Wisereads Vol. 67 — Good Nature by Kathy Willis, Steven Johnson on context windows, and more
Last week, we shared a chapter of How to Think Like Socrates by Donald J. Robertson, a deep dive into the life of one of history's greatest thinkers. This week, we're sharing a preview of Good Nature: Why Seeing, Smelling, Hearing, and Touching Plants is Good for Our Health by Dr. Kathy Willis, a compelling call to reconnect with nature.
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Most highlighted Articles of the week
You Exist In The Long Context
Author and NotebookLM co-creator Steven Johnson reveals how AI's expanded context windows are quietly revolutionizing language models. Now capable of "seeing the entire haystack", these models are transitioning from forgetful conversationalists to collaborative thinkers. "A world where you can use AI to draw upon the compiled wisdom of an expert that you trust—that is a world we are living in right now, thanks to the emergence of long context models."
Getting started with AI: Good enough prompting
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick demystifies AI by emphasizing hands-on experience over perfection. "The single most useful thing you can do to understand AI is to use AI", he advises. He suggests getting started by spending 10 hours on meaningful tasks and treating AI as "an infinitely patient new coworker who forgets everything you tell them with each new conversation."
A career ending mistake
Don’t let your career be an accident, warns John Arundel, as he urges tech professionals to consciously choose their paths. "If you don't change direction, you may end up where you're heading. But is that where you want to go?”
Most highlighted YouTube Video of the week
An Honest Review of Apple Intelligence... So Far
In his candid critique of the much-anticipated Apple Intelligence, Marques Brownlee questions the practicality and fulfillment of Apple's AI promises to date, suggesting that the groundbreaking innovation remains unfulfilled. "You could use them, and they might work really well, but should you?"
Most highlighted Twitter Thread of the week
What’s Coming: The Changing Domestic and World Orders Under the Trump Administration
Investor Ray Dalio predicts a dramatic overhaul of the U.S. domestic and international order under a future Trump administration—likening it to a corporate hostile takeover aimed at efficiency and national strength. "Think of Gordon Gekko and the perspective in his 'greed is good' speech... who is going to take that approach to the central government and the entire country."
Most highlighted PDF of the week
On The Impossible
In a scathing analysis that sent Cassava Sciences' stock plummeting, Martin Shkreli dissects the company's Alzheimer's drug, Simufilam, predicting its failure in Phase III trials. He challenges the drug's implausible mechanism targeting filamin A and scrutinizes its clinical data, asserting, "Clinical trials, done correctly, are deterministic. There is no chance... If there is a potent effect: it will be seen".
Hand-picked book of the week
Good Nature
While we can agree that a walk in the woods soothes the soul, do we know why? Until recently, we lacked data to understand nature's influence on our health and wellbeing. In Good Nature, Oxford Professor of Biodiversity Kathy Willis explores how small interactions with nature—seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, and touching natural elements—can transform our health.
"In the UK alone, 7.6 million people are currently living with cardiovascular disease: globally, it is the leading cause of death. And currently around 15 per cent of the UK population are taking antidepressants. The information now available to us provides another weapon in our armoury in the fight to combat these modern-day plagues and health crises. The recommended solutions are simple, economical and easy for anyone to do. The prescription is nature."
We're thrilled that Kathy is sharing a preview of Good Nature with Wisereads readers. If you enjoy the excerpt, we invite you to preorder a full copy here before it comes out Tuesday. 🙏
Handpicked RSS feed of the week
Visual Growth
A picture is worth a thousand words, and Ash Lamb's Substack proves it. His minimalist visuals convey powerful messages in minutes. From Context before advice: "That’s when it hit me: advice without context is useless. Only take guidance from those who share your definition of "good," or you’ll be chasing someone else’s version of excellence."