You call it the SBR. The Japanese call it Tsundoku.

[pete...@gmail.com]

https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books

The value of owning more books than you can read.
Kevin Dickinson

"Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
lasting benefits."

Pt

[Dimensional Traveler]

What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
have read but can't remember anything about them?

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

[danny burstein]

And no doubt there's a German word with the same meaning,
except it's got a dozen more syllables and lots and lots
more consonants..

--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[James Nicoll]

In article <tmm8ci$2jpk$1...@dont-email.me>,

Dimensional Traveler <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
>>
>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
>> Kevin Dickinson
>>
>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
>> lasting benefits."
>>
>What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
>have read but can't remember anything about them?

I call that the result of double-digits of concussions. Plus the
apnea damage. I was hoping one would firewall my brain against the
other.

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[Lynn McGuire]

I call it my SBR (strategic book reserve) but some people call it
"unpronounceable*.

Lynn

[Jack Bohn]

Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> > https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
> >
> > The value of owning more books than you can read.
> > Kevin Dickinson
> >
> > "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
> > with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
> > know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
> > lasting benefits."

I thought it was called The "Time Enough at Last" scenario, after the Twilight Zone episode.
Make sure you have a spare pair of glasses!

> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
> have read but can't remember anything about them?

Reference library? It's in the book, so I don't have to remember what it is. It would help if I had an idea where it is...


--
-Jack

[James Nicoll]

In article <32b002c8-3826-40b9...@googlegroups.com>,

Another term English should appropriate: the Icelandic Jolabokaflod,
the custom of gifting books on Christmas Eve.

[Dimensional Traveler]

On 12/6/2022 6:15 AM, Jack Bohn wrote:
> Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
>>>
>>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
>>> Kevin Dickinson
>>>
>>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
>>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
>>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
>>> lasting benefits."
>
> I thought it was called The "Time Enough at Last" scenario, after the Twilight Zone episode.
> Make sure you have a spare pair of glasses!
>
>> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
>> have read but can't remember anything about them?
>
> Reference library?

Of all fiction books?

> It's in the book, so I don't have to remember what it is. It would help if I had an idea where it is...
>

There is that too.

[Jack Bohn]

Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 12/6/2022 6:15 AM, Jack Bohn wrote:
> > Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> >> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> >>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
> >>>
> >>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
> >>> Kevin Dickinson
> >>>
> >>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
> >>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
> >>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
> >>> lasting benefits."
> >

> >> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
> >> have read but can't remember anything about them?
> >
> > Reference library?
> Of all fiction books?

"Literature," if I can say the word with a straight face.
Which authors had the earliest access to a world wide data library? Which had it on the smallest carriable device? Who mentioned the fact that it would be used to view a lot of cat memes?

Or I could just compare the speed of the Rise And Fall across various Future Histories.

--
-Jack

[Paul S Person]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2022 07:49:41 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 12/6/2022 6:15 AM, Jack Bohn wrote:
>> Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
>>>>
>>>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
>>>> Kevin Dickinson
>>>>
>>>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
>>>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
>>>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
>>>> lasting benefits."
>>
>> I thought it was called The "Time Enough at Last" scenario, after the Twilight Zone episode.
>> Make sure you have a spare pair of glasses!
>>
>>> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
>>> have read but can't remember anything about them?
>>
>> Reference library?
>
>Of all fiction books?

A Scholar of, say, Science Fiction might well have as complete a
collection as possible.

Research material, you know. For the Scholarly Papers that must be
Published to avoid Perishing.

>> It's in the book, so I don't have to remember what it is. It would help if I had an idea where it is...
>>
>There is that too.
--

"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

[Ahasuerus]

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 11:59:18 AM UTC-5, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Tue, 6 Dec 2022 07:49:41 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >On 12/6/2022 6:15 AM, Jack Bohn wrote:
> >> Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> >>> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> >>>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
> >>>>
> >>>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
> >>>> Kevin Dickinson
> >>>>
> >>>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
> >>>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
> >>>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
> >>>> lasting benefits."
> >>
> >> I thought it was called The "Time Enough at Last" scenario, after the Twilight Zone episode.
> >> Make sure you have a spare pair of glasses!
> >>
> >>> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
> >>> have read but can't remember anything about them?
> >>
> >> Reference library?
> >
> >Of all fiction books?
> A Scholar of, say, Science Fiction might well have as complete a

> collection as possible. [snip]

Also, there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be derived out of the
fact that you own every book written by Author N even if it's unlikely
that you will ever read some of them.

Exhibit A: post-stroke Laumer.

[Default User]

It's never really been a situation for me. Usually the most I'd get
ahead would be 5-10. In the old days, I'd more often encounter the
opposite situation, being out and having to reread something.

These days, most of my reading comes in the form of e-books from the
library. Or I should say libraries, as my county has linked up their
Overdrive with two other systems. I also have access to Hoopla,
although there's a limit to how many you can get from that each month.


Brian

[Robert Carnegie]

"A Logic Named Joe" (1946) is considered an
early instance of a lot of things, but only one
city was networked. Isaac Asimov's robot brains
ended up knowing everything. "The Machine Stops"
(1909!) has social media, and conceivably
_Ralph 124C 41+_ has electric housepets.

[Jack Bohn]

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 12:47:45 PM UTC-5, Ahasuerus wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 11:59:18 AM UTC-5, Paul S Person wrote:
> > On Tue, 6 Dec 2022 07:49:41 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
> > <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >
> > >On 12/6/2022 6:15 AM, Jack Bohn wrote:
> > >> Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> > >>> On 12/5/2022 4:08 PM, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> > >>>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
> > >>>>
> > >>>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
> > >>>> Kevin Dickinson
> > >>>>
> > >>>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
> > >>>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
> > >>>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
> > >>>> lasting benefits."
> > >>

> > >>> What about surrounding yourself with thousands of books you know you
> > >>> have read but can't remember anything about them?
> > >>
> > >> Reference library?
> > >
> > >Of all fiction books?

> > A Scholar of, say, Science Fiction might well have as complete a
> > collection as possible. [snip]
>
> Also, there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be derived out of the
> fact that you own every book written by Author N even if it's unlikely
> that you will ever read some of them.
>
> Exhibit A: post-stroke Laumer.

That's one bump on my phrenology that never developed. I'll have a lot of this, that, or the other, but there will come along something that I didn't feel was worth getting, or having. I'm not sure I have "every" of any category.

--
-Jack

[Ahasuerus]

It's never too late to awaken your latent OCD!

[Titus G]

On 8/12/22 15:56, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Tuesday, 6 December 2022 at 16:18:23 UTC, jack....@gmail.com wrote:

snip

>> Which authors had the earliest access to a world wide data library? Which had it on the smallest carriable device? Who mentioned the fact that it would be used to view a lot of cat memes?
>>
>> Or I could just compare the speed of the Rise And Fall across various Future Histories.
>
> "A Logic Named Joe" (1946) is considered an
> early instance of a lot of things, but only one
> city was networked.

I reread that this year and recommend it as a short but enjoyable read.
The "Logic" itself was all knowing so contained even more than the world
wide data library. I don't remember its physicality. Its discoverer was
more interested in the intentions of a member of the opposite sex than
solving the world's problems.

Here are some interesting Murray Leinster side quotes.

"... there are other worlds. They are not quite real to us, because we
cannot reach them at will. But according to legend they touch each other
at many places, and it is possible to travel from one to another, and in
fact we constantly visit the frontier cities of other worlds without
ever knowing it. We do not know it, because we are a part of our own
world, and there is an attraction; a magnetism; a gravitation, perhaps;
which draws us back before we stray far through the gateway of a world
which is not our own."
==========
But the riches of the djinn were unstable, their lavishness had no
meaning, and they had no originality at all. In his home world, Tony
reflected, djinns would only really fit in Hollywood.
==========
The innocent common citizen who believes in hair tonics and television
commercials and the capitalist system, believes most firmly of all that
justice and decency are going to triumph.
==========

[Michael F. Stemper]

Didn't that society also have tele-conferencing? If I recall
correctly, meeting in-person was at least as taboo as it was
on Asimov's Solaria.

--
Michael F. Stemper
Psalm 94:3-6

[Titus G]

On 9/12/22 09:28, Titus G wrote:
> On 8/12/22 15:56, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>> On Tuesday, 6 December 2022 at 16:18:23 UTC, jack....@gmail.com wrote:
> snip
>>> Which authors had the earliest access to a world wide data library? Which had it on the smallest carriable device? Who mentioned the fact that it would be used to view a lot of cat memes?
>>>
>>> Or I could just compare the speed of the Rise And Fall across various Future Histories.
>>
>> "A Logic Named Joe" (1946) is considered an
>> early instance of a lot of things, but only one
>> city was networked.
>
> I reread that this year and recommend it as a short but enjoyable read.
> The "Logic" itself was all knowing

but with at least one limitation from sexist 1946.

"The only thing it won't do is tell you exactly what your wife meant
when she said, "Oh, you think so, do you?" in that peculiar kinda voice.
Logics don't work good on women. Only on things that make sense."

[Quadibloc]

Since in general space is at a premium in Japanese households -
and, in addition, Japan doesn't have many used book stores, as
purchasing used books is generally considered unsanitary in Japan -
I'm very surprised to hear of this.

John Savard

[Quadibloc]

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 7:54:32 AM UTC-7, James Nicoll wrote:

> Another term English should appropriate: the Icelandic Jolabokaflod,
> the custom of gifting books on Christmas Eve.

Hmm. The "Yule book flood", to precede Christmas, which in turn
precedes Boxing Day.

John Savard

[Robert Carnegie]

Hmm... see _The Cat Who Saved Books_
reviewed by James.
<https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/13139026.html>

The post title on Dreamwidth evidently by accident
contains the start of the text of the post as well.

A difference is that this novel describes a scholar
who owns a mass of books that he /has/ read,
once each. But regardless, the novel's author -
or the author's cat - is offended by the view that
"books insulate a room".

[James Nicoll]

In article <288f7017-49a5-4b0d...@googlegroups.com>,

Robert Carnegie <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>On Saturday, 10 December 2022 at 19:48:51 UTC, Quadibloc wrote:
>> On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 5:08:45 PM UTC-7,
>pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> > https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
>> >
>> > The value of owning more books than you can read.
>> > Kevin Dickinson
>> >
>> > "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
>> > with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all
>we don't
>> > know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
>> > lasting benefits."
>> Since in general space is at a premium in Japanese households -
>> and, in addition, Japan doesn't have many used book stores, as
>> purchasing used books is generally considered unsanitary in Japan -
>> I'm very surprised to hear of this.
>
>Hmm... see _The Cat Who Saved Books_
>reviewed by James.
><https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/13139026.html>
>
>The post title on Dreamwidth evidently by accident
>contains the start of the text of the post as well.
>

Not anymore.

[Titus G]

> On Saturday, 10 December 2022 at 19:48:51 UTC, Quadibloc wrote:
>> On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 5:08:45 PM UTC-7, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books
>>>
>>> The value of owning more books than you can read.
>>> Kevin Dickinson
>>>
>>> "Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves
>>> with unread books enriches our lives as they remind us of all we don't
>>> know. The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide
>>> lasting benefits."

>> Since in general space is at a premium in Japanese households -
>> and, in addition, Japan doesn't have many used book stores, as
>> purchasing used books is generally considered unsanitary in Japan -
>> I'm very surprised to hear of this.

"Statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes surrounding ourselves with

unread books...............

Did Taleb say unsanitary USED books or did he say unread books?
If a book has not been read, is it a used book?
Is space in Japanese households really different from any other country?
Why am I still being surprised by posts from Fourbricks?

Back to the Subject: I read mainly for escapist entertainment so the
unread books on Kindle and Computer remind me of pleasures to come
rather than humbling me with my own ignorance.