New Book: āThe Problems With All the Good Thingsā
Published on JulĀ 11, 2023, filed under books, philosophy (feed). (Share this on Mastodon orĀ Bluesky?)
EPUB and PDF, with updates, at Leanpub (otherĀ options).
Iām German, and Germans are avid, competitive complainers. We can tell you exactly why yesterdayās win of your favorite club was undeserved, why todayās beautiful weather sucks, and why the German and any other governmentās successes are irrelevant given what they continuously keep fāing up. A complaint-free world? Please.
But itās probably not national negativity that would explain why thereās so much to complain, about everything.
Itās also not clear whether one can actually complain about everything. Are there problems with everything? Even with the good things?
This is what Iāve investigated, putting AI to the test and documenting the findings in a little book: The Problems With All the Good Things. As it turns out, thereās both less and more going on when it comes to complaining, and finding problems everywhere. Enjoy.
Format and price | Ebook (EPUB and PDF),Ā $6.99 |
---|---|
Kindle ebook (free app for Android and iOS),Ā $6.99 | |
Preview | Select chapters (PDF, 200Ā KB) |
Length | 73 pages (PDF) |
Sellers | Amazon |
Apple Books | |
Kobo | |
Google Play Books | |
Leanpub | |
Gumroad | |
Latest version | 1.3.16 (bought the book, but reading an old version? contact me, maybe I canĀ help) |
Description
Here are two observations that youāve likely made in your life:
One, youāve noticed how easy it is to find fault. If you havenāt found fault yourself, then you know others who find this wrong and that wrong and that other thing wrong as well.
Two, youāve learned about things generally deemed desirable and good, things not connected with fault, whether these are states of being or possessions or activities.
Now, if you put the first observation to the test (looking for fault), would the second still hold (that there are things without fault)?
Would there be nothing to complain about; would there be nothing wrong with all those things desirable and good?
This question is what this little book is exploring, by interviewing OpenAIās ChatGPT about the problems, with many good things.
The outline:
- Introduction
- Acknowledgments
- The Problems With What You Are
- The Problems With What You Do
- Afterword
- Feedback
- About the Author
- About The Problems With All the Good Things
ā§ Iām grateful to Vadim Gershteyn, who edited the book, as well as Yaroslav Kiyenko, who advised on questions related to AI-generated content. Thank you.
About Me
Iām Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and Iām a web developer, manager, and author. Iāve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies youāve never heard of and companies you use every day, Iām an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for OāReilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)