Ask HN: What book impacted your life the most and how? - curiousgal
======
bmer
A series of essays and books impacted my life the most. It all started on a
sunny day, when I was a structural engineering intern full of hope and a
beautiful girlfriend, waiting for my code to run(blah blah iteratively
determine deflections of structures with non-linear stress-strain responses
blah blah), when I read:
[https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD103...](https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1036.html)

I quit my job the next day.

This was the beginning of the end. Like with all drugs, there is a slippery
slope. You start with marijuana, and you move onto heroin. In my case, I
graduated to:

"Formal Methods of Software Design":
[http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~hehner/FMSD/](http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~hehner/FMSD/)

After that I read: [https://www.amazon.com/Predicate-Calculus-Program-
Semantics-...](https://www.amazon.com/Predicate-Calculus-Program-Semantics-
Dijkstra/dp/1461279240)

Now in general I am quite depressed:

* I am very judgemental and look down upon most HN posts, especially the ones that praise Alan Kay, natural language programming, or view programming as a "craft" rather than a "science"; my favourite HN feature is the "hide" button

* I am disappointed with my math education, and tired of all the rabbits being pulled out of hats in my textbooks

* I wish I had enough will power and discipline to write a programming language that is nothing more than predicate calculus, but I don't

I foresee that as a result of these readings, I will die alone, sad, and
depressed...oh AND penniless.

I wish I was joking.

That's a pretty huge impact.

~~~
bbcbasic
Most importantly: Did you marry the beautiful girlfriend?

~~~
bmer
Nope. Switching fields from something that had a stable pay (civil
engineering) to something where I am likely to be homeless (math, especially
since I am not a genius), was one of the many nails in the coffin our
relationship.

------
supersan
For me it would have to be the Michael gerber's Emyth books. It will forever
change how you think about business and maybe the world around you.

Followed by sam carpenter's work the system. I think if you're a programmer
trying to make it as a business person those two books are the most
invaluable.

Edit: about the how part.. Before reading and understanding these books I was
always in a kind of firefighting mode. It was like a constant pain in the neck
that something was somewhere needed me. Sure i was making money but I was not
enjoying it and felt stressed all the time. Plus I wasn't scaling my business
because of the constant need of attention from everything. Then I learned the
systems thinking and it all started to change.. It was like I felt I had
wasted 10 years of my life being stupid before. I'm telling you these two
books can forever change your life both professionally and personally if you
aren't already doing it.

------
markpapadakis
This may be because I have always admired John Carmack, and because I love
video games - although I am drawn to all kind of different book genres, but
"Masters of Doom" had a profound effect on me.

I read it every few months, and I have gifted it to family and friends, and
most of them loved it as well.

It’s not the writing, nor the story per se that stand out, it’s not just about
how it beautiful highlights and highs and the lows of the Johns’s symbiotic
relationship and their accomplishments, it’s not even about how their skills,
strengths and weaknesses play into their success and failures (which I am sure
is typical of most co-founders stories).

It’s about empowering the reader to believe that everything’s possible, and
how smart, hard-working people can build technologies that affect the lives of
many.

This book works wonders for when I am going through burn-outs, or I am not
motivated enough to pursue a problem or a project. When I am done reading the
book, I am excited and eager to get back into the game. I can’t recommend it
enough.

------
WalterBright
"How To Win Friends And Influence People" helped me a lot with social skills
that are obvious to most people but not to me. It's still something I work on
regularly, it doesn't come naturally.

~~~
poushkar
I double this. Listened to the audiobook recently. I've always considered
myself quite a communicative person, but only after the book I realized how
much improvements can be done here. Still, I find it a bit manipulative, so I
would only use the techniques in working environment and stay "myself" and
direct with friends.

------
jotux
Meditations is a book I come back to over and over:
[http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.mb.txt](http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.mb.txt)

~~~
Tomrn
I always think this is the closest thing to a 'Bible for atheists' that I've
ever found. Seriously awesome stuff

~~~
jotux
I've never thought of Meditations as religious or non-religious. It's all
about _really_ appreciating what you have and understanding the way you feel
is derived from your perception of the world. I think that's pretty universal.

If anyone is interested in a more modern introduction to stoicism A Guide to
the Good Life is a worthwhile read: [https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-
Ancient-Stoic/dp/0195...](https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-
Stoic/dp/0195374614)

------
walrus01
Not a book, but this essay:

[http://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/](http://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/)

Convinced me that I absolutely wanted to do backbone ISP network engineering
on a grand scale. It's taken a while to get to the level of knowledge where
one is trusted and confident working on circuits that can take whole countries
off the internet if you fuck up, but very much worth it.

~~~
323454
That story was awesome! Thank you for sharing it. I read the whole thing over
cups of Vietnamese coffee in between bouts of zipping round HCMC on a
motorcycle, which felt strangely appropriate.

I kind of love the idea of hacker tourism, and I wish I could find more
journalism of this type. A character somewhere between
enthusiast/gonzo/reporter on a seemingly obscure quest that leads to
unexpectedly deep reflections on the world we inhabit.

------
orasis
Mindfulness in Plain English changed my life. You can read the PDF free here:
[http://www.wisdompubs.org/sites/default/files/preview/Mindfu...](http://www.wisdompubs.org/sites/default/files/preview/Mindfulness%20in%20Plain%20English%20Book%20Preview.pdf)

------
umbs
"Autobiography of a Yogi" [1] - If you grew up with people doing Yoga and
Meditation, or at least were exposed to these topics for some time, this book
is a great window in that world. It is from a person who brought Meditation
and concept of Self-Reliazation to the West [2].

At the risk of being ridiculed, I'll venture to say this: There's a big part
of us that we don't fully know. All of us are trying to different things to
find happiness. Above book proposes that Meditation has answers to most of the
questions and talks about various Yogi's. This triggered a deep desire for me
to know more. I learnt Meditation from a different organization and am very
happy at where I am. This book started that journey.

Warning: There will be a bit of mysticism in all this. Take what your gut says
and leave the rest.

[1]
[https://www.ananda.org/autobiography/](https://www.ananda.org/autobiography/)
[2] [https://www.yogananda-srf.org/](https://www.yogananda-srf.org/)

------
p333347
Sedgewick's Algorithms in C++.

I am a non CS guy who learnt C++ programming in order to do simulation for my
final year project in mechanical engineering. I ended up creating a wonderful
GUI (MFC) simulation complete with the diagram of the engine etc. For the next
5 years or so as a freelancer developer assisting professors and the like, I
created pretty hot shot applications with nifty graphics, UI etc. I began to
see myself as a master programmer and thought how easy it is for CS guys
compared to Mech guys. Then I picked up this book. I had never known any of
what it talked about. The very first example of union find was a revelation.
My ego was completely thrashed. I was thoroughly humbled.

As for non technical, it would be The Count of Monte Cristo. I first read an
abridged version of it as part of high school curriculum. As a young teen, I
was instantly enamored by revenge and adventure. I still long to own a yacht
and sail the oceans, if not get imprisoned, or find a treasure, or kill
people. I am reading it again at bedtime and Dantes just got locked up at
Chateau d'if.

------
Mz
If I have to pick just one, it would be "How to survive without a salary" by
Charles Long. In short, it helped me escape the American Rat Race. Most of my
life, I was middle class, but I side stepped the typical thing of running
faster to stay in place. The poverty I have suffered in recent years would
have been worse without the mental models it provides me.

------
theaustinseven
For programming, "Game Coding Complete" by Mike McShaffry and David Graham.
The book gave a very nice intro to a number of design considerations and given
that McShaffry did a decent amount of game programming in the early days of
programming, there are discussions of how they dealt with incredible design
constraints. The book served as a good introduction to thinking about
performance and size of the software that I build today. The book introduced
me to concepts like how hardware could introduce unexpected performance
changes. I honestly don't do much game programming at all, but it was a very
nice introduction to some otherwise difficult topics. I think that even some
experienced developers could get something out of that book.

~~~
cableshaft
I was just about to take that to a book reseller today because I haven't read
more than a few snippets in ten years....maybe I should hold off on that.

~~~
theaustinseven
The first few chapters have some really good lessons in them. It isn't really,
in my opinion, a great book to read all the way through, but the little
stories in the margins are well worth reading.

~~~
cableshaft
That's pretty much what I thought about Prometheus Rising also. First few
chapters were very interesting, but the rest was just okay.

------
mud_dauber
Not one book - but a series. The Encyclopedia Brittanica. (That's right, the
old-school hard bound set of books taking up an entire shelf.)

My 3rd grade class had a set, and I devoured each one. They turned me into a
nerd thanks to a teacher who told me to never stop reading.

~~~
SeaDude
Boom ditto!

------
Brainix
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. That book taught me to be a decent person.

~~~
kevindeasis
Since you've mentioned it, I've looked at the free sample. I'm kinda impressed
how good it is. I wasn't expecting it to be very well made. In fact I'm buying
it now

~~~
hoodoof
I bought the entire collection of Calvin and Hobbes.

~~~
kevindeasis
I'm very sure I'll end up doing the same thing! It's a good book for all ages

------
stryan
"Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle. It's easy sometimes to get caught up in the
idea of doing things for technology sake or because it would be cool to
implement or to make a lot of money. Reading this book really made me start to
think about why I'm taking certain actions and the type of person I want to
be. While you may not necessarily agree with Aristotle's conclusions on ethics
or even some of the premises he starts from (his justification for slavery is
notoriously...bad) the Ethics is great example about how to rationally
determine the "most ethical" action to take in a situation or at the very
least will introduce you to such types of reasoning.

------
nanospeck
"7 Habits of Highly Effective People" [1] - I listened to the audio book and
it was really an eye-opener. It changed my perspective on people and
personality a lot. Highly recommended. Same with the book "How To Win Friends
And Influence People" [2]. It's written decades ago and still holds the
principles true. Another gem I found recently was : "How to Stop Worrying and
Start Living" by the same author of [2]. It's really good if you are stressed
with your lifestyle. Really gives practical advice.

------
alex_ixd
"The Illuminatus! Triology" by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea

I did my first reading in high school and it was absolutely brilliant. I never
expected so many twists and turns where characters melt into one another and
plots jump from world domination conspiracy theories to self discovery and
awakening.

Decades later, I am now looking more into Robert Anton Wilson's other work (in
particular Maybe Logic) and am seeing some very interesting applications,
especially in software quality and artificial intelligence.

~~~
cableshaft
Still one of my favorites. I've reread this book more often than any other and
still catch new references in it each time.

If you've never checked out RAW'S audiobook "Robert Anton Wilson Explains
Everything", I highly recommend it. Lots of meandering talk about most of the
concepts that occur again and again in his books.

I haven't checked out Maybe Logic yet, but now I'm curious.

------
Jasamba
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. This is easily the most moved I have
been by a book that was equal parts a theory of intelligence and equal parts a
realization of how important of an ingredient intelligence is to enable one to
be aware of the fact of being 'alive', to have been given a variable amount of
intelligence to process this fact for the next 80 years or so and that this
variability in intelligence influences how that turns out.

~~~
cableshaft
Pretty much the only book that's made me cry uncontrollably.

It was the relationship between biology and intelligence that got me, too, not
really on the disability and how he was treated, which was mainly what they
focused on in school.

Really made me reflect afterwards. Totally worth it, one of my favorites, and
I'm way overdue to reread it again.

------
bjourne
The Bible. Probably has impacted the society I live in more than any other
book and society in turn has impacted me. It's well-worth reading for a lot of
reasons.

~~~
rimantas
Harry Potter has better story and better lessons.

~~~
mkaziz
Okay there's no need to ridicule someone else out for sharing (as was asked) a
book that meant something to them, even if it's a religious text. Your
response is just mean-spirited.

------
323454
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. As a scientist, it helped me to
realise that the quest for truth is only a tool: I have to choose my own goal.

Edit: I also want to mention "Language in Action" by S.I. Hayakawa. I read it
too recently to say that it has had the most impact on my life of any book,
but it opened my eyes to orders of magnitude more cases of imprecision in our
language than I had ever noticed before.

------
dandare
On a personal level the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins because it explained
that "evil" is not evil but "mathematically" inevitable, thus allowing me to
find (relative) peace of mind.

On a professional level The Mobile MBA by Jo Owen, because it explained to me
- the programmer - valuable management skills in no bullshit way (I can not
stress this enough), thus allowed me to grow in my career.

------
user7878
"Shreemad Bhagvad Geeta" \- A book that believed to be narrated by God Krishna
on lessons of life living in spiritual way.Though it is considered as most
religious book in Hinduism, yet proved good for motivation and being a
confident in life

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita)

------
Mendenhall
Reading "Art of worldly wisdom" as a kid. Still read it often. I find it
incredibly useful in interactions with people in almost every facet and I
strongly suggest reading it.

------
mdikici
"Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R. Hofstadter

~~~
cvick
This book changed the way I think.

------
XVII
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. Gave me my first glimpses of philosophy at
a young age and allowed me to get some perspective on my place in life.

------
binalpatel
The Rational Optimist.

It helped me realize (along with other things), that no, the world isn't
getting worse. Things are much better than they've ever been for most people,
and they're only getting better, faster.

------
mangamadaiyan
The Demon Haunted World, by Carl Sagan.

It showed me that the questions I'd always had were real, and finally let me
break free :)

------
lolive
Different books for different ages:

\- Discourse on the Method [1], to become a healthy criticist of everything
(perfect for your 15's-20's development)

\- Beyond Good and Evil [2], a definition of the 20th century craziness by the
crazy genius Nietzsche (perfect for your 30's burnout)

\- The Praise of Folly [3], to realize that life is just a game (perfect for
your 40's post-burnout rehab)

\- Propaganda [4], because you want to play the game too (perfect for your
50's meteoric rise to fame & success :).

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_on_the_Method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_on_the_Method)

[2]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evil)

[3]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Praise_of_Folly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Praise_of_Folly)

[4]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_(book)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_\(book\))

------
galazzah
I read "The five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom. Sure it might be
fictional and meant for a younger audience, but this book really changed the
way I think. Really makes you realize that every little interaction you have
with someone affects that person for the rest of their lives in one way or
another; and vice versa.

------
shanecleveland
I like this question for its introspective impact. It is hard not to interpret
the question as "If you could recommend one book, which would it be?" My
answer isn't one that I would necessarily call a "must read." Hemingway's Old
Man and the Sea was simply the right book at the right time for me. It was
more about what it led me to discover through more reading and more books than
the book itself.

------
alok-g
Minds, Brains and Machines by Geoffrey Brown [1] for introducing me to the
complexities of the mind-body problem. It did not show the answers of course,
but helped me think right about it.

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse [2] for contributing to helping me come out of
excessive questioning of everything (philosophy) to science that helps towards
actually answering the questions answerable.

Feynman Lectures in Physics [3] and Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman [4], with
no need to explain "how". :-)

The Ghost in the Atom [5] for explaining varied views on the nature of
science, especially Quantum Mechanics, and what goes in the minds of the top-
notch scientists working on these problems.

Parsing Techniques by Dick Grune [6] for teaching me the fundamentals of
computer science and helping me proceed with my deep interest in Artificial
Intelligence.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Minds-Brains-Machines-Mind-
Matters/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Minds-Brains-Machines-Mind-
Matters/dp/1853990132)

[2] [https://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-
Hesse/dp/161382378...](https://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-
Hesse/dp/1613823789/)

[3]
[http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/](http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/)

[4] [https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-
Cha...](https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-
Character/dp/0393316041/)

[5] [https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Atom-Discussion-Mysteries-
Quant...](https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Atom-Discussion-Mysteries-
Quantum/dp/0521457289/)

[6] [https://www.amazon.com/Parsing-Techniques-Practical-
Monograp...](https://www.amazon.com/Parsing-Techniques-Practical-Monographs-
Computer/dp/038720248X/)

------
SeaDude
"Still Life With Woodpecker" by: Tom (fuckin) Robbins!

Defined "Outlaw", a philosophy for dope folk.

------
dannels
Abundance by Peter Diamandis totally changed the way I look at businesses and
future technology and helped me clearly see the difference between exponential
growth and linear growth changing the world.

------
strimp099
Night by Elie Wiesel. It showed me how resilient a human being can be.

------
copist
"The Beginner's Computer Handbook - Understanding & Programming The Micro" by
Judy Tatchell and Bill Bennett

[http://www.currybet.net/cbet_blog/2004/06/the-beginners-
comp...](http://www.currybet.net/cbet_blog/2004/06/the-beginners-computer-
handboo.php)

I crafted my first computer from cardboard :) and learned to type and code
using hand drawn keyboard :)

------
oxplot
Mastery by George Leonard - learning that goal of doing something was not to
reach a goal, was the most profound lesson I learned towards enjoying what I
do everyday by the way of enjoying the process.

------
hoodoof
Sur/petition: Creating Value Monopolies When Everyone Else is Merely Competing

Edward DeBono

[https://www.amazon.com/Sur-petition-Creating-Monopolies-
Comp...](https://www.amazon.com/Sur-petition-Creating-Monopolies-
Competing/dp/0006379281)

This is the book that inspired me to start in the world of business.

------
miguelrochefort
"Getting Things Done" by David Allen

I've been obsessed with productivity and mindfulness ever since.

------
chygryn
The holy Quran number 1

Don't be sad by dr alqarnee

~~~
curiousgal
number 1?

------
TrickedOut
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

because the pace of half the book so closely resembles my life, decisions,
alternative histories and the limited time we have in the world. not sure how
much more I can say without spoilers.

------
RachelF
"Fooled by Randomness" by N.N. Taleb.

It showed how big a role chance plays in our lives, and how to make the most
of it.

------
partomniscient
For me perhaps its "Out of Control" by Kevin Kelly :
[http://kk.org/outofcontrol/](http://kk.org/outofcontrol/)

------
rman4040
As the Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth "The Bible", changes the way I
look the world by showing more love and more compassion.

------
rgera
The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo. Inspired me to go after my dreams.

------
babayega2
Millennium trilogy. I was a math guy, those books convinced me to be a
computer dude.

~~~
mombul
Care to develop? I was a computer guy before I read them and they didn't
struck me as incredibly tech driven. So I'd like to understand :)

