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How to live an intellectually rich life

utsavmamoria.substack.com

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Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#211

Post by brummm »

crims0n wrote: post #70
WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

I don't think this is a very good list that should call itself top 100. Maybe anglophone top 100, but even then I'd question some of the choices. I completely ignores a ton of more important works in non-English languages.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#212

Post by ivape »

gen220 wrote: post #175
stryan wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Bible (lots of really dry stuff about begetting and knowing) I'd suggest replacing the Bible with just the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke[0], and John). Removing it entirely seems like a mistake since you'd lose a lot of the literary and moral underpinnings of Western culture, but having to read the bible in its entirely sounds exhausting. I did it (reading all four gospels) recently and can attest even outside o…

I think the Bible can mostly be distilled to Genesis, Exodus and the Gospels without losing too much. Each of those books is eminently legible in its own right. You could arguably make the sermon on the mount its own book, “communist manifesto” style. I think those individual chapters would be super compelling to modern readers with or without a religious background, but their legibility is held back by the rest of t…

It's argued that God had a plan (all-knowing). The compelling argument to read the Old Testament in full before the New Testament is that this whole thing was a deliberate sequence. That's if you are willing to entertain the notion on a literary level (forget about belief). Take the story of Samson for example, one argument is that God showed that humans would persecute a man whom humanity couldn't even contemplate could have gotten his powers from God. It's a setup for Christ.

You can distill if you are looking for moral teachings, but you can't if you want to know this guys (that guy up in the sky) full plan, in which case you have to entertain that it was a sequence of events. It's very weird, but almost makes going through the whole Bible fascinating as a serial drama. One thing led to another.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#213

Post by morleytj »

hungryhobbit wrote: post #182
crims0n wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

What an awful list! And I say that as a Modern Literature major who has read a lot on that list. FAULKNER IS A TERRIBLE WRITER! And while James Joyce and some of the others are good writers, they don't deserve multiple entries in the top 100. It's clear this list is really "5 librarians personal favorites."

The Sound and the Fury is an incredible piece of art with a beautifully structured narrative, in my reading of it. Why do you say he's a terrible writer in your opinion? Who would you rank higher?

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#214

Post by inglor_cz »

crims0n wrote: post #70
WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

I am about a quarter of the way through Modern Library’s top 100 and it has been a worthwhile journey. It is “just” literary fiction but it is among the best humanity has produced. I have learned so much about the human condition, my ability to articulate ideas has improved tremendously, and I feel like my mind has been “freed from the tyranny of the present” (to quote Cicero). https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-to…

You inspired me to do the same. I just ordered the first five, and will continue down the list.

Out of the list, I read 8 books so far, but all of them in Czech.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#215

Post by WillAdams »

typon wrote: post #165
WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

I wish I could experience the feeling of reading The Count of Monte Cristo again

Well, Steven Brust's _The Baron of Magister Valley_ is basically TCoMC w/ the names changed and serial numbers filed off in a fantasy setting.

Also, if you haven't read _The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo_ by Tom Reiss I'd strongly recommend that:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330922-the-black-count

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#216

Post by alephnerd »

FlyingSnake wrote: post #170
alephnerd wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How different would you say rural JK/HP/LA/UK is? Rural UK is much poorer than rural HP and JK. The administrative structure of UK is very top heavy (everything is decided in Dehradun), and Dehradun+Haridwar have caused tourism and real estate induced Dutch Disease to arise. JK and HP also have a tourism economy, but also have a strong industrial base (pharma in HP, heavy industry in JK) plus more investment in hig…

Great comment, thank you for sharing it. I’ve seen some of it in Garhwal where villages didn’t get proper attention by the Govt. We keep forgetting that states in India are akin to states in Europe. A modern version of Gram Swaraj combined with Switzerland type canton system might work well but there are no incentives for the administration for that.

I'm not sure a canton type system is necessary if the Gram Swaraj system sees further investment and is coupled with delimitation for legislative assemblies, it would solve most of the pressing problems.

A lopsided population to MLA ratio makes it easier for MLAs to be disconnected from local government, and incentivizes governance through internal party machinery (beg the CM or the local party leadership to get your MLA or DM to do something) instead of via the local administration, which further deprofessionalizes local government.

> We keep forgetting that states in India are akin to states in Europe.

Pretty much. Even within states the diversity is insane (eg. MP, KA, or UP would be better served split into 3-4 states).

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#217

Post by WillAdams »

vonneumannstan wrote: post #187
WillAdams wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A co-worker mentioned this school when his son selected it for a visit, and I quite envy the young man the chance to attend --- I believe I got everything from their reading list --- if I missed something, let me know.

They have a graduate program available at a distance if you feel particularly drawn to their learning style. Basically covers a subset of the UG curriculum.

Yeah, I considered that --- just not an option financially --- my workplace is actually next door to a private university, and I've been considering getting a Masters in CS there, then going on to get a PhD....

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#218

Post by tomrod »

tasuki wrote: post #206
creer wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consumption is addictive - even or all the more so when we feel we are consuming worthwhile stuff (see the various major reading projects here). A useful first step is awareness of the time spent on the various time sinks: we have limited time and sinking all that available time in one thing kills that. So then, diversification away from the worst bits. Even if temporarily that means still consuming. A second step is…

> Consumption is addictive So is production! Even more so, I guess.

Typically, production requires some consumption. At a base level, however, the outcomes can be guided, satisfying my ego and leaving my mark on the universe.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#219

Post by concerndc1tizen »

RajT88 wrote: post #22

> In August 2018, in the last month of my three-month sabbatical, I arrived at the Hamta village in Himachal Pradesh. I rented a one-room cottage, and my caretakers were Dolma Aunty and Kalzang Uncle, a couple well into their 70’s. I got to this part and realized: I've read this article before in some form. It's a really common trope to head out to some remote area of Asia and admire how happy people are. There's oft…

A simpler explanation is that Americans have succumbed to consumerism to such an extent that the absence of it feels enlightened.

Of course the reality is just that the US has become the axis of evil, and perhaps always was, it just had the best PR.

I think you're doing yourself a disservice by belitting Asian cultures and what insights they may have, that are apparently incomprehensible as more than a trope to Americans.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#220

Post by dayvigo »

creer wrote: post #210
tasuki wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Consumption is addictive So is production! Even more so, I guess.

Would love to hear more! We rarely hear stories of people "stuck" on the making/ creative side. Exciting yes - but rarely addictive in the sense of taking so much time that the rest suffers?

It's common enough that there's a well-known term for it: workaholic.
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