Disregarding books such as encyclopaedias and dictionaries what 5 books would you recommend someone should read in order to become smarter or otherwise improved as an individual. You can list more, or less, than 5 if you wish.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu (spellings vary).
An introductory guide to the Chinese language, with CD.
An university mathematics textbook.
The Odyssey and Illiad (not a translation)
Gibbon’s Decline and Fall
Quine, Word and Object
Anyone who has mastered all of those is a pretty cool person.
Since this is a question about books and the Arts, let’s go to Cafe Society from IMHO.
samclem, MOderator
The Bible. KJV - Bear with me on this one. Actually reading the damn thing will really propel someone in one of two directions. Either you will intellectually realize that nearly all of it is nonsense, with wee, tiny, titchy bit of good philosophy in, or you will at least be a knowledgeable believer, which actually tend to be more tolerant than the alternative. Considering how much of our law and culture is derived from this source, it’s worth a read to understand the basis of arguments.
Any solid, college level, introductory book on philosophy; preferably one the focuses on principles and logical thought, rather than historical precedent.
A “friendly” book on biology and physics. It’s okay if the science isn’t perfect. If the anecdotes and stories are able to transmit the basics to the reader in a way they can comprehend, then they are well broadened as a person.
A solid book on survival tactics and primitive living. Digested, this information gives you confidence to really go and explore all those places you hear about.
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, so that you can see how little we understand what makes us do things.
Bounce by Matthew Syed, so you can see what really makes some people great.
8 Minute Meditation by Victor Davich, because meditation works.
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris, because if you follow the principles life gets much easier.
Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo, because it makes being crap fun.
Do you have one you would recommend?
This is hardly a comprehensive list, but I think all of these books will definitely make you smarter:
Guns, Germs and Steel, of course, gives a new way of looking at the world and history.
Red China Blues and China: Fragile Superpower are my go-to book recommendations about China. 99% of stuff written about China is utter BS meant to serve one agenda or another. In combination, these books will give a fuller social and political understanding that all the “OMG China!” columns in NewsWeek are not.
For spiritual knowledge, The Essential Rumi is, well, essential.
It’s a dense, layered book, but Ka is mind blowing, and has the additional benefit of being the only book that could get me to understand even the tiniest bit about Hinduism. One of the most important books I’ve ever read.
Go get them! Be smarter!
I love this thread.
I enjoy popular political science and philosophy books, but if you can only read five books, I’m not sure five of that type will maximize your “increase in smartness”.
Take five topics your interested in and don’t know much about, and get five university professors in the field to recommend an introductory text in each one, then work through all five texts.
Reading the Feynman Lectures or Stewarts Calculus from cover to cover is probably a lot more time consuming then earlier suggestions, but if your goal is just to get smarter, I think your a lot better off doing it that way.
Read Lewis Carroll’s Symbolic Logic, taking care to do all the exercises. Then read Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach, taking care to do all the exercises.
Hey, presto! You’re smarter.
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Pretty much any general-public science book by George Gamow, Isaac Asimov, or Richard Feynman. I’d avoid the general public books by Stephen Hawking. He’s a good scientist and a bad science writer for the non-professional.
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Physics for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller is pretty good, IMO.
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I’ve had good experiences with books I’ve read from these series: Larry Gonick’s “Cartoon History of …”, The “Dummies” books, and Schaum’s outlines. Especially Schaum’s outlines.
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Modern computer security: The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling, The Cuckoo’s Egg by Cliff Stoll
I recommend anything by Bruce Sterling, but most of what he publishes is fiction.
That’s 5 collections/or categories rather than 5 books. Best I could do off the top of my head.
First shot:
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**The Worldly Philosophers by Heilbroner **- very accessible explanation of the emergence of Economics in the Western world from philosophy and math. Why our world’s economies do what they do - or, at least, how our understanding has evolved.
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Guns, Germs and Steel by Diamond - lays out a comprehensive theory which supports the assertion that all humans are created equal and that environmental circumstance over thousands of years is what led to some peoples to gain access to the guns, germs and steel to conquer/dominate other peoples.
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The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - an overview of cultural evolution; shows how cultural mores are discovered and incorporated and just as subject to evolution as physical traits - and the implications for how societies have and will develop
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A “new physics” book like **The Tao of Physics by Capra **- a book that shows the full circle - how science investigation leads to the same questions as ancient religions - and how the answers from both perspectives complement each other.
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Great Lit - e.g., Odyssey, Shakespeare, War and Peace, The Red and the Black by Stendhal, Disgrace by JM Coetzee, etc. - a great piece of fiction which illustrates traits/frailties of being human…
Not definitive, but, in my experience, deeply helpful…
I meet a lot of intelligent and well-read people who are entirely ignorant of the evolution of humanity. This makes them prone to believing all sorts of nonsense.
So I recommend including a good introductory textbook on physical anthropology. Perhaps this one.
I concur with Acid Lamp that the **King James Bible **should be read by everyone, though not necessarily for the reasons given by Acid Lamp. For example, I disagree that reading the Bible will make Christians more tolerant. Some of the most intolerant Christians I know are very well-versed in the Bible and can quote from it extensively. No, for me the reason you should read the Bible is to appreciate how much it provides the cultural underpinning of Western society. If you’ve never read it, I think you will be surprised at how many passages, stories and sayings from the Bible you find familiar from having encountered them in other contexts. It is hard to fully understand our society’s history and culture without knowing something of the Bible. And I say all of this as a hard-boiled atheist.
Yep, let me get back to you on it. I need to dig it out of the closet.
I agree. So much of literature contains biblical references that it’s pretty much a cornerstone of a liberal arts education.
Good Calories, Bad Calories - Gary Taubes. Very eye opening wrt to current nutrition recommendations.
Sex at Dawn - Ryan & Jetha. Humans may prefer to be pair-bonded, but that does not mean we are naturally monagamous.
Minor nitpick:
While Shakespear is great to read, he wrote scripts* for plays. Seeing them onstage (or even a movie version) is a much better way to understand & enjoy them.
*(Except for the sonnets, of course. Those are best just read.)
Critical Path – R. Buckminster Fuller
It’ll jumpstart you to think about ideas in a number of different subjects. He covers history, economics, science, design, architecture, etc., etc., etc.
I’ll agree with others’ suggestion for The Bible as it is pretty much the cornerstone of Western thought.
Similarly, I’ll have to recommend The I-Ching as being the cornerstone of Eastern thought (so I’ve heard)…
The Story of Art – E. H. Gombrich
A look at art history and appreciation for pretty much every different visual art technique and style. His philosophy can also be extended to enjoying other forms of artistic creations.
Glimpses of World History – Jawaharlal Nehru
A lot of my suggestions deal with history, but in stead of suggesting something like Godel, Escher, Bach, which someone else suggested anyway, I’m going with this. A comprehensive history of the world as written from the perspective of an Indian man with no access to reference books in prison.
After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection by James West Davidson and Mark Lytle. A really good book. It’s supposedly about determing whether the evidence used in works of history was interpreted validly. But the ideas it presents are useful in all kinds of situations. I highly recommend it even if you have no interest in history.
There have been several different editions of this book with various revisions. If you have a chance, read the first edition - it contains an interesting chapter on photographs that was deleted from subsequent editions.
I’d have to suggest “An incomplete education”. It’s not perfect, but the scope of it is impressive.