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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   3517 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 4, 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?

Still on Comte's A General View of Positivism. Progress is slow but he has my attention. His Positive Philosophy seems considerably more complicated.

Paper I happen to be reading: Leeson's The Invisible Hook: The Law and Economics of Pirate Tolerance.

I just finished the Southern Reach trilogy, I had seen the movie adaptation of the first novel when it came out on Netflix but the books are really something. Spooky, ominous and mysterious. Anyone else read these?

Finished reading The Corner. It's, uh, interesting. It doesn't exactly leave me with a high opinion of the overall worth of these people.

Still chipping away at The Power Broker. About halfway through!

Economic facts and fallacies by Thomas Sowell.

Reason: Bookclub. I've had tremendous difficulty sticking with books but having to finish it to not make a fool of yourself seems to serve as a good incentive.

Thoughts so far: A bit too strong on the opinions. I agree mostly with what Sowell has to say, but I doubt this book is going to convince anyone of anything, even those on the fence. Should do more than assert "A is B because C". The 'because C' needs to be significantly longer, we disagree on B because of our inferential distance, attempt to bridge it !!

Stalled out on "Democracy in America". Its not that it lacks insight or is badly written, its just...a long winded nineteenth century book, i guess? And it seems like it may suffer from its success, being one of those books whose key points have already passed into the broader culture in some way.

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