quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: I want to see one of those graphics for the Wheel of Time series....
--Mel
What do I get if I re-read the whole thing (up to present, which I actually need to go buy...) and do it?
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Blayne Bradley
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You would win a whole internet. With a side order of Al Gore.
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How long would WoT take to read through? A year? I've never read it, and I've never met anyone who's bothered to actually read the entire thing, but I can't imagine it'd be very easy to keep everything together in your head during 14,000+ pages... you'd have to do some SERIOUS note-taking to even attempt a graph of it.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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I just read the last book, the new one, and it's the best one in at least a decade.
I have read all of them, and will reread the series probably in 5 weeks, after I graduate. It will probably take me 2-3 weeks, but AI read really fast.
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quote:Originally posted by Dogbreath: How long would WoT take to read through? A year? I've never read it, and I've never met anyone who's bothered to actually read the entire thing, but I can't imagine it'd be very easy to keep everything together in your head during 14,000+ pages... you'd have to do some SERIOUS note-taking to even attempt a graph of it.
I could probably read through it in a few weeks if I forgo my other forms of entertainment. I wouldn't have to keep it in my head if I just make the graph as I go along. I think Jordan's time flow in the series is fairly consistent, so I don't think it would take much backtracking. Also, if memory servers, he doesn't have a lot of "Off-screen" developments or travel, so if you just update it every time the setting changes, it should be pretty straight-forward.
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The problem would not be the time axis, but the character axis. It would be about 2.57 kilometers long every time you added a character that is important enough to have at least one chapter dedicated to them.
Posts: 1941 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Kwea: I just read the last book, the new one, and it's the best one in at least a decade.
I have read all of them, and will reread the series probably in 5 weeks, after I graduate. It will probably take me 2-3 weeks, but AI read really fast.
You must be insanely fast. I consider myself a very fast reader, I can read 100 pages an hour if it's light reading, but it'd still take me 21 weeks to read WoT at that rate. (assuming I have 5 hours a week to dedicate to reading it)
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Legos are to the house as organs are to a human.
When the legos 'go into the bin', the house is no longer a house, and the pieces are no longer a part of the concept of 'the house.'
When a human ceases to exist, his organs are no longer a part of what made the human a human.
So I see it as the girl recognizing that when she dies, he organs really have no purpose for her anymore, and can only be given a purpose if they're 'taken back out of the bin' and used in someone else.
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Blayne, when you die, your parts also go back into the bucket. While in an technical sense, your mass/energy will be conserved and live on in other forms... it is also quite easy for the organs of the lego house you call your body to be used in the lego trains/planes of other people's bodies.
Or, if you're Dr. Frankenstein, you could pull pieces out of the bucket in an attempt to rebuild the house from scratch. Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Some people who are opposed to organ donation, or reluctant to donate their own organs, feel that it violates the donor's identity in some way: take away pieces, and it won't really be them any more. Or, perhaps, that person will be fragmented and held in other people's bodies, which is thought to be wrong or creepy or whatever. I've even heard that people worry that they'll need to keep their remains in one place for later use in their resurrection.
The point of the cartoon is that a person is a living arrangement of pieces, but once that arrangement is disrupted - as it is by death - the person is gone, and all you are left with is pieces, with no more personhood. The girl in the cartoon then decides there is no good reason not to put those pieces to some other use once she is gone.
I don't think it targets every fear or argument against organ donation - particularly religious objections, or specific superstitions about post mortem experience - it's aimed at people who are more vaguely concerned about their bodily integrity after death due to a feeling that they will be violated; it's pointing out that "they" won't be affected since they will be gone.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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which is a possibility I hadn't considered, but I admit it seems to fit with xkcd's general tone.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I like dkw's take. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Blayne Bradley
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I heard the alternate interpretation that the girl got annoyed with her brother contradicting her and signed him up as an organ donar out of revenge. I love ACI (Alternate Character Interpretation)
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yeah, there's a bunch of similar clips, but I thought the one I linked to was the most dorky, and thus most worthy of going here. Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I read all the credits twice because I was positive I knew some of those people. Great find, Telcontar!
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Yeah, I relayed it verbally at the Shabbos night table last week (I was visiting my parents) and made pretty much every adult at the table laugh and/or groan.
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One of the best reasons to love the Scouring of the Shire is that it shows how damaged Frodo was compared to the other Hobbits after carrying the Ring for so long. He was the hero of the story, and did great things. It was his compassion for Gollum, not his strength, that saved the world, and he paid a heavy price for it.
I remember as a young guy being VERY disappointed that Frodo had no real action during the Scouring, and that the other Hobbits seemed much more alive than he did, and did far more in the Shire. It wasn't until I thought about it for a while that I began to understand why, and the actual emotional impact of that sunk in.
Without the Scouring, Frodo's decision to leave Middle Earth would not have made any sense. It whowed how he would still pay, how hurt he was, and what a toll the ring had taken. It showed why he would need to leave, and where the only place he MIGHT heal from his burdens.
Also, as far as Gollum.....keep in mind that Sauron had to regain his strength after being defeated. As Sauron gained strength, the Ring began to flex its influence more and more. For most of the time Gollum had it, it was half asleep, working slowly to keep itself hidden, and Gollum was perfect for that.
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A more curious question is, in the case that you have to see a world leader strip, who would you pick to see?
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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I think ceremonial figureheads are ok, but wives make the whole thing too easy. Especially with the likes of Carla Bruni and yes, Queen Raina around. This is supposed to be a challenge! Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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which is a possibility I hadn't considered, but I admit it seems to fit with xkcd's general tone.
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