51–60 of 747 posts
I would recommend Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter if you haven't already read it.
TBH I have attempted to read it many times but escapes my feeble mind. GEB is one of those books ...
It's hard to tell whether you want a mystery/thriller book or a book on logic or a self help book. If you want to be more intelligent or aware of culture, then read the bible. You'll be surprised how almost everything you read, watch or listen to is tied to the bible. Almost every book listed in this thread will have references to the bible. You really can't be culturally intelligent without having read the bible - at least in the US or Europe. If you want a mystery, can't go wrong The Name of the Rose. Also, a book isn't going to transform you into a smarter, wiser person. The countless shelves of self-help books should be evidence enough.
Also, I love this quote from einstein:
"Reading after a certain age diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking, just as the man who spends too much time in the theater is tempted to be content with living vicariously instead of living his own life."
For me, the books which had the most impact on my life were those which were exploring systematically something I had a confuse idea of and seemed rather unorthodox. When you get that feeling that "oh great, if I'm insane, I'm not alone", it immediately organizes your thought process and allows you to go further.
Of course, there is always the risk of an "echo chamber" effect, but on the other hand, there are some ideas that you can't get if you're not in a given predisposition, so better maximize the usefulness of your reading time (and explore introduction to alien ideas through lighter sources, like small articles).
1) Jacques Ellul "The Technological Society (La Technique)": https://archive.org/details/JacquesEllulTheTechnologicalSoci...
2) Jacques Ellul "Propaganda" https://archive.org/details/Propaganda_201512
3) Robert Cialdini "Influence" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini#Theory_of_infl... 4) James C. Scott "The Art of Not being Governed" https://libcom.org/files/Art.pdf
5) Dickens "Hard Times" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Times_(novel) 6) George Orwell "Down and Out in London and Paris" https://archive.org/details/DownAndOutInParisAndLondonGeorge...
7) M. Scott Peck "The Road Less Traveled" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Road_Less_Tr...
8) Introducing Psychology of Relationships - A Practical Guide by John Karter https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Psychology-Relationships-...
9) Lion Feuchtwanger "Goya" https://www.amazon.com/Goya-Lion-Feuchtwanger/dp/8476408838
10) Thomas Ligotti "The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror" https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-against-Human-Race-Contriv...
11) Plato "The Republic": https://archive.org/details/PlatoRepublic/mode/2up
12) Lewis Mumford "The Story of Utopias": https://archive.org/details/storyutopias00mumfgoog/page/n9/m...
13) the major works of: Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Foucault, Chomsky, Zizek
Short:
- Peter Wessel Zapffe "The Last Messiah": https://philosophynow.org/issues/45/The_Last_Messiah
- Lion Feuchtwanger "Power": https://archive.org/details/powerbookbylionf00zieliala/page/...
- Samuel Becket "Waiting for Godot": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot
- Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man": https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Ridiculous-Man-Fyodor-Dostoyevs...
Asimov’s Foundation and Robots series. Images and stories from those still pop into my head randomly decades later, and bits and pieces appear throughout pop culture. From the original trilogy up to Foundation’s Edge would be a good portion size.
Why and how to find focus in this age of distraction. Will give you a real appreciation for woodworking, etc.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is the book better than the movie? I just watched the 1949 film last night. It seems complete, does it miss any details?
I haven't got around watching the movie yet, is it any good? I will give it a try.
The 1940s emphasis on tall verticality in its art style is on full display. The strict adherence to command in speech seems foreign to me, not having been through the fighting forties.
Yeah its good. Cant say it will have any surprises left for you.
Asimov’s Foundation and Robots series. Images and stories from those still pop into my head randomly decades later, and bits and pieces appear throughout pop culture. From the original trilogy up to Foundation’s Edge would be a good portion size.
The World Beyond Your Head , Matthew Crawford, 2015. Why and how to find focus in this age of distraction. Will give you a real appreciation for woodworking, etc.
Understanding how something like powered flight works—the combination of science, engineering, process, self-control, intuition, on and on—is highly transferable to nearly any other acquirable skill.