The Best Books I Read in 2015 • Hacker News Board

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#61

Post by kbenson » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 9:59 PM UTC

vonnik wrote: post #52

vlehto wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I skimmed your article and I'm now convinced that Albert Burneko is a mean person. That was about 3479 words of ad hominem. I have to respect such persistence. But I have no opinion on David Brooks.

I don't think it's entirely ad-hominem. This is actually a fairly accurate description of his output: "...He has been a reliable producer of out-of-touch, tissue-thin pronouncements on the perils of our secularized, technologized 21st century lives, virtually all of which rightly can be interpreted as passive-aggressive nostalgia for what Family Circus comics told him “outdoors” might have been like when he was a kid…

There are few things as satisfying to read as a witty denouncement. Sometimes the accuracy (which I have no knowledge of) can rightly take a backseat to the theater, as long as you remember to not take it too seriously.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#62

Post by ryanSrich » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:02 PM UTC

oafitupa wrote: post #58

"Waking up: A guide to spirituality without religion" by neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. Don't be so quick to dismiss it please, give it a try. It's not mysticism.

If you liked this book, or if it just sounds interesting, Sam Harris' podcast is a treasure - Waking Up with Sam Harris[1]

1. http://www.samharris.org/podcast

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#63

Post by tlrobinson » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:03 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #34

tlrobinson wrote: post #14

Cheatsheet, without the affiliate links (another commenter posted these with affiliate links then deleted it after being called out): The Road to Character, David Brooks - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081299325X Thing Explainer, Randall Munroe - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544668251 Being Nixon: A Man Divided, Evan Thomas - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812995368 Sustainable Materials With Both Eyes Ope…

Nothing wrong with affiliate links if you're a regular user of this site: we're capitalists here. I make sure to include them if I link to a book, because I could use the money more than Jeff Bezos. Of course, I don't link to stuff just for the sake of linking to it, but only do so if I would have anyway. I think it's pretty clear whether someone is a spammer or not. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hullo seems t…

Perhaps, but taking a famous person's list of books and reposting it with affiliate links and no disclaimer is definitely crossing the line in my book.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#64

Post by pdeuchler » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:05 PM UTC

"Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy

"Flash Boys: Not So Fast: An Insider's Perspective on High-Frequency Trading" by Peter Kovac

"Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#65

Post by legohead » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:07 PM UTC

If you like fantasy, there are three series you need to read:

The Blade Itself (3 books)

The Kingkiller Chronicle (waiting on third and final book)

The Stormlight Archive (waiting on third and final book)

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#66

Post by crusso » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:08 PM UTC

oafitupa wrote: post #58

"Waking up: A guide to spirituality without religion" by neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. Don't be so quick to dismiss it please, give it a try. It's not mysticism.

It's not mysticism

It's the opposite of mysticism. It's a great neuroscientist-based look at meditation. I'd highly recommend it if you're interested in meditation but put off by all the mumbo jumbo you get from many other sources of meditation info.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#67

Post by ar-jan » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:11 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #49

ar-jan wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Here's a Radio Yerevan take on Brooks' writings, from Language Log: > Question to Language Log: Is it correct that if you show an American an image of a fish tank, the American will usually describe the biggest fish in the tank and what it is doing, while if you ask a Chinese person to describe a fish tank, the Chinese will usually describe the context in which the fish swim? > Answer: In principle, yes. But…

That's a pretty lame critique. It seems they're purposefully reading the wrong study, since there is another study that focuses on Chinese students and backs up Brooks' article. http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1995-... http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxy906/COMPS/CLT/cul... (full text)

The critique is of how Brooks handles reporting facts in general. The joke I quoted is based on a specific example Brooks gave, which is traced to its original source (Brooks mentioned one of the authors, Nisbett - see http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=478).

I linked to the other page because it contains links to about a dozen other posts looking into Brooks' writing.

There might be other evidence supporting his general point, but then he should be citing that evidence, not twisting the facts or making things up.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#68

Post by nostromo » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:18 PM UTC

ar-jan wrote: post #67

nostromo wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a pretty lame critique. It seems they're purposefully reading the wrong study, since there is another study that focuses on Chinese students and backs up Brooks' article. http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1995-... http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxy906/COMPS/CLT/cul... (full text)

The critique is of how Brooks handles reporting facts in general. The joke I quoted is based on a specific example Brooks gave, which is traced to its original source (Brooks mentioned one of the authors, Nisbett - see http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=478 ). I linked to the other page because it contains links to about a dozen other posts looking into Brooks' writing. There might be other evidence supporting h…

Read the column. He's very obviously talking about multiple studies. The Nisbett study was about farm animals, not fish.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/opinion/12brooks.html

> When the psychologist Richard Nisbett showed Americans individual pictures of a chicken, a cow and hay and asked the subjects to pick out the two that go together, the Americans would usually pick out the chicken and the cow.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#69

Post by ThrowayAccount » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

I was once berated for posting a blog article on how to build a multitude of data structures, in 3 different programming languages. The reason for this was because "This is hacker news, and this article is first year computing science stuff." - Yet Bill gates reads a book about Richard Nixon, and suddenly it is the top item on here, even though it is in no way related to anything technical. I'm out, this place is most definitely a circle jerk at this point.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2015

#70

Post by ThrowayAccount » Mon, Dec 07, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

I was once berated for posting a blog article on how to build a multitude of data structures, in 3 different programming languages. The reason for this was because "This is hacker news, and this article is first year computing science stuff." - Yet Bill gates reads a book about Richard Nixon, and suddenly it is the top item on here, even though it is in no way related to anything technical. I'm out, this place is most definitely a circle jerk at this point.