Books I Want to Be Smart Enough to Read

Main Ideas

Aspirational books are books people hope to read and understand, even if they are not ready for them yet. They may sit on a shelf as reminders of a hoped-for future skill or identity.

These books can feel daunting for different reasons:

• Length: War and Peace is enormous, but the narrator argues that its size is more intimidating than its difficulty. It is an accessible epic for readers willing to keep going.
• Style or complexity: The narrator initially found Moby-Dick too difficult as a teenager, but later read and loved it. It became his favorite novel and one he has reread.
• Technical prerequisites: Textbooks such as Jackson’s Classical Electrodynamics and Gravitation seem to require extensive background knowledge.

A book’s value can extend beyond its contents. Working toward a difficult book can motivate someone to study, practice, and build a life in which they can take it on. The narrator sees The Art of Electronics as a current example.

Progress can also make an intimidating book more approachable. After finding The Art of Electronics too advanced, the narrator built a sequence of electronics books to prepare for it.

The Narrator’s Electronics-Study Progression

1. Begin with an introductory electronics book. The narrator describes it as suitable for beginners, but its title is not given in the subtitles.
2. Move to Practical Electronics for Inventors. He spent substantial time with it, though he did not read it cover to cover. He credits it with much of his electronics knowledge and with informing his teaching of robotics students.
3. Proceed to The Art of Electronics. The narrator says readers who have mastered the beginner book might be able to skip the middle step, though he personally found Practical Electronics for Inventors useful.
4. Study actively, not just by reading. While working through The Art of Electronics, he:
   • Keeps an open notebook and takes notes.
   • Draws diagrams.
   • Builds circuits on a breadboard when possible.
   • Pauses to put the material into practice, accepting that this slows his progress.
   • Tries to return to the book regularly and keep going.

The narrator acknowledges that The Art of Electronics is demanding and may take a year or two of focused work. Although some people advise against reading it cover to cover, that is the approach he intends to try.

Other Books and Examples

• David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest is presented as a common aspirational book. The narrator says he enjoyed it and was once enthusiastic about recommending it.
• Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is another common example. The narrator inherited his copy from his uncle and recommends it, emphasizing that it is long but not necessarily difficult.
• Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick illustrates how a book that once felt inaccessible can become a rewarding read. The narrator recalls struggling with it in high school, then reading it as an adult and loving it. He particularly remembers reading it while looking out at the ocean on a cruise.
• Jackson’s Classical Electrodynamics belonged to the narrator’s father, who had a physics PhD and considered it exceptionally difficult. The narrator would like to read it but does not yet know how to fit that challenge into his life.
• Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler’s Gravitation is the narrator’s ultimate aspirational book. It concerns general relativity and, in his view, is far beyond his current understanding. Its length and mathematical demands make it feel like a project requiring substantial preparation, potentially including advanced physics and mathematics.

AI as a Possible Tutor

The narrator wonders whether AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT could make dense technical books more accessible. He imagines discussing pages one at a time, with an AI explaining concepts and identifying prerequisites.

He also recognizes that this could involve lengthy study—for example, learning substantial physics or differential equations before proceeding. He presents this as a possibility, not as a guarantee that AI can replace the necessary work.

Speakers and Sources Mentioned

• Speaker: The video’s narrator and host; the subtitles contain no other speaking voices.
• Books discussed: The Art of Electronics; Practical Electronics for Inventors; an unnamed introductory electronics book; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace; War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy; Moby-Dick by Herman Melville; Jackson’s Classical Electrodynamics; and Gravitation by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler.
• People mentioned: The narrator’s father; his uncle Carl E. Baum; electronics and robotics students he teaches; Kip Thorne; and Richard Feynman.
• AI tools mentioned: Claude and ChatGPT.