The Power Of Habit

Research shows that more than 40 percent of the time, we follow some automatic patterns or habits in response to certain situation without going through conscious decision making. Identifying the physiological causes and effects of habit formation has led individuals and businesses to be able to modify and manipulate these patterns to achieve their desired objectives. In retrospect, knowledge of habits have helped in stopping riots, streamlining workplace routines, launching countrywide social movements, generating large business revenues and abolishing various types of addictions.

Being an acclaimed business section reporter for New York Time, Charles Duhigg has remarkable insight into the organizational routines and structures. In The Power Of Habit, he has explored how organizations have configured their daily activities and business protocols to function habitually and how individuals develop and change their lifestyles. He commences the discussion by looking into the first logical question: what are habits, how they are formed and how our common practices program our brain to follow specific patterns. The concept of habit loop consisting of cue-routine-reward pattern is illustrated with a number of examples involving both people and businesses.

Duhigg examines how some grand institutions like Alcoa were transformed by inculcating "keystone habits" in the workers and how Starbucks trained their staff to effortlessly handle the most stressful situations whereas in other instances, habits resulted in passively following a track leading to disaster. He also discusses in detail the factors most likely to trigger change in habits and so can be exploited for damage control and introducing reforms in any organization. Some intriguing business tactics used by data analysts show that habits of customers can be identified by the patterns drawn from their previous records and are being used for targeted advertising resulting in much larger revenues. Habits also play a vital role in our social lives by infusing habits of friendship and unity that can literally lead to revolutions, if only we learn to identify and guide them in the right direction.

Duhigg's writing is simple and has the quality of making the reader proceed effortlessly. The book is a collection of anecdotes and case studies of real people and organizations, which thoroughly cover the small and large scale causes and effects of habits, drawing insight into the numerous ways that human brains are programmed and reprogrammed to adopt and abandon various practices and rituals. In the end, Duhigg shares his personal experience in which he systematically diagnosed and modified an unhealthy habit of his own. He cautions the reader that it takes time and effort to modify one's habits but they are not something unchangeable and no one is a hopeless case unless he or she passively chooses to be one.

Never Let Me Go

“Sometimes I get so immersed in my own company, if I unexpectedly run into someone I know, it's a bit of a shock and takes me a while to adjust.”  
Never Let Me Go

This is partly how I felt while reading "Never Let Me Go." The contemplative narrative with such unsettlingly mundane representation of the fictitious situation leaves you disoriented, like when you have a dream full of non-sense, disconnected, yet reality-like events.

There is one thing I enjoy most about first person narrative: seeing the world through his or her eyes. It gives a feeling of actually living in that fictitious world, not just visiting it. We get to know the world the same way as the protagonist did. In this regard especially, Ishiguro has produced a masterpiece.

The Emperor of All Maladies

Having persistently challenged the medical community for centuries, cancer has proved to be the most recalcitrant and most versatile of all villains claiming the lives of humankind. Understanding the causes and mechanism of cancer, devising a method for its prevention and finding a cure for it have been defying the pathologists, surgeons and doctors for centuries. Not only has it been a scientific mystery but it has also presented itself as a political, philosophical and financial challenge. "The Emperor of All Maladies" is a comprehensive account of the historical events marking the triumphs and despairs of those seeking to demystify and remedy cancer and a glimpse into the future of this perennial movement.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer physician and researcher by profession, has put together a profound "biography" of cancer. He describes the book as "an attempt to enter the mind of this immortal illness, to understand its personality and to demystify its behavior." He speaks with the authority of a professional cancer physician, with the insight of a historian and with the compassion of someone who himself has closely seen and felt the pain of dying. He embarks upon the journey starting from the first documented appearances of cancer thousands of years ago through the decades of struggle to cure, control and comprehend the disease to finally uncovering its essential features, while the quest for a more lasting cure still continues.

The battle against cancer has presented itself as a mountain to climb on every front. Surgeons have fought to eradicate it through extraordinary measures. Chemotherapists have chased a perfect blend of drugs to kill cancer cells, trying hard not to kill the healthy ones in the process. Pathologists have struggled hard to find its causes and mechanisms but somehow every answer kept turning into another series of questions. It has not only been an academic and scientific pursuit, but it also became a political movement. People invested their money and doctors invested their lives in launching clinical trials to find a cure for the disease. Today, oncologists have an understanding of the essence of cancer and tools to diagnose it, but the realization for a lasting cure for cancer has still a long way to go. Mukherjee writes with a cautious optimism about the future of cancer medicine while relating the gradual but remarkable progress in the field during the last century.

The history of cancer is full of unexpected surprises and unrelenting challenges. Mukherjee not only describes the disease itself as having a distinct personality but also relates the idiosyncrasies of the doctors and researchers confronting it throughout the history and most importantly, he tells stories of real people who have suffered and struggled against the disease. He explains the intricate concepts of medicine with a literary eloquence, which is both intelligible and gripping. The book is a magnificent combination of literary and scientific writing. From beginning till end, it continues to inspire, maintaining that however difficult it might be, unwavering patience and unremitting efforts will always be fruitful in the end.