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Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#81

Post by kleer001 »

HarrisonForest wrote: post #61

The Bible; I know people usually assume it means I'm religious, but that's simply not the case. It's an interesting book in its own right, and it has had the most meaningful contribution to my life because it's one of the most influential books of all time. Reading it grants one better insight into art, cinema, literature, music, etc. etc. etc. Even creations that disagree with it have been influenced by it - obvious…

The KJV I assume?

I'm coming to appreciate the bible and its evolution. My latest appeciation? The KJV's translation biases (I don't want to say 'errors') makes me want to look at the Torah, which also has it's own evolution (or lack there of).

Any interest in apocrypha?

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#82

Post by VirusNewbie »

gizmo wrote: post #26
poster24680 wrote: post #17

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. Previously I was very pro government intervention, but this book is great at explaining basic economic principles while ignoring mathematics. It might be called a little biased by mostly ignoring "market failures" yet basic physics also mostly ignore friction. Also regarding "meaningful": I had tried to get an understanding of how society works for some time and had even tried readin…

Thomas Sowell is very unserious. You can also find persuasively written texts that argue that the earth is flat, that cell phone towers give you cancer, that democracy is a mistake, or that pyramids were built by aliens. And people who read those books tend to end up with false beliefs. Sowell is persuasive only if you haven’t read many other books on economics and society. Always be on your toes when an author is ve…

>but held in low esteem by professionals in his field.

this is untrue. It seems clear from other comments you aren't familiar with Sowell's work and are making a straw man argument. Disappointed to see poor intellectual effort on HN.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#84

Post by lnwlebjel »

TechnicolorByte wrote: post #73
lnwlebjel wrote: post #68

For me it's a book I am reading now: Outlive, the science and art of longevity, by Peter Attia MD. The book is a summary of the many podcasts which I have been listening to for a couple of years now, a result of which I am happier, healthier (by arguably the right metrics), fitter, and better able to navigate life and the prospect of getting older. If you are over 40 I highly recommend it, and if you're over 50 it's…

Does it say anything that isn’t already common knowledge on healthy living and best practices? E.g., exercise several times a week, avoid processed food and red meat, eat mostly veggies and lean protein and fish, get enough high quality sleep, etc.

Yes, way more detail backed by a thorough assessment of the scientific evidence, and the application of this knowledge toward improving healthspan (minimizing mental and physical decline with age).

Some examples: healthy joints by examining and addressing movement patterns and muscle imbalance; maintaining muscle mass through weight training and prioritization of protein consumption (including red meat); the importance of V02 max as demonstrated by 3-6x decreases in mortality; the implications of all this on reduction of cancer, Alzheimers risks, etc.

The difference between this book and all others I've seen is that, as a trained scientist with a mathematical background, Attia has a rare combination of MD training, a mathematical/scientific way of thinking, and a history of working as a consultant in risk assessment. All this provides a much needed framework to assess what is known in the space and use it to make practical recommendations for how to live - and how to asses new evidence as it comes in.

Much of it my not be new to you (in particular), but the book may provide important reasons why you would want to do these things. Motivation is a huge part of it.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#85

Post by JohnnyHerz »

maxilevi wrote: post #36
robga wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atlas Shrugged had a profound influence on me, too. It is a treatise on selfishness. A stench of arrogance leaks out from every paragraph. It showed me the worst of the worst. What not to be. I like to think reading it made me a more empathetic, social, caring person. It also awakened my antenna to the vileness in people that may lie just below the skin. That is was excruciatingly badly written was a bonus. It showed…

What did you think about the Fountainhead?

Fountainhead is just as good and a much easier read.

I used Fountainhead to introduce my kids to Ayn Rand and as a warm up to Atlas Shrugged.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#86

Post by HarrisonForest »

kleer001 wrote: post #81
HarrisonForest wrote: post #61

The Bible; I know people usually assume it means I'm religious, but that's simply not the case. It's an interesting book in its own right, and it has had the most meaningful contribution to my life because it's one of the most influential books of all time. Reading it grants one better insight into art, cinema, literature, music, etc. etc. etc. Even creations that disagree with it have been influenced by it - obvious…

The KJV I assume? I'm coming to appreciate the bible and its evolution. My latest appeciation? The KJV's translation biases (I don't want to say 'errors') makes me want to look at the Torah, which also has it's own evolution (or lack there of). Any interest in apocrypha?

Of English translations, yes the KJV. But I'm Serbian, so I primarily read Serbian translations, or a bilingual Bible, side by side KJV and Daničić-Karadžić translation.

As for the translation biases, that's kind of a separate topic, and comparing translations is very interesting for me personally, I enjoy using that AndBible software.

Apocrypha too has interesting stories which influenced art, literature, etc. etc. etc. Definitely worth reading.

A side note, since you mention the biases, I think you might enjoy the book development of the New Testament canon, I don't remember the author or the exact book title, sorry about that. I find it fascinating that the only books of the Bible whose author is confirmed are seven pauline epistles (perhaps three more, I think yes, but I'm a layman). I could go on, but I have to stop somewhere.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#87

Post by mturmon »

sowbug wrote: post #77
mturmon wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar thing here. Years later I purchased a used Encyclopedia Brittanica to see if it could bring some of that magic back. It didn't work, I didn't really engage with the articles in the same way. I think the World Book editors encouraged some kind of writing that was more engaging to grade school/teenage me. The set is still in my parents' house, but I'm scared that the spell might break if I open it again now.

Fascinating! I wrote an old blog post about the very same fear: https://sowbug.com/posts/time-out-of-mind/

Nostalgic reflection has encouraged some very nice writing. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#89

Post by TechnicolorByte »

lnwlebjel wrote: post #84
TechnicolorByte wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it say anything that isn’t already common knowledge on healthy living and best practices? E.g., exercise several times a week, avoid processed food and red meat, eat mostly veggies and lean protein and fish, get enough high quality sleep, etc.

Yes, way more detail backed by a thorough assessment of the scientific evidence, and the application of this knowledge toward improving healthspan (minimizing mental and physical decline with age). Some examples: healthy joints by examining and addressing movement patterns and muscle imbalance; maintaining muscle mass through weight training and prioritization of protein consumption (including red meat); the importan…

Appreciate the explanation. His unique perspective does sound useful.

Re: Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?

#90

Post by tmaly »

sowbug wrote: post #46

When I was seven years old, my mom got ensnared by a door-to-door World Book encyclopedia sales pitch. That set, in turn, ensnared me. It was the closest thing in the 1970s to today's internet. I could look up almost any topic that came to mind. I could research any topic we were learning in grade school. When I was bored, I could flip through any volume and learn about whatever subject happened to present itself. I…

I use to flip through an encyclopedia from 1943 that my grandparents had. The army stuff from WW2 was some of the coolest stuff.
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