Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe, by Simon Singh
Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
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Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#622I always viewed reading a book as collecting a soul. If you fully grok a book, you grok the authors thoughts. Being able to put yourself in another persons mindset is crucial. Speaking of "groking", Stranger in a Strange Land , Time Enough for Love and The Fountain Head have probably had the most impact on my mindset. Each book is rather different, but in general the idea of all three is > You have to be in life for…
Stranger in a Strange Land certainly changed my life and thinking for the better, and certainly made me a more accepting individual.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#623Definitely "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…
For me it was a sequence of books that did it. The Phoenix Project first, then David Anderson's Kanban book. Some tine after that was The Goal and Deming's Out Of The Crisis, and a book of Taichi Ohno musings. You're right, what has been seen cannot be unseen.
I just finished The Toyota Way and am getting started on The Goal. I'm very curious about the Taichi Ohno book. Do you have a link or a title?
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#624For me, when I was a teenager in the 80s, "The Tao of Pooh" really shaped how I think about the nature of the world and how rebelling against so many things was really holding me back and making me frustrated. Given my current disposition, it probably needs another read after 25 years :)
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#625* Factfulness and Thinking Fast And Slow. The latter helped me internalise that my thinking, like most humans, is biased. Even being aware of those biases doesn’t always help. We need to go above and beyond to overcome our biases. Factfulness goes into detail about what those biases are and how they lead to a distorted world view. Rather than taking the easy way out by blaming journalists/politicians/rich people, he…
Didn’t know that the Rules for Rulers video was from a book.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#626"The Apple Grower" by Michael Phillips [Chelsea Green] - its technical insights aside, it showed me that it's possible to attain proficiency and maybe even excellence at something, no matter how daunting it may be, though sheer fanatical dedication.
"Old Southern Apples" by Lee Calhoun, as above but more about the potential wisdom and benefit in pursuing the quixotic.
"Beethoven's Letters" by LVB trans. Kalischer [Dover] - made me realize it's OK to struggle mightily with everyday difficulties even if you're shooting for the loftiest goals.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#627"Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson changed how I thought about language and how I use it to orient myself in the world. "Thinking in Systems: A Primer" by Donella Meadows changed how I approached designing/troubleshooting software systems as well as changed how I think about political policy decisions and their results. "Object Thinking" by David West dramatically altered how I approach designin…
Why is that you never hear about Sowell and his work? I consider myself fairly well read, but I've only discovered him the past few years. I wish I had found him earlier!
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#628The book "1776" changed the way I thought about many many things. It's about the military presence and the early years of the US Colonies and the British presence as well. Everything was so different back then. Getting all those details shows how life was different in almost every way imaginable: people only had 1 or 2 outfits, income taxes of 2% were considered unimaginably high, military only had 9 bullets per sold…
I probably won't read the book (more interested in other countries' histories) but your comment certainly makes the book sound interesting.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#629To me, it’s “in search of the lost time” by marcel Proust. In this hustle and bustle world where people build startups for high evaluation, money and reputation, reading this book is an oasis in the desert experience to me. It inspires me to rethink of my simple day, to pay more attention to details, to figure out why little thing become what it is, to cherish small achievements and to appreciate people. And more importantly it inspires me to be alone and use the mind to think about the world and rebuild it.
Similar book is “Stoner” by John Williams
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#630Ulysses, 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 couldn't get past the first three pages. I had no idea what was happening. Am I thick? Or is it a difficult text?
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