yoink

[gfish]

I'm not usually much for memes, but this looks like fun.

1. Pick something on my interests list that you also like. Why do you like it?
2. Pick something on my interests list that you don't like. Why don't you like it?
3. Pick something that is on my interests list that surprises you. Why does this surprise you?
4. Pick something that is on my interests list that you know next to nothing about. What do you *think* it is?
5. Pick something that you think should be on my interests list. Why do you think it should be there?

Comments

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

I like multilingual puns (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=multilingual+puns) because they hook up parts of the brain that ordinarily don't hang at the same parties.

I don't like the axes of evil (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=axes+of+evil) because they're always chopping things up at inopportune times.

confuscianism (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=confuscianism) [sic] surprises me because it is misspelled. Why don't you list confucianism (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=confucianism)?

I know next to nothing about unilateral pre-emptive metrification (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=unilateral+pre-emptive+metrification). I'm not even sure what to guess, unless it has something to do with the establishment of the metric system.

I think you should have Mandelbrot set (http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=mandelbrot+set) on your list, because it seems like the sort of thing that would appeal to you.

[grinninfoole.livejournal.com]

1) Opposable thumbs. So much of what I value in the human experience is possible only because of them. Even small things, like reading a book, are much harder without thumbs.

2) Filk. Because I have never heard any filk that I found musically interesting, and that did not give me the uncomfortable impression that the creator was hiding from their own life by writing songs about Data, or Pern, or whatever. (NB, I have a long history of hiding from my own life in fiction, so part of this is just my own emotional reflection in the funhouse mirror.)

3) Herman Hesse. I wouldn't normally put him in the same list with Vernor Vinge and Larry Niven. Of course, I have not read widely in the work of any of those writers, so that may be simple ignorance.

4) Only ONE thing? Pity, there are a number of things that I'm pretty sure I don't understand, but to pick one: Grep. According to Dictionary.com, it's a Unix command for searching for patterns. If so, what does that mean, exactly, and what does it mean to you?

5) You should be interested in ancient technology. Check out Peter James's and Nick Thorpe's fun book: Ancient Inventions if you haven't already. Also, check out this website: http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/ Marjorie Senechal does a class at Smith every other year on this stuff, and these are recreations built by students as class projects. It's a really cool class, and I enjoyed it a lot.

[brithistorian.livejournal.com]

1. Collapse of civilization. Not that I think this is necessarily a good thing, but that I think it's an important thing to think about. Have you read Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence?

2. Emacs. The time I spent using Emacs is #3 on my list of the top 3 things I disliked about being a comp sci major (#1 was using VI, #2 was coding in Ada). In fact, in order to avoid having to use Emacs, I would carry a floppy with PC-Write around with me at all times so I could use that to edit my code.

3. I can't say that either one suprises me individually, but I find it kind of surprising to find anarcho-capitalism and United Nations on the same list.

4. Cryogeology. The study of cold rocks?

5. Calendar reform. With your pre-existing interests in metrification and 24-hour time, I would think you would also be thinking about time reform and rationalization on a larger scale.