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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?

#181

Post by ashark »

yodsanklai wrote: post #66
austenallred wrote: post #16

Fantastic question. The selfish gene - for understanding human behavior Meditations of Marcus Aurelius - for understanding how to be content Debt, the first 5,000 years - for understanding money and finance from the ground up Wright Brothers - for understanding how technological breakthroughs happen Snowball (Warren Buffet), Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller biographies - for understanding the mental mindset to win in…

> Debt, the first 5,000 years It's often cited on HN, but I've found it very dense and difficult to read.

Probably depends on the kind of stuff you're used to reading, but I thought it was relatively light and lively, haha.

My favorite part was the author's knack for writing a paragraph that caused me to think of several critical questions or potential holes, then immediately follow it up with a few paragraphs addressing most or all of those questions and plugging the holes.

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

#182

Post by etplayer »

brudgers wrote: post #127
etplayer wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

Of course, of course, I forgot the actual question the post was about as I got far down into the thread. Thanks for your descriptions, I'll be checking out FP.

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

#183

Post by PeterisP »

RealityNow wrote: post #83

Debt, the first 5,000 Years (David Graeber) - Learned that most of history has been communist (eg. hunter gatherer societies), shops of the past were run on credit (eg. tally sticks), money/capitalism tended to emerge with the rise of the state, taxing to feed soldiers for war, and that the drive to pay off one's debt fueled a lot of the cruelty of mankind (eg. Hernan Cortez, Casimir). 21 Things they don't tell you a…

Coincidentally, "the only reason most of us in first world countries are paid well has nothing to do with our own superior ability (eg. bus driver in India vs. Norway), but due to immigration control and the institutions we inherit" clearly explains why a bus driver in a first world country would/should vote for anyone who promises more immigration control and sticking to the institutions we inherited.

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

#184

Post by ozim »

BrandiATMuhkuh wrote: post #12

hitchhiker guide to the galaxy: it taught me how small the earth is. And therefore we should use the limited time we have wisely. Also, Don't Panic.

I would say not even earth but life, everything and universe is insignificant but it does not matter. So does using your time wisely does not matter, just try to have fun (in a nice way) and don't panic. I am reading it again this week.

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

#185

Post by baddox »

cgmg wrote: post #176
RealityNow wrote: post #83

Debt, the first 5,000 Years (David Graeber) - Learned that most of history has been communist (eg. hunter gatherer societies), shops of the past were run on credit (eg. tally sticks), money/capitalism tended to emerge with the rise of the state, taxing to feed soldiers for war, and that the drive to pay off one's debt fueled a lot of the cruelty of mankind (eg. Hernan Cortez, Casimir). 21 Things they don't tell you a…

> Learned that free trade is generally bad for developing countries The consensus among experts on the matter is that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth and welfare, while free trade has a positive effect. There are challenges to be sure, but free trade is most definitely a net positive for developing countries. Countries whose governments prevent their citizens from engaging in international trad…

I'm curious if the commenter meant "free trade" in the sense it's used by most politicians, which is to say deals between nations involving trade, which is to say effectively the opposite of "freedom of trade."

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

#186

Post by grok2 »

subsubsub wrote: post #125
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

The shared link wasn't intended to be an affiliate link -- just something I got from the share link on the product page -- I was logged into Amazon at that time, but the account I was logged in to isn't signed up as an Amazon affiliate. The original URL that I saw was long, which is why I chose to go with the shorter link provided me.

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

#187

Post by camwiese »

jeffersonheard wrote: post #52

Getting More - Stuart Diamond. I still think this is the best book on the art of negotiation. Getting Things Done - David Allen. If you have adult ADHD like me, and you haven't read this, it's the first system that's really worked for productivity for me. Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl. Living Buddha, Living Christ - Thich Nhat Hanh. Cosmos - Carl Sagan. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin. The One…

Nice to see Heart of Darkness on here. In what way did it shape your mental model of the world?

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

#188

Post by camwiese »

lolive wrote: post #104
yodsanklai wrote: post #65

1984. A very powerful book. It really made a strong impression on me and definitely changed my views on politics, propaganda, governments and so on. Capitalism and freedom. Helped me to understand capitalism and American right-wing ideology. The grapes of wrath. Actually, I haven't read the book, only watched the movie. It puts into perspective what we see happening with refugees in Europe.

The book is a must-read. Did you read Propaganda (by Edward Bernays) after that?

This is a great suggestion. Thanks!

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

#189

Post by camwiese »

kabdib wrote: post #97

_The Innovator's Dilemma_ made me start thinking critically about the kinds of projects large organizations attempt, and why they often fail. It's kind of a depressing book, actually . . .

Not sure if you follow Ben Thompson (Stratechery / Exponent.fm) but he bases a lot of his business analysis around this book. If you liked TID then I highly recommend Ben's writings.

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

#190

Post by thundergolfer »

baddox wrote: post #185
cgmg wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Learned that free trade is generally bad for developing countries The consensus among experts on the matter is that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth and welfare, while free trade has a positive effect. There are challenges to be sure, but free trade is most definitely a net positive for developing countries. Countries whose governments prevent their citizens from engaging in international trad…

I'm curious if the commenter meant "free trade" in the sense it's used by most politicians, which is to say deals between nations involving trade, which is to say effectively the opposite of "freedom of trade."

I read the book a while ago, and the general point was that it is a misconception that capitalistic free trade was a driver of high growth in today's powerful western economies. These countries actually engaged in significant levels of industrial protectionism during key parts of their economic history.

I don't think the book was making a point about what is best for developing nations today, just attacking the the idea that laissez-faire capitalism built the US economy.

It's quite a good, short book, if you want to get a perspective on capitalism that's neither from a Communist or a university's Business & Commerce faculty.

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