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The Animal Is Tired

robinhobb.com

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Re: The Animal Is Tired

#301

Post by pferde »

ljhsiung wrote: post #40
podgaj wrote: post #12

I laugh when I see people running for 6 miles are doing marathons or Iron Man’s. How can anyone think that is healthy and good for the long term functioning of the body? Study after study has shown that we are meant to be “lazy”. But no one wants to hear that. So listen to this guy, relax!

Numerous studies show that exercise provides U-shaped benefits to health [1], [2]. Specific to cardiovascular disease, repeat marathon runners [3] have higher calcium buildup than those who do not run in marathons, which as Robin might say, is one of those cases where the animal is driven too hard. While you have a point for extreme exertion, I'm not sure what you mean by "lazy". Current general recommendations are 1…

> Specific to cardiovascular disease, repeat marathon runners [3] have higher calcium buildup than those who do not run in marathons

The linked study did not say anything about runners versus non-runners, so I would be careful in making such statement.

From the study: "We studied 100 male presumably healthy runners, aged 50-75 yr, who completed at least five marathons during the preceding 3 yr."

The study involved older marathon runners and found artery calcium plaque in some of them. It however did not include a comparable group of non-runners. It is entirely likely that the calcium plaque buildup happens in higher age regardless of lifestyle.

Or perhaps frequent marathon runners have less of it than non-runners. Or more of it. The point is that this study does not say what you claim it says.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#302

Post by robscallsign »

kkoncevicius wrote: post #283

The animal separation part is confusing to me. Not because of any "mind versus matter" dilemmas but because of desires. The author says that the animal wants to relax and lie down. But where is the distinction here? If you drink coffee when you feel the urge - that's on you, but if you relax when you feel like it - then it's the animal? Can it be that all those desires for working hard and having coffee and alcohol w…

> The animal separation part is confusing to me.

Have you read her fiction, particularly the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies? Her fantasy universe, and the main characters, involve bonding with an animal so completely that you are essentially one combined being that inhabits both bodies. An emotional peak of the series involve the slow process of aging, and eventual passing of one of the main characters, who happens to be a wolf that is bonded.

Her phrasing here isn't just whimsical musings, but a bit of creative writing that combines her reflections on aging with an homage to her fictional work and style. Her words and message here will connect deeply with those familiar with her work, or at least it did with me.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#303

Post by oldprogrammer2 »

SunlightEdge wrote: post #265
spamalot159 wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brandon Sanderson is my go to recommendation for fantasy nowadays. Mistborn is a great place to start but The Way of Kings is the real meat and potatoes. He also links all these books together in the same universe and it's fun to notice the connections.

At the risk of being downvoted I don't find Brandon Sanderson a very good fantasy writer. For me, The way of kings started well (even if the characters were all pretty 2-D) in book one. Interesting plot with it mixing ww1/dune computer game themes in a fantasy setting. But by book 3 it was an incredible chore to get through and I stopped after about 10% in. I even got bored reading the plot summary of the third book.…

I like Sanderson, I really do, but I wish he would aim for a bit more brevity. He has a really interesting story to tell, and built an incredibly creative world, but it's like he gets distracted by all the other stories he would like to tell. Just like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, Way of Kings seems to get slower with each book as more subplots are developed and explored.

But I think my biggest complaint about Way of Kings is that the characters often make such frustrating decisions. The fate of the world is at stake and people are petty, self-absorbed, secretive, and sullen. Maybe that's reality, but it's so frustrating to read sub-plots that drag out for hundreds of pages simply because people won't communicate.

I miss, to some degree, books like King's Gunslinger and Moorcock's Elric, that could tell a story in ~200 pages. Or even the TSR pulp fantasy books of the 80's which all seemed to be 300-400 pages. Now everything is super-sized, but I don't feel like I'm getting more "story", I'm getting in-depth descriptions of clothing and internal monologues on what to cook for dinner.

Despite that critique, I still recommend Way of Kings (and Wheel of Time!). Just flip through the filler.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#304

Post by Liskni_si »

hedberg10 wrote: post #299
Liskni_si wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

20 miles is just 6 miles less than a marathon, and would take over 6 hours at the normal pace of 5 km/h. Is that really what you manage to do in the morning before work? :-O

Thank you for catching me. No, that is not what I walked :)

So, um, was that a typo? Am I parsing your sentence wrong? Been waiting for an edit but it doesn't seem one is coming. :-)

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#305

Post by MattRix »

LargeWu wrote: post #297
SunlightEdge wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the risk of being downvoted I don't find Brandon Sanderson a very good fantasy writer. For me, The way of kings started well (even if the characters were all pretty 2-D) in book one. Interesting plot with it mixing ww1/dune computer game themes in a fantasy setting. But by book 3 it was an incredible chore to get through and I stopped after about 10% in. I even got bored reading the plot summary of the third book.…

I don't know if it's that Sanderson is a bad writer; I think it's more that he's a bad editor. He is so prolific that he doesn't take the time to cut his books down to the length they should be, which is probably about half the length. Every single novel I've read by him (All of mistborn, 1st 3 Way of Kings, Elantris) has egregious pacing problems. Way too much repetitive exposition that doesn't move the story along.…

Skyward is a great light read by him, but note that it’s sci-fi, not fantasy.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#306

Post by myfavoritedog »

smoldesu wrote: post #26

It's a pretty harrowing thought that given my age (barely still a teen) I may not live another 50 years. Between the mass pollution tainting our world, impending global warming and increased civil unrest, I figure the odds that my animal reaches 70 are not very high.

Stop watching cable news and listening to the prognostications of celebrities who got where they are through their looks or ability to act.

The biggest problem we have today is that kids have no context that tells them how great they have it, so they're like putty in the hands of those who would use them to gain political power. Like some kind of emotional vampire, those vested political interests gain power from your fear and your willingness to be mobilized by it.

Most of us who have a few decades on you would gladly take another 70 years of youthful existence to experience life and see where this world goes next.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#307

Post by kizer »

I’m 26 and barely functional. Pushed too hard in sport in HS (swimming), then too hard in college. Got hired at one of the big tech out of college, but was so burnt out that I couldn’t do the work and quit after a year. Only Adderall gives me some life ... for about an hour per dose (prescribed). I’ve been relaxing at home with my parents for two years, but I still feel like a zombie.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#308

Post by trey-jones »

silexia wrote: post #259
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In The Dark Tower, only first two books are good. Third is decent, the rest I've read only because I'm a very stubborn person.

Very true! King disliked this series and only finished it because of fan insistence... And the ending is a middle finger to those fans!

Personal opinion I guess. I really liked the whole series, including the ending.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#309

Post by Hugie »

piva00 wrote: post #257
germinalphrase wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll just throw out there that I didn’t care about kids, babies until after We had one. My brain definitely changed.

How was that feeling? Did you simply not care or did it take your energy away to be around them? I've actively tried to change and engage more with kids for a few years, this dread never went away, it's not only I don't take enjoyment but it saps something out of me, it's quite strange as I don't feel that strongly against anything else considered normal in life...

It changed for me with my first daughter too.

Before that, crying/arguing kids (of e.g. friends) always gave me headaches and i never knew what to talk with them or how to interact.

Also when my wife told me she was pregnent, all i felt was 'Ok, now the ... starts' - i did not enjoy the news.

But in hospital, when my daughter was born and i sat in a chair holding here sleeping on my arms for the first time - it changed 180°. I constantly had a smile on my face and felt warmth and the need to protect here.

I also enjoy beeing around other peoples kids now and i am more open to "little jokes" to make them smile.

So it seemed to be a biological barrier for me, which i needed to be taken over by my daughter to switche to "parent-mode".

It is also quite funny to see the faces of colleagues (without kids) and how they react to kids-stories. It was the same for me before i had my own.

Re: The Animal Is Tired

#310

Post by thatcat »

Swizec wrote: post #146
dimitrios1 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is certainly a take . My children, one of the greatest sources of pure, unadulterated, innocent joy, are the only reason I believe there is still good in the world and thankful that this floating rock continues to revolve around the sun so I get to enjoy them. The stress of the children and the hard work is so minuscule in comparison.

Got a better explanation? I think it’s possible for both to be true. That kids give you unadulterated joy and also make you objectively worse off.

Sure, your mortgage is paid off and you're probably in a management or other upper level position with less job insecurity.
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