I’m reading and so far enjoying “A Brief History of Timekeeping” by Chad Orzel.
Not to discount Harrison’s achievements, but there are other interesting navigational approaches - using Tobias Mayer’s Lunar tables:
> Mayer is far less celebrated than Harrison, but his method was in many ways the more immediately successful of the two
Or, if society were to collapse and rebuild, Lewis Dartnell proposes a radio in “The Knowledge”, since a radio transmitter is probably simpler to build than an accurate chronometer.
Depends on the definition of efficiency since a lot of it comes down to who or what is deciding to
> pass the savings back to the parts of society doing more interesting things
But in terms of successful monopolies, a lot of state-owned oil companies like Saudi Aramco, transportation companies like SNCF, Google 10 years ago, and Bell 50 years ago
I think the message is useful for people who receive or want to give recommendations. The reason I often pick up something is that it was rated highly on some online review, or that somebody told me I should read it under the assumption that it will be as eye-opening to me as it was to them.
> Yes the book is good for you now, because there was a reason you picked it up in the first place.
I disagree. That can be the case, but the assumptions under which it was picked up are often wrong, misleading, or become wrong over time. This article sheds light on those assumptions.
> You don't have to 'experience' or undergo emotional turmoil to understand.
But if I expect an experience and I think the characters are all flat, I'm disappointed. If the book speaks to me, I become more invested. Using recommendations and understanding their subjectivity can prevent you from picking up junk, assuming that's what you want.
[1] https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/philip-ball/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Ballard