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Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

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Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#191

Post by coliveira »

jasonfarnon wrote: post #128
digitaltrees wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard disagree. I have read lots of books, participated in events and training seminars and had profound results in my life. My marriage is better because of what I learned, I am a better father and leader because of what I learned. And the fact that people sell things as part of that growth journey is how they support their ability to share the lessons and techniques.

"because of what I learned." Do these books/seminars actually teach you something new about being married or a father, that you didn't know before? Like what? I always figured they were more about coaching, persuasion, convincing. To the extent I've scanned them, I never saw any kind of new fact, definitely not about something like being married.

What I find funny is people saying in social media that they read dozens of books, and when you see what they're reading is mostly self-help volumes! If you read one or two of these books you already know what they'll say in 100s of others. It's very similar to religious books: the content is always the same, they just rearrange things so people will continue consuming more of the same ideas.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#192

Post by enos_feedler »

__alexander wrote: post #50

Personally, I see the self-help industry dying because people are starting to realize that it’s just a network of individuals selling products, promoting each other’s products, and creating new avenues to sell more products. I refer to it as the “self-help mafia.” Tim Ferriss kind of created it.

Unless you have hard proof this is occurring then I would rather believe my own and others positive testimony on self help. Its powerful and relatively affordable if you are committed to making changes in your own life. Is good advice. Authentic stories (generally). I am just grateful that people take the time and effort to reflect and encode their experience into something digestible by others. It’s pretty cynical to have your view.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#193

Post by 1-6 »

__alexander wrote: post #50

Personally, I see the self-help industry dying because people are starting to realize that it’s just a network of individuals selling products, promoting each other’s products, and creating new avenues to sell more products. I refer to it as the “self-help mafia.” Tim Ferriss kind of created it.

OP is describing Dave Ramsey

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#194

Post by malloryerik »

delichon wrote: post #32

Fiction books to follow soon? Will kids still sit down and read an assigned book when they can just prompt "generate a movie of Shelley's Frankenstein, faithful to the source, except as required by my_movie_preferences.md". Reading the text may become as rare as learning ancient Greek to read the Odyssey.

Of course it's possible, but reading and watching fiction feel very different and can you see a way to change that? The word may continue to decline compared to image. But the image is soon to become nearly as cheap and hackable as the word.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#195

Post by breezybottom »

digitaltrees wrote: post #171
breezybottom wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fine, but at least I don't sound like a Linkedin serial entrepreneur.

Like Paul Graham or dalton Caldwell or half of YC? We are all serial entrepreneurs

I guess the prompt engineer thing didn't work out huh

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#196

Post by coliveira »

apatry wrote: post #136
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share an easy-to-understand example for someone who is similarly highly sceptical of self-help products?

Getting Things Done by David Allen gave me a framework to get out of the weeds when I am overwhelmed (usually once or twice a year when I stretch myself): build a to-do list that us complete enough to stop thinking about what you have to do, if a new task take less than 5 minutes just do it right away, and then prioritise the rest. Deep Work by Cal Newport gave me a way to think about my time management: information…

Yes, I read "Getting Things Done": he teaches you to make todo lists! That's it, nothing profound or from another planet. Basically you could get that information in 1 paragraph: "if you're overwhelmed, make a todo list", but he wouldn't have made a lot of money that way...

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#197

Post by digitaltrees »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #184
rfc3092 wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please share “better father” books.

Here's the problem: You can be a bad father by being too strict, or you can be a bad father by being too lenient. In Zion National Park there's a hike called Angel's Landing. You wind up on this ridge, with a 1000 foot cliff on one side and a 500 foot cliff on the other side. And the ridge is not very wide - only a couple of feet in some places. Parenting is like that. You think, oh, I see people causing problems by…

Totally agree especially since each kid is different and responds to the same technique differently. But there are common things like attachment theory, boundaries creating safety, the tactics of repair after conflict.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#198

Post by coliveira »

digitaltrees wrote: post #169
JackFr wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> limit your availability to effectuate your will in the world. It might limit his ability to effect his will in the world, but I see his availability as unchanged.

What do you feel when you make a comment like that? Satisfied at your intellectual superiority? Confident in your status as someone able to see what’s right? Proud of yourself that you “tell it like it is” Have you ever stopped to think about the prices you pay for that behavior? Let’s game it out. You don’t know me. I could be Paul Graham for all you know. I could be the person in the world that would unlock the ver…

> That being said. I thought it was a funny comment.

This is very passive aggressive. You should think about how you communicate to people.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#199

Post by duckfruit »

heisenbit wrote: post #56

Some of the best books on JS which were online went recently off-line for that reason. Blog post by the author: https://2ality.com/ (Dr. Axel Rauschmayer)

This makes me indescribably sad. Dr. Rauschmayer's books and articles helped me tremendously early in my career. I owe him a debt of gratitude.

Re: Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?

#200

Post by digitaltrees »

breezybottom wrote: post #163
digitaltrees wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you need to learn some healthy communication. If this is how you show up in relation to others your network of collaborators will be small, keep you weak and limit your ability to effectuate your will in the world.

That's fine, but at least I don't sound like a Linkedin serial entrepreneur.

I cant respond to your last response, probably because it was flagged. But I'll say, after looking at your other posts that drip with disdain and what appears to me to be arrogance masking self loathing I hope you recognize the price you pay for speaking to people that way. You don't know me, who I am or what I have done. And life isn't about the transactional potential of relationships, but saying something like "i guess the prompt engineer thing didn't work out" on hacker news is naive and risky. There are world class engineers, VCs, senior execs and beginners that will end up doing amazing things. Your behavior has consequences for you and the world.
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