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Chopping up books when they're physically too big

229 points · 211 comments · matt_kirkland

  1. cgearhart · · focus · HN ↗
    20ish years ago I complained to my college roommate that my math book was too big. He asked if I was gonna sell it back, and I said I couldn’t—they had a new edition out, so mine was worthless. Cut it, he said.

    It was something I had never considered. Not for a moment. Books were sacred to me. Cut one? Blasphemy.

    But he was right. And so I cut it. And it fixed all of my complaints.

    What I learned is that some folks have a different mindset; they see the world as something to be shaped around themselves, rather than seeing themselves as something that should be shaped to fit the world. That’s been a useful lesson sometimes.

    1. HSO · · focus · HN ↗
      cue <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;kYfNvmF0Bqw?t=12" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;kYfNvmF0Bqw?t=12 :)
      1. cgearhart · · focus · HN ↗
        I hadn’t seen this before, but he’s near the top of my list as an example of this. One the common characteristics I see of people with this mindset is that they have high risk tolerance. Things are replaceable, and they feel safe exploring that trade space.
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