Here some writing that have left a lasting impression on me.
V.S. Ramachandran
Dr. Ramachandran is a neurologist and neuroscientist who uses Sherlock Holmes-esque deductive reasoning to investigate the nature of the mind. Each chapter is a case study of what happens when our brains malfunction, and how this informs our understanding of consciousness.
Edward Slingerland
An exploration of ways of being, spontaneity and skill, grounded in modern neuroscience and the history of eastern philosophy.
Jenny Odell
An exploration of what attention can become when it's directed toward place, community, and the act of noticing.
Edward Frenkel
There's a story in here about Frenkel's admission being sabotaged by two examiners. These were two people who were clearly proficient in math, and recognized his skill, but chose to use their knowledge for harm. I think about this a lot when I hear "teach kids how to think, not what to think." Merely knowing how to think is not enough.
Gian-Carlo Rota · giancarlorota.org
Rota's observation that mathematicians succeed by deploying only a few tricks, paired with Feynman's method of always keeping a dozen of your favorite problems in mind. The takeaway: keep a bag of problems and a bag of tricks.
alkjash · lesswrong.com
Quite reactionary, and probably written by a younger person, so I don't agree with everything here. But it hits on something profound and relatable, and I think back about this essay often.
Richard Feynman · calteches.library.caltech.edu
Feynman's Caltech commencement address. "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
Will Larson · lethain.com
It's in the title.
David R. MacIver · drmaciver.substack.com
I find David's writing very insightful, and think about a lot of his essays. But this one in particular, the concept of life-complete problems, has stuck with me.
Hugh Howey
A science fiction story about a human civilisation that's weathering a global catastrophe in an underground bunker. How does one act on imperfect information, especially when technology makes the consequences and immediacy of those actions more and more intense?
Stanisław Lem
A vivid portrayal of a truly alien intelligence.
Adrian Tchaikovsky
A civilization evolves from a different starting point, highlighting the evolutionary foundations of human society and morality.
Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
Aliens have a pit stop on earth, leaving behind an incomprehensible and dangerous Zone. Stalkers are scavengers who gamble their lives to pick over the alien's trash. An exploration of human experience when faced with a perplexing and uncaring universe.
Ursula K. Le Guin
A YA series about patience, adulthood and positive masculinity.