Books

A "quake book" is a text that radically perturbs how one thinks about and acts within the world.

The shift is experienced, individually and ideally societally, as positive (as opposed to the negative shifts associated with ideological or epistemological info hazards.

A quake book may make an existing belief, value or stance especially legible to oneself, or provide irrefutable evidence for something felt at a deep level. It may catalyse a novel perspective or insight, or provoke new questions because it's wrong in a particularly interesting or sacrilegious way. No matter how it happens, a quake book terraforms one's existence upon engagement.

I first heard of them via Ryan Holiday sometime in the mid-2010s. He heard of them via Tyler Cowen.

What are your quake books?

A "quake book" is a text that radically perturbs how one thinks about and acts within the world.

The shift is experienced, individually and ideally societally, as positive (as opposed to the negative shifts associated with ideological or epistemological info hazards.

A quake book may make an existing belief, value or stance especially legible to oneself, or provide irrefutable evidence for something felt at a deep level. It may catalyse a novel perspective or insight, or provoke new questions because it's wrong in a particularly interesting or sacrilegious way. No matter how it happens, a quake book terraforms one's existence upon engagement.

I first heard of them via Ryan Holiday sometime in the mid-2010s. He heard of them via Tyler Cowen.

What are your quake books?
https://www.lesswrong.com/tag/information-hazards
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/11/view-quake-read.html

In motion - complex systems, computing and communication (amongst other things) | msweet.net | working on /subset

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle was mine. It shifted my understanding of time and presence, bringing clarity and peace. It encouraged me to live in the moment and let go of past regrets and future anxieties. It's a book that truly reshaped my worldview in profound ways.