

Ask HN: Books that change your way of thinking? - alexwestholm

I'm curious to get some feedback on what other HNers consider to be the most profoundly insightful books they've read. I picked up The Haskell Road to Logic, Maths and Programming as a result on posts on here and so far it's been one of the most worthwhile coding reads I've ever had. So what about you guys? Other programming books? Business books? Just downright good books? Thanks!
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shantanubala
If you do a search through HN, you'll find some really good recommendations.

Read The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Fooled By Randomness is also
good) if you want to peer into the mind of an investor.

Read Hesse's Siddhartha if you're thinking along the lines of
culture/religion/philosophy.

Read a few Ayn Rand books if you like libertarianism and don't really care to
relate to the characters.

Read We by Yevgheny Zamyatin if you want an interesting allegory that
metaphorically compares heaven to a dystopian dictatorship.

Read Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins if you're very interested in the
sciences.

I remember Sebastian Marshall recommending Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa -- I'd
recommend it too. It's pretty good, and I was especially interested since I've
been doing marshal arts for over 10 years now.

And read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! no matter how you think. It's
fantastic.

EDIT: More Books!

I read these when I was in elementary school, but they still hold their value:

The Giver by Lois Lowry if you want more dystopias.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery if you're feeling especially
playful.

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rcamera
This is an awesome list! Still haven't read some of them yet, but the few left
are in my queue. I would add one more:

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige. This book will give you a whole
new perspective on how your mind and the human brain works! It will talk about
neuroplasticity and real world examples of people that had their brain tweaked
through this new area of research in neuroscience.

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staunch
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
<http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html>

I first read it when I was around 14. I think it helped me create a much more
complete moral framework than anything I'd heard before (and probably since).
Definitely my first introduction to Stoicism.

It's not really a book, more of a collection of reminders to himself, which is
probably why it's so useful and interesting.

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goo
It won't win me any hipster points, but I have to recommend "Influence: the
psychology of persuasion", by Robert B. Cialdini. This book managed to
beautifully, clearly, and engagingly account for the major factors of human
influence. Despite a degree in cognitive science and extensive personal
interest in social psychology and compliance tactics, this book still proved
incredibly insightful. And from a marketing and sales perspective, I would
consider it a must-read.

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pwp
"What Is The Name Of This Book?" by Raymond Smullyan is a great book if you
like puzzles or want a playful way to improve your logic/reasoning skills. It
does a really good job of incrementally building up to more complicated
problems. It starts out with puzzles using basic if p then q style logic and
moves all the way up to Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem in a way that is both
accessible by and entertaining to someone as young as 10.

It took me about two weeks to a month to read and give each question due
thought at a pretty leisurely pace, though I am sure most would take many much
less time. (I had to stop to keep up on homework/study for tests for about a
week of time.)

I don't know if I became a better programmer from it, but it is very much
inline with the hacker spirit. You can get it probably from the library/inter-
library loan (as I did initially), but you will probably fall in love with it
and shell out the $10 to get the used copy.

Hope you enjoy, pwp

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albahk
How to get Rich - by Felix Dennis

He writes in a direct, no-nonsense way about how he made his millions and he
appears to honestly reflect on both the positive and negative results of his
wealth. The title betrays the content slightly as it is more about how he got
rich.

~~~
taphangum
This book inspired me more than any other.

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andrewce
"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn (as well as "My Ishmael") changed how I view the
world and how I characterize contemporary issues. The Takers/Leavers
dichotomy, while a tad simplistic, was jaw-dropping at the time.

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" had a similar effect, though with
the Classicist/Romanticist split more than any other part of the book. Also:
"Itty-bitty rules for itty-bitty people" made quite a few things make sense.

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riskish
I have found these books to be very influential in my thinking on web startups
and building things in general:

1) Hackers & Painters - PG

2) Smart & Get Things Done - Joel Spolsky

3) Rework - Jason Fried

4) Getting Real - Jason Fried

5) Founders at Work - Jessica Livingston

6) Joel on Software - Joel Spolsky

These are by far some of my favorites.

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dterra
Two books that changed my way of thinking about business are,

Small Giants and The Responsible Entrepreneur.

I read them when I was young, so more than changing me, they have me a
direction and a basis on what to focus. I read some chapters now and then...

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bo_Olean
"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards

This book could/will change the way we see things. Not only for drawing or
art, principles from the book can be applied to any creative profession.

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tastefulwords
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

Flatland, by Edwin Abbott

Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

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kgutteridge
I was recently given this book by a doctor friend its absolutely brilliant and
should appeal to any hacker

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

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ZackOfAllTrades
I've been struggling through that lately. I keep getting distracted trying to
prove or disprove there is a solution to the MU puzzle. He will present a new
idea and I always have to go back and check to see if I can make any headway.
I've tried the problem forwards, backwards, and from a numerical standpoint of
counting I's. I just want to get to the end of the book and know whether or
not it is possible.

Regardless, that book will make your brain fold in it's self. Highly
recommended.

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mattm
How I found Freedom in an Unfree World

Conversations with God (the first book - I didn't get so much out of the 2nd
and 3rd)

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xtrycatchx
im currently reading Like a Flowing River (by Paulo Coelho)

