Re: A book list for today's renaissance human

From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Fri Dec 28 2001 - 09:33:40 MST


> > Mortimer Adler's "The Great Ideas: A
> > Lexicon of Western Thought";
>
> Keep a large lump of halite handy for that one. Mortimer had delusions of omniscience.

Yeah, but it's still a good overview of the material.
Just read it with Popper-glasses and you'll be fine.

> If it hasn't been mentioned yet, absolutely, the 2nd Ed. of _The Retreat to
> Commitment_ by Bartley.

That's a bit specialized, but it's certainly on my list.

> The fraction:
> Something by Edward de Bono.

Suggestion taken; I'm not familiar with his work.

> Something by Lakoff and Johnson (keep that halite handy,
> but it's very interesting work).

Lakoff's "Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things" had a lot of
good ideas, but I'd read it with a grain of Modafinil, not
salt: he has the annoying tendency to go on and on for 20
pages on some small point that should be obvious to most of
us already. Steve Pinker covers more or less the same
material, and he can write.

> Are we alllowed any fiction?

Amara listed Vinge and Milne which I'd certainly concur with.
I also think one should have at least some Heinlein under
your belt, preferably "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" or "JOB".
And a good dose of Mark Twain.

--
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC



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