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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?

#461

Post by mongol »

starpilot wrote: post #441
whytai wrote: post #383

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This book makes every bit of life advice you receive afterwards feel shallow. It feels like a reference to western thought. It's also very well translated and reads very easily, and is very short. I read about a chapter every morning when I feel motivated, and certain passages really stick in my head. It also helps to read whenever you feel overcome with emotion because of something.

An essential part of the hustle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o7qjN3KF8U

Oh yes, a true classic.

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

#462

Post by carapace »

crimsonalucard wrote: post #374
nilsocket wrote: post #351

C Radhakrishnan - Bhagavad Gita_ Modern Reading and Scientific Study. Intellectually very challenging. Even though it is a religious book for many people, it can be read as just a normal story. It teaches one about how to live life, not by set of defined rules, but by providing a proper explanation and through understanding. It's a book which is usually dated to 5000 years or 7000 years. It`s a very well-balanced sto…

Might as well recommend the Holy Bible or the Koran. Also good books with good stories.

FWIW Buddhism is different from the "People of the Book" (Jews, Christians, Muslims all worship literally the same God.) Buddhism is not monotheistic.

(The resolution between these forms was given in South Park of all places: God appears on Earth and mentions in passing that He is Buddhist.)

- - - -

Uh, heh, Hinduism is also different from the "People of the Book", and from Buddhism. The Gita is, of course, Hindu, not Buddhist. (I'm not sure how I got confused in the previous portion of this comment, sorry. No offense intended!)

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

#463

Post by piker »

giu wrote: post #200
enitihas wrote: post #88

Highly recommended for everyone: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahenman. If you have difficulty interacting with people 1. How to win friends and influence people (Easy read) 2. Seven habits of highly effective people (Harder read) To learn how to write well: On writing well To understand how large products are made: Show Stopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT

I have a conflicting relationship with "How to Win Friends and Influence People," and maybe some of you may relate to this. Disclaimer: I only read a small, initial part of the book, and I'll explain the reasons behind this. For one, I liked the initial parts of it; for example, remembering first names is a nice and very attentive thing to do, and in general people appreciate it when I can remember their first name a…

> i.e., you only pretend to be interested.

No. The book requires you to take a "genuine interest in people" and must repeat that seven dozen times. It also dismisses flattery and smoke-blowing and favors legitimate praise. I think sincerity is one of the key takeaways (and also the hardest parts to master) of that great book.

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

#464

Post by kjhughes »

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…

I liked your post.

I'll just add that the sweet spot for learning is rarely as far out as your younger self found it to be (much to the credit of your youthful determination). Too easy, and one's engaging in little more than practice. Too hard, and one lacks the conceptual framework onto which extend one's understanding.

However, I do definitely agree with your advice not to fear the uncomfortable feeling of being at the hard end of the spectrum. With time and determination, we're often capable of longer grasps than we realize.

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

#465

Post by brandall10 »

growlist wrote: post #259
nicbou wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite all the praise it got, I really struggled with that book. I hated it so much that I had to check if I didn't pick the wrong book by accident. I found that it's a very polarising book. It's life-changing for some, and garbage for others. There were a few insightful passages, but most of the book was pretentious rambling. It was difficult to understand what the author was even trying to say, with his head so fa…

> It's life-changing for some, and garbage for others. I feel this way about Catcher in the Rye. My English teacher recommended it to me obviously on the basis that I was an angsty teenager that would identify with Holden Caulfield. But what a pile of crap it is. I still want back the hours I wasted on reading that stupid boring book.

This was required reading in a highschool English class. I really enjoyed it then.

Tried to read it again in my early 30s and stopped about 20 pages in, just thought it was terrible.

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

#466

Post by bkandel »

Two that did it for me:

- The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt. Really deepened my understanding of how Western and other cultures think about moral and ethical issues.

- The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan. It's a feminist book that is very non-ideological, and helped me, as someone born in the 80's, appreciate some very real and practical issues that feminism has helped us address.

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

#469

Post by carapace »

Minor49er wrote: post #423
evo_9 wrote: post #324

VALIS by Philip K Dick. It explores the nature of reality through the lens of mental illness / madness.

Seconding this recommendation. The way the story was told became very surreal. It's an experience unlike any other that I've had while reading fiction.

FWIW, Dick claimed it was a record of communication with some cosmic intelligence named VALIS: Vast Active Living Intelligence System

Here's a thing TIL from the wikipedia entry:

> At one point, Dick claimed to be in a state of enthousiasmos with VALIS, where he was informed his infant son was in danger of perishing from an unnamed malady. Routine checkups on the child had shown no trouble or illness; however, Dick insisted that thorough tests be run to ensure his son's health. The doctor eventually complied, despite the fact that there were no apparent symptoms. During the examination doctors discovered an inguinal hernia, which would have killed the child if an operation was not quickly performed. His son survived thanks to the operation, which Dick attributed to the "intervention" of VALIS.

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

#470

Post by scottlocklin »

AlwaysRock wrote: post #446
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…

This is a very specific question but... Stoner by John Williams is one of my favorite books. It was also more difficult for me to read than other books I typically pick up which are primarily sci-fi and NYT bestseller fiction books. When I read the Wiki for Stoner years ago I saw this line, "Bryan Appleyard's review quotes critic D.G. Myers saying that the novel was a good book for beginners in the world of "serious…

I was recommended Stoner by someone I respect. "Lists" of serious literature are usually crap; either apple polishing bullshit, or political oriented nonsense. I've tried this sort of thing; even Adler related "Great Books" groups are hot garbage at this point. You need to find well read people worthy of respect.

Anyway, Bloom's list: http://sonic.net/~rteeter/grtbloom.html

Adler's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_Wor...

Stoner isn't on either one of them lists, FWIIW. Neither are other favorites of mine, such as The Bjorndal Saga.

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