The Logic of Sports Betting by Ed Miller and Mathew Davidow is an essential read for anyone looking to understand the mechanics behind sports betting. The authors expertly break down the logic into three core components: the book, the bets, and the winnings. They cover the basics, such as who creates the betting lines, where these lines come from, and how many books are involved—reminding us that anyone can start a betting book. Miller and Davidow delve into the relationships between the key ...

"The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze" by Laura Shin is a crucial read for those onboarding to ETH and the broader crypto industry. The book chronicles the major figures who drove blockchain, decentralization, and cryptocurrencies to their current prominence. It traces Vitalik Buterin's journey from his early days as a writer for Bitcoin Magazine to launching and promoting Ethereum, which became the second-largest decentralized network b...

Hyperion, a sci-fi novel by Dan Simmons published in the 90s, offers a captivating vision of humanity's distant future and its complex relationship with a mysterious AI deity on the planet Hyperion. As the AI buzzword dominates the tech industry, it's intriguing to see how Simmons explored similar themes decades ago. Large Language Models (LLMs) have recently showcased their potential and limitations, sparking media speculation about the societal implications of these chatbots. Some bold pred...

Grammar of the Film Language by Daniel Arijon is an evergreen text for learning the technical ins and outs of what directors, cinematographers, and editors go through to get their ideas on screen. I read this book hoping to learn the technical language for composing scenes in motion pictures. I thought it would help, considering many image and video-generating AIs have better outputs when the user describes the scene rather than explaining it. I've always looked at pictures from the point of ...

Systematics: The Systems Bible by John Gall (Third Edition) is a must-read for those who want to live in this silicone 21st century. The writer reframes our day-to-day lives into systems - mechanical, electrical, and bureaucratic: all of them follow axioms of systematics. I'll give you an example for today's digital currencies or in the book he calls 'token system':An even more challenging example is the TOKEN SYSTEM, with which mankind has been having trouble ever since the Phoenicians inven...

The author Vladimir Surkov, used his pen name Vladislav Surkov to publish today's book report. 'Almost Zero' published in 2009 is a fascinating character study of the author. He was essentially Putin's spin doctor before falling from grace back in 2020. [1] His strategy inverts our common understanding of media manipulation. Let's review a few politicians who found creative ways to use the media. For example, let's say Berlusconi in the early 2000s was the prototype. He controlled the media, ...

Discover the timeless wisdom of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Incerto and how it can help you navigate the complexities of modern society.

Jim Simons and his hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, were notoriously private. This book, The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution, shows it. While reading, I never felt I was getting to the heart of Simons. Even with the mystique, one can only admire their accomplishments. The book narrates several stories: Simons, Renaissance, and the political involvement certain members took using their spoils. Inside Renaissance was another figure: Robert Mercer. Hi...

Adventures of Ideas by Alfred North Whitehead is a dense yet engaging book that takes the reader on a journey through man's psychology concerning the societies humanity went through. My first takeaway focused on our conduct with each other. Whitehead lays out a path humanity traversed, starting with the Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy of man's sense of freedom. In ancient Greece and Rome, freedom was something to be earned, but today, individuals are born free. This transition of thought...

Philosophy and Fun of Algebra by Mary Everest Boole is a compact and educational book that opens the reader to the joys of algebraic thinking. In summary, Algebra is accepting one's ignorance, and solving the unknown is an angelic endeavor. (Angel meaning messenger in ancient Greek.) [1] To use mathematical terms, the previous comment would look like this:x = ignorance.This book was published in 1909 and is a sound book for understanding what is algebra. I highly recommend it for its beautifu...