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Followers 4
- Gender:
- Male
- Location:
- UK
- Occupation:
- Irreverent/irrelevant old git
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About
- Gender:
- Male
- Location:
- UK
- Occupation:
- Irreverent/irrelevant old git
- Religion:
- Fellowship of the Mutable
- DIR Forum Access:
-
- Abrahamic Religion DIR
- Dharmic Religions DIR
- Non-Theistic/Non-Religious Beliefs DIR
Some useful reading (for me at least), and in no particular order of merit (but with some recommendations) - many read a long time ago by the way:
General
Life 3.0 (2017) by Max Tegmark - an exploration into how AI might develop and the likely problems associated with such
Factfulness (2018) by Hans Rosling - why one should get the facts to inform one's opinion, which is often just not the case (must read)
Future Shock (1970) by Alvin Toffler - arguing effects of rapid change and the possible societal consequences of such
Maladies & Medicine: Exploring Health & Healing, 1540-1740 (2017) by Jennifer Evans & Sara Read - an exploration of health and healing in England during this period
10 Billion (2013) by Stephen Emmott - pessimistic appraisal of population growth and what the implications are (must read)
Religions and such
The End of Faith (2005) by Sam Harris - exploring the negative effects of religious beliefs
Breaking the Spell (2007) by Daniel Dennett - an explanation as to why religion might be seen as a purely natural phenomena
The God Argument (2013) by A C Grayling - the case for Humanism as opposed to what religions offer
The God Delusion (2006) by Richard Dawkins - one atheist's view as to why religious beliefs are delusions
Human behaviour and history
Behave (2017) by Robert Sapolsky - attempting to explain why we behave as we do, involving so many aspects of being human (must read)
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2015) by Yuval Noah Harari - from insignificant and more primitive ape to being the one exceptionally advanced ape (must read)
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2016) by Yuval Noah Harari - following on from the previous book, where we might be headed (must read)
A Million Years in a Day (2015) by Greg Jenner - the origins of so many things we take for granted
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived (2017) by Adam Rutherford - what our genes, and the history of such, reveal about us (must read)
The Bonobo and the Atheist (2014) by Frans de Waal - exploring any biological basis for morality (must read)
Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) by Jared Diamond - proposing how geographical and environmental factors have shaped the modern world (must read)
The Blind Watchmaker (1986) by Richard Dawkins - an argument for why the Theory of Evolution is a better one than any design being involved
The Selfish Gene (1976) by Richard Dawkins - the unique role of genes in human life
Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975) by E O Wilson - attempts to explain much of human behaviour from our biological past (must read)
The Mind
Logically Fallacious (2015) by Bo Bennett - as stated, crash course in logical fallacies
The Art of Failure (2010) by Dr Neel Burton - designated as the anti self-help guide and what actually is seen as success
Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry (2015) by Jeffrey A Lieberman, MD - an account of the painful history of psychiatry and associated treatments
Against Empathy (2016) by Paul Bloom - how empathy is too often local and/or based upon what appeals, and why this might not be so beneficial overall
The Remembered Present (1990) by Gerald Edelman - developing a theory concerning consciousness
Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind (1992) by Gerald Edelman - theory that the mind has arisen through evolutionary morphology
Consciousness Explained (1991) by Daniel Dennett - argues how consciousness arises from interaction of physical and cognitive processes
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind (1987) by George Lakoff - argues for a model of cognition on the basis of semantics
The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1982) by Julian Jaynes - argues for a bicameral mind being in existence until recent times (must read)
The Myth of Irrationality (1993) by John McCrone - some thoughts as per title concerning the workings of the human mind
The Society of Mind (1986) by Marvin Minsky - a theory concerning how the mind is constructed through simpler processes
How the Mind Works (1997) by Steven Pinker - how the mind works from an evolutionary psychology perspective
The Language Instinct (1994) by Steven Pinker - argues that humans are born with an innate capacity for language
The Blank Slate (2002) by Steven Pinker - arguing for human behaviour being shaped by evolutionary psychological adaptations rather than any 'blank slate'
The Origins of Virtue (1996) by Matt Ridley - explores the issues surrounding the development of human morality
The Red Queen (1993) by Matt Ridley - explores the evolutionary psychology perspective of sexual selection
Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty (1999) by Nancy Etcoff - argues that our concept of beauty is in our biology rather than being a construct
The Beauty Myth (1990) by Naomi Wolf - proposing that societal pressures have much to do with our concept of beauty
From Bacteria to Bach And Back: The Evolution of Minds (2017) by Daniel Dennett - a possible explanation for the evolution of consciousness (not finished yet)Interact
Signature
One rule to rule them all (other rules), one rule to guide them, one rule to ring the world, and in their darkness, bind them. (after Tolkien) - That rule being? -DO NO HARM
BELIEVE - JUST BELIEVE - IT'S JUST A BELIEF - YOU MUST BELIEVE - BELIEVE ME - SO HAVE FAITH
BJH
Dead Can Dance
Strawbs
Blowzabella
VdGG
Bonzo Dog
Nice.
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