Category Archives: Book Review

Shop Class as Soulcraft – Matthew Crawford

“This book grows out of an attempt to understand the greater sense of agency and competence I have always felt doing manual work, compared to other jobs that were officially recognized as ‘knowledge work’.”

How many people with University of Chicago PhDs in philosophy do you think become motorcycle mechanics? After you read Shop Class as Soulcraft, you can claim you know of at least one. Having gotten a well-paid position at a thinktank, Crawford left it after 5 months, and turned instead to working with his hands. He claims he’s happier for it.

Shop Class as Soulcraft is about the difference between monetary and psychic nourishment. It worries that in today’s world, it is assumed that we get the first from our jobs and the second from our two week holiday, a somewhat woeful ratio. It is in the trades, Crawford argues, that both can be found, and his book merges philosophy, psychology, a love of the local, and stories of fixing motorbikes.

In today’s world, manual labour all tends to be dismissed as mindless. Crawford suggests this arises from the error of confusing manual labour with assembly line work. Assembly line work is easily depersonalized and turned into a process, forced to respond to forces remote from where the work is done. Indeed, this was a stated goal of production when the assembly line was introduced, as it allowed the use of unskilled labour. It has little if anything to do with a trade like woodworking or fixing motorcycles, however, in which problems must be diagnosed and unique solutions formed: the jobs simply vary too much to be reduced to a single process. Modern white collar labour, in contrast, often can be, and as Crawford wisely points out, trafficking in abstraction is not the same as thinking.

For Crawford, “real knowledge arises through confrontations with real things:” it is in facing the real world, with universal standards like ‘does the engine run?’ that we truly test ourselves. In the corporate environment, on the other hand, accountability is at best diffuse, and we rarely have any sort of independent standard by which to judge our success.

In the end, the best jobs engage the human faculties as much as possible. For some people, this is in the life of the mind. For others, it is in the trades. If Crawford is arguing for anything, it is for people to pick careers based on what is good for their soul, not just what is good for their wallet or the respect of society. He believes that can be found in the trades, and though I probably believe it will vary widely between people, I’m happy to agree they’re worth a try.

In Praise of Slow – Carl Honoré

“And yet some things cannot, should not, be sped up. They take time; they need slowness. When you accelerate things that should not be accelerated, when you forget how to slow down, there is a price to pay.”

“Does it really make sense to speed-read Proust, make love in half the time or cook every meal in the microwave?”

I’m going about this backwards, because I reviewed Honoré’s more recent book, The Slow Fix, several months ago, and am now reviewing his older one. Worse yet, I think I like his newer book more, so the need for this review is debatable, since the two are on very similar topics. Apologies to all who find that irritating.

My reasons for preferring his second book are twofold. First, this first can feel dated: it predates the financial crisis, and there are a few sections where that shows. More broadly, though, his second book simply has the better stories and anecdotes of the success of slow, and that’s what makes it such a pleasure to read.

All that said, there are definitely still pearls of wisdom to be found here. Honoré is careful to say that many things can and should be done quickly. Some things, though, must be done slowly, and in the modern world it’s not clear we remember that. How many of us, for example, wince when we read the letter from the Harvard Dean of undergraduates to new students, which suggests that “empty time is not a vacuum to be filled…It is the thing that enables the other things on your mind to be creatively rearranged, like the empty square in the 4×4 puzzle that makes it possible to move the other 15 pieces around.”

I read recently that most people don’t listen to each other; when they’re not talking, they mentally rehearse what they’re going to say next. That’s why most conversations proceed without pauses, and yet when you think about it, that’s crazy: does no one ever need to stop and think? Fitting in writing blog posts with the rest of my life, I’m the last person to claim speed isn’t useful, but I think there’s a deeper point to be made here. If we don’t remember to stop and slow down over what matters, we may reach a point where nothing feels like it matters.

No amazon links today: you can slowly navigate there yourself, and see if you see any other books that look good on the way there! Or, you could just join the Subtle Illumination email list.

Debt: The First 5,000 Years – David Graeber

“How is it that moral obligations between people come to be thought of as debts and as a result, end up justifying behavior that would otherwise seem utterly immoral?”

A friend recommended Debt: The First 5,000 Years as a veritable bible of the Occupy movement, so I thought I’d pick it up. Its concern is distinguishing between moral obligations, as occur in a human economy, and market obligations (debts) that occur in a commercial economy. Graeber is worried that our modern economy has confused the two. Financial debts are denominated in money, and so are easily enforceable and transferable: moral obligations, like owing someone a favour, are not.

The book asks great questions, questions that aren’t studied nearly enough, like the effect of being in a perpetual state of debt on humanity, whether early cultures truly used a barter system (answer: usually only with strangers, not within the village, where non-market bonds held sway), whether debts of money and debts of morality are the same, and whether alternative systems to the current one exist. Overall, though, I was disappointed. His answers often feel confused, often asserting something only to disagree a few paragraphs later, or introducing what often felt like irrelevant distinctions instead of meaningful insights.

Unfortunately, as a result I struggled to find the book compelling. He makes blanket statements that barter economies never existed or world literatures condemned lending, for example, before backtracking and noting large exceptions shortly after. He also asserts that debts in monetary units are enforced by violence while moral debts are not, yet surely social norms and codes of behaviour, including what may be seen as a debt to society, were frequently enforced by violence. If you’re willing to overlook such claims, however, there are also important insights: it’s probably true that monetary debt’s ability to be transferred between creditors makes it more impersonal, and so justifies otherwise outrageous behaviour, for example. There are also great stories in it, like the discussion of the Tiv, who worried about being tricked into turning into witches by being fed human flesh.

The book does therefore have strengths. The questions and stories are interesting, and if a psychologist happens to write a book about the effects of debt on the human psyche, I’d definitely read it. For the nature of financial markets and moral markets, however, I found Michael Sandel more compelling and more clear, and for studies of how ancient cultures felt about debt and exchange, I’d turn first to Jared Diamond. If this is a subject you’re interested in, it’s definitely worth picking up Debt, but I’d start first with Diamond or Sandel, to get a grounding in the subject.

You can get a copy of Debt here (or in the UK or Canada). Or, wait for my review of Diamond’s The World until Yesterday, which I’ll post in the next few weeks.

Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity – Emily Matchar

“Fashion is fashion, but our current collective nostalgia and domesticity-mania speak to deep cultural longings and a profound shift in the way Americans view life. I call this phenomenon ‘New Domesticity.’”

All of us probably consider quitting our jobs at some point. Historically, however, most who did would simply go look for another job. Today, Matchar argues, young people, particularly women, are starting to pursue a different option.

That option is New Domesticity. It is going back to the domestic activities of a century ago, making jam from scratch, knitting, making crafts and selling them on Etsy, blogging from home about household issues, and urban homesteading. It’s about looking for fulfillment at home, doing things yourself, instead of in the workforce, doing as you’re told. Young people today, Matchar suggests, are looking for a “more authentic, meaningful life in an economically and environmentally uncertain world.” She worries, though, that such a movement, thought it has many advantages, may disenfranchise the (mainly female) people who pursue it as they take on economically marginal activities, no matter how fulfilling they may be.

The book is interesting, and if a few chapters feel like they bite off more than they can chew, attempting to address subjects like women in the workforce that would require a book of their own, overall it is excellent. Vaguely aware of Pinterest as I may have been, I had no idea of the immense scale of home-focused blogs, or how little money people were prepared to live on in order to sell their products on Etsy or grow their own food. I also found her broader question profound: is there a tradeoff between fulfilling and economically powerful jobs? Does it matter which you select?

In some ways, the book reflects what to me is a human constant: a desire for agency, or choice. When women were forced to remain in the home, the fight was for the ability to choose the workplace: now that working is increasingly becoming the default, the appeal of choosing to work at home is growing. Being forced to do something can put us off something we might have enjoyed had we chosen it on our own, whether we’re schoolchildren or in the workforce.

Matchar is convinced New Domesticity represents a deep cultural longing, and not a passing trend, and if I’m not yet quite convinced, I’m certainly interested to hear more about it. The book is also a fairly light read, largely focused on relating stories and experiences, while still managing to ask the right questions. It’s well worth picking up; you can get it here (or in the UK or Canada).

While Canada Slept – Andrew Cohen

What’s the role of a foreign service in a world in which world leaders can just pick up a phone and call each other, or even send emails? Are they integral parts of a country’s presence, representing their interests and ideas at international conferences, summits, and meetings? Or a force of declining importance?

Though not actually about that question, While Canada Slept is influenced by it everywhere. The book laments a decline in the quality of Canada’s international presence, its military, its aid programs, and its diplomacy. To my reading, however, it begged the question of what the role of a foreign service today actually is.

In an increasingly globalized and small world, is there as large a role for representatives? Of course, there’s clearly some role for diplomats, on smaller issues or on subjects when the leaders either do not wish to speak in person, or should not. Still, is it possible to attract the top tier of talent to a profession where for any serious decision, you consult your boss in real time, thus stripping you of much of your autonomy? There is simply more oversight possible of diplomats than has been true historically, and with that may come a reduction in its appeal.

Does that mean foreign services are declining in importance? I doubt it. If anything, in a globalized world, countries have more interactions than ever, and having good representation is critical. I’m sure the foreign service will continue to get many applicants, too. Without the prestige and autonomy of the past, however, the foreign service may struggle to attract the talent it used to.

While Canada Slept is perhaps of importance largely to Canadians, focusing as it does on Canada’s role in the world and how it can best participate. Still, the questions beneath it are interesting ones, and if you find yourself interested in Canada’s role in the world, you can read further here (or in the UK or Canada).

The Book of Chuang Tzu

“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao” – Tao Te Ching

The Book of Chuang Tzu (also known as Zhuangzi or True Classic of Southern (Cultural) Florescence) makes up one of the three core texts of Taoism. The Tao Te Ching, its arguably more famous fellow, is short to the point of cryptic, and uses as few as words as possible to illustrate the Tao. Chuang Tzu, on the other hand, is full of stories, personalities, events, and entertainment, to the point of being cryptic.

Taoism differs from both modern philosophies and its contemporaries in emphasizing that it is a path to be walked, rather than a term to be defined. Rather than review it, therefore, for those interested I thought I’d share an anecdote from the book.

“Hui Tzu spoke to Chuang Tzu, saying, ‘I have a big tree, which people call useless. Its trunk is so knotted, no carpenter could work on it, while its branches are too twisted to use a square or compass upon. So, although it is close to the road, no carpenter would look at it. Now, Sir, your words are like this, too big and no use, therefore everyone ignores them.

Chuang Tzu said, ‘Sir, have you never seen a wild cat or a weasel? It lies there, crouching and waiting; east and west it leaps out, not afraid of going high or low; until it is caught in a trap and dies in a net. Yet again, there is the yak, vast like a cloud in heaven. It is big, but cannot use this fact to catch rats. Now you, Sir, have a large tree, and you don’t know how to use it, so why not plant it in the middle of nowhere, where you can go to wander or fall asleep under its shade? No axe under Heaven will attack it, nor shorten its days, for something which is useless will never be disturbed.”

Honestly, if you want to find out about Taoism, you’ll have to read it yourself: you can pick it up here (or in the UK or Canada). Or, just sign up for the Subtle Illumination email list!

Getting to Plan B – John Mullins and Randy Komisar

“[T]his is not a book about ‘business planning.’ It’s a book about, in a sense, ‘business discovering.’”

Business planning is a major industry, with management consultants, industry experts, and other finance professionals all spending significant time attempting to predict the future of a firm (see Antifragile for why that doesn’t work). Mullins and Komisar, on the other hand, have a much more simple principle. Try things. And if they don’t work, try something else.

This simple point flows from what I found a fairly profound observation. Big businesses may be wrestling with “Big Data”, they point out, but entrepreneurs usually have a want of data; they don’t even have enough information to know if their guesses and assumptions are correct. Instead of recognizing their limited data, however, many entrepreneurs leap immediately into business planning, writing up 50 page business proposals. By the time they find out their idea doesn’t work, they’re already mentally committed, and fail to properly adapt to new information.

The best entrepreneurs, however, remain open to Plan B. They test their original assumptions, and use the data they get to modify their plans as necessary, sometimes changing their entire product, as with the founders of Paypal, who started off trying to market a cell phone encryption method, for which they posted a free demo of a payment system online. When the demo proved more popular than the encryption, they adapted, and the rest is history. Experiment, measure, analyze, repeat.

For someone with a business idea in mind, the book is an excellent walkthrough in carefully keeping an eye on your business model while maintaining flexibility. For those not interested in entrepreneurship, the book can feel repetitive, but I think there’s some wisdom there for the rest of us too. In many situations, there’s no need to pick a single best plan and charge forward; we can experiment a little to discover information, whether that means doing a summer internship, trying a new diet, or starting up a small business of our own. It seems to me we too often stress about making the best decision in the first place, rather than trying out an option and learning from it. Life, rather conveniently, has very little to do with Dragon’s Den.

Average is Over – Tyler Cowen

“The key questions will be: Are you good at working with intelligent machines or not? Are your skills a complement to the skills of the computer, or is the computer doing better without you? Worst of all, are you competing against the computer?”

If you were paired with a machine to do a task, could together you do better than the machine alone? For Cowen, the answer matters more than you might think – with intelligent machines, he believes, lies the answer to The Great Stagnation he has worried about in the past.

There are two types of people in the world, he argues; those who can increase the productivity of machines, and those who will be replaced by them. One group will earn increasingly higher wages and rewards; the other will earn relatively less and less. Average is over, and though machines won’t replace human labour entirely, as the Luddites feared, they will completely change how labour is allocated.

This is not to say that computer programmers are the only ones who will make money, of course. Rather, Cowen thinks of working with machines more broadly; using the automatic checkouts in supermarkets, for example, or adapting your smartphone to improve workflow. It is these teams of humans and machines, he argues, that can really make our productivity soar. This is true of life in general, he says, not just the workplace, whether it be relationships, hobbies, or education.

It’s a provocative idea, particularly in light of today’s concerns over inequality. The Economist this week, for example, quotes Daimler as describing their employees as “robot farming” because the workers are there to shepherd the robots as they do the work; presumably the ratio of sheep to shepherds is diminishing. To my mind, Cowen has a point; the highest payoff activities in life will always be those that cannot be done by another person or machine.

What I am less sure of is how this affects young people preparing to enter the workforce. In some ways there have always been key skills that are most lucrative in the world of work, but if Cowen is correct, the segregation of students who do not learn to work with machines may be even more extreme than the income divisions between disciplines today. Is it possible, however, to conduct a classical education while also developing those skills? Should that be the point of education? Degrees that focus on deep, reflective thinking, like philosophy, may find significant difficulties adjusting if indeed they even want to. Either way, our society may lose out, as certainly do our would-be philosophers. The rise of the machines may decide much in the world to come, but under it lies a perspective that may not be compatible with everything we do – can and should we attempt to reconcile them?

Anyway, the book is clearly fascinating: you can keep reading it here (or in the UK or Canada). Or, join the Subtle Illumination email list to your right! Disclosure: I read Average is Over as a free advance reader copy – it is released tomorrow.

The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen – Kwame Anthony Appiah

“[H]onor, especially when purged of its prejudices of caste and gender and the like, is peculiarly well suited to turn private moral sentiments into public norms…That is one reason why we still need honour: it can help us make a better world.”

Author’s note: it’s an American book, and so he spells honour with an ‘o’ – being a Canadian, I refuse to do the same. Apologies for confusion.

In the Gospels, when Paul was about to be whipped, he revealed he was a Roman citizen, and therefore exempt. Romans took it as a matter of honour that their citizens should never be beaten but rather be treated with dignity at all times, regardless of the crime. For much of history, honour was a founding principle of (usually male) behaviour, but in modern society, it has something of a bad name, linked as it is to human rights abuses, including honour killings, and violations of the rule of law. Appiah, however, believes that far from deserving a bad name, honour provides a motivating force for morality; it compels people to be honourable out of a desire to avoid shame.

There are two kinds of honour, Appiah suggests. The first, competitive honour, is about being better than others; winning a race or gaining victory in war. The second is peer honour, which governs relations among equals: being born a lord in medieval England would give you peer honour, to be beheaded instead of hanged if you were found guilty of a crime, for example, even if you were a completely incompetent lord. The modern conception of human rights is perhaps similar to a universal extension of peer honour.

Appiah examines three case studies, dueling, footbinding, and slavery, and discusses the role honour had in ending each of them. Each activity had critics long before it actually ended, he points out, but what actually ended them was a shift in the perception of what was honourable, from the activity itself being honourable to the activity being shameful.

To my mind, there is some question of correlation versus causation in his case studies, but they are interesting nonetheless. Unfortunately, my broader impression was somewhat neutral. The book plays an important role in attempting to introduce honour into the discussion of morality, and that far I agree. Often though I was left feeling his examples were incomplete, and they lacked the depth of understanding of Steven Pinker on a similar subject, for example. I just didn’t feel he fully engaged with the complexity of honour or morality, and as a result for me the book raised more questions than it answered.

Still, it’s an interesting subject, and if you want to keep reading, you can do so here (or in the UK or Canada),

Montaigne 2

Two of the most interesting essays of Montaigne are his essays on Death and Education (though others recommend themselves, perhaps most of all his essays on friendship, written shortly after he lost his best friend, and on solitude). I thought I’d share a few insights. (A broader discussion can be found here)

On Death

“We are all bound one voyage; the lot of all, sooner or later, is to come out of the urn. All must to eternal exile sail away.”

Referring to death; “And to begin to deprive him of the greatest advantage he has over us, let us take a way quite contrary to the common course. Let us disarm him of his novelty and strangeness, let us converse and be familiar with him, and have nothing so frequent in our thoughts as death. Upon all occasions represent him to our imagination in his every shape; at the stumbling of a horse, at the falling of a tile, at the least prick with a pin, let us presently consider, and say to ourselves, ‘Well, and what if it had been death itself?'”

“The premeditation of death is the premeditation of liberty; he who has learned to die has unlearned to serve.”

“Why should we fear to lose a thing, which being lost, cannot be lamented?”

“Wherever your life ends, it is all there. The utility of living consists not in the length of days, but in the use of time; a man may have lived long, and yet lived but a little. Make use of time while it is present with you”

“Why dos thou fear thy last day? It contributes no more to thy dissolution, than every one of the rest; the last step is not the cause of lassitude: it does not confess it. Every day travels towards death; the last only arrives at it.”

On Education

“[I]n truth, all I understand as to that particular is only this, that the greatest and most important difficulty of human science is the education of children.”

“We only labour to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.”

Better a “well-made than a well-filled head…to prefer manners and judgment to mere learning”

“Let my governor [teacher] remember to what end his instructions are principally directed, and that he do not so much imprint in his pupil’s memory the date of the ruin of Carthage, as the manners of Hannibal and Scipio; nor so much where Marcellus died, as why it was unworthy of his duty that he died there.”

“Let him be able to do everything, but love to do nothing but what is good.”

You can pick up your copy of the Essays here (or in the UK or Canada). Or, if you’ve got a kindle, the essays are often cheap or free!