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Comment by mikhailfranco | Hacker News Reader

Just finished The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, a tremendously accomplished music producer.

It's a beautifully written guide to artistic work, but also a manual for a mindful life. Savor every page packed with insight, subtlety and poetic aphorisms.

Also recommend The Dawn of Everything by Graeber & Wengrow, previously cited on this page.

Next will be The Matter with Things by Iain McGilchrist. The two hefty volumes are staring at me from my desk...

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I loved The Creative Act: A Way of Being. The book is organized into short chapters, each about a certain part of the creative process or perspective of the author.

While I don't agree with everything shared, the crisp and clear way it's written allows for great reflection and inspiration.

I've described it to friends as a work book for artists and creatives. Every chapter simmering for days and helping to refine the creative process.

I got turned off by this book the moment the author talked about the rebuttal of a diagnosis by their doctor, which could be lethal if ignored. At this point the book was good for the dollar bin. I really don't understand how someone can trust their gut more than a clear diagnoses and use that as an example in a book.

Probably because doctors get shit wrong all the time and it seems everyone on the planet except flabbergasted doctors have direct or near-direct experience with this.

Curious what you think of McGilchrist's new doorstoppers! I discovered Master and his Emissary a while ago and got through much of it but with a steadily declining enthusiasm. At first its breadth was exciting, but eventually became exhausting. Ever since, I've watched countless interviews with Iain and it seems he's been repeating the same few insights over and over again. Relationships are primary, left / right ways of 'attending' to the world, the left brain perspective destroying societies, etc. I do wonder if The Matter with Things presents something fundamentally new...

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