I just finished reading Senator Klobuchar’s book on antitrust. This would not normally be a topic I investigate in-depth, but the topic relates to the constriction of options in journalism, textbook publishing, and social media. These are all areas I believe are important and innovation is being limited and public understanding diminished as a consequence. With so many topics, politicians end up being mocked for the understanding of issues facing the public (e.g., technology). Read the Klobuchar book and you will not hold that opinion about her understanding of this issue.
Getting through the book was a struggle. The topic is dense and there are a lot of legal positions to consider. Klobuchar made a statement (see above) that seems an apt description of so many issues we kind of understand, know the issues are important, but can’t get to the level at which our opinions would be strong enough to push for action. There are so many priorities government might address – why this one or that one? In this age of political weirdness, I think trust is such an important variable.
I discovered an interesting technological capability that might be useful. I highlight and annotate when I read. Diigo (a notetaking service I use) offers me a way to share these annotations. I think I will start doing this when I encourage others to read a given book.