Neil deGrasse Tyson Selects the Eight Books Every Intelligent Person on the Planet Should Read

Tyson's Eight Books for Intelligent People

1. The Bible (public library; free ebook), to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself
2. The System of the World (public library; free ebook) by Isaac Newton, to learn that the universe is a knowable place
3. On the Origin of Species (public library; free ebook) by Charles Darwin, to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth
4. Gulliver’s Travels (public library; free ebook) by Jonathan Swift, to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos
5. The Age of Reason (public library; free ebook) by Thomas Paine, to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world
6. The Wealth of Nations (public library; free ebook) by Adam Smith, to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself
7. The Art of War (public library; free ebook) by Sun Tzu, to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art
8. The Prince (public library; free ebook) by Machiavelli, to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.

If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.

Generation Minimal Effort

People are learning less to earn more by taking every short cut they can. Motivated by money and status, Americans no longer value in themselves actual knowledge or experience. Generation Minimal (effort) doesn’t want to read, study, or truly research. Unbeknownst to them, this is where all the great learning occurs with labyrinths of other explorations. One cannot get to experience all of that with a mere search on Google that brings one simplified possibility. And Google it they will. Colleges are willingly going blind to the tricks of students and their techogadgets that allow them to cheat in every way they can. Employers are left with no choice but to pick from a herd of whiny, short cut taking, non-thinkers.   The age of robots/computers taking our jobs has arrived. The question is – when will corporate America realize the bottom line will be less costly and less aggravation to adopt early?

Collapse of Our So-Called Culture

Americans are going to pot; two-fold. 

Every generation says it, “This generation knows nothing, appreciates nothing, and is bringing our culture down.”

So regarding pot, marijuana that is, I pose the following question for our times; is the legalization in some states of a once private and taboo, yet easily accessible drug that represented rebellion and anarchy for generations downplaying the whole idea? It’s kind of like watching gay sex on network television.

And how about this incessant hookup culture? It’s all everything is about these days. I had a friend; okay I thought we were friends. It was kind of a bromance. Anyway, after he left the company we worked for he rarely communicated. In fact, true to self, I was always inviting him to do things and he rarely obliged. However, after he left he did frequently text a female co-worker of ours wanting to get tit pics and meet up before he got hitched. The quickie, the hook-up, what have you has become more important than saying “Hello, how are you. How have you been?”

Later, I left the company (Corporate Cowards). People who I thought were my friends simply deleted and blocked me on Facebook.  Instead of grown adults having a conversation about what offenses may have been given or giving any reason at all, there was no explanation, just a cowardice evasive faceless impersonal write-off. This instant gratification technology allows us to behave rudely, selfishly, and virtually blame the gadget for its ability to do so. It’s the norm, the culture, giving us a guilt free, no afterthought kind of existence.

In this "age of information" and technology, we are unknowingly craving something more than the digital experience. Something real, tangible, and genuine --- what is natural.

We judge too often one’s health by their appearance. What a colossal deception. Sure thinner people are more likely to not have diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. However, cancers, STIs, and viruses can certainly be hiding in the most desirable of bodies.  I liken to the fat image of Buddha who is undoubtedly bountiful in nourishment of the soul, spirit, and flesh. The happy Buddha with hands in air is always chubby.

I could go on and on and write an hourly article or a whole other blog on this subject. But your attention has probably been pulled away 3 or 4 times already.