The Coddling of the American Mind

Yup. I've been looking for books that explain the underlying structures and dynamics of "wokeness" for a while. I feel "the Coddling" does a good job for some aspects of it. The best book I found so far in this regard is "Cynical Theories" by Helen Pluckrose. You read it and just think: "yeah, this is it". Unfortunately it's written like a PhD thesis, so not the lightest read.

The big impact books tend to be the ones read in youth. One that I re-read many times was the biography of Robert Wood by William Seabrook (both really fascinating characters): Doctor Wood, Modern Wizard of the Laboratory For a more recent, although not nearly as formative read: The Coddling of the American Mind

Sociology: - The Coddling of the American Mind - The Tao of Pooh - Guns, Germs, and Steel - Weapons of the Weak Religious: - Guru Granth Sahib - Bible (King James Version) - Q’uran - The Book of Mormon - Tipitaka Fantasy: - Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw - The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan - The Way of Kings series by Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn also by Brandon Sanderson - Red Rising by Pierce Brown - The Licanius trilogy by James Islington - Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series by Larry Correia Biography - John Adams by David McCullough

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino, a great companion to the movie and expands on characters in really unique ways that make me think about them. Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson, a near future book about climate change and trying to fix it with an interesting geopolitical look of China acting like the US. I also liked Ministry of the Future but it was less fun of a read. Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt, a reasoned look at how social media and devices are negatively impacting society and children. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer, a weird near future declinepunk with bioengineering and evil corporations. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, very short book with a glimpse into post colonial colonialism in remote locations. Wanted to read a book about Congo. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, a portrait of a character in a time I didn’t experience.

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure [1] by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt I didn't necessarily agree with all of it but it helped me understand the changes I've seen across workplaces, colleges and beyond. It was also a nice way of thinking more "grey" in terms of the current political climate, and trying to understand the reasons behind people's actions regardless of their political stance. [1] https://www.thecoddling.com/