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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   2633 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 7, 2023

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 reading Sargant's Battle for the Mind. Can't say I find him very reliable, but I do wonder if I can find some similarity between the models of the mind which he has laid out and tropes about how humans behave.

Mountaineering - The Freedom of the Hills - The doorstopper textbook of mountaineering. It's not really something you read, more something you eventually have read after opening it enough times.

It explains the basics of just about every aspect of climbing a mountain from how clothing works (yes, really: "Clothing helps a person stay comfortable by creating a thin insulating layer of air next to the skin." Um. thanks book.) all the way up to crevasse rescue techniques and alpine rock climbing.

It's nice to have as a reference bible in an age where anyone can throw up a quick tutorial on YouTube. Is that really how it's done? Is that knot standard practice? Better double check the textbook. Ah, yes, there it is.

I just started The Triumph of Christianity. I like the framing laid out so far, but haven't gotten more than a few pages into it yet.

I finally finished Asimov's Foundations trilogy and just wow! What a read! I was surprised by how much of a page turner it was, I normally read in the morning with some coffee before heading to work and I definitely stumbled in later than I should a few times. I know it's just "Roman Empire in Space the Book" but it's just one of those books that captures the imagination and sticks Asimov's clever ideas into your mind.

I picked up John C. Wright's Count to a Trillion a few weeks ago and started really reading it today. The first few pages have been good, if not a little pretentious. However, having gotten through hook where Menelaus injects himself with the serum I'm starting to see some worthwhile stuff.

Found myself digital versions of Sam Chamberlain's My Confession. Haven't read beyond page one so far, but I'm looking forward to it with the caveat that there seems to be no obtainable version of the book that is easily readable on modern devices, contains the original illustrations, and has not had passages removed. Still need to pick my poison.

I finally got around to picking up Cormac McCarthy by grabbing Blood Merdian. I'm not far in, but it's immediately compelling and brutal.

Hot damn. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts about it.

Oh, I appreciated "Notes on Blood Meridian" by the way. Thanks for that rec! Wish it had started with the analysis first and then the historical references afterward though.

You're very welcome.

I'm re-reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn again. It's still one of my favorite novels of all time, the gentle yet incisive humor, the occasional poignancy interspersed with belly aching laughter, all of them make it a great read.

I'm reading The Western Canon by Harold Bloom, a pretty entertaining mix of anti-resentment culture war from the 90s with literature worship. Got me listening to the Paradise Lost audiobook.

Halfway through The Darkness that Comes Before. My prediction is <nvm deleted because we don’t have spoiler tags?>

You're in for a great ride. Definitely curious to hear your thoughts after you finish it.

Since you're interested in religious philosophy, I'll note that Bakker has by far the best conception of religion in a fantasy world I've ever seen. His knowledge of how religion shapes us and is shaped by us goes incredibly deep.

It's double | instead of reddit's version.

conphas did nothing wrong

The tags don't work on mobile, or at least Chrome on Android. I can clearly see the text, @ZorbaTHutt

Okay thanks I was gonna say My money’s on Skeaos being in The Consult, he’s the brains of the empire and just seems too reserved. Don’t tell me if I’m right or wrong ofc.

I’ve just started reading Lacan’s Seminar III: The Psychoses, as the first step in a project I’ll be embarking on to do an in-depth reading of several of his seminars (currently the itinerary includes seminars III, VII, and XX, although I may slip X in there as well).

Lacan has a collected volume of essays and papers known as the Écrits which is largely indecipherable, and bears most of the responsibility for his reputation as a “postmodernist obscurantist charlatan”, but the in-person lectures and seminars he gave were much more lucid and grounded.

My main interest in this seminar stems from its (relatively brief) discussions of hysteria and OCD, although I’m hoping that I’ll find his discussion of schizophrenia to be illuminating as well.

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