Posted on by joshfleshman

Episode 3 – Levels of Nerd-ness

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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