出版与作家生涯2021ez.substack.com
自助类图书行业那场自欺欺人的骗局
The Delusional Scam of the Self-Help Book Industry
导读
这是一篇批评自助书产业的随笔：作者认为这类书靠"你只差一个好点子"的幻觉贩卖成功学，本质是骗局。对写作者的价值在于反向学习：如何识别并避免空洞许诺式的说服套路，以及如何在批评一个现象时不落入自己反对的假设。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
批评某个类型时，先交代你判断的标准和定义，否则读者会拿反例轻易推翻你的整体论断。
- 02
避免"这本来人人都该懂"式的论断，它预设了读者的成长环境，容易显得傲慢且削弱说服力。
- 03
指出"教导成功的人本身靠教导成功赚钱"这类利益结构，是增强批评可信度的有效写法。
- 04
承认对象中"也有可取之处"再批评其余部分，比全盘否定更可信，也更难被反驳。
HN 评论精选
批评"显而易见"的说教时，别忘了有些人从未有机会学到这些。
作者引用的例子是那种教人"记住别人的名字""让对方觉得自己重要"的书，说这些道理"只有小孩才觉得新鲜"，不该需要刻意勉强身体去做。但指出自助业有骗局成分固然好，这里恰恰示范了作者自己所抨击的假设：许多"本应不言自明"的基本人生课题，对在情感忽视环境中长大的人极其重要。
nazgulnarsil查看英文原文
>a book that tells you stuff like “remember people’s names” and “make them feel important,” which seems benign, but should only seem surprising to a child, and should not be something you have to unnaturally force your body to do. there is much good in pointing out the scamminess of the self-help industry, but this is a good example of making exactly the sort of assumptions the author is railing against. Many basic life lessons that 'should be unsurprising' are extremely important for people who grew up in contexts of emotional neglect.
自助书的价值取决于读者处境，不能因为品类里垃圾多就整体否定。
我完全不同意文章的前提。确实有很多人靠一个点子起家；盖茨、奥巴马等成功者确实公开说自己读很多书，所以不算谬误。垃圾自助书很多，但我也在垃圾堆里找到过珍宝——所谓珍宝，只是恰好契合我当时所处的境况和年龄。他列了自己受用的书：《你好，我好》《人间游戏》《我们 live 的恍惚》《思考致富》《领导之道》。
okareaman查看英文原文
I totally disagree with the premise of this article, unless I don't get the authors definition of "self help book" > there is an entire book industry that is focused on the premise that you are merely one good idea away from the future Many famous people started out with one good idea > The entire business-focused self-help industry is built on the fallacy that successful people read a lot of books Many famous successful people promote the face that they read a lot of books, such as Bill Gates and Barack Obama. It's not a fallacy. There's a lot of junk self help books to wade through, but I have found some jewels among the trash and by jewels I mean they were just right for the situation and age I was at. Edit: I put together a list off the top of my head of self help books I found useful (again, at the age I was at) I'm OK – You're OK, guide to transactional analysis by Thomas Harris Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships by Eric Berne Trances We Live by Stephen Wolinsky Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Zen and the Art of Leadership by Thomas Cleary
看成功学内容时，先看作者的钱是从"教"里赚的还是从"做"里赚的。
我对文章谈的话题没什么发言权，但最让我反感的是：出版这类书、做这类 YouTube 频道和付费课程的人，绝大多数是靠"教别人如何致富/过上理想生活"的作品发的财。相关的还有那种反复采访成功者、套几句忠告和语录却从不揭示更深层内容的人（我觉得很少有这样做的采访者）。
geerlingguy查看英文原文
I can't speak to the topics addressed in the article itself, but the thing I find most annoying is that _most_ of the people who publish these books (and guides on YouTube, blogs, for-pay video series, etc.) seem to have made their fortunes through the works that are intended to teach people how to build up their own wealth/lifestyle/happiness. Slightly related are people who serially interview successful people and try to weasel out words of advice or quotables, but never reveal things of greater depth that has more impact on the viewers/listeners/readers (few interviewers do, IMO).
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