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Neil deGrasse Tyson's Eight (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Baraka_Guru, Aug 21, 2012.

?

Which of these recommended books have you read?

  1. None....

    1 vote(s)
    5.6%

  2. The Bible

    12 vote(s)
    66.7%

  3. The System of the World (Isaac Newton)

    2 vote(s)
    11.1%

  4. On the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin)

    7 vote(s)
    38.9%

  5. Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift)

    13 vote(s)
    72.2%

  6. The Age of Reason (Thomas Paine)

    5 vote(s)
    27.8%

  7. The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)

    6 vote(s)
    33.3%

  8. The Art of War (Sun Tsu)

    11 vote(s)
    61.1%

  9. The Prince (Machiavelli)

    10 vote(s)
    55.6%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read | Open Culture

    How many of these have you read?
    Are you interested in reading through this list?
    Do you think it will make you better equipped in navigating the universe intellectually?
    Do you think if more people read these that we would have a better tradition of critical thinking?

    I've read Gulliver's Travels. I've been meaning to read much of the rest of the list, but many of these titles seem daunting. I guess that's part of it. These books are supposed to be challenging and engaging.

    What do you guys think? Do you suppose it's worth tackling these titles?

    There's no better price than as cheap as free, right?
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2012
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 21, 2012
    #1
    • Like Like x 1
  2. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Location:
    Central North Carolina
    I've read the bible a few times. After the few readings I realized that I was an atheist... A couple of the others I have started, The Prince and The Art of War, but never finished... I really need to read more of the classics, I guess.
     
    Cayvmann, Aug 21, 2012
    #2
  3. woodeye

    woodeye New Member

    Faugh!

    The Hobbit
    A Midwife's Tale
    Lord Foul's Bane
    Sandman Slim
    The Little Prince
    The Shadow Over Innsmouth
    The Name of the Rose
    Dune

    It's everything you really need to know...
     
    woodeye, Aug 21, 2012
    #3
  4. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    Looks like I have some reading to do.
     
    cynthetiq, Aug 21, 2012
    #4
    • Like Like x 1
  5. the_jazz

    the_jazz Accused old lady puncher

    I like Baraka_Guru 's list a lot more than than yours. His has books that have stood the test of time. Some of yours might - not that they aren't great books, but I wouldn't put Sandman Slim up against Age of Reason or On the Origin of the Species. It's like comparing manufactured diamonds versus cut gemstones.
     
    the_jazz, Aug 21, 2012
    #5
    • Like Like x 1
  6. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    The Age of Reason​
    The Wealth of Nations​
    On the Origin of Species​
    The System of the World​
    The Art of War​
    The Bible​
    The Prince​
    Gulliver's Travels​
    This is the order I would put them in. It is something I would like to have the time to do. I have skimmed The Art of War before, but I would like to have a few weeks in the summer to read like I did when I was 8, 9, or 10 years old. I think The Bible should be re-written more the modern society, although that is blasphemous. The current church's and the people who go to church have a very different interpretation that I think Mother Teresa or Gandhi would view it as. Mainly for the healthcare, feeding the poor, taxes, rich greed, and changing technology. Plus, the followers only follow the guidelines when convenient. ​
     
    ASU2003, Aug 21, 2012
    #6
  7. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    I've read the Bible several times, Gulliver's Travels twice. Think I'll dig in to the rest.
     
    grumpyolddude, Aug 21, 2012
    #7
  8. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Is this the remedial list?

    Heh... j/k.....

    (Or am I? :D)
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2012
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 21, 2012
    #8
    • Like Like x 5
  9. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    I've read them all except for Newton. Not necessarily the 8 that I would make my "everyone-must-reads," but not the worst such list I've seen. The Bible and Sun Tzu are the only ones I would really agree on.
     
    Levite, Aug 21, 2012
    #9
  10. omega

    omega Very Tilted

    I tried reading lord fouls bane years ago. unfortunately it is unreadable. I got about 50 pages and it was just dull dull dull. Sandman Slim is great fun, but hardly a great book. The hobbit, ok to read once. But really it's not that good. Especially when you get to that dipshit who lives in the woods. And Dune? seriously?
    --- merged: Aug 28, 2012 at 12:36 PM ---
    That was the point of tyson about the bible. Mother teresa was a monster. She did nothing to improve the lives of women and children in India. The more they were shackled by society and religion, the more accolades she won from the church. If she had spent some of her time teaching women how to control the size of their families and use birth control, then maybe they would have been able to feed and take care of a reasonable family size. Instead, she helped perpetuate the belief in larger families, which meant more sorry souls for jesus. meanwhile, she was earning and buying her place into heaven. She would have earned some real grace by actually helping people and improving the lives and quality of life in India.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 4, 2012
    omega, Aug 28, 2012
    #10
  11. Lordeden

    Lordeden Part of the Problem

    Location:
    Redneckhell, NC
    I've never done a full reading of the bible, but if you put together all the readings I've done, I've read the whole thing. I'm currently working on a complete read-through of it. I think Dhammapada should be on that list, but then again, when you start throwing religious manuscripts on this list, it gets hairy.

    I have read Art of War a few times (which I recommend The Book of Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashi over art of war) . Read Gulliver's Travels once in HS.

    I've got On the Origin of Species in my kindle, but haven't gotten around to it. I agree with BG, these books are daunting. This isn't The Hobbit, where I get to read about halflings in a mystical world of dragons, men, and wizards. These are books that are there to make you think. Not a lot of thinking in the Fantasy fluff books I usually read. I am going to download them and put them on my kindle, just to make myself feel guilty every time I open another one of my fluff books. Kinda like putting the dusty Ab-Roller XL next to the freezer I keep the ice cream in.

    *****

    So, I went clicky on some links. I think I found my next project. Read The Harvard Classics. I'm finishing that 5ft shelf.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2012
    Lordeden, Aug 28, 2012
    #11
    • Like Like x 1
  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I've read the Bible, The Prince, and Gulliver's Travels. I've read selections from Sun Tzu, Thomas Paine, and Adam Smith, but not the works in their entirety. I would add Rousseau's The Social Contract, Marx's Communist Manifesto and Thomas More's Utopia. I suggest those three as I think they address some widely misunderstood ideas in the public discourse.
     
    snowy, Aug 28, 2012
    #12
    • Like Like x 3
  13. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    I've been required to read all but one of those in various college courses. I guess that's a good thing, but honestly I don't really feel they have benefited my life. Eh, oh well. Might as well read things that influenced the world in substantial ways - it might mean something in the long run. There are many other books I have read that influenced me more.
    A few of the best:

    A Sand County Almanac - Leopold
    The Upanishads
    Tao Te Ching
    Death Be Not Proud - Gunther
     
    genuinemommy, Sep 5, 2012
    #13
  14. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Read all of the above.
    They're a good start for a perspective on things.

    Try these...they'll twist your noodle.
    • Chaos: Making a New Science
    • The Power of Myth
    • A History of the Modern World
    • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    • Foucault's Pendulum
    • Infinity and the Mind
    • The Story of Philosophy
    • Future Shock
    And one movie
    • gattaca (not a book, but the principle on genetics & society is significant...and it IS coming, can't avoid it)
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012
    rogue49, Sep 6, 2012
    #14
  15. omega

    omega Very Tilted

    Read everything. Absorb as much as you can. Never stop reading.I had a year of bible study in boarding school. The priest who taught it did not inject belief in it, just went through what it said. It's interesting to see all the expressions and literary references that other authors writers and thinkers drew from it.
     
    omega, Sep 6, 2012
    #15