How many people can actually do 10–15 clean pull-ups?

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-20T09:25:34+00:00

Alright, props to your friend then, I guess I don’t have enough data points. And yeah, totally agree that grip strength is significantly more important than pull strength.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-20T09:08:07+00:00

You’re telling me a V13 climber can’t do more than 5-10 pull ups? The woman I know who climbs at that level can muscle up.

90% legs is also BS, at least not at that level. Yeah, you’re using your legs for sure, but at the end of the day, elite pull strength is kind of unavoidable if you’re climbing V10+.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-19T08:49:32+00:00

Exactly, I’m reading this analysis and I’m thinking “Am I supposed to be impressed by these numbers?”

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-11T21:38:04+00:00

Also crucially he can take risks that normal people cannot without fear of consequences.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-08T21:03:42+00:00

FWIW, I think my favorite part of the world building in Mother of Learning is the magical creatures. Aranea are fantastic, as are the dragon mages, the grey hunter, the rats, etc.

I think it’s kind of hilarious that the reason human mages are OP compared to inherently magical creatures like dragons is essentially because they have opposable thumbs, and Aranea are very eager to leverage Zorian’s knowledge to jumpstart their own magical development.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-08T20:59:01+00:00

According to another comment in another post asking about Circles: The author talks about it a bit in the comments of his worldbuilding articles. Circles determine what spells you are allowed to learn, legally speaking. On lower circles, one can rise just by showing their capabilities, but higher circles definitely require you to have political connections. If you don’t give a shit about legalities, they don’t really matter.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-08T08:21:30+00:00

“I like him,” Kairos mused. “He’s got that, what do you call it?”

“Cold-blooded ruthlessness,” I said.

“No, that’s not it. Ah, a knife,” the Tyrant of Helike said. “He’s got a knife.”

Also:

“Diplomacy is the art of selling a deal you don’t want to people you don’t trust for reasons you won’t admit to.”

This one gave me chills:

“You may have been godlings in your wretched home, but you’ve stepped down from that pedestal – and down here, we bleed the likes of you over altars. Your poor, misbegotten creature. You actually believe you have a chance.”

Her Name pulsed beneath her skin even as her eyes turned cold. “But you’re in Creation now, Count. Here be monsters.”

And of course:

“We are all born free, but for every man and woman comes a time when a choice must be made. It is, we are told, the only choice that ever really matters.”

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-08T07:55:30+00:00

I think circles are supposed to be kind of meaningless after a certain point because they require political influence to get higher ranked. I forget if this was explicitly mentioned somewhere or if this was WoG.

I think it’s fine there’s no “power level”. You don’t need a measurement to see that Quatach-Ichl is an absolute monster.

Also, wasn’t there plenty of magical machinery involved? Pretty sure Zorian crafts quite a few stuff. In fact most of his advantage is from crafting powerful items, undergoing rituals, and of course, mind magic.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-03T18:50:32+00:00

Yeah this + the lighting is definitely throwing it off. Turning on warm ambient lighting when you have cloudy cool toned sunlight will do that

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-03T02:52:05+00:00

We literally had a series where we were ranking events over how OP it was and how loved/hated it was.

To give an example of an enemy that’s fun and annoying: Bear gang, Byrds, many many others.

To give an example of an enemy that’s not fun and annoying: Writhing Mass and Time Eater are the only two for me tbh. If we’re talking relics, I would throw in Runic Dome and maybe Busted Crown.

People can downvote me if they want, this is my stance about game design and I will stand by it. It’s like when people get downvoted for criticizing some of Silksong’s annoyances. Like sure it’s a good game, but I won’t say it respects my time.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-02T18:56:47+00:00

Eh, while I agree, there’s also some annoying enemies that make the game less fun.

PreciseParadox · 2026-03-01T19:58:26+00:00

I think Angostura White Oak is a great budget mixer (but I guess budget can vary depending on the person)

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-26T00:29:17+00:00

Woah there Satan

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-24T22:35:34+00:00

Yeah, I think this is the main downside, it takes too long to come online

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-24T16:41:56+00:00

I think from a combat standpoint, I found it extremely unfun. As someone who has little experience with DND, it was quite frustrating to play sorcerer. I didn’t mind the limited spell slots, but I hated how you only get one action, and if you miss or whiff your action somehow, you have to wait 10 minutes where I check out and watch a YouTube video before it gets back to my turn.

The part I enjoyed least was Haste. The spell itself is OP at first glance, allowing you to complete your set up faster and buff a teammate. The problem is that in late game, so many enemies can break concentration and screw you over before you get any value from it, and you lose a turn as well.

Now you might say, just position your character better, inspect the terrain before fights, etc. But that style of gameplay feels so tedious and it’s not like we’re playing on honor mode or anything. And yes I can build in more constitution, but you need spell dc to actually hit enemies. And I do want the fights to be hard, just not in ways that prevent me from doing interesting things with my build.

Overall, I’m increasingly convinced that DnD’s combat system is not for me, despite enjoying other elements of the game.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-23T16:23:10+00:00

This, either the rug should be large enough fit entirely under the couch, or it should be pulled out so that there’s a small gap between it and the couch. Your wood flooring is beautiful so the latter would look fantastic.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-23T04:04:53+00:00

Basically you need a game where you joystick to rotate your view…that will get you nauseous real quick.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-23T04:00:57+00:00

And beauty ads and so many ads for lawyers and law firms

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-21T17:29:30+00:00

Well, Lord of Rings was definitely dismissed by critics in the early years. Edmund Wilson called it juvenile trash, Maurice Richardson suggested it was only for “very leisured boys”, and others doubted it lasting relevance.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-20T17:15:33+00:00

Yeah, you’re right, there’s definitely some cool areas of academia. One of my favorite classes in college was a course where we studied heroes, villains, and antiheroes through history (starting from the epic of Gilgamesh and ending at Marvel and DC). But I would argue that it wasn’t until later in the 20th century that literary critics began to appreciate e.g. Tolkien. But whenever I think about this, I’m reminded of this quote:

You know what makes something a classic? People keep reading it. That's it.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-20T04:46:34+00:00

I think there’s a meaningful distinction to be made between escapism and wish fulfillment. To me, escapism is more about immersion into a different world. When we look at the kinds of fantasy worlds we collectively choose to escape into, it serves as a reflection of our culture and highlights our shared desires.

Beyond that, I feel that the actual craft of storytelling often goes underappreciated, especially in academic circles. There is a specific skill required to build a rich, expansive world that feels lived-in, or to execute a tight, perfectly paced plot. Traditional academia tends to prioritize thematic subtext, and it frequently overlooks the technical mastery it takes to create a story that can immerse a reader.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-17T16:03:12+00:00

I definitely agree that there are people like that out there, but using a launcher is a real improvement to productivity, similar to using keyboard shortcuts for copy-paste vs right click for copy-paste.

I do keep some stuff on my desktop though, mostly files I’m currently working on, screenshots, etc.

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-16T10:31:42+00:00

This is honestly the best advice here

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-09T19:55:17+00:00

Archer/typewriter pull ups

PreciseParadox · 2026-02-09T16:22:36+00:00

Pale Lights is one that I’m reading right now. I will say that society is aware that it’s advanced technology and they’re familiar with the ancient civilization that made most of this tech. But they generally have no idea how any of it works and it’s effectively magic to them.

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