@TonyGao Brilliant but terribly flawed novel. Obviously all the societal stuff is setting window dressing and doesn't stand any examination. But also the primer itself, the core and key to it all, doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. I get why it's the dream, but it would only work if it contained an ASI agent with a direct brain-computer interface, at which point the medium of a book is just the wrong one to use.

Anyways, there are some really killer scenes in this novel. My initial thought is that Neal should transition to writing short stories, but on second thought he seems to like the process of gradually fleshing out and linking multiple overarching concepts, which can only be done in these huge paperweights.

There should be some sort of categorization system I could use to figure out what types of science fiction I would enjoy. This book is probably concept vs plot focused, uses workman vs lyrical prose, and is idealized vs hard. I wonder if those are the principal components though.

Opened a new market for this since adding an answer costs too much mana. Going to run through this market over the next couple months. Currently reading the Diamond Age.

https://manifold.markets/TonyGao/what-books-will-i-enjoy-reading-32fur059up

@TonyGao

First part is pretty interesting, second part is totally skippable. Useful at least as an overview for what Nick Cammarata keeps going on about.

Probability Estimates:

Jhanas are a type of self hypnosis - 50%

Jhanas are something else but inaccessible to me: 30%

Jhanas are something else I can reach with practice: 20%.

@TonyGao Fairly short, with payoff being some decent insights and pretty prose. Not really life or even behavior changing though.

Adding answers seems too expensive in subsidized markets, I think I'll recreate this as a mini market.

@TonyGao How often do you not complete books?

@Bayesian maybe a third of the time. More often just don't start

Can you give more info on what sorts of books you like and don't like?

@mongo some books i rate highly:

demonology and the tri-phasic model of trauma

unsong

worth the candle

a suitable boy

earthly powers

my brilliant friend

uprooted

the name of the wind

jonathan strange

stories of your life and others

there is no antimemetics division

neurosis and human growth

the social skills guidebook

impro

the pragmatist guide to life

surface detail

master of the senate

concrete

mother of learning

cold iron

dawn

any human heart

the world according to garp

game of thrones

assassins apprentice

the dragons path

the iron dragons daughter

curse of the mistwraith

declare

a death in the family

how asia works

invitation to a banquet

legal systems very differetn from ours

conversationally speaking

the carpet makers