Scott Jenson
Mastodon: @scottjenson@social.coop Before: Android UX, Chrome Physical Web, Director frogdesign, Google Mobile Maps, Symbian, Apple Newton, & Mac System 7
10+ Book Recommendations by Scott Jenson
Twelve Recipes
Cal Peternell
@geoffreylitt "Twelve recipes" by @calpeternell comes close. Great book by a great guy
How to Do Nothing
Jenny Odell
After the American presidental election of 2016, Jenny Odell felt so overstimunated and disoriented by information, misinformation, and the expressions of others, that reality itself seemed to slip away. How To Do Nothing is her action plan for resistance. Drawing on the ethos of tech culture, a background in the arts, and personal storytelling, Jenny Odell makes a powerful argument for refusal: refusal to believe that our lives are instruments to be optimised. She argues that nothing can be quite so radical as doing... nothing.Just finished "How to do nothing" by Jenny Odell. I read this book very slowly, exploring each reference, going down rabbit holes, putting it down for days, creating a languid, almost random, path through it. Not at all what I expected, more philosophical than polemical.
The Design of Everyday Things
Don Norman
The ultimate guide to human-centered design Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how -- and why -- some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.So many great replies, thank you! "Philosophy" books like "Design of Everyday Things" have an important role to play, but I'm thinking of a very practical, almost handbook approach, e.g. "These 4 things are important" type of book to really get people thinking next steps
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** 'Interesting and provocative... It gives you a sense of how briefly we've been on this Earth' Barack Obama What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human in the perfect read for these unprecedented times. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us. In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going. 'I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who's interested in the history and future of our species' Bill Gates **ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**@bryanrieger Actually, it's this https://t.co/De0BTeqKj7
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.I just finished "The Three Body Problem". The ideas were immensely clever to be sure, it was just a bit dry. Kind of how I felt reading Sophie's World
The Wicked + the Divine
Kieron Gillen
Every ninety years, twelve gods are incarnated into humans to enjoy a limited two-year lifespan, this time appearing as pop stars, and college student Laura finds herself in her midst as one of the gods is set up for murder.I'm a little late to the party but this was a fun read https://t.co/rNjXgtS81G https://t.co/0H81OmvuGw
Leadership and Self-deception
Arbinger Institute
This phenomenal bestseller -- over 700,000 copies sold -- changes readers' lives and helps them transform their organizations. In this new edition, the text has been updated and revised throughout to make it even more readable and powerful, and a new section has been added that details the many different ways that people are using this book.Twitter ate the first link, adding it here: https://t.co/LjgL3O9X80
Articulating Design Decisions
Tom Greever
Annotation Every designer has had to justify designs to non-designers, yet most lack the ability to explain themselves in a way that is compelling and fosters agreement. The ability to effectively articulate design decisions is critical to the success of a project, because the most articulate person often wins. This practical book provides principles, tactics and actionable methods for talking about designs with executives, managers, developers, marketers and other stakeholders who have influence over the project with the goal of winning them over and creating the best user experience.I read Leadership and Self-Deception over the weekend. All I can say is that I'm beginning to finally grok what @tomgreever told me over lunch so many months ago. It takes a while for powerful ideas to sink in... https://t.co/LjgL3O9X80 https://t.co/FMsMqqjtN6
Leadership and Self-deception
Arbinger Institute
This phenomenal bestseller -- over 700,000 copies sold -- changes readers' lives and helps them transform their organizations. In this new edition, the text has been updated and revised throughout to make it even more readable and powerful, and a new section has been added that details the many different ways that people are using this book.I read Leadership and Self-Deception over the weekend. All I can say is that I'm beginning to finally grok what @tomgreever told me over lunch so many months ago. It takes a while for powerful ideas to sink in... https://t.co/LjgL3O9X80 https://t.co/FMsMqqjtN6
Future Shock
Alvin Toffler
Predicts the pace of environmental change during the next thirty years and the ways in which the individual must face and learn to cope with personal and social change@iotwatch Interesting. Feel there's also a cultural component (discussed in old book Future Shock). Sometimes people just need time (laws help here)
Accelerando
Charles Stross
Trying to cope with the unchecked technological innovations that have rendered humankind nearly obsolete, the members of the Macx family are confronted by an unknown enemy that is systematically attempting to annihilate all biological lifeforms.@tkadlec @stephanierieger Have either of you read Accellerando By Clifford stoll? Heady, weird, but very thought provoking