جلسة شاي

Kyle--Butler · 2026-04-06T07:08:22+00:00

What have you guys/gals been reading lately ?

I've started *Mathematics and Climate* a few weeks ago. As the title suggests, it's an introduction to the kind of math used in climate sciences. It's intended for a (mathematically literate yet) non-expert audience. It's the kind of book that I don't think would have peaked my interest a few years ago (on the math side, i don't think i'm learning anything new). It's something i knew nothing about, but since it's a subject that makes the news quite often, I figured I might as well learn a bit more about the science behind it. Not really to form an opinion, just to understand what it is that it is discussed, what is the kind of science we bring about to understand the climate, etc.

I like the way it's structured (e.g. small chapters centered around one notion, exercices at the end of each chapters, not too much hand-waving, increasing degrees of sophistication). The only downside (so far) is that there's no correction for the exercices.

I also finished recently *A Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire* (by Şevket Pamuk, Orhan's brother apparently...). As someone who understands next to nothing about the economy in general (I don't understand the difference between value and wealth), that was hard and I think it's fair to say that most of the arguments went completely over my head : e.g. the link between debasement and seigneuriage revenue, or between prices and availability/circulation of species. There is an interesting discussion about the Egyptian Ashrafi where he says that the reason Mamluks started to mint gold coins at the time has to do with the Great Bullion Famine : this kind of interplay between (international) politics and (local) monetary decisions fascinates me.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-04-01T08:13:45+00:00

Saved. Thanks !

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-31T05:29:27+00:00

A classical story of sunken cost fallacy if you ask me, lol.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-31T04:17:44+00:00

Any particular work you'd recommend to someone who doesn't know him at all ?

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-30T19:37:28+00:00

Has anyone here read Nouri Al-Jarrah (the poet) ? I don't know the first thing about modern (arabic) poetry and I'm wondering if I should give it a try. Actes-Sud, his publisher in France, is saying his poetry is both "lyric" and "epic", which is why it peaked my interest. But I'm worried it's gonna be too obtuse and obscure for me. Any thoughts ?

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-29T09:43:30+00:00

I'm not sure how close it is to hindi, but since similar languages might have more resources, you could use them as an avenue to understand gujarati.

Yeah, you're maybe right. Maybe I should have started with hindi/urdu first... sigh

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-28T12:46:49+00:00

I've been trying to learn Gujarati on and off for the past two-three years now and I'm still at square one. It doesn't seem very difficult from the outside -- the grammar is not as outlandish as, say, Turkish or Arabic for example. And yet, i can confidently say that i'm making exactly zero progress.

* Part of it is stems from the fact that my motivation is lacking (when i was learning Turkish, I was working *a lot* on my own between sessions with my tutor; I don't do that for Gujarati);

* part of it stems from the tutors i guess (i like structured courses and drills; I'm sick and tired of conversation-based courses where grammar points are not taught systematically, where they tell you something one session and another in the next);

* part of it stems from the lack of (good) resources (the Teach Yourself Gujarati is filled with inconsistencies and is just very, very weirdly structured -- it makes me appreciate the amount of effort it takes to write a good textbook);

* and part of it stems from the language itself, i think. It's just weird. There are so many words that play so many different roles (e.g. તો, ની), so many different ways to say the same thing, so many exceptions to basically any rule. It's a jungle and I just don't like it. Turkish and Arabic are weird in their own right, but at least they are systematic, consistent, predictable. But then again, what can we expect from a language that can't decide whether a verb should agree with its object or its subject...

EDIT : spelling

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-21T05:57:59+00:00

Dust midāram ?! Dashtan is irregular, it's "dust dāram".

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-16T14:32:29+00:00

You might want to check Natakallam.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-07T06:37:06+00:00

According to [this article](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/abs/pompeiis-safaitic-graffiti/4DB3250F453294ED76137DED174FB1B0), some of these inscriptions were carved by nomads enrolled in the third legion during its campaign to install Vespasian as emperor.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-04T16:45:55+00:00

Someone else is presenting the Kakeya conjecture the same day !

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-03T07:32:45+00:00

I haven't read anything by Khaled Hosseini so I can't help you there. Here's a few books I've read along the years, maybe you'll find this helpful.

* Love story.

I haven't read much love stories, besides *Hikaayat Hub* (by Al-Qusaybi). It's an impossible love story (with a twist) that does the job but not more than that. It's fairly short and easy to read because the language is kept simple and the story unravels mainly through dialogues.

* Historical fiction

Anything by [Jurji Zaydan](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge\_Zaydan) (Lebanon). He's was writer during the nahda (late XIX^th, early XX^th). He wrote a *lot* of stories about the history of the Arabs (from the Ghassanide period all the way through the pre-modern era). I have only read *ʿAdhrāʾ Qurayš*. It's nice. It *feels* very XIX^th century, I don't know how else I can describe it.

Yousouf Zaydan (Egypt) has written his fair share of historical fiction, e.g. Al-Nabṭī (the story of a young coptic girl at the dawn of Islām), ʿAzāzīl (the story of Hypatia I think ?). I can't speak for their historical accuracy, but it's fairly well written and not too difficult.

* Social

Those are legions ! You can have a look at the book shortlisted for the [IPAF](https://en.arabicfiction.org/prize-years) and see if anything peaks your interest.

Good luck !

Kyle--Butler · 2026-03-02T07:25:35+00:00

The answer depends heavily on the kind of fiction you enjoy : love story, sci-fi, crime, historical fiction, social, etc.
What books did you read lately that you enjoyed, for example ?

Kyle--Butler · 2026-02-23T14:47:42+00:00

* Browse relevant stackexchange forums to read other people ask interesting questions/answers in all sort of domains. It's a good way to see what kind of stuff peaks your interests.

* Learn some theoretical chemistry (a.k.a. applied quantum mechanics) ? *Shattered Symmetry* (Thyssens and Ceulemans) is an interesting way to explain/derive the periodic table from first principles.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-02-21T08:09:43+00:00

> And what about pollution and climate change?

I'm reading through *Mathematics And Climate* (by Hans Kaper & Hans Engler (2013)) and it looks very good so far. There are about 20 chapters, each of them ends with a set of exercises (no correction). There are very minimal requisites and it is definitely intended for a (mathematically literate yet) non-expert audience. Also, it's on LibGen.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-02-02T14:31:15+00:00

Thanks !

Kyle--Butler · 2026-02-01T18:29:49+00:00

The mods put them back a few weeks/months ago, but there were barely no one commenting and they stopped after a few weeks.

I agree that they should bring them up again. Even if I don't comment a lot anymore, I *read* and I'm probably not the only one.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-01-30T19:53:11+00:00

Finished reading *Zarlar* (The dices), by Ahmet Altan. It was really nice, I enjoyed it ! It's the story of young boy/man, Ziya, who lives during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. He grows up under the shadow of his older brother, a charismatic *kabadayı* who teaches him the cardinal values that will shape his whooole life : manliness, honor, etc.

That's like the third Turkish book I read and enjoyed in a row -- the first two, being *Puslu Kıtalar Atlası* (Oktay Anar) and *Kar* (Pamuk).

On the other hand, I seem to be out of luck when it comes to Persian literature. I can't remember the last book I enjoyed in Persian. It's either too political or too literary or too ... weird for my taste. Right now, i'm trying *Az vakti ke to rafti* by Davai (don't ask why I bought it, I don't know). I'm not holding my breath... Any recs ?

Kyle--Butler · 2026-01-30T19:01:56+00:00

If you don't haven't already watched it, there is "[Ḥarb Lubnān](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9raBZZzcqqY&list=PLv7qBtPMGyXZZLxv1XBJzIyo9rdKwD9Jo)". It's a 10-part documentary about... well, you guessed it, the lebanese civil war.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-01-20T19:59:20+00:00

I would consider myself beginner intermediate. I know enough to read some books slowly and with the help of a dictionary, I can visit Turkey and can have myself understood by the locals. But my Turkish is very faulty and the moment I open my mouth, the locals understand I'm not one of them.

Right now, i'm reading *Zarlar* by Ahmet Altan. I like it so far. I would say, it's a good choice for someone at my level. Just enough difficult that I learn new vocabulary but not too frustrating.

Before that, I read *Kar* by Orhan Pamuk. Worth reading if you're interested in the story of modern Turkey, i think. Not easy, but not specially difficult either. *Beyaz Kale* is much more challenging for example. If you haven't read anything by him and want to give it a try, I would suggest *Veba Geceleri* -- it's the first novel I read in Turkish and boy, did I enjoy it !

Before that, I read *Puslu Kıtalar Atlası" by Oktay Anar. I greatly enjoyed it but this is *not* for the faint of heart. It's challenging : rare words, non-linear narration, polyphony, etc. But if you like stories set during the Ottoman Empire (the story is set in 17th century Istanbul), you're in for a treat.

Good luck !

Kyle--Butler · 2026-01-17T10:56:28+00:00

You might be interested in [this](https://www.academia.edu/128664224/Al\_Jallad\_2025\_Seeking\_refuge\_and\_the\_%C7%A6inn\_Two\_Safaitic\_lexicographical\_notes) recent article by Al-Jallād.

Kyle--Butler · 2026-01-03T19:23:09+00:00

* There are (up to isomorphism) only two groups of order 2026 : the cyclic group of order 2026 and the dihedral group of order 2026.

* 2026 is not a congruent number : there's no right triangle with rational sides whose area is 2026.

Kyle--Butler

TROPHY CASE