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Thinking in Systems

Donella H. Meadows

7 readers recommend it across 7 discussions

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Original Hacker News comments, in the readers’ own words.

fredoliveira
Read a lot this year — a lot more than most years. A few highlights: The making of the atomic bomb by Richard Rhodes was probably the best of the bunch. I read it because I see some parallels between the discovery of atomic power and the search for AGI, and wanted an insight on the ethics and decision making of the time. It didn't disappoint. The dawn of everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow was a solid read and retelling of how civilization began and evolved. The message by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I read in two sittings — it was that impactful. A reminder of how the oppressed becomes the oppressor again and again. "As it happens, you can See the world but never see the people in it" Other highlights: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt; re-read Thinking in Systems by Daniella Meadows; re-read Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn; The light eaters by Zoe Schlanger; I don't want to talk about it, by Terrence Real.
codexjourneys
I'm reading The Once and Future World by J.B. MacKinnon, and I'm reading extra slowly because I'm enjoying it so much. It's about nature, how we're wired to think the wild landscapes we grew up with were pristine, how it's truly evolved through history in response to humans' presence and it's hard to really pinpoint a baseline, and how much wildlife and plant life has vanished so far in the last two hundred years (from whatever fuzzy baseline we can arrive at). Earlier this year, I read Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows and on almost every page I was taking notes! A huge eye-opener and felt like a missing link across sciences and social sciences. Also extremely readable and engaging.

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jquinby
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications ARRL Antenna Book American Heritage Dictionary, 5th Ed. Bible/Lectionary, Breviary, and Catechism If fiction counts, I will probably never delete Flatland or the complete Joseph Conrad from my Kindle.