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Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

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Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#111

Post by alexilliamson »

thatswrong0 wrote: post #74
sixhobbits wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read "fooled by randomness" if you haven't already. I much preferred it to his later work, and it introduced me to Popper (who was someone that 3 years of philosophy at university somehow managed to skip) who you might also enjoy.

I tried to read this but just could not get over his writing style. It just felt so self-indulgent and took forever to get to the point. I have no idea why it's recommended so highly.

I don't know why it is, but I suspect it's the same reason people listen to Nate Silver

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#112

Post by WJW »

lkurusa wrote: post #99
enitihas wrote: post #88

Highly recommended for everyone: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahenman. If you have difficulty interacting with people 1. How to win friends and influence people (Easy read) 2. Seven habits of highly effective people (Harder read) To learn how to write well: On writing well To understand how large products are made: Show Stopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT

"Thinking, Fast and Slow" is a book I buy for every person for their first birthday after I met them. It is the book that has had the most profound impact on me thus far.

Is there some mind bending revelation in the second half? I read the first half and have not mustered the will to read the rest of it. It just seems so... "obvious" for lack of a better word. Maybe I've had too much psychology lectures or something, but nothing in the first half was remotely new to me.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#114

Post by braythwayt »

joeberon wrote: post #25
fit2rule wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't get that impression at all. What I walked away from was a feeling of dire unease at the popularity of Dawkins' opinion that human beings are machines that can be broken and manipulated by their environment, and that social scientists can exploit this fact to their own ends, in industry, culture and war. It may be 'true' inasmuch as the fact that applying his theories give predictable results, but even the mo…

Of course it's degrading, but it's true and it's the world we live in. It's okay if you want to put your hands over your ears and keep your eyes closed, but don't expect others to do the same, and don't be surprised when they have a better grip of reality.

Certain things are so true they're tautological.

Science is observational. It doesn't give us rules we must follow, it describes the behaviour of things in the universe.

So if someone* says, "People do selfish things, that's science," true!

But if they also say, "Therefore, it's ok to kill your neighbour and take their house, see all of recorded history, colonialism, &c." I stop them. Science teaches us that people kill each other and take their land.

But science also teaches us that people coöperate and build rockets to Mars. Science is not prescriptive, and with respect to morality and ethics, science teaches us that there are many different strategies that people use to accomplish their goals, some of which may result in the replication of the information encoded in their genes.

Selfishness "Just is?" Yes.

Therefore "______ is ok and we must accept it?" No.

---

* I am not putting these words in your mouth or arguing with you, just picking up where your statement left off.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#115

Post by themoops36 »

saheb37 wrote: post #40

I will take the bullet and suggest Ayn Rand's Fountainhead. If you are a teenager it will definitely make you think and likely leave an impact on you. It's not a typical novel, more like philosophical ideas presented in the form of a novel. Ideal characters placed in real life. You will also understand why the world is divided into Ayn Rand lovers and haters. It questions how the world works, how it should work, how…

Great suggestion. This is one of my favorite books, and I enjoyed it more than Atlas Shrugged because I found it a bit more subtle.

Rand has a very distinct philosophy and is quite black-and-white, but even if you don't agree with everything hopefully you can appreciate the writing and storytelling in The Fountainhead (and others). It seems that a lot of the discussion about Rand is focused on her philosophy and if it's right or wrong. This is probably justified but also obscures the fact that she was a master at writing.

I read this book in my early 20s and loved it. Even though I've become much more liberal on many issues (proponent of universal healthcare, tax-payer paid higher ed, etc.) I can still appreciate the themes in her work.

Also just finished Anthem last night- I recommend checking it out. Super short but really gripping read.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#117

Post by cik »

At random

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand. Love her or hate her, she makes you think.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things - This is a great book about building businesses, and business in general.

Capital in the 21st Century - One of the greatest books about economics and capital written ever - let alone in the last decade.

The Intelligent Investor - This is Buffet's favourite book, and regardless of how many times I read it, I still learn more. One can never digest it in full.

Predictably Irrational - This excellent tome makes behavioural economics digestible outside of economics. It's enlightening, though provoking, and turns several accepted truths on its head, purely by being written at all.

Nexus (Ramez Naam) - This science fiction book explores transhumanism and would it could mean in the near future. It's both light and pulpy, but at the same time makes you think about the outcomes of technological progression.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#118

Post by JohnDeHope »

I found Candide by Voltaire to be eye opening. I read a lot of philosophy and self help, which is a category you could put this book in to. Since it's fiction though, the message comes through more in the story than it does in the author banging you over the head with "you should".

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#119

Post by aronowb14 »

Never split the difference (Chris Voss): incredible book about dealing with people, after reading you end up seeing most interactions with other humans as negotiations with “black swans” hidden in your conversations.

Thinking Fast and Slow. (Recommended in other responses but I’d have to second this one. Incredible for reasoning about your own reasoning).

What the Buddha Taught: (Walpola Rahula): a short intro to Buddhism. There are some really powerful ideas from this age old religion, that can definitely help you think about your own happiness and what material possessions actually give you.

The Innovators Dilemma: a must read for startup founders, I think it’s the best model for thinking about technology and why startups and adoption often fails.

Atlas shrugged (Ayn Rand): completely transformative book for looking at our world, America particularly. Th perspective it gives you may not be in the best, or most human way, but I’ve found no other book that forces you to empathize with capitalism like this one.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#120

Post by tpaschalis »

So many good suggestions here! I'll try adding two more

[1] "So Good They Can’t Ignore You" by Cal Newport. It changed the way I look at my career and how I view my personal development.

[2] ADP 6-22 Army Leadership and the Profession by the US Army. Looking past the militaristic stuff, it made me change the way I see leader/subordinate relationships and how to start becoming a person others can depend on and look up to.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/14555091...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Army-Doctrine-Publication-Leadership-...

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