最喜欢的书 --- Favorite Books

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Jan 30, 2026 10:14 AM

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These are the books that have most deeply influenced my worldview and personal ethics thus far. I revisit each of them regularly.

Hands down the best book I've read. The Beginning of Infinity explains the deepest theories we know, across physics, philosophy, and science, in a precise, bulletproof way. My favorite is Deutsch' account of our best theory of knowledge: Critical Rationalism. The most impressive part of the book is its optimistic and empowering undertone. Since the Enlightenment, humanity has entered a phase of open-ended progress, where all problems not forbidden by the laws of nature can be solved. Truly epic and electrifying.

This is the clearest and most accessible account of non-dualistic philosophy I've read. It explains the mind as a useful but fallible tool, something to experience and utilize rather than identify with. It's not overly intellectual and also not annoyingly vague. Unlike more mystical books like The Power of Now, this one is practical and direct, using short, powerful statements repeated in different contexts. "Waking up" to the insight that the mind is not an adversary is essential for good mental health.

Man's Search for Meaning

This is my favorite account of existentialist philosophy, the view that life has no inherent meaning but that we can create our own through the choices we make. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl survived years in Nazi death camps and observed that those who endured suffering best were those who chose to live for something beyond themselves. After the war, he turned this insight into a therapeutic practice called logotherapy, helping people escape depression by finding meaning in their own lives.

Top Picks ★★

These books have significantly shaped how I see the world. Many of their insights have influenced both my outlook on life and the content of The 4 Acts book.

The Fabric of Reality

Deutsch's even more technical and in-depth (yet still clear) account of what he calls the four fundamental strands of reality: quantum physics, evolution, computation, and epistemology. It's more challenging than The Beginning of Infinity, but just as rewarding. It changed how I think about what explanations are and how they fit together.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Very helpful for understanding the pitfalls in our decision-making and judgment, especially when we're working on "autopilot." Kahneman explains how our thinking operates in two modes: a fast, automatic one and a slow, deliberate one. Most of our daily mistakes come from relying too much on the fast one. This book helped me see where I'm not fully conscious or intentional in my choices.

The Selfish Gene

A great explanation of the gene-centered view of Neo-Darwinian evolution. Crystal clear, example-rich, and beautifully written. While not focused entirely on early life, it does touch on the "RNA world" hypothesis, which Dawkins presents as a plausible origin of life. Probably my favorite renidition of that idea.

The Incerto

The Incerto is a series of books on the unpredictability of reality (i.e. randomness) and more specifically how different systems respond to it. Taleb explains many counter-intuitive truths about how systems become increasingly or descreasingly resilient to stress, including extreme outlier events he calls "black swans." He also explores hidden asymmetries and structural flaws that we often overlook.

The Rational Optimist

A wonderful book that substantiates and reinforces the claim that, since the Enlightenment started in the West, practically all measures of human well-being have improved. Trade, innovation, and cooperation are the real engines of progress. This perspective stands in stark contrast to the pessimism and de-growth so common today, especially in the West.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

A great compilation of Naval's insights across many practical domains. I especially value his thinking on personal exploration, wealth creation, and happiness. These ideas have deeply influenced my worldview, and I revisit them often. It's not a traditional book, but more like a curated distillation of wisdom worth rereading.

This book is full of amazing and counterintuitive anecdotes that reinforce the idea that many problems we face aren't problems with the material world, but with our perception of it. Very helpful as a mindset shift, especially in business. Sutherland makes a strong case that not everything needs to be rational to work—sometimes the illogical solution is the best one.

Lords of the Cosmos

Lords of the Cosmos is a broad retelling of how knowledge drives progress across history and into the future, grounded in critical rationalism and optimism. It clearly explains several major breakthroughs — from the emergence of language to the development of scientific reasoning — and presents even controversial topics with nuance rather than ideology.