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Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by felipelemos on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:10PM (#19087870)
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan.

It changed the way I see the world, how to have a sceptical mind and not only how but why one should question.

And also, it shows to me that, if you don't have a answer for something, doesn't mean that it can not be true. It's just that you don't know. And for a lot of things, this is the correct and only answer that we can have now.

Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by DubiousPusher on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @02:46PM (#19089019)
I read this book at a time when I had lost my religion which had been very dear to me and the foundation all of my thinking. I was reading lots of different religious texts. This was the first thing I read that said that how we know what we know is more important than what we know. It was the first philosophy I had encountered that would challenge even evidence in favor of itself on the grounds that that evidence didn't meet a certain bar of quality. That was huge and this book helped me understand that concept. Which really made scientific skepticism stand out from other belief systems.
Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by xutopia on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:46PM (#19088371)
I came from a deeply religious family and read this book after reading Contact (a friend lent me). It too had a lasting impact on my worldview. I cultivate a skeptical worldview nowadays thanks to this book.
Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by markdog12 on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @07:31PM (#19091550)
It's very high on my list of "We'd be better off if everyone read this" books.
Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by mecanico on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @06:56PM (#19091344)
He took me out of the pit of my sunken thoughts, I wake up, I take off the blindfold, it was the first book to open my mind and I will always be grateful
Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by bharrison on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @02:02PM (#19088549)
Came here to say this more or less verbatim.
Re:Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost... by rcsalvador on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:57PM (#19088492)
It's the best!