Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to live an intellectually rich life

utsavmamoria.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 337 posts

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#191

Post by haroldp »

iandanforth wrote: post #126
crims0n wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

Anyone who puts "Ulysses" at the top of a best books list is suffering from expertitis. Ulysses has a massive user experience problem. It's hard. Dense, convoluted, absurd. If your friend asks you for a good book, you don't recommend it. The only time you do is when your college English major, or advanced highschooler, who is bored with the tropes of even very good novels wants to stretch themselves. Then you hand th…

> It's hard. Dense, convoluted, absurd.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#192

Post by brahman88 »

rexpop wrote: post #88
brojustchill wrote: post #64

Bro, that was a lot of text... I mean, chill. Life is simpler then that. Enjoy your flaws and get along with things as they are, without the need of a "framework" to navigate life

Congrats, yours is the most condescending comment on this site today. That sounds like you have already got a framework that works for you, which is great for you. Too bad it's a framework that drives you to upbraid innocent strangers on the internet. Not everyone can take action on the words "just chill." We're all in different places in life—think of it as a state space model. The same vector of force results in di…

[dead]

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#193

Post by harrall »

RajT88 wrote: post #22

> In August 2018, in the last month of my three-month sabbatical, I arrived at the Hamta village in Himachal Pradesh. I rented a one-room cottage, and my caretakers were Dolma Aunty and Kalzang Uncle, a couple well into their 70’s. I got to this part and realized: I've read this article before in some form. It's a really common trope to head out to some remote area of Asia and admire how happy people are. There's oft…

There’s also some self-selection here.

If you go to another place and someone lets you stay with them, they are probably in a good place in life. You are selecting yourself to meet with happier people.

You won’t be making as many friends with unhappy people.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#194

Post by haroldp »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #119
crims0n wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

would have loved to see some non native English speaking authors on the list. (instead of listing some authors twice - as great as they are). There were 2 Russians that stood out but no Camus, Feuchtwanger, Remarque, Musil, Borges, ...

English was Joseph Conrad's third language.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#195

Post by benwaffle »

Eextra953 wrote: post #82
tomrod wrote: post #12

I tried this for awhile, but was dissatisfied. I found myself a constant consumer of intellectual material instead of being an engaged participant. Once I realized that, I set course to become more of a producer of useful things. That's led me to woodworking, to running a consultancy, to producing AI/ML for nonprofits, and to writing academic works. All in all, I enjoy life substantially.

I've been trying to create/produce more but I'm stuck in the consumption mindset. I can't think of what to create. How did you decide what useful things to produce?

Here are some suggestions: Writing, music creation, woodworking, drawing, painting, photography, podcasting, gardening, cooking, DIY home projects, chess, sports

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#196

Post by ahmeneeroe-v2 »

RajT88 wrote: post #22

> In August 2018, in the last month of my three-month sabbatical, I arrived at the Hamta village in Himachal Pradesh. I rented a one-room cottage, and my caretakers were Dolma Aunty and Kalzang Uncle, a couple well into their 70’s. I got to this part and realized: I've read this article before in some form. It's a really common trope to head out to some remote area of Asia and admire how happy people are. There's oft…

I agree that this is a common trope but the rest of your comment reads like, "Hey westerners, go find your own rural people and stop appropriating mine".

Also completing your logic loop, this guy is apparently stealing intellectual ideas from (mediocre) westerners.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#197

Post by mmooss »

dogleash wrote: post #95
RajT88 wrote: post #22

> In August 2018, in the last month of my three-month sabbatical, I arrived at the Hamta village in Himachal Pradesh. I rented a one-room cottage, and my caretakers were Dolma Aunty and Kalzang Uncle, a couple well into their 70’s. I got to this part and realized: I've read this article before in some form. It's a really common trope to head out to some remote area of Asia and admire how happy people are. There's oft…

> But westerners have been doing stuff like this for ages and prattling on about it - it's kind of a cornerstone of Orientalism. This was actually a plot point in the recent White Lotus season. People rarely go to Appalachia to have these experiences, but you certainly can find people living simple happy lives there. I think you're moralizing over a pretty bland bit of psychology: people need to be shaken from their…

> I've flown all over the US for work, and in every location found the same exact city.

I think you can find the exact same city if you like but I also have found much more. Simply LA and NY are very different places, as are different communities in those cities.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#198

Post by fellowniusmonk »

infecto wrote: post #176
WillAdams wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read more than half of those, and every time I see that list, I really wish that almost every book would be paired w/ one which enhances/comments on either the book or that same theme. e.g., _Kim_ by Rudyard Kipling should be paired w/ Robert Heinlein's _Citizen of the Galaxy_, or _The Grapes of Wrath_, which was cribbed from Sanora Babb's notes w/o permission should be paired w/ her _Whose Names Are Unknown_: h…

I’m not a literary scholar, but this seems like a great use case for ChatGPT. I’ve used it for music explorations and found it surprisingly good at providing context and interesting suggestions. I tried your idea with The Grapes of Wrath and it surfaced Whose Names Are Unknown, with a thoughtful explanation. Obviously it’s qualitative, but you can shape the prompt to reflect your taste and still get some worthwhile d…

I would also suggest the childrens books Cheaper by the Dozen, The Musicians of Brennan, Morris' Disappearing Bag and The Red Badge of Courage.

I'd maybe throw in some of the little house on the prairie books as well, especially the one where they all almost froze to death.

I think being able to appreciate books as an adult is pretty contingent on being exposed to good books as a youth.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#199

Post by crims0n »

hungryhobbit wrote: post #182
crims0n wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

What an awful list! And I say that as a Modern Literature major who has read a lot on that list. FAULKNER IS A TERRIBLE WRITER! And while James Joyce and some of the others are good writers, they don't deserve multiple entries in the top 100. It's clear this list is really "5 librarians personal favorites."

Can you recommend a better one? I picked it at random when I wanted to explore literature, but it seemed to be cited often enough.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#200

Post by ChuckMcM »

bpshaver wrote: post #161
iandanforth wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone who puts "Ulysses" at the top of a best books list is suffering from expertitis. Ulysses has a massive user experience problem. It's hard. Dense, convoluted, absurd. If your friend asks you for a good book, you don't recommend it. The only time you do is when your college English major, or advanced highschooler, who is bored with the tropes of even very good novels wants to stretch themselves. Then you hand th…

Why are you conflating "best" with "what you would recommend a friend"? Many of the best things in life are hard. And you wouldn't necessarily recommend them to a friend. When you consider specific domains, often the best instances of X tend to be harder versions of X. Or, when people become familiar with many instances of X they seek out the "best" instances of X. Its natural that those best instances would be diffi…

"Many of the best things in life are hard. And you wouldn't necessarily recommend them to a friend."

Yup.

Post reply on HN