Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#151

Post by Kevin_S » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:41 PM UTC

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #53

"Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics" by Henry Stuart Hazlitt. The title doesn't do it justice because it sounds so cliche, but once you read it, you'll actually agree that this DOES cover everything you need to know about economics (although heavily biased towards austrian economics than keynesian) Also an important side effect: You'll realize how economics is not just…

I could've written this exact comment after I read this book, but I actually wouldn't recommend this. I read it right before I did my economics degree, and it really warped my view of the "right way" to think about econ.

It does give you a starting point, but the Austrian view isn't in the mainstream for a reason. It introduces just a bit too much bias into novice readers for my taste.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#152

Post by swagtricker » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:42 PM UTC

Zaheer wrote: post #141

The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Especially interesting read in today's political climate - pivotal nonetheless

I tried. Twice. As a privileged white man in America trying to understand the black experience. However, I could only get about 2/3 of the way through before giving up. I empathized with his early agony and injustice, but the fact that he turned it into a hate for white people and a religious fixation was way too much for me. In the end I saw the only difference between his view and the views of the Klan was his brought out by personal and systematic suffering. The hate, the bias, the intolerance would have just been a simple copy/paste of terms. I got volumes more out of James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time".

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#153

Post by fsloth » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:43 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #127

bambataa wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why so? It appears to be in vogue at the moment but it doesn’t seem to be saying anything novel.

As you allude to, the basic idea is the same stuff you've heard if you've read anything about "mindfulness." Basically a lite Buddhism -- a lot of your unhappiness comes from a constant spigot of unbidden thought you can't shut off and you can improve your life by learning how to shut it off and be absolutely focused in the present moment, through exercises like meditation. I think this is a bit oversold but not bad.…

I found Mr. Tolle's visualization of the pain body an extremely helpful tool to get me through extreme stress time and again.

I think these things, when moving beyond basic limbic system hacking like deep breathing, are highly personal, so YMMV.

I agree it has the tepid undertones you imply, but did not devalue the book since the one tool it provided me with has served me so well.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#154

Post by jonathansorum » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:44 PM UTC

needz wrote: post #140

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Letters from a Stoic by Seneca. I guess you could say any book on Stoicism, really, as the others I would mention also fit that bill.

Meditations easily has my highest rate of highlighted words in relation to total book length. Seems like every page (almost) has some eternal and profound in it.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#155

Post by catchmeifyoucan » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:44 PM UTC

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is also a great one. It's about a search for understanding "what does it mean to be truly free". Siddhartha is brahmin(upper caste Hindu) and he gives up his life in search for meaning. The most relatable parts are the questions he asks.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#156

Post by kaycebasques » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC

The Selfish Gene. Picturing myself purely as a machine for propagating my genes was quite the perspective shift.

+1 for Man’s Search For Meaning.

Lord of the Flies. Amazing that this is assigned reading in middle school (or high school).

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Really drove home the importance of paying attention to language and framing.

Moby Dick. I’m amazed at myself for reading this on my own in high school. There’s something about that era of sea travel that speaks to my soul.

6 Pillars Of Self-Esteem. This was a HN recommendation. I’ve been doing the sentence completion exercises for about 6 months, and it’s been astounding to palpably feel my self-awareness increase.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Discusses the underlying group dynamics that influence the progress of science.

A Fire Upon The Deep. Just an amazing work of sci-fi exploring the internal logic of radically different forms of intelligence.

The Sane Society. It’s liberating to reflect on some of the crazy things that capitalism pressures us to do.

The Power Of Now. I think I might have some more issues if I re-read it, but it undoubtedly had a huge impact on me and made me introspect deeply and finally “get” meditation.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#157

Post by Jun8 » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #84

I'll answer your question first, then suggest something I consider more important, having survived several life-shattering crises. - The Tao Te Ching, especially Ron Hogan's translation (freely downloadable here: http://beatrice.com/wordpress/tao-te-ching ) - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby - Getting Things Done, David Allen - Gimp, Marc Zupan - Thinking in Systems, Donella Meadows - Leadershi…

> more valuable is to focus more on active behavior than relatively passive reading

This, I believe, is the true answer to the OPs question. I suffer from an illusion, very common I think, that in order to get better at something, be it C++, life, or interactions with your SO, one has to first collect information and experiences from other people. Not that this is the wrong thing to do, but it has to be interleaved with acting on the information.

Think of reading books (or, in general, information collection) as earning money. What are you going to do with all that money in the bank? It's a means, right? To what end?

A quote I repeat many times a year from to myself _why: "When you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability."

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

#158

Post by WhompingWindows » Fri, May 11, 2018, 2:46 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #83

If I'm being honest, I read a lot of books, but the only one I can think of really substantially changing my worldview was the Bible. Since you probably do not want to read the entire thing I am particularly a fan of Ecclesiastes, and maybe you could try some of the gospels if you still have steam after that.

How did it change your worldview? I tried to start it and couldn't get into it, despite knowing it's important to 40% of the world and is referenced in other sources very commonly.