The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a human-centered planet
by John Green
Rating: 4.0 / 5 · Read · Finished 2022-05-23
A reviews and 5-star ratings for random things like Diet Dr Pepper, air conditioning and viral meningitis. The concept of the book sounds like it would be comedy. But instead, it’s introspective, philosophical and emotional.
The structure of each chapter is:
- Take some topic
- Was philosophical on it and go on a train of thought
- Tie it in to the author’s life
- Tie it in to larger questions about humanity
- Give it a star rating out of 5
The author states the theme of the book is how his personal experience interacts with the large forces affecting modern human life. At first I thought it was about humans’ massive impact on the planet, but it’s a much broader theme than that. So broad just about anything could be included. Most things we talk about include humans in some way.
A couple quotes I like:
- “For anyone trying to figure out what to do with their life, pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.” What it means to me: if you’re going to pick something to do with your time, do something that interests you. Something with intrinsic motivation. Observe what you naturally spend your time doing and paying attention to, and you’ll find out what intrinsically motivates you.
- “I’m in love with the world… Live your life.” This is what I’d like to aim for in life. To be engaged with life, intrinsically motivated, curious and fascinated. It’s the opposite of depression.
- “Consciousness is not a miracle. It’s a burden.” From the chapter on Sycamore trees / depression. He does a wonderful job describing depression and its opposite. So strange how far our outlook on life can move from one day to the next.