Word Freak
Author: Stefan Fatsis 2001 366 pp
My rating: 4*
Started March 23 2009, Finished March 31 2009.
Word Freak succeeds on multiple levels: as an exploration of the world of Scrabble which is accessible to those unfamiliar with the game and yet likely to be of interest to the devotee, as a character study of Scrabble geeks, characters all, who largely comprise its elite players and as a depiction of the weekend warrior which universalizes beyond the game of Scrabble itself to any recently acquired life-consuming, skill-based recreational obsession. The Scrabble aficionado will probably be most entertained by the book’s coverage of the game’s history, politics and strategy, though several rather detailed discussions of preparation approaches and word study might be a bit much for the casual reader. The character studies should have broad appeal and should be of particular interest to those who, to paraphrase Dylan, wonder what we do with our lives. Though I enjoyed those aspects of the book, I was most taken by Fatsis’ portrayal of his burgeoning obsession with the game and his Scrabble ranking; this weekend warrior strongly identified with the author’s emotional roller coaster that Fatsis put himself through overreacting to both successes and failures, one weekend delighted with his progress through the rankings, the next filled with self-castigation after the setback of a poor tournament performance.
I toted my Franklin, OSPD, and word lists to the Continent but didn’t study at all, which surely must be to my credit as a human being, if not as a Scrabble player. (78)
Maven tile ranking: blank s e x z r a h n c d m t I j k l p o y f b g w u v q (290)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Traffic
Traffic
Author: Tom Vanderbilt 2008 286 pp
My rating: 3*
Started March 8 2009, Finished March 23 2009.
I was disappointed by this book because I was expecting it to be about the design side of road systems when in fact it is much more concerned with the psychology of the driver. Overall the book much too long and he first 100 pages or so with their constant referral to scientific studies to explain every phenomenon were nearly self parodying. On the plus side it did have exceptionally thorough endnotes. One interesting concept introduced was that of “risk homeostasis” which explains why despite a steady stream of significant safety enhancements to automobiles e.g. airbags and anti-lock brakes, overall accident rates are not commensurately lower; the explanation is that since we feel safer in the improved cars, we allow ourselves to take more risks driving e.g. drive faster and talk on a cell phone.
Conventional wisdom of traffic engineers can be completely wrong. Example is that clearing roadsides of potential obstacles and distractions makes them safer; but studies have shown that accident rates can be higher on such stretches than on adjacent uncleared stretches. Theory is that drivers are more engaged in a more challenging environment which makes them drive slower and less complacent. (209-210)
Despite the signs often warning of large penalties for striking a worker (or pleas like SLOW DOWN, MY DADDY WORKS HERE), they are much more dangerous for the drivers passing through them than for the workers--some 85 percent of people killed in work zones are drivers or passengers.
DG: wrong conclusion--probably far more than 85 percent of the people in the construction zone are drivers so statistically construction zones are more dangerous for the drivers than the workers in them.
In 1969, nearly half of American children walk or bike to school; now just 16 percent do. (16)
So much time is spent in cars in the United States, studies show, that drivers (particularly men) have higher rates of skin cancer on their left sides. (17)
The junction of the San Diego and the Santa Monica freeways is the most congested in the United States. (114)
Author: Tom Vanderbilt 2008 286 pp
My rating: 3*
Started March 8 2009, Finished March 23 2009.
I was disappointed by this book because I was expecting it to be about the design side of road systems when in fact it is much more concerned with the psychology of the driver. Overall the book much too long and he first 100 pages or so with their constant referral to scientific studies to explain every phenomenon were nearly self parodying. On the plus side it did have exceptionally thorough endnotes. One interesting concept introduced was that of “risk homeostasis” which explains why despite a steady stream of significant safety enhancements to automobiles e.g. airbags and anti-lock brakes, overall accident rates are not commensurately lower; the explanation is that since we feel safer in the improved cars, we allow ourselves to take more risks driving e.g. drive faster and talk on a cell phone.
Conventional wisdom of traffic engineers can be completely wrong. Example is that clearing roadsides of potential obstacles and distractions makes them safer; but studies have shown that accident rates can be higher on such stretches than on adjacent uncleared stretches. Theory is that drivers are more engaged in a more challenging environment which makes them drive slower and less complacent. (209-210)
Despite the signs often warning of large penalties for striking a worker (or pleas like SLOW DOWN, MY DADDY WORKS HERE), they are much more dangerous for the drivers passing through them than for the workers--some 85 percent of people killed in work zones are drivers or passengers.
DG: wrong conclusion--probably far more than 85 percent of the people in the construction zone are drivers so statistically construction zones are more dangerous for the drivers than the workers in them.
In 1969, nearly half of American children walk or bike to school; now just 16 percent do. (16)
So much time is spent in cars in the United States, studies show, that drivers (particularly men) have higher rates of skin cancer on their left sides. (17)
The junction of the San Diego and the Santa Monica freeways is the most congested in the United States. (114)
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