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Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

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Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#391

Post by AB1908 »

ParallelThread wrote: post #318
tultra wrote: post #252

Computer Networking: a Top Down approach by James Kurose and Keith Ross. Computer Networking - a Top Down approach is a technical book, but oh boy what an awesome read it is. I've just recently obtained a BSc degree in Computer Science, and the course curriculum didn't paid much attention to computer networks. We mostly studied cryptography algos, but not really looked into networks protocols and such. This book is h…

When you read technical books for fun, do you do the exercises and projects at the end of chapters? I have found that when I read and don't actually use the concepts learned, I tend to forget after some time.

You may want to try converting those questions into byte (heh) sized flashcards and review them from time to time to make sure it sticks. Speaking of which, there's a book called Make It Stick. You might find that interesting as well.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#392

Post by electrondood »

john-radio wrote: post #202
galfarragem wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would try the original book on people pleasing: "No more Mr. Nice Guy" by Dr. Robert Glover. The title may sound lousy but is a very logical book. The author is a PhD in his 60s and he coined the concept. You can start by listening some podcasts where he was a guest. He's genuine and a great communicator. Definitely underrated.

Huh, I searched and his brand seems to be about talking to the "nice guys" who are all like "Why do women always pick jocks and not the nice guys like me?" Which is not a stereotype that I associate with compulsive people-pleasing, exactly... Compulsive self-pitying and limerence, more like.

"nice" just means you don't have personal boundaries, so you go out of your way to try to keep everyone around you comfortable, rather than express your needs, preferences, and emotions and just let other people react as they will.

Codepedency is a genderless phenomenon.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#393

Post by The_Colonel »

hikingsimulator wrote: post #183
jemmyw wrote: post #53

Blindsight and Echopraxia by Peter Watts [1] I enjoyed the ideas in these books. The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again [2] by M. John Harrison. Beautiful writing. His descriptions give me vivid dreams if I read before bed. The Thursday Murder Club [3] by Richard Osman. Light reading, amusing, beginning of a series. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echopraxia_(novel) [2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49201192-…

I really like Blindsight for how some of the questions it sets may apply to how we might face artificial general intelligence.

Indeed, the discussion on the nature of consciousness was mind-expanding. This topic is the most frustrating in the AI debate - the consciousness is basically undefined, yet used all the time to argue far-reaching consequences.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#394

Post by [deleted] »

keyle wrote: post #170
mikhailfranco wrote: post #140

Just finished The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, a tremendously accomplished music producer. It's a beautifully written guide to artistic work, but also a manual for a mindful life. Savor every page packed with insight, subtlety and poetic aphorisms. Also recommend The Dawn of Everything by Graeber & Wengrow, previously cited on this page. Next will be The Matter with Things by Iain McGilchrist. The two…

I got turned off by this book the moment the author talked about the rebuttal of a diagnosis by their doctor, which could be lethal if ignored. At this point the book was good for the dollar bin. I really don't understand how someone can trust their gut more than a clear diagnoses and use that as an example in a book.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#395

Post by spacemadness »

fossheart wrote: post #144
leksak wrote: post #98

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents I'm a person that struggles with boundary-setting and have spent numerous years in relationships that have left me as less-than I was before. Imagine people-pleasing to an absolute fault, and being more of a chameleon that adapts to avoid conflicts. This has led to problems of identity, and deriving my sense of worth through others which isn't healthy. Fortunately, I do…

In my case, the book has helped me to maintain my inner peace, which is really important when you want to get into the flow-state mind during programming. Emotional maturity is important for a work environment too, ability to handle the mental health of yourself and your teammates during long work hours gives a boost in productivity.

Certainly the problem couldn’t be the long work hours? No, it’s your emotional immaturity that’s causing you to not focus for long hours. This culture in tech is exactly why mental health issues in the industry are so prevalent. Put the blame on the individual for their reasonable emotional responses to ongoing stress.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#397

Post by hotnfresh »

hknmtt wrote: post #389
hotnfresh wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree with cpursley. Voss’ “this is a real thing I did and this is how it went!” stories overwhelmed my bullshit-o-meter so badly that I put the book down about 2/3 through. I think I got a paragraph’s worth of actionable information out of the most-of-the-book that I read. As far as I could tell, the book was an ad for his consulting & training services. Which means that it did its job perfectly, between all the boa…

you missed the forest for the trees then.

What’s the point of a “nuh-uh!” comment like this?

The forest ain’t there. It’s a PR/advertising illusion that vanishes as soon as you engage critical thinking.

That’s my opinion. You disagree. Ok.

“How can I see the forest?” LOL.

[edit] for others reading this: it’s not that I didn’t find anything useful in the book, just that the useful bits were rare and most of the book is unrealistic BS about how effective the techniques are, which were either made up (the “true” truck-buying negotiation story, oh man, what a whopper) or omitted other factors to make the advice from the book seem to have saved the day all on its own. You’ll get the wrong idea if you take the book at face value, plus you’ll have wasted a lot of time reading a whole book that could have been a couple pretty-decent blog posts.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#398

Post by qmsdfjkc »

nicbou wrote: post #349
haswell wrote: post #290

Why we sleep . This book motivated me to change my sleep habits after decades of being a night owl. I’m starting to love early mornings, and I feel so much better. This was a hard change. How to do nothing . About resisting the attention economy and reorienting one’s relationship with technology and the environment. A very thought provoking and timely read, especially while I’m on sabbatical. Flow . Explores the psyc…

> How to do nothing The original article was fantastic and I kept coming back to it. The book was unreadable. After a hundred pages of academic own-fart-smelling, I had to put it down. https://medium.com/@the_jennitaur/how-to-do-nothing-57e100f5...

+1 Exactly the same for me.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#399

Post by alexilliamson »

haswell wrote: post #290

Why we sleep . This book motivated me to change my sleep habits after decades of being a night owl. I’m starting to love early mornings, and I feel so much better. This was a hard change. How to do nothing . About resisting the attention economy and reorienting one’s relationship with technology and the environment. A very thought provoking and timely read, especially while I’m on sabbatical. Flow . Explores the psyc…

There is some good content in the book, but beware that Matthew Walker is a bit of an intellectual fraudster https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/03/24/why-we-sle...

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#400

Post by cjohnson318 »

_yb2s wrote: post #378
paulluuk wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After a short search for Dr. Robert Glover I'm getting all kinds of "red pill", "pickup advice", "men's rights" links etc, all of which are red flags to me for "incel" kind of stuff. Is that also what I can expect from the book, or did I come to conclusions too quickly?

Forget the us vs them culture war perspective, and think about this- who are the people attracted to "incel" or "mens rights" stuff and why? These are mostly men - that grew up "people pleasing" and being unable to set boundaries, thinking this made them "good" or "nice guys" and therefore deserving of romantic and financial success, yet it didn't work out like that and they're upset about it. The men's rights stuff…

> The men's rights stuff tells them they've been sold a lie/raw deal by society...

I think that's it in a nutshell. Selling a narrative of undeserved victimhood is very powerful. I think a lot of men stop at convenient victimhood and do not follow through and to learn how to be resilient, reliable, and genuinely put others' interests ahead of their own.

If you're being a "nice guy" just to get something, then you're not actually a "nice guy", you're just play acting in order to get what you want. People recognize that almost immediately, and do not trust people like that with relationships or responsibility. Peers will trust you when you accept that you cannot trick the world into trusting you, and you start building trust through actions.

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