Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#361

Post by cynicalbutt » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:29 PM UTC

A rant.

The question itself is kind of absurd if you think about it. But it leads to a nice parade of skimmed and unread books. Sorry, if I'm too cynical. I just have seen these questions about books thousand of times and every time I have the same feeling: that people are grossly overestimating the impact of the books they have read and they are just approval junkies. Surely, no book can change your thinking about almost everything.

It's quite interesting that people love the concept of "favourite books". Any time there is a question about our favourite books we feel the urge to share and tell everyone what great books we have read. It's not important what others have read, main thing is to shout out our title.

I still haven't figured out why we love to discuss books so much. Is it egoism or need for approval? Is it because we have to somehow justify hundreds of books we have bought and never actually read? Books become elements of decoration, just to show off and appear smarter perhaps. If they are stacked on the edge of your desk, that's even better, it portraits you as a restless intellectual adventurer. And when your guests arrive you make sure that they get a glimpse of your amazing "library". And some of the guest who kind of dabble in books themselves, are happy to look at your books, skim them, and make some general remarks. Win-win. I'm sure you guys can relate.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#362

Post by SkyMarshal » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:30 PM UTC

bit1 wrote: post #223

Definitely "The Machine That Changed the World" by Womack, Jones, and Roos [0]. This is "the first book to reveal Toyota's lean production system." Before reading it, I had never imagined just-in-time production or value chain mapping, or vehicle assembly lines that can profitably produce quantity one of a product before being reconfigured to produce a different model (SMED: single minute exchange of die). Now I see…

Why did GM's people's salaries depend on not understanding NUMMI/TPS? I would have thought it would have been clear to them they either adapt or die, and thus their salary depended on understanding it.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#363

Post by throwaway201902 » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:30 PM UTC

1984.

Changed my perception about the state, our society, people's beliefs and media's influence. I was fascinated how Orwell was able to accurately portray the characteristics of totalitarian and authoritarian states.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#364

Post by andrewbinstock » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:31 PM UTC

aphextron wrote: post #326

Ulysses, by James Joyce. It will change your whole conception of what language is and how it can be used. It’s not about the characters or plots; they are recycled from antiquity. It’s about the absolute mastery of interrelation between words and imagery. It is something that has a meaning entirely emergent of its’ own self referential structure, rather than what is being described , in a sense that is almost mathema…

I've never heard it described that way. Now, you've given me the incentive to read it.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#365

Post by devindotcom » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:32 PM UTC

saberience wrote: post #288

nikivi wrote: post #7

One book that changed me was reading Master and Margarita in Russian for the first time. It was the first book I started reading I could not put down until the end. Gained a lot of appreciation for literature at that time. The other book that I enjoyed and changed me was ‘The Wisdom of Insecurity’ by Alan Watts. I was a fan of Alan Watts works through his lectures already and it was wonderful to hear his ideas in wri…

Thanks for mentioning an amazing book of literature. The Master and Margarita is my favorite fiction book! I've read it in two translations and I prefer the Burgin & O'Connor to the Glenny, but both are great. Everytime I read it I gain more insights. I absolutely recommend reading this book alongside a readers guide which gives more background and depth, there are many biblical, historical, and author-related refere…

Any particular reason for preferring that translation? I'm always curious to hear others' thoughts before picking one to read.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#366

Post by maxxxxx » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:33 PM UTC

scarecrowbob wrote: post #285

scrumper wrote: post #162

Animal Farm was a really important book for me. I picked it up aged about 10 or 11 and I remember being really struck by how easily the pigs were able to exploit the other animals' grievances with humans to secure their own power. It felt like a grown-up story with some quite powerful, disturbing meanings under the covers. So I told my English teacher about it and all she told me in response was to go look up the Rus…

One of the strangest things about that text is that very few of the folks I've talked to about it seem to feel that the issue with the pigs at the end is that there is a farmer. That is to say, I very rarely find anyone who will agree that the book is anti-capitalist at teh same time that it's opposed to Stalinism. I see the book continually taken happily anti-communist text. But the text is certainly not _just_ abou…

To me it’s a warning that when you rightfully overthrow an authoritarian you have to be careful not to trade that authoritarian against another one. This seems to happen all the time. Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia and probably many more.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#367

Post by darkhorn » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:33 PM UTC

The Price by Niccolò Machiavelli.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#368

Post by jshowa3 » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:33 PM UTC

freedomben wrote: post #152

"Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell. Not an easy read, but it deeply changed the way I think about incentive structures and the law of unintended consequences. It's a tough pill to swallow for people (like myself) who cling to utopian ideas, but the older I get the more I realize we must live in the world as it exists, with human nature as it really is. Dreaming of a better world is counter-productive if one does not…

Funny thing is, reality is based a lot in perception. For example, it was "reality" that the higgs boson didn't exist before 2012. It was simply part of a model.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#369

Post by miltondts » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:34 PM UTC

Science and human behavior - BF Skinner PDF available for free from the Skinner foundation: http://www.bfskinner.org/newtestsite/wp-content/uploads/2014...

Skinner's views on human behavior evolved a bit after this book was publish until he died but this book was my first contact with his ideas.

This book changed the way I view humans (myself included). It made me more empathic. It allowed me to unified many concepts of human/animal behavior and AI.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#370

Post by cosminscaunasu » Tue, Feb 05, 2019, 8:34 PM UTC

Daniel Dennet's books - explains how complex designs like our mind can appear out of very simple rules without the need of a designer or what consciousness basically is - a high level view i.e. how can we understand it in simple terms - or what is the purpose of humor. Some examples: "Darwin's dangerous idea", "From Bacteria to Bach and Back".