I'm surprised this got flagged, and at the nature of some of the comments in this thread. The advice in the article is good with several high quality recommend

I'm surprised this got flagged, and at the nature of some of the comments in this thread. The advice in the article is good with several high quality recommendations of specific places to begin getting up to speed with a grasp of current Western thought. I'd add a recommendation to read "What Does It All Mean?" By Thomas Nagel, and then first "The Problems of Philosophy" and then if you find yourself wanting to dig deeper "The History of Western Philosophy" both by Bertrand Russell. Being an intellectual isn't all navel-gazing, it's the necessary foundation to being able to properly communicate and wrestle with your own ideas. It's something that provides the underlying structure and skillset necessary to be a good thinker and good communicator, both of which will serve you well in your career and your relationships. It is not, as some other commenter put it, "to make yourself feel smart". I am frankly a bit shocked to find anti-intellectualism to abound on Hacker News of all places. The core of intellectualism is curiosity, the same driving force behind the hacker spirit, and intellectualism at its base is closely aligned to the hacker ethos.