Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#301

Post by yesenadam » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 8:40 AM UTC

mxschumacher wrote: post #180

crazygringo wrote: post #61

Michael Pollan: How to Change Your Mind [1] Not just about an utterly fascinating topic (psychadelic drugs), in terms of history (LSD turning from a scientific wonder drug to illegal), his personal experiences, and the neuroscience behind it, but also just extremely well-written -- a real page-turner. A crazy potent combination of science, spirituality (from a skeptic), and narrative. I expect his book will be a sign…

the topic of psychedelic drugs is truly fascinating, but I think Pollan's books "How to change your mind" is poor. I read most of it and felt angry and hollow after. I don't recommend a purchase. Here's the review I left on Amazon (2 star): "How tot change your mind" delivers and important core message, but it should have been an article or a podcast episode. Cutting the fluff offers vast room for lossless compressio…

Ram Dass wrote and said some interesting things about LSD in his books and talks, and had a unique perspective, as an ex-psychology professor and Hindu guru. He gave his guru in India a very large dose of LSD and the guru said "Enlightenment has come to America in the form of a pill."

Personally, I tried (what I think was) LSD a few times, mushrooms a half dozen times; in short, it was the most amazing thing I've ever done. Super-highly recommended. Mushrooms especially, as you know what you're getting. Do it with someone who knows what they're doing and you trust.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#302

Post by lamby » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 9:06 AM UTC

Countdown to Zero Day by Kim Setter [0]

This book tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran's nuclear efforts but reads like a genuine thriller or cyberpunk novel.

[0] https://chris-lamb.co.uk/azn/B00KEPLC08

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#303

Post by kmlx » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

does it have to be written in 2018? i've read something from 2000 years ago.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

"Meditations (Medieval Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, translit. Ta eis heauton, literally "things to one's self") is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy."

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#304

Post by ZoomZoomZoom » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 10:40 AM UTC

henrik_w wrote: post #244

ZoomZoomZoom wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding #2: Does the book go into any specifics on how exactly you're going to be sought after or at least how to look for the people who needs generalists? I consider myself a generalist but I never ever see much interest for hiring someone like me. There's always ask for a person who's a focused pro in some niche area AND then possesses a cloud of tangential skills, though.

I think the idea is that you are somewhat a specialist in 2 areas (but not a worldclass specialist). As I recall, that advice does not apply to being a generalist.

This looks more close to reality, but parent said "20%", which doesn't look good enough.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#305

Post by james_s_tayler » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 1:10 PM UTC

throwaway19743 wrote: post #279

james_s_tayler wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Primarily fiction meaning most of it didn't happen??? Yet it is based on the testimony of the 200 people he interviewed as well as his own first hand experience. And was so well documented the KGB couldn't discredit it. Try as you might.

> Primarily fiction meaning most of it didn't happen??? Exactly. I'm definitely not the most informed person on this topic, but if you're really into it, you can find a lot of materials disproving his claims. Probably most of them are in Russian though, I don't know. > KGB couldn't discredit it. Try as you might. There's no point in discrediting someone's beliefs. I just want you to look at his books critically. At l…

Upon investigation it seems they are likely of enough accuracy to get you into the right ballpark of understanding what life in the Gulag was like.

If you want to debate specifics of how many million vs how many 10s of millions, you're missing the point.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#306

Post by adetrest » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 1:15 PM UTC

fujimotos wrote: post #245

rtchau wrote: post #83

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver

The funny thing here is that Taleb dismisses Nate Silver as a wanker, calling him "does not know how math works"...

I found Taleb's writing style to be extremely pompous and very hard to read. His ideas may be interesting, but I couldn't finish any of his books because every sentence reads like "I'm smarter than anyone else, and I need to remind you as much as I can"

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#307

Post by joshuahedlund » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 2:27 PM UTC

Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker (stunning global progress in the last two centuries)

The Newcomers by Helen Thorpe (refugee students learning English and American culture)

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#308

Post by blandflakes » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 2:50 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #124

* A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge I read it again this year. I read it for the first time about 9 years ago and its who I wanted to be when I grew up.

I would love for this to be nonfiction, but alas...

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#309

Post by p2detar » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 2:54 PM UTC

Matticus_Rex wrote: post #287

randomacct3847 wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn’t that strange. It’s basically keto, which has become almost mainstream. For the record, I’ve tried the “zero carb” diet (basically meat) and it’s not that hard once you treat food as purely as something functional like a vitamin rather than a source of pleasure.

While he's likely in ketosis, pretty much any keto advocate would be shocked at his (again, alleged) diet.

As far as I know, Peterson's diet is actually his daughter's diet [1]. She claims it cured her from numerous diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and depression [2].

I have no idea how credible that is, but I'm just saying it isn't something he decided on a random basis just to look cool.

1 - http://mikhailapeterson.com 2 - http://mikhailapeterson.com/about-me

Re: Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?

#310

Post by fujimotos » Mon, Dec 24, 2018, 3:06 PM UTC

adetrest wrote: post #306

fujimotos wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The funny thing here is that Taleb dismisses Nate Silver as a wanker, calling him "does not know how math works"...

I found Taleb's writing style to be extremely pompous and very hard to read. His ideas may be interesting, but I couldn't finish any of his books because every sentence reads like "I'm smarter than anyone else, and I need to remind you as much as I can"

> I couldn't finish any of his books because every sentence reads like "I'm smarter than anyone else, and I need to remind you as much as I can"

You'll probably like the digest summary of "Skin in the Game" by Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/25/skin-in-the-ga...