5 ms·

My candidates (not in order): Getting Things Done (Superpower: Time Management) Bargaining for Advantage (Superpower: Negotiation) The Art of Learning (Super

by kriro 14y ago

My candidates (not in order): Getting Things Done (Superpower: Time Management) Bargaining for Advantage (Superpower: Negotiation) The Art of Learning (Superpower: Learning) Telling Lies (Superpower: Facial expressions etc...somewhat of a cheat since you'll probably need to read more on the topic) Economics in One Lesson (Superpower: Understanding the fundamentals of economics...and wandering down the dark,Austrian path eventually) Edit: An even better superpower is learning a new language and understanding the corresponding culture. I usually suggest that over anything else for anyone that knows <3 languages well

bennesvig 14y ago
The Art of Learning is one of the best books I read this year. If you liked that, you'd also probably enjoy The Inner Game of Tennis and Mastery by Robert Greene.
- stephen 14y ago
  I read The Art of Learning a few years ago, and remember it being basically an autobiography, and not anything like a manual that explains how one could actually attain any sort of super learning. It's just personal stories that are basically "hey, this guy is awesome at a lot of stuff." Hm. Well, I do remember how OCD he was about his subjects--reviewing videotapes of himself doing martial arts, studying moves, etc. So, in that regard, I guess his approach, if you could infer one, was basically getting in his 10,000 hours in 1/4-1/3 of the time of most people. Please correct me if my recollection is wrong though.
  - nelsonweiss 14y ago
    The Art of Learning is less about learning things than it is about becoming very, very good at the things you learn. While the book is highly autobiographical, the author does goes into a lot of detail about how he got really good at chess and tai chi. What a lot of people seem to forget to mention about the 10,000 hour theory is that it's 10,000 hours of purposeful, focused practice. The Art of Learning is all about doing that kind of practice.
  - bennesvig 14y ago
    You're right. It's definitely not a manual with a step by step plan to take like a lot of self-help type books. It's subtly brilliant. Some of the concepts I picked up from it: - Practice something enough to get to the point where you can perform the act/task without thinking. Your brain will then be freed up to focus on higher level things. Picture yourself moving up different levels of a pyramid. This is also how you can slow things down in your mind. Because you've experienced something so much, your brain doesn't have to do as much processing. He talks about this in depth, The Inner Game of Tennis talks about it, and one or two other books I read this year mentioned this concept. - Invest in loss. Most entrepreneurs have heard this 1,000 times, but it was still great to read his take on it. He couldn't get better without experiencing a little pain in practice. - Don't fight, avoid, or deny negative forces. Instead, you should look to channel what's coming at you into something positive. He talks about the chess player who would play mental tricks on him or kick him under the table. It through him off at first, but he learned to embrace it and overcome it. - Find a trigger zone. Develop a routine that will get you ready for peak performance. It could be for Tai Chi or a business meeting (which he gives an example of). There is a lot more to the book, but those are a few of the main concepts he talks about.
- kriro 14y ago
  "Inner Game of Tennis" is excellent. I have also heard good things about "Learn to Draw: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" but haven't read it (yet) Actually "Pragmatic Thinking & Learning" is excellent and I totally forgot about it. I'd probably swap that into my list.
eli_gottlieb 14y ago
Economics in One Lesson (Superpower: Understanding the fundamentals of economics...and wandering down the dark,Austrian path eventually) Austrian economics is the opposite of a superpower. It's a mental device for rationalizing the present state of the world so that you never have to act.
- dimitar 14y ago
  I'd second that. This book gives you a lot of wrong ideas (for example how banking works), a lot of moralizing and nothing at all about useful new concepts like monopolistic competition and externalities. You will learn much more about mainstream economics from about.com for example.
- jdreaver 14y ago
  It's a mental device for rationalizing the present state of the world so that you never have to act. Well, except for the fact that an Austrian economist would change almost everything about how most Western governments handle economic policy. That's a cute sentence though.
- kriro 14y ago
  It gives you an interesting perspective on things which is always good. You will see a lot of the subchapter type arguments mentioned in the news and the like and at least now you have one perspective on the issues which even if you don't agree with it forces you to articulate your own side better. It's a really good book for a layperson to start thinking about the economics section of the news. It's written well, too. I have given away ~20 copies of this book so far and have gotten nothing but praise even from Marxists. I don't know why I even bother to make this long post since Austrians in general are very,very far removed from being status quo-ists so your comment doesn't even make sense. The book is also not overly Austrian apart from the recommended reading. Feel free to recommend a better "basics of economics" book.
  - shmulkey18 14y ago
    Sowell's "Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy" is also good.

by kriro 14y ago

bennesvig 14y ago

The Art of Learning is one of the best books I read this year. If you liked that, you'd also probably enjoy The Inner Game of Tennis and Mastery by Robert Greene.

stephen 14y ago
I read The Art of Learning a few years ago, and remember it being basically an autobiography, and not anything like a manual that explains how one could actually attain any sort of super learning. It's just personal stories that are basically "hey, this guy is awesome at a lot of stuff." Hm. Well, I do remember how OCD he was about his subjects--reviewing videotapes of himself doing martial arts, studying moves, etc. So, in that regard, I guess his approach, if you could infer one, was basically getting in his 10,000 hours in 1/4-1/3 of the time of most people. Please correct me if my recollection is wrong though.
- nelsonweiss 14y ago
  The Art of Learning is less about learning things than it is about becoming very, very good at the things you learn. While the book is highly autobiographical, the author does goes into a lot of detail about how he got really good at chess and tai chi. What a lot of people seem to forget to mention about the 10,000 hour theory is that it's 10,000 hours of purposeful, focused practice. The Art of Learning is all about doing that kind of practice.
- bennesvig 14y ago
  You're right. It's definitely not a manual with a step by step plan to take like a lot of self-help type books. It's subtly brilliant. Some of the concepts I picked up from it: - Practice something enough to get to the point where you can perform the act/task without thinking. Your brain will then be freed up to focus on higher level things. Picture yourself moving up different levels of a pyramid. This is also how you can slow things down in your mind. Because you've experienced something so much, your brain doesn't have to do as much processing. He talks about this in depth, The Inner Game of Tennis talks about it, and one or two other books I read this year mentioned this concept. - Invest in loss. Most entrepreneurs have heard this 1,000 times, but it was still great to read his take on it. He couldn't get better without experiencing a little pain in practice. - Don't fight, avoid, or deny negative forces. Instead, you should look to channel what's coming at you into something positive. He talks about the chess player who would play mental tricks on him or kick him under the table. It through him off at first, but he learned to embrace it and overcome it. - Find a trigger zone. Develop a routine that will get you ready for peak performance. It could be for Tai Chi or a business meeting (which he gives an example of). There is a lot more to the book, but those are a few of the main concepts he talks about.
kriro 14y ago
"Inner Game of Tennis" is excellent. I have also heard good things about "Learn to Draw: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" but haven't read it (yet) Actually "Pragmatic Thinking & Learning" is excellent and I totally forgot about it. I'd probably swap that into my list.

eli_gottlieb 14y ago

Economics in One Lesson (Superpower: Understanding the fundamentals of economics...and wandering down the dark,Austrian path eventually) Austrian economics is the opposite of a superpower. It's a mental device for rationalizing the present state of the world so that you never have to act.

dimitar 14y ago
I'd second that. This book gives you a lot of wrong ideas (for example how banking works), a lot of moralizing and nothing at all about useful new concepts like monopolistic competition and externalities. You will learn much more about mainstream economics from about.com for example.
jdreaver 14y ago
It's a mental device for rationalizing the present state of the world so that you never have to act. Well, except for the fact that an Austrian economist would change almost everything about how most Western governments handle economic policy. That's a cute sentence though.
kriro 14y ago
It gives you an interesting perspective on things which is always good. You will see a lot of the subchapter type arguments mentioned in the news and the like and at least now you have one perspective on the issues which even if you don't agree with it forces you to articulate your own side better. It's a really good book for a layperson to start thinking about the economics section of the news. It's written well, too. I have given away ~20 copies of this book so far and have gotten nothing but praise even from Marxists. I don't know why I even bother to make this long post since Austrians in general are very,very far removed from being status quo-ists so your comment doesn't even make sense. The book is also not overly Austrian apart from the recommended reading. Feel free to recommend a better "basics of economics" book.
- shmulkey18 14y ago
  Sowell's "Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy" is also good.