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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?

#281

Post by achompas »

Nav_Panel wrote: post #93
Spooky23 wrote: post #49

"The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. Nobody has ever captured the nature of power on an individual level to the depth and breadth that Caro did on this book. (except perhaps his epic treatment of Lyndon Johnson) Over something like 1,100 pages you get to track the career of an aspiring reformer as he transitions to skilled and trusted government official, to someone who manages to grow to the point that he is more powe…

I adore this book. It also took me 6 months to read. I think about it often while wandering around the city, imagining the areas before and after Moses' steel-and-concrete hand, imagining the old neighborhoods, trying to envision what could be next, what could have been, what could be. Lately I've been reading Foucault and I find that many pieces of The Power Broker are incredible examples of Foucault's post-modern/p…

Where would you suggest someone begin with Foucault?

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

#282

Post by ExactoKnight »

SwellJoe wrote: post #247
scandinavegan wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if I ever started reading the book, or if I never gave it a chance, because I was so put off by Singer's utilitarianism. I turned vegetarian in the mid-nineties because my first girlfriend was vegetarian. It coincided with media focusing on unnecessarily long animal transports in the EU, and I quickly realized I didn't want to take any part in factory farming. My wife turned vegetarian after meeting me,…

Well, the utilitarianism has also stuck with me, and I lean that way on a lot of philosophical/ethical questions. I didn't really realize it until a few years ago while dating someone relatively well-known in utilitarian/rationality circles and had some eye-opening conversations with her and her friends about rights and the like (lots of things I'd never really thought through to their logical conclusions led to a so…

Check out A Theory of Justice by John Rawls. Best challenge to Utilitarian thinking I know of. (E.g. slavery is wrong not because bad outweighs good, but rather because it is inherently wrong when seen from the perspective of the original position)

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

#283

Post by wowsig »

This has turned out to be an amazing thread. While the first 50 books were something I was expecting, Selfish Gene, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy et all, the suggestions went interesting as I kept scrolling.

In the spirit of all things books, I've compiled the answers into a list (You were expecting someone to do this, weren't you?)

Since, I've done this manually, this is what I've included.

1. Have only included the first level comments and the books mentioned in them.

This means the comments that said, if you liked this, you'll also like this aren't included.

2. Have included books from comments that have provided good answers to the 'why'.

Haven't included just book mentions without explanations of why that has been the most influential book.

Which book is mentioned most?

Haven't counted, but I think it is Selfish Gene and the Bhagwat Gita!

And here is the list --> You guys can go ahead and add these to your reading list.

http://shelfjoy.com/sia_steel/non-technology-books-that-have...

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

#285

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Tarrosion wrote: post #12

The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker. It's a history of macro trends in violence - wars, homicide, rape, etc. The burden of violence in the modern world is much, much lower than it was historically, even fairly recently. The book catches a lot of flak from people who reject the claim that the future will automatically be more peaceful than the past. I think this is poor criticism because that's not what t…

I've picked this book up in the bookshop several times but the page count puts me off.

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

#287

Post by mohanmcgeek »

skdotdan wrote: post #78
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…

Which Taleb's book should I read first?

According to taleb himself, it shouldn't matter.

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

#289

Post by emmelaich »

Almost all these books mentioned I love; GEB, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 1984 are my favourites.

Not my actual favourite but worth mentioning as a marker in my thinking is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_Reptile

For me it was the catalyst for the transition from the heart centric youth to the head centric adult.

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

#290

Post by skdotdan »

drallison wrote: post #99
skdotdan wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which Taleb's book should I read first?

Fooled by Randomness ,first; and The Black Swan (2nd edition) second. These are books about statistics and decision theory. They might not meet some people's expectations about "non-technology" which usually means no equations and no mathematical reasoning. While not written by Taleb, How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff makes a good introduction for Taleb's books.

Thank you.
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