Too often, people masquerade as experts when, at best, they are merely enthusiasts. The situation worsens when they market harmful advice, bearing no personal consequences for the damage it might cause.

Over the last year, I’ve been trying to better understand how people discover new ideas. In this selection, I’d like to share books that helped me grasp the emergence of key ideas in history, the nature of creative thinking, and how to find luck in your endeavors.

We relentlessly set goals—weekly, monthly, yearly. We think if there’s a goal, we’re continually moving towards it. The goal resembles a destination, and it seems as if our desire is strong enough, we’ll be able to get there. But it’s not the case.