This book was really interesting, and ultimately made me decide meditation wasn't worth it for me. (I'm not saying it isn't worth it for others, just that the outcome of meditation that he describes doesn't seem like something I want).

Yeah... I find him refreshingly honest in contrast to the predominate western notion of meditation as a panacea. Few of his peers really elucidate the breadth of challenges of the dukkha nanas (the "dark night"), and none of the "apps" do (Calm, Dan Harris, Headspace).

I also really love the breadth in his analysis of awakening models. I would love to see this paradigm more often: here are the models of thought in this subject, and the pros and cons of each.

... and the "Fira Kasina" chapter was an absolute trip.

Just out of curiosity, what was the purported outcome/why wasn't it worth it?

Basically he describes the process as one of continually looping through various mental stages as one progresses in their meditative practice. Many of these mental stages look like psychotic episodes to me and I worry that getting into the practice would preclude me from accomplishing other things that are more important to me.

Here is a decent overview of the book that goes into more detail: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/18/book-review-mastering-...