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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1613 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024

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 on Future Shock, Galactic Patrol and Crystallizing Public Opinion.

I read Lying for Money earlier this year, and enjoyed it so much that I'm rereading it. Just as entertaining on the second pass.

Keynes' recent biography by Zachary D. Carter (among other books, as part of a broader effort to study interwar period; would be glad to discuss)

Phaedo, Cratylus, Theaetetus.

Phaedo was deeply moving to me in the context in which I read it. Cratylus I... Honestly didn't get.

On audio I'm motoring through lonesome dove, which feels a lot like Master and Commander in terms of characters just DOING things constantly.

What's your take on Future Shock? It must seem a bit dated by now? (And the Bernay's book is even older)

I’ve been reading it at a snail’s pace, so I can’t say too much at the moment, but honestly, Future Shock is already one of the most interesting books I’ve read. I’m not very impressed with many takes on progress, but by focusing specifically on change and its psychological counterparts (as opposed to end results), it brings out a lot of insights which seem worth studying. There’s a vision here, something that’s just a little cerebral without being untethered. I’ll try to do a proper review for the next thread.

As for Bernays, I wasn’t very impressed with him the first time I read him, but he’s one of those writers who stick in your head for some reason. The books which click years later are the best, and his fit that category for me.

Jesus and Judaism by Martin Hengel and Anna Maria Schwemer. Highly recommended, I keep opening new Wikipedia tabs to read them later because there's so much new stuff for me in each chapter.

Wabi Sabi Painting with Cold Wax. The examples are more abstract than I prefer, but the colors and marks are attractive. Some of the text is interesting and useful, though most is generic.

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