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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?

#411

Post by ta1234567890 »

Life changing more than mind bending: The Charisma Myth. Only reading it won't change anything, but start practicing the exercises and your whole life will change, and quickly. If you just want to get a taste, see below.

Three quick tips to gain an instant charisma boost:

1. Lower the intonation of your voice at the end of your sentences.

2. Reduce how quickly and how often you nod.

3. Pause for two full seconds before you speak.

From this summary: https://github.com/benigeri/books/blob/master/The%20Charisma...

Those tips are in the introduction of the book so you can see if it works for you and decide if you want to continue reading the rest.

Personally, when I started doing only those 3 things, weird things happened that completely changed the behavior of other people towards me and then how I felt about other people. Worth a try.

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

#412

Post by tirumaraiselvan »

Bandrsnatch wrote: post #394

Most likely no one is going to like this post. My father was a physicist and he had a large library of books. Growing up all of these books were over my head but I tried reading all of them. The more difficult the book the more determined I became to read and understand the content. I found this to be mind expanding. I began a life long quest to read the most difficult books and texts I could find. It sometimes takes…

TLDR: Read hard books and keep increasing the level.

I agree 100%. The hardest general books are probably in the area of philosophy. My recent fav: The Logic of Scientific Discovery by Karl Popper.

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

#413

Post by carapace »

pjc50 wrote: post #286
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But take Dune with a grain of salt; I read them, but the books after the first get a bit, I dunno, wishy-washy? Vague? Philosophical? I wanted to like it because the universe it describes is compelling, but the stories themselves lose a lot of luster. Interesting to see what they'll do in the upcoming movie / series, whichever it was though. It's great in terms of worldbuilding, and it's influenced a lot of other stu…

Don't bother with the books past the first and maybe the second. Dune itself should be treated as a standalone masterpiece of worldbuilding.

This. Dune is a self-contained masterwork. The rest... not so much.

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

#414

Post by every »

The World Book Encyclopedia, complete with a two volume dictionary and an annual supplemental volume. I spent much of my childhood and adolescence buried in the many thousands of glossy, fine print pages. And the most awaited day of my summer was when the supplement finally appeared in the mail. I suppose the internet is now my adult substitute and have never really changed...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Book_Encyclopedia

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

#416

Post by mordechai9000 »

pharke wrote: post #253
bemmu wrote: post #100

"Permutation City" by Greg Egan is mind-bending in a way similar to The Matrix, except taken up a few notches. Explores the consequences of consciousness being just a pattern. Would it continue if the pattern is paused? Seems yes, since we survive being unconscious. So we move in space and time, but still consciousness feels continuous. What if you pause it, destroy it, recreate it somewhere else. Would it not contin…

I think I remember reading another sci-fi book or short story that posited the classic "teleporter problem" but the device functioned by making a copy of the individual and then destroying the original, similar to The Prestige I suppose. Part of the plot centered around the original escaping that fate and then fighting for their continued existence. I think it poses a very strong argument against a copy of consciousn…

Was it this short story?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_Like_a_Dinosaur

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

#417

Post by state_less »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #343
karatestomp wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of those stories come off as more wanky and esoteric than they're supposed to. That one... maybe not, but most are supposed to be approached with a lot more context than a Westerner with little exposure to Buddhism (and especially the history of and other stories about the monks involved in the stories) is likely to have, going in cold. They're not supposed to be nearly as confusing as they can seem (or, at leas…

That sounds a lot like a post-facto apologist slant. Sure you can 'explain them' but everybody hears them where their mind is at now. And for most folks, especially junior monks just starting out, they might sound wanky too.

I think they are supposed to be 'esoteric and wanky' for the beginner, like 'mu' and 'one hand clapping' - even for the eastern audience. The idea, if I understand it correctly, is to get your mind hung up on a solution until you either get frustrated, or find your way out of the conundrum.

I hope I didn't do any harm here. I was hoping to share some of what I thought was pretty mind bending.

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

#418

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

dkural wrote: post #249
gherkinnn wrote: post #143

Anything 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.

I used to like Herman Hesse, and gradually realized the straight line from Hesse to Nazism. His distinct lack of human understanding is what bothers me at core. His female characters barely exist except as mirages in the eyes of men, and his male characters are little more than intellectualized brains. It's the type of book one likes as a teenager / young adult and realizes is BS later.

Yeah, no one will agree with you here. Hesses work was banned by the Nazis. Your analysis is incorrect, and frankly, worthless.

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

#419

Post by snegu »

ckosidows wrote: post #258
Lavery wrote: post #197

House of Leaves is a great novel. Will feel like a completely fresh take on narrative form. Infinite Jest is also great, if you haven't read it. It gets a lot of bad press mostly due to being fetishized by a particular type of insufferable person. The book has its flaws, but is a great piece of writing and (depending how old you are, where you are in life, etc) may offer a different lens. Also, the writing is excelle…

I didn't finish Infinite Jest. I found it kind of insufferable. I really don't want to detract from anyone who found it enjoyable; it's surely a monumental work. But personally it felt incredibly depressing and that made it hard to read. The dialogues made it feel like experiencing isolation and disconnection from other people; the characters talk to each other, but don't listen or care for anyone but themselves or t…

The first time I tried reading it, I gave up after about 20 pages. I had the same reaction to the language you did.

Tried again about 5 years later and loved it. I suppose you just have to be in the right mindset when you approach it.

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