All posts in What I’m Crunching

My wife and I have four children: one boy and three girls. After we had our twin girls, my in-laws gave me this one. It sat on my dresser, then got promoted to my nightstand, where it sat for a few months while I was finishing a few other books. Finally, I cracked this one open. I’m glad I did!

It has an excellent message. The writing is driven by anecdotes and stories, and lessons are masterfully woven throughout. There have already been several things I’ve noted and begun to put into practice.

It’s a privilege to be able to raise my girls…may God help me do the best I can.

I’ve been following Jason Lowery on X for a few years. So I was excited to see when his masters thesis was published by MIT. I grabbed a copy on Amazon and have been working my way through it. At the time of writing, Jason was an active-duty US Space Force astronautical engineer and US National Defense Fellow at MIT.

Since then, the Department of Defense forced MIT to stop publishing it and Jason had to pull the book. My pristine copy would fetch a pretty penny now! Why would the DoD do this?

From the Goodreads summary:

In this thesis, Lowery presents a novel theory to the US Department of Defense that Bitcoin doesn’t just represent a peer-to-peer cash system, it also (and more importantly) represents a new form of digital-age warfare that will transform national security, cyber security, and possibly even the base-layer architecture of the internet.

Using scientific concepts from biology, evolution, anthropology, political science, and computer theory, Lowery summarizes the dynamics of power projection in human society and provides an argument for why emerging proof-of-work technologies (namely Bitcoin) will have a dramatic impact on how humans organize, cooperate, and compete on a global scale by empowering populations to project physical power in, from, and through cyberspace.

Major Lowery concludes that Bitcoin represents a national strategic imperative that the US should support and adopt as quickly as possible, else it risks losing its lead as a global superpower in the 21st century.

From the Goodreads summary:

A guide to business leadership based on the strategies of Abraham Lincoln focuses on the President’s most difficult decisions during the Civil War, offering lessons based on his experiences for today’s businessperson.

This has been a quick little read so far, with many interesting anecdotes and lessons on leadership from the life of the 16th president of the United States.

Since Good Strategy Bad Strategy was so good, I decided to check out The Crux. It is even better. Rumelt brings an unparalleled clarity to the strategic planning process. He demystifies strategy, focusing the reader in on the essentials. Defining the “crux” of the challenge(s) that must be solved is the core of all great strategies.

Here’s another great little booklet I’m reading for my biblical counseling certification. Newheiser is an excellent counselor with decades of experience. Nearly every page of my Kindle version has highlights and notes!