On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins propelled my interest in AI.
Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
11–20 of 50 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#12Meditations by Marcus Aurelius was a really good one for me. There's a translation by Gregory Hays that's pretty easy to consume after you get through the first section. I think it's a unique perspective on how to react to the issues of life.
Yes! Gregory Hayes’ Meditations translation is definitely easier to approach than others I’ve seen. Would recommend as well. I would also recommend A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine to get a good intro/overview of Stoicism in general.
Letters of a stoic by Seneca is a great addition too
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#13For my work "Inspired" from Marty Cagan has been such an eye opener!
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#14Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World.
"Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It's just the best we have."
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#15A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel heavily informed my attitude to investment/savings and put to bed any dreams I had of magically day-trading my way to wealth in my spare time.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is just generally a really interesting book and impacted the way I view decision-making.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami really opened my eyes to unconventional plotlines and surrealist/magic realist themes, and in doing so greatly impacted my exploration and enjoyment of literature and other art.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#16Perelandra (the second book in the "Space Trilogy") by C. S. Lewis is probably the most impactful book I've read in recent years. I read it once when I was in my early teens and it made no sense and was quite the slog, and I certainly didn't understand the underlying concepts at the time.
Re-reading it in my late 30s blew my mind. I wish I had the words to describe why. Best I can do is that it solidified (dare I say explained) many of the spiritual aspects I have been struggling with lately.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#17Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
I'm still working my way back in time, but so far these three are great!
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#18Rage Against The System by A.P. Hovsepian
Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?
#19Perelandra (the second book in the "Space Trilogy") by C. S. Lewis is probably the most impactful book I've read in recent years. I read it once when I was in my early teens and it made no sense and was quite the slog, and I certainly didn't understand the underlying concepts at the time. Re-reading it in my late 30s blew my mind. I wish I had the words to describe why. Best I can do is that it solidified (dare I say…
You might like Lewis's Till We Have Faces. It's a retelling of the myth of Psyche and is interesting because some parts were conceived before and some after his conversion, which gives extra depth to the characters' relationships with the gods.