Re:Ask HN: what non technical books changed your life ?
by RiderOfGiraffes on Saturday July 10, 2010 @06:40AM
(#1503465)
"How to Win Friends and Influence People." by Dale Carnegie.
Back in 1980 when I was 19, I was an introverted, anti-social nerd and pretty much unable to engage with people at all. My long-suffering girlfriend (I'm still amazed I had one - can't say what she saw in me, although I was nice to people) of about 12 months standing nailed my feet to the floor and said - "You really need to learn to get along with people."
Taking this as a challenge, a puzzle to solve (my forte), I went to find a textbook on how to get along with people and found HtWFaIP. Yes, the cynical can treat it as a manual for manipulation. Certainly the sociopathic can use it as the basis for their Machiavellian schemes.
But for me it was a lifeline, a way to survive in a world where you need to interact with people.
Back in 1980 when I was 19, I was an introverted, anti-social nerd and pretty much unable to engage with people at all. My long-suffering girlfriend (I'm still amazed I had one - can't say what she saw in me, although I was nice to people) of about 12 months standing nailed my feet to the floor and said - "You really need to learn to get along with people."
Taking this as a challenge, a puzzle to solve (my forte), I went to find a textbook on how to get along with people and found HtWFaIP. Yes, the cynical can treat it as a manual for manipulation. Certainly the sociopathic can use it as the basis for their Machiavellian schemes.
But for me it was a lifeline, a way to survive in a world where you need to interact with people.