December 31, 2024
Best Books of 2024
A list of the best books I read in 2024.
At the end of each year, I reflect on the best books I've read and consider which ones I plan to read again. These are the books that held the most meaning to me and stand out when asking myself that question, in no particular order.
The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
This was the most transformative book I encountered this year. The first three chapters dismantle more conventional thinking than anything I've read. After reading, I spent months exploring lectures, interviews, and podcasts with Deutsch digging into the concepts. The experience fundamentally altered my perspective in more ways than I can count.
- Additional recommendation: David Deutsch: Knowledge Creation and The Human Race, Part 1
A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett
One idea from The Beginning of Infinity that stood out was Deutsch's distinction between the two modes of knowledge creation: explanatory knowledge and biological knowledge. This insight, paired with the rapid advancements in AI, made me very excited to dig into A Brief History of Intelligence. It didn't disappoint. The book examines the evolution of human intelligence through five key breakthroughs.
Buy A Brief History of Intelligence
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
I first encountered this book in 2022 and have read it again every year since. The book dives into Adlerian psychology, pushing readers to focus only on what lies within their control, abandon past traumas as justifications for evading responsibility, and seek fulfillment through contributions to the community rather than chasing personal status or validation. It's an awkward format, a tough read at times (that may have you screaming "bull. shit."), but if you can make it through and deeply reflect, I think you'll be happy you did.
Buy The Courage to Be Disliked
The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli
This book compiles a comprehensive list of 99 cognitive biases and judgment errors that frequently result in irrational decision-making. It draws on psychology, behavioral economics, and personal anecdotes to identify and clearly explain common mental pitfalls. I keep a copy on my desk to flip through at random and refresh my memory on the concepts. It pairs well with The Great Mental Models series from Farnham Street.
Buy The Art of Thinking Clearly
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
The last book I read in 2024 and I immediately want to read it again. It's a mix of fact and fiction that explores how groundbreaking scientific discoveries often lead to profound moral and philosophical dilemmas. It examines humanity's struggle to navigate the unintended repercussions of knowledge creation, the thin line between genius and madness, questioning whether our pursuit of understanding may lead to more peril than progress.
Buy When We Cease to Understand the World
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
This collection of interconnected stories captures the physical and emotional weight carried by a platoon of American soldiers in Vietnam. The guilt, grief, love, and fear. And it does it through storytelling that emphasizes the fluidity of truth by conveying that stories don't have to be factually accurate to be emotionally true.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
I watched the Apple TV+ show before finding the book. A coworker recommended it to me. It's better than the show and I thought the show was quite good. A physics professor is abducted and transported to an alternate universe within the multiverse. It takes on the question: If every choice creates a new reality, how do we maintain a coherent sense of self?
- Pairs well with chapter 11 of The Beginning of Infinity.
Everything Sad is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri
Another recommendation from a coworker. Daniel writes from the perspective of his younger self, recounting his life as a refugee fleeing Iran. It's brilliantly written and easy to read while capturing the tension of living between two worlds and the dislocation and alienation of being a refugee while holding onto hope and dignity.
Buy Everything Sad is Untrue: (a true story)
What Is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work? by Stephen Wolfram
We've all wondered. Stephen makes the explanation accessible. The book breaks down how LLMs work, from predicting what word comes next based on training data to the mathematical principles of transformers. Then, he explains why these tools lack true comprehension or intent. They're reflecting back statistical patterns they've seen in their training data.
Buy What Is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work?
Language: A Cultural Tool by Daniel Everett
Everett challenges Noam Chomsky's view that language is an innate universal trait, arguing it evolves as a cultural tool. He leans on his work with the Pirahã people in the Amazon as a case study to show how their language lacks features once thought to be universal.
All Books
- The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
- A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett
- The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
- The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli
- When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- Everything Sad is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri
- What Is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work? by Stephen Wolfram
- Language: A Cultural Tool by Daniel Everett