Matt's Updates en-US Tue, 13 May 2025 14:29:28 -0700 60 Matt's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Rating857151828 Tue, 13 May 2025 14:29:28 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt Beaty liked a review]]> /
Matt Beaty liked Patrick's review of Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts:
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
"Slow down and de-stress through imperfectionism."
]]> Review7550365987 Thu, 08 May 2025 18:09:55 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'The Hundred Years� War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917�2017']]> /review/show/7550365987 The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi Matt gave 5 stars to The Hundred Years� War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917�2017 (Hardcover) by Rashid Khalidi
Too many thoughts that I want to share, but won't so I don't get put on a list. ]]> Review7542943187 Sun, 04 May 2025 14:25:11 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'On Privacy: Twenty Lessons to Live By']]> /review/show/7542943187 On Privacy by Lawrence Cappello Matt gave 4 stars to On Privacy: Twenty Lessons to Live By (Hardcover) by Lawrence Cappello
Pretty easy refresher of why privacy matters, what privacy is, and what people can do to keep it. ]]> Review7527234489 Thu, 01 May 2025 13:58:48 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism']]> /review/show/7527234489 Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams Matt gave 5 stars to Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism (Hardcover) by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Very readable, funny, frustrating book. Even if the stories are all half-truths (which I don't believe they are. I fully believe them), Wynn-Williams doesn't paint a good picture of leadership at Facebook. Their carelessness (see what I did there?) in Myanmar alone should be enough for Zuckerberg to be in jail, and his coziness with China should put him on a watch list like the rest of us.
The writing was great, and I'd love to read more from Wynn-Williams, especially since she seems to be working on AI governance now, which I'm interested in.
Also, to paraphrase one of the Paul brothers: "being a woman is hard" when working in Facebook. The Lean In brand was lambasted a lot at the time, but it should be ridiculed going forward.
Also, Zuckerberg sounds like a fucking dweeb. No amount of MMA will fix that. ]]> ReadStatus9364512403 Mon, 28 Apr 2025 18:39:51 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt is currently reading 'Trust']]> /review/show/7527233922 Trust by Hernan Diaz Matt is currently reading Trust by Hernan Diaz
]]> Review5229314185 Sat, 26 Apr 2025 09:33:28 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Piranesi']]> /review/show/5229314185 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Matt gave 5 stars to Piranesi (Hardcover) by Susanna Clarke
I loved the description of the house. ]]> Review7507538446 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:49:41 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet']]> /review/show/7507538446 Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz Matt gave 5 stars to Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet (Hardcover) by Taylor Lorenz
Great history of internet social media. Does a good job of telling the story of the different companies and creators who make up "the new media". It goes into enough depth on each company and many creators to get a clear picture, without giving each and every detail (though a full book on each would be interesting).
Most clear takeaway for me is that social media is the gig economy for entertainment. Like Uber changed the taxi industry by making it more accessible to enter while generally lowering the quality of service, social media makes it easier to become an entertainer while also making the entertainment wildly less good overall. Similarly, social media companies are similarly walking a line of supporting their employees (er, independent creators) and exploiting them.
Lorenz makes it clear that the landscape of the industry changes very rapidly, and we can only hope it changes for the better, for everyone, soon. ]]> Review7503716208 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 09:23:45 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection']]> /review/show/7503716208 Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green Matt gave 5 stars to Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection (Hardcover) by John Green
The title is accurate. Green details how in fact tuberculosis is a good proxy of all of our societal ills and potential. From the failures of imagination to the wonders of science, to the down right evil greed of pharmaceutical companies and governments to the selfless care of individual doctors and donors, he gives a pretty compelling case that everything is in fact tuberculosis.
Like John Green, I have an obsession, but mine is the F-35 Lightening II. It is a single fighter jet weapon system the United States government and its contractors are building that will cost about $2 trillion. That is 2,000 billion smackaroos. Which is 2,000,000 million dollars. Which is 2,000,000,000,000 singles. For a plane that we might never use. Average tuberculosis treatment is about $1,500. That's about 1.3 billion treatments. So if we talk choices here, America has built one weapon system that will never be flown, and if it is to be flown, will kill people, instead of treating 1.3 billion people. It doesn't take imagination to see what would happen if our choices were different. ]]> Review7391679614 Sat, 19 Apr 2025 16:05:04 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Baseball's Power Shift: How the Players Union, the Fans, and the Media Changed American Sports Culture']]> /review/show/7391679614 Baseball's Power Shift by Krister Swanson Matt gave 4 stars to Baseball's Power Shift: How the Players Union, the Fans, and the Media Changed American Sports Culture (Hardcover) by Krister Swanson
Overall, a pretty good history of the early years of the MLBPA and some older unionization efforts. I really did like the rhetorical analysis and sentiment analysis Swanson did to show how the views of owners v player support changed throughout the years.
I will be interested to read a similar book that went beyond the 1980 strike, especially with how post-Regan politics affected the views of the baseball union. ]]> Review7488129696 Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:56:11 -0700 <![CDATA[Matt added 'Poverty, by America']]> /review/show/7488129696 Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond Matt gave 5 stars to Poverty, by America (Hardcover) by Matthew Desmond
Simple, rage-filled, clear writing. Things this book suggests that I remember right now: 1) Fund the IRS to ensure all existing tax laws are enforced. 2) Remove the limit on income subjected to FICA taxes. 3) Reduce the mortgage interest subsidy. 4) Just fund programs for the poor, like, just do it.

The last line was great, something along the lines of, we don't just need to fix poverty, we need to hate it.

The simplicity of the problem is the most upsetting, we don't collect taxes enough and we give subsidies and tax breaks to those who do not need it (raises hand sheepishly). If we can pay $1 trillion for a jet weapon system, we can surely spend the same for food, housing, and health. ]]>