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Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

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Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#121

Post by tomxor »

Two tiny books by Stephen Wolfram (Actually transcribed lectures):

   - "Computation and the Future of the Human Condition"
   - "On the Quest for Computable Knowledge"
And by extension his proper book - "A new kind of science". The two above books might require you have at least played with (and enjoy) cellular automata to latch on to the concepts he is talking about with enthusiasm.

These tiny books in combination with some other similar books and ideas transformed the way I think about the world, physically, biologically, technologically - all from the perspective of computation - in terms of computational reducibility, kolmogorov complexity, emergence and entropy (RE maxwells demon - the meaning of life? more like the universal property resulting in the emergence of life like patterns and fluctuations in energy and matter)... sorry all a bit vauge, but difficult to articulate succinctly, read the (very short) books and maybe you will latch on to the same train of thought, it was mentally transformative for me.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#122

Post by Balgair »

jpollock wrote: post #75

Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" - it changed how I approach teamwork and conversations. It made me aware of how my behaviour was limiting outcomes. :) Frankly, it made me aware that I was being an asshole and that I should change. However, it wasn't necessarily the book, but the course that I found really useful.

A LOT of people are put off by the name of the book. I would highly suggest you not judge Carnegie's book by it's cover. It is filled with brass-tacks advice and concrete examples of how to improve your own life and the lives of others around you. Though the title may seem 'manipulative', the book is anything but that. Consider the title as a marketing gimmick from 1933 and read the book nonetheless.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#123

Post by robin_reala »

LyndsySimon wrote: post #47

Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. Bottom line: judge your success in life by how well you make your decisions, not by your outcome. You have full control of your decisions, and often no control at all over their results.

The George Long translation is available as a proofed and libre ebook at SE if anyone wants to read it: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-aurelius/meditation...

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#124

Post by thaw13579 »

One book not already mentioned is Alfred Korzybski's Science and Sanity. It makes fairly broad and sweeping analysis, so there is plenty to disagree with. That said, this book opened my eyes to important concerns about language and cognition that, only in retrospect, seem glaringly obvious.

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#125

Post by fermienrico »

ndiscussion wrote: post #30

The Selfish Gene by Dawkins. The gene is the unit of replication, and this affects every process in this universe.

This book has had a monumental, life altering perspective shift in everyone I know that have read it.

Warning: If you go over the fence, there is no returning back. Your thought process will change forever (for the good in my view).

Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?

#127

Post by sotojuan »

porpoisely wrote: post #54

I read Freakonomics and Guns, Germs and Steel in college and was initially 'amazed' by it. Now, I see it as mass market rubbish used to influence a particular demographic. But that goes for pretty much everything really. Catcher in the Rye in high school. Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". I think books can "change the way you think about almost everything" when you are younger, naive and idealisti…

Most of the advice in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is fairly relevant and can be learned at any age - the book and Carnegie's courses were originally for older businessmen. The problem with the book is that its title and chapter titles have not aged well - they sound manipulative. The actual advice is very good and focuses on empathy and kindness; timeless concepts.

I've definitely seem people change their behavior after reading it well into their 30s and 40s.

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