The Art of War
Sun Tzu
43 people recommended it in 21 threads, 2007–2023.
What people on Hacker News said
preparedness, looking to supply lines, avoiding conflicts, not entering "battles" you know you'll lose (which I'd take as 'learn nothing from').
The Art of War, The War of Art (except the final bits of the book) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance come in a close second, each having shaped the way I look at decision making processes and influenced my general life strategy
There was a time when officers across nations were expected to have read certain works. Things like the classics, shakespeare and The Art of War were universal even across languages.
Helped me understand the power of small effeciencies in large systems and the importance of metagaming.
Especially "show strength at your weakest, show weakness at your strongest" is something that I've used during negotations and presentations.
It made me see how human conflict is a part of our nature that I needed to know better, and perhaps embrace a little at times. The book of course is about how to win in ancient warfare, but it explained this in universal terms that get to the heart of how humans engage in any sort of conflict.
Where it comes up
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