I love this phrase, "frozen witticisms of the past"
User Profile
I write code and have a complicated relationship with simplicity. When not writing code, I enjoy collecting hobbies. I say "collection" but it's more of a crudely curated "hodgepodge of curiosities".
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Ryan's books
2025 Reading Goal
75% complete! Ryan has read 9 of 12 books.
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Ryan finished reading Slaughter-house five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughter-house five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through …
Ryan quoted The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel …
...while the frozen witticisms of past generations were thawed out, and came bubbling with laughter from their lips.
— The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Page 15 - 16)
I love this phrase, "frozen witticisms of the past"
Ryan started reading Slaughter-house five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughter-house five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through …
Ryan started reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set …
Ryan finished reading Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
The time is 1947. Sophie, a Polish Catholic beauty who survived Auschwitz, has settled in America. Stingo, a 22 year-old …
Ryan started reading Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
The time is 1947. Sophie, a Polish Catholic beauty who survived Auschwitz, has settled in America. Stingo, a 22 year-old …
Ryan finished reading God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
Second only to Slaughterhouse-Five of Vonnegut's canon in its prominence and influence, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) presents Eliot …
Ryan finished reading AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan
AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan, Sayash Kapoor
From two of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know about AI--and how to defend …
Ryan finished reading The Good Book by A. C. Grayling
The Good Book by A. C. Grayling
From the publisher's website: [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-good-book-9780802778383/][1]
Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of …
Ryan commented on AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan
From two of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know …
I just wrapped up chapter 7. It was about AI Mythology and is maybe the most practical chapter to ponder.
The intersection of perverse incentives and cognitive bias seems like a place more people should give more attention to.
Ryan started reading AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan
AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan, Sayash Kapoor
From two of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know about AI--and how to defend …
Ryan started reading The Good Book by A. C. Grayling
The Good Book by A. C. Grayling
From the publisher's website: [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-good-book-9780802778383/][1]
Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of …
Ryan finished reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision …
This book was better than I expected and I had heard a lot of positive hype. Huxley packs in lots of human condition ideas without much value judgment in a way that respects the reader.
Ryan finished reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
There's a lot to take in here but a key take away that makes it feel manageable is:
The main harm of screentime is opportunity cost. Focus on hitting healthy goals (sleep, exercise, in person play) and screen concerns will largely work themselves out.
There's a lot to take in here but a key take away that makes it feel manageable is:
The main harm of screentime is opportunity cost. Focus on hitting healthy goals (sleep, exercise, in person play) and screen concerns will largely work themselves out.