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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1543 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 30, 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.

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So, what are you reading?

I finished al-Ghazali's Banes of the Tongue, which was well worth the read. I can dimly see some aspects of Islam, and in particular the hadith "Beware of the believer's intuition because he sees by the light of God" has caught my eye. There is a sense of leaving uncovered what God has covered and not speaking about what doesn't concern you; in particular, if one is gossiped to, the gossip says more about the gossiper than the one who is spoken about. It has kindled an interest in ways of knowing which might arise from an Islamic mindset.

What is forbidden is supposition [about another's alleged evil ways], and supposition is an expression of what the soul believes is reliable, and the heart inclines toward. God says, O you who have believed, avoid much negative assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin [Q. 49:12]. The reason for its unlawfulness is because the secrets of the hearts are known only to the Knower of the unseen, so it is not for you to believe in another’s wickedness unless it is disclosed to you by observation and cannot be explained away.

The book is quite comprehensive, talking about things like arguments, joking, praising or being praised, and I'm sure to be revisiting this often.

Currently on Seveneves. So far my least favorite Stephenson book, but I guess I'm comparing it to Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicron, probably two of which are in my "top 10 books I've read" list. It's okay, about a third of the way through. Feels very much "of its time" (2008 2015): drops Internet references (Reddit/YouTube), and two of the characters seem obvious NDT and Elon Musk ("when he was still cool") stand-ins. No questions asked international cooperation. It's long (800+ pages). Not exactly a slog, but I'm tempted to set it aside for something more interesting. Thinking As I Lay Dying, since I've found I like "in the style of Faulkner" AI memes.

Previous was True Grit, which is a short read I'd recommend. Might watch the movies at some point.

Seveneves also had stand-ins for Hilary Clinton (probably the most entertaining of them), Cory Doctorow, and Malala Yousafzai. Doob-NdGT was one of the more obvious ones, for sure. Probst was half Musk, but with elements of other CEOs.

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