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

The end of alchemy, Mervyn King. There are several very interesting points and mental models in there. Eye opening for someone that did undergrad Econ.

For me it was this free book available on https://www.core-econ.org/ It is an easy to approach economics book. It helped me understand how a few simple ideas like free markets, firms and technological innovation led to the creation of the amazing prosperity of our civilization.

Reading the "Holy Fathers" and their understanding of the Scriptures, particularly St John Chrysostom. St Ignatius of Antioch and St Justin Martyr as well -- the wisdom of the men who was merely a generation or two removed from the very Jesus Christ himself. I also find reading the second-hand non-Christian sources of Jesus and his followers fascinating as well, such as the works of Josephus and Tacitus.

The Bible being profound to people isn't anything new to people, but it was in particular the writings by these men that deepened it for me, solidified it, I don't know what was it. Maybe it was because I was a functioning agnostic the entire time I was brought up, it just made it that much more real to me. I can't really put my finger on it, but that was the experience I had.

For my non-cliche picks, starting with "Mindset" by Carol Dweck. Particular the a-ha moment here was the dichotomy between the "fixed" mindset and "growth" mindset. Shedding the notion that we were "fixed" in our ways. The particular example that resonated the most with me was the one about Michael Jordan. How I used to remember so many people saying "he was born with that talent" or "it was a gift from God"

No the gift was not his talents, it was his work ethic and determination. To find out he was actually cut from his high school varsity team at 15. To hear the stories of how he practiced so determined (and took great offense if his team mates didn't take practice as seriously as he did, sometimes to the detriment to some relationships), it just changed my whole perspective. I was going through a tough time of my own at work, and this book allowed me to realize that the feedback I was getting wasn't attacks against my character or meant I wasn't smart enough or good enough, they just were what they were, and they were opportunities to grow. Everything can be malleable with enough time, energy, focus, and most importantly, the right mindset.

A follow up to this in a tangential way was "The Obstacle is the Way" which really helped me learn how to roll with the punches, and turn everything into an opportunity, a challenge. If something wasn't fair, wasn't right, seemed impossible, it didn't become my destruction, it became my motivation.

Finally, for leadership, and kind of along that same theme of rolling with the punches and stop buying into the "life isn't fair" or "I got a unfair shake" was Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin. The book details the stories of the Navy Seals that fought in the Battle of Ramadi in 2005-2006. Most people will be particularly interested in the chapter about Chris Kyle of "American Sniper" fame, as he was part of this Navy Seal unit.

Besides the awesome stories, the book details a great mindset for ownership and leadership in general. Teaches you how to ditch the word "they" when referring to other people in your organization (I found myself often complaining that things were more difficult than they needed to be, often using the word "they" when describing who exactly was making my life difficult). It helps you realize your part of the bargain when it comes to your organization's success.

Peopleware

Totally changed how I view budgeting/team management, etc. Helped me learn about my own productivity and how to improve it. Introding flow and such to me. A lot of other books say similar things but they are generic, so its easy to write off with "oh, well software os different". But peopleware is specifically about software development.

Resilience Thinking, by Walker and Salt, is a concise and clear presentation of what makes complex things resilient, and how it can go wrong. I see the ideas from there everywhere from ecosystems to business. This one really made it much easier to think about the big picture and the long tail of consequences in otherwise messy systems.

Complexity, by Mitchell, is an introductory look at complex systems that changed the way I see the systems in the world and sent me off on a long tangent to learn more.

Life's Ratchet, by Hoffann, is just plain mind-blowing, or at least it was for me. It's about the inner mechanics of living cells, and does a really good job of conveying how insanely complex life is.