Episode 3 – Levels of Nerd-ness

Posted byJosh

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Show Notes: 

  • Intro (0:00-0:19) 
  • Fleshman Family Birthday Celebrations (0:19-22:36) 
  • Levels of Nerd-ness (22:36-28:17) 
    • The nerd secret handshake: W00t 
      • Level 1: Console gamers 
      • Level 2: *serious* Board gamers 
      • Level 3: Role-Playing Games (RPGs) 
      • Level 4: LARP? 
  • Russia’s morning commute (28:71-42:03) 
  • British word of the day (42:03-44:10) 
    • “push the boat out” (American: splurge) 
      • Informal – British 
      • Be lavish in one’s spending or celebrations.  
  • Ben & Josh’s Book Club – Mistborn: The Final Empire, book 1 of the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson (44:10-1:51:50) 
    • Subversion of expectations 
      • Kelsior is good at this from the start and Vin learns quickly (not the usual way for this sort of thing) 
    • Character focus – self-discovery & transformation theme throughout the series 
      • The characters feel like real people 
      • Vin’s central conflict is learning to trust people 
    • Hard vs. Soft Magic Systems 
    • “There’s always another secret” 
    • Sanderson’s 3 laws of magic 
      1. Sanderson’s First Law – An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic in a satisfying way is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.[1] 
      2. Sanderson’s Second Law – Weaknesses (also Limits and Costs) are more interesting than powers[2] 
      3. Sanderson’s Third Law – Expand on what you have already, before you add something new. If you change one thing, you change the world.[3] 
    • “New ideas are like new tastes…the older you are, the harder they are to stomach.” -Menace 
    • “Do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don’t think so. That’s what makes the betrayal hurt so much.” -Kelsior 
    • “What is belief if you can’t continue it after failure?” -Sayzid 
    • Kelsier’s 11: 
      • George Clooney as Kelsier 
      • Matt Damon as Vin 
      • Julia Roberts as Elend Venture 
      • Brad Pitt as Sazed 
      • Andy Garcia as The Lord Ruler 
  • For next time… (1:51:50-1:52:53)