Illusions - Richard Bach
It's about choosing the identity you want, and accepting all the beauty that the choice allows.
Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
131–140 of 341 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#132Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#1331) Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
2) Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
3) Illusions.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#134"Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter, which I read when I was 17. I was just getting into serious programming (I would learn C later that year). I had only an inkling about things like recursion, had little appreciation for music outside of Pink Floyd, and lacked any kind of spiritual philosophy that didn't end in simple atheism or nonsense that I stole from science fiction paperbacks. GEB got me wondering abo…
I heard good things about this. Just bought it and plan to read it on coming this week.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#135Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.
The restlessness and questioning (epitomized when he leaves Buddha) that results in a fascinating journey of self-discovery and openness to experiences has been inspirational.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#136Ardor by Robert Calasso
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/books/review/ardor-by-rob...
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#137Moneyball. Will affect the way you (strive to) make decisions. Worthwhile even if you've seen the movie and/or don't like baseball.
The End of Faith. Definitely don't agree with all of this, but if you're at all on the fence about religion this book has the potential to be very influential.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#138"Anatomy of the state" by Murray Rothbard.
Eye opener about overall politics and why the sheeple is what it is.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#139Atlas Shrugged
A book I revisit every few years. It's taught me to be honest with myself even if the social norms aren't in alignment with I'm doing.
It's also gave me a deeper understanding of my fellow man and why some are fine with handouts from others.
It's also where I learned the $ symbol is made from the U and S from United States.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?
#140My 60 Memorable Games by Robert James Fischer.
I worked through the whole book, tore it to shreds. Bought another copy recently (English notation, please). I was in a bookstore the other night (Moe's) and saw Botvinnik's Gruenfeld book and I just had to look up his notes on the Botvinnik v Fischer game. It was exactly as Fischer quoted it in his side by side commentary; I remembered it from memory. Botvinnik mentions a student of his, Kasparov, finding a new analysis.
Fischer went nuts, completely racist conspiratorial Alex Jones nuts. But MSMG has a clarity of thought that will always be his hallmark. The brutal objectivity. If only he'd applied it to himself.
I suppose this book gave me an appreciation of really low level thinking and how far you can go. Yes, the computer era hasn't been completely kind to Fischer. But that's like comparing Haswell to the 6600. I use Haswell but I still learned things from the 6600.
Well, that and 1984.