Sorry, three weeks later and here I am!

It's hard for me to give advice in a way, because my path into design was quite unorthodox. I started as a computer science major in college, but quickly shifted into a more broad "Information Sciences and Technology" which included human-computer interaction but also things more networking related. It was a great "catch-all" for various technology-related fields. I ended up enjoying the HCI part the most by far.

My first "real" job was working for an agency as one of their developers. I can distinctly remember hearing how the creative director had started as a coder and moved entirely into design and for a while that notion was appealing to me. I taught myself design on the side, devouring many books and carefully examining the site designs created by our designers.

A few years later, I was working for a college as their web manager and saw a window of opportunity; they were beginning the process for a website redesign. Almost as a lark, I pushed out what I thought the new website should look like and presented it to the other members of the web committee. They all liked my design and decided to work in-house with me as the designer and principle developer.

So my advice for you is perhaps a little generic, but I think still helpful: never stop learning. Keep reading all you can about UX, UI design, HCI, and the industries that interest you for product design. If you see an opportunity to grow professionally, whether that is a promising job offer or some project that has just coalesced, be bold and try your hand at it. Don't talk yourself out of a chance to grow before even trying; it's an easy pitfall.

For breaking in: read all that you can, for example this book is an excellent resource and quick read. Have an opinion on everything; for the things that you don't know, be curious and thoughtful. Recognize what makes for a bad user experience and what makes for a good one. Be empathetic.

Hope that helps. Good luck to you!

I like Camus a lot, but his prose is super hard to read sometimes. I don't really like Nietzsche; he's a massive fucking dick. I like Camus leagues more because Camus explains things and leads you to his conclusion while Nietzsche just preaches and rambles on about how much he hates this or that and how stupid this or that is.

Not all of these called themselves philosophers, but here's some I like:

I'm not stoic by any means, but I love Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. I think it's interesting how someone could write musings that are relevant millennia later.

John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, but he has a ton of prose too. Here's a book full of it along with annotations and modernized grammar. Milton wasn't the most satisfactory person, but his writing is incredible.

I haven't read this myself, but a friend of mine really liked Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl. Some of his friends called him pretentious for reading the book though (I wasn't one of them).

If you like Camus, you'll probably like Sartre's Existentialism is a Humanism. Again, I haven't read it myself, but it was also recommended to me because I like Camus.

Jean-Paul Marat was a journalist during the French Revolution, but his writings sometimes crossed into philosophical territory. He was a huge populist, and I love his work when he's not calling for the deaths of hundreds of people. You can read some of it here.

I'm huge into theology, so I love Thomas Aquinas. He wrote a lot about theology and Christianity and was a major Christian apologist. He also dabbled in theodicy. Smart man.

And to mix it up, here's one I haven't checked out but is top on my list: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's Selected Works. She was a writer and a nun from Spain who was self-taught--all qualities you usually don't find in philosophers, so she'll be a unique read.

With only my phone on me, I'm just going to list out some of the non-fiction I've enjoyed on my commute recently.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory - Caitlin Doughty Great reading for the morbidly inclined.

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film - Patton Oswalt I would only recommend this book for true cinema fans. It's enjoyable if you get the references and are also a procrastinating creative.

God'll Cut You Down: The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi - John Safran sort of reminds me of Jon Ronson. Good true crime, fish out of water stuff.

Yes Please - Amy Poehler Great advice, hilarious. Get it on audiobook.

Carsick - John Waters John waters being John Waters.

Manson - Jeff Guinn A super fascinating breakdown of the 1960s, and the environment that held Manson is much is a biography. I'm really excited to read his new book his writing about Jim Jones and the 1970's.

Currently on Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, very excited about it.

Evil Genius was pretty good in my book. [haha unintentional pun] There are two other books in the series as well. The second was pretty good...and since I just found out theres a thiiiiird. I'll be making my way over toward that one shortly

These have recently changed my life/perspective.

Maps of Meaning (This is the only philosophy that has deeply resonated with my own perception of reality/the world)

Untethered Soul (Mind bending, gives you perception tools to help increase your focus and will power)

Flowers For Algernon (Emotionally powerful, invoked a sense of gratitude and feeling less alone)

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (A little more practical in nature but getting a handle of my "stuff" allowed me room and space to get a better handle of the rest of my life)

Pretty sure it's this one. Just Your Type: Create the Relationship You've Always Wanted Using the Secrets of Personality Type.
by Paul D. Tieger

I'm in the middle of 5 different books because I am a bit of a moody reader (sometimes I'm in the mood to read something funny, other times I want something mysterious, something informative, something that will give me second hand embarrassment, etc.)

Currently I'm reading:

• Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
  
• Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
  
• Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
  
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
• The Food Truck Handbook by David Weber
  
  On my "next to read" list:
  
  
• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
  
• Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard, best thing you can do for yourself especially if you're an INFJ.

These are not fast questions, haha.

>What do you think is on the other side of the black hole?

Theoretically, if the black hole is part of a pair that were created from entangled subatomic particles, then they would be connected by an Einstein-Rosen bridge, and (again, theoretically) if you were to allow yourself to be sucked into one of them you'd emerge wherever the other one happens to exist. This could be in another galaxy, or yeah, some people think it's possible you could end up in another universe.

>Is there a lot of universes?

Theoretical physicists (particularly those working in string theory) are starting to think that yes, there are. Brian Greene and Michio Kaku have written reasonably accessible books on this theory, if you're interested.

>what about aliens?

Of course. It is highly unlikely that in a universe filled with billions of galaxies, each of which contains hundreds of millions of stars, only one of them would have a planet in its orbit that is capable of sustaining life. Robert Lanza hypothesizes that, in fact, the universe is biocentric - that life and consciousness are not mere accidents, but what the structure of the universe is based around. This, too, would suggest that life cannot then be confined to one planet.

>What happens to the infj emotion after their death? Are you thinking of reincarnation?

Not reincarnation exactly, no. My beliefs are pantheistic in a way that isn't really compatible with reincarnation in the traditional sense. My concept of "God" is, essentially, "the combined energy of the universe". Part of this energy is used to power my body and mind; what some might call a soul. But my "soul" isn't a discrete entity; it is made of energy, which is fungible. So, when I die, that energy (and therefore, I) will return to "everything". Of course, it will then be used to power other things... perhaps another life form, perhaps a star, or wind, or electricity. But it won't be the "same" energy - just as, if you pour a cup of water into the ocean and then fill another cup from it, it won't be the "same" water. It comes from the same source, but the individual molecules are probably going to be different. But I do think our thoughts and memories remain, as a sort of... resonance, let's say. They become part of everything, too. When people talk about remembering past lives, most likely they are accessing these resonating memories. But, not because your soul has moved into their body - rather, because you, and they, are part of the same whole.

Which, I guess, might sound like quibbling - it's not that different from reincarnation, not really. It's just that one view sees every soul as separate, and the other does not.

Sounds like you have a lot going on. Remember that you cannot make other people do anything. The only thing you have control over is how you act to others and how you deal with things. Even if your family doesn't understand you and takes advantage of you, it is up to you to change things. Being upset or angry will not help at all, it will only make the relationship worse. And I'm sure that you want to eventually have a good relationship with your family! This is a great book to read if you haven't read it. I'm still in the middle of it, but it has helped me learn that setting boundaries or saying no is not necessarily mean or letting people down, but can actually a positive thing if done for the correct reasons.

I'd recommend [Hitler] (https://www.amazon.com/Hitler-Joachim-C-Fest/dp/0151416508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481328556&sr=8-1&keywords=hitler+fest) by Joachim Fest personally. I read it for a course in Nazi Germany and it was very good.

Recommended Reading:

• Nudge (by Richard Thaler)
  
• Predictably Irrational (by Dan Ariely, he's great)
  
• Drunk Tank Pink (by Adam Alter)
  
• The Design of Everyday Things (by Don Norman, the godfather of cognitive psych)
  
• Brain Rules (by John Medina)
  
• The Tipping Point and What the Dog Saw (by Malcolm Gladwell)
  
• edit: Thinking Fast and Slow (by Daniel Kahneman)
  
• edit: The Emotional Life of Your Brain (by Richard Davidson & Sharon Begley)
  
  (Those are just the ones I have sitting on my bookshelf... I have a dozen more on my Kindle that I can add to the list if you're interested.)
  
  ---------
  
  Authors & Speakers (lots of TED Talks):
  
  
• Dan Ariely
  
• Malcolm Gladwell
  
• Rory Sutherland
  
• Daniel Pink
  
• Simon Sinek
  
• Robert Sapolsky (evolutionary biology professor at Stanford and hidden gem)
  
  ---------
  
  Let's start a book club! :)

perfect for any INFJ

Tales of the Pilot Pirx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Pirx_the_Pilot

CHECK THAT https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Pirx-Pilot-Stanislaw-Lem/dp/0156881500

Neat. Haven't heard of that book. I plan on reading Boundaries soon which I think has a similar premise.

Read the book Thanks for the feedback