"The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Rolf Dobelli: It explains some concepts that I've been thinking about but can't directly name.
Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
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Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#62Goedel, Escher, Bach - an eternal golden braid. This book is so rich with philosophical content it will change you.
I really struggled to read this. It's so dense, in an almost impenetrable way. Am I the only one? I did some skimming, but never seemed to catch on.
It is dense, but if you want something a bit lighter: slaughthouse 5, hitchhikers guide, a confederacy of Dunces. All great reads with insightful thoughts on life.
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#63I wanted to answer "How to make yourself introspect" but I'll mention "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" which actually did.
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#64The Enchiridion of Epictetus is one of the main books of stoicism. It has really changed the way I see life and face adversity. It is very short and easy to read, despite being quite old, and contains actual down to earth wisdom about life It somehow goes quite well with the teachings of Frankl, if you replace "God" by meaning.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45109/45109-h/45109-h.htm
> With regard to whatever objects either delight the mind or contribute to use or are tenderly beloved, remind yourself of what nature they are, beginning with the merest trifles: if you have a favorite cup, that it is but a cup of which you are fond of—for thus, if it is broken, you can bear it; if you embrace your child or your wife, that you embrace a mortal—and thus, if either of them dies, you can bear it.
Some of the advice is sublime, like this. (And some isn't, but it's a book worth reading.)
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#65[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really struggled to read this. It's so dense, in an almost impenetrable way. Am I the only one? I did some skimming, but never seemed to catch on.
That'll be why you found it so hard. It's not really a book you can 'skim through' at all, but if you pay attention, maybe take some notes and reread the sections you may be having trouble with, you'll start to get the idea. The great thing about GEB is that Hofstadter basically assumes no prior knowledge from the beginning of the book - he just asks that you pay close attention and exercise your analytical mind. You…
“You're reading it wrong” seems like a questionable defense of any book to me, in the same way that “you're tasting that broccoli wrong” and “you're listening to Paganini incorrectly” might be.
I only mention this because it hurts to see people waste weeks of their lives trying to appreciate something under duress (be it literature, music, art) or under the belief that the fault is with them rather than simply accepting their lack of any natural affinity for the thing they are studying.
Sometimes it is worth working to appreciate things that are alien to you to stretch the mind, but other times it's perfectly fine to accept that a cultural artefact just might not be for you; that there is nothing wrong with the way you have been consuming it. It frees you to move on and find something new.
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#671. A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine
-my first introduction to stoicism.
2. Mastery by Robert Greene
-stories about the lives of luminaries such as Henry Ford, Michael Faraday, and Da Vinci on what it takes to be successful.
3. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger
-for providing me a new mental framework on building discipline and confidence.
4. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
-for giving me a paradigm shift on how to think about myself and others.
5. Seeking Wisdom From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin
-a compendium of cognitive biases and mental models.
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#68[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, "Flowers for Algernon" is the most frightening story I ever read. It made me realize that whatever intelligence I have right now I got basically by accident and that I may lose it at any time. There's nothing I can do to prevent this and - in case it happens - (EDIT: in the end) I won't even recognize what I lost. The only thing I can do is to leave some kind of a mark on the world, right now, before it hap…
> I won't even recognize what I lost Alzheimer's victims know what they lost, until rather late in the disease. It's part of what makes it a hell.
A demonstration: This American Life,
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/583/itll-make-sense-when-yo...
Act Four, A physicist with dementia details the process of understanding an analog clock.
Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?
#70You know, thinking back, I think the books that most inspired me philosophically were actually fiction. Specifically, I think Terry Pratchett wrote some remarkably insightful things underneath all the entertaining characters and narrative.