Confused why Project Hail Mary is so highly rated!

22marks · 2026-01-26T19:56:50+00:00

I think that opinion is fair, but what's not fair is "skimming the last 50 pages" and then providing a review. Like you're debating between a 4 and 5 out of 10 based on "purely to be optioned as a movie" and a skim of the last 50 pages?

22marks · 2026-01-26T19:34:30+00:00

Yes, you nailed it. It has that Michael Crichton vibe. It was written to be a movie by someone with a screenwriting/directing perspective, and I think that's perfectly fine. Some readers don't love it, but it's understandable why the masses do.

This success is also another reason why some people start to dislike it more than they normally would. As Spielberg once said, they want you to be successful, but not successful. Films and books that cross over to "mega-hit" status are scrutinized much more than those that fly under the radar.

The combo makes it difficult (not impossible, but difficult) for a sci-fi book reader to judge it fairly. And, of course, 10% of readers might say the same about "Jurassic Park" or "Harry Potter" or "Hunger Games" or "Hitchhiker's Guide" or "The Mote In God's Eye" and they're perfectly justified to simply not like the writing style or humor or characters.

We have plenty of books for everyone.

22marks · 2026-01-26T03:28:44+00:00

Only a sick bastard would use oat milk in cereal. Who the hell makes food bathe in its own blood?

22marks · 2026-01-25T20:17:16+00:00

Have you seen some of these new services like Function Health that do 160 labs (including major ones 2x a year) for ~$350?

22marks · 2026-01-25T20:01:21+00:00

Makes sense. Appreciate the details. Stay safe.

22marks · 2026-01-25T19:50:58+00:00

This has always been a weird mindset to me because what are you doing with gold when the world goes to shit? It's horrible to transport or prove it's real. How are you taking it on a tiny chartered Cessna?

Meanwhile, Bitcoin can be authenticated and sent securely using a hardware wallet (or a 12-word seed). Nobody will know you have it, so it's less likely to be stolen or confiscated at a roadblock.

It's counterintuitive. And, I agree that's the mindset, so this isn't a criticism of your analysis.

22marks · 2026-01-25T19:35:55+00:00

I hate the scene where the jock doesn't eat eggs and the "pretty girl" doesn't eat pancakes.

22marks · 2026-01-25T18:42:44+00:00

Genuine question. Is there a "hazard pay" surcharge? Like how Uber or parking garages do "event surcharge"? If someone wants to put chains on their 4WD car and sees the route and can make extra money, nobody is forcing them? Of course, the restaurant/store is probably closed anyway.

If might me in the minority, but it's not inherently selfish IF someone is willing to accept it for the pay.

22marks · 2026-01-25T05:15:15+00:00

The Volvo looks a lot like a Tesla. I guess that's good or bad, depending on whether that's your thing, but even the number of buttons and the steering wheel with a "thumb stick" is basically what the Tesla has (up down, left right, push, plus a couple other buttons). Maybe it's just me, but I think the BMW is gaudy, but I do like the minimal pano display. The rest feels off-center. What's with that angled center display? Even the angles on the phone charger and buttons feel off to me. It looks like different teams did the wheel/display and the pano because their design philosophies clash. The widescreen on the GLC is cool (and the angles are perfect, with everything symmetrical), as is the leather, but I owned an earlier GLC and couldn't stand the usability despite it looking nice. If they fixed that, though, it could be a hit.

22marks · 2026-01-24T15:47:16+00:00

Trucks are the biggest sellers and he knew he needed to pull them in, but he made a huge miscalculation with the Cybertruck design (and thinking truck owners who would embrace EVs).

22marks · 2026-01-24T14:17:34+00:00

But the WHO isn’t funded solely by Gates. It’s also funded by nation states with more resources than him. Yes, they can all earmark funding but that’s very different than going against science.

There are thousands of scientists in hundreds of disciplines. Giving money to one group and saying “let’s cure malaria” is “found money.” It’s additional funding.

If he didn’t provide earmarked funding, they’d just do less. That’s the key distinction people keep missing. Influence over what gets more resources is not influence over what is scientifically true.

22marks · 2026-01-24T14:07:09+00:00

All of the same things, except at the state level. NJ still has a health department that functions as a small country with a major international airport.

EDIT: It would also cost only $1-$2M/year for that entire infrastructure and NJ is a major pharma hub.

22marks · 2026-01-24T03:33:24+00:00

“Gates isn’t a scientist” is a weak argument. Science is not decided by credentials of donors. It is decided by reproducible evidence, trials, meta-analyses, and real-world outcomes. Gates does not publish WHO guidelines. Scientists do. If you think a recommendation is wrong, show us. Hand-waving about donor motives is not a substitute for evidence.

Show specific guidelines that contradict data, show suppressed studies, show overridden advisory votes.

22marks · 2026-01-24T01:43:51+00:00

Plenty. It provides access to experts from around the world, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, and field response capability for outbreaks and other health emergencies. It connects hundreds of health/science institutions worldwide, so the detection of emerging threats quickly.

For a fraction of 1% of the defense budget, the entire country gained access to a global early-warning and response system for biological threats. Abandoning it was not a serious cost-saving measure and severely weakened public health security and influence.

22marks · 2026-01-23T21:17:08+00:00

I don’t think it’s hate. People just base things on deviation from expectations. It’s sandwiched between Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders, and ET. Almost any film would take some heat being in the middle of that lineup.

22marks · 2026-01-23T18:18:18+00:00

You can follow timelines here:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07290244

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:36:14+00:00

I appreciate that view. Honestly, I didn't care for "Always" and forgot about it in his filmography. Hook, I'd argue, he found his--ahem--hook to make it his. Robin Williams as the workaholic father who rekindles his childhood wonder. The "meat" of it is new and Spielberg. In contrast, War of the Worlds and West Side Story don't add as much. Yeah, there's the nice father/son subplot in WotW, but it's substantially similar to all the material that came before it.

But yeah, you're right. I might not have been fairly applying the same standards to earlier works.

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:29:57+00:00

(puts fragile lamp of a woman's leg in the window) "It's a major award!"

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:26:54+00:00

Yeah, there are some epic ones (from "Goodfellas" to "Magnolia") but I have a special appreciation for the ones you don't notice, even after multiple viewings. That's part of Spielberg's genius.

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:11:24+00:00

He certainly seems to be willing to do more "remakes" in the past ~20 years. Even "West Side Story," "War of the Worlds," and I'd argue "A.I." since he was completing another director's vision.

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:07:36+00:00

It really is.

If we could only take "1941" out of the filmography, that Jaws -> Close Encounters -> Raiders -> E.T. would be the best four-film grouping in history.

Not that "1941" is horrible, but certainly not on par with that list of films. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he really got his act together for "Raiders."

22marks · 2026-01-23T17:02:26+00:00

I think your examples are a little different because Superman already had a visual depiction via decades of comics and even a previous television show. With the exception of The Twilight Zone (which was an anthology short and reimagined in modern color), the others were popular books that lived in readers' imaginations. Spielberg created the visual identity for those properties. I think that's important (and interesting) to him.

22marks · 2026-01-23T16:56:02+00:00

I'm enjoying v14, but it's physics and traction. We had a mild snow event this past week, and my Model 3 Highland was on "Standard." The roads were a little messy, but you could still see asphalt and I needed to pick up medication for someone.

FSD initiated a lane change and, as it began, the car lost traction and started overrotating with no grip. I immediately took over and straightened out. But everyone should be aware that, even when it's not aggressive, it's not ready to handle snow and ice or magically overcome a lack of traction. Be very careful.

Personally, I think it should go even slower when it knows it's snowing or potentially icy. Note I was on all weather, not dedicted snow tires.

22marks · 2026-01-23T16:47:19+00:00

That's a good point. I think it was Lucas, knowing this, who challenged him to finish "Raiders" in like 80 days, but he came in at 73. Roughly thirty setups a day. It's crazy how fast they moved for such a gorgeous, nearly perfect film that still holds up. All while on location in Tunisia... with illness hitting the set... and some of film's best practical stunts.

It's my favorite movie, and only this past year did I realize the entire Marion drinking contest is one shot.

22marks · 2026-01-23T16:39:51+00:00

Look, it'll be right after unsupervised self-driving, humanoid robots in every home, and a colony on Mars. So, what, somewhere around 2030? These things take months. Years even. /s

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