(Part 3) Top products from r/casualiama

On behalf of Chuck Klosterman...

1. Let us assume you met a rudimentary magician. Let us assume he can do five simple tricks--he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, he can make a coin disappear, he can turn the ace of spades into the Joker card, and two others in a similar vein. These are his only tricks and he can't learn anymore; he can only do these five. HOWEVER, it turns out he's doing these five tricks with real magic. It's not an illusion; he can actually conjure the bunny out of the ether and he can move the coin through space. He's legitimately magical, but extremely limited in scope and influence. Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?
   
   
2. Let us assume a fully grown, completely healthy Clydesdale horse has his hooves shackled to the ground while his head is held in place with thick rope. He is conscious and standing upright, but completely immobile. And let us assume that--for some reason--every political prisoner on earth (as cited by Amnesty International) will be released from captivity if you can kick this horse to death in less than twenty minutes. You are allowed to wear steel-toed boots. Would you attempt to do this?
   
   
3. Let us assume there are two boxes on a table. In one box, there is a relatively normal turtle; in the other, Adolf Hitler's skull. You have to select one of these items for your home. If you select the turtle, you can't give it away and you have to keep it alive for two years; if either of these parameters are not met, you will be fined $999 by the state. If you select Hitler's skull, you are required to display it in a semi-prominent location in your living room for the same amount of time, although you will be paid a stipend of $120 per month for doing so. Display of the skull must be apolitical. Which option do you select?
   
   
4. You meet your soul mate. However, there is a catch: Every three years, someone will break both of your soul mate's collarbones with a Crescent wrench, and there is only one way you can stop this from happening: You must swallow a pill that will make every song you hear--for the rest of your life--sound as if it's being performed by the band Alice in Chains. When you hear Credence Clearwater Revival on the radio, it will sound (to your ears) like it’s being played by Alice in Chains. If you see Radiohead live, every one of their tunes will sound like it’s being covered by Alice in Chains. When you hear a commercial jingle on TV, it will sound like Alice in Chains; if you sing to yourself in the shower, your voice will sound like deceased Alice vocalist Layne Staley performing a Capella (but it will only sound this way to you). Would you swallow the pill?
   
   
5. At long last, someone invents "the dream VCR." This machine allows you to tape an entire evening's worth of your own dreams, which you can then watch at your leisure. However, the inventor of the dream VCR will only allow you to use this device of you agree to a strange caveat: When you watch your dreams, you must do so with your family and your closest friends in the same room. They get to watch your dreams along with you. And if you don't agree to this, you can't use the dream VCR. Would you still do this?
   
   
6. Defying all expectation, a group of Scottish marine biologists capture a live Loch Ness Monster. In an almost unbelievable coincidence, a bear hunter in the Pacific Northwest shoots a Sasquatch in the thigh, thereby allowing zoologists to take the furry monster into captivity. These events happen on the same afternoon. That evening, the president announces he may have thyroid cancer and will undergo a biopsy later that week. You are the front page editor of The New York Times: What do you play as the biggest story?
   
   
7. You meet the perfect person. Romantically, this person is ideal: You find them physically attractive, intellectually stimulating, consistently funny, and deeply compassionate. However, they have one quirk: This individual is obsessed with Jim Henson's gothic puppet fantasy The Dark Crystal. Beyond watching it on DVD at least once a month, he/she peppers casual conversation with Dark Crystal references, uses Dark Crystal analogies to explain everyday events, and occasionally likes to talk intensely about the film's "deeper philosophy." Would this be enough to stop you from marrying this individual?
   
   
8. A novel titled Interior Mirror is released to mammoth commercial success (despite middling reviews). However, a curious social trend emerges: Though no one can prove a direct scientific link, it appears that almost 30 percent of the people who read this book immediately become homosexual. Many of these newfound homosexuals credit the book for helping them reach this conclusion about their orientation, despite the fact that Interior Mirror is ostensibly a crime novel with no homoerotic content (and was written by a straight man). Would this phenomenon increase (or decrease) the likelihood of you reading this book?
   
   
9. You are watching a movie in a crowded theater. Though the plot is mediocre, you find yourself dazzled by the special effects. But with twenty minutes left in the film, you are struck with an undeniable feeling of doom: You are suddenly certain your mother has just died. There is no logical reason for this to be true, but you are certain of it. You are overtaken with the irrational metaphysical sense that--somewhere--your mom has just perished. But this is only an intuitive, amorphous feeling; there is no evidence for this, and your mother has not been ill. Would you immediately exit the theater, or would you finish watching the movie?
   
   
10. You meet a wizard. The wizard tells you he can make you more attractive if you pay him money. When you ask how this process works, the wizard points to a random person on the street. You look at this random stranger. The wizard says, "I will now make them a dollar more attractive." He waves his magic wand. Ostensibly, this person does not change at all; as far as you can tell, nothing is different. But--somehow--this person is suddenly a little more appealing. The tangible difference is invisible to the naked eye, but you can't deny that this person is vaguely sexier. This wizard has a weird rule, though--you can only pay him once. You can't keep giving him money until you're satisfied. You can only pay him one lump sum up front. How much cash do you give the wizard?
    
    
11. For reasons that cannot be explained, cats can suddenly read at a twelfth-grade level. They can't talk and they can't write, but they can read silently and understand the text. Many cats love this new skill, because they now have something to do all day while they lay around the house; however, a few cats become depressed, because reading forces them to realize the limitations of their existence (not to mention the utter frustration of being unable to express themselves). This being the case, do you think the average cat would enjoy Garfield, or would cats find this cartoon to be an insulting caricature?
    
    
12. You have a brain tumor. Though there is no discomfort at the moment, this tumor would unquestionably kill you in six months. However, your life can (and will) be saved by an operation; the only downside is that there will be a brutal incision to your frontal lobe. After the surgery, you will be significantly less intelligent. You will still be a fully functioning adult, but you will be less logical, you will have a terrible memory, and you will have little ability to understand complex concepts or difficult ideas. The surgery is in two weeks. How do you spend the next fourteen days?
    
    
13. You have won a prize. The prize has two options, and you can choose either (but not both). The first option is a year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2,000. The second option is ten minutes on the moon. Which option do you select?
    
    
14. Your best friend is taking a nap on the floor of your living room. Suddenly, you are faced with a bizarre existential problem: This friend is going to die unless you kick them (as hard as you can) in the rib cage. If you don’t kick them while they slumber, they will never wake up. However, you can never explain this to your friend; if you later inform them that you did this to save their life, they will also die from that. So you have to kick a sleeping friend in the ribs, and you can’t tell them why. Since you cannot tell your friend the truth, what excuse will you fabricate to explain this (seemingly inexplicable) attack?
    
    
15. For whatever the reason, two unauthorized movies are made about your life. The first is an independently released documentary, primarily comprised of interviews with people who know you and bootleg footage from your actual life. Critics are describing the documentary as “brutally honest and relentlessly fair.” Meanwhile, Columbia Tri-Star has produced a big-budget biopic of your life, casting major Hollywood stars as you and all your acquaintances; though the movie is based on actual events, screenwriters have taken some liberties with the facts. Critics are split on the artistic merits of this fictionalized account, but audiences love it. Which film would you be most interested in seeing?
    
    Edit: For those wondering, these questions are a subset of Chuck Klosterman's Hypertheticals. I'd have included more but Reddit only allows 10,000 characters per reply.

• I play to relax pretty often. WoW doesn't have much to do with my personal research. It has so much to do with so many other people's projects though that it's helpful to play in order to understand what they are writing about.
  
• The guild raided a lot when Cata first came out, but then I was a lowly little level 80 or so and I didn't get to go much. Sucked. We'll be back to it with Pandaria.
  
• Everyone studies different stuff. I like taking the stuff we learn from studying games and applying it to other online communication. Two of my friends are doing a study of trade chat on Moonguard. There's actually a WoW theory reader out (available on Amazon) http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Culture-Play-Identity-Warcraft%C2%AE/dp/0262516691/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1343344356&sr=8-3&keywords=World+of+warcraft+reader that would give you a pretty decent idea of what sort of work is being done. People are pretty interested in studying the way groups are formed, how communication works, how people treat each other--MMORPGs provide a microcosm through which to study larger society. Other folks study gender and race representations in games (Samantha Blackmon does GREAT work there) and yet other people research avatars and the connection people feel (or don't) with the image on the screen.
  
• I got hooked on Skylanders, I'm following the development of indie Brony games closely, and I just got done with Lollipop Chainsaw. I <3 Katamari, Locoroco, LittleBigPlanet, and Patapon. I also still have an Atari 2600, 7200, original Nintendo, SNES, N64, GameGear, every Gameboy made in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s, and hundreds of games for them.
  *Gaming has always been a part of my life but I didn't realize it could be more than fun until I started reading some of these other folks' work and thinking about how to bring it into writing classrooms (early work on games and learning connected them to science and math more than writing). My parents sat me in front of the Atari when I was about 1.5, maybe 2, and had me beat their drunk friends at Centipede. :)
  
• I can always play something for fun, or for study, or for both. If I'm going to write something for publication I have to keep notes while I play, but if I'm going to make a presentation or use it in class (yay Portal Puzzle Creator!) I won't do anything so formal. Because popular culture (including gaming) is a big part of the way I teach and research, I'm always looking for connections I might make and keep a Word file full of ideas. They come from the strangest places.
  
  As for a major--try astrophysics! Try what interests you! You can change majors (I did), just don't do it so often that you hurt your federal financial aid eligibility.

I'm by no means a neuroplastician, I'm a marketer! I'm just very interested in the subject and passionate about learning more.

It started from a debate my boss and I had been having for a couple of years about whether technology changes behaviours or whether behaviours change technology, and what the relationship between the two was.

I had a really interesting discussion on reddit a while back that you might be interested in, when I was a little less read on the subject. There's some great authors that are doing some really interesting research on the dynamic between technology and people - http://www.reddit.com/r/AskSocialScience/comments/289y5f/is_technology_helping_us_to_do_things_we_already/

For neuroplasticity generally my recommended starting point would probably be 'The Brain That Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge. It goes through a lot of the basics and covers a lot of the main thinkers behind it, and their progress researching the subject. It's a fascinating read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/014103887X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

"Girl" and "woman" aren't exclusive terms. You can be both. There was actually something about this in a book we read in a sociolinguistics class I took. I don't remember it exactly, but basically it's really common in many languages that "girl" (or its equivalent in a language) is used much longer than "boy" would be. And using it for someone my age isn't uncommon in a lot of languages (and is pretty normal in my experience). So sometimes I refer to myself as a girl, and sometimes I refer to myself as a woman.

I think this is the book it was in if you're interested, but I'm sure you could find more information somewhere else.

It about a schizophrenic, its written by her therapist, and she has 17 personallities, and its just really interesting. It was interesting for me at least, might be for you too...not sure...check it out on amazon, maybe you can sneak a peak and read a few pages if you like to read...hold on...Ill post a link.

http://www.amazon.com/Switching-Time-Harrowing-Treating-Personalities/dp/0307382672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382715395&sr=8-1&keywords=switching+time

You're welcome. I am an introvert and I see that even other introverts misunderstand what it means to be an introvert.

If you liked that link you're going to love this book https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153 .

If Muhammad was the recipient of the perfect moral code (the Qur'an) then he should have known sex with children was wrong.

If not then either the Qur'an is incomplete or Allah thinks it is OK for middle-aged men to have sex with children.

Child marriages still occur in the Arabian peninsula because men there are unwilling to accept that the Qur'an is incomplete and therefore resort to the conclusion that Allah sanctions marriage and sex with children.

I guess Albanians do have a hard time, though to be fair, one tried to hire a hitman to kill my father (former elected official). The superintendent of my apartment building is from Kosovo, it seems like he tries to distance himself from the term "Albanian." He is a nice guy, I like him a lot.

>The one girl that went to high school with me was considered cool because she was Jewish and that seemed so hollywood

ha!! I don't even know what to say about that, funny. I was one of the only Jewish kids in my school, but I wasn't Hollywood cool!

My Bosnian friend is always so proud (rightfully so) that the Turks took in the expelled Jews from Spain, and let them settle in Bosnia, where apparently they were treated well for hundreds of years. You might be interested in this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bosnia-List-Memoir-Return/dp/0143124579

Have you ever seen the BBC documentary "Death of Yugoslavia?" I honestly don't know how these "civilized" Western European countries sat by and watched a genocide happen 50 years after the Holocaust. "Never Again" my ass. It really sickens me. There is a scene where Eli Weisel demands that President Clinton do something about it at the opening of the US Holocaust Museum. But what do I know, I'm just an ignorant American.

I thought I was following you on Goodreads until I saw your blog! Any other reviewers you follow?

Have you read this book? I think you would find it interesting!

Yeah, I am trying to just roll with the punches with it. My mom asked me to shave before I come home for Christmas, but I don't think I am going to.

Hahah! I named myself after a character in a book; Dane, obviously, from Han Nolan's Dancing on the Edge.

Concerning prison camps, I might suggest Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey by Blaine Harden.

Have you read "Command and Control" by Eric Schlosser?
https://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-Accident-Illusion/dp/0143125788

Have you read this book?

Should read Susan Sontog's "On Photography"

Amazon!

Not sure I have any.


https://www.amazon.com/Where-Sidewalk-Ends-Poems-Drawings/dp/0060256672


This maybe

Did you know that the first American troops to capture German trenches in WWI was a national guard unit from NYC called the Harlem Hellfighters and that there is a graphic novel about them?

Did you know that Harriet Tubman served as a military commander during the civil war and led troops in South Carolina?

What are your favorite black military history facts?

Okay this is something I wrote that explains some of the origins of Wicca and British paganism in general that you might find interesting.

The only 'beginners' book that I would recommend is Where to Park your Broomstick by Lauren Mannoy. This is actually an excellent book written in a very accessible style.

After that, then you should try Doreen Valiente's stuff. She's the most important figure in Wicca and modern witchcraft, as she wrote much of its material and despite wanting to find ancient sources, was completely honest about what she did and didn't find. I'd start with Witchcraft for Tomorrow which is a massively interesting book even if you're not Wiccan.

If you want something that's really in depth about Wicca and what it is and where it came from, the only thing worth looking at - and something that's utterly essential is Professor Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon. This is a very academic book, however, so maybe you can leave it for a while. If you want to take Wicca seriously though, it's absolutely essential. There are some people who claim to be Wiccans who don't like it and can't accept what it says, but I'd stay away from them, as they tend to prefer the fantasy of it being an ancient religion rather than being willing to be open minded about where it really came from and what it is.

Avoid Silver Ravenwolf's books completely. They're rubbish and contain some very bad advice, especially for young people. Despite what she might claim, she's not highly regarded by actual Wiccans at all.

Other advice - well... don't believe anyone who promises you anything or says they can sort out problems for you using Wicca or Witchcraft. If they claim to be part of a group of a High Priest or Priestess or anything like that, then ask what their lineage is or for proof of this and to talk to other people who can back it up. If they're genuine, they won't mind in the slightest. If they're a bullshitter, they'll take offence, but that's when you walk away. If they know who Doreen Valiente and Ron Hutton are and can get into a conversation with you about their books, they've probably got a clue. If they dismiss them or don't know who they are, then they probably don't.

The other thing to say is that even though it's secretive and private, there's a massive difference between privacy and secrecy. You can and should tell someone else whereabouts roughly you're going, if you're going to meet up with groups, or people.

In the main, Wiccans and pagans are pretty nerdy, pretty friendly, but occasionally somewhat damaged, which can lead to interpersonal issues within groups that aren't much fun to deal with. The Wiccan and pagan scene can be a playground for attention seeking folk with ego issues and the problems relating to that are far more likely to cause difficulties than the chances of running into any dangerous animal-sacrificing sex-cult that'll put your soul and life in danger.

So - do a lot of reading, and make sure you establish some boundaries of your own before getting involved with anything or anyone else.

Random Question - You said you loved the cold war, right? I just finished "Uranium the rock that shaped the world". Very very interesting in depth history presented in a good journalist first person mixed 3rd person format, about the history of Uranium, from it's early reaches all the way through WW2, Cold War and into the current middle east crisis, check it out

http://www.amazon.com/Uranium-Energy-Rock-Shaped-World/dp/014311672X

Here's another batch! Last ones, I promise.

Do you consider it more of a challenge to deal with another sociopath? Compared to 'regular' people and assuming you know they are a sociopath.

Whom in your life knows this? How has it changed your relationship? (this was answered)

The following are purely hypothetical, I have no intention of being a dick and advocating something to you.

If there was a "cure" for sociopathy, would you take it/consider it?

What if it was daily/weekly/monthly pills(or something) that you could stop and go back to how you were if you so chose?

What if it was a one time procedure (no/minimal risk) and was permanent?

Ninja edit: your username has seemed familiar to me, did you pick it because of the book?

Also, when it comes to humor, do you see the humor and just not give a damn? or does it simply not "click"?