The Story of More: An Addendum

Update: I’ve created and appended a second infographic inspired by Hope Jahren’s content on electricity from the book, The Story of More. Hope you like this! Click on Read More to view the full post 🙂

As I was reading Hope Jahren’s The Story of More, I couldn’t help but wonder if the enormity of what she was attempting to convey was lost, simply because her content was devoid of visual elements such as charts, graphs, and infographics. I often found myself going back several pages and chapters to connect the dots and grasp the picture she paints. I wondered if there was a better way to summarize what she was trying to say… I created the following infographic as a ready-reckoner and a reminder of some of the key points from her chapters on food. Strictly amateurish, but something new!

The Story of More: A Short Book Review

I live in a constant state of fear: that I should never have less. Everything that I do, including my ambition and my drive is reflective of this fear. There have been times when I’ve stopped to ask myself: how much is enough? At what point am I going to say that I don’t need more? The latest iPhone, the newest PlayStation, the fancy watch… I’m a hedonist, anchored by an extremely pessimistic and misanthropic view of mankind. My outlook towards life is a capitalist’s wet dream. The bitter truth is that I don’t need more. That I have enough and I belong to the top 10% of the country that owns 77% of its wealth.

The Happy Coincidence Called Serendip

The word serendipity originates from an ancient folktale about the three princes of Serendip – the Persian name for Sri Lanka. This had, from the time I heard it, become one of my favorite conversation starters. It was thus a happy coincidence that my partner and I decided to visit the island nation for our first vacation as a wedded pair. Our trip took us through the cooler climes of Kandy and the hill-station of Nuwara Eliya to the hot and humid beaches of Unawatuna and Bentota. It was a much-needed break after the madness of an Indian wedding spanning three cultures, three cities, and five functions.