When I read something that I find interesting/useful/worthwhile, I don’t always have the desire to write a full blog post picking it apart. I created this page to serve as a repository of sorts for articles and books I’ve read here and there that I think are special. I probably should write blog posts on these, but this is much less effort. The exceptional ones are marked with a ⭐. Links are available by clicking on the 🔗.

Nonfiction (Longer Reads)

⭐brian christian and tom griffiths | algorithms to live by

How can you apply the principles of Computer Science to making more optimal decisions in dating, parking, and hiring? Christian and Griffiths are excellent writers and could explain college-level concepts to a 5-year old - and this is probably the book that got me interested in CS (but you don’t need a CS background to really understand it). Griffiths’ TED talk is here, if you want a small taste.

⭐Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Fooled by Randomness

Taleb comes across as a dick at times (and in fact, he used to be a quant trader), but that doesn’t necessarily diminish the value of his ideas. Don’t think that “successful” people are smart when they’re quite possibly just lucky.

⭐ramit sethi | i will teach you to be rich

If there’s one personal finance book that I think everyone should read, it’s this. It hits all of the right tones on both offense (generating money and investing it properly) and defense (spending your money the right way) - all in an approachable manner. His points on conscious spending plans and guilt-free spending (once you know that you’ve automated your saving and investing) are excellent.

⭐morgan housel | the psychology of money

A series of lessons on (you guessed it) the psychology of money, which are insightful beyond the financial realm.

TIM URBAN | what’s our problem?

Nearly everything I’ve found on Wait But Why is fantastic - Tim is witty, insightful, and great at explaining things using cute little cartoons. Originally, I had recommended a blog post called “The Thinking Ladder”, but he removed that from his website after releasing a much more expansive book that builds from topics on how we think inside our head to how we think as a society. Highly conversation-provoking.

TIM URBAN | the aI Revolution🔗

Another long one from Tim (23,000 words). I think that this is a great first-read for the topic of understanding (1) what an Artificial Superintelligence is, and (2) why some people (including, but not limited to, Elon Musk and Bill Gates) are so afraid of the potential consequences of it. An elucidating two-part series - perhaps I’ll attempt Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence later.

TIM URBAN | Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future🔗

An even longer blog post from Tim, this time over 36,000 words. I think that this is probably the best means of truly understanding the why for Neuralink (assuming that you also under Elon’s views on Artifical Superintelligence, which Tim lays out in The AI Revolution series). It lays out, step-by-step, a high-level overview of how the brain works, what a BMI is, and what the exciting possibilities are for advanced BMIs and a human-AI symbiosis.

yuval noah harari | sapiens

Sapiens is human history, but interesting. It forced me to rethink modern society (should we have remained hunter-gatherers?) and its effect on overall happiness.

James Clear | Atomic Habits

A truly fantastic read. I truly believed that greatness is achieved day-by-day (something I’ve seen firsthand with academics, athletics, and friendships), and James spells out a step-by-step guide for fostering good habits quite Clearly. You can buy it off of Amazon, but James Clear’s blog is here (and packed with useful guides).

Eric Barker | Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Algorithms to Live By is here because of how well it takes computer science principles and applies them to your decision making. This book is that for psychology. I killed the entire book in under 48 hours. You can it buy off of Amazon, but Eric Barker’s blog is here.

nate silver | the signal and the noise

Nate Silver is the founder behind FiveThirtyEight, a wonderful website for politics and statistics and sports. This is his book, and it shows - topics covered include baseball and politics. Oh, and weather forecasting is getting better.

christopher mcdougall | born to run

Honestly, I don’t recall the book being all that special, but it did convince me to pick up running. Out of the tremendous impact that running has had on my life, I couldn’t not include it. I don’t fully buy into the toe-strike method of running, however. You can find his TED talk here.

Fiction (Longer Reads)

⭐Garth Stein | The Art of Racing in the Rain

Probably my favorite novel of all time (I haven’t seen the movie, and I bet it’d ruin it for me). I vaguely remember reading this in the middle of Chemistry in 10th grade and crying a bit around Chapter 50ish. It’s incredibly moving, even more so if you like dogs.

⭐Andy Weir | The Martian

My favorite sci-fi book. Profane, exciting, and fun. I have seen the movie, but the book is (a bit) better.

Khaled Hosseini | the kite runner

A very solid read. It’s been a while since I last read it, but I recall flipping pages like mad.

arthur miller | the crucible

I was assigned this to read in 10th grade, and nearly did the usual run-around of using SparkNotes as a crutch to write some bullshit essays and prepare for a B on a test. For some reason, I ended up reading the entire thing in one night midway through our weeks on the book. This is a fantastic work of historical fiction. Thank you, Mrs. Schwartz.

Shorter Reads

⭐daniel keyes | flowers for algernon🔗

The best short story I’ve ever read. Skip the novel - the short story is where it’s at.

⭐David foster wallace | this is water🔗

One of the most personally-influential texts that talks about the importance of controlling your Autopilot. Perspective is really what matters. It’s a short, 20-minute read that was originally a commencement address, but don’t listen to it. I wrote about it here.

scott alexander | Against Against Billionaire Philanthropy🔗

This one is on billionaire philanthropy, and specifically on refuting some of the arguments that are used against charity by billionaires. Note that this isn’t talking about billionaires or wealth/income inequality.

scott alexander | AGAINST MURDERISM🔗

A fantastic, thought-provoking read that talks about racism and discourse. Be prepared for multiple run-throughs. Thanks to David for sending this my way.

scott alexander | the categories were made for man, not man for the categories🔗

Another wonderful post by Scott Alexander, this time on gender. No need for multiple run-throughs this time.

William Deresiewicz | The Disadvantages of an Elite Education🔗

Talks about educational privilege. I found this incredibly thought-provoking and it forced me to realize just what kind of an opportunity I had been granted. I wrote about it here.

Mihir Desai | The Trouble with Optionality🔗

Whenever I talk with someone about why I chose to intern with BCG, the word “optionality” inevitably comes up. This gets to a core fear of mine - am I pursuing optionality without having an end-goal in mind? Am I going to fall into an optionality trap in which I continue to delay making the real decision? Thanks to Neil for sending this my way.

Paul Graham | The Lesson to Unlearn🔗

Talks about the disconnect between grades and learning in the education system and hacking tests (for admissions and classes).

Dan Hockenmaier | GENERALIST DISEASE🔗

One of those articles you read that makes you question (in a great way) how you want to spend your life. Every ambitious and smart college graduate should read this.

Dan Hockenmaier | HOW TO BE STRATEGIC🔗

Nothing summed up the big picture of work I did at BCG better. If you want to go into consulting, if you’re in consulting and want to understand what to aim for, if you’re a former consultant trying to explain what the hell consultants can do - this is it.

Dan Hockenmaier | How to Choose a Startup🔗

A great read for those interested in recruiting for startups. Some of this I’ve unfortunately learned is true the hard way.

haley nahman | Are you nice or kind?🔗

The difference between virtue signaling and actually being virtuous. This isn’t really that groundbreaking of a concept, but I really really liked the writing style - Nahman puts into words what I’d tried to say in Charity Part II, but far better than I had.

tim urban | The tail end🔗

How much time left do you have to do the things you love… really? This also got made into a video by kurzgesagt.

Blogs

wait buT why🔗

Tim Urban is a master at long-form writing. Some of my favorites: Life is a Picture, But You Live in a Pixel, How to Pick Your Life Partner (Part 1 and Part 2), Taming the Mammoth, The Tail End, and The Thinking Ladder (also listed above).

renewable wealth🔗

A very thought-provoking website on the philosophy of personal finance. If you’re looking for “How should I invest?”, you’ll want to visit the Bogleheads Wiki or the r/personalfinance wiki. This site is more for “let’s talk about why you actually want the money”.

barking up the wrong tree🔗

Eric Barker wrote a fantastic book (that I’ve noted above), but his website is pretty interesting and filled with practical advice from psychology.

Slate Star Codex🔗

I don’t really think I’m smart enough to read this, or even to recommend it. Nevertheless, Scott Alexander is incredibly intelligent, and his writing is extremely high-quality.

THE PUDDING🔗

I haven’t actually pored through this too much, but I do find it to be incredibly beautiful. It screams pride-in-work and attention-to-detail. If nothing else, go look through it to see how good data visualization can be.