Book Groups

Design Unbound: Designing for Emergence in a White Water World

by Ann M. Pendleton-Jullian and John Seely Brown

A radical approach to design, problem-solving, and decision-making in complex, uncertain environments. This book introduces pragmatic imagination, blending systems thinking, abductive reasoning, and speculative design to embrace emergence, iteration, and adaptability. Rather than designing fixed solutions, it focuses on creating conditions for solutions to evolve, offering a powerful toolkit for innovators and leaders.

The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t

by Julia Galef

Explores how rational thinkers approach the world with curiosity, self-awareness, and a willingness to change their minds. Unlike the Soldier Mindset, which defends beliefs at all costs, the Scout Mindset seeks truth, embraces uncertainty, and questions assumptions. Using real-world examples, Galef provides tools to overcome biases, think probabilistically, and make better decisions—essential skills for leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers..

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

by Andy Hunt

Applies software development principles to optimize learning, problem-solving, and cognitive performance. It introduces “refactoring your wetware”, using metacognition, pattern recognition, and deliberate practice to improve thinking. Hunt explores context switching, the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition, and cognitive biases, offering practical techniques to enhance creativity, adaptability, and decision-making in tech and beyond.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

by Ali Almossawi

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments is a fun, visual guide to logical fallacies and flawed reasoning. Using whimsical illustrations and simple explanations, it breaks down common errors like straw man, false dilemma, slippery slope, and ad hominem. Designed for readers of all backgrounds, the book helps improve critical thinking, debate skills, and argument analysis, making it an engaging resource for students, professionals, and logical thinkers alike.

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A Rulebook for Arguments

by Anthony Weston

A Rulebook for Arguments is a concise, practical guide to constructing clear, logical, and persuasive arguments. It provides step-by-step rules for structuring reasoning, avoiding logical fallacies, and engaging in productive debates. Focused on clarity, relevance, and logical progression, the book is an essential resource for students, professionals, and anyone looking to improve their critical thinking and argumentation skills.

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

by James C. Scott

Critiques top-down, centralized planning, showing how governments often oversimplify complex societies, leading to failure. Using examples like Soviet collectivization and modern urban planning, Scott argues that ignoring local knowledge and imposing rigid systems results in unintended consequences. He advocates for adaptive, decentralized approaches that respect organic, bottom-up problem-solving over bureaucratic control.

Communication Patterns

by Jacqui Read

Explores how effective communication structures improve collaboration, decision-making, and knowledge flow in technical teams. The book examines common dysfunctions like misalignment, silos, and unclear feedback loops and provides practical strategies to enhance clarity and efficiency. By understanding and designing better communication flows, teams can reduce friction, improve alignment, and create more resilient and adaptive systems.

Collaborative Software Design

by Evelyn van Kelle, Gien Verschatse, and Kenny Baas-Schwegler

Emphasizes team-driven software architecture, ensuring shared understanding and alignment across stakeholders. It introduces techniques like Domain-Driven Design, Event Storming, and knowledge mapping to foster better collaboration and decision-making. The book highlights that software design is a social process, advocating for transparent communication, iterative modeling, and cross-functional teamwork to build resilient systems.

Building Knowledge Graphs

by Jesus Barrasa & Amy E. Hodler

A practical guide to designing, implementing, and optimizing knowledge graphs. It covers graph databases, semantic modeling, and querying techniques, with a focus on Neo4j and RDF triple stores. Through real-world examples, the book explores how knowledge graphs improve data integration, decision-making, and AI applications, making it essential for developers, data architects, and knowledge engineers.

The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

Explores how organizations can become adaptive, knowledge-driven, and resilient by fostering systems thinking, shared vision, team learning, mental models, and personal mastery. It argues that linear thinking and short-term fixes fail, while understanding feedback loops and systemic structures leads to sustainable success. By cultivating a learning organization, leaders can drive innovation, collaboration, and long-term impact.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

by Thomas S. Kuhn

Argues that scientific progress is not gradual but occurs through paradigm shifts. Normal science operates within a dominant framework, but when anomalies accumulate, a crisis leads to a revolutionary shift in thinking. Kuhn introduces incommensurability, where competing paradigms are fundamentally different. His work reshaped how we view scientific discovery, innovation, and the resistance to change in knowledge systems.

Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

by Gen. Stanley McChrystal

Argues that traditional hierarchical organizations fail in fast-changing, complex environments. Drawing from his military experience, McChrystal shows how the U.S. military adapted to decentralized, networked threats like Al-Qaeda by breaking down silos and fostering shared consciousness and empowered execution. He advocates for agility, transparency, and decentralized decision-making, helping businesses and teams operate more like adaptive networks.

Ultralearning

by Scott Young

A guide to mastering skills quickly and efficiently through self-directed, intense learning strategies. It emphasizes deliberate practice, deep focus, rapid feedback, and meta-learning to optimize knowledge acquisition. Using real-world examples, Young outlines how ultralearners accelerate learning, adapt to challenges, and outpace traditional education. The book is ideal for professionals, students, and lifelong learners seeking continuous growth.