Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
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Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#2I used to like Taleb, but his cult is getting out of hand. Really? You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Get a grip. Mix that faux-intellectualism--slash--nouveau-englightenment with gross oversimplifications and you have a Taleb cultist.
> From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism...
I'm no Russian sympathizer, but this is such an oversimplification it borders on parody. The irony being that this follows a spiel about the world being complex. Maybe this is parody and I'm just too dense.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#3[deleted]
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#4> Unlike scientific knowledge, Dostoevsky doesn't propose a model with a degree of accuracy and best practices on how to apply the model.
Isn't a case study is a part of science?
Please correct me if I'm wrong. One can study one particular case in depth and call themself a scientist. Dostoevsky is not a scientist because he made up his stories instead of gathering data on real cases, not because his stories cannot be replicated.
Experimental science is good, but it applicable only after a researcher came up with a hypothesis and hypothesis can be formulated if there is some theory. It is very restrictive, just like the author of the blog post writes. But where theories and hypotheses come from? From preliminary research, in particular from case studies. These case studies are also scientific knowledge, aren't they?
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#5I used to like Taleb, but his cult is getting out of hand. Really? You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Get a grip. Mix that faux-intellectualism--slash--nouveau-englightenment with gross oversimplifications and you have a Taleb cultist. > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism... I'm no Russian sy…
> You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable?
Classics are good reading because every new generation of readers can find there something valuable. Every new generation of readers can find something new, or at least rediscover something old. Everyone find in classics their own things.
If the author sees Dostoevsky through the lens of a modern author (Taleb), the better for Dostoevsky. It means he is still relevant.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#6I used to like Taleb, but his cult is getting out of hand. Really? You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Get a grip. Mix that faux-intellectualism--slash--nouveau-englightenment with gross oversimplifications and you have a Taleb cultist. > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism... I'm no Russian sy…
> > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism...
The delivery of this nonchalant line in particular made me cringe hard.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#7I used to like Taleb, but his cult is getting out of hand. Really? You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Get a grip. Mix that faux-intellectualism--slash--nouveau-englightenment with gross oversimplifications and you have a Taleb cultist. > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism... I'm no Russian sy…
> > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism... The delivery of this nonchalant line in particular made me cringe hard.
I think it reveals a deep naïveté about the author that they can simply boil things down to “Marxism bad”. However, they do seem to be learning that there is value in not being a STEMLord.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#8While I agree Dostoevsky is worth reading for most, some of the author's statements made me cringe a bit. Like "reading fiction is mostly a waste of time", "knowledge as a tool to gain an advantage over others" and "Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism"... I presume the author is either somewhat young or a programmer (due to his lack of nuance). Or both.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#9I remember Raskolnikov laying in his bed looking at the patterns of the wallpaper while feeling moody. That may have been the most connected I have felt with a literary character.
Re: Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective
#10I used to like Taleb, but his cult is getting out of hand. Really? You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Get a grip. Mix that faux-intellectualism--slash--nouveau-englightenment with gross oversimplifications and you have a Taleb cultist. > From Communist Russia's collapse due to Marxism... I'm no Russian sy…
> You needed Taleb to explain why the classics are good reading? Why literature that has been treasured for the entirety of human history is valuable? Classics are good reading because every new generation of readers can find there something valuable. Every new generation of readers can find something new, or at least rediscover something old. Everyone find in classics their own things. If the author sees Dostoevsky…
I see it the other way around: classics boil things down close to what makes us human, and that has no time boundary.
It will always be relevant and insightful, no matter the state of some human constructs, or new society standards - in the end human condition will always be with us.