anthonyrubin

I think the optimal solution would be a world where there are many smaller countries with different forms of government to choose from and moving from one country to another is much simpler than it is now. A United States with less centralized power would achieve many of the same benefits.

Programming is hardly the most important activity in life.

That is what Jeff does. I really don't understand how every one of his inane posts makes the front page of HN.

What about physical junk mail?

In what way is it desperate? Most of us aren't working on very noble projects.

So the solution to these supposed monopolies created by government intervention is a monopoly created by the government?

Ridiculous. Should providers be able to advertise unlimited access and then limit access? No. Should limited access be illegal? No.

Without proper historical context I believe the Bible would be somewhat confusing.

I would start with world history -- first a book that covers the last few millennia, then specific books on significant events. Next would be a few of Karen Armstrong's books on religion; books such as the New Testament might prove difficult to understand without proper background.

The Princeton Companion to Mathematics would probably be a good starting point for math. I'm not aware of any great texts that provide the same level of broad introduction to science.