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Do you read?

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Re: Do you read?

#81

Post by ojbyrne »

shard wrote: post #79
ojbyrne wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally tend to look down on people who read only non-fiction (though obviously not as much as people who don't read at all). It suggests a lack of imagination. And I think perhaps that's the self-improvement aspect of fiction - it exercises the imagination.

Right, because reading _Godel Escher Bach_, _Shock of the New_, and _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ (my current reading list) obviously doesn't exercise the imagination.

I said "only." And just for the record, I've read all of Hofstader's books, not just the popular/mainstream one.

EDIT: Ok, not all, just the ones in English. ;-)

And a further EDIT: all three of those books are about "Art" more or less. I can't see how someone who read those books can't read fiction. So I'm guessing you missed "only."

Re: Do you read?

#82

Post by yters »

decode wrote: post #33
danteembermage wrote: post #18

I read and I read fiction for the most part. I want to make the case though that fiction is not necessarily non-educational and is rather uniquely educational or educates in a unique way. One common excuse for fiction reading is to suggest you learn passive facts about the setting as you progress pleasantly through the story, but that's not a particularly strong argument in favor or reading fiction. Sure I could pick…

Here's the problem with learning through fiction: the only thing you can learn about through fiction is the mind of the author. When you read a Rand novel, you don't learn anything about how objectivism works, you only learn about Rand's imagination of how it works. Similarly, sentience may in fact be mutually inclusive or exclusive of understanding; just because you can describe a circumstance in which something is…

There are two main pieces to our perception of the world - the bare facts and the larger picture you get from combining the facts. The larger picture is more universal than the bare facts, so it is more useful than a use case.

Plus, and this is often ignored today, big pictures are not entirely mutually exclusive. To use a comp sci analogy let's look at search algorithms:

Use cases are more similar to deterministic partial solution searches (backtracking depth first search, breadth first search) for which the more interesting problems are intractable. Additionally, such search algorithms are very self contained, and it is usually quite difficult to combine them, making these algorithms a one time tool.

On the other hand, big pictures are more similar to stochastic solution spaces searches, which won't get you the best solution, but they'll get you a pretty good one much, much more quickly. And since solution space searches all interface with the same space, they can be mixed and matched depending on what is most useful for the problem domain. For example, with genetic algorithms, once you can make your problem domain fit a standard GA representation, the whole of GA theory can be applied.

Re: Do you read?

#83

Post by danprager »

I too enjoy reading. I commute and read books on the train. I also read a bit before going to bed and otherwise opportunistically. I read multiple books at once, and this can be a problem. I have sworn not to buy any more books from Amazon this year. I borrow books from my local library.

My favorite book this year is The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris, because it made me think about people and their behavior from a new (to me) perspective. His autobiography is also good fun.

Why do I read? Reading properly is like entering into a fully immersive virtual world, where your imagination paints the pictures, sounds, etc. You also get to learn new stuff and when reading fiction or autobiography experience many worlds vicariously.

Re: Do you read?

#84

Post by nicko »

ice_man wrote: post #65
ojbyrne wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally tend to look down on people who read only non-fiction (though obviously not as much as people who don't read at all). It suggests a lack of imagination. And I think perhaps that's the self-improvement aspect of fiction - it exercises the imagination.

I read non-fiction books exclusively. I find them to be a nice break from my imagination. I tend to look down upon people who look down upon people.

> I tend to look down upon people who look down upon people.

nice quip, until followed to its logical conclusion ;-)

Re: Do you read?

#85

Post by MikeCapone »

I'm currently reading:

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

It varies, but I probably read 2 to 6 books a month (really depends on length).

Two of my recent favorites are Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadster and The Moral Animal by Robert Wright.

Re: Do you read?

#86

Post by MikeCapone »

ajkirwin wrote: post #11

Right now, I am chewing through The God Delusion. I both read and buy a lot of books. Infact, most of my funny money goes on books, as I go through them fast. I have a reading speed of around 6 ppm for fiction and 3-4ppm for non-fiction. $100 of books barely lasts a few days :(

God Delusion's pretty great. Hitchens' book is good too, and covers a lot of the same stuff from different angles (plus, Hitchens has a great pen).

Re: Do you read?

#87

Post by s3graham »

Yup, who doesn't?

"Expert F#", "Founders at Work", "Walden", and "On Intelligence" are all part-finished right now. I read a lot of fiction in high school, but I don't much anymore.

"The New Yorker" every week. "The Walrus" and "The Economist" occasionally.

Re: Do you read?

#89

Post by wheels »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #52
toby wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. Some people have trouble with the style, I found it amusing. If you're willing to accept its message, it's definitely a book that can change your approach to life. Also, anything by Murakami is worth reading.

So I bailed out of Swan. I got about 150-200 pages in and it seemed like he was saying the same thing over and over again, as if it got more profound with re-telling. I must have missed something. To me the premise seems like something you could communicate and grasp in like 5 minutes or so.

I find Black Swan and its ilk perfect audio-book material. Not important or complicated enough that I care if I miss some details in one pass, but with enough ideas in them to merit passive attention while doing something else requiring my eyesight.

Re: Do you read?

#90

Post by ajkirwin »

maximilian wrote: post #56
ajkirwin wrote: post #11

Right now, I am chewing through The God Delusion. I both read and buy a lot of books. Infact, most of my funny money goes on books, as I go through them fast. I have a reading speed of around 6 ppm for fiction and 3-4ppm for non-fiction. $100 of books barely lasts a few days :(

you read 6 ppm reading fiction! Holy shit! I don't think I read even half that. You should get your books at the library. Its much cheaper and then you give it back and somebody else gets to read it. Far fewer dead trees and moving is infinitely easier.

And even faster if it's a good day and I really get into it.

I tend to read a sentence or paragraph at a time.

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