books....

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pilvikki
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books....

Post by pilvikki »

i started reading this book called 'the bone people'. it started off very intriguing about NZ and bits of the maori culture. i was a bit baffled by how fast a seemingly logical conclusion seemed to be coming along and was curious as to where she was taking me.

hell.

about ½ way into the book everything just blew up in what could be referred to as an "orgy of violence". are you kidding me? seriously?! from there on it got blended into dreams, shamanism, loose ends, lots of maori phrases without translations, yadda yadda.

no, i just could not be bothered...

bugger.
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

Don't know what you were reading, but presumably the author knew what audience s/he was targeting. Apparently you weren't the primary target.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

well, in her preface she mentioned not having had much luck in publishing it - for a couple of decades. because... they thought the book too obscure, too abstract, unfinished etc.

i do wonder who'd be interested in that, perhaps a sociologist?

i did learn a couple of phrases and it's a shame i cannot use e hoe, ka pai. on bill... (good friend)
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

One of the classics I was forced to read in school was Margaret Mead's "Coming of Age In Samoa." I don't know why it was popular outside of the ten or twelve anthropologists in this world, but it was required reading. It had to do with how young girls of some obscure Samoan tribe went through a ritual of coming of age. Aside from the book name and author I recall nothing about it.

Bill (Van) did have a few Maori words he tossed around: Kia ora, Arohanui, Aio
As noted in this post: http://neo.brainformation.com/viewtopic ... 03#p319803
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

i read the thread, bill sure was an interesting character...

squeaki is reading some dusty, old story originally from the 1200's. the plot sounds ridiculous and she says the writing is tedious reading. why would they do that to 12 yr old? you'd think they'd find something to inspire reading?
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

It's all part of a well rounded education, I suppose. It's not intended to be practical as much as it is practice in learning how to understand different writings.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

i don't quite agree, for ALL their book selections have been written by people dead for hundreds of years. i can see a mix of styles, cultures, whatever, but all french writers from ancient history is tough on the kids who're not interested in the first place...

squeaki is diligently chewing her way through though, "just to get the agony over with".

:lol:
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

That's my point. She is learning how to do things that must be done even if she is not interested. Along the way she may learn something about history, culture, and literature, but education is not only about learning the details. It teaches you how to think and inspires a larger curiosity for learning, if done right. There are teachers, and there are TEACHERS.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

but i wasn't talking about squeaki, both she and saxon are very serious students and dig right in. i was referring to the possibly 3/4 of the class who'd rather have their ears cut off, rather than read anything heavier than text messages.

come to think of it, both have that quality stressed over and over in their reports, it's a highly valued trait, buy the looks of it.

another thing, they prefer to do their work without any help. not much i can help with, except math and latin, but usually it's "no thanks, i'm fine." bugs me a bit for i could use a refresher myself...
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

I recall trying to 'help' my girls with their homework. There was no way I could comprehend the teaching methods used by their teachers. It wasn't a matter of learning math, for example, as much as it was a lesson in how to solve problems. Apparently the way I learned how to do it is now obsolete.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

there's that... i tried to upgrade my math several years ago and spent 2 weeks ! on RATIOS and could not get it right. wtf?
meandered into library - and looky here, an old math book. and that mystery instantly solved...
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

I distinctly recall the concept of multiplication having changed into an unrecognizable form. My girls never had to memorize multiplication tables as I did. I'd tell you how they did learn if I could understand and repeat it, but I cant.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

funny enough, here they still do it the memory routine... just as well, for the "new math" is beyond my grasp.

and that reminds me, i need to bug saxon with it, lol!
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

My youngest daughter was math challenged when she went to school. Today she is a teacher and has to explain it to her students.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

the one thing i like about math is that it's not fluid, but constant, you know? there is no personal input, opinions, variations, yadda, yadda. 2+2 is always the same. thus far anyway.
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

that's why math is so important in science. It's exact. But, it's all invented. If you need to solve a problem, just invent a new math should the proper one not already exist. This is particularly true in quantum physics (where 2+2 does not necessarily = 4).
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

well, there you go spoil it, lol!

still, i'm safe as not likely get into quantum anything. :think: :think:
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

I can partially understand some of the quantum theory I read about. Sometimes I think these guys are making it all up. I guess the math is just another tool. If one doesn't work, make a new one. That makes sense in the real world. But I was baffled by high school algebra. Maybe that's why I never became a scientist.
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pilvikki
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Re: books....

Post by pilvikki »

interesting. i had no problem with algebra or geometry etc, but dear gods, don't give me those word problems! i just found them irritating as hell.
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yogi
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Re: books....

Post by yogi »

Interesting. Geometry and word problems were easy peasy for me. I could visualize them and THAT made sense. The word problems always had key words that corresponded to what needed to be done to solve the problem. E.g., if Joe had 3 apples and Joy had 4 apples ... the 'and' always signified an addition operation was required.
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