What are you currently reading?

[hopefullytrusting]

Books recently purchased:

Butler's Jillian, The New Me (reread), and Banal Nightmare
Ma's Severance (reread) and Bliss Montage
Mirza's A Place for Us
Sharma's Problems
Wang's Chemistry (reread and Joan is Okay

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Okay, I have finally completed both the texts, and I will say, first off, you will almost assuredly come away liking the playing of videogames less (the sausage-getting-made analogy fits here).

I am not a videogame designer (nor do I have any aspirations to become one), but these are standard texts (Adams more than Salen & Zimmerman) for those who wish to walk down that path. (I read these books to bolster my ability to speak more intelligently on the subject with my peers, as part of the work I do revolves around intercultural rhetoric - in theory, at least, and videogames are the apotheosis of cultural artifacts, as nearly all of them, in fact, I cannot think of a single one that is not intercultural).

Out of these two, Salen & Zimmerman is more theoretical, and Adams is much more practical. This is due in part to when they were written, as Salen & Zimmerman was written during the nascent stage of videogames being taken seriously in academia, while by the time Adams came around it was already well established.

You can also tell that the scale and scope of Salen & Zimmerman exceeded the author's capacity - this is made patently obvious the further they get away from rules and play, when they try to enter the domain of culture and rhetoric (they are rudimental on the latter two, while experts on the former two). Adams, on the other hand, does not deviate outside his area of authority, and therefore his book is more solid (coherent and consistent), but less bold and daring, so you will not be blown away by any of his insights if you are familiar with videogames as a subject.

Both of these texts are thick, and not just thick but dense, so I cannot recommend them to anyone not very seriously invested in the subject. This is my job, so I am being paid to read, and if I were asked which to suggest between the two - it would be Adams, as much of what Salen & Zimmerman theorized about, especially regarding play, was in the early days of narratology versus ludology, which means it is now outdated and would be a waste of time if you aren't someone interested in the history of the topic.

I just wanted to mention the book below, though it may not be directly related to your interest.

[hopefullytrusting]

I just wanted to mention the book below, though it may not be directly related to your interest.

Yes, I've already read that, as that is the foundational text for play; it was also the jumping off point for Salen & Zimmerman.

I would say that if the philosophy of play is of interest to you, then Salen & Zimmerman would serve as an excellent, comprehensive overview of that topic.

[Florestan]

I just wanted to mention the book below, though it may not be directly related to your interest.

Reminds me I have started reading this:



so I will have to finish it asap, although when this asap will come I don't know.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Yes, I've already read that, as that is the foundational text for play; it was also the jumping off point for Salen & Zimmerman.

I would say that if the philosophy of play is of interest to you, then Salen & Zimmerman would serve as an excellent, comprehensive overview of that topic.

I will check the book.

[JBS]

Coincidentally I decided just the other day that I need to read Basho's travel journal Narrow Road To The Deep North in the very near future, after having a critic highlight a section on Basho coming across an orphaned three year old.

but right now having both of these on the go:

NB
The passage about the abandoned child is actually from Basho's first travelogue, Nozarashi Kikō, which Wikipedia translates as Records of a Weather Exposed Skeleton, written about 10 years before Narrow Road. It's a rather disturbing passage and one Basho clearly meant to be disturbing.

[Spotted Horses]

Stone Mattress, a collection of "wicked tales" by Margaret Atwood. This is the second time I've read this collection and the wickedness ranges from dystopian to vaguely supernatural to just nasty. It is deliciously wicked.

[Kalevala]

Stone Mattress, a collection of "wicked tales" by Margaret Atwood. This is the second time I've read this collection and the wickedness ranges from dystopian to vaguely supernatural to just nasty. It is deliciously wicked.

I'll have to look into it.  I've read some of her books over the years.  The one which is haunting me at the moment (and has over the years thinking of women's plight in various countries....including particularly now in the US) is The Handmaid's Tale which came out decades ago.

K

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The Non-Existence of the Real World - Jan Westerhoff.

[AnotherSpin]

The Non-Existence of the Real World - Jan Westerhoff.

Notably, entire books are being written, published, and sold to prove something that is plainly obvious, known to each person from their own direct experience: the manifested world is nothing more than an illusion.

[Spotted Horses]

I'll have to look into it.  I've read some of her books over the years.  The one which is haunting me at the moment (and has over the years thinking of women's plight in various countries....including particularly now in the US) is The Handmaid's Tale which came out decades ago.

K

Ironically I've never read The Handmaid's Tale, although it is Atwood's most well known work. I remember encountering it when it was relatively new and thinking, "huh, the patriarchy is so over, it's not coming back." One of my least perceptive thoughts. At this point it seems to depressing a topic to read about in a novel.

My favorite books of hers are Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin. I also recently read one of her early books, Surfacing, and found it compelling. I'm generally not a poetry person, but I found her poetry collections Power Politics and Dearly to be compelling.

[Florestan]

Notably, entire books are being written, published, and sold to prove something that is plainly obvious, known to each person from their own direct experience: the manifested world is nothing more than an illusion.

I'm sorry but this is not my experience at all. On the contrary, everything I lived, experienced and learned in 50 years taught me that the external world is completely independent of my own will, thought and feeling; it had existed long before I was born and will continue to exist long after I will die. And I suspect I'm far from being the only person in the world in this respect.

[Brian]

Ironically I've never read The Handmaid's Tale, although it is Atwood's most well known work. I remember encountering it when it was relatively new and thinking, "huh, the patriarchy is so over, it's not coming back." One of my least perceptive thoughts. At this point it seems to depressing a topic to read about in a novel.

I read Severance, a novel by Ling Ma about people trying to survive a mysterious global pandemic, in May 2020...but that wasn't nearly as miserable a read as it sounds. I haven't tackled Handmaid either.

[Mandryka]

The Non-Existence of the Real World - Jan Westerhoff.

I did some work on anti realism with Michael Dummett and John McDowell. My B.Phil dissertation looked at the implications of Kripke's "rigid designation" for the mind/world distinction. I have no idea how the subject has evolved over the past 30 or so years.

[Spotted Horses]

I read Severance, a novel by Ling Ma about people trying to survive a mysterious global pandemic, in May 2020...but that wasn't nearly as miserable a read as it sounds. I haven't tackled Handmaid either.

There's also Atwood's MaddAdam series, a dystopian tale of the aftermath of a pandemic. I didn't find it Atwood's best at the time, but perhaps due to be revisited.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I did some work on anti realism with Michael Dummett and John McDowell. My B.Phil dissertation looked at the implications of Kripke's "rigid designation" for the mind/world distinction. I have no idea how the subject has evolved over the past 30 or so years.

Big names. Always I liked ontology. Mine was about the US Federal Reserve Board, not as sexy as your area.

[JBS]

I'm sorry but this is not my experience at all. On the contrary, everything I lived, experienced and learned in 50 years taught me that the external world is completely independent of my own will, thought and feeling; it had existed long before I was born and will continue to exist long after I will die. And I suspect I'm far from being the only person in the world in this respect.

The thing is both you and @AnotherSpin  are right.
Yesh (Existence) is the somethingness of this world, Ayin (Nonexistence) is its nothingness, Yesh Amiti (True Existence) is the Reality that both includes and transcends Yesh and Ayin.
Sometimes we are at the level of Yesh, sometimes at the level of Ayin, the goal is to be at the level of Yesh Amiti

I've been reading these two books. Thirty-Two Gates is the more detailed and informative of the two.

[AnotherSpin]

The thing is both you and @AnotherSpin  are right.
Yesh (Existence) is the somethingness of this world, Ayin (Nonexistence) is its nothingness, Yesh Amiti (True Existence) is the Reality that both includes and transcends Yesh and Ayin.
Sometimes we are at the level of Yesh, sometimes at the level of Ayin, the goal is to be at the level of Yesh Amiti

I've been reading these two books. Thirty-Two Gates is the more detailed and informative of the two.

Close your eyes, and things will disappear, that is, they will cease to exist. After that, you can only think that things are still there. Thinking = imagining, which is nothing more than an illusion. In deep, dreamless sleep, there are no objects, that is, the apparent world. Books aren't needed here; any child knows this directly. Or an adult free of far-fetched concepts

[Florestan]

Close your eyes, and things will disappear, that is, they will cease to exist.

They absolutely won't. What ceases to exist is only your visual perception of them, but you can still experience them with your other senses. If you have a shit right under your nose, closing you eyes will not make its smell go away. If you fall from the first floor, closing your eyes will not prevent your bones from breaking. And if you are in the middle of an aerial raid, closing your eyes won't silence the sirens and explosions (at least that much should have been obvious to you by now).

[Mandryka]

You guys may enjoy Hilary Putnam's paper "Brains in a Vat"

https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Brains%20in%20a%20Vat%20-%20Hilary%20Putnam.pdf