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virtualmima's review against another edition
informative
3.5
A mixture of outdated ideas and good ones.
skybalon's review against another edition
Started and couldn't finish. Not bad just not very interesting to me at this point.
ciannait76's review against another edition
4.0
This book is an intellectual challenge, I think I may have to read it a couple of times still to get everything I need from it.
Bateson is a great thinker and opens up many doors that need to be full explored.
Bateson is a great thinker and opens up many doors that need to be full explored.
geoffreyjen's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished rereading this text, for the fourth time. This time I was rereading it as part of an online conversation about both this book and his daughter, [a:Nora Bateson|14938099|Nora Bateson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]’s wonderful book [b:Small Arcs of Larger Circles: Framing through other patterns|32828546|Small Arcs of Larger Circles Framing through other patterns|Nora Bateson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477933320s/32828546.jpg|53432440] (see https://www.infiniteconversations.com/t/bateson-reading-group-overview-general-discussion/2822 for details). The conversation lasted 20 weeks, and each 2 hour session was recorded, making for a fascinating public record of the experience. Bateson’s ideas are as important today as they were when he wrote these essays, more so, I believe. These papers have dated very little. And the group reading experience was awesome - many of the chapters present difficulties to fully assimilate, as the ideas can be unusual and quite complex and nuanced. I read this first when I was just beginning my career as a scientist, and this year I am retiring, so this reading caps the first one. Throughout my career, I drew on Bateson’s ideas and understandings, hence the re-readings along the way. But on this reading I was once again struck by how rich his writing is, how many important insights are to be found in these pages, as well as how relevant these ideas are to the world today.
abetterjulie's review against another edition
3.0
Dense. Took me months to slowly read through it. There are some interesting concepts and fragments to pull out and think about, but you have to be willing to sieve for them. It think it would be best read in a group setting.
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