The question is open and intentionally broad. I’m curious to know which books (or other resources – research, documentaries, etc.) have given you that strong "Aha!" moment when you read them, helping you understand how phenomena in the world work. Books that perhaps explore the "behind the scenes" of the world, delve into topics that are not common knowledge, or challenge the traditional way of understanding events and phenomena. I’m referring to texts of all kinds, from books that best explore the human psyche, explain the extent of influence of "hidden" organizations (intelligence agencies, criminal organizations, etc.), examine common threads in history, or quantitatively analyze economic phenomena that have had an impact on you.
I’ll mention a few as examples in my case, and I’d be very curious to find other texts along this conceptual line:
- "The Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb, redefines the mental frameworks that should be adopted in life or business in relation to risk, courageously challenging many aspects of common thinking regarding how to interpret the world;
- "The Tragedy of Great Power Politics" by John Mearsheimer, an essay that analyzes the behaviors of states, abandoning the ethical-idealist approach in vogue today and instead using the lenses of realist doctrine. Illuminating on the relationships between states and the direction of the world;
- "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, the book that best helped me understand the dynamics behind success, an essay that analyzes the common factors behind people who become "statistical exceptions" in business and other fields.
by Raikkonen716