Does anyone here read?

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5 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

No “k”.

Yes I figured that out. I was referring to the part about the CIA, Isaacson and Elon Musk.

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On 9/20/2023 at 12:20 PM, Nowarezman said:

I have read somewhere that it's been observed that aging readers tend to favor non-fiction over fiction.  Not an absolute of course, but an observed tendency.  I have no idea how universally accurate this observation is, but I can testify that I have seen this trend very markedly in the book group I've been a part of for almost 40 years.  The group started out with a "no non-fiction" rule. Now it's about 3 to 1, non-fiction to fiction.  The guys really like their WWII non-fiction and authors like Erik Larsen, Jon Krakauer, and lots of historical fiction which they tend regard as bona fide history in spite of my protests...

 

nat

 

 

Just sharing my interest, I began reading with a non-fiction preference. If I was going to read I wanted to be constructive and learn something in the process. Then I was talking with a few people on a train and George R.R. Martin came up. His skill at creating interesting characters and not being afraid to kill them off and write others encouraged me to read his Fire and Ice series. It opened up a world of enjoyment. I have also found that good writing of characters and relationships is revealing and enlightening about people in real life so it isn’t pure “nonsense” or wasted time. 
 

However I have continued to enjoy non-fiction. At 1000 years old I read whatever gets my attention. It is split 50/50 between them unless I am in a personal trend. I may have several books I am reading at any given time. Frequently one or two are part of different series in fiction. War as a subject is tragic to me and carries a gravity unlike most other subjects. There are some very interesting videos on YT interviewing Vietnam vets. I was young while that was going on and it was a haunting subject in the news. After seeing another author on Charlie Rose I read Mark Bowden’s Blackhawk Down long before it was a Jerry Bruckheimer film. Of all books I have read it was the most uncomfortable to read. It was intense. I had knots in my stomach and was sweating at times. It was not a book I could read and fall asleep with. I had to do things to take my mind off of it. Yet it was so compelling I would go back to it as soon as I had a chance.
 

As stated earlier I have read many books about WWII. All have been non-fiction except one, Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. The author intended to write it as non-fiction but it was impossible to gather and verify all of the details and facts. In order to convey the story he decided to compose a fictionalized version based on the truth as it was described by the main character of the book. Mark Sullivan is an author capable of pulling that off. It is one of the most interesting books I have read. To the best of his ability it is how things were experienced by the main character. It is plausible and contains events which were probably similarly experienced by many people. 
 

A side note on the subject of war is how war may show up in fashion. I don’t know whether this is something that happens consistently. I just observed it with the post-World Trade Center military activity which immediately followed it. As far as I know the only other instance of it that remotely compares is with The Vietnam War. What I noticed was how long scruffy beards became a popular trend in the USA. It is odd because it is the style of the Taliban, the group in the enemy position. Also, car design took on some of the characteristics of armored military vehicles. Car design historically goes in trends but this was too much of a coincidence. Other than the Afghanistan military activity the closest thing I can think of is the way civilians began wearing army surplus clothing during and through the 70’s following The Vietnam War. It was not a look adopted by fashion designers but it was literally military clothing being worn as fashion by civilians. I would exclude Navy Pea Coats. The style of the Navy Pea Coat has been popular with fashion designers independent of current events. It just happens to be appealing and sells. Seems like stores always have a Navy Pea Coat style offered every year.

[Nowarezman]

In the early to mid 70s which was my late teens and early 20s era, I shopped a lot at the Army Surplus, as did lots of my friends.  It was real army surplus back then.  The clothes were cheap in price but durable which was perfect for college students knocking around.  Army Surplus was also great for rugged camping gear at bargain prices.  

 

But we didn't wear military garb back then because "military was cool" at all - it was an ironic thing - at least it was for my rock 'n roll hippie wannabe crowd.  We especially liked it when some conservative square sort would cuss out us longhairs for wearing military garb we were not worthy of.  Lennon had some military drab green he wore at some performances and interviews.  It seemed obvious to us that he was being ironic, too. 

 

Ah, the old days with all the bogus joys of causing intentional offense to certain folks and then laughing at them and despising them for being offended. A favorite adolescent tactic - works like a charm.

 

nat

 

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True in my experience as well, it was not that wearing it meant the military was cool. However in my case it wasn’t so much simply practical. It was more like it was cool to wear at least a shirt or jacket of beat up military garb. I suppose it was irony. There was also an element of rebellion to it I was aware of.

[bill5]

Like it seems many of you, as I age I gravitate more to non-fiction. Growing up I read some classics (often but not always because I had to for school), loved Shakespeare and still do. Most fiction I read was otherwise sci-fi like Heinlein and Aasimov. Now it's more biographies and history mostly though in geneal I don't read nearly as much as I used to. Sadly, most of my "reading" is online. 

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I was in a rental car earlier this week. I turned on the radio and there was an author being interviewed. Upon further research I passed on that particular book but honed in on the concept:

 

The Simulation Argument

 

Simulation Hypothesis

 

Nick Bostrom