Hacker News Reader

Comment by ironmagma | Hacker News Reader

Jordan Peterson is obsessed with meaning so his books are filled with discussions on it.

Edit: love how I’m getting downvotes for a factual statement

I was looking for this answer and found it at the bottom downvoted. I wonder how many people actually know what Peterson says as opposed to what the NYT says about him.

To sum it up: do what is at the limit of your competence and what you feel very drawn too (as in very interested in it). That’s where you’ll find a balance of your existing knowledge and pressure to expand your horizons, plus you are following your passion. That gives meaning.

It’s certainly worked for me recently. It’s very good advice.

Yes; certainly a politically controversial figure, but "Maps of Meaning" is, obviously, about meaning. Could also try an influence of his, Jung, but he can be a challenge to understand. I'm a bit disappointed that Taleb seems to be unwilling to even talk with figures such as Peterson or Pinker so I could better understand all of their positions, but oh well.

I agree with you that it would be interesting to see a Taleb-Peterson conversation. Perhaps you might enjoy this podcast with Gad Saad and Taleb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezhjumayRsg

Thank you, looks interesting!

Suspect the down-votes aren't related to the factualness of the statement, but the perceived value of Peterson as a recommendation for books worth reading in this context (i.e. what GP asked for).

It helped me anyways - my tendency is to believe in chaos and treat it as the norm or default state, meaning anything I feel or try to do is simply a blip in white noise data, not amounting to much. Listening to some of his writings refocused me on the human aspect which is that we have a species goal, and typically when we contribute to that, it resonates in our individual minds to create meaning.

Yes, one of the central points of his books ("Maps of Meaning", "12 Rules for Life", and "Beyond Order") is that meaning in life is found by taking on personal responsibility. A good starting point is probably his "12 Rules for Life".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com