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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1860 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 25, 2026

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?

Got two more sections of Capital to finish, which I will be very glad to be done with. Hoping to write up an effort post here and on my blog after I finish. I think it will generate an interesting discussion not only because Marx presents a convincing critique of capitalism (although I think his central premise of the labor theory of value is wrong, or at least incomplete) but also because it's been illuminating to see how the leftist group I've been reading it with has gone from worshiping Marx to understanding him as the flawed, snarky philosopher that he is.

Also planning on finishing up Outlive by Peter Attia today. Also going to write-up an effort post on this for Wellness Wednesday. Think it's a fantastic book, but I disagree slightly with his prescriptions and want to add a few of my own.

Also working on Harry Potter 7 in Italian.

I have an epub of The Practical Guide to Evil staring at me in my e-reader app. I only got a few dozen pages into it before my eyes started glazing over.

First impressions are poor. It's written like YA webfic slop, with a frisky and pugnacious teenage female protagonist who we are introduced to in the process of beating up a man thrice her size in a fistfight. I get the impression that there's a diegetic explanation, something to do with some people being "archetypes" and thus imbued with narrativium powers, recognized in-universe. But come on, surely we can do better than that. The story also tries the "what if Orks were misunderstood and not evil" trick, but at this point in the fantasy ecosystem, the deconstructions are probably more common than efforts to play things straight.

Maybe I'm being harsh, and it'll pick up. Some swear by it. But I find it hard to motivate myself to push deeper.

Truly, the double standards are beoynd belief. When glorious Fang Yuan in a teenage body beats up 30 fellow students in a row, there is no complaint, but a female protagonist?

He's just built different 💪

He's got "500 years of experience" and was an expert in CQC combat. A bunch of 13 year olds who can't throw a punch didn't have a chance, especially when their ego stopped them from piling onto him

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