What are /r/INTP's favorite Products & Services?

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I don't care so much about the popularity as about the content. I find that the things that become popular are summarized and reduced in order to reach a wider audience. This has been know to happen in TED talks where scientific studies are misquoted and misapplied.

I prefer original sources, especially older works that are widely known but not often read. I read Freakonomics (Dubner and Levitt) when the books came out, but I haven't followed much of the media content since. I am also trying to read Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations.

tl,dr: The original content is much more interesting than what makes its way into the popular media.

Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Obvious flaw is others might not want to be treated the way you want to be treated.

Platinum Rule: treat others the way they want to be treated. There's a book about it, it's one of the most helpful books I've read, for business and life in general. It's easy to read and if you're into MBTI it's based a lot on that. I highly recommend it to any INTP.

“By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic "the self-transcendence of human existence." It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself--be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself--by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love--the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”

This has always been my favorite book (Man's Search for Meaning). Completely changed my outlook on life. Read it 5+ times and it made me realize the feeling you're experiencing, is just your inner psyche telling you to think that.

People want to be loved, including INTPs, and to do that we must break down the wall we place between people. Make yourself vulnerable, experience the good and bad in people, and you'll find yourself feeling yourself taking these little "leaps" in your life.

I recommend Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. One of the most influential books in my life.

"Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone – those that are now, and those to come. Existence flows past us like a river: the “what” is in constant flux, the “why” has a thousand variations. Nothing is stable, not even what’s right here. The infinity of past and future gapes before us – a chasm whose depths we cannot see. So it would take an idiot to feel self-importance or distress. Or any indignation, either. As if things that irritate us lasted."

"Consider the lives led once by others, long ago, the lives to be led by others after you, the lives led even now, in foreign lands. How many people don’t even know your name. How many will soon have forgotten it. How many offer you praise now – and tomorrow, perhaps, contempt. That to be remembered is worthless. Like fame. Like everything."

"Does your reputation bother you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it. The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people who praise us – how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it all takes place. The whole earth a point in space – and most of it uninhabited. How many people there will be to admire you, and who they are. “The world is nothing but change, our life is only perception.”

-Marcus Aurelius. I struggled through what you are going through, a Roman Emperor's diary managed to help me out.

on a more serious note, as someone who's experienced in the field, you'd be surprised how much of a hard time companies have hiring people. There's a legit 'talent' shortage for programmers that actually know how to... program. I wish I were joking, but companies often ask terribly simple/stupid programming questions during interviews just to weed out the people that "want to be in computers" but can't code.

So your mother is right, everyone wants to be in computers, but not a lot of people really bother putting the effort into it. If you go into it full-INTP, you'll be fine, trust me. This may or may not involve relocating to somewhere that values skilled programmers though, as I've heard stories about programming gigs being tougher to come by outside the US.

Also, as far as learning materials go, Learn Python The Hard Way and Udacity are top-notch (and I say this as an experience programming teacher). The barrier to entry is only your willingness to learn, so go ahead and give it a try...

Two points:

1) "I think you are what you perceive. You are what you think." - kooliard

"What you think, you will become" - the Buddha

So if your inner dialogue is always negative ("people think I'm eccentric", "I'm not good at relating to other people", "I'm a phony") then you will be a negative, unhappy person. Until you learn to change your inner dialogue (try reading David Burns' The Feeling Good Handbook), then you'll feel foreveralone and detached.

2) "I do not like my conscience. It's a mess. There's too much emphasis on the past and the future, hardly any focus on the present." - kooliard

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment" - the Buddha

You've already figured out a huge piece of the puzzle. You're far too caught up in mind traps - your mind trapping you in the past and feeling regret, anger, etc., or your mind trapping you in the future and worrying, feeling anxious about what other people 'might' do/think about you.

Let go of everything but the present moment. Peace will follow.

Programming is something people take years to learn, and some concepts go beyond knowing the language rules (maths, algorithms, etc).

If you know these concepts beforehand, taking up a new language is something to be done in hours or a few days, but if you're learning to program from the very beginning, it will take much longer!

I can relate to your feelings, but think about it this way: if you're at any stage of learning something, there is an infinite amount of people that haven't even started learning what you already know. As there will always be those who know way more than you'll ever know. What matters is that you follow your own course, try to keep a steady learning rhythm (not easy if it's not an habit already), and cut yourself some slack. Learning is not an event, it is a continuous, never ending process.

If you're having trouble with a specific language, try to learn the basic concepts first. Study algorithms, try a more simple language where you can gather these concepts and move on to a more advanced language once you know the basics.

Don't give up! Best of luck.

Check out Scratch or other learning language to understand and experiment with the algorithms.

Too many to list so I'll just pick one each.

Fiction Book: Kafka on the Shore

Nonfiction Book: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

Movie: Oldboy

Animated Movie: Paprika

Show: Farscape

Animated Show: Serial Experiments Lain

Documentary: The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Philosophy, writing, gaming, art (music, photography, /r/glitch_art). Honestly anything classified as a "soft science" kinda gets my motor going. I also really like anthorpology...specifically food anthro. I just started reading through Salt: A World History, and it's been interesting so far. From Amazon: > In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

Way ahead of you. I bought The Adventurer's Guide to the Outdoors because of Covid, and the 2020 election. I keep it near my bed for whenever shit finally hits the fan.

>Guys are the same as female attention whores, they are flakey, tell lies, give one word responses, and don't want to be your friend.

A blanket statement if I've ever seen one. Find new people, not everyone is like this, trust me.

Also, I'd recommend reading Dale Canergie's How To Win Friends and Influence People. Fantastic book.

Economics is a fantastic subject! Without knowing how far along in the field you already are, here are some suggestions listed in order of accessibility:

• Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Short, simple, and accessible, definitely a great introduction to the world of Classical Economic Thought.
• Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. A little tougher than Hazlitt, but still not very long and overall pretty accessible.
• Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. Very long and occasionally textbook-esque, but easy to read and quite encompassing with the breadth of its content.
• Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek. An interesting and important book that ties together Economics with Social Matters (particularly that poor economic policies can lead to tyranny).
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. The "founding document" for Classical Economics, very long and extremely difficult to read for the layman, but it formed the foundation of all Classical Economic thought to come.

Of course you'll notice that these are all Classical "Libertarian" books. I don't know much about the equal but opposite world of Economics, but I'd imagine anything by Marx or probably Keynes could point you in the right direction that way.

I've also heard of more "pop" economics books like Freakonomics that may kindle interest in the field, but I've never dabbled in them myself so I couldn't tell you if they're worth it.

And if you're a fan of videos, check out anything by Milton Friedman on Youtube, particularly his Q&A sessions and his series "Free to Choose."

I wrote a journal in the 6th grade. My stepsister found it three pages in and made fun of me. I stopped writing a journal.

Now I have a log (since three years ago). Basically a text file (org mode) next to my TODO list; it's secured in an encrypted partition (veracrypt). I only log what I did on the particular day: exercise, tasks at work, expenses, progress in books etc. This is useful for two reasons:

1. I have poor memory and forget what I did last week, when someone asks. Thanks to the log, I can look it up.
2. It helps with establishing habits. For example, I exercise every day, so that I can write it down, because future me would be disappointed with present (past) me, when reviewing the log. I sometimes make statistics to see progress (it's also helped me realize that I did actually meaningfully contribute at work, even though I didn't realize it).

I could use 3rd party services instead, but I've been disappointed with some (last.fm, endomondo becoming more commercialized), and there are privacy risks, when someone else is in control of the data (security breaches aside, the user is the actual product more often than not).

Hi, I recommend you read this and this before you get too close to this theory. Although it is a very interesting theory, it can be kinda dangerous to your own personality and individuality. Go ahead and do all of your research, but keep in mind a 'sartrean filter'.

Irrelevant to MBTI but a good read for nt types:

Cory Doctorow Little Brother

Jack Kerouac On the Road

Asimov Isaac I, Robot, The Last Question( sort story)

Charles Bukowski Hot Water Music

Niccolo Machiavelli, Il Principile

Carlo M. Cipolla The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

Schopenhauer Die kunst, recht zu behalten( the art of always being right)

Of course this sub's favourite Nietzsche, any book is a good read.

Bernard Russel A History of Western Philosophy

EDIT: James Simon Kunen The Strawberry Statement.

I generally suggest finding a topic you're interested in and reading books about that, but I have some books that I believe almost everyone should read.

-The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. The Gregory Hayes translation is like, crazy readable.

-The Stranger by Albert Camus.

-The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

-Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker - Other finance books are for pussies.

-Mind Performance Hacks -The O'Reilly press one. Can't the author at the moment.

-P.G. Wodehouse books are great for some light reading in between heavier books.

You've got to have what Napoleon Hill calls a "definite chief aim" in life. One goal that is your utmost priority, that you're willing to sacrifice to achieve (otherwise it's just a wish, not a goal). Visualize it in detail and then work backwards to create concrete action steps that will take you there. Mine, for example, is financial independence. I should be there in 5-6 years. Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich is a good place to start.

I also really enjoy stoicism and enjoyed reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius . I've just recently started getting into Surrealism too which is interesting. Existentialism also is usually very interesting. Most philosophy I get though is through film so directors like Bergman, Bunuel, Tarkovsky, Truffaut, etc

For Economics I'd highly suggest "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman. Short but sweet, the perfect introduction to libertarian economics.

For science I'd very highly suggest "Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene. He's the only non-fiction science author I've read so far who has a legitimate gift for communication, and the subject material is absolutely fascinating. If you like that "mind-blown" feeling, it's the book to read!

Hopefully my source is correct, it's been a while since I've read the book, I believe in: "Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell" there's a chapter called "The Trouble with Geniuses" -- the claim and research indicated, there was no additional benefits over 135; income, education, social status, probability of winning the nobel prize, there wasn't any correlation between IQ and performance after that point. In fact, most of them lived very crippled lives, socially inept, bitter, and isolated.

I would go a step further with the book "Think and Grow Rich" - By Napoleon Hill: that a consuming, self-fueled desire is a more powerful tool than anything else we might possess. Written in the 1930's Mr. Hill interviewed 500 of the Tycoons and leaders of the field and distilled their overlapping secret of success.

Have you considered the possibility that you just plain have different love languages? I know there are some statistical trends regarding which MBTI types tend to express and/or require certain forms of expressing love, but there's a lot more individual-specificity there, and you're going to have to ask.

Personally, if I care about someone, I tend to want to do stuff for them like solve problems or even just listen to their problems if necessary; I also like giving them things if I just happen to see something I figure they'd like (although I detest coerced gift-giving like Greedmas). In a more intimate relationship, cuddling is important to me, and I'd definitely prefer quality-time over quantity. In contrast, I can't stand "words of affirmation," either giving or receiving, and I don't actually like receiving gifts, either. But everyone is going to have their own constellation of both needs and forms of self-expression.

The thing is, though... communication is critical to anyone, and INTPs are not fucking mind-readers. Have you specifically told him which acts upset you and at least tried to come up with a coherent explanation of why? It is grossly unfair to expect him to just know what your needs and hates are if you haven't explicitly stated them (just like it'd be a colossal asshole move for him to ignore those if you have stated them in literally so many words).

Do not imply, do not expect. Say something. With words.

That's normal, (we) you are an introvert. According to book "The introvert advantages" that refer to studies, we use our historical memory for those kinds of things. Correct words took more time to popup in our head than for extrovert.

Reading those kind of books has helped me realized the difference we introvert have from the "standard" expectations (extrovert).

Yes, it happens to me often. I'm testing this website (since 3 days now) to see if this help me make my ideas clearer.

There is great chance that Tim is an introvert, but I'm not good enough at guessing MBTI type of people to tell if he is an INTP.

On a side note, a great TED talk that will help you come with a good way of presenting your ideas.

To-do lists, seriously. At work I use Basecamp, with deadlined goals. My coworkers can see my to-dos, so I do them out of pride. For my not-work-life, I use TeuxDeux. If don't complete something, it just pushes it up to the next day, and I gradually become humiliated by the constant reminder that I haven't finished that item.

I still procrastinate like crazy, but at least now I function.

Cheer up dude I was exactly like you one year ago, and I was 22 too, things can get much better if you make the right choices.

Therapies didn't work for me but benzos fixed what was wrong in my brain and allowed me to get my shit together by myself. Seek some medical help, maybe therapists would be good for you, maybe drugs. tbh I think INTPs are too intellectually independant and proud for a therapy to work but that's just my opinion.

I travelled quite a lot which is a very good idea for your mental health because it kind of resets your brain and puts your everyday problems in perspective. But I really don't know about feel-good-charity-tourism I 've always hated this concept. If you want to go out of your confort zone, I've solo backpacked in Iceland and Norway sleeping in youth hostel with no schedule and had the time of my life there while I was ready to commit suicide one week before my flight.

Also buy Meditations by Marcus Aurelius or read the pdf, this book is like a bible for people like you and me.

Just a few to get you started. My favorite two first.

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (or Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday if you want summarized, modern language).

• Getting Things Done by David Allen (I use a simplified subset of his system, but still a great read for the fundamentals and mindset)

• Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins (don't let the life-coachy caricature scare you away, this book is legit)

• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

• Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima

• The Life-changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo

• Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe (a no frills, no bullshit guide to getting strong with weight training)

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Dale Carnegie was mentioned already...

• Be Here Now by Ramm Dass (deep hippie shit)

And right now I'm working on:

• What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney (join us in /r/becomingtheiceman and /r/wimhofmethod!)

Here are a few things that have been helping me:

• Read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Carry the book with you and open it everyday
• Focus on your real friends or try to find better ones. Try to avoid romantic relationships as long as you are depressed
• Travel if you have the money
• Benzos and ADs have been helping me, maybe even saved my life. Psychologists are a fraud, but don't hesisate to ask your doctor for help
• Keep being busy, don't let your brain think. You are lucky enough to have a job even if you don't like it

MBTI is a sort of horoscope that, while accurate, serves to make you feel better about yourself. It devalues weaknesses and praises your strengths. People enjoy things that make them feel good about themselves. Of course people are going to use it for rationalizing their behaviour, in order not to have to through the hard realization that they should change. Change is hard work, it's a lot easier to read about how you are perfect just the way you are.

That said, with the right mindset, MBTI can be a good base for personal improvement - because it does give you a good idea of just what you have to work with. I can only talk for myself, but in order to improve I need to know how, and why. Reading books is a great way to change how you think. If you change how you think, you'll change how you behave. You can reprogram yourself to become a better person. Just take care not to fall into the trap of reading, without practicing what you learn. That is also a defence mechanism your brain employs on you in order for you not to change.

Book tips: >The Charisma Myth

>The Art of Learning

>The Power of Habit

>The Moral Animal

>The Social Animal

>The Obstacle is the Way

>Meditations

>Predictably Irrational

>Willpower

>Strangers to Ourselves

>Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Just a couple of good ones. The more philosophy, spirituality and psychology you read, the more you begin to pick up on the themes and ideas they share, and the more things start to make sense. Eventually you start to form the groundwork for the life you want to live, like you've discovered some sort of cheat code to living. But, again, you're going to have to make the actual changes to your life, not just read about them. Trust me though, it's the best thing I ever did.

You are what you do. What kind of person would you like to be?

Travel

Become well read

Pursue a career I love

Become enlightened

Fall on love, but I'm kinda sceptical about this

Have a family and pass on my wisdom

Write a book, my version of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Contribute to the country where I'm from

The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Truly an amazing book. Wonderful prose and a fascinating look at growing up black in America in 40s. The chapters on him living in Harlem (as a criminal) before finding Islam are really cool, and his description of the Haadj is unreal.

Yep. The same.

Want to guarantee that I will never read something? Tell me, "Hey, you should read this!" Instant turn-off.

I somehow muddled through AP English with at least a B not having read either Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

So my biggest thing has been conferences, I've gotten job offers and made amazing connections just by showing up, walking up to one person that seemed interesting and saying that I don't know anyone there and would love to meet them.

Basically, people are really interesting if you just try to meet them. To be honest, the best advice in this category really is How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, cliche yes, but amazing text on this matter and I would think other INTP's would agree. Oh, and for an INTP flair, Carnegie talks about being interested in people, pretending to be interested in them works just as well.

I find plenty of ideas beautiful, but one has truly affected me after I read about it on Quora. I was aware of almost everything Dan Holiday wrote in that post of his, but never had I realised how truly magnificent the cosmos and our existence is. It moved me emotionally, which is so rare, and certainly made me more aware, yet not saddened, of my insignificance.

https://www.quora.com/How-do-atheists-explain-how-the-world-was-created?share=1#!n=60

A long post, but worth the read.

My problem with these types of videos is that they frequently take very small correlations and try to generalize these small correlations to rigid gender roles. There are certainly biological and cognitive difference's in men and women, but some people try to overemphasize these differences.

Consider one of the studies she mentioned, the study were children choose between dolls and cars. She says boys have a "strong preference" for cars, is this preference as strong as she seems to think? Lets look at the the "strong preference" for neutral colored dolls vs cars:

As you can see at the age of 1 year both boys and girls both prefer dolls over cars and at 2 years old girls had a 50/50 preference for dolls and cars although boys had a 55% preference for cars.

In fact, the distributions for the study at 24 months (I made a graph here) would indicate that about 60% of boys and girls over-lap in preference. About 32% of girls would exhibit more "masculine" toy preferences than the average boy and about 37% of boys would exhibit more "feminine" toy preferences than the average girl.

My big problem is her belief that encouraging gender neutral play is harmful. In fact, in my opinion the results indicate quite the opposite, that boys and girls are flexible their play styles and forcing the 60% of children in the middle into hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine roles would be far more harmful.

I watched my best friend shove a .22 revolver in his stepdads face, and then he told him the next time he hit his mom; he wouldn't ever hit anyone again. That shitbag never came around again. Also btw I was 9 he was 10. The whole neighborhood knew his mom was getting hit but the cops didn't give a shit. I would assume that incident had something to do with my pro gun prejudices. That wouldn't be the last time the police failed to provide a stable environment in my home town. And it sure as hell wouldn't be the first

I wasn't offended, maybe a little tipsy, but not offended. I tend to forget that my view point is somewhat outside the standard deviation.

Physical and mental health are closely linked. Regular exercise promotes deeper sleep, increases energy, and boosts mood, all of which contribute to better focus, and a poor diet deprives your body of the nutrients it needs to function at capacity while burdening it with the task of digesting empty calories. It sounds like a lifestyle change would go a long way, in your case. Try committing to regular exercise, work on eating a more balanced diet, and see how you feel after a few weeks. I've struggled a lot with depression and anxiety, both of which are common in my family, and I've found diet and exercise to have a profound impact on my focus and mood. In the long run, quitting smoking would be a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd recommend trying to make all of those changes at once.

Where sleep is concerned, another common problem to consider is that the short wavelengths emitted by backlit displays suppress melatonin, making it harder to sleep. You may want try avoiding screens for an hour before you go to bed (e-ink displays are fine, as long as they're not backlit). Supposedly f.lux minimizes melatonin-suppressing impact of screen time by adjusting the color temperature according to the time of day, but I don't think it's been scientifically proven to work. I do have friends who swear by it, but that could just as well be a placebo effect.

Gödel Escher Bach by Douglass Hofstadter is a classic that many INTPs tend to enjoy, including myself. I also think Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a great book for INTPs; I haven’t finished it yet, but I know I eventually will.

Reddit's own No More Zero Days is an excellent way to execute a lot of the advice here. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell are both really good motivational reads, I regularly buy copies just to give out.

"Sun Tzu- The Art of War" I found almost everything in there relates to life, from how to be a leader to how to succeed in life. I constantly go back to it because I'm constantly finding correlations between stuff that I'm doing or stuff I think about (especially gaming)

Call suicide hotline or get yourself committed, don't kill yourself ect.

You should rely on family/friends if possible. Even if it's just temporary until you find a new place. Look up government benefits, try to apply for disability, adjusted living, emergency housing. I grew up in a trailer, being poor is honestly not that bad, especially for people who really don't care about what people think of them.

I've never actually been homeless, so I can't relate, but I really think you could do it, and it might be the change in your life that lets you see the world in a whole new way. At least give the homelessness a chance, you can always kill yourself if after two weeks it's too much to handle (but really don't do this).

If you're still gonna be homeless after that, I had this homelessness guide bookmarked.

You absolutely need to go see a psychiatrist. You might have some kind of brain imbalance, causing depression that could all be fixed by a magic little pill.

The Power of Habit is my all time favorite self-help book, and I feel like it's helped me change so many things about myself overtime. Basically you pick 1 or 2 things each month to change, use triggers/rewards to remind yourself to do those habits. Break down bigger habits to transform. It'll take a while, but with the tools in this book, anything is possible. I'm not saying you're gonna be a millionaire in 10 years, but you could absolutely have a comfortable life.

You also should look into /r/personalfinance. I'm not sure how you got into this situation, but if you learn from that subreddit, you can almost guarantee that you'll never be in this situation again.

First, I want to say that "maximizing the potential for potential" is probably the most INTP sentence I have ever readed.

I like you theory, but I think Aristotle has some answers to it. I don't remember him that well so I suggest reading Nicomachean Ethics, but potential is both everything and nothing for us. It includes all possibilities for better and worse outcomes but it is actually not much according to our immediate needs.

The best example I could give is a wood log (without owner) that I find in the forest. If I do nothing with it and walk past, I maximize potential since everything can still be made from it (great and bad things). But if I bring tools and carve a bench out of the log, I greatly reduce its potential whereas the actual "happiness" resulting from my action is superior to that of a lone wooden log since people will be able to sit on it and rest on their way.

I recently read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It gets thrown around a lot but I felt like it helped me understand the differences between rational and non-rational people and how to not get too entrenched in one camp.

If you like javascript for its portability, you might find Elm interesting. Check out some of the example programs.

The only general-purpose language currently in widespread use that I can honestly say I like is Python. It's convenient for small scripting tasks, easy to learn and there are lots of useful libraries written in the language.

The languages that I find beautiful as well as useful are mainly Lisp and Haskell. They feel quite different from most of the popular 'imperative' languages like Java or C++ because a program is essentially treated as an expression to be reduced rather than a sequence of commands to be executed. This can make it a lot easier to (programmatically) compose programs and ensure they're free of errors. You can peruse or work through Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs if Lisp seems interesting. Haskell comes from the Lisp-inspired family of languages and is notable mostly for the fact that it's "pure" (i.e. an ordinary Haskell function will yield the same value when fed the same argument) and for its fairly sophisticated type system.

INTJ here (and Myers-Briggs/Personality Design Coach, since we're on the topic).

I read it. Highly recommended. One of the most fascinating books I've read recently. It completely refutes the conventional 'lose a brain cell and it's gone for good' idea.

For INTPs, I also highly recommend Predictably Irrational. It does a fantastic job of explaining specifically how, why and when people make irrational decisions. That's usually a point of confusion for INTPs, since you're generally so rational yourselves.

Actually, I enjoy working out. I'm normally so detached from the world around me that I forget I'm a human being with a physical body. Significant physical activity, such as exercise or sex can remind me that there is life outside of my head and helps to let go of the constant thoughts that sometimes seem to weigh me down. Not being able to think can be a pleasant change from time to time.

I have a weight set at home and currently try to follow this routine, which only requires dumbbells. It's very convenient and efficient, quickly hitting every major muscle group without any need for additional equipment and can be easily adjusted to fit the strength and fitness of anyone by increasing or lowering the dumbbell weight.

If gaining muscles and improving health is the main goal though, eating correctly is far more important than exercise. When I'm not too lazy, I use this website to track what I eat and how many calories/protein/fat/carbs it contains without going over the recommended daily amounts.

It's 3:13 AM in my time zone, but I am currently in my 5th hour of learning 4 weeks worth of Calc II lessons. For some reason, I can zip through it if I'm by myself, but as soon as I'm supposed to go at the same pace as everyone else in a classroom, it's like I can't understand a thing. It is a truly rare day when I can follow along in a lecture.

It's a bad habit to squish all of the lessons together instead of spreading them out over time, but once I actually get started, it's like I can't stop.

As far as distractions go, I can't even listen to music while I work. Earplugs and white noise have been my best friends throughout my academic career.

This is one of my very favorite sites to help me concentrate.

I've got a few ways of finding new music.

I like to look at other people's profiles on last.fm and click on anything I haven't heard of that sounds interesting. I also use the similar artists sometimes. (My profile)

I also browse new uploads on a private tracker I'm a member of and have found quite a few things that way.

More recently, I started following getmetal.org and newalbumreleases.net and check out anything that sounds interesting. Quality control on particularly newalbumreleases sucks, though. Lots of 128 mp3s disguised as 320s or even FLACs. Yay transcodes...

I don't really use the site itself for new music, but I'm also on rateyourmusic. I do browse the music section of the forums a lot, though, and occasionally pick up stuff from there.

And sometimes I get stuff from mentions on social media sites, mostly Facebook.

INTP here. Face-to-face socializing is draining on an INTP, he likely has a number of online friends that he is socializing with daily. I spent most of my childhood glued to my computer chair in my bedroom and I still spend a lot of time at my computer today. But I am in IT, that is my life. If he doesn't have a job, lives with parents, and isn't trying to get a job or move out... he needs some tough love or he may never move on.

Do keep in mind, INTPs are prone to having depression and social anxiety. If you want him to get off his computer and out of the house, find out what he is interested in and see if you can find something to do together. Maybe checkout meetup.com to see if there are any local groups he would be interested in joining. Just don't overwhelm him or he will probably stop listening.

I was an active, and somewhat successful 'PUA' for some years, until some two years ago. TRP is obviously filled with idiots. Sure you will most likely get laid once in a while treating people like dirt.. But I promise you, that it will not lead to any long term satisfaction with yourself, nor your relationships with others.

If you want to get into stuff like this I will recommend you to use /r/seduction and read Models by Mark Manson.

The trick is to be willing and comfortable with breaking your comfort zone. Put yourself out there, and don't be afraid of rejection. Be open and honest about your intentions.

And the motherly advice: Be yourself. Women are often way more emotionally and socially aware than men, this is especially true for an INTP. If there is something about yourself that you feel are fucking you up, then seek to change it ("inner game")

I have been "feeling" like that for a long time, lol, but on a serious note I've learned that this way of thinking has led me to depression, loneliness and a sense of worthlessness. I recommend reading The War of Art. Not to get that confused with The Art of War.

This book and some meditation as mentioned by Blackgunter, has helped me clear my mind of nothingness and an idle state.

I'd really like to know what you think of the book as it pertains to your state.

Worm by Wildbow is about the most INTP fiction that I've ever read. I also recommend Dune, The Book Thief, and The Eisenhorn Trilogy to everyone on principle.

If you'd like to branch out of the fiction category, then you'll probably find something to like in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

I would recomended you read Models by Mark Manson. It's a great book that takes an analytical approach on improving yourself and improving your self confidence to attract high caliber women that interest you through honesty. It is much better then over PUA books that focus on pick up lines and being fake. It really helped me a lot.

Models: Attract Women Through Honesty https://www.amazon.com/dp/1463750358/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_ou.8wbM9K207W

Edit: He also dedicates a chapter in the book to discussing how to choose locations to meet women that fit what you are looking for, it sounds like going out to clubs probably is not the place to go if you are frustrated by materialsim.

Four hour work week by Tim Ferriss

Antifragile by Nassim Taleb

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

The Politics of Life by Craig Crawford

How I freedom in an unfree world by Harry Browne

Awaken the Giant within by Tony Robbins

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

48 Laws of Power (still reading)

Yes, Friedman is known for being accessible to newcomers. I likewise had "The Road to Serfdom" as well as Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" on my bookshelf but found them inaccessible to the newcomer.

Thomas Sowell is also great for beginners. However, my first introduction to Classical Economics was through Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson." It is short, to the point, and very digestible.

There's a difference between being "smart" and gaining knowledge and skills, as you seem to be hinting at.

A highly-recommended book on this topic is Mindset by Carol Dweck.

Been there. Looking for meaning in life, and not finding it in the same things other people seem to. I just finished reading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I think it's the best book I've ever read for feelings like this, and I plan on reading it again every time I feel like this. A source of both perspective, and hope that things will get better.

It's the difference between thinking and feeling. Thinking takes you out of the moment so that you are apart from the experience, while feeling lets you be more a part of it.

It's hard to explain intellectually, since explaining intellectually is a kind of thinking rather than feeling.

You might be interested in the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -- it touches on these themes.

I've been dabbling in meditation and it seems promising. You basically just sit and practise not thinking about anything. Rather, you sit, focus on your breath, and when other thoughts inevitably arrive, you gently notice the thought and then go back to just the breath. If my mind is in too much of a loop or I'm too flustered, or scattered, I try this. I think it's also developing/practising the skill of having the ability to manage what you're thinking about. So if you're in a thought-loop that's ruining your day, you have a skill that can help, which is the ability to move your mind onto something else even though it wants to explore each and every possibility in the negative subject, and part of applying the skill is realizing that those thoughts are not helpful at all and that it's pointless to think them, so you choose not to.

If you're having a lot of trouble because of thought loops I think you may want to explore this avenue more than I have. After doing this you'll probably have a desire to go back into the thought-loop because it'll feel like you left it unconcluded, but you can still just choose not to do it for your own benefit, upon realizing that they're just thoughts and you don't actually owe them anything. Read "Mindfulness in Plain English" for instructions.

Yes. Mostly it is music, but occasionally it'll be something else. Often times it is something just so beautiful or moving that I can't help it. As a rather analytically guy I have a love/hate relationship to it. Usually they're sad but extremely beautiful pieces that leave me briefly in tears. I guess the closest word I know is sublime.

Work toward mindfulness. The main mission of my last therapist was to get me out of my head some. Not entirely, as the hyper-thinking is what makes me who I am, but constantly being in my head does leave me vulnerable to what I cannot perceive outside my own experience... and creates a potentially false reality vs. what is reality in the present moment.

Like lockmayonnaise said, work toward small goals. Don't be so self-defeatist. There are a myriad of resources online to help you overcome problem areas, such as studying, anxiety, etc. Any area in your life you want to improve, there is a resource for that. I enjoy listening to Brian Tracy seminars. He might be a little cheesy, but there's wisdom in what he says and he presents it in a digestible format. Check lists work for me. Sobriety works for me. A desire to make straight A's motivates me to study and learn difficult material in school. I know INTPs in person and we're all a mixed bag. Just like with horoscopes, you can use that information however you will, but don't lock into that being the end all for who you are as a person. It can be a guide, especially when it comes to looking at GRIP behaviors and learning how to overcome them and mature. Use that rationality you were born with research specific areas you want to improve.

Also, look up the pomodoro technique and check out this Coursera course on how to learn. She gives some really good advice on ways to improve the quality of study and work.

"Crippling Depression" is a condition, also called Clinical Depression , so you don't say "a clinical depression". For example, I wouldn't say I have an AIDS

It's not bad, very chill and good background music. I play piano to, and my favorite thing to do on the piano is just improvising random stuff. It's definitly music, and really cool if you actually can pull it off. Either that, or improvise with a band.

Here is an improvisation I did a while ago, if you want to compare or just listen. https://soundcloud.com/pffofficial/and-he-was-tired-for-this-was

There is also a neck thingy on amazon that is twenty dollars.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082CMV3WT?maas=maas_adg_EDBAACBEF60DB39578F11DA06A722D7C_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&gclid=CjwKCAjwo4mIBhBsEiwAKgzXOOrDfnFO44aeGohyEM7Fu1wBjsQeQNW55K-_qcpFzcMJ5mwGN7s6GRoCAqYQAvD_BwE&th=1

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Apparently there is also a vol. 1 so far of an illustrated version too haven't seen it though

Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut

 

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

 

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

 

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

 

Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche

Look, I get where you're coming from. You probably wouldn't be asking this if everything in your life was going well. You feel like you're not getting anything useful out of this exercise. But, and I really do mean this kindly and I really am trying to help here, that attitude is going to seriously hurt you in the real world. I know you want something short term right now, and I sincerely wish you luck; but in the longer term, I strongly suggest that you find a copy of How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and read it. It could literally save your life at some point. Peace.

Read Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" or even just listen to his speeches. They changed my life. I operate off of his advice every day of my life and it works. It really does. He survived the fucking holocaust with it, it ought to work for some of my issues.

Fuck yeah man, my pleasure. I hope you enjoy. Also some intellectuals to check out: Terrence McKenna, Timothy Leary, Dennis McKenna, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, and any Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Seneca And some books to check out: The Doors of Perception & Heaven and Hell DMT: The Spirit Molecule (also a Netflix documentary, would highly recommend its dope af) Food of the Gods Man's Search for Meaning Wherever You Go, There You Are A Guide to the Good Life True Hallucinations The Archaic Revival

Read Predictably Irrational. I don't care how rational we may think ourselves to be, we are clearly not making every or even most of decisions rationally. A lot of what we see as being a rational decision was just on the surface like it is with many people.

I am sure our type still thinks more deeply about certain matters than others or most types, we can see the many angles, see the grey and how far a rabbit hole is likely to go, but it does not mean we are inherently any more rational than anyone else, egos aside.

Phillip K. Dick is an obvious choice.

Tips about writing:

• Read Elements of Style

• Read Stephen King's On Writing

• Write

• Write more

• Read what you wrote first and find every way in which it is shit. If you can't, find someone who will.

• Go back 3 spaces.

The best thing to do is realize you have no power over the situation and just slowly work towards apathy. That's what always worked for me, also read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The Stoics are dope!

Language is a tool for communication and nothing more. You are treating it like it is an end unto itself. It isn't.

If you have a love of language, try to redirect your passion from finding the word that reflects your perfect truth to finding the word that best conveys your truth to your intended audience in the way that is least imperfect. Pick up a copy of The Elements of Style. It changed my life.

If words are truly your friends, then surely they want you to be able to communicate successfully. Otherwise you are their prisoner.

Dunno - "living in your mind" is a vague term. I think of INTP as being caught up in exploring thoughts, ideas, connections and future developments - even to the point of being absent minded - vs. Mindfulness which I understand as being simply "aware" of yourself, emotions and thoughts in the present moment while not being caught up in any of it.

I'm a beginner myself, but have seen benefit. Mostly with stress/anxiety.

I found "Mindfulness in Plain English" to be helpful.

It makes more sense if you learn about and consider it from Marie Kondo's cultural context. Things like greeting the house and thanking the items comes from her background as a Shinto shrine maiden.

This articles describes it pretty well as:

>“In Shintoism, it is believed that all things, including objects, have spirits, thoughts or feelings in them according to kinds of energies that we humans put into [them].”

I see you are a man of great taste This is mine

I listen to a lot of things, but mainly post-rock. It's rare that I find a post-rock band I don't like, and for some reason I have a hard time listening to stuff I liked before, like death metal and such. I also like things like Angus & Julia Stone, I monster, Jonsi and Sigur Ros. I need to be able to feel the music, if that makes any sense.

I just started creating music a couple of moths ago, it would be cool if you checked it out and told me what you think. https://soundcloud.com/pffofficial

Khan Academy programming course (there are also other courses to try in Khan Academy if you want) and Code Academy are both free and are very user-friendly, have game-like exercises and "level-up" systems. Both are really easy to follow and easy to digest.

Deepthroat stayed anonymous in the 1970s, and even he was found out eventually. The technology has advanced significantly since then. And again, with the type of information Snowden released, people were already afraid of "foreign hackers" just days after the leaks were published- by coming out he stopped the fear and let people focus on the issues.

there is an anonymous whistleblower leaking information about america's drone strikes to greenwald, by the way,

The difference is the subject. Americans don't care about drones, even when they're killing innocent civilians, and they aren't afraid of someone who could be skulking around in the shadows in this situation because it doesn't directly involve them and their privacy.

Agreed.

The original book, if anyone's interested.

/u/0mnipresence0 /u/EightyS3v3n

I love her emotional breakdown when, with a logical train of thought but no factual truth to it, she has concluded she must be her stupid friend. I also adore how the antagonist is an authority no-one else dares to question.

I've also been designing a hypothetical hero shooter game, for fun (game design, constructing virtual systems, is a huge hobby), with public domain classic books as a theme. As I'm looking into the Blender/Unity skills required to do so, I realize it might just end up a simpler online 2D top-down game, still with shooting and cooldown-based abilities.

Anyway, this of course includes Alice (gotta represent), as a highly mobile assassin, able to chase people down with a blink through a rabbit hole, shrink down to move faster and evade fire, and beat them to death with a melee weapon: flamingo mallet. Just so, so fitting. Love the book, love the character, and she is a must-have of this silly project of mine that may never see the light of day anyway. I'd love to make this game happen, and furthermore to feature a classic book character of each personality type. Character ideas are welcome, and if anything comes of this silly idea, I'll maybe post something about it somewhere.

~~Blah blah, oh "free". Delete delete.~~

I used to really like the game Spiral Knights. Sometimes I still get really close to reinstalling it, but I know it will only make me sad; the devs have ignoring the endgame and veteran players in favor of new ones, and early content. If you haven't played it yet though, you can probably get hundreds of hours out of it before running out of content.

I've been mostly playing purchased games lately though, because I find the quality of free online games has really dropped.

I appreciate music for its ability to augment or enforce a given mood or theme (for myself and for others).

Due the mood or theme being the "problem" and wanting to have as many "solutions" as possible, I am interested in acquiring a knowledge of and familiarity with as many disparate types of music as possible. The Spotify playlists and Pandora stations I create or follow are similar to antizeus in its scope. My "like" switch is set to "on" by default, so for me to actively dislike specific music means that it has to be sufficiently offensive to me to stop it in its tracks (which is a relatively difficult feat).

All that said, I do have a discrete musical "center of gravity" that I go to when I'm not in "music discovery" (finding solutions) or "mood development" (applying solutions) mode, and that is either audio wallpaper (stuff by Chillhop, Thievery Corporation, Boards of Canada, Baby Mammoth, Brian Eno, dZihan & Kamien, Autechre, etc.) or Nortec (when it's sunny and warm). But even this preference is due to the mood that I'm most comfortable with (peaceful -- Enneagram 9), so my music preference really is almost entirely driven by actively trying to develop the mood or theme I want, or finding the material that I feel could be helpful for future endeavors.

Regarding my methodology for music discovery, I'll generally use Pandora (or http://everynoise.com) for lateral "mining", then Spotify for vertical digging once I've found a vein I'm interested in. However, I enjoy training Pandora stations for specific impressions, both concrete ("dusty mouth") or abstract ("umber").

Not complex necessarily, but what you do with the stuff you have. I like minimalist Ludovico Einaudi for example.

I love searching for things too. Wintergatan is one of my favorite bands because of what they achieve with what they use. I like searching for music in a field of music I dislike, to see if I can find something interesting nevertheless, in electronic or rap for example.

My music library is a mess. I love when friends look through it and try to find something they know. I made them listen to music from kids shows, or anime openings to anime haters, Zelda and LoL music (I kind of like the game, hate the community, but love the art in it, and mostly music. Whatever, don't insult me) to my classic fan mom...

I try to keep an open mind about everything, and especially music. There is something great to find in every genre, just need to dig a bit.

(Also http://everynoise.com/engenremap.html )

I’m an INTP and created https://edabit.com for learning how to code. It currently supports JavaScript, Python and Java. Once you know the very basics you’ll be able to complete some of the “very easy” challenges. Give it a try.

I've been working on the same issue. I just decided recently to try to do things for at least half an hour at a time without doing anything else. If I'm going to read a book, check up on the news, play guitar, anything. It amazed me how quickly i would switch tasks. Half an hour doesn't seem like very long, and it shouldn't be, but I noticed that every two to three minutes while doing research online, I would open a new tab, check my e-mail, find music, I just start doing other things without realizing it. This helped me out. Also, sunflower seeds really help me stay focused.

I'd heard about this a long time ago, but I hadn't realized that they released an Alpha until today.

As one can see, it's not being used a whole lot, so maybe we can collectively turn it into an /r/INTP away from home!

>Side note, I assume you’re into video games. Think of your life as a game. Instead of spending hours improving your virtual character, spend those hours developing skills for your real avatar.

There's an app for that! Habitica

I have that too because it's flexible and always with me. I find that at a certain point a category that was once useful needs to be split up, and it's easy to do on a phone.

I really hate typing on my phone, but it's the best way I've come up with for most stuff that doesn't take too much writing. I've heard the programe Evernote is really useful. I downloaded and haven't used it yet, but you can use it between different phones and computer any whatnot.

But I love writing by hand, so I have a large number of notebooks. I've had to really ponder, over time, to figure out how to prevent all my notebooks from getting taken over by random notes and lists and number crunching. One key part is to have a notebook for general notes, and one for kind of scrap stuff. And multiple subject notebooks are pretty good to help with that. And I keep fresh notebooks around so that when I'm tempted to go off-theme, I create a new notebook. It's pretty nuts, I would say you have to really love notebooks to go with this method.

Find a couple acquaintances that are more spontaneous or extroverted. Invite each of them to do something in public. They will then invite you to something. Unfortunately you will have to say yes.

Are you comfortable hanging out with your employees, clients, etc. in personal contexts? What about former coworkers? Extended family? Some networking groups are still Zoom-based, which is a low stress way to make connections that can be transitioned to real-life hangs. If it's easier for you to pursue professional connections, then send LinkedIn messages or make calls to meet up with a potential advisor or new client for coffee with the hopes that they will introduce you to larger networks.

Either way, just take *some* action right now. Add a local meetup to your calendar. Call someone and ask them to meet you for lunch and bring their friends. Reply to someone's Instagram story without worrying that it's weird. Do one small thing to get you closer without worrying about the rest.

You can read/listen to the book Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come for encouragement, but I think you can safely just read the title and do what you already know needs to be done. 💕

download an app called Math Tricks and learn how to change your thinking on this to a 'can do'. Also check out youtube for learning math tricks. It'll take practice and dedication, like anything else, to learn it but once you do, understand that writing it down is not the same as thinking about it.

App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=example.matharithmetics&hl=en_US

​

My big thing growing up was martial arts and eastern philosophy, so for me "A Book of Five Rings" by Musashi and "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu were good reads. And while it might only take a few minutes to get through, The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is one of my favorites.

If you want to learn the basics of programming, "Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days" by Jesse Liberty is one of the best ways to learn the basics of a very complex programming language in a fairly short amount of time. Yes, the title is a tangible equivalent to clickbait, but it is very well written, teaches very good coding practices, and it'll give you the foundation to tackle something like "The C++ Programming Language" by Bjarne Stroustroup, the guy who created C++, which is a quite bit heavier of a read. If you want to learn Java instead, Dietel & Dietel's "Java: How To Program" is what I'd consider to be the gold standard of Java texts.

As far as Fiction goes, Neil Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. "Snowcrash" and "The Diamond Age" are just plain awesome. Can't go wrong with Neil Gaiman either: While the TV series is making a lot of departures from the source novel, "American Gods" is really good (but I do prefer the book). If you can track down some trade paperbacks from his comic book writing days, DO IT. And "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," by Douglas Adams is fricking awesome.

1. The War of Art - Stephen Pressfield
2. Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink
3. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
4. Getting Things Done - David Allen
5. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying up - Marie Kondo
6. The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf
7. The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg

While yes, it is a fact that many people are obsessed/unable to function without their phones, I think it's safe to say most people don't like to be generalized. I'm not disputing the truth of your ideas, but the way you present them has an enormous effect on how they are received. Much of the art of pursuasion is presentation - the words you use, the way you speak, consideration of the way people are perceiving the things you say (and catering to that perception). Just something to think about, I suppose. I am a college student in Alaska, and I've noticed much of the same things you have mentioned. Some recent reads for me have been Machiavelli's "The Prince", Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", and Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

I highly recommend you read Mindset by Carol Dweck. The focus on "being smart" is often the thing that holds people back from unblocking their potential (damn that sounded pretentious, but it's true). Source: I work in elementary education

These books have been a real eye-opener for me, really worth it.

• Maximum Achievement; No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline and Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy

• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

• The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

• The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

* * Optional: The tools by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway Book by Susan Jeffers

Here are some of my favs

Fiction

• Nausea - Jean Paul Sartre

• Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

• The Stranger - Albert Camus

• The Alchemist - Paulo Cohello

• The Green Mile - Stephen King

Non-fiction

• The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant

• Falling Leaves - Will Durant

• The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus

• Ethics - Braunch Spinoza

Hopefully some of these peak your interest!

A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell.

It's philosophy from ancient Egypt through 1945. Incredibly well written, makes a bunch of intuitive connections between different types of philosophy, and gives you an overview of basically every major philosophical movement. Talks about how scientific exploration and mathematics are forms of philosophy, stuff like that. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

No problem. But I hate dumping a bunch of books on people because it's overwhelming. Still, it's apropos to the thread, so here. I use these non-fiction books in this list nearly every day:

• Getting Things Done by David Allen -- Organize your tasks.
• The Introvert Advantage by Laney Olsen -- Learn how to be effective as an introvert.
• The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo -- Declutter your life.
• Made To Stick, Switch, and Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath -- Made to Stick is about making sure that people remember your ideas. Switch is about getting them to do what you say and change their minds. Decisive has a set of real tools to make decisions.
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini -- Get people to do what you want them to.

There's certainly others depending on topic, but these are all very worthwhile reads and hopefully isn't a huge list that it's overwhelming.

http://i.imgur.com/fW3azXR.jpg

Only my all-times favorites deserve a place on the glorious bookshelf (not a big reader tbh).

Edit: Voyage au Bout de la Nuit is Journey to the End of the Night by Celine, and Pensées pour Moi-Même Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

A brief history of time - Hawking

Autobiography - Albert Einstein

The Art of War - Sun Tsu

Lost Japan - Alex Kerr

Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan

An Open Heart - Dali Lama

Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman

And while it's fictional, I highly recommend reading the bible. There is no better path to understanding the contradictions and absurdity of religion than reading it. It's the reason I'm an atheist and it will help you see how people pick and choose what they want to believe and follow in order to suit their prejudices.

If you're interested in this subject, I cannot recommend reading <strong>&quot;Thinking, Fast and Slow&quot;</strong> by Israeli psychologist Daniel Kahneman enough. It is a very informative yet not overly technical summary of his over 30-year-long research on cognitive biases and the mechanisms of our decision-making processes.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and philosopher. He wrote his book for himslef and asked for it to be destroyed at his death but luckily it was not. A lot on advices about axiety, procrastination, laziness, how to ignore annoying people, how to deal with emotions... It's almost 2000 years old but still relevant to this day, that's why it is amazing.