11–20 of 85 posts
I also remember being really suprised when I first learned the Central Limit Theorem[2] a long time ago.
That said, Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach"[3] probably had the biggest impact on me.
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2003/dec/04/science.resear...
It's interesting to me what I've learnt but which didn't make my list: most things related to programming, mathematics, and physics, including quantum mechanics. Generally speaking, most of that knowledge was more incremental.
The role that biases play in my own thinking. Charlie Munger's speech that was on this site a while ago articulates a lot of things I was beginning to realize (http://vinvesting.com/docs/munger/human_misjudgement.html)
I struggled for a long time with procrastination and low productivity. When I realized that abandoning the parts of my life that were not deeply fulfilling (browsing the web aimlessly, refreshing RSS feeds, wasting time in forums, watching tv etc) would not actually be as painful as I thought it would, it changed how I live and work in a very fundamental way.
"We can implant entirely false memories"[1] I also remember being really suprised when I first learned the Central Limit Theorem[2] a long time ago. That said, Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach"[3] probably had the biggest impact on me. [1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2003/dec/04/science.resear... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_limit_theorem [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gödel,_Escher,_Bach
Mostly about empirical observations about the natural world. One very simple idea while in High School studying physics & chemistry that "the iron in your blood flowing through your arteries is composed of left over bits of exploded starts (Iron)". Another is how little we really observe and notice things. Every week I make a habit of exploring & looking for new things mostly flora or fauna [0] in the bush. It sharpens your observation skills and keeps you fit at the same time. It never ceases to amaze me finding a new variety of insect. [1] Last weeks was a huge fly. [2] Never seen them before. I'm still hunting after a huge flying insect approx: 4-5cm in diameter that I've only seen around 500+m elevation.
[0] http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600203012569/ and http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195813933/
[1] http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195955778/