/lit/ - Literature

>>21468812
>I turned down your podcast because you read popular classics
Why?

>>21468823
Sorry, but I block for strawmanning

>>21468812
I can't count the number of times I've seen this posted here and other places, but it's funny every time.

Taleb and others needs to chill though. Lex is a dork, but that's the only thing he's guilty of.

>>21468812
Hey OP, nice eceleb thread and all, but how about you slide the cock out of your mouth and tell us what you've been reading lately?

>>21468833
>Lex is a dork
>but that's the only thing he's guilty of.
Wrong

>>21468823
>37 year old public intellectual bragging about how they're going to finally finish animal farm in 2023
If you can't see why this is laughable, you must be as dumb as Lex

>>21468812
>lowkey
The feeble millennial "mind" is quite susceptible zoomerfication. This is why Al Nassim turned down an invite to this golem's podcast, no point talking to a guy whose brain hasn't matured past age 15.

>>21468841
What am I wrong about?

>>21468846
Should 37 year olds not read, or re-read, classics, and encourage the masses to do the same?
>bragging
Take your meds

>>21468833
From what I've seen of Lex, I like him. His voice bothered me at first, but after watching him interview Kanye I was impressed. He pushed Ye but still spoke with compassion, instead of being a pussy. It seems to be what he's good at, being polemical without being a prick, and he seems to argue with everyone, regardless of whether he agrees with them personally. At least he does it more than Rogan.

>>21468812
>gayrab and kike arguing on twitter
ok

>>21468812
>Taking a week to read animal farm

>>21468854
They shouldn't pretend as if it's an accomplishment. Books with less than 200 pages shouldn't even be considered for a reading challenge. Lex is a pseud though so it's to be expected.

>>21468871
Reading 52 books in a year is an accomplishment compared to 99% of the population. (Not that Lex will actually read all 52 in the allotted time.) Most people seething about this list haven't read the same books.

>>21468879
Reading 52 thomas the train engine books isn't an accomplishment at all. It might be for pseuds like Lex though, so you are right in that case. Mediocrity shouldn't be applauded.

>>21468833
>Taleb and others needs to chill though
taleb does the fuck he wants

>>21468812
>this will provide a succinct explanation
lmao, it does.

>10 requests to be on his podcast
oof, lex. you need to take a hint.

>>21468889
>Comparing classics to Thomas the Tank engine
You're the pseud here lol

>>21468859
I don't have any problem with what he does. I just don't like him.

>>21468895
He's cruel, and a bully. Justifiable in some cases, not against Lex.

>>21468901
>What is hyperbole
It's okay Lex, someday you will graduate to the 6th grade.

>>21468935
Lex is a retard masquerading as a pseudointellectual

>>21468899
>Manlet has the mindset of a rapist
Gee, who could've guessed.

>>21468854
Animal Farm is a pretty third rate "classic" though. Where I grew up it was assigned as high school reading. The fact he considers it a classic evinces a kind of low brow understanding of what makes a classic. It has such a basic and well worn meaning, a single obvious interpretation that has been thoroughly extracted, wiped off, polished and put away that there's really nothing more to be learned or said about it.

I guess it's good to see people engaging with reading in any case but these are mostly unexciting books.

>>21468916
Is it because he is Jewish?

>>21468950
Yeah? Who cares? He's not hurting anyone. He's a stemcel and mild mannered interviewer. Thie level of vitriol is completely unwarranted, just ignore him. This reeks of crab bucket mentality from people like you and Taleb.

Are any of the Taleb books good?

>>21468812
Who are these two? The fatass looks like a kike and the salaryman sounds like a kike.

>>21468992
They are not.

>>21468985
>seething brainlet defending a brainlet
Say it ain’t so!

>>21468812
taleb said lex started his emails with "Quick note from MIT"

So is Taleb what passes for a top intellectual today? We’re fucked man.

No Wallace?

>>21469004
I think I've never read a book that changed my world view which was easy to read

>>21468993
You sound like an election tourist

>>21468812
I'm seeing a disturbing amount of straight white males on that list...

>>21468935
>He's cruel, and a bully
and that's a good thing!

>>21468823
He explains in another tweet the reason more explicitly.
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1609746341760217088
So the issue isn't that he's reading popular classics, it's that he's forcing himself to read them basically too systematically, too quickly, almost like a check list, rather than enjoying them, digesting them at his own leisure etc.. He's right in that it does come across as shallow and pretending and indicative of this "overactive" culture who seem to do a lot of things for the sake of doing a lot of things rather than enjoying them and deeply digesting them.

>>21468812
Fake tweet. Found the real one dumbass.

>>21469057
taleb doesn't get grindset mentality and thats why he's a dinosaur

>>21469057
>Idiots, you deserve Lex Fridman.
That's my guy, at least one public intellectual is pushing back on this feel-good bullshit. By the way, Taleb is very friendly on his youtube channel, completely different than he is on twitter.

is being homosexual lindy?

>>21469080
He thinks he can finish Very Hungry Caterpillar in a week? lol

>>21469080
>carle

Dare I say, based?

>>21469080
looks like my own list of read books desu

>>21469081
true gamma males like taleb will always try to belittle sigma male's accomplishments in order to increase smv they will never grind they will never grow they will always sabotage people like lex and me

>>21468812
I can handle stupidity better than arrogance, and Taleb is extremely fucking arrogant.

>>21469025
I'm not a yank and I've been on 4chan since 2008. Show us your kippah you rat face.

>>21468812
All those books are good but are from last century, written by dead people. Talev is more concerned about progressive thought and what’s going on today. Intellectuals have nothing left to say on 1984

>>21469107
>alpha beta gamma sigma
Add a few more Greek letters to this make believe shit and you'll get yourself a full incel horoscope.

>>21469117
What an accomplishment

>>21469093
everyone talks about starting strength, but nobody talks about the sequel, finishing twinks

>>21468854
wrong. it's just influencers trying to increase their position of false intellectual authority by using legitimized works ("classics") and virtue signalling (52 books a year). it's poison that gets many average people to start reading badly just so they can also post their own to-read goals on twitter, without necessarily getting them to understand what they're reading.
Kaufmann put it better

>>21469121
pure gamma energy

>>21468854
You cannot read all of these books in a year and actually retain anything useful

>>21469165
You're such a cancer

>>21469129
Salty soap. Fuck off to Twitter or Reddit.

>>21468835
Finished to Have and Have Not the other day. Pretty fun snuggling story, has quite a tonal flip half way through. Good stuff, not near Hemingway’s best, but good stuff.

>>21469255
Awesome :) I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I've never read any hemmingway. Where should I start? I'm thinking I shouldn't read his most known and or best book, since the rest of his work will seem disappointing by comparison. Thats what happened with me and Houellebeqc, I read Serotonin (which I think was his best) and nothing else of his compares.

>>21469080
The Spider-Man coloring book really pushed the limits of what literature can be.

>>21469265
>I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I've never read any hemmingway. Where should I start?

His short stories. They're very readable and good. The more-or-less chronological order they're presented in in 'The First 49' is a good order to read them in... but you can read them in any order, really.

>>21469265
Try some of his short stories, lots of anons will tell you that’s where he’s at his best. You’ll get a taste of his style. I think Snows of Kilamanjaro represents his range of interests pretty well; stories range from big game hunting in Africa to waiters bitching about an old man staying late in a Paris cafe (which sounds lame but is actually the best one).
I actually think his novels are incredible, (I’ve a few to go but got all the “big” ones read) especially the famous ones. He has a knack for taking the mundane, quiet moments between action and blindsiding the reader with these emotional headshots at the end of each of chapter.

>>21468833
>Lex is a dork, but that's the only thing he's guilty of
Hardly. Dude is a complete elon musk/tesla shill.

>>21469131
That Kaufmann criticism reminds me of Chesterton's, where he said that Nietzsche hid behind physical metaphors.

>>21468812
Taleb better explained his position on his blog:

>I received plenty of questions about the Bildungsphilister in my Black Swan Glossary. Trivial: someone commoditized in his knowledge and tastes, lacking idiosyncratic traits. Say someone who likes Matisse because it is the thing to do and, when he travels, makes sure to visit Impressionist galleries arts museums in order to be sophisticated (true someone may be genuine in his love of Matisse but it should come from personal trial and error, after disliking the sculptures of the third floor, not because the vagaries of the auctioneer’s hammer. The same Bildungsphilister would have scorned Matisse before it penetrated our consciousness). Or someone who tells you that he “loves French literature” and then announces that his favorites are Flaubert, Sartre, Camus, literally authors commonly selected in a French literature class (there are thousands of French authors so you know that it is not his taste that is driving him, but that he is following a script and borrowing his selection from general accepted guidelines. It would be different is he said Modiano, Cesbron, Déon, Vian, Allais, Bove, Gary, and Elsa Triolet. No two people have the same tastes so why should someone be exactly lined-up to the common canon?). The Bildungsphilister has a pathological vulnerability to cultural constructions. The same applies to the philisto-academic: he just follows topics used by others, ranking them by importance, without a shade of intellectual independence. In fact in academia the great dominant majority of workers are Bildungsphilisters, with a small minority of persons in possession of a brain on their own. It is even more widespread among philosophers: In fact I am still looking for a philosopher who could explain to me why the problem of induction is called “Hume’s problem”, not Huet’s problem.

So I find it always suspicious when someone’s erudition matches the common culture, with minimal variations. Or when someone’s bookshelves match the Penguin classics section at Heathrow airport. Typically they a know a few things but they are not truly driven by intellectual hunger. They might do well in school because they focus on the curriculum, given that they have no taste of their own

>>21469302
I already said he's a dork.

>>21469312
Taleb's book recs are great, I just finished The Opposite Shore a few days ago and it's one of the most mesmerizing and atmospheric books I ever read, beautiful.

He's not an American though?
That list is a high school list BUT for American students, right?
He still got what he deserves though by trying to humble brag about reading those on twitter.

>>21469289
I'm sold, thank you brother!

>>21469312
I understand the point here. But there are millions of books out there. I'm not gonna read all of them so might as well stick to the classics because I want my time to be rewarded with something valuable.
But I also think that some classics take a long ass time to digest so Lex' schedule is retarded.

>>21469360
He's live in America most of his life and went to an American high school.

>>21468812
not the whole list. he thinks he can read brothers karamazov properly in one week. in his mind, animal farm and karamazov are the same commodity.

>>21469312
he'd love 4chongs iceberg chart

>>21468846
Jesus, he’s 37? I’ve only ever seen pictures of him but he looks way way younger than that.

>>21468854
Nobody needs to reread any dystopian novel, much less three in a year. Plus I think he’s lying about rereading.

>>21469312
This is as cringe as the people he criticizes, but silly geese will fall for it because he can write well. There's little innate value in knowing obscure authors. There's little innate value in knowing popular authors. Just knowing someone exists does not indicate a depth of understanding, unless the author in question is someone that can only be found after arduous study - and we arent living in the 19th century. Maybe Taleb's criticism can apply to someone claiming expertise in a field, but even then all this is relative to who you're talking to and how much more or less they know about a field than you. What isn't relative is that someone who can name drop [insert any obscure philosopher] but cannot explain their interest in said person, nor their significance, is more of a clown than someone who can adequately explain Plato's Forms. I've no doubt Taleb is far better read than ill ever be, but this game of one upping people, through claiming you know more niche authors, is incredibly sophomoric (if not childish). If you think someone is being a poser, posturing as an intellectual, by claiming to enjoy "French literature," then simply asking them "why?" Is a far less insecure and far more efficacious way to discern that.

>>21469532
Lmao. I mean some of that chart is books you can read in a single sitting but yeah, if he wants to stick strictly to the “Monday to Sunday” thing he’s a fucking idiot.
How do you be smart enough to program robots but not be smart enough to notice one book is thicker than another?

>>21468992
>Are any of the Taleb books good?
Good, I don't know, but Black Swan has an interesting premise. And you will then be able to judge for yourself whether or not Taleb is a conceited twit.

>>21469546
he dyes his hair and stays clean shaven, If you're fit you can get away with a lot

I'm a fan of more lit arguments in the mainstream

>>21469312
>umm you can’t like canonized, ”popular” works because… you’re a philistine
>philosophers today aren’t like… thinking independently unlike me

>>21468823
A man in his late thirties who hasn’t read this entire list already is completely pathetic, especially if he thinks and acts like he’s some sort of intellectual like that jew Lex Friedman does.
Not only that, but to make this formulaic regimen to reading these books, books that any literate adult should have already read… it also shows a hilarious misunderstanding of what these books are.
Like this nigga think you can read meditations by just starting on page one and reading to the end? It’s not a linear book, it has no narrative, it’s not even a book. It’s a king’s diary. Same with Art of WR.
No one who is forcing themselves to read 1984 in their thirties is worth discussing literature with. This would be like someone buying an algebra textbook for an 8th grade class and before they even open it they try to publicly connect with real mathematicians on a podcast for two straight hours of conversation.

>>21468992
keep this in mind
>Fooled by Randomness was not copy edited (with close to 200 typos in the hardcover edition). My next book (post-TBS) will NOT be edited. An edited text is fake. Really fake. It is as shameful as ghostwriting.

>Raw literature used to resemble speech, in its messiness, idiosyncrasy, (& charm). Spelling was only made uniform very late, by printers, not by authors –which explains the idiosyncrasies of medieval authors.

>>21469559
>How do you be smart enough to program robots but not be smart enough to notice one book is thicker than another?
you don't

>>21469174
stop self-mutilating gamma

>>21469131
Exactly, it’s just like the guy that pays $50 for a workout plan pdf from an Instagram influencer and posts about how he’s going to be shredded and before he can even bench 2pl8s he’s giving fitness advice to other retards.

>>21469172
That list he just posted could be completed in like two months.
Old Man and the Sea and The Stranger could be finished in the same day, they’re like a 4 hour read, each. And Meditstions and Art of War are non-narrative diaries.

>>21469265
You could read Old Man and the Sea, and the Nada Prayer One in one afternoon.

that guy's podcast is 3 hours non-stop of false humility. instead of interviewing the guest he's always downplaying himself to fish for compliments. probably the most annoying guy out there, it's only natural the other guy can't stand him. the list is not surprising, it reeks of false humility.

>>21469679
He keeps using awkward poetic language. Some people have a gift with that, he does not. He then also keeps making cringy remarks in an attempt at humor. The Ed Calderon episode was a great example of this, the man he was interviewing I have a great deal of respect for and he was being brutally open and honest, but Lex was just a dumb brick wall.

Related to that episode, I did get the strong impression that Ed would support a hard Adolf Hitler style takeover of Mexico.

How do people listen to this guy?
I listened to him 3 years ago and he sounded like a fucking robot. The auto text-to-voice generator on youtube sounds even better than him.

>>21468854
>Should 37 year olds not read, or re-read, classics, and encourage the masses to do the same?
It's amusing seeing this dickriding argument come out. Who said 37 year olds shouldn't read classics or encourage others to? No one, you just pulled it out your ass.
The fact under consideration is that we have a self-acclaimed MIT public intellectual claiming that he will be reading books most intellectuals have already read in their teens or 20s. He's further stating he'll spend a week on each book, regardless of the book, revealing that he won't really be doing any secondary reading, or analysis, or synthesizing, just the mechanical act of reading. Fuck, he'll probably end up listening to them as audiobooks. That's why it's funny, he's a fraud in multiple ways and in publishing this list he revealed himself.

>>21469704
a good interviewer is intelligent enough to know how to extract the best from the guest and self-aware enough to understand the listener is not interested in the interviewer's point of view, but the guest's. to be honest, Lex is not the only one arrogantly thinking their opinions are as important as the guest's, they all do that now, Joe Rogan also can't shut up about his "thoughts".
The art of the interview was lost in time.

>>21469599
>A man in his late thirties who hasn’t read this entire list already is completely pathetic
>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
>Foundation
>Fight Club
>Dune
>Frankenstein
These books aren't literature. I'm confident anyone following this thread could easily read them in less than a week. I'm equally confident they could NEVER read them and lead completely fulfilling lives.

>>21468812
The people that are making fun of Lex are all fat? Fat slobs shouldn't be allowed to criticize other people. Seriously, the amount of angry fat bitches in the replies is unreal.

>>21469532
He's just rereading brother karamazov. You can definitely reread it in a week.

>>21468992
Of course not.

>>21469771
the point is that they are entry level
and honestly if you haven't read them by the time you're 30 you are better off not reading them at all

>>21468992
That one about how lebs are actually Europeans and not at all Arabs is decent. Black Swan, I think.

>>21469771
Is there any book one needs to read to have a completely fulfilling life?

>>21469771
>Frankenstein
Why is this not? Because it is popular?

>>21469799
>>21469599
you said anyone who has not read them by 37 is pathetic which does not make sense, as some of those books are not classics at all

>>21469771
>Frankenstein
>not literature
Retard

>>21469799
>if you haven't read them by the time you're 30 you are better off not reading them at all
They're books you read for enjoyment, not enlightenment.
>>21469803
>Is there any book one needs to read to have a completely fulfilling life?
That is an excellent question. It would make an excellent thread.
>>21469822
>Why not [Frankenstein]?
Hey, man, it's like, just my opinion.

>>21469803
Portnoy's complaint

>>21469879
You entertain me.
>Retard
>You're dumb.
Much compelling. Wow. Very intellect.

>>21469850
they are books for teenagers/young adults so an adult reading them is kind of cringe
also if you are trying to pass yourself as an avid reader but haven't read most of them in your youth you are most likely full of shit

>>21469803
Hop on Pop, once you've read that book there's nothing left to learn.

>>21469884
>They're books you read for enjoyment, not enlightenment.
I wouldn't respect an adult who "enjoys" those books

>>21469908
Didn't ask?

>>21469894
>Portnoy's complaint
>“a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor” confessing his sexual desires and frustrations to a silent psychoanalyst
Hard pass.

I don't care about twittertards
They can ACK themselves

>>21469899
It's not supposed to compel you, it's supposed to make me feel better after having the misfortune of reading such a retarded post. Retard.

>>21469908
>nofunallowed.rtf

>>21469904
You said "all" you illiterate cunt, you dont understand different between "most" and "all"? I donteven know who Ian Banks or Yuval Noah Harari is and i certainly never heard those as teen

>>21469884
Frankenstein is definitely literature. Its greatest deficiency is the monster learning the language and the random spiel about women’s rights, but otherwise it is extremely poignant and well written story which one will see lifelong relevance in

>>21469599
Do you support people trying ? Do you want literature to be dominated by women forever?
>>21469986
>random spiel about women’s rights
I dont have the faintest memory of this

>>21469947
>Yuval Noah Harari
literal pop-sci lol

>>21468812
Haha, my taste is so superior. He will never be on my level. People who read stuff like that are so dim. I can't believe they don't read what I read, but then again I'm truly one of a kind. Haha.

>lex friedman the b'nai b'rith jew agent is age 39
hahahaha JUST

>>21470004
If you only read the 1818 edition, then you wouldn't have any memory of reading it. it's the 1831 edition that has it.

>>21469919

>>21468823
It's actually the opposite.
>giving the same amount of time for Sun Tzu as Dostoyevsky
top fucking kek
you just know this kike faggot is going to read the wiki synopsis and pretend he read The Brothers K. just like 99% of the niggers on this board. Based Taleb is exposing the pseuds.