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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?

#691
post #69

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari. Hands down the book that most influenced me. The book had (for me) not one but several simple-yet-profound ideas that were forever inserted into the foreground of how I make sense of the world. For example, the existence of shared myths that allow humans to cooperate on a large scale. Or how I too, am religious, though I was sure I wasn't. Can't recommend…

Fantastic and I completely agree. The book helped me to get perspective on current events and helped provide relevant historical precedent for almost everything in the world around us.

For example, I never thought about how ideas that are touted by organizations or religions are frequently argued to be "natural" or "divine" or somehow sewn into the fabric of the universe. The book helped me to become a little more skeptical by portraying how versatile and diverse human societies can be, and how there is truly very little that is "natural", "eternal", and meant to be.

Similarly, the book helped me to realize how unprecedented the current rates of economic and technological growth are. Its an exciting time to be alive, filled with almost infinite possibilities, and that fact is especially inspiring when you understand how much more restrictive previous generations and cultures were.

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

#692

OK, it might be a bit embarrassing to post this, but I'm going to say Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up." Not so much for the tidying part (though I did find that extremely helpful), but the whole idea of only keeping things in your life that "spark joy" (not an exact translation by the way - "spark excitement" or "spark meaning" are other ways I like to think about it) has had a profound impact on…

This has a very different impact on me, since I enjoy experiencing taking apart and putting back and restoring and playing etc... vintage musical instruments in my spare time.

It never gets old. There is no real reason to sell one because each instrument is almost childlike in some incorporeal manner.

I ended up purchasing more things, but just being more tidy.

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

#693
I only read 10% of a book called "Ego is the enemy". I don't intend on reading it anymore. It was recommended by a few developers I respect.

There was one specific anecdote that rung true. Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player. It took a lot of guts to actually make in the MLB. First to get in athletically. Second to not lose his cool, because of racial segregation. Third, to actually be recognized as Rookie of the year. He had a lot of opposition against him but never got triggered. And he was a role model for many.

There's some other good books, like the "Toyota Way" and "Thinking fast and slow"

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

#695
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…

Toyota Way is a great book.

The tools don't really mean anything, it's mostly adopting the principles enforced. And everyone has to adopt it for it to work. The ones that do it best, have a strong company culture. You define the why before the how and what.

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

#696
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…

Could you share a few quotes or ideas from Master and Margarita that changed how you think?

I really liked the book, but mostly because I thought it was funny and had great plot. I fear I missed all the deep wisdom.

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

#699
History of Sexuality part 1 Michel Foucault puts for the repressive hypothesis which I find myself thinking about a lot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Sexuality

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Erving Goffman uses the metaphor of theater to explain how we perform roles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Ev...

I would say How to Do Things With Words by JL Austin which talks about the power of words to bring things into existence but it really gets into too much detail for me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._L._Austin#How_to_Do_Things_...

Similarly Phenomenology of Perception by Merleau-Ponty really influenced me but it is really really really long and dense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology_of_Perception

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