tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482791619320478550.post1708729173659515006..comments2023-12-26T03:55:24.907-05:00Comments on Speaking in Foolish Tongues: My Intro to BuddhismTWFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06016277303703254572noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482791619320478550.post-38442089556432361292013-08-24T23:42:37.195-04:002013-08-24T23:42:37.195-04:00Sabio,
Going too far? Too far where? That I mak...<b>Sabio</b>,<br /><br />Going too far? Too far where? That I make an ass of myself again? It's probably too late for that! ;-)<br /><br />"<i>I think most folks would rather read a book than read a long summary by someone else.</i>"<br /><br />I think you are wrong, at least in part. A good summary is a thing of beauty. There are entire lines of "notes" for executives which sum up the tips from the latest management books. Why? Because most of the book is fluff used to more effectively communicate particular points, and thus serve little value if the point is already understood. That, and because people are busy! I'd rather read a ten page summary than a hundred page book. (At least for conceptual reading. Pleasure reading is a different topic.)<br /><br />I think people's interests are on scale levels. At one level, yes, they would read the book themselves. At another level, my detailed chapter-by-chapter summary approach works well. At another level, a chapter-by-chapter single-paragraph summary is best. At an even lower level of interest, they may only want a few paragraph summary for the whole book.<br /><br />My summaries are like dehydrated foods; getting down to the essential meat, but not missing anything of substance, but not very juicy.<br /><br />My comments afterward will be like setting food in a strainer, where only the juicy bits come out. You're not going to get a robust vision of the message.<br /><br />Combine the two, and you'll get a semi-clear picture in less time than what it would take you to read the book. I think that has value.<br /><br />Don't worry though. If you only want to read my take on the chapters, it will be clearly demarcated and easy to find at the bottom of the posts.<br /><br />Besides, a large part of the reason for the summaries is for me, to make sure that I better understand the material before I speak about it. :-)TWFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06016277303703254572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482791619320478550.post-29848333502681492772013-08-24T23:23:39.483-04:002013-08-24T23:23:39.483-04:00Sabio, from the Triangulations blog sent me this c...<b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12963476276106907984" rel="nofollow">Sabio</a></b>, from the <a href="http://triangulations.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">Triangulations blog</a> sent me this comment:<br /><br />I do hope you read Chapman at least and maybe McMahan before going too far. Also, may I make requests that you just write ideas generated by reading the book rather than trying to summarize the book. I think most folks would rather read a book than read a long summary by someone else. So, instead , just short posts -- not chapter by chapter -- of the most interesting concepts and your reactions to them as you read. Just my thoughts.TWFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06016277303703254572noreply@blogger.com