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Messages - Archon

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 98
1
Books / Re: The Complete Borders Implosion
« on: August 15, 2011, 05:26:44 AM »
If you look at my bookshelf, and go down the line of books, a good 80% of them came from Borders. Never really had good luck with Barnes and Noble. From what I've heard from articles on the internet and such, I might be the only one to say this, but Borders is going to be sorely missed.

2
Everything Else / Re: A pumpkin carving escapade...
« on: August 26, 2010, 12:24:27 PM »
Wow. That is pretty impressive for a pumpkin carving, I have to say. Good carving, and you picked Calvin and Hobbes. Bonus points.

3
Everything Else / Re: Pointless Armor: Now Available In Dude.
« on: August 21, 2010, 01:52:30 PM »
The armor is clearly not pointless. The fact that it's there means that the picture isn't of a random naked guy. I would say that is point enough in and of itself. On the other hand, I think it's funny that it only seems to protect the right side of the guy's chest, while the heart is closer to the left side. Quite practical, that.

4
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Ham vs. Lan Showdown
« on: March 28, 2009, 10:40:47 PM »
Well, that depends on the conditions of the fight. I'm assuming that Lan gets his sword, which means it's only fair if Ham gets his weapon of choice too. If Ham gets a staff, then Ham wins. I think that Ham, having been a Thug for a number of years, would at least equal Mat's skill with a staff. Not only that, but Ham gets all of the advantages of a skilled Pewterarm. Mat managed to take on Gawyn and Galad simultaneously. Galad would later become a blademaster, and Gawyn isn't far behind. Lan is very good; I will say that he is probably better than either Galad or Gawyn. I don't think that he is better than both of them put together, though. And even if he were, he would have to be quite a bit better to counter the advantages Ham has over Mat.

5
Brandon Sanderson / Re: [MISTBORN RPG] Your wish lists, please
« on: February 26, 2009, 08:33:22 PM »
Pretty basic stuff and some of it has already been said, but:
1)The ability to be an Allomancer, Feruchemist or Hemalurgist.
2)An established system for how Ruin effects people, i.e. if you use Hemalurgy, then you need to have a system for being corrupted by Ruin. This could potentially mean that players end up fighting each other.
3) A skill system for the allomantic metals, i.e. you don't just have the ability to burn steel, you have a certain amount of points of skill with burning steel that affect how well you can use it.
4) The ability to be creative with items. Ex: Feruchemical stores that pierce skin, Feruchemical stores that double as weapons, etc. Also, a clearly defined system for how much of a Feruchemical charge items can hold.
5) An intuitive way for gm's and players to keep track of metal sources in the area, especially metal items that are part of the setting, like torch brackets, hanging lanterns, window frames and such. Detailed maps of different settings would be helpful, for example.
6) Guidelines for what a Feruchemist's abilities will be when filling different metalminds. For higher level Feruchemists, perhaps the possibility of filling stores at different rates (instead of being completely weakened, you could only be partially weakened, and store strength more slowly, for example).

6
Everything Else / Re: Public School Writing Teachers
« on: January 17, 2009, 07:08:32 PM »
This is actually Gorgon, because I'm a sneaky wench.

Here's the deal.  Those are all great skills, they are great things to learn.  It is a fact, so much so that I wouldn't have to cite it in a paper about brain development, that sciences make you a better problem solver in all aspects of life.  It is not the skill, in itself, that is important.

I don't particularly like math, in fact, that's one of the reasons I went into psychology in the first place.  No math except basic statistics.  These are NOT the subjects I like the most, these are the subjects that are the most important to specific types of brain development.  You're right, trades require puzzle solving, so do most aspects of life.  That's WHY it is important to stimulate the areas of the brain that will be useful in ALL of these situations.  Yeah, creative writing and puzzle games are a great way to stimulate the brain.  They do not stimulate that right area of the brain.  It is not what you learn, but how your build the brain, that makes these classes important, which is why math is more important that, say, creative writing for future authors.  It is not for the kids who become mathematicians, it is because of the changes in the brain we can see from these subjects.

Teaching kids in school to learn a trade wasn't really ever advocated, Chestknight, but encouraging kids to pick up a trade was.  I was NEVER saying, by the way, college education is the right path for everybody (I have almost dropped several times, and did not come to my college right away after high school) or advocate that college-educated people are better in some way.  All I said is it makes sense for kids to be encouraged into this life because it raises their standard of living ON AVERAGE (it's not that a carpenter can't live a great life and be very happy...) and I think it is a good objective to have as much of our population as educated as possible.

I agree with readermom entirely.  Great parents will take the time to encourage their kids' growth and development.  They will also provide the kids with whatever they need to learn hobbies outside of school.

I never said everybody can succeed if they try, you can ask the nice young man I'm with (as I believe it annoys him) on my stances about being locked into poverty.  I'm possibly one of the biggest advocates of the fact that the system holds some individuals down from birth.  Does that mean that we should from a young age not give them the chance to try and make whatever life they wish, rather than training them for a job before they're old enough to really make a choice?

As a final note, my strengths are in the arts.  I excel in music, I always have, and it is my goal to work in the field of music because I love it so deeply that I pour quite literally almost every moment of spare time I have into it.  I usually spend more than forty hours a week in music related jobs in addition to my schooling.  I don't date, a large part because I feel it would interrupt my focus on music.  I often put my schoolwork second to my bands.  I spend all of my spare money on musical instruments.  So, if my subconscious was pushing a subject, it would be music almost certainly.  I happen to do decently in school without effort, but the courses I do the worst in, since youth, are math and science (because of the amount of homework for points in courses like this, which I have never done).  Also, when I was younger I was a good artist and an award-winning photographer, in addition to a decent writer.  I love the arts.  A lot.  I understand the importance of the sciences to substantiate the potential of the brain.

It is not what you learn, it is the final effect, which makes math and science important.  Psychology is not the only way to look at this point, but is a VERY valuable viewpoint a lot of people do not know or understand, and one often alienated rather that embraced.

7
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Wheel v. Mist
« on: November 30, 2008, 10:48:52 PM »
Actually, I think Mat's amulet specifically shields against saidar, not saidin, which would be why he was affected by Rahvin's lightning. However, Cadsuane has a charm that shields against saidin, if I remember correctly.

Mod: Then again, you might be right. I just looked it up and Halima tried to channel at him too, and it didn't work. Either way though, if the channeler can't hold the Mistborn in one place, and can't channel directly at him, the channeler is going to have a rough time of it.

8
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Wheel v. Mist
« on: November 30, 2008, 09:48:38 PM »
The way I understand it, anything that is of the power is unable to affect the person wearing the necklace. So, in the case of the fireball, since the heat was made by the power, it couldn't hurt Mat. They could toss a knife and it would still kill the person, but if the person were a Mistborn, they could just Push the knife aside, or dodge it. Same thing goes for the shield of Air. The flows of Air would melt away if the person with the necklace passes through them.

9
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Wheel v. Mist
« on: November 30, 2008, 05:48:43 PM »
So what happens if the Allomancer gets a hold of Mat's necklace?

10
Writing Group / Re: National Novel Writing Month 2008
« on: November 01, 2008, 12:20:58 AM »
You have to do all of your writing in November for it to count. And it's not really a competition against other people, so much as a race against time to get to the 50,000 word mark.

11
Rants and Stuff / Re: Seven years later...
« on: September 20, 2008, 04:59:53 AM »
We don't remember the names of those killed by serial killers because they aren't remarkable in any way. Unfortunately, people dying is not uncommon. Serial killers, on the other hand, are remembered because they are disturbing, not because they are sympathetic. They aren't remembered because people feel bad for them, they are remembered because people are horrified by them.

Yes, everybody makes choices, and they are ultimately responsible for the results of their actions. However, as previously mentioned, not everybody has the same conception of morality. If you ask most people, they will say that stealing is wrong. However, if you ask people if it is wrong to steal when that is the only way you can provide food for your family, then the answers aren't so clear. That's when people start to realize that if they were in the same situation, they might not do any different than the people they judge.

Kant had some interesting beliefs on morality. He believed, for instance, that if something was wrong in one instance, then it was wrong in all instances, i.e. if killing is wrong in one instance, then it is wrong in all instances. I think that we can prove that that, in and of itself, does not fit most people's moral compasses. For example...
Situation A: I decide, for one reason or another, that I don't like one of my acquaintances. So, I go out and kill them.
Situation B: I am walking home one night, when I see that an old lady is being attacked by someone with a knife. I rush to defend them, and the attacker and I struggle over the knife. In the struggle, I stab the assailant and he dies. Now, I have just saved this presumably innocent person's life. I was also in grave personal danger when I killed the assailant. However, I did kill someone.
Now, according to Kant, these two situations both should be immoral, because killing is wrong. But how many people would say that it would be more moral for me to stand by and watch as the old lady was killed?

12
Library! That's the one!

13
Everything Else / Re: Check this out....
« on: August 27, 2008, 10:56:52 PM »
I think that he raises a couple of interesting points. First, and this is something that I have long disliked about academia, is that education seems to foster criticism more than it seeks possibilities. Don't misunderstand, I think that being skeptical is an essential part of thinking clearly. However, it is only an equal part. If you only encourage doubt, then you are frozen in place, unable to act for lack of a defining truth. The reality of the matter is that very often, in practical situations, you lose as much from inaction as you do from wrongful action. You need the courage to be able to act, despite the fact that there will probably be negative consequences for your actions. There always are, whether they take effect today, or ten years from now. There are always benefits, too. Whether or not they outweigh the detriments is up for grabs. But when you aren't satisfied with a situation, then change is the only possible solution. In just about every situation, that means that somebody must do something that is not already being done.

He also talked about how academics seem to despise the use of the military. I agree that, in many cases, open military force can be more harmful than helpful. In other cases, it can be plainly ineffective. However, it can also be very expedient, and necessary. I have seen a lot of literature recently about poverty throughout the world. Much of this is because of massive corruption in the governments of, for example, African nations. Some of the wealthiest people in the world have money because they stole huge amounts from governments of nations that are starving to death. Since they control the nation's wealth and military, not to mention its food, it is almost impossible for a revolution to form from within. This is a perfect example of a problem that has to be solved militarily. It won't be solved through economic sanctions, since the goods from these countries are too valuable to embargo, or even tax heavily. I can't think of a possible social sanction, since these nations don't generally wield a lot of prestige in the world anyway.  Military action is the only feasible option at that point. People say that they want to cure problems like world hunger, but they won't accept that sometimes people have to die for the rest of the world to live better lives.

On the other hand, I thought it ironic that he found time to throw insults at the people he deemed name-callers. Okay, time to pass it off to someone else.

14
Everything Else / Re: Death to the Grammer Police!
« on: August 24, 2008, 04:26:21 AM »
Quote
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with spelling "immense" as "emmense" or "grammar" as "grammer".
soh ewe ar seyeeng thet they'res know rong whey two spel?

15
Everything Else / Re: Death to the Grammer Police!
« on: August 24, 2008, 12:32:42 AM »
I think it's sad that nobody thought to check the spelling for a sign that was to be displayed for over 60 years in a national park. And that the architect, who I would assume was college-educated, would misspell a word like "immense."

The Lost Shark Fighter: If you think that you shouldn't be corrected for doing something wrong, why should "the grammar police" be punished for doing something that you think is wrong?

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