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Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

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Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#211

Post by virtualwhys »

genkimind wrote: post #170
randcraw wrote: post #21

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. While it's also a tale of travel and self-exploration (the rediscovery of identity after a nervous breakdown and shock therapy), mostly the book is about thinking. I was a different person after identifying with the narrator who also lived in the mind, and asked questions about basic concepts like 'quality', or qualia of events, objects, roles, and the sub…

I thought the first third of the book was absolutely fantastic. But then it quickly decayed into philosophical drivel, IMO. Perhaps I'm not wise enough to understand the end of the book but I truly thought it was garbage and believe this is one of the most overrated books of all time. Anybody else feel this way?

Read it 20 years ago, and again this winter. Like you the first part of the book had me thinking, this is genius, but then the rest of the way it seemed to devolve into meaningless drivel.

Maybe in 20 years I'll give it another shot and finally see why the book is considered a classic.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#212

Post by fernandohur »

tyurok wrote: post #5

Antifragile - Nassim Nicholas Taleb He puts into words concepts of life so close to us yet so foreign sounding that makes us rethink everything in our lives. When you ask people "What is the opposite of fragile", they usually answer robust, which Taleb proves to be incorrect by introducing a new concept, the Antifragilty. It entangles so many things in economic, academic, science, finances and other systems with seve…

Happy to see this one here :)

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#215

Post by Eyght »

rcarmo wrote: post #191

Definitely the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to The Galaxy. I only read the rest of the series years later, but Douglas Adams' humour had a (very) lasting impression on me, and inspired me to write (and communicate, to this day) using a similar kind of humor and lateral thinking - because if you're not having _some_ fun, then you're not really accomplishing anything...

Many of the problems he describes keeps coming back with each iteration of technological evolution. Like the Ident-I-Eeze card[1] and the inherent issue with providing reliable identification.

[1] http://epeus.blogspot.se/2002/12/douglas-adams-on-digital-id...

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#216

Post by dmac0415 »

XaspR8d wrote: post #176
randcraw wrote: post #21

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. While it's also a tale of travel and self-exploration (the rediscovery of identity after a nervous breakdown and shock therapy), mostly the book is about thinking. I was a different person after identifying with the narrator who also lived in the mind, and asked questions about basic concepts like 'quality', or qualia of events, objects, roles, and the sub…

Interesting suggestion! I really cannot stand this book, but I appreciate all of the things you've gleaned from it and I'm glad it's had a positive impact on people. I actually really like Pirsig's ideas about quality and balancing analytical and emotional worldviews, but the writing style drives me nuts and feels like I'm grading a weak Philosophy 101 essay.

I completely agree. There was a fair amount of arrogance in his arguments and I found him constructing straw arguments fairly often. The part where I lost complete interest in the book was when he was discussing whether the 0s and 1s in computers exist -- there was no attempt to see binary as a symbol of a certain state.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#217

Post by jlg23 »

"La transcendence de l'ego", by Jean-Paul Sartre[1] - I read it when I was 14, by sheer accident, and it provided all the backing for intuitively understanding Sapir-Worf and finally for being able to navigate in a multitude of cultural environments without getting looked upon/shot at or being killed (depending on where the world I am ;)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transcendence_of_the_Ego

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#218

Post by Gnarl »

"The Body Electric" by Dr. Robert O. Becker. An amazing journey into the electromagnetic workings and sensitivity of biology to electromagnetic fields. Details early but little known discoveries like de-differentiation of cells (return to stem cell) by weak electric fields and also commonly known mechanisms like accelerated bone-healing by electrical stimulation. Ends with a warning against uncontrolled proliferation and use of EMF/EMR in society. But who listens to that kind of stuff anyway?

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#219

Post by dionidium »

notsrg wrote: post #174
Nekorosu wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried to read it in my middle thirties and felt like I wasn't prepared enough to understand it. Should I just go through it without trying to get everything?

I think the greatest part about GEB is he'll talk about a topic (that sometimes went over my head) for a chapter and then revisit that same topic in a more approachable way using a dialog between Achilles and a tortoise. Some of those dialogs were some of my most entertaining reads ever.

I must be broken, because everybody seems to think these are the best parts of the book, and I couldn't stand them. I just wanted to get on with it!

I was quite young last I read it. Perhaps it's time to see if I still feel that way.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?

#220

Post by germinalphrase »

stblack wrote: post #147
convexfunction wrote: post #75

The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander. He's an architect/philosopher who coined the term "design patterns". Beautiful book, got me thinking very hard about how to create artifacts and environments that make the people who interact with them happy.

This book gets my vote as required reading for everyday life. Don't buy a house before first reading this.

Or actively avoid it because you will be spoiled for standard architectural elements.

The gap between the house I want and what I will find is not based on fine materials and craftsmanship - but a simple, non-standard layout that is specific to my lifestyle.

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