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metascribe Locked account

primeval_scribe@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 1 year, 3 months ago

Primarily a nonfiction reader/collector with a dash of poetry or short story anthologies. Fiction typically is speculative fiction, some variation of sci-fi, dark fantasy, occult detective fiction, cosmic and psychological or domestic horror.

For non-fiction, I seek books in philosophy, sociology or social theory, the life sciences, religious studies, media studies, ethnic or area studies, gender & sexuality studies, and reference or study books for technical subjects like formal logic, mathematics, computer science and mechanics.

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commented on Informal Logic by Douglas N. Walton

Douglas N. Walton: Informal Logic (2008, Cambridge University Press) No rating

Non-technical in approach, it is based on 186 examples, which Douglas Walton, a leading authority …

I'm certainly liking the approach here. It also seems to suggest that rationality can be broader than, say, concepts like logical validity, and include other kinds of discursive games or dialogue goals that shape what constitutes "rational" (i.e., justified/justifiable or prescribed) speech. At the same time, it seems obvious that certain kinds of dialogue, or discursive games, are paradigmatic to us when discussing what reasoning looks like externally. The paradigmatic case still benefits from seeing how it is embedded into other speech activities. I feel like this is what would allow us to truly have the discussion, for example, about whether LLMs can reason or not.

Douglas N. Walton: Informal Logic (2008, Cambridge University Press) No rating

Non-technical in approach, it is based on 186 examples, which Douglas Walton, a leading authority …

Inadvertently I start reading new books when I'm still stewing on and note-taking other ones. It takes some time, especially with non-fiction, for some ideas to really sink in, and for me to make connections, let alone write them down or do an annotated bibliography. Well, I've undeniably started this one. That doesn't mean I'll be sure to finish it.

Dr. J. Anthony Allen PhD: Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers (Paperback, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) No rating

The producer's guide to harmony, chord progressions, and song structure in the MIDI grid. As …

I really sank some time into this one compared to the other two or three books I've been reading on and off. Certainly am learning a lot. I remember getting up to musical scales last time with a different music theory book, and kind of hitting a wall of understanding. This book has helped get past that, gradually discerning what is at first ambiguity in the music vocabulary.

I found myself watching some music analysis videos on Youtube and understanding what was going on a lot more, although with a bit of mental lag. I'm almost done with this book and just need another stretch.

commented on The Elements of Style by William Strunk

William Strunk: The Elements of Style (1999, Allyn and Bacon) 4 stars

You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. …

Finished the first chapter, covering "elementary rules of usage," which are a list of guiding tips that address common, more subtle mistakes in grammar, as well as uses of punctuation and syntactical sorting that promote clarity and precision. The next chapter seems to be on composition, which is larger-scale organization of writing.

William Strunk: The Elements of Style (1999, Allyn and Bacon) 4 stars

You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. …

This is a book I remember being assigned in my high school AP English courses, an early introduction given its been traditionally used in university/college classrooms. Rereading to remind myself of some key ways to clean up my writing.

Dr. J. Anthony Allen PhD: Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers (Paperback, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) No rating

The producer's guide to harmony, chord progressions, and song structure in the MIDI grid. As …

So far I find this book to be much better coverage of music theory concepts than Michael Hewitt's Music Theory for Computer Musicians. So far, gets straight to the point, with much clearer and simpler though powerful definitions of musical theory concepts than the roundabout overviews of the aforementioned book.