Books that changed your mind

[sodatrain]

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn - One of the few books that still crosses my mind every now and then.

I regularly thnk of going back an re-reading this. It was the first time that I learned of the idea that agriculture was the downfall. Maybe this was the first bit that opened my mind to where I am today!

A +1 for Waking Up by Sam Harris

Awesome thread to bump alive!

[Bicycle7]

I regularly thnk of going back an re-reading this. It was the first time that I learned of the idea that agriculture was the downfall. Maybe this was the first bit that opened my mind to where I am today!

Soda, if you haven't read the sequel to Ishmael, "The Story of B" I'd really recommend that as well. I remember liking it even more. The story line felt a little more developed (several plot twists) and still explores all of Daniel Quinn's ideas about the world. In both books, I particularly enjoyed the theme of animism.

In fact, I might open that book back up today

[jacob]

There are 3 books in the Ishmael series. Rumors have it that Quinn also co-wrote a book about scavenging. 7wb5 can tell you more.

If you buy into the idea of discovering agriculture as being the downfall of humanity, Catton's Overshoot is a classic. That book blew my mind the first time I read it. OTOH, ants discovered agriculture way before humans did and they seem to have figured it out.

[AxelHeyst]

OTOH, ants discovered agriculture way before humans did and they seem to have figured it out.

That tangentially reminds me of a book that blew my mind a bit thus relevant: The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Ligotti. tl;dr: sentience was an evolutionary mistake. This book should come with a warning label for the existentially disposed.

[7Wannabe5]

7wb5 can tell you more.

I should really make a more diligent effort to figure out who owns copyright to "Discards: Your Way to Wealth" by Dan Quinn and Mike Lebda, Uni-Press, Chicago,1977. I'm pretty sure that Dan Quinn's interactions with Mike Lebda (the Discard Market King of Chicago) must have influenced his perspective towards systems-thinking. One of the over-riding themes of this book is the difference between the manufacturing economy and the discard economy, and this is very much analogous to the co-evolution of producers, consumers, and decomposers/scavengers in ecological system. For example, the fact that a grain based agricultural system is much less subject to decomposers/scavengers than a yam based agricultural system likely started us down the highway to the current polycrisis. IOW, it can be argued that the patriarchal-plow possibility of saving/hoarding a commodity for the relatively long run* has led to our downfall. IOW, human savers=bad&stupid AND human scavengers/decomposers = good&intelligent. **

*Unlike the one cold/dry season at best "saving" potential afforded by more historically female horticultural and gathering activities.

**Unlike the lesson offered by the artificial short-term boundaried environment of the marshmallow test, etc.

[Lifetime42]

letters from a self-made merchant to his son - lorimer
the money game - smith
psychology of money - housel

and ill throw in something that i think should be seen as a project and not books: hagakure - yamamoto and meditations - aurelius.
if you just read it, you will miss its point. its not knowledge you wan to get out of this books. instead, read one page or two each night and let the wisdom sink in. in a year or two you will have shifted your ego quite some.

[fiby41]

This is a list of books related to finance in particular and business in general
https://www.bestanchorstocks.com/p/books-of-2024

This is a list of 25 non-fiction books published in the last year
https://bookoftheday.nextbigideaclub.co ... s-of-2024/

If y'all have read from this or have something to say about them, I will be able to decide which to purchase.

[Western Red Cedar]

If y'all have read from this or have something to say about them, I will be able to decide which to purchase.

The only one I've read from the list is Same As Ever by Morgan Housel. I'd already listened to multiple podcasts where he discusses some of the ideas, main points and stories. While much of the content wasn't new to me, I think he is a good, succinct writer. I liked Psychology of Money better and would recommend that if someone hasn't read that yet, but Same as Ever provides some insight into historical trends in business, politics, and human behavior.

In an era of 24 hour news cycles, it provides some motivation to read history rather than read/watch/consume news to make sense of the world. It also provides some perspective on how much of our lives and history is the result of chance, which is a helpful ego check.

Not a book I need in my personal library, but worthy of picking up from the library or borrowing from a friend.

[maikele]

Adding some novelty to the list:
Books that changed my mind:
- Demian by Herman Hesse. I read it when I was 17 years old. It relates the feelings of a growing child up to his youth. Deeply revealing for a young man.
- Walden by H. D. Thoreau. Arrived at the age of 21, fulfilling my young necessity of seeking a free life in the woods. It made me buy a land in the Patagonian forest in Argentina years later.
- The Selfish Gene by R. Dawkins. Finished at 28. Changed my mind about the idea of having children; I didn't have the necessity of reproducing before it.
- Discourse on Voluntary Servitude: Why People Enslave Themselves to Authority by Etienne De La Boetie. It triggered my suspicions about why the system is rigged and almost impossible to change and how the powers function in a similar way to how they did in the Middle Ages.
- Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution by Kropotkin. Reinforced my thoughts on cooperation as the ultimate way to survive.
- 10 acres enough by E. Morris. A homestead guide from the 19th century. A must for every person seeking to develop a farm.
- The slave ship by M. Rediker. An excellent essay about slave traffic in the 18th century. It made me much more grateful for my homeland.

There are many more, but they are far from mind-blowing or mind changers.

[Stasher]

For me it was about completely transforming my mindset and how I reacted to the world. I use to get really excited about things and get upset on things beyond me. I honestly think this was the most transformative thing I have read was How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life - Dalai Lama
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213 ... o_Practice

Following close behind were Walden by Thoreau and then Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.