Summer Reading List • Hacker News Board

Re: Summer Reading List

#261

Post by di4na » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 6:44 AM UTC

mecredis wrote: post #161

jackschultz wrote: post #81

I know this is a technical site, but for all of these I always get a little sad with how few fictional books are listed on these types of posts. Going over it, seems like there's just one, "The Nix" (may be more where I just missed them). I like seeing fictional books since I can relate to the people writing them. If I enjoyed some of the fictional books that people talk about, then I'll go along with their non-ficti…

Thanks – I'm the one that picked The Nix for the list (I work for YC on their admissions team). One reason I picked it is that is indeed a great book that I have been recommending plenty to friends. Another is that I do think it's incredibly important to be able to enjoy and indulge and make time for fiction, especially when you work in tech. It's too easy to "read for facts / information / theory" and forget the joy…

Blond Sight by Peter Watts. Available in CC license on his website rifters.com

There are a lot of fiction books that will make you think differently more than non-fiction.

Re: Summer Reading List

#262

Post by amk_ » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 6:49 AM UTC

icco wrote: post #215

For a far better reading list, longform.org + mailchimp put out a great one this year: http://readthissummer.com/

Some thought-provoking stuff in that one.

Re: Summer Reading List

#263

Post by PhasmaFelis » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 7:03 AM UTC

dsplittgerber wrote: post #106

jackschultz wrote: post #81

I know this is a technical site, but for all of these I always get a little sad with how few fictional books are listed on these types of posts. Going over it, seems like there's just one, "The Nix" (may be more where I just missed them). I like seeing fictional books since I can relate to the people writing them. If I enjoyed some of the fictional books that people talk about, then I'll go along with their non-ficti…

I'm interested in your argument to why fiction is not time "wasted"! Would you mind discussing? I have thought about this a lot and personally only read non-fiction, but am always interested in other viewpoints.

Could I ask you to begin with stating why you think it is "wasted"? That seems like a very odd viewpoint to take. If nothing else, entertainment has value in itself.

Re: Summer Reading List

#264

Post by MrsPeaches » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 7:04 AM UTC

GuiA wrote: post #173

orthoganol wrote: post #67

Sapiens is a very preachy, low-on-citations work... the Goodreads reviews are interestingly divided ("Dude it changed my whole world!" to "This is not a serious work."), but the early sections on pre historical humans are still interesting to read, and seemed mostly correct from what I remember from my college anthropology class.

Any recommendations for a book about the same subject matter, but more on the academic side?

Highly recommend, Ideas: A History by Peter Watson.

Has a little less about historical events and more on the ideas that shaped humanity. The part on early human development is also fascinating.

https://www.amazon.com/d/Books/Ideas-History-Peter-Watson/07...

Re: Summer Reading List

#265

Post by ThomPete » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 7:23 AM UTC

tgb wrote: post #235

ThomPete wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great summary but also important to note that Kuhn didn't believe (unlike Popper) that science moved towards some final destination or explanation. Instead he saw each paradigm as optimal for what it was trying to express.

Yeah, I think I was struggling with this aspect. I recall my professor saying something like "it's not that general relativity is correct and newtonian mechanics was wrong, it's that when a general relativist says 'mass' they are talking about something different than when a Newtonianist says 'mass' - after all, you have to measure mass differently in those two things, they behave differently, etc. It's more that gen…

Think about it like this.

If you believed the world is flat you can still get from one village to the next one and you wouldn't fall of the earth. It's true enough for what it is trying to accomplish. If you want to navigate longer and longer distances or go to the moon however this believe will meet it's limits.

The primary thing people struggle with in general with science and philosophy of science is actually more fundamental in other parts of life to which is Truth.

Popper thought science helped us approach the some objective Truth. Kuhn realized (and I agree) that truth is always depending on the context in which it's defined.

We don't need truth we just need useful.

Re: Summer Reading List

#266

Post by perfmode » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 8:14 AM UTC

mehrzad wrote: post #73

Do they ever choose any radical literature to test their beliefs? Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread would be a good choice.

Thanks for the recommendation. Found a Kindle version on sale for $1.19.

https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Bread-Peter-Kropotkin-ebook/...

Re: Summer Reading List

#267

Post by ikurei » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 8:20 AM UTC

jackschultz wrote: post #81

I know this is a technical site, but for all of these I always get a little sad with how few fictional books are listed on these types of posts. Going over it, seems like there's just one, "The Nix" (may be more where I just missed them). I like seeing fictional books since I can relate to the people writing them. If I enjoyed some of the fictional books that people talk about, then I'll go along with their non-ficti…

I'm actually glad. Everytime I talk with people about books I'm saddened by how little non-fiction people read, they only want to read fun novels.

I love fiction, especially fantasy and sci-fi. Reading just fiction or reading just non-fiction are both a pity, you are missing out on great experiences.

I am under the impression that fiction has won, so seeing non-fiction win around here feels good to me. May be my impression is mistaken? May be that's just where I live?

Re: Summer Reading List

#268

Post by ar-jan » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 8:38 AM UTC

MattGrommes wrote: post #236

engi_nerd wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...Or they just asked a number of people to recommend a favored book, and this is the list that they got. Why does everything have to be about diversity?

Because diversity of thought is important. You're missing a lot if you only read books by people with similar views and experiences. For example, if you're a white man and you ask all your white male friends for book recommendations, you're going to end up with a pretty homogeneous list.

And why would the people making this list have to provide that diversity? Either they want to on their own, without anyone telling them, or the reader of the list can go looking for it themselves. Note, I'm in favor of all kinds of diversity, but I disagree when people start telling other (groups of) people what they should do.

Re: Summer Reading List

#269

Post by ar-jan » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 8:41 AM UTC

filiwickers wrote: post #137

If you struggle to get diverse voices inside your field, maybe you should read from diverse voices outside your field. I understand it is hard and I also gravitate towards comfortable reading, usually meaning from people that look like me. This is the problem. Start being accountable to yourself about it. 2 of 19 the books in the list are by female authors (both recommended by women). Looking for some good books from…

+1 on the Ancillary trilogy. Will check out the rest of your list.

Another one I really liked: The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. Very interesting writing style (it's not about Japan).

Re: Summer Reading List

#270

Post by esseti » Fri, Aug 04, 2017, 10:26 AM UTC

it would be good to know why each book is worth reading.