Daily Thoughts 02/04/2013
I finished reading The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford. This book is about how to change a free market economy so it can function with mass unemployment caused by automation. There are a lot of interesting solutions discussed at the end of the book. Part of these solutions is a refocus on education, community service, journalism, and cleaning up the externalities of a free market society like crime and the environment. Martin Ford does an excellent job of reminding us that the United States is a consumer society and requires mass consumption to maintain its system of labor and capital.
I found that the author missed some important parts of a future economy like social capital, the arts and creative work. Martin Ford argues that much of knowledge work will be automated like customer service and retail. The book has some very interesting points. In addition to traditional automation, Martin Ford discusses how artificial intelligence will automate knowledge work. It is worth reading.
This morning, I checked the social media for the library. I also checked the displays and gift books. The book, Mastermind How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova came in for me to read.
The February 3, 2013 issue of the New York Times Book Review makes me want to read Yan Mo. I think I might want to read The Republic of Wine.
Better World Books came to pick up some of our discards. I am starting to check the 900s again.
There is an Urban Librarians Conference on April 5, 2013 in Brooklyn. The conference is sponsored by Urban Librarians Unite which has done a lot of advocacy work. It is just something I noticed in my Facebook account. http://www.urbanlibrariansconference.org/
I started reading Mastermind today. It is about paying attention deeply, how to observe the elementary little things, and remember what is important. It describes the logic and practices behind Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary character Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle solved a few mysteries himself.
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