Well, I never did get around to introducing myself in the original thread, so I might as well post something here.
I spent six years as an infantry soldier, did most of a History degree before dropping out in disgust, have a Post Apocalyptic scifi novel currently in negotiations with a publisher, I used to be a math prodigy but now I can barely remember Calculus, taught myself auto mechanics over the period of one month after buying a car for a pack of cigarettes, I ride a motorcycle, I have some sort of mutant ability to talk cops down when they start feeling violent, and am drastically over skilled and under employed.
I’m hoping to contribute to the community more substantially than just leaving comments; I have a couple of posts I’m working out in my head. The first is a summary of TVTropes—what it is and why it’s important—the other being a guide to using the Dark Arts.
I really regret my math not being up to par for this community; I tend to understand things on a gut/instinctual level (ie: I can catch a ball, but have trouble calculating the trajectory) but my math’s too rusty to ‘prove’ most of my ideas.
Despite a deep-seated desire for it to be otherwise, I dwell in the banker-run metropolis of Calgary, Alberta.
Also, I have a blog where I write about how Vile and Unconscionable it is, living in this dystopia: www.staresattheworld.com
I somehow missed that post of his; the short answer is yes. The world that tropes describe is—I believe—Magic. When you start seeing the dynamics of how that world works, you can pinpoint the roots of many of our biases.
Well, I never did get around to introducing myself in the original thread, so I might as well post something here.
I spent six years as an infantry soldier, did most of a History degree before dropping out in disgust, have a Post Apocalyptic scifi novel currently in negotiations with a publisher, I used to be a math prodigy but now I can barely remember Calculus, taught myself auto mechanics over the period of one month after buying a car for a pack of cigarettes, I ride a motorcycle, I have some sort of mutant ability to talk cops down when they start feeling violent, and am drastically over skilled and under employed.
I’m hoping to contribute to the community more substantially than just leaving comments; I have a couple of posts I’m working out in my head. The first is a summary of TVTropes—what it is and why it’s important—the other being a guide to using the Dark Arts.
I really regret my math not being up to par for this community; I tend to understand things on a gut/instinctual level (ie: I can catch a ball, but have trouble calculating the trajectory) but my math’s too rusty to ‘prove’ most of my ideas.
Despite a deep-seated desire for it to be otherwise, I dwell in the banker-run metropolis of Calgary, Alberta.
Also, I have a blog where I write about how Vile and Unconscionable it is, living in this dystopia: www.staresattheworld.com
Is this along the lines of Robin Hanson’s endorsement?
I somehow missed that post of his; the short answer is yes. The world that tropes describe is—I believe—Magic. When you start seeing the dynamics of how that world works, you can pinpoint the roots of many of our biases.