i mainly read non-fiction of a "trying to understand/overthrow capitalism" type, usually histories. in terms of fiction, my heart is primarily with sf (octavia butler and kim stanley robinson being my tops, i'd say).
"Take the gun out of Irish politics--maybe. But not at the command of those in [Leinster House, Stormont, and Westminister (parliaments governing Ireland)]. As long as there is injustice the gun will always be there. And if we really want to take it out why not give it to the Palestinians? And who will have the cheek to tell us that they do not need it?"
--Brendan Hughes, H-Blocks IRA prisoners' OC during 1980 hunger strike, writing in 2002
Well, its about what I expected. Jane austen for boys, with worse writing, no women with interiority, and rather than contemporary it is a post war brit romanticising 150yrs prior. Not sure I can even tell my family member I consumed any of it. Plus my "listen to audiobooks 8h a day" job is done for another while so who knows when I could bang the rest out. Maybe I never will.
(Jane Austen fucking rules by the way, don't get me wrong.)
Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers …
Super interesting book that was maybe a bit too philosophically nirty gritty for me read. The author is a good speaker and has talked aboit it on a number of podcasts, maybe i didnt need more depth than that. But very good.
The gist is:
Games are a form of art whose medium is agency, like poetry's is language, and dance's is movement. Nguyen breaks down different theories of play and bears down on one of his own creation, which identifies a type of play that is common but uncovered by other theories: aesthetic striving play. Devoting oneself to the goal of a game ("winning") purely for the aesthetic appreciation of striving within a particularly structured form of agency. We do not care about winning per se, still less about having more cubes on our side of the table than the opponent, but if we get what we are seeking …
Super interesting book that was maybe a bit too philosophically nirty gritty for me read. The author is a good speaker and has talked aboit it on a number of podcasts, maybe i didnt need more depth than that. But very good.
The gist is:
Games are a form of art whose medium is agency, like poetry's is language, and dance's is movement. Nguyen breaks down different theories of play and bears down on one of his own creation, which identifies a type of play that is common but uncovered by other theories: aesthetic striving play. Devoting oneself to the goal of a game ("winning") purely for the aesthetic appreciation of striving within a particularly structured form of agency. We do not care about winning per se, still less about having more cubes on our side of the table than the opponent, but if we get what we are seeking by temporarily taking that goal on, focussing on it as if we care deeply about it, and then immediately discard it afterwards.
He also talks about the dangers of harms of "gamification" where we use these simplified value structures as shortcuts to our supposed real deep value systems. Fitbit steps for health. GPAs for knowledge. Likes for social engagement. Etc.
Somebody referred to this book on a podcast, saying it shows the emergence of geek/hobby culture from model train clubs at elite schools. Colour me intrigued.
