Review: Judgment Simulation by Dennis Michael

 

Genre: Philosophy/Self-Help

Description:

“Everyone needs this book! It answers why life is so hard. It explains why things will get better. It's because: Our universe is a simulation. We are all criminals of the civilization that created it. This is our last chance to prove ourselves. We are meant to improve and get better.

Call it ‘original sin’. Call it ‘Adam and Eve taking a bite of forbidden fruit’. These are historical notions. This book is the update. This book provides the modern view of a higher power. It cites scientific studies along with personal stories. It fills in the blanks that everyone has wondered about for centuries.”

Author:

Dennis Michael, or whatever his real name is, doesn’t say much about himself except, of course, for the story and other personal stuff in the book. This appears to be his first book, at least writing under this name. I suspect he wants the book to speak for itself.

Appraisal:

For a while my stance on religion has been that if some deity put humans on Earth with the expectation that we do certain things to get good treatment in some next life and those expectations were more than just being reasonably decent people, basically following the “golden rule,” that this deity is incompetent and I want nothing to do with him, her, or it. This relatively short read has a different twist as to what we’re all doing on Earth while giving some perspective on how many of the world’s religions came to have the viewpoints they do. Early in the book I was getting a cultish vibe, it felt much like a lot of religious indoctrination in some ways. I also question how the author came to knowing these things. But ultimately, while the reasons and the explanations for why we are here and what we’re supposed to do while here may be lacking in proof in my mind, the author’s final answer as to what is expected of us isn’t unreasonable, regardless of his rationale, and not much different from what I proposed makes sense above. Ultimately, if nothing else, it is an interesting theory and certainly got me thinking.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A single use of an adult word.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: Innocent Thoughts by Ophir Mottes

Genre: Non-Fiction/Philosophy/Science

Description:

“Many words, concepts, and sentences seem obvious to us; it feels like we know what they mean, and we do not really stop to see if we do. Often once an actual effort is done and we try to put our 'knowing' into words, we find things are not that simple.”

Author:

No information available.

Appraisal:

I'm torn about this book. There is much I liked, offset by things not so good.

The concept of the book is to take something most people understand, or at least think they do, and dig deeper. In doing showing that many concepts we think of as simple (whether our understanding is right or wrong) is actually more complex. Some of the areas addressed are philosophical, such as do you and I have free will? Others are more scientific, like defining what it means for something to be considered to have life.

On the philosophical concepts I generally followed the logic and either agreed with where the author's thoughts took us or at least saw it as a valid stance. But there were times it was work following along. As an example, the author’s book description has a sentence that says, “Often once an actual effort is done and we try to put our 'knowing' into words, we find things are not that simple.” What does that mean? It's saying that if we stop to think through a simple concept (“an actual effort is done”) that we'll realize it isn't as straightforward as first thought. It wasn't a constant problem, but I found more of those kinds of sentences than I'd like that forced me to stop and parse them before moving on.

I was also concerned about the more scientific discussions because something would be stated as fact, but I have no idea whether the author has any qualifications in this area and I worried that their understanding of the scientific concepts might be incorrect. This possibility was exacerbated due to a claim early in the book where the author made a statement that contradicted one of the basic rules of probability. (If something has a 50/50 chance of happening, for example a coin toss, just because three heads have been thrown in a row doesn't make a tail more likely than 50% on the next toss.)

Still, an interesting and thought provoking book.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Jim Rohn and Other Motivators Vs. John Piper and Other Calvinists / Andrew Bushard

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Non-Fiction/Philosophy

Approximate word count: 8-9,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Andrew Bushard is a musician, writer, runner, and motivational speaker. Additionally, he founded the organization Free Press Media, which is dedicated to advancing and celebrating freedom of expression. Andrew currently resides in Austin, TX.”

Description:

“Have you ever considered how Calvinists and other conservative Christians view motivational speaking? How about how motivational speakers view Calvinism and others forms of conservative Christianity? It's hard to find these topics discussed anywhere. This book explores the multitude of ways Calvinists (and other conservative Christians) differ from motivational speakers and to a lesser extent, how these groups are alike. If you would like to understand one of the biggest, yet almost always neglected philosophical and theological disputes of our day, read this book.”

Appraisal:

I'm still not sure why I decided to give this book a try. It obviously touches on religion, which I tend to shy away from because I have to be careful to keep my biases in check while evaluating this sort of book. The only reason I've been able to come up with is I wanted something short and this fit the bill.

The concept is simple enough. Bushard compares and contrasts the philosophies of Calvinists and those of motivational speakers. While the title name refers specifically to evangelical Baptist preacher John Piper and the late Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, the examples used include statements and teachings from many Calvinists and motivational speakers.

I found this quick read interesting for two reasons. The first as an introduction to Calvinist belief. Other than knowing Calvinism is based on the theological teachings of John Calvin and that it’s perceived as more extremely religious than most Christian sects, I didn't know much about the philosophy. Second, by comparing the two and poking holes in the weaknesses of each (often polar opposites of each other), I was able to come to my own conclusions as to what made sense and seemed right to me. That this was often a different conclusion than the author is okay, right?

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion / Enrico Degiuli

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Philosophy/Religion

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Enrico Degiuli lives in Verona, Italy. He studied theoretical physics at the University of Trento and holds a master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Milano-Bicocca.

He likes volleyball, snowboarding, hiking and enjoys playing mind sports like chess, go and poker.”

Description:

“Why are there so many subjects people hold different, and often conflicting, opinions about? If we were to address every issue rationally, wouldn't we always agree?

These questions trigger a discussion between Andrew, Bob, and Charles, friends and physics students. They believe that sharing information that everyone can use in reasoning plays a key role in reaching understanding, and that different starting information may explain different results.

The three friends carry out an experiment: find a topic about which their opinions differ, share information they consider important, and see if they are able to come to an agreement.

One a Christian, another agnostic and the third a deist, they decide to compare their religious views, exposing the main reasons that led each to their conclusion.

Drawing on such sources as Augustine, Kant and Plato, Sapere Aude! addresses important topics in simple and direct language, explaining interesting facts, well known to scholars, but almost entirely ignored by the public.

The three young friends accompany the reader on a journey full of unexpected discoveries and surprises, and like all journeys to an unexplored land, Sapere Aude! will fascinate and enrich all those who undertake to find out where it leads.”

Appraisal:

Sapere Aude is the fictional dialogue of three friends who theorize that if they choose a topic on which they disagree and explore all the facts they’ll be able to come to an agreement. The first subjects (where agreement is reached) are a prelude to the biggie, religion.

The format of the “story” feels forced, at least as a story, and I’m not sure it works, but as method of exploring the questions, facts, philosophy, and other factors considered, it makes the discussion more palatable and easier to relate to than a dry recitation of the various viewpoints would.

Sapere Aude is Latin that translates as “dare to know.” The idea of this book, as I see it, is that if you’ve blindly followed the beliefs of your parents or others without exploring and understanding the arguments for all sides, you can’t really know. When I finished Sapere Aude I wasn’t sure where the author stood on the subject. This is good. I’ve read other books that purported to be a fictional exploration on the subject and each ended with clear position that, in my opinion, wasn’t always justified by the facts presented. Here, things are left open, allowing you to make your own decision, which is how it should be.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: *** Three stars