Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

It’s been a while since I’ve read a thesis book. I’ve read fiction and informational nonfiction, but this is a book that puts forth an argument and tries to prove it.

I’ve kind of forgotten how fun it is to read books like that—especially if the writer is a readable writer. They engage your critical mind in a much more obvious way. I’m asked to question and evaluate the author’s points on every page.

Fun!

It has long been accepted (although still argued) that Napoleon’s wars signaled the beginning of modern warfare in a modern society. Modern, in a historical sense, is often used to describe the era of the “nation state,” which is one country made up of one people.

During Napoleon’s France, the French people started to identify as ethnically French. This may feel like a strange thing to us today, but that’s because we are still not out of the Modern Age just quite yet.

David A. Bell argues that the world that allowed for the rise of a Napoleon fundamentally changed the nature of warfare in terms of goals, psychology, and scope. Specifically, “total war” is one that involves the entire society, not just the military and the government.

It is a very interesting idea, but after reading The First Total War: Napoleon’s Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It, I’m not 100% convinced. The book, however, is definitely worth reading because some of his supporting points are just so interesting. I’ll get to some of them next time.

Tags: Books by Ms. SP
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It is virtually impossible to say anything about Inception without including some kind of spoiler so while I will do my best until I explicitly say so below, please keep that in mind.

I don’t enjoy convolution for convolution’s sake. I know that there are those out there who disagree with me, but I don’t think this movie got beyond that in its structure.

Consider Memento, which is an absolutely riveting movie to watch because you will be challenged by the way it plays with movie conventions. That movie was an innovative use of the medium.

Inception, meanwhile, is about dreams. And to liken movies to dreams is not that big of a leap. Yes, amazing things can happen in both arenas. And yes, in both worlds we find ourselves in the middle of scenes where we have no idea of how we got there. Except in movie making, this is called editing. Don’t tell me this is special just for your very precious movie.

Granted, Inception is far from horrible. As everyone has said, the special effects are amazing. Action sequences that we’ve seen hundreds of times in other movies were given a special spin (sometimes literally) here. The brain puzzle that it wants you to take past the end of the movie is also irresistible. I certainly felt very off balance as the credits rolled.

But, I can’t see it as the geek magnum opus that others say it is.

And here come the explicit spoilers.

First, just a quick jaunt around the web will tell you how unclear and unsolvable the mind puzzle is. If Christopher Nolan had a specific path in mind, I feel that the most intelligently thought out “solution” should be noticeable by our combined wiki-powers.

Second, in my opinion, the most intelligently thought out solution out there makes for the most boring interpretation of the movie. The whole thing is a dream? Boooorrrrriiinnng.

Although, this is the only viewpoint that could excuse the one dimensionality of practically all the characters. If they were all projections, then a lot of things would be explained. But again, boooorrrrriiinnng.

Even if parts of the movie were dreams, I, as a lucid dreamer, must disagree with the experience as it is presented. While a “drop” will certainly wake a dreamer up, an intense, never-ending chase will as well. At least that is how it is in my dreamscape.

But he was sedated, you will argue. And that’s where the theories start getting mixed up because if we never see him in his waking state, how do we know this?

*sigh* This discussion has become tiresome because no theory is completely provably right nor completely provably wrong. And that, idea-wise and structure-wise, is convolution without a point.

If I Picked the Oscars 2011 (in order of my vote)

Best Picture:

• True Grit
• Black Swan
• Toy Story 3
• Inception
• Winter’s Bone
• The Social Network
• 127 Hours
• The Fighter
• The King’s Speech
• The Kids Are All Right

Tags: Movies by Ms. SP
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We live in an electrified world that not many of us really understand. I’ve already confessed that I had no idea how a telegraph machine really works and now you want to ask me about cellular telephones?

Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity does help make things clearer though. Unlike E=mc2, this book is more technology heavy because, really, electricity is electricity. It is what we know and understand of it that has changed over the years. I, however, am quite amazed at all the inventions that have come about without the inventor really knowing even the basics of this power.

The thing I like about David Bodanis‘s writing is that he makes effective use of stories. Yes, explain to me how radar works, but if you are able to weave it into the specter of World War II and the battle for the skies of Britain, well that’s going to keep my interest for so much longer. It is these stories about the people, places, and times of each electric advancement that give me reference points for all this information that I still couldn’t say that I understand completely.

But! I can now say that I know that about 750 watts = 1 horsepower because Mr. James Watt needed a way to show mine owners that purchasing one of his steam engines would save money. Because 750 watts is how much work 1 horse is able to generate in 1 day.

Tags: Books by Ms. SP
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