside one of history's most explosively successful businesses to reveal why Google is consistently rated one of the best places to work in the world, distilling 15 years of intensive worker R&D into principles that are easy to put into action, whether you're a team of one or a team of thousands.
Work Rules! shows how to strike a balance between creativity and structure, leading to success you can measure in quality of life as well as market share. Read it to build a better company from within rather than from above; read it to reawaken your joy in what you do.
═════ Discussion questions:
TBD
Facilitator: Andrei═════ $$ Refundable deposit:
We have always had persistent problems with no-shows and last-minute dropouts. We'd like to make sure everyone on the RSVP actually intends to join us and enjoy the event.
Please make a refundable deposit of $5 to hold your spot, via Paypal or Interac e-transfer to toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com, when you RSVP or shortly thereafter. If you are waitlisted please wait until a spot opens up for you before making a transfer.
You'll get your $5 back in cash if you join us at the event. If you decide to drop out later or not attend, consider this a donation to support our meetup and zoom subscriptions, which aren't cheap. Thank you!
═════ Meeting format:
- We meet to discuss the book after having read it beforehand.
- A facilitator guides the discussion ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak, one person at a time.
- Please read our Discussion Groundrules: https://www.meetup.com/Non-fictionBookclubToronto/messages/boards/thread/28765172
- Warning: Participation in a book club is a dangerous activity. You may encounter opinions different from yours. By joining the group you agree to assume all risks.
═════ Land Acknowledgement:
Toronto is part of the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations and is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. Learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Purchase - Orientalism - by Edward Said [Online]Link visible for attendees
More than three decades after its first publication, Edward Said's groundbreaking critique of the West's historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East has become a modern classic.
In this wide-ranging, intellectually vigorous study, Said traces the origins of "orientalism" to the centuries-long period during which Europe dominated the Middle and Near East and, from its position of power, defined "the orient" simply as "other than" the occident. This entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and, because it does not allow the East to represent itself, prevents true understanding. Essential, and still eye-opening, Orientalism remains one of the most important books written about our divided world.
═════ Discussion questions:
TBD
Facilitator: Andrei═════ $$ Donations:
Our events are free but donations are much appreciated. Your money will support our subscriptions to Meetup.com and Zoom. Please consider an e-transfer to toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com, using either https://www.paypal.com or Interac (suggested $2 per event or PWYC). Thanks!
═════ Meeting format:
- A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants 1-2 days prior to the meeting.
- Please check your communication settings at https://www.meetup.com/account/comm/Non-fictionBookclubToronto/ to receive updates.
- We meet to discuss the book after having read it beforehand.
- A facilitator guides the discussion ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak, one person at a time.
- Please read our Discussion Groundrules: https://www.meetup.com/Non-fictionBookclubToronto/messages/boards/thread/28765172
- Warning: Participation in a book club is a dangerous activity. You may encounter opinions different from yours. By joining the group you agree to assume all risks.
═════ Land Acknowledgement:
Toronto is part of the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations and is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. Learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Purchase