Skip to main content

Review: Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing by Jamie Holmes


Review: Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing
Jamie Holmes
Crown Publishers
2015

I’ll admit it now.  I pick this book for its title and especially its subtitle.  For whoever makes the decisions related to titles, you picked a winner.  The author was unknown to me, but from the rear flap should be better known among the millennial generation.  Don’t let that be the deciding factor for this book though.
Holmes has assembled nine chapters plus some extra stuff, and a set of annotated end notes that are worth reading themselves.  Yeah, that’s weird, but I figure if it’s included why not give it a glance.  I’d suggest reading them as you go along through the text.  

Each of the chapters looks at different facets of knowing, and how people come to the point of believing they know what’s going on in a particular situation. The chapters were well written discussions that could be standalone articles.  That’s a good thing and a bad thing.  Good in that they were well done, bad in that, except for a basic overall look at information processing, there was little to keep the reading going.  I found myself repeatedly putting the book down and then having to remember to pick it again. 

I didn’t find much original information or original thought in this book, either.  It’s a combination of psychology, sociology, and several recent business books that dealt with decision making processes.  Nice mix since life, business, or creativity in general isn’t a neat little package of any one of those fields of knowledge.  It is good that the author has found a way to remind his readers of that. 

Would I recommend this book?  Yes, as an airport read perhaps.  

This book was provided by the publishers in exchange for a review.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot by Mo Isom

Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot Mo Isom Baker Books 2018 I picked this one up after I’d seen a video promo by the author, http://moisom.com/sexandjesus#.   Sounded like she had something to say.   She does.   And even if you don’t think it applies to you it does in ways that aren’t necessarily related to sex, but just as a human being with desires.    Isom subscribed to many of the conversations that govern relationships in general, and those with men, for her generation, the millennials.   This book is not her life story, but it does describe some moments that were important to her journey then and now.   Her openness to share those times surprised me.   Her point without spoiling the book is that she had not understood what linked sexual intimacy to ordinary life, the why’s, if you will.   Was it not taught, discussed?   Or was she not interested in hearing might be a valid...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense by Dr. Larry Crabb

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense Dr. Larry Crabb Baker Books 2018 I chose this book because the title intrigued me.   When God’s Ways Make No Sense.    There have been plenty of times when that seemed truer than I’d like to admit.   Are we even allowed to say something like that?   Even if we think it.   So, an author willing to take on that topic had my attention. And mostly because I wanted his take on what to do about it? As it turns out Crabb pretty much gave away his case very early on in his book with a single scripture quote.   The basic idea is God is GOD and we are not.   His motives and actions are incomprehensible to mankind and He owes no explanation for them either.   Crabb admits near the end of his book that he is not a theologian which I knew going into this book, but his arguments are theology.   Or at least I think so.   I found his repeated circling the topic a bit frustrating. ...
1 comment
Read more

Review: The World of Jesus: Making Sense of the People and the Places of Jesus’ Day by Dr. William H. Marty

Review: The World of Jesus: Making Sense of the People and the Places of Jesus’ Day Dr. William H. Marty Bethany House Publishers 2013 If you have ever tried to keep track of who is who during the period that is the between the testaments time and afterward you will have a good appreciation for what Dr. Marty has done with this short book.   It’s still like reading a soap opera plot but at least this help keep the characters sorted out.   The political and social changes came fast and frequently back then with the land of the Jews right in the midst of it all.   For me this is a reminder that it was not any easier back then in that region than it is today.    So if you are looking for a place to start an exploration of that period this might be a good overview to pick up first.    This book was provided in exchange for a review by the publisher.
Post a Comment
Read more