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Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

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Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#421

Post by adamtaylor_13 »

computerthings wrote: post #413
adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #410

Maybe controversial but Elon Musk’s biography is basically just a 600+ page book about how one man got an unbelievable amount of things done against fairly insane odds. It’s been one of the books that surprised me the most. It totally changed my opinion of the man.

What hard proof is there of him doing something hard that you have expertise on? If he lies, so badly, so hilariously, about being good at video games -- apropos nobody caring whether he is -- what else is he lying about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N-WW0UDrVQ As a YT comment on another video put it: > For anyone unfamiliar with Path of Exile 2, this is like someone pretending to be a grandmaster chess player no…

I don’t have expertise on much, so I’m not sure what to tell you there. Bragging about being good at a video game isn’t exactly a critique I really care about.

Most people who surmount incredible odds aren’t normal, stable people so I don’t know what your point is.

Also, SpaceX is proof that he’s done hard things.

Again, all this is documented in the book. If you’re someone who cares about intellectual curiosity, you should check out the book for yourself.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#422

Post by atmosx »

tetris11 wrote: post #409
neves wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USA culture has this idolatry for the Rich that looks like what the aristocracy always did: my "beloved" king, the kind princess... Like the philanthropy of the robber barons that made them respectable, but when they are still alive. I prefer the French approach to take care of aristocrats.

> America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and th…

In 388 BC, Aristophanes tackled the question, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" Society has evolved since then, but not drastically. I find his perspective "compelling" :-)

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#423

Post by austin-cheney »

random3 wrote: post #42
austin-cheney wrote: post #21

> Less interested in people and character studies. If you don’t want examples then all you need to know is velocity . The Y Combinator people call it doing things that don’t scale. Here is how it works for absolutely anything: 1. Get the right tools in place. This is an intrinsic capability set you have to build. People tend to fail here most frequently and hope some framework or copy/paste of a library will just do…

Not bad advice, but the ask was for books - do you have any?

No, the only real answer to this is character studies the op did not want those I won’t recommend them.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#424

Post by rattray »

Jimmc414 wrote: post #154

Endurance - about Ernest Shackleton and his crew during their 1914-1916 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance:_Shackleton%27s_In...

Not related, but because I also liked that one, I'll add:

Devil in the White City, by Eric Larson

Covers the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Light on some of the sorts of details OP is asking for; also follows the thread of a serial killer to keep things interesting for those less interested in the business/engineering, but still good.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#425

Post by smsm42 »

throaway54 wrote: post #417
nasmorn wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart has arguable built the most efficient grocery logistic in existence giving the whole country access to cheap fresh food with minimal spoilage

The only real benefit is to the owners of Walmart though. Their food is not healthier, and their business impact is not better for local economies than what came before.

You can't have food that is at the same time cheap, healthy and at your doorstep. You can have two of them. Walmart gets you cheap and nearby. If you want healthy and nearby, go to Whole Foods and be prepared to stretch your wallet. Not everyone can afford it though.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#426

Post by kortilla »

throaway54 wrote: post #417
nasmorn wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart has arguable built the most efficient grocery logistic in existence giving the whole country access to cheap fresh food with minimal spoilage

The only real benefit is to the owners of Walmart though. Their food is not healthier, and their business impact is not better for local economies than what came before.

Their food is absolutely cheaper for the same health value as comparable grocery stores. Walmart was amazing for low income families in small cities and rural areas.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#427

Post by kortilla »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #414
nasmorn wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart has arguable built the most efficient grocery logistic in existence giving the whole country access to cheap fresh food with minimal spoilage

so what? it came at the expense of thousands of small businesses, destroyed hundreds of towns, and is one of the largest transfers of wealth in US history all to serve us up cheap garbage

You forget the massive benefit to everyone who shops there. It wrecked small businesses because the prices were lower for the same things.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#428

Post by kortilla »

eevilspock wrote: post #322
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for saying that. I get low-level irritated at the constant background murmur that success means that you had to screw someone over at some point.

It really boils down to your system of morality. If your are willing to look at capitalism and free markets objectively[1], as just algorithms rather than moral systems (i.e. private property is part of an algorithm, not an "inalienable human right"), and you realize that it isn't moral that one's share of the pie be determined by the free market, that it isn't moral that the value of a person be determined by the fr…

This is a classic midwit criticism of capitalism that assumes zero sum.

You can sell services and goods that boost productivity and the alternative is just the status quo that produces waste. Someone that creates a successful business doing something productive is not inherently evil because of capitalism.

Re: Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things

#429

Post by haakonhr »

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl, a explorer/anthropologist. He and a group of other volunteers sailed across the pacific on a raft built using ancient methods to prove that the pacific isles were settled by south americans (this turned out to be wrong based on population genetics). Great read!
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