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Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

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Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#121

Post by padobson »

alehul wrote: post #95
etplayer wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very strange for me to hear, considering the position of the author himself and some of the views espoused in the book. Though I shouldn't be saying that books ought to be restricted to certain ideological followers. As a Communist myself I have my own favourites but I doubt they'd be so useful to anyone here.

I'm definitely pro-capitalism personally, but I think a collection of books that offer a convincing argument towards another perspective would be well received in the HN community. You should consider posting some.

I have to agree with this. I have strong opinions about economic and political systems, but I also recognize these are some of the most contentious questions and viewpoints out there.

In light of that, a thoughtful and reasonable look at alternatives is the best way to reduce some of that contention.

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#122

Post by subsubsub »

kelukelugames wrote: post #68

The first is the Millionaire Next Door. Gave me a better idea of how to manage my finances and what kind of spending habits to look for in a partner. If you are a tightwad then don't marry a spendthrift. Vice versa. [ http://amzn.to/2vAmbW8 ] The second is On Writing Well. This book changed my view regarding how to write and how important it is to write well. As an engineer I regret how much I avoided writing in scho…

Here are all of the books, without the affiliate links:

- The Millionaire Next Door [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589795474]

- On Writing Well [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0090RVGW0]

- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607747308]

- Why Men Love Bitches [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580627560]

- The Low Down on Going Down [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMX939C]

- Blow Him Away [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WSV866]

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#123

Post by xtiansimon »

Wolfram, Stephen. A New Kind of Science. Wolfram Media, 2002. [1]

Wikipedia: "The thesis of A New Kind of Science (NKS) is twofold: the nature of computation must be explored experimentally, and the results of these experiments have great relevance to understanding the physical world. [...] [Wolfram] argues an entirely new method is needed to do so because traditional mathematics fails to meaningfully describe complex systems, and there is an upper limit to complexity in all systems."

[1]: https://www.wolframscience.com/nks/

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#124

Post by subsubsub »

ignacio_gcaa wrote: post #117

This cognitive science/cognitive linguistics books were a hinge point for me: George Lakoff: - Philosophy In The Flesh http://amzn.to/2xFTKU7 - The Political Mind http://amzn.to/2vU9rF1 Gilles Fauconnier, Mark Turner: - The Way We Think http://amzn.to/2xFv4ep Benjamin K. Bergen: - Louder Than Words http://amzn.to/2wwsMhv

All the books, without the affiliate links:

- Philosophy In The Flesh [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FSJAWK]

- The Political Mind [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017T0B2U]

- The Way We Think [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAL62RO]

- Louder Than Words [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00918JOBI]

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#125

Post by subsubsub »

grok2 wrote: post #53

The one book that has reconfigured some aspects of how I deal with people and has helped me in day-to-day life is "Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive" ( http://a.co/0QoTla6 ).

Non-affiliate link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416576142

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#126

Post by subsubsub »

SpinningCode wrote: post #77
Exuma wrote: post #24

https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-Bra... Hands down

Psychology of Self-esteem by the same author is brilliant https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Self-Esteem-Revolutionary-...

Without affiliate ref code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030II1Y6

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#127

Post by brudgers »

etplayer wrote: post #86
brudgers wrote: post #47

Critique of Pure Reason Philosophical Investigations The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Foucault's Pendulum Snopes == The Hamlet , The Town , The Mansion . A River Runs Through It Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World A Pattern Language The Analects Bhagavad Gita Apology The Republic Touch the Earth The Pity of War: Explaining World War I The Civil War: A Narrative

>Foucault's Pendulum What's this about? >Critique of Pure Reason What did you find particular challenging to your worldview? As a side note, you may be interested in Critique of Pure Tolerance which has an essay by Robert Wolff and Marcuse. Have you seen The Dialectic of Enlightenment ?

I didn't mean to imply that any of them challenged my world view. Only that each shaped my mental models.

Foucault's Pendulum is about semiotics on one level and cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics on another.

Critique of Pure Reason put radical philosophical skepticism (and hence empiricism) in perspective. I find the model of the human mind useful in some situations.

Thank you for the recommendation. My philosophy reading days are mostly in the past or perhaps future. Currently, my reading interests seem to be elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#128

Post by ma91c1an »

Jorge Luis Borges, Selected Non-Fictions, 1999.

I first encountered Borges as a 15 year old student in high school. I am now 56. The book was ficciones. It changed my life.

Borges read everything. What made him the genius that he was, is that he remembered everything that he read, and he was consequently able to make droll observations across cultures and epochs.

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#129

Post by thedevil »

maxprogram wrote: post #48

Poor Charlie's Almanac -- can't beat Charlie Munger when it comes to explaining how the world works. Fooled by Randomness, Black Swan, Antifragile -- Nassim Taleb reviles lots of new ways to think, first in finance, then everything in later books. The Origin of Wealth -- Similar to Antifragile with a lot of mental models packed in on many different subjects: economics, business, biology, ... The Design of Everyday Th…

This list is close to mine.

I would also add:

- Influence: the Psychology of persuasion

- Selfish Gene

- Emotional Design

- Antifragile

- How To Fail At Everything And Still Win Big

Re: Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?

#130

Post by invalidOrTaken »

Complexity: The Emerging Science At The Edge of Order And Chaos was a good read. I strongly recommend reading Jurassic Park at the same time, as the two were both influenced by the recognization of complexity as a "thing" in the late 80's/early 90's. The two are really about the same thing, but JP tells it through dinosaurs.

While I have the floor, I've mused lately that Jurassic Park is like the perfect scary morality tale for young researchers. You hear cautions about endogeneity and omitted variable biases, simultaneity...but the worst that will happen if you mess these up is your paper is wrong. Crichton described a world where lack of scientific discipline led to getting eaten by dinosaurs.

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