Wanting
by Luke Burgis · first published 2021
56% recommend33% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible introduction to René Girard's mimetic desire theory, showing how much of what we want is copied from others and how to choose better role models. Suits readers new to Girard and the curious.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Two that I recently completed: 1. "Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire" by Luke Burgis 2. "Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It" by Oliver Burkeman and one bonus which definitely made me think: "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
on “Ask HN: Books that teach you to think” ↗There is an aspect of mimetic contagion to this phenomenon. For a primer on what this means, see: https://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Power-Mimetic-Desire-Everyday...
on “TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)” ↗There is a strong aspect of mimetic contagion to this phenomenon. For a primer, see this book: https://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Power-Mimetic-Desire-Everyday...
on “TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)” ↗Wanting: The power of mimetic desire in everyday life by Luke Burgis
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…to protect that. Why nations fail and the narrow corridor by daron acemoglu were also excellent and gave more practical ideas on how to make institutions that work well (and also protect individuals). Wanting by luke burgis was also a really good jntro to rene girards ideas that like drive social interraction.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗I will go with Wanting by Luke Burgis. It makes the works of Rene Girard accessible. For me, it made me conscious of how much of our nature is simply copying others. Basically, one should make a conscious effort to select who…
on “Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?” ↗I recall reading in "Wanting" by Luke Burgis that he was a follower of Rene Girard. "Thiel left the corporate world and co-founded Confinity with Max Levchin in 1998. He began to use his knowledge of mimetic theory to help him manage…
on “Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Got Its Cash Out of SVB Before It Was Shut Down” ↗…hadn’t even recognized them as stories of fulfilling action at the time. Most people are rarely, if ever, asked to tell the stories of their deeply fulfilling achievements. """ Excerpt from the book Wanting by Luke Burgis. I bought it because the book’s topic was “Human desire is mimetic – we imitate what other people want”, which is a very powerful idea. Unfortunately I felt the book was trashy American…
on “Ask HN: Career change for elderly UK ex-convict?” ↗Don’t feel like playing the twitter bait game? > The book is called ‘Wanting’, by an guy named Luke Burgis. Annoying “teaser” title on this post which leads to the usual annoying twitter thread, where in this case the name of the book which blew his mind a little is actually…
on “I read a book that blew my mind a little” ↗Wanting by Luke Burgis talks a lot about the change of attitude toward victims being a recent phenomenon
on “Victims are perceived as more morally virtuous than non-victims” ↗The book is called ‘Wanting’, by an guy named Luke Burgis.
on “I read a book that blew my mind a little” ↗