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46
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: March 08, 2013, 02:09:00 pm »
I happened to see a scoring document for a medical school. This is what their admission committee uses for ranking applicants. They had things broken down, with certain traits or accomplishments garnering certain points (med schools like accepting doctors from underprivileged backgrounds, so, for example, you got more points if neither of your parents completed high school than if only one of them did, and more than if both of them did).
Having a Ph.D. was listed. It was "worth" as much as being the president of a major student organization in undergrad. A good letter of recommendation was worth more.
To be clear, being smarter than the entire admissions committee combined wasn't considered to be very valuable. Yeah, the medical profession is reeeeaaaaally great.
M.D./Ph.D. doctors are the absolute best kind of doctors, far better than regular M.D.'s Medschools should be shitting their pants when a Ph.D. applies to their program.
Having a Ph.D. was listed. It was "worth" as much as being the president of a major student organization in undergrad. A good letter of recommendation was worth more.
To be clear, being smarter than the entire admissions committee combined wasn't considered to be very valuable. Yeah, the medical profession is reeeeaaaaally great.
M.D./Ph.D. doctors are the absolute best kind of doctors, far better than regular M.D.'s Medschools should be shitting their pants when a Ph.D. applies to their program.
47
General Discussion / Re: Do You Believe in "God"?
« on: January 22, 2013, 01:10:14 pm »
@RD, sorry for not making that clearer: that was just a rant directed at academics in general, not you in specific.
But for abstract leading to practical knowledge, again, if we know that the universe was created, and if we know it was created by a particular kind of being, that allows us to practically direct our own scientific inquiries based on reasonable inferences between the creator and the created.
As for if the universe/closed system issue: a closed system can't be acted upon by external forces. Creating it would have been an external force, therefore, even if the creator was subsequently entirely contained within the universe, the system wouldn't be closed. That said, upon further research, it looks like I am using a "classical mechanics" closed system definition, but a thermodynamic closed system would allow for external forces to be applied, as long as matter doesn't get exchanged.
But for abstract leading to practical knowledge, again, if we know that the universe was created, and if we know it was created by a particular kind of being, that allows us to practically direct our own scientific inquiries based on reasonable inferences between the creator and the created.
As for if the universe/closed system issue: a closed system can't be acted upon by external forces. Creating it would have been an external force, therefore, even if the creator was subsequently entirely contained within the universe, the system wouldn't be closed. That said, upon further research, it looks like I am using a "classical mechanics" closed system definition, but a thermodynamic closed system would allow for external forces to be applied, as long as matter doesn't get exchanged.
48
General Discussion / Re: The $%*! frustration thread
« on: January 17, 2013, 11:30:20 am »
Yup, I was serious. I believe it is Michael Stackpole who is the best paid fiction writer out there, has the chops to write whatever might please you, and he's written dozens of Star Wars novels. What would be the big difference between writing Star Wars fan fic vs historical fiction? In both cases you are working with pre-established worlds, people, etc.
49
General Discussion / Re: The $%*! frustration thread
« on: January 16, 2013, 12:20:20 pm »
Fanfiction is an entirely legitimate genre. Just look at all the Star Trek/Star Wars novels out there.
50
General Discussion / Re: Do You Believe in "God"?
« on: January 09, 2013, 01:32:50 pm »If the only thing we knew was that the universe was created, how does that provide us with better practical knowledge for guiding human development? What does that teach us about space and time, other than "They were created."?
Practical? Perhaps not, but practical knowledge is so... bleh. People have far too little respect, now-a-days, for more abstract knowledge. That's why the humanities are suffering, unfortunately, even though they tend to be the most important thing a person could study. Philosophy, history, literature, music: knowledge of these things is rarely practical, but oh so necessary!
Anywho, my academic laments aside, if the universe were created, that would necessitate that the universe itself isn't a closed system. Of course, being created doesn't mean created by a creator: could be two planks colliding, could be another universe expanding and branching our universe off, etc. Science is relatively happy with such possibilities, though that does mean that eventually science will probably have to throw its hands up in a very religious-like way and say that some things are the way they are "just because." As far as we are aware, we can only observe, and thus scientifically understand, things within our universe.
But if the universe were created by a creator being, then we can start applying certain assumptions based on what sort of being that might be. A "mad, blind god" should have produced chaos, an "idiot-god" would have produced something like the Discworld universe, a rational god something more, well, rational. Of course, science already makes the assumption that this is a rational world, but it would be nice is that wasn't just a necessary assumption but one backed up with umph.
51
General Discussion / Re: Multicultural Music Video Appreciation Thread
« on: December 11, 2012, 05:02:44 pm »
... you know, I can't remember the studio cut of the original, but I do remember the version they recorded on their Live album. Definitely a group experience.
I realized, I hadn't mentioned Steam Powered Giraffe yet. They're a Steampunk Mime Band... thingy. Fun times. Unfortunately, I've gotten the impression that one really should see them live for the full experience.
[youtube]gQWY-JOhF2I[/youtube]
I realized, I hadn't mentioned Steam Powered Giraffe yet. They're a Steampunk Mime Band... thingy. Fun times. Unfortunately, I've gotten the impression that one really should see them live for the full experience.
[youtube]gQWY-JOhF2I[/youtube]
52
General Discussion / Re: The Thread for Writers
« on: December 03, 2012, 12:40:13 pm »
Good luck with Polar Detective.
As for NaNo-ing, I'd argue that the point is large just trying to figure out what your own process is. Even if all you got out of it was "well, this process failed totally," that's a success if it gives you a hint of what not to do in the future.
As for NaNo-ing, I'd argue that the point is large just trying to figure out what your own process is. Even if all you got out of it was "well, this process failed totally," that's a success if it gives you a hint of what not to do in the future.
53
General Discussion / Re: The Thread for Writers
« on: November 30, 2012, 02:03:00 am »
Just submitted mine for validation. The story itself has about 10k left to it, but that's good because I can probably cut 10k from around the middle!
Hope everyone else is satisfied with their work.
Hope everyone else is satisfied with their work.
54
General Discussion / Re: Do You Believe in "God"?
« on: November 27, 2012, 07:53:33 pm »
To note, acceptance of the Big Bang Theory is not inherently at odds with a belief in a creationary deity.
In contrast, belief in a self-creating universe is actually at odds with science. Science functions because of the assumption that the effects we observe have a rational cause. Science assumes that everything in existence has a cause. A causeless start to the universe, then, is something entirely outside of science's experience and ability to comprehend. A theist saying that God created the universe is, at the very least, being internally consistent. A scientist saying that the universe created itself can't claim similar consistency.
Of course, that doesn't mean that the universe didn't create itself. Though few scientists hold the Big Bang as the start of it all (they go back earlier: perhaps our universe is the product of p-branes colliding, or the metacosmic equivalent to a bit of gristle in the multiversal gum, or the black hole to another universe, etc.), they all generally accept that, eventually, we'll just have to say "'cause that's the way things are."
In contrast, belief in a self-creating universe is actually at odds with science. Science functions because of the assumption that the effects we observe have a rational cause. Science assumes that everything in existence has a cause. A causeless start to the universe, then, is something entirely outside of science's experience and ability to comprehend. A theist saying that God created the universe is, at the very least, being internally consistent. A scientist saying that the universe created itself can't claim similar consistency.
Of course, that doesn't mean that the universe didn't create itself. Though few scientists hold the Big Bang as the start of it all (they go back earlier: perhaps our universe is the product of p-branes colliding, or the metacosmic equivalent to a bit of gristle in the multiversal gum, or the black hole to another universe, etc.), they all generally accept that, eventually, we'll just have to say "'cause that's the way things are."
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General Discussion / Re: The Thread for Writers
« on: November 27, 2012, 01:32:52 am »
It's down to the wire. Doesn't really matter if you get the full 50K or not, the point is to write. So write! Write like the wind, if the wind wrote well (I don't really know how the wind writes)
56
General Discussion / Re: The Thread for Writers
« on: November 13, 2012, 01:11:06 pm »
At least as I view it, NaNoWriMo is at its best a time to figure out what works. Even if all you practice is BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard), that's still a step closer to mastering the craft. But perhaps instead of trying to write an entire book, make it your goal to figure out how you can write on command.
But, that said, there is an old trick to starting to write when you can't otherwise seem to start. That trick being, write (or re-write) something totally different. But that I mean, try describing the room you find yourself in with the utmost detail. Or start copying out your favorite short story. Or a newspaper article. Or start writing about a favorite childhood memory. Whatever is easiest to do. The very act of writing anything will help you get into the mood to write, and so after a page or two you should then be able to switch over to your story and write on it with greater ease.
EDIT: Also, something I've found useful if my problem is starting a story right is to just skip the start. I'll jump into chapter two, or three, etc and then I'll come back later to write the first chapter (and usually when that happens, the chapter I end up writing is nothing like the one I had planned, which is probably why the planned one wasn't working).
But, that said, there is an old trick to starting to write when you can't otherwise seem to start. That trick being, write (or re-write) something totally different. But that I mean, try describing the room you find yourself in with the utmost detail. Or start copying out your favorite short story. Or a newspaper article. Or start writing about a favorite childhood memory. Whatever is easiest to do. The very act of writing anything will help you get into the mood to write, and so after a page or two you should then be able to switch over to your story and write on it with greater ease.
EDIT: Also, something I've found useful if my problem is starting a story right is to just skip the start. I'll jump into chapter two, or three, etc and then I'll come back later to write the first chapter (and usually when that happens, the chapter I end up writing is nothing like the one I had planned, which is probably why the planned one wasn't working).
57
General Discussion / Re: Park Your Amusements Here
« on: November 08, 2012, 03:57:47 pm »
I just met someone with a last name of "Medina."
58
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby
« on: November 05, 2012, 01:23:01 pm »
Remember, Remember
The fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
The fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
59
General Discussion / Re: The Thread for Writers
« on: November 04, 2012, 04:18:56 pm »
So, how are things going for everyone, so far? Tush, tomorrow's your day to shine, right?
It's been great so far for me. The exhaustive outline seems to have generally doubled my productivity. A good thousand words a day (morning and lunch) was about my average on my last project. With the exception of yesterday, 2000 a day for NaNoWriMo is lowballing it for me. (yesterday I was helping my wife get ready for a trip to Japan, which ate up all the time to write, but one does still have to prioritize).
The prose is... well, not up to my usual standard, I think. Rather thin. My second draft might actually increase in length, as I go through and flesh out descriptions. Not sure if that is good or bad, since usually second drafts should be 10% shorter than the first. Oh well, a problem for January.
And now, back to the story! I'm at the part with the giant hall monitor/cow demon.
It's been great so far for me. The exhaustive outline seems to have generally doubled my productivity. A good thousand words a day (morning and lunch) was about my average on my last project. With the exception of yesterday, 2000 a day for NaNoWriMo is lowballing it for me. (yesterday I was helping my wife get ready for a trip to Japan, which ate up all the time to write, but one does still have to prioritize).
The prose is... well, not up to my usual standard, I think. Rather thin. My second draft might actually increase in length, as I go through and flesh out descriptions. Not sure if that is good or bad, since usually second drafts should be 10% shorter than the first. Oh well, a problem for January.
And now, back to the story! I'm at the part with the giant hall monitor/cow demon.
60
General Discussion / Re: NaNoWriMo Writing Buddies
« on: October 29, 2012, 05:45:00 pm »I guess my priorities are a bit different.
Sort of. Since January (maybe February) I've been getting up early so that I have time to write, and I've been spending my lunch breaks writing as well. Those were already times set aside for writing. The main thing that changed is that for October, I've been planning rather than writing (and let me tell you, I prefer writing to planning). I've done no-outlines in the past (and those didn't work), and I've been working on a quasi-outline project (turned out better, but very meandery), so I am trying something new by really having a thorough outline for this one.
This contest should probably be the greatest challenge to a dyslexic Indian artist.
I think you might need this:
So apparently, I just checked the NaNoWriMo forums and came across a concept called "Writing Buddies", who can help critique on excerpts, swap plot ideas, help doctor it, brainstorm, etc. I take it Thought and Boo are together on this, and Bekkler has his soul-mate. That leaves me on my lonesome, or is anyone else participating?
Does it have to be just a partner? I'd love to talk write-y to you, if you'd so like. In general, I think it would be awesome if we Chrono Composers had our own little writing group for this.
If not, I'll probably hit RW...
Hey!
... a mail and ask if she wants to team-up
Oh, never mind.
More seriously, do you mean Rushing Wind? It would be awesome if she's doing this, too.
As for writing equipment, Google Docs (which sounds so much better than "Google Drive") is my tool of choice. Though, I really should get into the habit of backing that up regularly. I have Inkpad on my phone for jotting down ideas, but I LOVE your idea, Tush, of using a camera to take visual inspiration/idea phonemes as well.
To note, if someone is working on a crazy large project, I've heard very very good things about wikidpad (basically, a private wiki: I believe that Sanderson uses it for his Stormlight Archives, and that Howard Taylor uses it for Schlock Mercenary)
As for my nanowrimo page, since I registered under my realsies name, I'd rather not post it randomly out in the open. However, I'm happy to share it. I'm PMing it to those who have expressed interest here, but if anyone else wants to take a look, either drop me a note here or PM me, too.