When Breath Becomes Air review

You’d think the world has enough books from terminal cancer patients, who, in the face of death, try to give us all an urgent message that money and careers don’t matter — but only love does. And how would anyone disagree with those sentiments, taking place in hospitals and bad-news conversations. The message is always the same — and this book is no different. The key difference is that this one is written to sing a beautiful yet sad song — the words flowing into a single note, thick of human insights and wondering. It’s such a good book because even before his terminal diagnosis, Kalanithi loved books and wanted to write — and I think parts were written before the diagnosis, because that is exactly what a person who writes such a book would have done. It’s a sad book but you feel better about everything after reading it.

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Hyperreality

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In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

If George Orwell, one of the best essayists, were alive today, he’d be firmly against AI. Not because of 1984 or ‘Big Brother’, but because in ‘Why I Write’, he listed four motives for writing; Historical impulse Political purpose Aesthetic enthusiasm Egoism   Neither of these motives survives if you let AI do the writing […]
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Secret Listening #6

Secret Listening #6

This series is called ‘Secret Listening’, from the Chinese word 偷听Tōutīng. I know this can be — and should probably be — translated as ‘eavesdropping’, but secret listening captures it better and adds a bit of jest. These little stories or remarks stood out to me, and show a more personal side of China away […]
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