MobileRead Discussion/Suggestion Thread - Page 15

Nyssa · 10-28-2012, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Yes.

"The Force" is a theoretically scientific concept; the idea of "auras" around living beings and an energy-force that binds the universe together is not unknown to science. In the genre, it's shorthand for some kind of awareness of particle physics not normally detectable by humans... if we could perceive magnetic fields, or gravitational ones, well enough to dodge objects with our eyes closed, that could be "the Force."

The "millions of souls crying out?" That, too, has a foundation in science. A thin one, admittedly, but still real--there have been experiments with subatomic particles reacting instantly across vast physical distances, faster than the speed of light would allow. A person in tune with such energy fields would be able to detect things happening a very long ways away. An ability to tell the difference between "disruption in nonorganic matter" and "disruption in living beings" is not much of a stretch at all.

Harry Potter, OTOH, does not attempt to imply psychic ability or particle physics or physical-mental training to explain its "magic." It defies the concepts of science, we are told, and "just works."

The Star Wars paradigm fits within a scientific understanding of the world; the HP paradigm does not. Some characters in the SW-verse disdain the abilities of the Jedi as "mystic mumbo-jumbo," but that doesn't mean they're "magic" as opposed to "science on a level not understood by most people, and the Jedi encourage that reputation."

As far as "but it doesn't really work that way!"... neither does warp space or FTL travel. The implausibility of a notion or bit of technology has nothing to do with whether it's SF or fantasy; what matters is the framework in which it's offered. Captain America's "adamantium" shield can't work either, nor can a serum turn a scrawny weakling into a super-soldier; that doesn't make it a fantasy story instead of an SF story.

Exactly.

sun surfer · 10-28-2012, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

...I do think Crime/Mystery and Thriller/Suspense are separate. But there is much more cross over here than there is with SF/Fantasy.

BOb

Hi pilotbob! Nice to see posts by you around here.

I also think Mystery and Thriller are technically different categories, but in practise they are essentially the same.

Dazrin · 10-29-2012, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Even with the Force, it's still science fiction.

As for the cruise, still in the hotel. Will be going on the ship later this morning. Sandy is a non-issue.

I agree that Star Wars is science fiction (even with the force), but I think the force makes it a series that has a fair amount of cross over with fantasy, especially when using just the first 3 movies where it wasn't delved into that deeply, and that is one of the reasons for some people (generally those who don't care for either genre) claim that they are essentially the same.

Glad to hear you didn't get delayed by Sandy. And good luck to everyone who is/will be impacted by it.

WT Sharpe · 11-07-2012, 04:54 PM

So repeats are okay. Not what I wold have preferred, but that's the way the vote went.

I guess the next item is to decide what we want January's category to be in 2013. The nomination thread for January's category is here.

John F · 11-12-2012, 08:59 AM

How about another discussion on open voting (please keep the moans to a minimum).

I propose a vote, and the % result gets applied. For example if it is 50-50: 6 months open, 6 months closed. If it is 25% for, 75% against open voting: 3 months open 9 months closed.

WT Sharpe · 11-12-2012, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

How about another discussion on open voting (please keep the moans to a minimum).

I propose a vote, and the % result gets applied. For example if it is 50-50: 6 months open, 6 months closed. If it is 25% for, 75% against open voting: 3 months open 9 months closed.

What, are you spying on me?

Check out what I just posted here.

We posted at the same time—8:59AM!

Yes, I agree, and I'll be putting up a poll very soon.

Dazrin · 11-12-2012, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

What, are you spying on me?

Check out what I just posted here.

We posted at the same time—8:59AM!

Yes, I agree, and I'll be putting up a poll very soon.

Well, if you look at his title, you can clearly see that he is a "wizard", so he was probably just reading your mind not spying on you.

sun surfer · 11-12-2012, 09:23 PM

I'd love a vote on "open vs closed" voting, but I'd like to ask if we could please do a vote on "multiple choice vs single choice" voting first?

The reason being, depending on whether next year will be multiple choice or single choice, it could have a bearing on if people want closed or open voting.

WT Sharpe · 11-15-2012, 04:42 PM

If we allow multiple voting (the MR software doesn't allow for 1st choice, 2nd, 3rd, & etc.; and I'm not about to volunteer for a hand count), how would we do it? Allow everyone 3 votes as we do in the nominations, or unlimited votes? If we allow unlimited, that would allow someone who has a strong dislike of a certain nomination to vote for everything except the book they hate. That may be useful—or not....

Dazrin · 11-15-2012, 05:06 PM

Since the original mention of multiple choice voting was in the January category nominations thread, here it is again: sun surfer. Sun surfer had a good argument for it when it was proposed and Jon had the point that we could eliminate the second round of voting unless there was a tie.

I say allow no more than 3 votes or even only 2. If we allow too many each vote wouldn't have as much meaning and we may spread out the votes more than intended which may result in more tie votes.

JSWolf · 11-15-2012, 07:47 PM

For January we could try a multiple hidden vote with three votes max and no run-off vote unless we have a tie for first.

caleb72 · 11-15-2012, 10:31 PM

Will it matter if people vote for 3 or for 9? It can be people signalling all choices that they'd be happy to read and discuss. I'm not sure it's that important to keep it to an arbitrary figure. True, some may vote for all selections, but others may only vote for one or two. It would certainly be interesting to see the outcome.

I would, of course, prefer open voting and lots of healthy and fun discussion both during the vote and in the actual discussion thread. And I'd also like to see campaigning for different books - advertising the virtues of each book and gathering interest. Of course, all of that would be difficult to mandate, but it would be nice for the whole process to be part of the fun.

JSWolf · 11-15-2012, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

I would, of course, prefer open voting and lots of healthy and fun discussion both during the vote and in the actual discussion thread. And I'd also like to see campaigning for different books - advertising the virtues of each book and gathering interest. Of course, all of that would be difficult to mandate, but it would be nice for the whole process to be part of the fun.

Here's an idea you may like...

We'll do the multiple choice (3 max) vote hidden for January and then an open multiple choice vote for February and we can see how both go and then decide what's what. But, when we do open voting, I'd like to have the names of who voted for what not to show.

Synamon · 11-15-2012, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

Will it matter if people vote for 3 or for 9? It can be people signalling all choices that they'd be happy to read and discuss. I'm not sure it's that important to keep it to an arbitrary figure. True, some may vote for all selections, but others may only vote for one or two. It would certainly be interesting to see the outcome.

Good points. If choosing a book that the greatest number of people are willing to read is the goal, then multiple voting should work towards that and it doesn't really matter how many books someone votes for. There might be more ownership and incentive to read the book if you voted for it, even if it was not your first or even third choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

I would, of course, prefer open voting and lots of healthy and fun discussion both during the vote and in the actual discussion thread. And I'd also like to see campaigning for different books - advertising the virtues of each book and gathering interest. Of course, all of that would be difficult to mandate, but it would be nice for the whole process to be part of the fun.

I agree. An open vote will promote discussion which will keep the thread near the top of the new posts list and hopefully attract more attention to the book club.

JSWolf · 11-15-2012, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

I agree. An open vote will promote discussion which will keep the thread near the top of the new posts list and hopefully attract more attention to the book club.

Actually, even if the vote thread has only one post for the entire post, it will still be a the top as it is stickied.

11-07-2012, 04:54 PM	#214
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	So repeats are okay. Not what I wold have preferred, but that's the way the vote went. I guess the next item is to decide what we want January's category to be in 2013. The nomination thread for January's category is here. Last edited by WT Sharpe; 11-07-2012 at 04:58 PM.

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11-12-2012, 08:59 AM	#215
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,003 Karma: 71261339 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Clara 2E	How about another discussion on open voting (please keep the moans to a minimum). I propose a vote, and the % result gets applied. For example if it is 50-50: 6 months open, 6 months closed. If it is 25% for, 75% against open voting: 3 months open 9 months closed.

11-12-2012, 09:23 PM	#218
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44667380 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I'd love a vote on "open vs closed" voting, but I'd like to ask if we could please do a vote on "multiple choice vs single choice" voting first? The reason being, depending on whether next year will be multiple choice or single choice, it could have a bearing on if people want closed or open voting.

11-15-2012, 04:42 PM	#219
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	If we allow multiple voting (the MR software doesn't allow for 1st choice, 2nd, 3rd, & etc.; and I'm not about to volunteer for a hand count), how would we do it? Allow everyone 3 votes as we do in the nominations, or unlimited votes? If we allow unlimited, that would allow someone who has a strong dislike of a certain nomination to vote for everything except the book they hate. That may be useful—or not....

11-15-2012, 05:06 PM	#220
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,735 Karma: 75825105 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	Since the original mention of multiple choice voting was in the January category nominations thread, here it is again: sun surfer. Sun surfer had a good argument for it when it was proposed and Jon had the point that we could eliminate the second round of voting unless there was a tie. I say allow no more than 3 votes or even only 2. If we allow too many each vote wouldn't have as much meaning and we may spread out the votes more than intended which may result in more tie votes.

11-15-2012, 07:47 PM	#221
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,727 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	For January we could try a multiple hidden vote with three votes max and no run-off vote unless we have a tie for first.

11-15-2012, 10:31 PM	#222
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Will it matter if people vote for 3 or for 9? It can be people signalling all choices that they'd be happy to read and discuss. I'm not sure it's that important to keep it to an arbitrary figure. True, some may vote for all selections, but others may only vote for one or two. It would certainly be interesting to see the outcome. I would, of course, prefer open voting and lots of healthy and fun discussion both during the vote and in the actual discussion thread. And I'd also like to see campaigning for different books - advertising the virtues of each book and gathering interest. Of course, all of that would be difficult to mandate, but it would be nice for the whole process to be part of the fun.