Are Your Lights On?
Donald C. Gause
15 people recommended it in 11 threads, 2007–2022.
What people on Hacker News said
I would recommend it to anyone dealing with arguments about solutions or confusion about problems, especially when non-technical folks are involved. The biggest win for me was making a mental shift from "Problem Solver" to "Solver of Problems", which allows us to focus on finding who is impacted by a problem and identifying the real story behind the problem.
'Are Your Lights On?' is an easy introduction to his writing and thinking, and 'Exploring Requirements: Quality Before Design' is directly applicable to any software project involving collection of requirements (I thin that's all of them.)
Jerry's books have had a tremendous amount of impact on my thinking in the past couple years. I highly recommend reading everything you can get your hands on.
Are Your Lights On?: A Treatise on the Definition of Diverse Problems
Jerry was a gem. Every one of his books is worth its weight in gold.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2018? 2018 · 4 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are your favorite non-fiction books of all time? 2018 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read? 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which books teach mental models? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018? 2018 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are your favorite books? 2016 · 1 recommendation
- The Best Books I Read in 2013 2013 · 1 recommendation
- Ask YC: favorite books 2007 · 1 recommendation