The best Philosophy of Logic & Language books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Massimo Pigliucci has written a couple of books.

• How to be a Stoic

• A Handbook for New Stoics: How to thrive in a world out of control 52 week-by-week lessons.

I purchased the last book. Each week encourages doing an exercise to be a Stoic.

Good luck.

Don't tell me I don't support a thing that I support so that you can criticize me for not supporting it, lmao.

You lot aren't too bright, eh? I guess it's easier to argue against us when you just make shit up on the spot. Here's a book for you, since you like reading so much.

This is the work of Abraham Wald. If you're interested in survivorship bias, and thinking mathematically in general, please consider reading this book, which discusses this exact story, among others. I just read it last week, and I recommend it.

Bill Gates posted a book on his blog awhile back, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking. I don't mean this in any sort of negative way, but you should check it out to get a handle on what the guy said. It is an interesting introduction into mathematical principles with a heavy focus on probability.

Great question! I haven't seen it come up as an answer yet, so I hope I'm providing new information here.

There is indeed a peculiar tribe in the Amazon that is known for its almost total lack of rituals or traditions.

This is the only source I could find real quick on the Pirahas and burials.

With that said, I'll give my two-cents on them and hope that someone here can back me up.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, a Christian missionary was assigned to the Pirahas to (1) convert them to Christianity, and (2) learn their language and culture.

He wasn't successful with (1) BECAUSE of (2). During his time with the Pirahas, he came to the conclusion that they are a people without rituals, gods, myths, and therefore could not be converted.

I'd highly recommend his book if you're looking for something about peoples with "non-cultures." It has the perfect mix of linguistics, anthropology and personal accounts of his time with the Pirahas.

Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes

Don't Sleep There are Snakes by Daniel Everett

Dr. Everett went to the Amazon jungle in the 1970's to learn the language of the Piraha people in order to put their language into writing and then translate the Bible into that language. He eventually got his PhD in linguistics.

The Piraha people have so sense of time - no past or future. They only use "within our senses" or "not within our senses". If something is not within their sight or sound or smell, it doesn't exist for all intents and purposes.

Dr. Everett may be a good place to find more information for your research.

edit: spelling

This one my Massimo Piggliucci did make things turn around for me, by not changing things that gave me a hard-time, but, by liberating myself out of all that shackled me. I wish you the best to be out of your ordeal, soon!

A lot of my thinking has very much become similar to an SAT question. "If X is to Y as Y is to Z..." or however those went. There's a book called Bad Arguments worth checking out. People use these all the time, especially in political debates, and it's nice to know them and be able to call them out. Plus, fun illustrations!

Yes, if I remember correctly, this is noticeable in the Pirahã community, which you can read about through Daniel Everett's research. The following book is a good entry point, but you'll have to search around for the bit where he discusses how the community treats children as independent adults, with little to no protective behaviour.

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386120

I recently started reading How Not To Be Wrong (The Power of Mathematical Thinking), by Jordan Ellenberg, and while the material is probably way too simple for most on this thread, it's very engaging and informative, relating real world examples to simple math concepts. It's especially good at pointing out how math is used and abused by people to come to inaccurate or sometimes completely false conclusions.

But I think math geniuses aside, everyone can get something out of this book. It's good.

The best place to start as a beginning, is "Rulebook for Arguments" https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0872209547/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's only 104 pages, and arms you with enough to refute any ~~womans~~ unsound arguments. I still refer to it occasionally, even though I have much large volumes on logic. This little book is great as a tutorial.

The P -> Q shit is actually really simple. Want a quick lesson?

I think a lot of modern stoics are atheists. Massimo Pigliucci certainly is. Check out his book How to Be a Stoic: https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Stoic-Ancient-Philosophy/dp/1541644530/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=massimo+pigliucci&qid=1613362927&sprefix=massimo+pig&sr=8-5

This is a great book. Godel Escher Bach... mind expanding is what I would call it.

https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567

This book looks good:

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: The Lost Art of Making Sense.

https://www.amazon.ca/Illustrated-Book-Bad-Arguments/dp/1615192255/ref=pd_aw_fbt_img_3/147-9192096-7411767?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1615192255&pd_rd_r=67de0834-8b6c-4621-bbd0-da6b977f2910&pd_rd_w=8j2Fs&pd_rd_wg=TDPHo&pf_rd_p=a980...

> I don't believe anyone has a satisfying answer though.

The question may well be unanswerable. This leads to one of my favorite unanswerable questions: why is there something instead of nothing? (Favorite because anyone who says they've got an answer to this question is almost certainly either delusional or lying... so it's a good litmus test for 'woo'.)

I highly recommend Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid for a very readable exploration on why this is unanswerable.

Daniel Everett also wrote a book, not an academic study, more of a memoir. Amazon

And here is a talk he gave to the FFRF (Freedon from religion foundation) on the subject.

1. Yes, it's possible, although it varies by person.
2. Yes - almost any process that can be done by hypnosis can, at least in theory, be done through self-hypnosis.
3. The mind is organic, complex, and unpredictable. This might even be structurally built into the study of cognition.

So... nothing is really engraved in a subconscious, because it's constantly changing and it's highly complex. There isn't a function. There's no deactivation switch, because there's no switch in the first place. The mind is not a machine and hypnotists aren't programmers.

Hypnotists are guides. They specialize in navigating some of this very poorly mapped territory. They're often quite good at it. In some cases - like smoking cessation or phobia reduction - they're reliably good at particular functions - so much so that it's published and statistically significant.

Don't let the reliability of some operations fool you, though. The mind isn't a series of mapped switches and mechanical functions, and IMO it never will be. As a result, the reliable answers in spaces like this will generally be frustratingly vague, just because no one can say "yup, I just slap that tear switch and call tech support if it doesn't work."

There is a popular book devoted to this topic entitled "Godel Escher Bach - The Eternal Golden Braid". It is not a particularly Christian book, it was written by a Buddhist mathematician in the 1970's, as he contemplated computers, math, artificial intelligence, and the like.

One of the central ideas of the book involves "Godel's Incompleteness Theorem", which says that you can never prove a "set" from only the data/information inside that set. For example, you cannot prove 2+2=4 unless there is something else, outside of the equation, that proves what a "2" or a "4" even are. Taken to the extreme -- we cannot even prove there is a universe (from inside the universe, as we are), unless there is something outside of the universe to give it some sort of context/meaning. When people say "you can't prove there's a god!", I always say "according to Godel's Theorem, you can't even prove there's a YOU".

In short - my argument would be... if there's a universe, then there "must" be "something" outside of the universe that gives the universe a context... is this "God"? Is it "Ultimate Truth"? This gives new insight into the meaning of the Hebrew name for God -- "I Am".

https://www.amazon.com/Gödel-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567

Two of my favorites:

• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Not precisely about math but it's very logic-driven and most of the arguments D. Hofstadter makes are math related. This book has given me a lot of insight.
• Flatland. Basically a kids book regarding geometry and how do we look at "space" and dimensions. It's simple, yet intriguing.

Finite and Infinite Games By James Carse.

It has stood up to 5 re-readings across the years with newer and deeper insight blooming from each visit.

I've been fascinated by consciousness and the mind/body problem since I was a teen. Never quite found the "answer" (spoiler: no one has), but some of my reading on how human consciousness works inadvertently left me with coping strategies for our mortality.

It's a long, dense read, but I would always recommend Gödel, Escher, Bach as my favorite among these types of books. The follow-up, I Am A Strange Loop is great as well.

This story is also told in <em>How Not to Be Wrong</em>. They would have many people go to many different stores, if I remember correctly.

You should read Gödel, Escher, Bach if you are looking for the links between math, music, and language.

You should read Irreducible Mind It's a great read and talks about how psychology used to be, "I experience this, others must as well," to the poking and prodding to elicited pertain responses to given stimuli. Very interesting read.

https://www.amazon.com/Irreducible-Mind-Toward-Psychology-Century/dp/1442202068

>so apparently he's in contact with another never-a-JW who is also working on your JW's critical thinking skills? That's GREAT news!

Well, as I said before, I know he knows other non-JW people, mainly fellow artists, even though most probably not too close. So I'm not surprised he knows this guy, too. But it's so strange that he writes that kind of stuff now. It seems more like provocation to me, at the moment. He recently still wrote about that "serving God" stuff (and God won't judge him for his personality disorder, because it's not his fault etc.), while at the same time criticizing a few things the WT teaches. It was in that context when he was offended when I suspected him of having used a certain situation to "preach" (and report the time) and said, he's not the JWs' idiot. So my impression is rather that he tries to demonstrate how open-minded and free and independent he is, while still being a JW.

(this is the book he says he read: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386120/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&amp;crid=2PPSB0VSY4AWS&amp;keywords=Daniel+Everett&amp;qid=1644007474&amp;sprefix=daniel+everett%2Caps%2C168&amp;sr=8-2)

I don't know...

The property of being able to understand Gödel's theorem. The reason I find this so mind boggling is that the theorem shows precisely that there must be something else than just computation. It is the ability to look at a system "from the outside" to understand its rules. I would say that all people have this even if most are unable to grasp Gödel's theorem. I find it unlikely that this property among people that cannot grasp that theorem would be somehow fundamentally different from this property in people that can. Hence, I would like to return to my initial argument and claim that this is strong evidence for that all human consciousness contains something inherently uncomputable. And probably dogs' consciousness, too.

The theorem is basically a short program (Gödel number) that within the system cannot be proven to neither follow nor break the rules. Its truth value in a sense is undecidable. But from outside of the system you can by understanding it also infer the truth value. The system is Turing complete, so within the system you can do everything that can be done with computation. If people were just Turing complete, they would not be able to understand it either. I am afraid I will not be able to simplify the message of that theorem into something that does it justice in a Reddit post. Sorry.

I actually used to think like you, but this theorem turned everything upside down. -Perhaps you would be willing to read one of my all time favourite books that covers this topic? https://www.amazon.com/Gödel-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567/

I think u/poppy_blu meant for that to be a reply in the thread below where she's grinding her gears through the handbook finding any excuse to avoid answering why Sheryl Sandberg's advice DOESN'T read:

“When looking for a life partner, my advice to women is to find someone who wants an equal partner. Someone who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home. These men exist and, trust me, over time, nothing is sexier.”

Probably Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. It's not directly related to cognitive science or game design (my education and job, respectively) but was a terrific foundation for both. Plus Hofstadter is an engaging writer and all-around good egg.

all those things boil down to one question. is consciousness real, or is it a brain generated illusion, reducible to mindless matter

Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century

if it is reducible, then your feelings about that stuff is justified. but based on my profound and numerous experiences with the anomalous features of consciousness and on various flavors of evidence such as in the above book, it isn't

Not sure exactly how bad your insurance situation is but you may want to try looking for a psychologist instead of a therapist. There can be a stigma against drugs, and it can be an arduous journey finding the right prescription of shit, but it can make life so much easier.

I’ve been in your situation. I’ve had friends in your situation. It’s tough, but you can figure it out. If you can manage to find a job you give half a shit about that can help pass the time productively and could maybe help in the friends and satisfaction departments, as well. It doesn’t need to be anything exotic or prestigious to be rewarding, either. There’s plenty of places hiring right now.

I could talk to you till I’m blue in the face and it wouldn’t change anything, though. You’ll overcome that angst and anxiety and depression when you figure it out, my words aren’t going to magically make it better.

I am going to double down on my Buddhism or stoicism comment, though. Stoicism is much, much more than just not showing emotion. It’s a way to live your life with mastery over yourself, calmness in the face of adversity, and compassion for others. I’d recommend picking up a copy of “How to be a Stoic”. I’ll buy you copy or send you an Amazon gift card or something if you can’t get it yourself. Seriously PM me if you want.