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Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

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Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#71
post #11

The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis - Richard Heuer - Concise introduction of how the mind works, biases, dealing with uncertainty, critical thinking, and dealing with complexity. The Pyramid Principle - Barbara Minto - Logic in writing and thinking. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Eric Jorgenson - Inspiration for better thinking. fs.blog - Mental models, better thinking, decision making.

fs.blog -> nice one, subscribed. Thnx

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#75
Interesting fact is I noticed that not many book titles are repeating in this thread. This means there is no single book that can change your thinking, I think one have to find it on their own. Most of the time the best book for you is the one that you don't know will be the best book. You just figure it out months or years later.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#76
I would look for books that either:

  1. Increase context on problems being solved
  2. Improve tactics/strategies/systemic understanding 
  3. Improve physical health/mental health
If you want to think better, I think physical health and mental health will have the highest return by far.

Thinking is kind of like driving. Imagine driving a car where some parts are broken (mental health problem) or a really uncomfortable seat (obesity), improper fluids (can cause parts to break or decay faster), or lack of routine maintenance (exercise).

You can think of dopamine kind of like fuel and it will directly influence the amount of time and effort you can spend to solve problems or overcome setbacks.

I've been enjoying the Huberman podcast lately.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#77
My top 3 (with a recency bias of course): 1. The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error' - most of the book I thought "but it's obvious", but it still made me actively think about system design choices not from the standpoint "how it should be used" but "how can it be misused" 2. Thinking fast and slow - just another reminder that my brain is a lazy bastard and information/awareness hygiene is very important 3. Hooked - whenever I work on any side-project I repeat the mantra "solve your personal problem first!". It was a catch for my long-term motivation in cases when I ask other people on feedback for a very raw project...

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#78
Great suggestions here, but one thing I would like to point out to the original poster is that, while I have read a lot of books, people have had a far greater impact on my thinking than any books. So I don't discount books, but it you want to be a better thinking look around for successful people and pay attention to how they work.

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#79

I would look for books that either: 1. Increase context on problems being solved 2. Improve tactics/strategies/systemic understanding 3. Improve physical health/mental health If you want to think better, I think physical health and mental health will have the highest return by far. Thinking is kind of like driving. Imagine driving a car where some parts are broken (mental health problem) or a really uncomfortable sea…

I am not able to spend enough time on solving problems and my mind wanders away. What books/resources do you suggest to improve this?

Re: Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?

#80

For many years I recommended everyone on my team (that was interested in retooling their brain in a more functional way) read "The Little Schemer". My only caveat is that they read it without touching a computer. Like... read it on an airplane. While I had no interest in using Scheme/Racket/Lisp for actual work, I found that it brought so much simplicity to my thinking.

Came here to say the same thing. The other books in the series are pretty good too.

E.g. The Little Prover https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262527958/the-little-prover/

and

The Little Typer https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262536431/the-little-typer/

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