What are you reading right now?

**René** · by **René** » 20 April 2019, 11:14

Frank Herbert - Heretics of Dune

**Brenden** · by **Brenden** » 20 April 2019, 13:59

Started The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World and The Better Angels of Our Nature.

**Capt._Trips** · by **Capt._Trips** » 21 April 2019, 18:04

I ordered the pete burns autobiography. He was the singer of the band dead or alive. Their biggest hit was you spin me ( like a record).
Im not a big fan but he is a very interesting character to say the least.

Ill start reading that once it gets here in a couple days.

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**Ant** · by **Ant** » 21 April 2019, 18:19

Shamen's Crossing by Robin Hobb

**Prince_G_24** · by **Prince_G_24** » 21 April 2019, 21:34

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.

Haven’t gotten too far into it just yet but so far I’ve been enjoying it.

**Shaved-Nudist** · by **Shaved-Nudist** » 21 April 2019, 23:13

"Our Bones are Scattered" by Andrew Ward

The Cawnpore massacre during the Indian Mutiny 1857

**Magic J** · by **Magic J** » 28 April 2019, 17:22

Brenden wrote:Started... The Better Angels of Our Nature.

What are you thinking of it? I've never read anything by Pinker, all I know is that pessimist-in-chief John Gray (of Straw Dogs fame) has been throwing some serious shade at the guy.

I'm reading After Virtue by Alisdair MacIntyre. He's just casually demolished the core underlying principle of utilitarianism (maximise happiness) in a single paragraph.

Consider: if we are to maximise happiness, we must know what happiness consists of (at the phenomenal level, neuroscience, your EEG scans are powerless here). Many things make me happy, for example 1) drinking wine (pleasure), and 2) not feeling like absolute death the next morning (health). How can I reconcile these two sources of happiness? By not drinking wine in excessive quantity? Impossible. They are clearly incommensurable, and I steadfastly put my faith in wine.

**Brenden** · by **Brenden** » 28 April 2019, 17:56

Magic J wrote:
Brenden wrote:Started... The Better Angels of Our Nature.

What are you thinking of it? I've never read anything by Pinker, all I know is that pessimist-in-chief John Gray (of Straw Dogs fame) has been throwing some serious shade at the guy.

From what I'd seen of him before (mainly interviews around the release of Enlightenment Now) I feel he's overly optimistic in his worldview generally, but so far Better Angels has been pretty solid in its arguments.

I don't know much about Grey but a cursory look over his Wikipedia article indicates his worldview is closer to mine than Pinker's. I'll have to read some of his work.

**Derek** · by **Derek** » 28 April 2019, 18:04

You know, I get why people are annoyed by Pinker, but nothing he writes is actually objectionable. It's just that his message has no power or meaning for the kind of people who want to really change things.

**Brenden** · by **Brenden** » 28 April 2019, 18:14

Derek wrote:You know, I get why people are annoyed by Pinker, but nothing he writes is actually objectionable. It's just that his message has no power or meaning for the kind of people who want to really change things.

I think his message does great harm by lulling people into sleepy optimism at a time when change is needed most to avert existential risk. The door is shut and the window is closing and there is no god, divine or technological, to open another one.

**Derek** · by **Derek** » 28 April 2019, 18:27

Pinker would argue that addressing the problems of today depends on understanding our history as a species, and the constant refrain that we're living in a dystopian hellscape that can and should be burned to the ground is the product of an ahistorical perspective which could veer our efforts to better our society off-course.

But no, you're right. Enlightment Now has the exact same energy as a hyopthetical 2020 Hillary rally whose campaign has adopted the slogan "America is already great!"

**Brenden** · by **Brenden** » 28 April 2019, 18:39

He does a great job of showing how high we've climbed and wow look at that view from up here but seems to miss how precarious our footing is and what the inverse of all that climbing entails.

**Shaved-Nudist** · by **Shaved-Nudist** » 3 May 2019, 13:03

To Face the Daring Maoris by Michael Barthorp

The New Zealand war in 1845-47

**Ant** · by **Ant** » 8 May 2019, 14:20

Forest Mage by Robin Hobb

**Jryski** · by **Jryski** » 9 May 2019, 15:31

Im reading some questionaire some dude posted about sti testing. It's multiple choice like the tests we took in highschool. Oooh I hope I passed and get a good grade for once!

**René** · by **René** » 9 May 2019, 18:52

Jryski wrote:Im reading some questionaire some dude posted about sti testing.

It was actually a dudette

**Jryski** · by **Jryski** » 9 May 2019, 19:27

René wrote:
Jryski wrote:Im reading some questionaire some dude posted about sti testing.

It was actually a dudette

My bad! I meant, dudette!

**Marmaduke** · by **Marmaduke** » 9 May 2019, 19:36

Jryski wrote:
René wrote:
Jryski wrote:Im reading some questionaire some dude posted about sti testing.

It was actually a dudette

My bad! I meant, dudette!

How dare you two, with your presumptive gender binary labelings! For shame!

**Severelius** · by **Severelius** » 9 May 2019, 19:54

The Naked Sun, 2nd book of Isaac Asimov's Robot series.

**Ant** · by **Ant** » 20 May 2019, 13:57

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb

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