Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2021-03-05
Books mentioned on #166 – Cal Newport: Deep Work, Focus, Productivity, Email, and Social Media
Cal Newport is a computer scientist who also writes about productivity. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.
Lex Fridman recommended Deep Work by Cal Newport, and discussed Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and A World Without Email by Cal Newport. Cal Newport discussed The Ethics of Aristotle, Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace, and The Second Mountain by David Brooks. Also mentioned: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, Quantum Computing since Democritus by Scott Aaronson, and The Language of God by Francis Collins.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Deep Work
Deep Work by Cal Newport is a guide to cultivating undistracted focus and achieving peak productivity in an increasingly noisy world.
Recommended“he's a friend and someone who's writing like his book deep work for example has guided how i strive to approach productivity and life in general”
Where to get it
-
Digital Minimalism
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport is a thoughtful manifesto that advocates for a targeted, intentional approach to personal technology use, encouraging individuals to reclaim their time and attention from constant digital stimulation.
Discussed“he doesn't use social media and in his book digital minimalism he encourages people to find the right amount of social media usage that provides value and joy”
Where to get it
-
A World Without Email
A World Without Email by Cal Newport is a productivity guide exploring how organizations and individuals can escape the trap of constant communication overhead and digital distraction.
Discussed“he has a new book out called a world without email where he argues brilliantly i would say that email is destroying productivity in companies and in our lives”
Where to get it
-
The Ethics of Aristotle
The Ethics of Aristotle is a foundational work of ancient Greek philosophy that investigates the nature of human happiness, virtue, character development, and the pursuit of the golden mean.
Discussed“i mean aristotle talked about this if you go back and and read the ethics he's trying to understand the meaning of life”
Where to get it
-
Consider the Lobster
Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace is a critically acclaimed collection of essays that uses sharp journalistic observation and deep intellectual inquiry to explore disparate topics, ranging from the ethics of eating lobsters at a gourmet festival to the mechanics of language.
Discussed“yeah like did you read the pale king it goes deep on boredom”
Where to get it
-
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman is a seminal media ecology critique arguing that television and modern visual media degrade public discourse by reducing serious thought to mere entertainment.
Discussed“have you read neil postman at all have you read like amusing ourselves to death it was a social critic technology critic um and wrote a lot about sort of technological determinism”
Where to get it
-
Quantum Computing since Democritus
Discussed“well in the case of scott anderson he's good he's able to turn on like the inner troll and comedian and so on”
Where to get it
-
The Second Mountain
The Second Mountain by David Brooks is a widely read exploration of personal growth, moral transitions, and the shift from individual ambition to a life of communal commitment and deeper purpose.
Discussed“his second mountain wrote the character about these books or he has this whole premise of there's like this professional phase”
Where to get it
-
The Language of God
The Language of God by Francis Collins is a thoughtful exploration of the compatibility between rigorous scientific inquiry and deeply held religious faith.
Discussed“i mean this is francis collins book also he's like well that's a religious that could be a very religious notion”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (8) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“then i published this book so good they can't ignore you which came out in 2012”
“yeah and now one of the beautiful and you know people can read about in your book deep work”
“you talk about this in in the new email book is the process”
“and that's like the philosophical aspect of that book deep work is that there's something very human and deep about just wrangling with the world of ideas”
“so two years ago i had a book out called digital minimalism and one of the things i was recommending that people do is basically a 30-day fast”
“yeah digital minimalism that's that's my philosophy for all this tech”
“so i i wrote a there's originally was a new yorker piece from a year or two ago called was email a mistake and then it's in the book too”
“a lot of your work is what inspired this deep thinking about productivity from all the different angles”