The Official June 2015 Study Group Forum

ms9 · Post by **ms9** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:05 pm

RZ5646 wrote:Ayn Rand fans ITT? Ew. (Not surprised at all about Shak though, she even looks like Ayn Rand (no offense).)

The Fountainhead sucks. A crazy rightwing English teacher tried to make me read that pretentious, masturbatory bullshit in high school and it was utter trash. Terrible writing and even worse message (and it has no literary value—it's just a vehicle for that execrable message).

Same teacher hated me for disputing her claim that the Constitution proves that the United States should be a Christian country. Rural public school was fun.

She tried to make you or succeeded in making you?

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:08 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:Ayn Rand fans ITT? Ew. (Not surprised at all about Shak though, she even looks like Ayn Rand (no offense).)

The Fountainhead sucks. A crazy rightwing English teacher tried to make me read that pretentious, masturbatory bullshit in high school and it was utter trash. Terrible writing and even worse message (and it has no literary value—it's just a vehicle for that execrable message).

Same teacher hated me for disputing her claim that the Constitution proves that the United States should be a Christian country. Rural public school was fun.
She tried to make you or succeeded in making you?

I read about half of it. This teacher would also take points off if I used words she didn't know in my essays. She gave me the only B I've ever gotten in my life.

McJimJam · Post by **McJimJam** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:10 pm

Post removed.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:15 pm

McJimJam wrote:I love these little glimpses into RZs life, good to know you were always like this.

What is "like this"?

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:19 pm

What is you guys' favorite nonfiction book? I ask because mine seems to be on topic with all the political philosophy/theory talk. Mine is currently A Theory of Justice. I read for a graduate class on Social Contract theory, and I wish policy was created with some of its ideas in mind.

ccordero · Post by **ccordero** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:25 pm

Omfg. I just got a -1 for the first time ever on an LR section, on time too! The one question I got wrong I knew that I was shaky on and I ended up switching to the wrong answer.

This is such an motivation boost from yesterday's terrible scores. I guess a good night's worth of a rest makes all the difference.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:29 pm

The Abyss wrote:What is you guys' favorite nonfiction book? I ask because mine seems to be on topic with all the political philosophy/theory talk. Mine is currently A Theory of Justice. I read for a graduate class on Social Contract theory, and I wish policy was created with some of its ideas in mind.

John Rawls? I actually have that book at home somewhere but I've never read it. Not really a fan of ethics or political theory.

For philosophy I'd have to say the Critique of Pure Reason, which I had the opportunity to study with a world expert in Kantian metaphysics. Kant is really hard to read but once you figure out what he's trying to say it all makes sense and is really logical.

Hume is a much better writer and I'm partial to many of his ideas, but he's the opposite of Kant and espouses a wishy-washy philosophy of vivacity and sentiment and feeling and such which seems true but is still kinda off-putting.

For popular books, Thinking Fast and Slow is obviously good, and I also really liked Moonwalking with Einstein (weird subject but it appealed to me because I did this competition once where I memorized several hundred digits of pi). I remember really liking Brief History of Time and Universe in a Nutshell, but I haven't read those since elementary school so idk if they're really that great. Nowadays I'm a bit hostile to popular science books which try to dumb down extremely complicated theories.

ccordero · Post by **ccordero** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:34 pm

What's the best way to go about drilling? I just bought some of the "questions organized by type" from Cambridge LSAT and I should be starting with them soon. Do you time yourself as you go through them? Or do you just work through them untimed?

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:37 pm

ccordero wrote:What's the best way to go about drilling? I just bought some of the "questions organized by type" from Cambridge LSAT and I should be starting with them soon. Do you time yourself as you go through them? Or do you just work through them untimed?

Time yourself with the clock counting up so you can monitor your time improvement. Prioritize going -0 over speed though.

ms9 · Post by **ms9** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:44 pm

RZ5646 wrote:
The Abyss wrote:What is you guys' favorite nonfiction book? I ask because mine seems to be on topic with all the political philosophy/theory talk. Mine is currently A Theory of Justice. I read for a graduate class on Social Contract theory, and I wish policy was created with some of its ideas in mind.
John Rawls? I actually have that book at home somewhere but I've never read it. Not really a fan of ethics or political theory.

For philosophy I'd have to say the Critique of Pure Reason, which I had the opportunity to study with a world expert in Kantian metaphysics. Kant is really hard to read but once you figure out what he's trying to say it all makes sense and is really logical.

Hume is a much better writer and I'm partial to many of his ideas, but he's the opposite of Kant and espouses a wishy-washy philosophy of vivacity and sentiment and feeling and such which seems true but is still kinda off-putting.

For popular books, Thinking Fast and Slow is obviously good, and I also really liked Moonwalking with Einstein (weird subject but it appealed to me because I did this competition once where I memorized several hundred digits of pi). I remember really liking Brief History of Time and Universe in a Nutshell, but I haven't read those since elementary school so idk if they're really that great. Nowadays I'm a bit hostile to popular science books which try to dumb down extremely complicated theories.

We are polar opposites. I didn't like Thinking Fast/Slow as a whole. I liked some pieces to it, but found it overwrought.

ms9 · Post by **ms9** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:00 pm

How about this? Favorite:

Book:
Movie:
Vacation place:
Celebrity:
Athlete:
Law School:

Go!

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:00 pm

RZ5646 wrote:
The Abyss wrote:What is you guys' favorite nonfiction book? I ask because mine seems to be on topic with all the political philosophy/theory talk. Mine is currently A Theory of Justice. I read for a graduate class on Social Contract theory, and I wish policy was created with some of its ideas in mind.
John Rawls? I actually have that book at home somewhere but I've never read it. Not really a fan of ethics or political theory.

For philosophy I'd have to say the Critique of Pure Reason, which I had the opportunity to study with a world expert in Kantian metaphysics. Kant is really hard to read but once you figure out what he's trying to say it all makes sense and is really logical.

Hume is a much better writer and I'm partial to many of his ideas, but he's the opposite of Kant and espouses a wishy-washy philosophy of vivacity and sentiment and feeling and such which seems true but is still kinda off-putting.

For popular books, Thinking Fast and Slow is obviously good, and I also really liked Moonwalking with Einstein (weird subject but it appealed to me because I did this competition once where I memorized several hundred digits of pi). I remember really liking Brief History of Time and Universe in a Nutshell, but I haven't read those since elementary school so idk if they're really that great. Nowadays I'm a bit hostile to popular science books which try to dumb down extremely complicated theories.

Yeah, Rawls. Political theory was my concentration in political science. I haven't really explored much of philosophy outside of the political. Any suggestions to get started in metaphysics or epistemology?

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:03 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:How about this? Favorite:

Book: Slaughterhouse Five
Movie: Dr. Strangelove
Vacation place: Lake Michigan, near Sleeping Bear Dunes
Celebrity: Daniel Day-Lewis
Athlete: Steve Yzerman or Barry Sanders
Law School: UPenn

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:07 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:How about this? Favorite:

Book:
Movie:
Vacation place:
Celebrity:
Athlete:
Law School:

Go!

-Lolita
-Too many to pick one. Questions like this are best phrased as "what's the best X you've seen/read/listened to lately?"
-Lol what's a vacation?
-Taylor Swift is an angel
-Don't follow sports
-Penn seems cool but my target might be Cornell because they have fantastic employment numbers but are more likely to give me scholarships than higher-ranked schools.

santoki · Post by **santoki** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:10 pm

Post removed.

ms9 · Post by **ms9** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:12 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:How about this? Favorite:

Book: I'll stick with The Fountainhead. Certainly the most meaningful for me
Movie: Good Will Hunting although I disproportionally love The Town and Cabin in the Woods
Vacation place: Beaver Creek, CO
Celebrity: Hugh Jackman maybe
Athlete: Warrik Dunn but Barry Sander also ranks right up there
Law School: Can't go there

Go!

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:14 pm

The Abyss wrote: Any suggestions to get started in metaphysics or epistemology?

Obviously Kant is the big name here but reading him directly is probably not the most efficient way to learn about his philosophy, as even the Prolegomena, the simplified, popular version of the First Critique, is quite dense. Hume's Enquiries (Enquiries : Treatise of Human Nature :: Prolegomena : CPR) wouldn't be a bad starting point. It's quite readable and introduces a lot of the problems which Kant deals with. Schopenhauer is also very readable and his philosophy is mostly inherited from Kant.

TheWalkingDebt · Post by **TheWalkingDebt** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:14 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:How about this? Favorite:

Book: Catch-22/Kafka on the shore
Movie: Pulp fiction
Vacation place: That I've actually been to? California. I come from a relatively not well-off family.
Celebrity: RDJ is top notch as is Leo.
Athlete: Dwyane Wade.
Law School: Whichever is highest that takes me.

Go!

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:15 pm

I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.

ms9 · Post by **ms9** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:15 pm

RZ5646 wrote:I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.

Bernie is quite the athlete himself.

TheWalkingDebt · Post by **TheWalkingDebt** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:16 pm

MikeSpivey wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.
Bernie is quite the athlete himself.

Yes, his presidential run is definitely an exercise in futility.

ETA: Yes, bad pun. FYI I'm a Bernie fan.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:25 pm

TheWalkingDebt wrote:
MikeSpivey wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.
Bernie is quite the athlete himself.

Yes, his presidential run is definitely an exercise in futility.

You keep throwing out this political bait but you're the only political junkie ITT lol

TheWalkingDebt · Post by **TheWalkingDebt** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:28 pm

RZ5646 wrote:
TheWalkingDebt wrote:
MikeSpivey wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.
Bernie is quite the athlete himself.

Yes, his presidential run is definitely an exercise in futility.
You keep throwing out this political bait but you're the only political junkie ITT lol

Not much else going on. I'd indulge your vanity exercise in discussing your LG problems and whether or not you're getting into Yale, but I find it pretty boring.

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:29 pm

RZ5646 wrote:
TheWalkingDebt wrote:
MikeSpivey wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:I confused Barry Sanders with Bernie Sanders and was very confused for a moment.
Bernie is quite the athlete himself.

Yes, his presidential run is definitely an exercise in futility.
You keep throwing out this political bait but you're the only political junkie ITT lol

He's not the only political junkie itt.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:36 pm

This thread has been kinda boring lately. I think people are actually studying.