Ask HN: Thought-Provoking Books
I read many non-fiction books, but recently noticed that only a few qualify as truly heavy, thought-provoking reads, that you literally can't finish in a manageable time because you keep telling yourself, "Wait a minute," then stop to Google something, run an experiment, or just think deeply. My current example (still unfinished) is "Moonwalking with Einstein" by Joshua Foer. It's mind-blowing - the entire memory universe around us that I never properly explored before.
The spiritual works from major figures in the major religions, anything which discusses experience in negative terms making no positive statements, so things on emptiness/shunyata, non-duality, dependent co-arising, apophatic theology, unknowing, etc
Two classic books by Douglas R Hofstadter
and Both are heavy reads. But I would recommend looking at Wiki article before buying, available used. Just to make sure they fit your style of brain.The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a long thought-provoking reflection on the nature of Quality - in the sense of excellence. I re-read it every few years, and still don't understand it fully.
Even more pertinent now in the age of low quality AI produced content.
The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch is in same category. I have not finished reading it yet, at best i go 5 pages in one sitting. Jam packed with fascinating facts.
I feel the same way. The last time I read Kevin Kelly's Out of Control, I had a similar experience — constantly searching for materials, adding supporting arguments, and feeling as if I had retained nothing after just one read.
After reading the description, I'd say this is one of those books that interprets phenomena around us in a novel way, without claiming we should jump off "the shoulders of giants." There have been several like it in my reading history, but since I can't name them instantly, they probably weren't that thought-provoking.
I thought, "That sounds like an interesting book." And then I read the precis on Wikipedia.
Humans. Everything has to be a fucking competition. Turned me right off reading it. This is one of the (many) things I hate about humans. Along with ideas that go in to the brain and get stuck there and have to be defended to the death without the brain ever having thought critically about them even once.
Why gatekeep? Why compete about things that don't need to be a competition? Why let yourself be brainwashed about a philosophy or a company or a person?
Humans. Yech. Barf. I hate humans. They make me sick.
If you're talking about the competition part of "Moonwalking..." I hear you. Many would argue that the author's participation in the memory competition glues the book together and adds an entertaining angle. Personally, it sometimes feels boring when the author dedicates too much space to dialogs with memory athletes-focusing on mundane topics instead of techniques or what they learned about memory. Still, there are so many fascinating facts and references that I'm okay with it.
That book doesn't really teach the tricks of the trade (and it is not promised anyway), but it is a good introduction to the world of memory for people unaware of the potential of memory.
It was written by a journalist and a jew, not a typical human. The OP is probably an advertisement.
[dead]