I'm not the brightest bulb out there, help me change it. \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

I'm not the brightest bulb out there, help me change it.

4714 sats \ 43 comments \ @Fabs 8 Jan BooksAndArticles

I'm not that knowledgeable about anything, really... Naturally, that makes me a pretty boring partner in terms of socializing and conversations.

The only topics I can have a conversation about is Outdoor-gear and Bitcoin, which would be fine, if only the other side would be interested or knowledgeable about these two topics...

In order to change this, I'd like to start reading a healthy amount of books, in no specific order, but on a multitude of different topics.

I've written a post already where I'm asking about book recommendations on the topics of "Relationships" and "Parenting", for which I've received some good recommendations, but what other topics would be interesting or handy to know about?

I'd like the books to be on the shorter side in terms of pages, since I'm thinking about taking the books along with me while going on an overnighter in the woods or something akin to that, it's a hobby I'd like to start, too. I'd also like to be able to read a book a 2d or 3d time, too, without it taking too long.

I've got no particular "must-have" topics and am hoping for you guys to recommend me some topics that wouldn't hurt to know a bit about.

Thanks in advance.

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997 sats \ 15 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

In Robert Heinlein's book Time Enough For Love, the character Lazarus Long says

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but a few Heinlein books were a good read.

Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl should be on everyone's must read once in their life list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning

The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin I could not put down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Discoverers

Some others.... Guns, Germs and Steel, 1491, Sapiens.

Just to get you started. Hope it helps.

41 sats \ 6 replies \ @Undisciplined 8 Jan

Guns, Germs and Steel, 1491, Sapiens.

Seconded

491 sats \ 5 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

What makes these so important?

188 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined 8 Jan

Particularly for Guns, Germs, and Steel, and 1491, these books changed the perception of what precolonial America was like and how it was conquered. They also added a lot to the public understanding of what other civilizations had been like pre-European colonization.

Jared Diamond (the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel) also wrote Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, which I found very interesting.

Also, I realized while typing this reply that I haven't read Sapiens, but I have heard it's very good.

491 sats \ 2 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

If you have ever watched the old TV show, Connections by James Burke, you'd love The Discoverers by Boorstin. Basically showing you how inventions lead to inventions that lead to discoveries. He has more series out, but these was super to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin

Also if you can find old books by Eric Sloane, they are super books to help you learn visually. His weather book is great to help you learn the weather. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Sloane

Oh, I forgot, if you love the outdoors, Natural Navigator by Tristen Gooley. https://www.naturalnavigator.com/tristan-gooley/

OK... enough. I'll hop off my reading soap box now.

335 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 8 Jan

Some of my favorite books have titles like History of Mathematics or History of Economic Thought, so I'm making a mental note of The Discoverers. The sequence of how ideas and innovations spread and built on each other is really fascinating.

Have you read H.G. Wells' A Short History of the World? I have a sense you would enjoy it. It has a much more integrated narrative flow than most big picture history books.

534 sats \ 0 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

Have you read H.G. Wells' A Short History of the World? I have a sense you would enjoy it.

Welp... into the queue it goes. I have an overseas trip coming up and needed something to read. And I see it is on Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35461 Thanks.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Gave them a quick look, I think they are right up my alley.

20 sats \ 7 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Wow, well I certainly won't be capable enough to do all of the above, but I'd like to work on some of those.

104 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 8 Jan

Don't undersell yourself. Many years ago I felt very "unread" and decided I would change that. I started listening to audio books on the way to work. I have continued reading non-fiction books every year and over time I've read a great number of books. Many listed here. Just start with one and do the next, then another. There is much wisdom out there that we can listen to and think about. Then apply to our lives. The only thing that can stop you is you saying "I can't" If you say that it will come true. If you reject that thinking you have just opened up a new world of possibilities. Don't say I can't. Say how can I?

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Well, there's a difference between "underselling" and "self reflection", I'm good with the two topics listed above, but beyond that it get shallower the farther you go :)

10 sats \ 4 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Anything you can recommend in relation to wilderness and survival ? 😉

278 sats \ 2 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

It depends. Are you looking for tactical, hands on skills, or you looking for how to survive?

I'll just throw a few out...

For a foundational knowledge:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52354603-how-to-survive

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1795658.When_All_Hell_Breaks_Loose

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26526901-the-lost-art-of-reading-nature-s-signs

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30231750-deep-survival

For technical knowledge:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22836669-sas-survival-handbook

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17124853-how-to-stay-alive-in-the-woods (this is dated, but from one of the original back to the wilderness authors post-World War II)

And honestly most "survival skills" books are just re-hashes of the same information over and over again. The SAS book is a good compilation of them.

And from our discussion the other day... survival has been commercialized and commoditized starting back around 2009 since the Aztec calendar was going to end the world in 2012. There are a ton of resources on how to rub sticks together and how to make a pile of sticks on sleep in. There are not a lot of people that know how to survive. Build on this foundation.

Again, off my soap box. :)

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Yeahhh dude, awesome.

I always thought of the SAS book as sort of gimmicky, but if you say it's worth the read, I'll give it a second look.

Thanks, the list is slowly starting to get shape!

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 8 Jan

I always thought of the SAS book as sort of gimmicky,

It sort of is with a title like that. But, it is probably the most comprehensive book showing technical skills. Like I said, almost everything is just a rehash of knowledge that has been around in perpetuity and people are not discovering or inventing new ways to stay alive. Also pick up the US Army's FM 21-76 Survival Manual too.

443 sats \ 3 replies \ @gatsby 8 Jan

podcasts and gym baby. you get sexy bod and sexy brains at the same time.

252 sats \ 2 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

There's truth in that, I'm simply scared of getting that sexy that girls are simply intimidated by me as soon as they lay their eyes on me...

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @gatsby 8 Jan

good...you filter out the weak ones and are left with the worthy

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

I don't know if this should make me giggle, but it did. Shame on you for that.

186 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 8 Jan

I recommend reading The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico 8 Jan

☝️☝️👍👍

41 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 8 Jan

Jonathan Haidt: especially The Righteous Mind

491 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 8 Jan

Seconded. Great book for understanding cultures, morals, and people.

157 sats \ 4 replies \ @kr 8 Jan

this should get you started, thousands of books recommended by the worlds top entrepreneurs, investors, and icons

https://www.bookmarked.club/

416 sats \ 2 replies \ @Fabs OP 9 Jan

Do you have a list of books you personally picked from there?

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr 9 Jan

not a comprehensive one, but i’ll work on putting one together

528 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 9 Jan

I'll be content with that, for now.

Side note:

You know, It always irritated me that "Statistics" was written wrong, has a typo.

Only now does it strike me that its referring to "Sats", Satistics... It's the little things that keep the dark at bay.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 9 Jan

Some real wholesome people in that list

Bill Gates Pomp Raoul Pal Jamie Dimon Chamath Brian Armstrong Anthony Scaramucci Mark Cuban Sam Altman

Top thinkers and world leaders! Nice

31 sats \ 3 replies \ @nullcount 8 Jan

Instead of looking for "short reads to knockout in a weekend" maybe optimize for daily learning habits.

Audiobooks/Podcasts for example. Some of the smartest people I know don't have time to stare at pages for hours a day. But almost everyone has a daily activity that can be supplemented with audio.

31 sats \ 2 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

I've gave it a try, it's not for me.

I rather have it on paper and create my own summaries from parts I find interesting or particularly important.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @nullcount 8 Jan

Another way to practice daily learning is to just be curious in all your conversations.

Everyone is an expert in something, find what that thing is for anyone you talk to and ask them a thoughtful question that gives them the opportunity to teach you something.

Then repeat what they taught you in your own words. This immediately makes you a more interesting conversation partner and helps you identify the learning opportunities that you pass up in daily life.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

I'm a solid listener, so that's sorted :)

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @phatom 9 Jan

I got to know that movies or trending topics helps a lot in conversing with new people

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @art 9 Jan

Nassim Taleb's Incerto series is a good start to general risk and worldly sense making (don't follow him on Twitter)

Atomic Habits is great for creating and sustaining change

Mastery for depth

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 8 Jan

I only read the preface and a little more of the book Art of Deception by Kevin D. Mitnick so far but it already surpassed my expectations - and I would say I had pretty high expectations.

It's a book from the "world's most celebrated hacker" and "delivers the lowdown on today's most serious security weakness - human nature" (quoted the back of the book).

So it's a book about social engineering. And I believe knowing how social engineering works can be useful in all kind of ways in life since you can also apply in for non-malicious purposes; the most obvious one being to defend against social engineers.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 9 Jan

Oh! Social engineering, interesting indeed! I'll have a look at that genre, too.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @scottathan 8 Jan

A few good podcast suggestions:

Everything Everywhere Daily for general information and topics. Has history, STEM, philosophy, culture, etc.

Portraits of Liberty for history, philosophy, and economics. Fantastic work on niche thinkers and activists through history.

Lex Fridman Podcast for interview about life, the universe, and everything. Fantastic stuff.

I know these aren't books, but they are great ways to become more generally knowledgeable, which is always good.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @kytt 8 Jan

I'd recommend reading Health and Light by John Ott to get a basic understanding of how important natural sunlight really is to all organisms.

115 sats \ 1 reply \ @kruw 8 Jan

IMO books are extremely overrated as a source of knowledge (unless the topic itself is necessarily complex or deep), I prefer listening to podcasts for learning about a topic. Skillful educators convey an idea with less information, not more.

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs OP 8 Jan

Yeah, as I've said before; I prefer having a book in hands. I like to make small summaries of chapters or pieces I think are especially interesting or important.

I also like the offline-part of a book.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @riberet19 14 Jan

Do not be discouraged, there is always time to know as long as you are healthy, I recommend that you specialize in something and then go for other topics, if you like parenting or relationships you can read more about it and specialize more, since jumping from topic to topic can make you not specialize in anything, But hey, that's my take on it.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Murch 9 Jan

Have a look at "The Defining Decade". I wish I had read that 15 years earlier