Blindsight and Echopraxia by Peter Watts
They permanently changed how I think about cognition, consciousness and how fragile and small a thing conscious life is and that we have to protect it.
Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
201–210 of 747 posts
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
Certain things are so true they're tautological. Science is observational. It doesn't give us rules we must follow, it describes the behaviour of things in the universe. So if someone* says, "People do selfish things, that's science," true! But if they also say, "Therefore, it's ok to kill your neighbour and take their house, see all of recorded history, colonialism, &c." I stop them. Science teaches us that people k…
Science has concluded that some human genotypes are, by scientific standards "lesser" than others. This can be - and has been - used by atheists and religionists alike to justify crimes against those people. Without a moral sense there is little holding back inhumanity from consuming itself. Science hasn't found a gene for morality, and doesn't seem to be on the hunt for it. So we therefore need our cultures to help…
“Science hasn't found a gene for morality”
No but the fact that we have morality (and the possibility that other animals do not) can be explained via evolution. In reality probably many genes contribute in a complicated way to making us social animals.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#203Anything by Hermann Hesse. Not mind bending. No Twists. No roller coasters. Just a calm conversation with the author and yourself. And yet, it had a profound impact on me. One poem I revisit every once in a while: https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=119749 If you understand German, I do believe it needs to be read in its original tongue. The translations I found thus far were not entirely convincing.
The Glass Bead Game is one of the best books I've read, and I think palpably changed how I think about some things even though I read it as an adult. I even wrote a blog post about it: https://moalquraishi.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/the-glass-bead...
Another book I'd recommend (in a very different category) is Godel, Escher, and Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#204[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#205"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig takes you deep into the philosophy on what is 'quality'. Once you see it you can't unsee it. A powerful excerpt from the book: 'So the thing to do when working on a motorcycle, as in any other task, is to cultivate the peace of mind which does not separate one’s self from one’s surroundings. When that is done successfully then everything else follows natura…
How would that work in a programming environment, to not separate one self from the surroundings?
There’s another great book on Zen called “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind”. I think what Persig is getting at is “non-judgmental observation”. The ability to look at things with no ego involved, like an absolute beginner — so that you’re mind is open to the solutions that naturally present themselves.
Both of these books had a big influence on Phil Jackson — the Bulls basketball coach. His interpretation was to not “force” things — to let them unfold.
So, for coding it could be applied by not forcing solutions and instead really calmly contemplating a system until you get to a point where the next right decision reveals itself. The idea being that the solution is there, and you just have to be open to it — rather than seeing yourself as some separate entity that’s going to impose a solution on it.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#206"Omnivore's Dilemma", Michael Pollan book changed the way I think about food.
"The Psychology of Everyday Things" by Don Norman, will change your mind about user interfaces.
"Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky to change the way you see the world.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#207I would read something by a woman. Seems like it would a pretty mind bending experience considering the recommendations on all these book threads.
Ursula K. Le Guin is a good sci fi writer.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#208I enjoyed Blindsight by Peter Watts. It explores several different interesting ideas.
For instance, what is the point of empathy/friendship/love in a technologically advanced society? These were very useful things for our ancestors to help each other battle the harsh environment, but we have mastered our environment, so why waste brain power on empathy now?
The Wikipedia summarizes the books discussion of conciousness very well:
"The novel raises questions about the essential character of consciousness. Is the interior experience of consciousness necessary, or is externally observed behavior the sole determining characteristic of conscious experience? Is an interior emotional experience necessary for empathy, or is empathic behavior sufficient to possess empathy?
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#209Lots of great suggestions here!
I'll add "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler" by Italo Calvino. It's the only book I've ever read in the second person, an amazing and successful experiment in form. I've never found anything else like it.
I'll second the suggestion for "The City & The City", another real mind-bender.
Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?
#210“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” was maybe the most important book I read as a teenager, and I still go back and reread it every so often. It should be required reading.
For fiction, “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy, “100 Years of Solitude” by Marquez, and “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison (or really anything by Toni Morrison, it’s all amazing).
Also, Thich Nhat Hanh’s translation of the Heart Sutra, “The Other Shore”, gave me a much deeper understanding of my meditative practice and the way I understand consciousness.