How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. How much of what you read is really true?
Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
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Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#22The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley. Debatable but opened up a new perspective for me.
Could you elaborate on the new perspective for you? What was the previous one?
I was intrigued by the title and looked up the book and found this review, and it seems to bring up some good points.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/102880724?book_show_ac...
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#23I wish I hadn’t ever read Ayn Rand’s books. They were a waste of time and a distraction for too many years. I’ll say this though, I’m glad I grew up and I’m glad that when I got to the end of the Fountainhead I had already figured out what was wrong with her. If not for that, I wouldn’t have recovered.
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#24Count of Monte Cristo and East of Eden.
I'm happy to have had the chance to read these books twice (first in my early 20s, again in my late 30s), but I only wish I could compare my experiences with a first reading during my early teens or pre-teen years.
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#25I wish I hadn’t ever read Ayn Rand’s books. They were a waste of time and a distraction for too many years. I’ll say this though, I’m glad I grew up and I’m glad that when I got to the end of the Fountainhead I had already figured out what was wrong with her. If not for that, I wouldn’t have recovered.
I’ve heard many people say that.
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#26I wish I hadn’t ever read Ayn Rand’s books. They were a waste of time and a distraction for too many years. I’ll say this though, I’m glad I grew up and I’m glad that when I got to the end of the Fountainhead I had already figured out what was wrong with her. If not for that, I wouldn’t have recovered.
I would like to know what you thought was wrong.
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#27A Short History of Nearly Everything I read it at ~18 and can easily draw a direct line between it and going into research, but I wish I had read it a few years earlier and became interested in science sooner. Maybe I would've actually done my homework in high school.
I agree. This book changed my perspective. Up until I read this book, I largely accepted the stories told by my family and religion. It wasn't until I learned the painstaking work and effort that went into scientific research that I began to trust it. This book does a great job of describing some of science's greatest discoveries and the people behind the effort to uncover them. It's also lightweight and sort of fun.
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#28Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holliday Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion I read both a couple years ago and was fascinated (and annoyed) by how many of the little tricks and tactics I recognized in sales, in the news, and really in every day life. Reading them didn't make me immune to any of it but now I'm aware and try to think more critically about what I see and hear.
another Cialdini fan!
You're going to love "How to lie with statistics"
Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#29Godel, Escher, Bach. I hated math for most of high-school, but I read this book between semesters and it changed my career choice.
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Re: Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?
#30I wish I hadn’t ever read Ayn Rand’s books. They were a waste of time and a distraction for too many years. I’ll say this though, I’m glad I grew up and I’m glad that when I got to the end of the Fountainhead I had already figured out what was wrong with her. If not for that, I wouldn’t have recovered.
I’ve heard this, too. For those of us, like myself, that don’t realistically expect to read her books, what was wrong with her and why do you regret reading them?