Queen of an Alien Sun (Arc Trilogy #3) Peter F Hamilton & Elisabeth Klett (2023)

Weak, silly, 2/5 Stars.

The Coming by Joe Haldeman (2001)

In some ways Joe Haldeman correctly predicted a global reaction to first extraterrestrial contact, as military leaders and fearful politicians react with "It's a threat! Destroy it!" As they did in 2022 with Chinese surveillance balloons and several unidentified smaller objects.  In other ways, Haldeman's predictions are completely wrong and very odd.  The EU in a civil war?  Cuba emerging as a significant economic power?  Really?  The story is interesting; the characters are great but this book is not among the best Haldeman stories; 3/5 Stars.

irreparable damage from generative AI large language models

This post by Cory is worth reading. Here is the appropriate hook to get you to click:

Let's be clear here: these kinds of lawyer letters aren't good writing; they're a highly specific form of bad writing. The point of this letter isn't to parse the text, it's to send a signal. If the letter was well-written, it wouldn't send the right signal. For the letter to work, it has to read like it was written by someone whose prose-sense was irreparably damaged by a legal education.

. . .

The fact that an LLM can manufacture this once-expensive signal for free means that the signal's meaning will shortly change, forever. Once companies realize that this kind of letter can be generated on demand, it will cease to mean, "You are dealing with a furious, vindictive rich person." It will come to mean, "You are dealing with someone who knows how to type 'generate legal threat' into a search box."

Legal threat letters are in a class of language formally called "bullshit"

Please go read Cory's whole thing..

Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2022)

The story is good but the silly deus est machina contrivances to rescue our heroes from each new cliffhanger are getting lame. I like the slow reveal and mystery of the void universe. I look forward to the conclusion. 4/5 Stars. 

Measuring Developer Productivity

This analysis by Kent Beck is worth sharing. 

Measuring productivity is a complex and nuanced problem, and there is no single solution that will work for everyone. The best approach to measuring productivity depends on the specific needs of the organization, such as the goals of the measurement, the resources available, and the culture of the organization. Any attempt to measure productivity must be done carefully, as it can have unintended consequences, such as creating a culture of fear or mistrust. It is important to remember that productivity is not the only measure of success, and that other factors, such as quality and customer satisfaction, are important.

The Far Reaches Collection by various authors (2023)

Most of the stories in this collection are good; recommended. 4/5 Stars.

Three Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni (2008)

Our family is no longer frantic; this book would have been fantastic during the decades our family was frantic. Interestingly, the business concepts behind their application to families shines through, making the book worthwhile, so I am glad I did (eventually) read it.  I still have a bunch more Lencioni books to read. 4/5 Stars.

Back Spin by Harlan Coben

Fun! 4/5 Stars.

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow (2023)

Although I don't particularly appreciate his writing style or the character affectations, the plot is a fun, pulp escapist story.  The cybercrime, blockchain, & crypto-currency technologies are all well presented.  Some of the forensic accounting is a little off. I enjoyed the book, shall read the next few in the series. 4/5 Stars.

Ideas, Opinions, Liberty, and John Stuart Mill

I was educated as an engineer in the 20th century.  I learned "steam tables thermodynamics," differential equations, electric fields (antenna equation), and engineering (electrical, mechanical, biomedical). I did not learn about literature, sociology, arts, languages, philosophy, or civics (political science).  However, I read quite a bit in a broad range of topics.  And the history of ideas, including polemics and civics is interesting to most folks.

This interesting essay by Richard Reeves has prompted me (finally!) to read On Liberty. In particular, Reeves summarizes concepts in the second chapter:

Mill believed that the pursuit of truth required the collation and combination of ideas and propositions, even those that seem to be in opposition to each other. He urged us to allow others to speak—and then to listen to them—for three main reasons, most crisply articulated in Chapter 2 of On Liberty.

First, the other person's idea, however controversial it seems today, might turn out to be right. ("The opinion … may possibly be true.") Second, even if our opinion is largely correct, we hold it more rationally and securely as a result of being challenged. ("He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.") Third, and in Mill's view most likely, opposing views may each contain a portion of the truth, which need to be combined. ("Conflicting doctrines … share the truth between them.")

These ideas are foundational to good science and engineering.  They are also at the heart of The Enlightenment that enabled human progress. I am frequently disappointed that our society and public discourse do not naturally embrace these concepts.  I am optimistic that we can indoctrinate future generations to honor and embrace these values.