Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2020-09-05
Books mentioned on #121 – Eugenia Kuyda: Friendship with an AI Companion
Eugenia Kuyda co-founder of Replika, an AI companion. Please check out our sponsors to get a discount and to support this podcast: – Dollar Shave Club: https://dollarshaveclub.
Lex Fridman discussed The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer and Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and others. Eugenia Kuyda recommended The Worm at the Core by Sheldon Solomon and others, Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Surfaces and Essences by Douglas Hofstadter and others, On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein, and In Search of the Miraculous by P. D. Ouspensky, and discussed The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins, Be Your Own Shaman by Jane Christensen and others, The Most Human Human by Brian Christian, The White Album by Joan Didion, Run River by Joan Didion, Blue Nights by Joan Didion, and Year of Magical Thinking, The by Joan Didion and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L.
Discussed“i apologize i'm reading the rise and fall of the third reich oh my god so i'm like really steeped into like world war ii and stalin and hitler and just these dramatic personalities that brought so much evil to the world”
Where to get it
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Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler is a notorious autobiographical manifesto outlining the author's political ideology and anti-Semitic worldview.
Discussed“sorry but the been studying hitler a lot recently and going through mineconf he pretty much rode out of mineconf for everything he was gonna do unfortunately most leaders including stalin didn't read the read it”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning psychological and philosophical study exploring how human behavior is driven by the fear of mortality.
Discussed“there's a philosopher ernest becker who wrote a book um denial of death i'm not sure if you're familiar with any of those folks”
Where to get it
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The Worm at the Core
The Worm at the Core by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski explores terror management theory and the foundational role that the fear of death plays in driving human behavior and societal creation.
Recommended“uh his whole idea is that ernest becker i think i i find this idea really compelling is uh that everything human beings have created like our whole motivation in life is to uh create like escape death is to try to uh construct an illusion of um that we're somehow immortal It's like everything around us this room your”
Where to get it
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Can't Hurt Me
Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins is a powerful memoir detailing the author's harrowing journey from a brutal, abusive childhood and severe obstacles to becoming a Navy SEAL, ultra-marathon runner, and symbol of extreme mental toughness.
Discussed“he's a this navy seal person uh he's wrote this book can't hurt me he's basically one of the toughest human beings on earth he ran all these crazy ultra marathons in the desert he set the world record a number of pull-ups”
Where to get it
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Be Your Own Shaman
Discussed“and then there were some other books like i don't know uh mostly just self-help books around how to be the best conversationalist or um how to make people like you or some other stuff like dale carnegie or whatever uh and then there was this one book the most human human by brian christensen that really was important for”
Where to get it
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The Most Human Human
Discussed“and then there was this one book the most human human by brian christensen that really was important for me to read back in the day because he was on the um human side”
Where to get it
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The White Album
The White Album is a prominent collection of essays by Joan Didion that captures the cultural and social landscape of the turbulent late nineteen sixties and seventies.
Discussed“and i was reading this you know the the book the year of magical thinking by joan didion about her losing and blue knights about her losing her husband her daughter and the way to cope for her was to write those books”
Where to get it
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Run River
Discussed“and i was reading this you know the the book the year of magical thinking by joan didion about her losing and blue knights about her losing her husband her daughter and the way to cope for her was to write those books”
Where to get it
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Blue Nights
Blue Nights by Joan Didion is a poignant memoir that confronts aging, grief, and the profound loss of her daughter.
Discussed“and i was reading this you know the the book the year of magical thinking by joan didion about her losing and blue knights about her losing her husband her daughter”
Where to get it
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Year of Magical Thinking, The
Discussed“and i was reading this you know the the book the year of magical thinking by joan didion about her losing and blue knights about her losing her husband her daughter and the way to cope for her was to write those books and it was sort of like a tribute”
Where to get it
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Gödel, Escher, Bach
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R.
Recommended“so my choice the three books right three books my choice is um so the one book that really influenced me a lot when i was building starting out this company maybe 10 years ago was gb go to leicester block and i like everything about it first of all it's just beautifully written”
Where to get it
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Surfaces and Essences
Surfaces and Essences by Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander explores the fundamental role of analogy and conceptual categorization in human thought, language, and cognition.
Recommended“my choice is um so the one book that really influenced me a lot when i was building starting out this company maybe 10 years ago uh was gb go to leicester block and um i like everything about it”
Where to get it
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On Becoming a Person
On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers is a seminal work of psychological literature that outlines the core principles of client-centered therapy, human empathy, and personal growth.
Recommended“and i know a little bit about that um something magical comes out of it that we can't quite put a finger on that's why that book is was was really fundamental for me just for i don't even know why it was just all about this little magic that that happens so that's one that probably the most important”
Where to get it
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Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein is a dense and revolutionary philosophical text exploring the intricate relationship between language, thought, and the boundaries of what can be meaningfully expressed.
Recommended“when we start a company in russia we put a neon sign in our office because we thought that's that's the recipe for success yeah if we do that we're definitely going to wake up as a multi-billion dollar company it was the ludwig whitney constant quote the limits of my language the limits of my world what was the”
Where to get it
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In Search of the Miraculous
Why people recommend it: This profound spiritual and philosophical work details the teachings of George Gurdjieff, offering a pragmatic approach to self-awareness and inner transformation.
Recommended“so yeah my life's been i've been incredibly lucky and things just miracles happen all the time with this company with people i know with everything around me And so i didn't mention that book but maybe in search of miraculous or in search for miraculous or whatever the english translation for that is good russian book too for everyone”
Where to get it
