guide for the perplexed

these are the books that lit bulbs in my head

The Third Wave - Avin Toffler

specifically,  the part where he explains the code of the second wave

Understanding Media - Marshall McLuhan

less the book, and more the quotes from wikiquote, specifically the Typographic Universe. McLuhan considers the world of text to be a 'second wave' for the world.

Mankind's worst mistake 

didn't know this was a chapter in Jared Diamond's book, but this plus ranprieur's faq on civillisation as an evil devouring fungus, solidified the nagging suspicion that all wasn't rosy

Undercover Economist  

lights went off in my head as I read the first chapter about the price of coffee. Ditto for akerlof's lemon theory, albeit it was read on wikipedia.

Kahneman Tversky

The work on biases by kahneman and ariely also were great, introducing the concept of base-rates. (that is something to unpack !), framing, and how we make mistakes.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 

explained a lot of how we  see the world . the why part remains vague to me. Alan watts talking about play , gives a hint, with the focus on serious, not solemn, and the parable of the piano teachers..

Tao Te Ching

I keep coming back to this , especially the first 2-3 verses

DefMacro.org  : Lisp for the rest of us

this blog post got me past coder and closer to programming theory than anything else I read. 

DefMacro.org  : Taming Doubt, Taming Perfection, Reality of Enso

three blog posts that became a foundation stone for my sanity, and direction, in this confusing world of skill, talent, and commerce.

SICP

that one quote preceding chapter N - facility of mind with ideas - just wow

oh no it's that meng guy again 

this page of jokes is what sold me on buddhism, buddha, bodhidharma, zen, lankavatara sutra

Beginning Android Games

showed me how java code looks when done by a not-a-wanker or lifer.