So, What Are You Reading?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Ted Heiks, Jul 27, 2013.

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  1. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    When I was in high school I wanted to be a military surgeon. I worked my way through several chapters of Emergency War Surgery. I was disqualified from the military (medical reasons) and learned I don't have the brains for medicine. What led you to the rhinoplasty book?
     
  2. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    I'm in the healthcare sector as a clinical researcher and as a child it was my dream to become a surgeon.
    I was unfortunately too bad at maths to stand a chance at ever becoming a surgeon, even though I was a good overall student.
    I was good at chemistry, biology, physics. Algebra as well. Geometry was a complete disaster however.

    I recently received a new study on chronic sinusitis caused by nose obstructions from a deviating septum.

    I have always wanted a rhinoplasty myself for a mildly deviating septum, and the coincidence of being awarded this study made it worthwile to read about rhinoplasties both for my own case and for the study I'm monitoring.
    I will be getting a rhinoplasty in December. Got my health insurance approval today.
    So reading as much as I can about it :)
     
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  3. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Seducing the Boss with Rhinoplasty? :emoji_innocent:
     
  4. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    I think a breast augmentation works better for that purpose :D
    But the rhinoplasty will do just fine as he regularly has his eyes on my chest already haha.
    Gotta admit though: my boss is cute.
    We also innocently flirt regularly.
    But work is work and private is private :p
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Why not? Offer to pay for the boss's nose-job. :)
     
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  6. TeacherBelgium

    TeacherBelgium Well-Known Member

    My boss has a cute nose, he doesn't need a new one :D
     
  7. GregWatts

    GregWatts Active Member

    Omergerd. Rorty is an idiot; get out of Post-Modern philosophy.
     
  8. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    Don't know anything about Post Modern Philosophy but this guy has degrees from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Yale. Probably not an idiot. As for Kizmet, he left the building.
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Prof. Rorty died in 2007. Can one be an idiot post-mortem? I don't think so. Prof. Rorty had a very long and successful teaching career - at Wellesley, Princeton, University of Virginia and Stanford. Could an idiot do that? Or is he simply termed an idiot because someone here disagrees with him?

    I maintain he is not - and was NOT an idiot. He was, to quote someone who knew him well - a "strict Atheist." I am a credal Atheist* - I believe that a person cannot be an Atheist and an idiot - at the same time.

    * Credal Atheist. Someone who knows that there is no correct formal proof that G*d does not exist. It has to be taken on faith. :)

    "The term "idiot" was used to refer to people having an IQ below 30 IQ, or intelligence quotient, was originally determined by dividing a person's mental age, as determined by standardized tests, by their actual age" - Google.

    (It was defined as IQ below 40 when I first took a psych course in 1961)

    Clinical Def. "A person with profound intellectual disability having a mental age below three years and generally unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers." (Doesn't sound like Prof. Rorty to me.)

    Recipe omnem hic magno cum grano salis. :)

    YMMV.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2022
  10. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    You don't have to not be an atheist to be an idiot. There are plenty of atheists who are, indeed, idiots. One has nothing to do with the other.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Like I said, Rachel - magno cum grano salis - with a b-i-g grain of salt - all of it. And you are - of course - correct. :)
     
  12. Mac Juli

    Mac Juli Well-Known Member

    Last edited: Sep 2, 2022
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  13. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Exactly. Neil deGrasse Tyson is smart about science, but he's an absolute idiot on Twitter. :D
     
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  14. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    So frustrating! I don't know if you know but he actually met Carl Sagan when he was in high school and it had a profound impact on him. He tells the story more fully elsewhere but here is a quick summary:
    https://ithacavoice.com/2014/06/ithaca-attorney-wants-day-celebrate-carl-sagan-meeting-neil-de-grasse-tyson-whos/

    It's a shame that NDT is now more well-known for the negative qualities of scientists: arrogance, dismissiveness, elitism. Carl Sagan's Cosmos made science accessible. Tyson lords it over people. There are stories of him giving speeches at universities where he focuses on how useless philosophy is, and stuff like that.
     
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  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Congrats to Mac, Rachel and Dustin - you've made a much better discussion re: the popular definition of idiocy. I need to listen more. :)
     
  16. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (2016)

    I'm not super impressed.

    There's some good nuggets in here about how to stay focused (avoid cognitive tuneling by rehearsing how you'll react to situations before they happen, work on developing an internal locus of control) but also a lot about corporate productivity and group dynamics that doesn't really translate to the individual.

    One chapter switches between Toyota's assembly line and an alleged kidnapping, neither of which feels super relevant.

    I'm still on the hunt for strategies to be more productive.
     
  17. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Toyota will almost always be referenced in productivity improvements, as they effectively built our modern understanding of continuous improvement. Sadly, a lot of the write ups overly focused on the lean aspects of waste identification and reduction, and not on the even more profound organizational AND personal obsession with continuous learning and challenging pre-conceived notions.
     
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  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    "Concept and Mathematics of Islamic Financial Engineering" - long list of contributing authors. Right now, I'm into the part about valuing Islamic securities, like Sukuk, ("Islamic Bonds") and Mudarabah time deposits in a bank - deals where you don't get interest per se, but you DO get other payments - e.g. a percentage of the profits made by the underlying assets. Interesting stuff. Maybe I'll be the Warren Buffett of Abu Dhabi. Or the Bernie Madoff of Dubai ...
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2022
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  19. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    Houston: A History and Guide-Texas Federal Writers' Project and then The WPA Guides: Mapping America by Christine Bold
     
  20. Mac Juli

    Mac Juli Well-Known Member

    I still think the most effective are the most basic strategies. Checklist. Eisenhower-Matrix. Doing one thing a time.
    Not posting on forums for online education….- Ah, gosh dang to heck…
     
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