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Maggie’s Post Something Smart Thread 2.0

Tengu

Tengu

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Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 5, 2010
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Arizona Republic
It has been some time since this idea has been promoted. Some time ago an other member attempted to establish a thread in the (at least in my percieved observation) interest of higher intellectual persuets. It had a sort lived existance for lack of participation by the members of the forum. Instead we have indulgences of toilet humor as our focus. Although I rather enjoy a good joke now and then we should remember that such trivial occupations should be kept sparingly.
So in interest in elevating the spectrum of knowledge shared of fellow members I have started this thread in dedication of the old. Because a smarter warrior is a more effective warrior, and a more effective warrior has a higher chance of survivability. Even though I predict a rather reluctance of participation from others, and possibly an early death of this thread from this fact. I present to you these documenteries for you entertainment and edufication.

Ancient Worlds: The Spartans
Ancient Worlds: The Spartans - YouTube

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great - "Documentary " - YouTube

Washington's Generals: Marquis de Lafayette
Washington's Generals- Marquis de Lafayette - YouTube

In light of these great lessons we must not forget the diversity of our distinguished ability to create beautiful music. So with much pride I present the following classics in music. ;)

André Rieu : Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss, with Carmen Monarcha
André Rieu : Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss, with Carmen Monarcha - YouTube

Luciano Pavarotii: O Sol Mio
Darren Hayes & Luciano Pavarotti - O Sole Mio - YouTube

Los Lobos: Sabor A Mi
Los Lobos - Sabor a mi - YouTube

Andre Bocelli and Heather Headley: The Prayer
ANDREA BOCELLI (HQ) HEATHER HEADLEY THE PRAYER - YouTube

I hope all of you enjoyed the post, and the lessons within. Hopefully this will continue to include many more posts for our enjoyment, and our personal enrichment of personal character. If none other participate I will return in a few weeks time to continue the trend regardless. Buenos noches.
 
Something smart that may win you a few beers.

Here is a simple proof I learned in math class that can get you a free beer. Find your most proximate drunk and bet him a beer that you can prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there are two different sizes of infinity. Once you have agreed to the stakes, ask him the following.How many real numbers are there? The answer is infinite. Then ask him how many even numbers are there? The answer is infinite. But if there are infinite real numbers, and infinite even numbers, and not every number is even then there must be two different sizes of infinity.
Enjoy your free beer gentlemen.
 
mountainman308 said:
ask him the following.How many real numbers are there? The answer is infinite. Then ask him how many even numbers are there? The answer is infinite. But if there are infinite real numbers, and infinite even numbers, and not every number is even then there must be two different sizes of infinity.
Click to expand...


^Just don't try this bet on anyone who made it out of basic algebra, 'cus you'll loose.
 
mmmkay, I’ll byte. Here is my contribution to posting something smart:
On the concept of time.

Best layman’s working definition of time I've heard: "Time is just the measurement of the interval between events" - Ronald A. Nerad.

Some of my thoughts on time:

(1) The arrow of time points in only one direction.

(2) Do not confuse the different effects of Special Relativity on time as a possible way to move backward, because while time may precess at different rates, (i.e. time can be dilated), it cannot be reversed.

(2) Time travel to the past is not possible, for these reasons:
(a) Violates the first law of thermodynamics which to this day, has still been proven to be absolute. This first law states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed.
(b) Violates the classical thermodynamics laws concerning entrophy. Simply, travel from a less ordered universe (present) to a more ordered universe (past) is not possible.
(c) Very difficult to prove, but not at all unlikely: Just as "nature abhors a vacuum;" to protect itself against the damage of Paradox, the universe would never allow a time machine to be successfully constructed, and if constructed, it would never function.

Comments?
 
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fnbrowning said:
mmmkay, I’ll byte. Here is my contribution to posting something smart:
On the concept of time.

Best layman’s working definition of time I've heard: "Time is just the measurement of the interval between events" - Ronald A. Nerad.

Some of my thoughts on time:

(1) The arrow of time points in only one direction.

(2) Do not confuse the different effects of Special Relativity on time as a possible way to move backward, because while time may precess at different rates, (i.e. time can be dilated), it cannot be reversed.

(2) Time travel to the past is not possible, for these reasons:
(a) Violates the first law of thermodynamics which to this day, has still been proven to be absolute. This first law states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed.
(b) Violates the classical thermodynamics laws concerning entrophy. Simply, travel from a less ordered universe (present) to a more ordered universe (past) is not possible.
(c) Very difficult to prove, but not at all unlikely: Just as "nature abhors a vacuum;" to protect itself against the damage of Paradox, the universe would never allow a time machine to be successfully constructed, and if constructed, it would never function.

Comments?
Click to expand...

Ys, comments. Ronald A. Nerad was just paraphrasing Aristotle who said it this way in about BC 350..."Time is just the measurement of repetitive motion.". In his time the cycles of the sun, moon, stars, or even the regular drip of a stream. Today I believe its the 1/2 life of the cesium atom. Time, however exists only as the creation of man (or another life form.) All there really is, is a continuum, or continuing, of existence.


Watched the one on The Spartans. Excellent, and very factual. The only glitch I saw was when she was speaking of the Spartans having 'a choice' in going to fight the Persians. In Leonidas' eyes, there was no 'choice'. Kind of like one time the Athenians had the Spartans surrounded and sent in an ultimatum stating "if we win we're going to do this and tha to you." The Spartan commander replied, "If?"

During my philosophy studies I developed a true (platonic) affection for the Greeks and took a lot of courses on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno and Parmenides, Greek history in general, and did some papers on Sparta. I've never gotten to the Peloponnese but would love to go hoist a beer to the sons of Heracles (we call him Hercules). Would also love to visit Thermopylae, and the temples of the oracles, especially The Temple at Eleusis. Those Pitha must have been some wild babes and they cooked up some wild brews. I'll see what I can dig up to post. Thanks for that one.
 
Maggot said:
Ys, comments. Ronald A. Nerad was just paraphrasing Aristotle who said it this way in about BC 350..."Time is just the measurement of repetitive motion.". In his time the cycles of the sun, moon, stars, or even the regular drip of a stream. Today I believe its the 1/2 life of the cesium atom. Time, however exists only as the creation of man (or another life form.) All there really is, is a continuum, or continuing, of existence.
Click to expand...

Very good. Not to nitpick, but the NIST measures the vibrations induced in a cesium atom. Actually, radioactive decay is a rather random event, as any Geiger counter enthusiast can attest.
GEIGER COUNTER ENTHUSIAST:confused: You ask. Actually, yes. . . . fodder for another "Post Something Smart"?? :D
 
You know, I'm ok with both subjects. But to talk shit about how retarded everyone else is because they post humor that is unacceptable to you really pisses me off as you talk about smarter warrior this, and smarter warrior that! Have you ever put your ass un a shitty combat zone? It's that humor that keeps you saine month after month, not conducting trig fomulas. So if you want to start a thread that can possibly better us then I'm all for it, but no need to shit on everyone else.
 
gathumper said:
You know, I'm ok with both subjects. But to talk shit about how retarded everyone else is because they post humor that is unacceptable to you really pisses me off as you talk about smarter warrior this, and smarter warrior that! Have you ever put your ass un a shitty combat zone? It's that humor that keeps you saine month after month, not conducting trig fomulas. So if you want to start a thread that can possibly better us then I'm all for it, but no need to shit on everyone else.
Click to expand...

Why shit on a nice thread, and not even use spell check? Go away!
 
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catclaw said:
It has been some time since this idea has been promoted. Some time ago an other member attempted to establish a thread in the (at least in my percieved observation) interest of higher intellectual persuets. It had a sort lived existance for lack of participation by the members of the forum. Instead we have indulgences of toilet humor as our focus. Although I rather enjoy a good joke now and then we should remember that such trivial occupations should be kept sparingly.
So in interest in elevating the spectrum of knowledge shared of fellow members I have started this thread in dedication of the old. Because a smarter warrior is a more effective warrior, and a more effective warrior has a higher chance of survivability. Even though I predict a rather reluctance of participation from others, and possibly an early death of this thread from this fact. I present to you these documenteries for you entertainment and edufication.
Click to expand...

I respect what you're trying to do here, but as stated before, you're coming across as pretty elitist. If that's not how you meant your post to be read (and it has happened before with me on here), I apologize. However if it is your intent to speak down to those of us that enjoy "such trivial occupations", I strongly suggest you do a spelling and grammar check. Hell, just get Firefox (like my lazy ass) and it'll show you where werds (<-currently has red underneath on my screen) are misspelled so you can correct them. I also suggest an MLA handbook for the grammar/punctuation issues.

I did appreciate the history videos, but the music one didn't do much for me. It is just personal preference really. As much as my brother is fascinated by operas and arias, I love listening to David Gilmour's riff at the beginning of Wish You Were Here or Ricky Skaggs wail on the mandolin.

As for my contribution:
"Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." -Jerry Garcia
 
fnbrowning said:
(a) Violates the first law of thermodynamics... This first law states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed.

Comments?
Click to expand...

My thermodynamics prof was Chinese - guy had a huge accent. About the only thing I remember from thermodynamics - "In de closed sicstem, mattah is neither createh, nor detroy." It really has to be read out loud to get the proper phonetics. Smart? Well that's debatable. But 16 years later I haven't used it for a single thing but can still hear it in my head like he just said it in front of me.
 
Zack: Your opening line! Say something cool.
Screech: Did you know that worms are a source of protein?
 
IMG_20130327_183116_zps5edd1891.jpg
 
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41038445?portrait=0&color=c8b3df" width="500" height="656" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/41038445">The Higgs Boson Explained</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/phdcomics">PHD Comics</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Something smart for us stoopid folk
 
bigsky23 said:
The best argument against democracy is a five minute visit with the average voter... or slapchop :)
Click to expand...

HAHAH, thanks for the laugh Billings. When I make it to Montana I will buy you a drink. To hold ya'll over, enjoy...

[video=youtube;5M5eG-aywZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M5eG-aywZQ[/video]
 
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Dfoosking: I know what you mean. :( That part of the reason why I started this thread so I can learn things from others. :p

aurOr145: Music is a very complicated subject, and practice. Timing, temp, note values, crescendo, ect. and all while keeping your body in tune with the instrument. Muscial scores for video games, and movies don't escape the rules of music theory. Being a practitioner of guitar myself I've learned to appreciate the amount of dedication, talent, and knowledge it takes to be a good musician. I personally feel there are only two kinds of music. One being good and the other bad. :p

Sniper Uncle: Nobody said you had to watch the videos lol, and yes that many hours. I don't have much else to do when I'm practicing my martial arts, and often times kill two birds with one stone by having these on. :p

EXTREMEPREJUDICE: I'm not catching much on that?? If you're poking at my grammer I'll simply say "Congragulations you've figured out my dyslexia," and as a response. I'm adding this just in case your kids, or somebody you know ends up being one of these folks. :p

Understanding Dyslexcia
Understanding Dyslexia

And to add icing on the cake....:p


^^Fuck you I can draw lol. ;P

gathumper: No I haven't been in a combat zone, but I can add this...it is good to have a sense of humor, but everybody has diffrent ways of dealing with stress. I'm not going to dig up research on this (unless upon request), but the effects of practicing music can be VERY benificial to the practioner. The repetitive task of learning the rythme, and timeing of the song helps distract the person from internal emotions. This is what I do when I play guitar, and my advise to you is pick up a musical instrument, painter's brush, or hammer and chisel. This will help focus your negative emotions, and give you a healthy outlet in doing so. Not to mention its really good for picking up chicks also ;P lol
Now hers something else you may not know.

warrior:noun
1. a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
2. a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.

You being the former. I being the latter. I have a great passion for martial arts ;P Have a nice day, and take a chill pill while you're at it.

Early Cuyler: Elitist? Not in the slightest. The beauty about the internet is there is plenty of room for everybody. If you don't like this thread then go to some other thread. In all honesty I don't like toilet humor when done in EXCESS. Be free to indulge in whatever thread you like. Be it this one or not. :p All apologise for coming off as an elitist. >:p

Bah I think I got everybody?? :p Without further adoo some more documentaries.

Myths Logic of Shaolin Kung Fu
National Geographic Documentary Myths Logic Of Shaolin Kung - YouTube

^^Real martial arts training IMO. Not UFC stuffs :O

Miyamoto Musashi Documentary
History Channel: Miyamoto Musashi Documentary - YouTube

^^My favorit person to learn from ;P

Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
The Greeks - Crucible of Civilisation - The Birth Of Democracy (1 of 3). - YouTube

Yes, and other greek documentary, but from the Anthenian's perspective.
Maggot: It looks like you're the one I missed, and I'm glade you enjoyed the documentary. I personally have never been a good student in the sense of learning in conventional setting. However, I have studied up on them. Unfortunatly reading and writing is a very difficult thing for me to do so I watch videos instead. Yes, I agree about how Leonidas may have seen it. Doesn't seem like a man to feign from a fight.
Some of the plays from Sophocales are good also. One of my favorite lines was from Ajax(?) in the closing scene:
"Men learn so much from seeing
but none can see the futur of his being."

Now.....music. :O

Emilie Autumn: Bach Largo
Emilie Autumn Bach-Largo - YouTube

Arkona: Slavsia, Rus!!
ARKONA - Slavsia, Rus - YouTube

^^A little history on the song by the pegan metal band which has alot to do with traditional folk music.

Long live Rus’!

This song is about Rus’, the Nature hidden within it’s depths, about the sacred places yet untouched, the vast expanses and inexpressible beauty deep inside it’s heart. We see the spectral shapes of the past embodied in Dazhd’bog’s Grandsons (Dazhd’bog is the god of the Sun, grantor of warmth and light, forebear of all the Slavs) which return to us from the centuries we have forgotten.
Through the maze of misty ages,
Through the native sacred lands
Dear brothers, let’s sing praises
“Long live Rus’, my Motherland!”

Now I hope this is to your enjoyment, and edification. :p Even if it is a llllllllooooooooonnnnnnnggggggg post.
 
Mmm seems like the thread is a relatively unsuccessful. To be expected, but I will continue on regardless. I suppose I will start with some quotes I got. Maybe I'm wasting my time here, and which I why I increasingly less in favor of internet indulgences. I digress...ok I will start with a very well known President.

"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers."
-John F. Kennedy

The quote speaks for itself, and if you know anything about JFK you would know that he was a very studious person. Often found devouring knowledge he found in books. Doing so while even getting dressed. In remembrance of this great man I think we should not only to hear his words, but to do best to live by them.

JFK - We choose to go to the Moon, full length - YouTube

The next quote is from a book I got about the Lakota, and it has to do with the teachings being remembered by the grandfather while he speaks to his grandson.

"My grandmother taught me much in those five days," The Lance said "All she carried across the river was her knife, an empty bag for berries, and a small bundle of dried meat. That was what I could see. What I could not see was how she approached life. Her way was simple and straightforward. That philosophy, combined with her considerable knowledge, made her a very powerful person.
"With only that knife, she was able to make a comfortable camp for us. She wove green stalk for a shelter to keep rain off. She knew that animals like big cats and bears were hesitant to enter a buffalo-berry thicket, because of the thorns. She knew that snakes would not cross a barrier of dry ashes. These were all the simple realities, and they can often be the difference between life and death."
"Before she died, I learned all I could from her. She knew she was teaching me how to live life, though she may not have known she was teaching me how to be a scout."
The young man was thoughtful for a moment. "Does that mean, Grandfather," he asked quietly," that the more you know in your mind the less you can carry in your hand?"
The Lance smiled. "Yes. And the less you carry in your hand, the faster you can move and the better you can hide and blend into everything around you. That is how I was able to be a good scout."
-The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage, by Joseph M. Marshall III, page 61

I've always held a fascination with Native American traditions, and I found an other lesson within this book quoted above that deals with the bow and arrow.

Very few objects in the world symbolize function and purpose like the primitive bow and arrow. In fact, long ago they were used in marriage ceremonies to teach just those things.
A wise, respected old man would be asked to speak to the bride and groom and the gathering at large. He stood before everyone, with a bow and an arrow in his hands, and talked. His words were not a lecture, but advice for the young couple and a reminder for the husbands and wives in the village. He began by telling everyone that the bow was a female because it was a gift of the moon, who was a woman. The arrow was male because it came from the sun, who was a man. The function of the bow was to send off the arrow, and the function of the arrow was to fly. But it was through the combination of their functions that the bow and arrow find and fulfill their mutual purpose: to hit the target. The symbolism of the lesson was not lost in the audience since bows and arrows were an integral part of life in that day and age.
After he implored the young couple to be like the bow and arrow, the old man would shoot the arrow from the bow, sending it as far as he could (often a hundred and fifty yards or more) as a visual wise for a long life together.
-The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage, by Joseph M. Marshall III, page 84

Something to consider. Do your best to hit your mark ladies, and gentlemen....now I was going to quote Sun Tzu, and Tankuan Soho but I think I will reserve those lessons to the next post. So without further ado comes some more documentaries.

The Secrets of the Viking Sword
Ulfberht. Secrets of the Viking Sword HD - YouTube

Warriors: Viking Terror
Warriros Viking - Terror 1/5 - YouTube

Warriors: Islands of Blood
Warriors Islands of Blood - YouTube

So with that out of the way we can enjoy a little music.

Imelda May - Kentish Town Waltz
Imelda May - Kentish Town Waltz - YouTube

Melody Gardot - Baby I'm A Fool
Melody Gardot - Official Video - YouTube

Andre Reiu - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Some where over the rianbow - YouTube

In closing I remind people that the activities you participate in define you, and as a collective we create a society and culture. When I look around seeing that 67% of Americans are considered obese, and there is a gravitation toward ignorance in society in general. Glorifying the things that make a person weak in our mainstream music, media, and habits...it makes me wonder do people really want a better tomorrow? Or are they just dreaming?
I'll be back in a couple of weeks posting some more regardless.
 
My own musings (spawned by the guilty pleasures of the newer-production Dr. Who series, and a bit of Star Trek timelines thrown in) have included:

1. Conservation of energy AND matter. E=MC/\2 means one can be converted to the other. Hiroshima and Nagasaki saw about 600 to 860 milligrams of matter converted to energy--NO presence of that mass survived into the fireball and its components.

2. At the ratio of about 50 mg of mass per kiloton of A-Bomb yield (sorry, I'm just not calibrated yet to Joules & Ergs or whatever), the energy of a 1.82 megaton bomb could be used to create (or re-create?) the matter of a time traveler "coming" (relativistic frames of reference here?) from the future to his/her/its past.

3. Though this would appear to address the paradox of "where do the more organized molecular structures of the time traveler come from?" for backwards time travel and thereby avoid the conundrum of the *same* atoms from Mt. Fuji's snowcap which centuries later became part of the time traveler's body existing twice at the same time when that later-existing body goes backwards in time, there still may be some problems with that...besides where the energy could be generated and how to direct it, transporter-style, to duplicate the future organization of present atoms in a recognizable form in the present.

4. To send something into the future through some mechanism other than time dilation seems intuitively to me to require that the atoms of that time traveler either:
a. be made to not exist between the "leaving" time of the past and the "arrival time" of the future, or
b. be forcibly removed from their future resting places and be reconstituted into their past organization...
1) which might demand that all time travel to the future by some mechanism of economy always be balanced by a return to some (instantaneous?) time after the departure.
or
c. be suspended as energy somehow for the period of time "travel" and be reconstituted as matter at the target date.

A final point was covered in some 1950s or 1960s-written scifi I read in the 1970s--practical/useful time travel also requires travel through space, at least for planet-side destinations. Everything in the Universe is a moving target. It would really suck to travel 500 years forward in earth time, only to arrive in the vacuum point in space where Earth was 500 years before your "arrival".

Chew on that. George Carlin's musings on some water not having been water for centuries (it's up north being ICE) might have been the starting point for these thoughts.

BTW, the "energy economy" of the Star Trek Next Generation era, where transporter technology can be used to generate blankets and supplies for disaster-stricken worlds using replicators, has huge implications for tipping the mass/energy balance in the direction of more mass, less energy. Depends on how many tons of matter they replicate each year. Tney might spawn anthrogenic/xenogenic Universal cooling, with associated galactic environmental consequences. Maybe.
 
Sorry, just had to do it.

If you are going to propose an argument for a smarter thread, at least proof read what you post.


“It has been some time since this idea has been promoted. Some time ago an other (another) member attempted to establish a thread in the (at least in my percieved (perceived) observation) interest of higher intellectual persuets (pursuits). It had a sort (short) lived existance (existence) for lack of participation by the members of the forum. Instead we have indulgences of toilet humor as our focus. Although I rather enjoy a good joke now and then(,) we should remember that such trivial occupations (what does a job have to do with this) should be kept sparingly (remove sparingly and add to a minimum). So in interest in elevating ( So, in the interest of elevating) the spectrum of knowledge shared of (by) fellow members(,) I have started this thread in dedication of the old (remove old and add previous attempt). Because a smarter warrior is a more effective warrior, and a more effective warrior has a higher chance of survivability. Even though I predict a rather (remove rather) reluctance of participation from others, (no comma here) and possibly an early death of this thread from this fact (remove “from this fact” and then put your comma back in) (,) I present to you these documenteries (documentaries) for you (your) entertainment and edufication (edification).
 
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mountainman308 said:
Thats why I specified to use this on a drunk person. There is less of a chance they will remember their basic math.
Click to expand...

The problem with your explanation is that it can be used on two sets of the same cardinality (e.g., natural numbers and integers).
There are infinite integers. There are infinite natural numbers, and not every integer is a natural number. BUT, they both have the same cardinality. They are both countably infinite. Real numbers, on the other hand, are uncountably infinite, and can be called a "higher order" of infinity, because there is no mapping onto the natural numbers for every number in the set of reals.

The problem with this bar bet is that anyone who hasn't taken set theory will immediately tell you that you are stupid and don't know what you are talking about or at the very least not believe you because they can obviously count to infinity. I tried to explain this idea to someone for a half hour once and just gave up.

Countable set - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Here's another fun one:

The Monty Hall Problem - A classic game show finale has the contestant pick 1 of 3 doors, and two of the doors have booby prizes and one has the prize he wants. He selects a door, and then the host opens up one of the other doors with a booby prize behind it. Then he offers the contestant the opportunity to change his selection to the other door. The contestant is ALWAYS better off switching his choice, provided that the host always has to open one of the junk doors different from the contestant's initial guess. It's counterintuitive, and I spent a half hour also trying to explain this to someone who thought I couldn't possibly be correct on this.

Monty Hall problem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The way the game show host gets around this, though, is he doesn't always show a junk door. If he knows the contestant picked a junk door on the first try, then give him that door and game over, no car for him. All sorts of other mind games and factors, but given the simple initial problem, always change your choice when shown a door and given the option to do so.


Edit to add:

Andre Reiu - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

HOLY SMOKES - cried to that one. That was amazing. I think human beings are unbelievable. The incredible skill we can attain at just about whatever we put our minds to...that was pure beauty.
 
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I am intelligent enough to know, that I am not that smart .
.
 
I am surprised that so far, out of a bunch of warriors trying to get a thread with "smart stuff" started, no one has brought out any quotations or discussion from:

1. Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi
2. Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, by Aurelius
3. The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Baltasar Gracian
4. The Art Of War, by Sun Tzu
5. Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
6. To A Mouse, by Robert Burns (many hours of possible discussion there)

I can't possibly be the only guy who reads this stuff.
 
Unknown said:
I am surprised that so far, out of a bunch of warriors trying to get a thread with "smart stuff" started, no one has brought out any quotations or discussion from:

1. Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi
2. Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, by Aurelius
3. The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Baltasar Gracian
4. The Art Of War, by Sun Tzu
5. Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
6. To A Mouse, by Robert Burns (many hours of possible discussion there)

I can't possibly be the only guy who reads this stuff.
Click to expand...

You're not. I eat that kind of stuff up.

1. The Winds of war & War and Remembrance - Herman Wouk. Best novels I've ever read.
2. On War - Carl von Clausewitz
3. Unintended Consequences - John Ross
4. Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam - John A. Nagl
5. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy. Some would call this a cop out, but seriously freaking read it. It is amazingly good. Denisov is by far my favorite character.
6. Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang - Richard O'Kane. Astounding
7. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 - Alfred Thayer Mahan
8. The Education of a Navy: the development of British Naval Strategic Thought, 1867-1914 & Some Principles of Maritime Strategy - Julian Corbett
9. Seapower - Geoffrey Till

A lot of these Naval strategy books really give you a frame of how navy operations and world trade is thought of and maintained. When Till gets into the idea of the 'littoral zone' coupled with Mahan and Corbett's theories or sea control and sea denial. It's a lot to think about.

The novels listed are pure unthrottled awesome. Herman Wouk's books The Winds of War & War and Remembrance are what I believe to be the American version of Tolstoy's War and Peace. Wouk's description of VT-8 really got to me. As did the life of the character named Berel Jastrow. I can say with clear eyes and a good heart that I will never read anything better than Wouk's novels.
 
This thread could provide a really fine reading list. I sort of thought that there would be more well read people here. I hated math in school, only to find that it is central to shooting. Math skills, well read...lots of things to destroy the stereotype of shooters being fat, dumb, backwoodsy, ill mannered, and uneducated. Although I don't have any issues with backwoodsy as those folks often have a marvelously diverse fund of knowledge.

Clausewitz's "On War" was really hard for me to get through. I realize it is a classic, so I went with it, but it didn't have near the power to hold my interest as Gracian's "The Worldly Art of Wisdom", or the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

For those who don't know, Aurelius was a Roman emperor like Ceasar. It was really interesting reading what an emperor thought was important.
 
If you are interested in the history of Rome, listen to this podcast. It's probably the best podcast I have listened to yet, and I really enjoy the delivery. Some amazing stories and great perspective on what we know vs. what we think we know and how we think we know it.

The History of Rome

I cannot recommend this enough. Fantastic for long drives, too.
 
Nice words there TNT about cardinality etc. I'm a fan of infinities and have worn out my copy of Rudy Rucker's "Infinity and the Mind". A great read if you're into number theory, infinity and mathematics. I am also fascinated by the concept, or illusion if you will, of time. Though one of the most fascinating subjects of our time, IMHO, is the concept of black hole holography. Leonard Susskind's book "The Black Hole War" as well as the chapter in Brian Greene's "The Hidden Reality" on black hole holography is incredible. If you can get through Juan Malcadena's paper "The Large N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity", you'll want to read more. I'm only a geophysicist, but feel like I should have become a cosmologist instead, as that is the final frontier and what motivates me towards science more than anything.</geek>
 
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