Not books as such, but great lost works: Fermat's proof of his last theorem. He wrote a letter to a friend that said something like "I have a most elegant proof, but it's too big to fit in the margin." Also the second half of Coleridge's Kubla Khan, lost because of the man from Porlock. Douglas Adams made great play of it in Dirk Gently, IIRC.
Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
21–30 of 36 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#22A Modern Bible
I feel like society lacks direction and focus. We need a common goal, something greater than ourselves. Religions provided these things, but most of them are extremely outdated. I don't expect most people to believe in angels, fairies and miracles.
- We need to find the meaning of life.
- We need people to have a purpose. We need to focus on making the universe better.
- We need a book that clearly describes the goal, and provides steps for humans to progress toward it.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#23Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#24A Modern Bible I feel like society lacks direction and focus. We need a common goal, something greater than ourselves. Religions provided these things, but most of them are extremely outdated. I don't expect most people to believe in angels, fairies and miracles. - We need to find the meaning of life. - We need people to have a purpose. We need to focus on making the universe better. - We need a book that clearly des…
> We need to focus on making the universe better.
Shall we focus on the planet, first? It's a bit smaller.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#25A Modern Bible I feel like society lacks direction and focus. We need a common goal, something greater than ourselves. Religions provided these things, but most of them are extremely outdated. I don't expect most people to believe in angels, fairies and miracles. - We need to find the meaning of life. - We need people to have a purpose. We need to focus on making the universe better. - We need a book that clearly des…
> We need to focus on making the universe better. Shall we focus on the planet, first? It's a bit smaller.
We should always focus on the end goal, which is to make the universe better.
Should we care about Earth? Of course, it's what keeps us alive.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about existing guides doesn't work for you?
They're religious and expect you to believe in fairies. They also don't justify any of their recommendations.
Check out The School of Life[1].
"We offer videos, articles, products, events and services concerned with how to live wisely and well."
Also, philosophy in general sounds like what you're after.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#27A Modern Bible I feel like society lacks direction and focus. We need a common goal, something greater than ourselves. Religions provided these things, but most of them are extremely outdated. I don't expect most people to believe in angels, fairies and miracles. - We need to find the meaning of life. - We need people to have a purpose. We need to focus on making the universe better. - We need a book that clearly des…
Jordan Peterson - Maps of Meaning
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#28Not books as such, but great lost works: Fermat's proof of his last theorem. He wrote a letter to a friend that said something like "I have a most elegant proof, but it's too big to fit in the margin." Also the second half of Coleridge's Kubla Khan, lost because of the man from Porlock. Douglas Adams made great play of it in Dirk Gently, IIRC.
Then look up Wiles' proof of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture.
The math required is so advanced, and there have been numerous people who taught they solved it but turned out to be wrong.
It's extremely unlikely that Fermat had solved it.
PS. He wrote that note when he was young (and working on special cases, small n and such) and probably realized later on that he didn't have a proof for the general case.
Edit: There was no letter to a friend. It was in the margin of a book he was reading. More like a little reminder to himself to remember to jot down the proof.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#29Something akin to Paul Graham's essay 'What You'll Wish You'd Known". When I read it now I can really relate, I remember reading it in my last year of high school and it gave me a feeling of "wow, I feel like this should affect me but I don't feel a thing". So maybe a book that could instill the effects of hindsight without actually having to suffer the consequences.
Re: Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?
#30A great book about "Mental Models" with an affordable price!