Economics was something I learned a lot about during my hyper-political phase. Now I’m less interested in traditional economics and more in Behavioral Economics. But there is a ton about Economics I still like to read about. Now I’ve found a love for reading books written by notable economists, from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, to Milton Friedman, and some other theories I don’t agree with to push my world view such as Karl Marx. Economics is a beneficial subject to know about. It has many different levels, such as Macro Economics, Micro Economics, Behavioral Economics, Econometrics, Classical Economics, Agrarian Economics, Fuedal Economics, and techno Economics… ok, I made that last one up. Still, seriously, there are many more than I’ve probably named. Economies are everywhere, so the more I learned about Economics, the more the world made sense.
This is where you will find my favorite books and authors on the topic of Negotiation I started reading about negotiation out of sheer need. I was tired of getting screwed over or submitting to less than I was worth…
Physics, in general, came out of my fascination with Astrophysics. Understanding HOW the Universe and our world within it work is so exciting. How does gravity work, why do projectiles arch, how come there is resistance for moving objects, why do swings never swing further after the first swing, and what makes airplanes fly? Physics explains all of these questions and more. Chemistry may be about what the Universe is made of, but physics tells us how those things work in their own right and in relation to one another. Chemistry is the ingredient list of the universe, and Physics is the instructions on how to use those ingredients.
Technology is something I became interested in at a young age. I spent much time with technology and spent many hours learning and experimenting with it. So it seems natural that I would also enjoy reading about it. Whether it is about discoveries, the history of it, or the inventors and innovators behind it, technology is a fascinating subject. Technology isn’t just limited to gadgets and software as we think of it mostly these days. Technology also includes language, ways of thinking, and even math and the written word are all forms of technology. Every time we come up with a new way of doing something, a new word, or figure out a new way of getting home from work, these are all technologies we invent!
Philosophy is one of those topics that chose me more than I chose it. I got sucked into a few philosophies, but eventually, I started to distance myself from a search for “truth” or “meaning” that initially drew me to the topic. The more I read about different philosophies, the more I realized I needed to expose myself to more of them and eventually all that I could find. After a long time of this, I started to understand that I wasn’t as interested in philosophy anymore as I was in the lives of philosophers and the discoveries they made related to what we call science and mathematics these days, and eventually to more recent philosophers when scientists and mathematicians became their own disciplines. The overall story of philosophy over time is probably the most interesting thing I’ve ever learned.
I kind of suck at business, or at least I did, and I don't know. Maybe I read so much about it because I think I’m not good at business. I haven't been very successful at it yet, but maybe that is because I haven’t found my thing or my why. Perhaps this blog is gonna be it; I don’t know for sure. But what I do know is that I know enough theory to get things working when I finally find that thing that can work for me. Reading about business has really helped me figure out that I don’t know as much as I thought I knew about success or making money and that some hard and fast truths disappointed me that there is no real fast way to success in business. Hard work goes a long way and reading about people who have done that hard work is moving and empowering. I keep telling myself that I’m still in practice mode and that life doesn’t even get started until 55. My justification is that Ray Krock didn’t even get McDonald’s rollin’ until he was 55.
I’m pretty new to biographies, but I’m already loving them more than most other topics I enjoy. I love how they are a crossroads between history and psychology with some other topics thrown in there as well depending on who the biography is about. Biographies are an easy read as well, which I enjoy in contrast to how packed full of useful lessons they tend to be filled with. Sometimes the lessons happen to just be that someone lived a very fascinating life or has a ton of hilarious stories, but often those two things go hand-in-hand. Whether it is business people, politicians, icons, celebrities, comedians, or notable historical figures, I have found an endless range of possibilities inside biographies.
History is the topic I started out enjoying the least at first in my life, but that eventually changed after I started watching the History Channel in high school. By the time I was in my early 20s, I was obsessed with history and could finally see how the web of world history ages connected together. History is more fun than any fictional universe I’ve explored, it’s bigger than any fictional extended universe or even a multiverse. The lessons learned through history are where all knowledge comes from, even the knowledge we gain through personal experience is then stored and shared from our own personal history. Every time we write down anything about ourselves or our life it is no different from any other history book. That to me is probably why I feel so strongly about history, it’s OUR story.
I have a lot of experience in marketing, so it’s an important topic for me to stay informed on both new and past developments in the field. It’s enjoyable to learn about because it involves mainly psychology, which is another favorite topic of mine. I might enjoy learning about marketing more than I do practicing it. It’s just enjoyable to learn about how people make choices and what gets in the way of us making good choices. We all want to make the most out of spending our money, and marketing is how we learn what to spend our money on. Whether it’s advertising, the lifeblood of capitalism, branding, or sales, so much falls under the marketing umbrella that it seems like a never ending topic to learn.
Science is the most critical topic I read about. It is as fascinating to learn about science as it is to do science. My intro to science was learning about astrophysics, and from there, I found my way into more fields of science. Most of my exploration into other areas came later in my life, and I often wish I had broadened my search for scientific discoveries much sooner. For me, learning about scientists is as (if not more) fascinating as the topics themselves. There is so much to learn from the history and philosophy of the sciences; that was the start of how I branched into learning about more fields of science. Whether it’s the different types of scientific methods for other areas or the experiments that I can try to replicate myself, science is not just fascinating but also fun!
