The below are not really “how to quit addiction” books; they’re a mixed bag of theory, story, case-study, confession, etc. Anyway, here goes: 1. Kessler D (2017) Capture: Unravelling the Mystery of Mental Suffering. New York: Harper Perennial. David Kessler’s book is a grand sweep of many examples of what…

I can’t recall the last time I shed tears when reading a book (probably Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner?) but Nathan Foster’s book about climbing with and getting to know his dad, left me choked up a few times. Nathan’s dad is, uh, Richard Foster; he’s the guy who brought spiritual…

Sad to hear that Malaysian Care has a RM1.4 million deficit. This urban Christians ministry has been around more than 40 years helping abused ppl, prisoners, addicts, the disabled, etc. I spent 6 months at their Prison, Drugs & AIDS Division in ’02. Among my many eye-opening experiences: going to…

In no particular order: Opinions and narratives are not only over-rated, they’re often part of the problem Of course it’s fine to “pick a side”, but is there a way beyond being “pro-Israel” or “pro-Palestine” which helps both move towards peace? “Hamas does not represent Palestine” sounds like too easy…

“We must learn how to wait (and experience lethargy), not because it helps us get ahead, but because to endure something is to mark time differently.” — Hu Tung Hui “Never be proud to do the right thing, just do it” — Ange Postecoglou “You pass yourself off as cynical…

The most effective learning looks inefficient; it looks like falling behind.” (David Epstein) I don’t recall when I first heard the term “life-hacking”, must’ve been more than ten years ago. But since then, as everyone is surely aware, almost every other day you get some video, WhatsApp message or tweet…

Our learning will change once we stop comparing academic qualifications. Our fitness will change once we stop counting calories and tracking “steps”. Our investment will change once we stop predicting prices. Our social media experience will change once we stop noticing the number of Likes for our posts. Our corp life will change once we stop calculating KPIs’. Our spirituality will change once we stop obsessing over sin (both our own and that of others).

I picked up this book only because Nassim Taleb blurbed it. And I can (sorta) see why. Felix Marquardt’s writing style is similar to Taleb’s (non-academic in tone but contains healthy scattering of citations and quotes) and is full of personal stories coupled with his “philosophy” of the world. A…

I’m glad The Malay Mail ran one of my pieces today on how apps track our non-presences, a theme I tried to connect with Žižekian principles of ‘generative negativity’ (or how the non-real can be a force constitutive of the real). I haven’t been writing much on the Slovenian philosopher recently, so I’m happy with this jump-start of sorts. Other pieces (most, though not all, connected to Malaysian society) similarly tagged: