So, what books are you reading right now?

Oran · July 10, 2010, 8:07pm

That’s actually a pretty good insight. You can sense that in a big way throughout.

Don’t tell him that. Though I got the sense that even he isn’t quite convinced that he’s achieving ‘‘hedgehog status’’ when he writes.

jonquil · July 11, 2010, 12:14am

inzydeout · August 5, 2010, 6:15am

The Antichrist

I want to read poetics

I’ve read volume 2 and am reading volume 3

I’m reading national geographic all the time, the newspaper, and c.l. Lewis books… uh some other ones but can’t think of them right now.

Arcturus_Descending · August 24, 2010, 3:43pm

I’m reading Reverence by Paul Woodruff

cceia.org/resources/publicat … d/205.html

An excerpt:
"…My footnote was on Thuscydides, the most thoughtful of the ancient Greek historians. Writing in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, Thuscydides adopted the humanist position that gods do not interview in human affairs. He believed that purely human currents in history would bring about most of the results that traditional thinkers expected from the gods: If a tyrant rises too far and too fast, or if he exercises his power with too much arrogance, other people will fear him and hate him, and they – not the gods – will unite to bring him down. But if the gods never punish human beings, why bother with reverence?

I used to think that it was only fear of the gods that made the ancient Greeks reverent. Thucydides does not seem to fear the gods, but he fears human arrogance, and therefore he cares a great deal about reverence, which he trears as a cardinal virtue. Some scholars argue, in spite of appearances, that he does believe the gods punish human beings when they violate reverence. But then why doesn’t he say so. That was the puzzle I took on in my footnote.

MrMermaid · September 11, 2010, 1:25pm

Currently reading:

Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
The second gigantic novel in the ten-part fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen. I can really, seriously recommend it to anyone who enjoys complex storylines and well thought-out fantasy. His works are simply superb, rivalling Tolkien’s for their breadth and detail.

Infinity and the Mind: The Science and Philosophy of the Infinite - Rudy Rucker
An excursion into mathematical infinity, the mind’s structure as a computer, and how such a computer is limited in the way it can understand the physical and mathematical universe. Very interesting and compelling, especially for the more mathematically inclined amongst you.

Irrationality - N.S. Sutherland
A good, hard look at, and analysis of, humans and their decisions (both individually and collectively); concluding in a scarily large number of cases that said decisions are made irrationally (scary because one then notices most of these traits in oneself!).

Recently finished:

The Emperor’s New Mind - Sir Roger Penrose
Roger takes you on a fascinating journey, from computing and algorithms to fractals and infinity; from quantum weirdness to his own wacky (but extraordinary) ideas of what makes our mind and consciousness tick, and what will always distinguish them from any designed robot/computer. Read with a pinch of salt, but don’t be put off by the occasional mathematics and formal logic - just hop on to the next chapter!

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
I don’t think this needs much explanation.

Soon to start reading:

I intend to get into Bertrand Russell’s Principia Mathematica at some point in the next year. I also want to re-attempt Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. (The latter was one I read when I was much younger, and clearly didn’t fully comprehend its actual message - farm animals talking to each other was enough to keep me interested!)

jonquil · September 12, 2010, 2:01pm

These are not books that you have to attempt. They either take you in completely or they don’t. As for me, from the first page I was wholly absorbed and captivated.

MrMermaid · September 12, 2010, 6:06pm

My earlier attempts at To Kill a Mockingbird and Nineteen Eighty-Four were thwarted by me being distracted from them by such things as extensive revision for exams, and later spending lots of time in the park with mates in the fine weather earlier this British summer. I lost track of the story-lines, but that doesn’t imply I wasn’t enjoying them. I want to try them again, hopefully with more free time to spare for them.

Blurry · September 12, 2010, 6:42pm

You should be able to read To Kill A Mockingbird in one sitting. I think it took me somewhere between five and seven hours, but I’m not sure. All I know for sure is that I didn’t sleep that night and I was wrecked for work the next day. 1984 takes a bit more time, or at least, I took more time with it. Happy reading

nano-bug · September 14, 2010, 10:33pm

BlurredSavant:

MrMermaid:

jonquil:

These are not books that you have to attempt. They either take you in completely or they don’t. As for me, from the first page I was wholly absorbed and captivated.

My earlier attempts at To Kill a Mockingbird and Nineteen Eighty-Four were thwarted by me being distracted from them by such things as extensive revision for exams, and later spending lots of time in the park with mates in the fine weather earlier this British summer. I lost track of the story-lines, but that doesn’t imply I wasn’t enjoying them. I want to try them again, hopefully with more free time to spare for them.

You should be able to read To Kill A Mockingbird in one sitting. I think it took me somewhere between five and seven hours, but I’m not sure. All I know for sure is that I didn’t sleep that night and I was wrecked for work the next day. 1984 takes a bit more time, or at least, I took more time with it. Happy reading

1984

Do you remember the last line written? Pop Quiz: What did Orwell end with?

Tab · September 14, 2010, 10:34pm

A History of India John Keay

Ingenium · September 14, 2010, 11:08pm

“A Reasonable Life” by Ferenc Mate.

Blurry · September 15, 2010, 12:49am

Urm…“He loved Big Brother.”

nano-bug · September 15, 2010, 8:40pm

“You win!”

“The prize . . . {curtains draw open] . . . A brand new wearable camera with head mounted display, perfect for capturing every moment, both big and small, of your entire life!”

nano-bug · September 15, 2010, 8:48pm

I’ve been reading the instruction manual to a video game–mainly what buttons to push.

I’ve also been reading the descriptions of books on the best seller list. The words killer, detective, love, and vampire appear often and give my vocab a boost.

anon · September 15, 2010, 8:58pm

I just read Kierkegaard on boredom (from Either/Or) on the internet. Great stuff.

nano-bug · September 15, 2010, 9:54pm

I’m interested in boredom, seriously. Is that text available online?
I would check myself but I’m also interested in laziness.

jonquil · September 15, 2010, 10:09pm

Kierkegaard wrote: “Boredom is the root of all evil - the despairing refusal to be oneself.” I wonder how that logic works. If I refuse to be myself out of despair, that is boredom and the root of all evil, or that is boredom which is the root of all evil? It was much simpler thinking of greed as the root of all evil, but I suppose that would be more boring than thinking of my existential identity disorder as the root of all evil and essentially boring, likely because of the vacuum it creates between me and not me. Maybe.

anon · September 15, 2010, 10:26pm

Soren Kierkegaard:

People with experience maintain that proceeding from a basic principle is supposed to be very reasonable; I yield to them and proceed from the basic principle that all people are boring. Or is there anyone who would be boring enough to contradict me in this regard? This basic principle has to the highest degree the repelling force always required in the negative, which is actually the principle of motion. It is not merely repelling but infinitely repulsive, and whoever has the basic principle behind him must necessarily have infinite momentum for making discoveries. If, then, my thesis is true, a person needs only to ponder how corrupting boredom is for people, tempering his reflections more or less according to his desire to diminish or increase his impetus, and if he wants to press the speed of the motion to the highest point, almost with danger to the locomotive, he needs only to say to himself: Boredom is the root of all evil. It is very curious that boredom, which itself has such a calm and sedate nature, can have such a capacity to initiate motion. The effect that boredom brings about is absolutely magical, but this effect is one not of attraction but of repulsion.

How corrupting boredom is, everyone recognizes also with regard to children. As long as children are having a good time, they are always good. This can be said in the strictest sense, for if they at times become unmanageable even while playing, it is really because they are beginning to be bored; boredom is already coming on, but in a different way. Therefore, when selecting a nursemaid, one always considers essentially not only that she is sober, trustworthy, and good-natured but also takes into esthetic consideration whether she knows how to entertain children. Even if she had all other excellent virtues, one would not hesitate to give her the sack if she lacked this qualification. Here, indeed, the principle is clearly acknowledged, but things go on so curiously in the world, habit and boredom have gained the upper hand to such a degree, that justice is done to esthetics only in the conduct of the nursemaid. It would be quite impossible to prevail if one wanted to demand a divorce because one’s wife is boring, or demand that a king be dethroned because he is boring to behold, or that a clergyman be exiled because he is boring to listen to, or that a cabinet minister be dismissed or a journalist be executed because he is frightfully boring.

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings. Adam was bored because he was alone; therefore Eve was created. Since that moment, boredom entered the world and grew in quantity in exact proportion to the growth of population. Adam was bored alone; then Adam and Eve were bored en famille. After that, the population of the world increased and the nations were bored en masse. To amuse themselves, they hit upon the notion of building a tower so high that it would reach the sky. This notion is just as boring as the tower was high and is a terrible demonstration of how boredom had gained the upper hand. Then they were dispersed around the world, just as people now travel abroad, but they continued to be bored. And what consequences this boredom had: humankind stood tall and fell far, first through Eve, then from the Babylonian tower.

nano-bug · September 15, 2010, 11:54pm

anon:

Soren Kierkegaard:

People with experience maintain that proceeding from a basic principle is supposed to be very reasonable; I yield to them and proceed from the basic principle that all people are boring. Or is there anyone who would be boring enough to contradict me in this regard? This basic principle has to the highest degree the repelling force always required in the negative, which is actually the principle of motion. It is not merely repelling but infinitely repulsive, and whoever has the basic principle behind him must necessarily have infinite momentum for making discoveries. If, then, my thesis is true, a person needs only to ponder how corrupting boredom is for people, tempering his reflections more or less according to his desire to diminish or increase his impetus, and if he wants to press the speed of the motion to the highest point, almost with danger to the locomotive, he needs only to say to himself: Boredom is the root of all evil. It is very curious that boredom, which itself has such a calm and sedate nature, can have such a capacity to initiate motion. The effect that boredom brings about is absolutely magical, but this effect is one not of attraction but of repulsion.

How corrupting boredom is, everyone recognizes also with regard to children. As long as children are having a good time, they are always good. This can be said in the strictest sense, for if they at times become unmanageable even while playing, it is really because they are beginning to be bored; boredom is already coming on, but in a different way. Therefore, when selecting a nursemaid, one always considers essentially not only that she is sober, trustworthy, and good-natured but also takes into esthetic consideration whether she knows how to entertain children. Even if she had all other excellent virtues, one would not hesitate to give her the sack if she lacked this qualification. Here, indeed, the principle is clearly acknowledged, but things go on so curiously in the world, habit and boredom have gained the upper hand to such a degree, that justice is done to esthetics only in the conduct of the nursemaid. It would be quite impossible to prevail if one wanted to demand a divorce because one’s wife is boring, or demand that a king be dethroned because he is boring to behold, or that a clergyman be exiled because he is boring to listen to, or that a cabinet minister be dismissed or a journalist be executed because he is frightfully boring.

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings. Adam was bored because he was alone; therefore Eve was created. Since that moment, boredom entered the world and grew in quantity in exact proportion to the growth of population. Adam was bored alone; then Adam and Eve were bored en famille. After that, the population of the world increased and the nations were bored en masse. To amuse themselves, they hit upon the notion of building a tower so high that it would reach the sky. This notion is just as boring as the tower was high and is a terrible demonstration of how boredom had gained the upper hand. Then they were dispersed around the world, just as people now travel abroad, but they continued to be bored. And what consequences this boredom had: humankind stood tall and fell far, first through Eve, then from the Babylonian tower.

The root can stay a root in this case.

How you treat boredom depends more on how you view entertainment. Most people view it strictly as an audience member. When or if they would try the reverse, to entertain others, they would quickly realize how much mental work is required just to make the order in their art craft LOOK effortless. What is that mental work? It involves getting inside other human minds and convincing them to willingly suspend their disbelief and have fun with the fiction. This escape is said to have merit.

When a magician knows the other magic maker’s trick he is bored. And yet, he futher more appreciates what got him into magic in the first place, say, the mystery of life. The true trick.

I think it was K-gard that said the evil comes from man not being able to be with himself.

In order to be with yourself, you must entertain yourself in the most private mundane ways. You will appear boring to others, but at the same time you no longer need others to amuse you. Not many people are here to amuse you. They are too busy looking to be amused themselves.

Personally speaking, I lead a VERY boring life. However, I am immune to boredom. I have no good stories to tell others. This is because the best stories happened to me alone and cannot be explained after the experience, apart from the experience.

I am a hermit and astronaut.
I hate myself in relation to others. I love myself alone.
This is because I’m bored with entertainment.

I am thrilled because I have no desire to sky dive or swim with sharks.
I’m already amazed.
Feeling like you don’t need is better than getting what you want.

Empty out.

jonquil · September 16, 2010, 1:24am

Consider the possibilities for ILP if Kierkegaard were right in saying this: Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings. Adam was bored because he was alone; therefore Eve was created. Since that moment, boredom entered the world and grew in quantity in exact proportion to the growth of population. Adam was bored alone; then Adam and Eve were bored en famille. After that, the population of the world increased and the nations were bored en masse. To amuse themselves, they hit upon the notion of building a tower so high that it would reach the sky. This notion is just as boring as the tower was high and is a terrible demonstration of how boredom had gained the upper hand. Then they were dispersed around the world, just as people now travel abroad, but they continued to be bored. And what consequences this boredom had: humankind stood tall and fell far, first through Eve, then from the Babylonian tower.

How corrupt and evil ILP must be then. Maybe we should all build an upsidedown tower into the earth to see how low we can go, then. We could call it The Tatel of Bower, and all languages would be reduced by inverse proportion to the downward progression until, by great fortune, it all comes down to one word, that great ontological Logos of creation at the last moment in time. I like it. In fact, it would engender a whole new school of philosophy called Creation Eschatology, devoted to the devolution of language to the ultimate silence of the one great nothing and something called God, whose symbol would be the Pyramis Duplex.* The only problem is, it doesn’t bore me, so I guess it really is me and the root of all evil really is greed. Whew.

Check out this page on boredom from tribe.net: tribes.tribe.net/boredandproud

See the Pyramis Duplex or God here: