Many people here loved Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s quite a hodge-podge, but there’s a theme underlying the eclectic goodness.
I have a peculiar fondness for Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett, which I find to be an excellent attempt (although [edit: I suspect] obsolete and probably flawed) to provide a reductionist explanation of an apparently-featureless phenomenon—many people, including many people here, found it dissatisfying.
I cannot think of other specifically LessWrongian recommendations off the top of my head—as NancyLebovitz said, elaboration would help.
Gödel, Escher, Bach is definitely a good recommendation, at least it appears to be from my cursory research on it.
As to what sort of recommendations I am looking for, I’ve noticed that LW appears to have a few favorite philosophers (Dennett among them) and a few favorite topics (AI, bias, utilitarian perspective, etc.) which I might benefit from understanding better, nice as the articles are. Some recommendations of good books on some of LW’s favorite topics would be a wonderful place to start.
I’m a fan of Consciousness Explained as well, though that may be partly nostalgia as in some ways I feel it marks the beginning of (or at least a major milestone on) my rationalist journey.
Wow, I’m surprised to hear that two people referred to Consciousness Explained as obsolete. If there’s a better book on consciousness out there, I’d love to hear about it.
As would I, actually. I guessed “obsolete” because the book came out in 1991 (and Dennett has written further books on the subject in the following nineteen years). I’ve not investigated its shortcomings.
Good point: thanks. Dennett wrote Sweet Dreams in 2005 to update Consciousness Explained, and in the preface he wrote
The theory I sketched in Consciousness Explained in 1991 is holding up pretty well . . . I didn’t get it all right the first time, but I didn’t get it all wrong either. It is time for some revision and renewal.
I highly recommend Sweet Dreams to Gigi and anyone else interested in consciousness. (It’s also shorter and more accessible than Consciousness Explained.)
Thank you for the updated recommendation. I will probably look into reading Sweet Dreams. Would I benefit from reading Consciousness Explained first, or would I do well with just the one?
I’d recommend reading them both, and you’d probably benefit from reading CE first. But I’d actually start with Godel, Escher, Bach (by Hofstadter) and The Mind’s I (which Dennett co-wrote with Hofstadter).
Oh, The Mind’s I was excellent—it is a compilation of short works with commentary that touches on a lot of nifty themes with respect to identity and personhood.
...which links to the recommended reading list for new rationalists, which I suppose we should have given to Gigi in the first place. The sad thing is, I contributed to that list, and completely forgot it until now.
The title—being the title of Hofstadter’s column in Scientific American (back when Scientific American was a substantive publication), of which the book is a collection—is an anagram of Mathematical Games, the name of his predecessor’s (Martin Gardner’s) column. That, too, is an enjoyable and eclectic read.
Many people here loved Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s quite a hodge-podge, but there’s a theme underlying the eclectic goodness.
I have a peculiar fondness for Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett, which I find to be an excellent attempt (although [edit: I suspect] obsolete and probably flawed) to provide a reductionist explanation of an apparently-featureless phenomenon—many people, including many people here, found it dissatisfying.
I cannot think of other specifically LessWrongian recommendations off the top of my head—as NancyLebovitz said, elaboration would help.
Gödel, Escher, Bach is definitely a good recommendation, at least it appears to be from my cursory research on it.
As to what sort of recommendations I am looking for, I’ve noticed that LW appears to have a few favorite philosophers (Dennett among them) and a few favorite topics (AI, bias, utilitarian perspective, etc.) which I might benefit from understanding better, nice as the articles are. Some recommendations of good books on some of LW’s favorite topics would be a wonderful place to start.
Thanks much for your help.
Good and Real (excellent reductionist philosophy, touching on a lot of the same topics as LW)
Global Catastrophic Risks
Nick Bostrom’s papers
I’m a fan of Consciousness Explained as well, though that may be partly nostalgia as in some ways I feel it marks the beginning of (or at least a major milestone on) my rationalist journey.
Wow, I’m surprised to hear that two people referred to Consciousness Explained as obsolete. If there’s a better book on consciousness out there, I’d love to hear about it.
I didn’t intend to imply I thought it was obsolete, just that I may hold it in higher regard because of when I read it than if I discovered it today.
As would I, actually. I guessed “obsolete” because the book came out in 1991 (and Dennett has written further books on the subject in the following nineteen years). I’ve not investigated its shortcomings.
Good point: thanks. Dennett wrote Sweet Dreams in 2005 to update Consciousness Explained, and in the preface he wrote
I highly recommend Sweet Dreams to Gigi and anyone else interested in consciousness. (It’s also shorter and more accessible than Consciousness Explained.)
Thank you for the updated recommendation. I will probably look into reading Sweet Dreams. Would I benefit from reading Consciousness Explained first, or would I do well with just the one?
I’d recommend reading them both, and you’d probably benefit from reading CE first. But I’d actually start with Godel, Escher, Bach (by Hofstadter) and The Mind’s I (which Dennett co-wrote with Hofstadter).
A while back, colinmarshall posted a detailed chapter-by-chapter review of The Mind’s I.
Oh, The Mind’s I was excellent—it is a compilation of short works with commentary that touches on a lot of nifty themes with respect to identity and personhood.
A while back, colinmarshall posted a detailed chapter-by-chapter review of The Mind’s I.
Thanks for the link!
...which links to the recommended reading list for new rationalists, which I suppose we should have given to Gigi in the first place. The sad thing is, I contributed to that list, and completely forgot it until now.
Oh, and also Hofstadter’s Metamagical Themas. (Yes, that’s the correct spelling.)
The title—being the title of Hofstadter’s column in Scientific American (back when Scientific American was a substantive publication), of which the book is a collection—is an anagram of Mathematical Games, the name of his predecessor’s (Martin Gardner’s) column. That, too, is an enjoyable and eclectic read.