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Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

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741–747 of 747 posts

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#741
post #482

“Desert Solitaire” by Ed Abbey and “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn. Both are wildly different but explore the question of how different the other forms of life on this planet are from ours. “Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are?” By Franz de Waal et al explores this from a scientific perspective. Abbeys about more, of course. He had that rare ability to turn his book into something that felt like a direct conv…

You may want to check out We Are All Completely Ourselves by Karen Jay Fowler - a similar theme. Thanks for the recs.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#742

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ian M Banks. The Culture series is the most splendid collection of books I’ve ever read. Some are better than others but collectively they build an insight into a galaxy spanning civilization.

They are both great authors, of the two I wouldn't be able to say which one is my favourite, they scratch different itches.

I agree :)

It just comes down to my preferences for what kind of itch I liked scratched the most. Egan stretches my brain and makes me wonder at the complexity of complexity. But Banks makes me yearn for the future. Demonstrates what wonders could be possible if we fast forward technological development forward 10k years.

The magnificent intellects of the artificial minds that govern the society hits me in my soul. What a wonderful idea.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#744

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Better to read Asimov's foundation trilogy

i have never read these, but it looks like quite the commitment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series why is this series so much better than Taleb's books?

The black swan theory, in his basic idea is theorized in the books.

It is a nice reading and you may very well just read the first trilogy to grasp it.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#745
post #415

The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness both by Ursula K Le Guin

I've been deliberating over where to start with Le Guin. What would you suggest?

The Dispossessed is more political and philosopical. Left hand of darkness is about difference and prejudice.

I would also say that Dispossessed is more about love, Left Hand is about friendship.

Re: Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?

#746
post #142
post #100

"Permutation City" by Greg Egan is mind-bending in a way similar to The Matrix, except taken up a few notches. Explores the consequences of consciousness being just a pattern. Would it continue if the pattern is paused? Seems yes, since we survive being unconscious. So we move in space and time, but still consciousness feels continuous. What if you pause it, destroy it, recreate it somewhere else. Would it not contin…

For higher dimensional mind bending his Diaspora book is a must read! For mind games: The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. Plus for a related rabbit hole: the idea that a random pattern can just pop into existence and have consciousness is basically the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boltzmann_brain concept.

According to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future

The emergence of a Boltmann brain is on the scale of "all iron stars collapse via quantum tunnelling into black holes"

The next milestone is all matter decaying, and the universe being empty..

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