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Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

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Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#61

Post by jlengrand »

Ok, without wanting to sound like a crazy guy, this book has really had a large impact on me : https://www.amazon.fr/Finding-Your-Own-North-Star-ebook/dp/B...

It's basically a method that helps you find what exactly get you on, what you get energy from, and how to reach it. Of course it requires a lot of introspection but the book helps you there.

It sounds cheesy I know, but that book had enough impact that it really changed the way I worked, and make sense of why I was so frustrated at times. Couple months after reading the book, the company I work with offered me a tailored job because I was finally able to clearly communicate what it is that was driving me.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#62

Post by hardlianotion »

code_biologist wrote: post #26

If you're into biology, Nick Lane's books will blow your mind. Two in particular I'd recommend: 1. The Vital Question - An explanation of the genesis of complex life through bioenergetics. Explains why complex life is likely very rare in the universe. 2. Power, Sex, Suicide - Why mitochondria are awesome, and also responsible for the emergence of sex, cancer, and mortality.

Don’t forget Oxygen. Amazing book and my intro to Nick Lane.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#63

Post by zedr »

fit2rule wrote: post #15
zedr wrote: post #8

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins. It describes what science believes life to be, and it can be very upsetting. Understanding it, however, made me a more confident and happier person than I was before.

I found this book completely degrading, even to the point of nauseating .. it discounts tens of thousands of years of human experience with describing itself, producing a taxonomic monster that is of very little actual use to the common man beyond providing a convenient excuse for ones failings and for the nature of humankinds more banal spirit. Science can be repressive. Dawkins is a classic example of the iron fist…

I appreciate your opinion. I think the book gives a very convincing explanation on how evolution works and how it shaped what we call "life". I do not remember Dawkins degrading human achievements in that book, so you might be referring to talks and lectures after the book was written. On the contrary, consider the following quote from the book:

> “If there is a human moral to be drawn, it is that we must teach our children altruism, for we cannot expect it to be part of their biological nature. ”

Let me quote another favourite author of mine on the same topic:

> "There’s Nature, and she’s going to come out the way She is.", Feynman.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#64

Post by akvadrako »

Wildgoose wrote: post #60

Try Julian Jaynes book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind". Whether his conjectures are right or wrong, their scope is mind-blowing. Don't be put off by the title - it became a surprise hit as a popular science book.

I second this book. It is a very powerful hypothesis and really helped me understand religion in addition to consciousness.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#65

Post by achow »

tiborsaas wrote: post #38

Cracking the coding interview :)

Very interesting reply.

And coming to think of it, there are couple of books that changed my life similarly (reading them for interview); though by themselves they may not merit to be in my permanent collection.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#66

Post by Pandabob »

sixhobbits wrote: post #39
Pandabob wrote: post #14

The first time I read Talebs Black Swan was pretty mind bending. It's a intriguing mix of philosophy, history and the application of probabilistic thinking. It's also a great aggregator book. It introduced me to the works of Kahneman, Tetlock, Poincare and Mandelbrot.

Read "fooled by randomness" if you haven't already. I much preferred it to his later work, and it introduced me to Popper (who was someone that 3 years of philosophy at university somehow managed to skip) who you might also enjoy.

Yup. While I appreciated the points he made in "Antifragile", the writing itself wasn't as enjoyable as it was in "Fooled by Randomness" or "The Black Swan". I haven't read "Skin in the Game" yet tho.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#67

Post by zedr »

Wildgoose wrote: post #60

Try Julian Jaynes book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind". Whether his conjectures are right or wrong, their scope is mind-blowing. Don't be put off by the title - it became a surprise hit as a popular science book.

Great book! What's science's modern verdict on this theory?

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#69

Post by fit2rule »

Eldt wrote: post #55
fit2rule wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ignorance of counter-evidence is not truth.

Feel free to share

I think the fact that Dawkins has become the very thing he so violently resists - a violent, intolerant fundamentalist who brooks no further questioning of his own authoritarian narrative - is evidence enough that there is still much, much to be discovered about the way life works. His is a cultural view, and we know for a fact that all culture is a lie which must be re-told in order to persist.

The more the human mind finds answers, the more questions it reveals - such is the nature of an infinite universe and our struggle to perceive it. If "God" doesn't exist we humans sure do spend a lot of time attempting to become one. "God" may not be a "he" sitting "on a cloud", but may indeed just be the New Question beyond every Old Answer. This fact seems to be rabidly overlooked by the Dawkins cult, which prefers to define God in its own, limited terms, in order to find fault in their chosen pariah cultures.

The jury is still out. On a scale of 1 to 7, 0.1 is just enough uncertainty to allow for yet more unanswered questions .. Dawkins, himself, has at least a little of the humility required to admit that.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#70

Post by oosh9Shi »

fit2rule wrote: post #23
GlennS wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you may have missed the point? It's not about genes for selfishness.

I didn't get that impression at all. What I walked away from was a feeling of dire unease at the popularity of Dawkins' opinion that human beings are machines that can be broken and manipulated by their environment, and that social scientists can exploit this fact to their own ends, in industry, culture and war. It may be 'true' inasmuch as the fact that applying his theories give predictable results, but even the mo…

I don't know this author, and I feel this discussion may turn to a flame, so sorry to put oil on the fire, but I'm quite perplexed by your argument. For all I know, maybe you're right, but it sounds a lot like you're rejecting a scientific argument because you don't like the result, which is what science has always had to fight against from the beginning.

Maybe you could articulate your objection based on science rather than feelings?

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