Rating: ★★★★½

Summary: Think Again (Canada/US) explores the power of rethinking in a world where certainty and dogma often spread like wildfire.

​Much of the time, we hold onto our deeply cherished beliefs and seek out confirming evidence for them. In the process, we settle on beliefs that may be flawed and rarely, if ever, revisit them.

When we do so, we act in three main roles: as preachers trying defend our beliefs from questioning, as prosecutors attacking the arguments of the opposition, and as politicians using rhetoric to persuade others to our point of view. 

However, there is a fourth role that is often neglected: that of a scientist questioning a hypothesis. 

I co-created an infographic outlining these four modes of thinking. Check it out :

Click "read more" to see my detailed notes from the book.

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: The Great Mental Models Volume 1 (Canada/US) not only explains what mental models are, but how to get the most out of them. It presents nine fundamental thinking concepts for better understanding reality. 

Each mental model is eloquently illustrated with novel, relevant examples from history.

​Chock-full of takeaways and insights, The Great Mental Models is required reading for anyone looking to optimize their productivity, refine their thinking skills, or improve their ability to make important decisions. 

​Here's an infographic I made summarizing the key concepts of the book:

Key Quote: “Mental models describe the way the world works. They shape how we think, how we understand, and how we form beliefs. Largely subconscious, mental models operate below the surface. We’re not generally aware of them and yet they’re the reason when we look at a problem we consider some factors relevant and others irrelevant. They are how we infer causality, match patterns, and draw analogies. They are how we think and reason.”

Rating: ★★★★

Summary: The Alter Ego Effect (Canada/US) explores the relationship between flexible identities and improved performance. Tapping into the qualities of our favourite superheroes, animals, celebrities, and/or family members can help us unlock our full potential.

Our created alter ego should embody the values that we want to show up with most when it matters. For example: if you are agreeable and nice, but lack discipline and decisiveness, you could adopt the alter ego of Jocko Willink, the author of Discipline Equals Freedom who wakes up before 4:30 A.M. everyday.

You can activate your alter ego with a totem, which is an object—usually worn—that 

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise (Canada/US)  distills decades of research in the field of performance psychology to explain how experts develop their skills. Ericsson dispels the idea that innate talent and abilities are what lead to expertise. He also dismantles the myth known as The 10,000 Hour Rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, which posits that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a  given field or discipline. Peak reveals that deliberate practice is what leads to high levels of expertise. This type of practice includes three crucial elements: accurate and immediate feedback, objective measures (e.g. a somersault can be evaluated by a judge) and direct coaching or mentorship by a skilled expert practitioner. 

Peak has far-reaching implications. In fields like chess, music, sports and gymnastics,

Rating: ★★★★½

Summary: There are time-tested ways of mastering any craft. Da Vinci, Einstein, Edison, Curie and many other iconic historical figures followed a well-worn path. They discovered their calling, pursued an apprenticeship, and applied creative, experimental thinking to problems at the outer boundaries of their disciplines. Their lives have left traces of their methods, and this book examines them in rigorous detail.  

At its core, mastery is the combination of thousands of hours of intense study and the use of guided intuition. Concepts are internalized through repetition until they become second nature. Only then, can patterns be 

recognized, and the internalized skills be applied to unique problems, or combined with other areas of expertise. 

Rating: ★★★★

Summary: Ultralearning offers a path towards optimized, self-directed skill/knowledge acquisition that includes 9 key principles: meta-learning, focus, directness, drill, retrieval, feedback, retention, intuition, and experimentation. The book's essential premise is that traditional learning methods are often highly expensive and woefully inefficient. Through clear planning, active learning techniques, and corrective feedback, you can learn new languages, skills, and information in a fraction of the time—and at a fraction of the cost—when compared to university or college.

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Key Concepts:
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• One of the most important skills in the 21st century global economy is the ability to quickly learn, unlearn, and relearn difficult skills. 

Rating: ★★★★

Review: I'd label this book part autobiography, part psychology of learning/performance. Overall, a compelling story of a peak performer who abruptly switched disciplines on the path to mastery.

I found it fascinating how he applied many of the principles that he gleaned from chess towards martial arts; the crossover does not seem immediately evident, but I think that it speaks to the interconnected nature of all art and skills. 

One of the central concepts of this book—fixed vs. incremental progress—echoes the work of Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, which came out in the same year (2007). Beyond that, there are a few hidden gems of insight worth considering.

Rating: ★★★★½

Review: Disappointment Panda. The Feedback Loop from Hell. Defining one's overarching values. Burritos. These are just a few of the vital elements from this book that I have placed in my most recent memory palace — a technique I improved upon while reading Jim Kwik's book Limitless.  

TSAONGAF (now there's a catchy acronym) delights the reader with extra helpings of gut-wrenching humour and enough profanity to make even a grizzly bear blush. 

More than that, it is deeply insightful. The excerpt on values prompted some much-needed reflection on my part. It has helped me to make better choices, and avoid the gaping maw of nihilism that I used to routinely stumble into, all the while wondering why it was "kind of dark" in there. 

Rating: ★★★★½

Review: The last half of this book is a veritable treasure trove of practical tools and concepts for learning, remembering, and thinking more optimally. 

What I liked most about Limitless was its heavy emphasis on active learning. There are moments at key junctures throughout the book where the reader is compelled to participate, and try out the exercises instead of just reading about them.

While I had already encountered many of the memory techniques that Kwik outlines during a reading of Joshua Foer’s superb book Moonwalking with Einstein, I found I actually took more away from Limitless in terms of applicability. 

Rating: ★★★★

Review: I am of two minds about this book. On one hand, it is a timeless source of wisdom, filled with remarkable, quotable passages that shed unparalleled light on the human experience and the applicability of Stoic philosophy. On the other, it is—at times—discursive, incoherent, repetitive and antiquated.

Perhaps it was my expectations that got the better of me. Perhaps I should have fully taken note when, in the introduction to the Modern Library edition, Gregory Hays wrote: 

"To try to extract a sustained and coherent argument from the Meditations as a whole would be an unprofitable exercise. It is simply not that kind of work."