yawn's recent activity

  1. Comment on Edgedancer - By Brandon Sanderson - Discussion in ~books

    yawn
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    I've read every other stormlight story and I can't make it through edgedancer. Lyft is such a change from the typical POV character that in the main story, it's a breath of fresh air, but as an...

    I've read every other stormlight story and I can't make it through edgedancer. Lyft is such a change from the typical POV character that in the main story, it's a breath of fresh air, but as an entire story I find her voice unreliable and irritating

    1 vote

  2. Comment on 'The Three-Body Problem' is... bad in ~books

    yawn
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    Of the Three Body Trilogy, I liked books 2 and 3 much more than the first.

    Of the Three Body Trilogy, I liked books 2 and 3 much more than the first.

  3. Comment on How to pick up reading again? in ~books

    yawn
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    Different strokes for different folks. I have ADHD, and for the longest time I also swore off audiobooks thinking they wouldn't work for me. But then I got a dog and realized she needed to be...

    Different strokes for different folks. I have ADHD, and for the longest time I also swore off audiobooks thinking they wouldn't work for me. But then I got a dog and realized she needed to be walked, a lot. I walked and listened to music for about a year, before getting bored and I started looking for something else to listen to. That's when I found Libby, and I thought I would give audiobooks a try. They're perfect. I listen to 30-40 books a year now while walking my dog. I find it much harder to carve time out of my day to sit and read a book when I can listen to one while I do some other mindless task. And I don't think everyone with ADHD necessarily has audio processing issues.

    9 votes

  4. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    yawn
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    I've read the whole series. The first book does start with the cultural revolution but the book jumps to present day and the series goes forward and beyond from there. As far as accuracy, I think...

    I've read the whole series. The first book does start with the cultural revolution but the book jumps to present day and the series goes forward and beyond from there. As far as accuracy, I think there's a little poetic embellishment, but much of the violence is accurate. Struggle sessions for example were very real https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session

    1 vote

  5. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    yawn
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    Not sure how much of Sanderson you've read, but Warbreaker was my favorite.

    Not sure how much of Sanderson you've read, but Warbreaker was my favorite.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on Who is likely to believe in conspiracy theories? in ~science

    yawn
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    Could you elaborate or link to a source regarding doubts surrounding the Warren reports conclusions? The last time I studied the subject was awhile ago, but what I remember is that there wasn't...

    Could you elaborate or link to a source regarding doubts surrounding the Warren reports conclusions? The last time I studied the subject was awhile ago, but what I remember is that there wasn't any doubt around Lee Harvey Oswalds involvement but most of the doubt surrounds Jack Ruby.

    7 votes

  7. Comment on Great audiobooks that come to mind because the narrator is amazing and NOT Ray Porter? in ~books

    yawn
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    Came here looking for Dungeon Crawler Carl, glad someone posted it. Jeff Hays is the most talented narrator I've ever heard.

    Came here looking for Dungeon Crawler Carl, glad someone posted it. Jeff Hays is the most talented narrator I've ever heard.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on Is keeping Donald Trump in the 2024 US election beneficial to Democrats? in ~talk

    yawn
    Link Parent
    Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I have a lot of doubt that understanding where someone is coming from is truly enough to break through to them. Like you mention with reasoning yourself into a...

    Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I have a lot of doubt that understanding where someone is coming from is truly enough to break through to them. Like you mention with reasoning yourself into a position, I've started to bring into the beginning of these conversations what I call my reasonableness test. That is, asking the other person, what level of evidence would you need to see in order to consider my claims? If they say something like "there's no amount of evidence you could show me that would convince me of X", then I immediately know that their position isn't based on logic or reason or evidence and they aren't open to seeing things another way. And if they do have an answer, then I know what I need to show them to open their mind. I think people need to be open to considering each other's views even before understanding. Otherwise you're just talking to a smiling brick wall.

    You're right, lying is too strong of a word in this situation. And you can acknowledge someone's feelings without necessarily saying you agree, and that's not a lie. This is a very thin line to walk though. It can come off as if you are placating them, belittling them, or are otherwise being insincere, which provokes hostility. Which is basically the "youre right" line.

    If someone thought my views were illegitimate, I would want to understand why (because I value having opinions informed by solid evidence and I recognize that I don't know everything and am often wrong). But if I don't agree with their view or if the evidence underpinning their view doesn't meet my criteria for what I would need to consider their view, what weight does their argument actually hold to me? Basically nothing, regardless if they understand me or not. And doesn't this idea go both ways?

    I wonder if your principled family member would pass my reasonableness test? Would he say if there is an amount of evidence that would convince him to reevaluate his principles, and what would that evidence look like? To me, that's the hallmark of someone who is truly open to changing their views.

  9. Comment on Is keeping Donald Trump in the 2024 US election beneficial to Democrats? in ~talk

    yawn
    Link Parent
    I think your argument is good in theory but in my experience it fails in practice in a few places. The first is the understood definition of "legitimate argument". Because a lot of times, one side...

    I think your argument is good in theory but in my experience it fails in practice in a few places. The first is the understood definition of "legitimate argument". Because a lot of times, one side sees the others arguments as not legitimate, because they spring from a sort of false or fantastic interpretation of reality. So why should they acknowledge an illegitimate argument?

    The second issue is that acknowledging an illegitimate argument forces you to lie. In your example, if you are pro choice, abortion isn't inherently terrible. It's often medically necessary. That doesn't mean it's not tragic. But by acknowledging their argument, you compromise your position, and are forced to lie to build rapport. Lieing is never a good way to build lasting trust between two parties.

    And last, and this is the hard one in my experience, people forget how to learn. Your method works if people actually learn, that is, take new information, integrate it into their world view, and then update their preconceived notions and opinions based on this new information. But often I will have a conversation with someone, like the abortion example, get them to a place where they agree it is necessary, and then next week they are back to saying "no abortions ever". Why compromise your argument, acknowledge their flawed ones, lie to them, only for them to inevitably erase all the progress?

    1 vote

  10. Comment on 'Barbie' review: Sometimes corporate propaganda can be fun as hell in ~movies

    yawn
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    Agreed, it's also a cognitive distortion. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

    Agreed, it's also a cognitive distortion. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

  11. Comment on Far-right Twitter influencers first on Elon Musk’s monetization scheme in ~tech

    yawn
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    "all or nothing mentality is not healthy" is an all or nothing approach to health.

    "all or nothing mentality is not healthy" is an all or nothing approach to health.

    25 votes

  12. Comment on What's something you want to understand the appeal of? in ~talk

    yawn
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    Ehh, he comes off as mixed. Good ends, nefarious means. It's mutually assured destruction with cars. The only thing that gets you is more destruction.

    Ehh, he comes off as mixed. Good ends, nefarious means. It's mutually assured destruction with cars. The only thing that gets you is more destruction.

    10 votes

  13. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    yawn
    Link Parent
    I just started my foray into LitRPG with Dungeon Crawler Carl, really enjoying the genre so far.

    I just started my foray into LitRPG with Dungeon Crawler Carl, really enjoying the genre so far.

    1 vote