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Astonish Yourself: 101 Experiments in the Philosophy of Everyday Life
Say your name aloud to yourself in a quiet room. Imagine peeling an apple in your mind. Take the subway without trying to get anywhere. The simple meditations in this book have the potential to shake us awake from our preconceived certainties: our own identity, the stability of the outside world, the meanings of words. At once entertaining and startling, irreverent and wis...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
July 29th 2003
by Penguin Books
(first published January 13th 2001)
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Have you ever peeled an apple in your head? Have you ever left a movie theatre in the climax of the story?
This book is full of different experiments that one might do, and see the impact on their lives. Now none of these experiments are deadly or harmful, they have usually a mental or emotional impact. I have done almost all of these experiments, and they are amazingly entertaining, and very interesting. One experiment that I though very interesting, and entertaining is See the Stars Below You....more
This book is full of different experiments that one might do, and see the impact on their lives. Now none of these experiments are deadly or harmful, they have usually a mental or emotional impact. I have done almost all of these experiments, and they are amazingly entertaining, and very interesting. One experiment that I though very interesting, and entertaining is See the Stars Below You....more
This was one of those books I happened to find accidentally. once again it was shouting to me from one shelf in a library [Kuori omena päässäsi in Finnish:]. Yes, I still sometimes visit a library, not reading everything in PDF [trying to avoid reading anything longer than 2-4 pages in PDF:]. But anyway, I really liked this book and think it’s amazing!
What’s it about
Like the title says; the book contains a list of 101 experiments one can just read through or even try. They are of course more tha...more
What’s it about
Like the title says; the book contains a list of 101 experiments one can just read through or even try. They are of course more tha...more
some of his suggestions/quotes:
"telephone at random, tell them who you are"
"drink while urinating"
"imagine the stars below you"
"what makes a small circus so moving is its mixture of misery and reverie"
"blue icing can provoke a kind of indefinable malaise"
and my favorite-
"watch dust in the sun". you know when the light is just right and a sliver of it comes through the blinds and illuminates all the dust particles floating in the air? Well what else do you take for real that is only half of the p...more
"telephone at random, tell them who you are"
"drink while urinating"
"imagine the stars below you"
"what makes a small circus so moving is its mixture of misery and reverie"
"blue icing can provoke a kind of indefinable malaise"
and my favorite-
"watch dust in the sun". you know when the light is just right and a sliver of it comes through the blinds and illuminates all the dust particles floating in the air? Well what else do you take for real that is only half of the p...more
Jul 29, 2007
Katelyn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
hipsters & intellectuals
Shelves:
nonfiction
One of the most unique books I've ever read. It's full of experiments that sort of challenge your view of reality. Definitely walks a fine line between cool & stupid, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I am enjoying this little book. I say "enjoying" rather than "enjoyed" because it is not really the type of book you read front to back and assimilate at once. It is intended to be a book that you jump into at random for inspiration and firestarters for the imagination. Some of the experiments are more appealing and interesting than others, and that will surely vary from reader to reader. This is a good book for a writer or artist who wants little jabs to the imagination. I like it much more tha...more
strange things become thoughtful insights
Aug 19, 2007
Marc Lacuesta
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who take themselves too seriously. Also, those who don't take themselves seriously enough.
It's an interesting premise: Simple exercises you can perform in your own house, or out around your neighborhood can shake you out of your unenlightenedness... it's a do-it-yourself philosophy book for those who want to learn about the nature of their true self.
The exercises are short in description, about two to three pages a piece. Some of the exercises are silly (take 30 minutes to crawl around and act like a wild animal, so as to tap into basic animal instincts?). Or maybe I'm just not commi...more
The exercises are short in description, about two to three pages a piece. Some of the exercises are silly (take 30 minutes to crawl around and act like a wild animal, so as to tap into basic animal instincts?). Or maybe I'm just not commi...more
While reading through this book I realized I've done a lot of the "experiments"... especially contemplating a dead bird, though in my case it was a bunch of road kill, there were a few birds though.
It's really quite a good book on philosophy, and can get you to do things you wouldn't normally, that is if you actually go and do them.
It's really quite a good book on philosophy, and can get you to do things you wouldn't normally, that is if you actually go and do them.
This book might be great for someone who is a complete idiot, who needs to be told suggestions like 'go out for a walk!'.
The book was divided up mainly between moronic experiments that are laughably stupid, and experiments the equivalent of my example 'go for a walk', 'take a nap', ect.
There were a few that sounded interesting, but these were far and few in between.
What is worse is that none of these things were related back to philosophy or anything close to it. After each experiment the autho...more
The book was divided up mainly between moronic experiments that are laughably stupid, and experiments the equivalent of my example 'go for a walk', 'take a nap', ect.
There were a few that sounded interesting, but these were far and few in between.
What is worse is that none of these things were related back to philosophy or anything close to it. After each experiment the autho...more
It is good to read occassionally read a book that doesn't sit in the Anglo Saxon tradition (I don't do it often). Some "experiments" were better than others. I want to remember the following:
5. See the stars below you
11. Telephone at random
13. Drink while urinating
16. Dream of all the places in the world
17. Peel an apple in your head
22. Count to a thousand
25. Play the fool
42. Go the circus
48. Meet up with friends after several years
53. Demonstrate on your own
59. Get using to eating something you...more
5. See the stars below you
11. Telephone at random
13. Drink while urinating
16. Dream of all the places in the world
17. Peel an apple in your head
22. Count to a thousand
25. Play the fool
42. Go the circus
48. Meet up with friends after several years
53. Demonstrate on your own
59. Get using to eating something you...more
Awsome, fun, and occasionally subversively enlightening. You'll never feel the same way about drinking a glass of water when you urinate again.
A lovely collection of philosophical musings disguised as a series of thought experiments.
we all ought to try to see the world in different ways, rather than how society breeds us to see it. thus, when we drink while urinating, follow the movement of ants and visualize piles of human organs, our lives become a little livelier.
i think we have all tried some of these throughout our lives.
Whoa.
The only one I found interesting was #37, "Wait while doing nothing."
i pick this up once in a while and do just one experiment at a time. Im learning that there is so much we take for granted and never even think of thinking about. The experiments are fun. Some are challenging. All are thought provoking. Currently i am trying hard to rid myself of my clock and time obsession in order to get in touch with my internal clock. I never realized how many times i look at my cell phone to see that i had just checked the time 6 minutes earlier. It's sick.
Jun 16, 2008
Asia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those that are bored and willing to look silly
It was fun for a few days, but I hid it so that I could stumble upon it in the future.
This book takes things we all (think we) know, for instance the way a word loses its meaning when repeated multiple times, and confronts them in a way no book I've ever seen does.
It's a good read because it covers many of these same weird philosophies of human nature, life in general, and the obvious things we overlook.
This book takes things we all (think we) know, for instance the way a word loses its meaning when repeated multiple times, and confronts them in a way no book I've ever seen does.
It's a good read because it covers many of these same weird philosophies of human nature, life in general, and the obvious things we overlook.
Sep 08, 2008
Allegra
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
existential warriors
Recommended to Allegra by:
found it in a bookstore
Fun, mind-bending, challenging, mischevious. In other words, I love the 101 exercises, which are poetic and meditative to read and strangely wonderful to try. I reccommend it to people endeavoring to understand in their own way the nature of what we see around us every day, how we interpret that information, and how much of it is significantly real.
Feb 21, 2008
Evie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
philosophy-spiritual,
2008
I borrowed this book from the library by chance and I really enjoyed it. Simple and clear, these small experiments help entertain new insight into everyday existence, and help extend understanding. I would love to own this book in future, knowing that I would read it again and again, using it as a primer to take something more from the mundane.
It's a semi-interesting book. The author takes a variety of experiences and adds a rating of *effect* to them. For example--try fasting for 12 to 36 hours to see why it can be good, scary, or make you feel more connected to the earth (says the author).
It looked more interesting to read about it than to actually read it.
It looked more interesting to read about it than to actually read it.
I found I already done 95% of the so-called experiments in this book just by living and pondering. Adults who can naturally day-dream and get lost in thought about the oddities of perspective and the world probably will find this book to be a statement of the obvious.
Crazy little book of some strange little exercises.
This is my third or fourth time through this book, and each time I learn more. A lovely read that always leaves my mind awash with ideas and connections.
fun and thought provoking little daily experiments that challenge our perceptions.
Oh, thought-provoking experiments! How my life has been changed!
Just amazing!
May 17, 2013
Cesar
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Gunther
added it
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Aug 19, 2010 06:20pm