The Selfish Gene.

[Scoundrel]

Have you guys read this book? I see things here almost every day that Dawkins expains in his book. Also, if you carry into a coffee shop, you look really smart.

[boyracer]

Finished reading it last week. I really good book!

Another that I read that I actually liked better was The Red Queen by Matt Ridley. Check it out next and let me know what you think.

[MetroR6]

I`ve read this book. I also have read the Blind Watchmaker and The god delusion All great books!

[Welsh_Dragon]

Dawkins is my single biggest influence in knowledge seeking. I even met the guy (I studied at Oxford University). I was introduced by a very good friend and mentor. Dawkins level of human understanding - at least the basics - is what it takes to be really good in this game. The Selfish Gene was the first book of his I read.

Also read Sperm Wars. That book really opens your eyes.

[Scoundrel]

Good to know I'm not the only one doing my home work!

Yeah, the Red Queen was good too as well as the others mentioned. But, as far as playing this game goes, everyone should read the Selfish Gene. It's the shit!

[MagicBalls]

I thought I had ordered that book but I got the wrong one. I had ordered so many --nearly all the others on the list-- and that one slipped. I ended up getting _Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think_

I ordered the books on the list two months ago, which is when summer school started. So I've been able to read a few, but not all of them. The one's I've read include 7 Habits, The Way of The Superior Man, The Mystery Method (which is not on the list, btw), Nice Guys Don't Get Laid, How to Pick up Girls, and browsed through parts of the other books.

[101998]

Selfish Gene is great, it was the first book that made my head hurt from massive reframing. Couple others I’d check out if you want to fuck with how you look at reality; The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, that book completely changed the way I think about life. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, this book is all about emotional states and how you think when you feel a certain way, really cool shit. Some of the old school Napoleon Hill stuff is killer too, really makes you realize how easy money is to get.

[MagicBalls]

Right now I'm reading _Influence: Science and Practice_ by Cialdini, which is about compliance. It's great.

Compliance and Kino are key. Sex starts at Hello.

[NobodyUKnow]

I totally agree with the recommendation for The Power Of Now. Holy shit that book was amazing... it is indeed life changing.

Eckhart Tolle's other book that's IMO even better is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose.

While we're are it... Conversations With God, by Neale Donald Walsh. If you have any kind of spiritual belief, you HAVE to read this book.

O... and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

[MagicBalls]

I totally agree with the recommendation for The Power Of Now. Holy shit that book was amazing... it is indeed life changing.

I read the Wikipedia article on that. Essentially that's what Buddhism is about, so I wouldn't say it's exactly original or new, although I'm sure he conveys the ideas to reach a wider audience. There's an online book that can help you turn it from those ideas to an everyday practice:

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/mfneng/mind0.htm - Mindfulness in Plain English



I've also read Mindfulness by Ellen Langer, which is not about Buddhism, but about the opposite of mindlessness. It's a good skill to have in situations where things are happening very fast and there are a lot of assumptions in your environment --even just by the placement of the furniture-- that you don't have to accept or can use to work in your favor. It ties in to framing. Framing is about assumptions. Interestingly enough, the book I'm reading now, called Influence, mentions Langer.

Another book along those lines is Blink.

Basically, if you can slow down time and take in your environment Matrix style, you can think of all the options you have available to any situation while the people around you are only aware of a few things. Getting past being self-conscious is just the beginning. There's a lot more beyond that.