How to live an intellectually rich life • Hacker News Board

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#221

Post by piokoch » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:18 PM UTC

crims0n wrote: post #70

WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

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…

This list is kind of strange. Firstly, it is very "anglo-saxon" oriented. It is a mixture of "Big Literature", interesting for someone who is literature student, like ULYSSES (which is at the same time a great novel and a boring as hell novel) with true gems, like Orwell or Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski with additions like Robert Graves writing, which has mostly entertainment value equal to average pseudo-documentaries from Netflix and pop stuff like Vonnegut' books (which are, at least, not boring).

Still, a lot of interesting stuff, Orwell, unfortunately, never gets old, pity Ray Bradbury was omitted, as Fahrenheit 451 is getting more and more up-to-date.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#222

Post by ChuckMcM » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:19 PM UTC

WillAdams wrote: post #209

ChuckMcM wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly correct. In reading some highly regarded works two things occurred to me, first that the author had captured into words some fundamental aspect of the human condition. Second was that it's easier to think about something presented as a story than it is when it is presented as an alternative to how you currently think. If you tell someone there position on some topic is wrong, they will argue with you. If you…

One contemporary author who often writes fantasy and science fiction on social issues is Steven Brust, and he has a rule that when he puts his personal viewpoints into the mouth of a character, he uses a character whom the reader would have a narrative reason to dislike, which forces him to be honest with himself, and more impartial with the reader.

That is a great technique.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#223

Post by piokoch » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:19 PM UTC

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…

Exactly. This is extremely boring piece of writing.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#224

Post by bigmattystyles » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:31 PM UTC

crims0n wrote: post #70

WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

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…

Really wish they had that list in order of difficulty - if you start with Ulysses, you're gonna have a bad time.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#225

Post by jimbokun » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:36 PM UTC

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, ...

Or just rename the list "Top 100 Novels in the English Language".

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#226

Post by monero-xmr » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:41 PM UTC

concerndc1tizen wrote: post #219

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…

A simpler explanation is that Americans have succumbed to consumerism to such an extent that the absence of it feels enlightened. Of course the reality is just that the US has become the axis of evil, and perhaps always was, it just had the best PR. I think you're doing yourself a disservice by belitting Asian cultures and what insights they may have, that are apparently incomprehensible as more than a trope to Ameri…

America is the best because citizens can do basically whatever they want all the time. The latest complaints are people took it too far (rampant drug use, camping on sidewalks, and shitting everywhere in San Francisco, etc.).

But if you want to buy a rural cabin on a beautiful mountain, it’s available, and cheap. You don’t need to go to Asia to live like a hermit.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#227

Post by jimbokun » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:49 PM UTC

gen220 wrote: post #175

stryan wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Bible (lots of really dry stuff about begetting and knowing) I'd suggest replacing the Bible with just the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke[0], and John). Removing it entirely seems like a mistake since you'd lose a lot of the literary and moral underpinnings of Western culture, but having to read the bible in its entirely sounds exhausting. I did it (reading all four gospels) recently and can attest even outside o…

I think the Bible can mostly be distilled to Genesis, Exodus and the Gospels without losing too much. Each of those books is eminently legible in its own right. You could arguably make the sermon on the mount its own book, “communist manifesto” style. I think those individual chapters would be super compelling to modern readers with or without a religious background, but their legibility is held back by the rest of t…

Isaiah for the poetic language and imagery deeply embedded in Western culture. Psalms for raw expression of the emotions at the heart of the human condition: suffering, rejection, abandonment, joy, and praise.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#228

Post by dash2 » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:51 PM UTC

toader wrote: post #184

dash2 wrote: post #178

325 points for this nonsense? Oh, HN. From the title I expected something serious. I gave up halfway, having pigeonholed the pompous verbiage as a first cousin to Women Who Run With The Wolves. But really, the game was up when I read the phrase "late stage capitalism", which is the verbal equivalent of a plague bell, used by halfwits to warn us of their presence. Friends, here's how to have an intellectually rich lif…

Do you consider Werner Sombart, and Ernest Mandel to be 'half wits' and unserious?

I haven't read either, but if you mean that them using the phrase legitimates it, then that isn't so. Clever people have invented many phrases that later become stale or absurd. If nothing else, consider that both men are long dead, whilst capitalism's "late" stage continues unabated.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#229

Post by djtango » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:53 PM UTC

runamuck wrote: post #134

WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

I only read great literature, classics, history books my whole life. This year (Aged 48) I decided to pepper in a "fluff" book or two. I forced myself to read something I normally wouldn't. I read "The Situation" (Jersey Shore) and Mathew Perry (Friends) "auto" biographies. I actually had some profound insights about depression and substance abuse from those two. Of course, I don't recommend you read either, but if y…

I've come around to the idea that anything and anyone can be interesting and enriching if you approach it with the right level of curiosity.

Doesn't always play out but it adds to the spice of life when you can draw insight from places you never expected to.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#230

Post by jimbokun » Fri, May 02, 2025, 8:57 PM UTC

concerndc1tizen wrote: post #219

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…

A simpler explanation is that Americans have succumbed to consumerism to such an extent that the absence of it feels enlightened. Of course the reality is just that the US has become the axis of evil, and perhaps always was, it just had the best PR. I think you're doing yourself a disservice by belitting Asian cultures and what insights they may have, that are apparently incomprehensible as more than a trope to Ameri…

> Of course the reality is just that the US has become the axis of evil, and perhaps always was, it just had the best PR.

Sigh.

Yes, the Soviet Union really was the worker's paradise with free, prosperous, happy people!

Can we get away from the sophomoric idea the USA was ALWAYS the ONLY source of badness in the world, just because right now it's the most powerful nation in the world and also a complete mess?