chat gpted corrections

drafts/2024-12-23-2024-in-books.md

@@ -14,15 +14,15 @@ include_plotly: false
 ### ["Skin in the game" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36064445-skin-in-the-game)
 
 My first Taleb book and a really good start. The main idea can be summed up like
-this: it's bad when people make decisions and they are unaffected by the
-consequences of those decisions. This is the reason why some experts are hated
-while others are not. Off course this has consequences from a point of view of
-justice (e.g. a politician proposing changes to the public schooling system will
-be unaffected because their children already go to private schools), but the most
-interesting interpretation is about how we learn and come to know what we know
-(e.g. a consultant won't find out what needs to be fixed in a company because they
-are incentivized to sell a consultancy service, not to improve the conditions
-of the company they are consulting for).
+this: it’s bad when people make decisions without being affected by the
+consequences of those decisions. This is why some experts are hated while others
+are not. Of course, this has consequences from the point of view of justice 
+(e.g. a politician proposing changes to the public schooling system will be
+unaffected because their children already go to private schools), but the most
+interesting interpretation is about how we learn and how we come to know what we
+know (e.g. a consultant won’t find out what needs to be fixed in a company because 
+they’re incentivized to sell a consultancy service, not to improve the conditions 
+of the company they’re consulting for).
 
 Some bangers:
 
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ Some bangers:
 
 ### ["The algebra of happiness" by Scott Galloway](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43703397-the-algebra-of-happiness)
 
-This is kind of a memoir with a bunch of life advice. The advice comes from a guy who
+This is something of a memoir with a bunch of life advice. The advice comes from a guy who
 , nowadays, is very rich and comes from some privilege (which he acknowledges
 because that's the kind of thing you have to do nowadays, lest some people feel
 you are bragging or what not). I think the bits I found more endearing where
 related to his mother and his children. But some of the things he says about
-grinding at work feels like that work-addicted american culture which seems to
+grinding at work feels like that work-addicted American culture which seems to
 sacrifice a lot of your personal life. Some bits I liked:
 
 > The definition of “rich” is having passive income greater than your burn.
@@ -52,78 +52,78 @@ sacrifice a lot of your personal life. Some bits I liked:
 
 ### ["Capitalist realism" by Mark Fisher](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17048159-capitalist-realism)
 
-Capitalism is bad, apparently. We recognize that capitalism is bad and we still
-participate on it because we think that's the most realistic course of action.
-This is a surprisingly easy to digest book, given that I feel it falls in the
-philosophy / sociology camp. I recommend it, it's short and digestable. But I
-recommend way more being an active participant in capitalism.
+Capitalism is bad, apparently. We recognize that capitalism is bad, yet we still 
+participate in it because we think that’s the most realistic course of action.
+This is a surprisingly easy-to-digest book, given that I feel it falls in the 
+philosophy/sociology camp. I recommend it; it’s short and digestible. But I
+recommend even more being an active participant in capitalism.
 
 ### ["Qué es el Tao" ("What is Tao") by Alan Watts](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11809938-qu-es-el-tao)
 
-A short introduction to Taoism. I still don't reconcile some of these ideas, as
-they seem to advocate for being passive with respect to your own life, but I'm
+A short introduction to Taoism. I still can’t reconcile some of these ideas, as 
+they seem to advocate being passive with respect to your own life, but I’m 
 probably misunderstanding.
 
 ### ["Do the work" by Steven Pressfield](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23353251-do-the-work)
 
 Similar to "The war of Art" by the same author, this book is about procrastination,
 about how we avoid the work that we know that we need to do and how to surpass
-this Resistance. An OK book, I'd say.
+this Resistance. It's an OK book, I'd say.
 
 ### ["The effective engineer" by Edmond Lau](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25238425-the-effective-engineer)
 
-Some interesting ideas on how to progress as a Software Engineer. Some ideas I
-was already familiar with, others not. I'd recommend this for someone in the
-middle of their career, progressing towards a senior position.
+Some interesting ideas on how to progress as a software engineer. Some concepts I
+was already familiar with, others not. I’d recommend this for someone in the
+middle of their career, progressing toward a senior position.
 
 ### ["Los zurcos del azar" ("") by Paco Roca](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19376877-los-surcos-del-azar)
 
-This is a graphic novel, written after the testimonies of former republican
-Spanish soldiers, who fled Spain and would eventually join French forces in the
-liberation of Paris. It's an incredible story, beautifully illustrated.
+This is a graphic novel, written after the testimonies of [former Republican Spanish soldiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Nueve) who fled Spain and would eventually join French forces in the
+liberation of Paris. It’s an incredible story, beautifully illustrated.
 
 ## History: The drug wars and Colombia in the early 90s
 
 I read three books about the drug wars and the violence in Colombia during the
-early 90s. This period in the history of Colombia has interested me recently. I
-know the drug traffic brings a lot of shame to colombians but the reality is that
-this is a big part of our identity, for worse. I think it's interesting to know
-about the few government officials that faced Escobar, to know how much they
-needed to do with so little resources (back in the 80s and early 90s the police
-and army were just a handful of men with no professional training)
+early ’90s. This period in the history of Colombia has interested me recently. I
+know drug trafficking brings a lot of shame to Colombians, but the reality is that
+it’s a big part of our identity—for worse. I think it’s interesting to learn
+about the few government officials who faced Escobar, to see how much they
+needed to do with so few resources (back in the ’80s and early ’90s, the police 
+and army were just a handful of men with no professional training).
 
-### [La parábola de Pablo](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/178332313-la-par-bola-de-pablo-auge-y-ca-da-de-un-gran-capo-del-narcotr-fico-pa)
+### ["La parábola de Pablo" ("The parable of Pablo") by Alonso Salazar](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/178332313-la-par-bola-de-pablo-auge-y-ca-da-de-un-gran-capo-del-narcotr-fico-pa)
 
 A biography of Pablo Escobar. It paints a nuanced portrait of Escobar. Some
 interesting bits were:
 
-- Escobar's downfall started when he coverly betrayed some of his friends. This led to the creation of the [Pepes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Pepes) who played an important role when he was finally killed.
-- The Cali cartel learned a lot from the fall of Escobar: they didn't make as much noise as Escobar and they corrupted government officials.
-- By the end, Escobar was really desperate. He considered joining or creating a guerrilla group in order to attain some political status and be able to negotiate a "peace" deal with the government.
-- After his escape and pursuit, Escobar got in contact with Alberto Villamizar (a government official that's one of the protagonists of "Noticia de un secuestro") to propose a surrender. Villamizar got in contact with the minister of defense who responded that this time the government would take a chance defeating Escobar (which meant killing him).
-
-### [Vida y muerte del cartel de Medellín](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205583001-vida-y-muerte-del-cartel-de-medell-n)
-
-An auto-biography of Carlos Lehder, one of the drug lords from the Medellín Cartel.
-It's an interesting read as it is from an internal point of view: he details
-his logistics, how he set the routes, how he brived government officals in Bahamas
-and so on. 
+- Escobar's downfall started when he covertly betrayed some of his friends. This led to the creation of the [Pepes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Pepes) who played an important role when he was finally killed.
+- The Cali Cartel learned a lot from Escobar’s fall: they didn’t make as much noise and they corrupted government officials, instead of fighting them.
+- By the end, Escobar was really desperate. He considered joining or creating a guerrilla group in order to gain some political status and be able to negotiate a “peace” deal with the government.
+- After his escape and pursuit, Escobar got in contact with Alberto Villamizar (a government official that's one of the protagonists of "Noticia de un secuestro") to propose a surrender. Villamizar got in touch with the minister of defense, who responded that this time the government would take a chance defeating Escobar (which meant killing him).
 
 ### ["Noticia de un secuestro" ("News of a Kidnapping") by Gabriel García Márquez](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26404932-noticia-de-un-secuestro)
 
 This is a masterful chronicle from Gabriel García Márquez about one of the most
 important episodes during the whole Escobar saga. In order to press the government
-to not approve a law approving the extradition of Colombian nationals to the US,
-Escobar kidnapped a few important figures related to Colombian politics. One of
+to reject a law approving the extradition of Colombian nationals to the U.S.,
+Escobar kidnapped several important figures related to Colombian politics. One of
 the protagonists is
 [Alberto Villamizar](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Villamizar), whose
 wife was one of the victims. He became a crucial figure when Escobar finally
-surrendered, and would become Colombia's first kidnapping czar.
+surrendered, and would go on to become Colombia's first kidnapping czar, which
+says a lot about how the country was doing back then.
 
 A bit I liked (translated):
 
 > Pablo Escobar had achieved a credibility that the guerrillas never enjoyed, even in their best days. People ended up believing the lies of "Los Extraditables" more than the government's truths.
 
+### ["Vida y muerte del cartel de Medellín" ("Life and death of the Medellín Cartel") by Carlos Lehder](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205583001-vida-y-muerte-del-cartel-de-medell-n)
+
+An auto-biography of Carlos Lehder, one of the drug lords from the Medellín Cartel.
+It's an interesting read as it is from an internal point of view: he details
+his logistics, how he set the routes, how he brived government officals in Bahamas
+and so on.
+
 ## Fiction
 
 ### ["The Telling" by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12779057-the-telling)