Hacker News Books

40,000 HackerNews book recommendations identified using NLP and deep learning

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On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy

Carl Rogers and Peter D. Kramer M.D.

4.7 on Amazon

3 HN comments

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

John Elder Robison

4.6 on Amazon

3 HN comments

The Anatomy Coloring Book

Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M. Elson

4.6 on Amazon

3 HN comments

Beckmann and Ling's Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Robert Casanova

4.7 on Amazon

3 HN comments

On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace

Dave Grossman, Loren W. Christensen, et al.

4.8 on Amazon

3 HN comments

Neuroscience: Fundamentals for Rehabilitation, 5e

Laurie Lundy-Ekman PhD PT

4.7 on Amazon

2 HN comments

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous

Joseph Henrich

4.5 on Amazon

2 HN comments

Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work

Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal

4.4 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do (Issues of Our Time)

Claude M. Steele

4.6 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything

Viktor E. Frankl and Daniel Goleman

4.7 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition)

Paul Pitchford

4.7 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Calculate with Confidence

Deborah C. Morris RN BSN MA LNC

4.6 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual Therapists and Movement Professionals

Thomas W. Myers

4.8 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Understanding By Design

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

4.6 on Amazon

1 HN comments

Interpersonal Process in Therapy: An Integrative Model

Edward Teyber and Faith Teyber

4.6 on Amazon

1 HN comments

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bdunbaronMar 2, 2012

On Combat and On Killing are outstanding pieces of work that say pretty much the exact opposite of W here.

This might be because W is an intelligent Brit who enlisted as a private solider.

Grossman is an intelligent American who accepted a commission.

Different experiences, different cultures.

run4yourlivesonMar 2, 2012

Great post. I too noticed that the author's "combat experiences" seemed to be more about relating the experiences of his friends than his own personal thoughts and feelings.

The best analysis I've seen about the combatant are the works of LCol. Grossman. On Combat and On Killing are outstanding pieces of work that say pretty much the exact opposite of W here.

ohdannyboyonDec 29, 2020

Doing a quick review of the literature I can find shows we don't have a completely clear picture yet. The link in young children is definitive and the link in adolescents is murky but it looks like one of many risk factors. I am inclined to entirely disregard the linked study as garbage since it gives a very definitive black-and-white answer that is in opposition to highly cited literature. I think the main reason it is at the top of HN is that we want this to be the simple black-and-white answer.

As someone who grew up with violent video games I think this issue is taken way too personally by most of us. The idea that video games will necessarily make you violent is absurd and not being proposed by anyone (that is mostly a straw man used to dismiss the idea). The question is whether violent video games can push some kids over the edge -- kids who are already predisposed to violence. Imagine an abused kid with no farther figure who would probably be a violent teen anyways. Will playing violent videogames numb him to the idea of killing, give him neural pathways that make the repetitive action more likely and start him with some bad ideas? Could it be the difference between him getting in some fist fights and indiscriminately murdering schoolchildren? The answer looks like "yes."

The case made in the book On Combat is very interesting. That book is considered one of the definitive secondary works on combat psychology and he spends significant time on this question. I strongly recommend the book.

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