Robin Berjontweets archive

Thread · 32 tweets · 7 Jan 2023

Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Abondance et liberté. Une histoire environnementale des idées politiques" by @picharbonnier. A thorough and pointed philosophical & historical study of the affluence/freedom dynamic that maps out how to reinvent freedom for a world in which we can no longer rely on exploitation.
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
He captures very well what I have in mind when I say that the Internet is dominated by companies that operate on pre-Internet mindsets. In fact, the Internet is often governed in pre-Internet ways. We have yet to rise to the reinvention potential that sits at our fingertips.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
We don't have much of a choice other than to learn how to do better, or we won't survive the climate catastrophe. The required institutional deepening to integrate into rather than dominate a complex world is the same both ways.
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Complexity and the Function of Mind in Nature" by Peter Godfrey-Smith Lots of good bits, but I was looking for more about the interactive mechanics of becoming complex to deal with complex, etc.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Finding the Mother Tree" by Suzanne Simard. An antidote to the other scientific forestry that you'll know from Seeing Like A State. Uncovers the shadow noosphere threaded through a memoir.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity" by Stephen Toulmin A brilliant and captivating review of the history of modernity, anchoring the marginalisation of humanism by rationalism in its context and leading up to a vision of the future just as fresh thirty years later.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Development as Freedom" by Amartya Sen Sen describes the basics and motivations of the capabilities framework and then uses it to analyse a wide range of development issues. It would be wonderful to do the same for tech.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"The Tower of Swallows" by Andrzej Sapkowski. Things are set for the grand finale. There's less humour than in the earlier ones, it only pokes up now and then which is a bit of a shame.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Even Though I Knew The End" by @clpolk Noir and mystical magic and bittersweet romance all in one. Impossible not to love it.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"The Mimicking of Known Successes" by @m_older A detective story set on Jupiter which the remnants of humanity have settled after the Earth became uninhabitable. (The weather is bad, but the views engrossing.) I also loved the casual world-building and the characters.
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
I'm particularly fond of how Older can conjure and convey subtle emotions with just an understated interaction. I felt like I was hiding in Pleiti's hair, behind her shoulder, biting my lip at the subtle inflections of a relationship that may be rekindling.
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Return to Reason" by Stephen Toulmin A very interesting series of arguments in favour of leaving rationalism behind and returning to reason. I preferred his earlier Cosmopolis, however (see upthread).
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Too Like The Lightning" by @Ada_Palmer Absolutely amazing, the intricacies of this world, the characters, the logic and surprises, the polylaw system (which has precedent)... I'm very excited to read the rest!
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Murderbot Diaries: Rogue Protocol" by @marthawells1 "I hate caring about stuff. But apparently once you start, you can't just stop."
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Why Preserve Natural Variety?" by Bryan G. Norton Book-length treatment of precisely that question. I particularly liked the parts on stability and succession. It's depressing to read 40 year old ecology though. We've had sophisticated, detailed knowledge a long time.
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Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
"Pirate Enlightenment, or The Real Libertalia" by David Graeber Lots of vague assumptions and anecdotes, not much to sink teeth in. A number of the tidbits are interesting but they don't add up to a book much.
Robin Berjon @robinberjon ·
This notably had this great bit which fits well into my current thinking about warlord technocracy. (I couldn't fit it all in alt text, sorry, but the gist is there.)