Language in thought and action
by S. I. Hayakawa · first published 1949
87% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Makes readers think analytically about how language works, including how much of it is subjective and how that shapes news and everyday communication. Suits anyone who wants to read and talk more critically.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Introduces the principles of semantics, explains how language works, and how an understanding of semantics is useful in everyday life situations.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…best book lists. All of your further suggestions are very welcome. Mindset, by Carol Dweck. As one HN reader commented, "It'll change the way you think about the way you think." Highly recommended. Language in Thought and Action by S. I. Hayakawa. How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler. Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte. Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Taleb. E. W. Bovill's English Country Life 1780-1830 was recommended…
on “Ask HN: Books That Gratify One's Intellectual Curiosity?” ↗Languages don't die; people do. Languages are tools for communication, but communication always happen between two people. There's a great book called Language in Thought and Action, by S. I. Hayakawa, where he discuss topics like this. I've put together some notes on that book if you happen to be interested: http://alvaroduran.com/language-in-though-and-action
on “How to Save a Dying Language (2013)” ↗1) Musashi's Book of Five Rings 2) Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People 3) Machaivelli's The Prince 4) Sun-Tzu's The Art of War 5) Hayakawa's Language in Thought and Action 6) Steven Johnson's Emergence 7) Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel 8) Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything 9) Mark Buchanan's Nexus 10) C. S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain Taken together,…
on “What books would you recommend reading? Why?” ↗Language in Thought and Action, by S.I. Hayakawa. I read it in grad school and it opened my mind to how much of human language is subjective and made me think about the problems that arise because of that.
on “Books that have affected you and your life the most” ↗"Language in Thought and Action" by S. I. Hayakawa.
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗If you liked this list, you might be interested in: Language in Thought and Action http://www.amazon.com/Language-Thought-Action-S-I-Hayakawa/d... by S I Hayakawa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SI_Hayakawa) The Art of Conversation http://www.basicincome.com/bp/artofconv.htm And Ben…
on “How to Disagree” ↗I've read Impro and it's a great book. There is another book that I want to recommend to other Hacker News readers and that is 'Language in Thought and Action' by S.I. Hiyakawa[0]. Honestly, reading that changed my life. [0] http://www.amazon.com/Language-Thought-Action-Fifth-Edition/...
on “Surprisingly undervalued books” ↗Check out Language in Thought and Action, written by an immigrant to Canada who worked his way up to being a US Senator. http://www.amazon.com/Language-Thought-Action-Fifth-Edition/...
on “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion” ↗Language in Thought and Action, S.I. Hayakawa How to Read a Book, Mortimer J. Adler Gilgamesh Beowulf Snowcrash High Output Management, Andy Grove Hell's Angels by Hunter S Thompson Programming Pearls, Jon Bentley Walden, Thoreau…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗…the same tricks they've been using for ages to command and control each other. In that sense, nothing has changed: language is a promise we make to each other on a future yet to be seen. Since I read Language in Thought and Action, by S.I. Hayakawa, I see all things related to language in a different way. If you want to find more, I posted some notes on the book here: https://alvaroduran.me/language-in-though-and-action Edit:…
on “Why Has Language Changed So Much So Fast? ‘Because Internet’” ↗…is called Science and Sanity. I've read about half of it, but I found it to be very challenging to read. For anyone interested in what he has to say, I would recommend the following: S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action Stuart Chase, The Tyranny of Words
on “The map is not the territory (2015)” ↗Language in Thought and Action by S.I. Hayakawa. There is a LOT in the book, but at a minimum it made me think analytically about language and "news".
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?” ↗Language in Thought and Action by S.I. Hayakawa Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker Tao Te Ching (various translators)
on “Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?” ↗Language in Thought and Action by S. I. Hayakawa
on “Ask HN: Books for Effective Communication” ↗Godel Escher Bach The Moral Animal Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases Language in Thought and Action Probability Theory: The Logic of Science The Adapted Mind Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach The Feynman Lectures on Physics The Tao is Silent Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition
on “Books That Changed My Life” ↗