May 2010 Entries
This book might seem out of character for my reading list, however history is a hobby of mine. This particular period of history fascinates me as I grew up with church and Christianity as a large part of my life. Understanding the day to day life during this time period in history makes the life of Christ more realistic. In The City in Roman Palestine, Daniel Sperber does an excellent job of using both archeology and the historical record of Jewish historians of the time to paint a very deta
Don Norman has a fascinating way of looking at the world. As with many of the thought leaders in design much of his work is academic in nature. One of the frustrations of my research in human computer interaction is finding work that is pragmatic. While Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things has a tremendous amount of valuable information, after reading it one wonders what practical purpose might be served. I suppose that makes sound like I am not smart enough to understand
Jef Raskin was an early influence at Apple and he is given credit for a number of things that came out of Apple during the early 1980's. His book The Humane Interface was his treatise on how human computer interaction should work. His ideas have gained traction in the thinking of many in the field today, however none of the products he designed after leaving Apple ever became commercial successes.
I intended to read this book before going to hear Greg Mortenson speak at my alma mater but I was glad that I heard him before I read the book. Hearing this man speak of his vision for the mountain people in Pakistan and Afghanistan gave me a different perspective in reading the book. I expected a heart-warming tale of humanitarian good deeds, but I wasn't expecting to come away with a new way of looking at the conflict in the middle east. Indeed at the end of reading Greg Mortenson's tale of