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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3137 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 17, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

I'm still on Red Dynamite.

Still slogging through Way of Kings. It is getting better as it goes on, but at the same time, it's so god-damn slow. I know Sanderson is relatively popular in the rationalist community and I can sort of see why (the world-building is very unique and interesting, even if not particularly realistic), but man the guy needs an editor, especially for his dialogue.

Reading Capital for philosophy book club. Marx is quite frustrating to read some times because he is smarmily dogmatic (I guess this where the infighting in the Soviet Union has its roots). It has its insights, but I think some of the ways he presents his arguments leave a lot to be desired. For instance, he seems deliberately obtuse about the fact that trade actually can generate real value, and this fact isn't even incompatible with the labor theory of value: the merchant does a fair bit of labor in identifying the market, transporting the goods, etc.

Way of Kings is one of the slowest books Sanderson has written, I'd say. I almost gave up on it because I was waiting for the plot to actually start happening, so I sympathize. If you read his other books (say, Mistborn) they are much better paced. Way of Kings does pick up towards the end, but it takes forever to get there.

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