Brandon Beam

@darkuponIight “May the last embrace of the mother welcome you home” gets me every time, in that one scene

i finally finished the great hunt, and i’m blown away by that ending😭🙏 mat blowing the horn, perrin flying the banner, rand’s fight being seen across the sky, darkfriend ingtar, lanfear revealing herself to min. 10/10 ending omg #wotbookspoilers #TwitterofTime #TheWheelofTime

@dissidentaf It’s been a minute since I was at a national lab, so maybe it’s changed … but I know then almost every convo was about how to prove one of the big accepted scientific premises wrong. I knew people working on climate science, hoping to prove anthropogenic causation wrong.

Michael Crichton says it best: "I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had."

@dissidentaf That vague language actually has some real bite, but I agree that more layperson-friendly language would be helpful. What they are trying to set up is called “strict scrutiny,” which is the same test for other fundamental rights. (The other major one is “rational basis.”)

Happy (?) voting day! In the spirit of the hour, a question has arisen in our minds: Wouldn't you think that elected officials who are interested in understanding the will of the people that they purport to represent would want those people to understand wtf they're voting for? You shouldn't need an advanced degree to comprehend important voting issues, or any legislation/regulation for that matter. Our favorite part is the "compelling state interest" phrase. Really clear and objective language there guys...🙄

@withering_petal The most obvious break is after book 3. After that, maybe after 6, and then before 12.

For my wheel of time ppls, is there a book in the series where it felt like a mini conclusion/somewhere you stop and take a break? Or does it all seem pretty continuous? I'm thinking of reading some standalones in the next letter while but not sure where to place them

@tiffanyryderRFH Definitely interesting thought experiment. It depends on how the $ is balanced — people with less are hurt more by use taxes than income taxes. I completely agree that the incentives aren’t always in line, but is it like democracy, and the worse system except for all the others?

If taxes on booze & tobacco *discourage* consumption of alcohol and tobacco, Then what does the income tax do? Asking for a friend.

@dissidentaf @reason Every legal right can be restricted. The 1st Amendment is usually protected by the “strict scrutiny” test requiring a compelling government interest that limits speech in the least restrictive way. Obscenity, misleading commercial speech, and others have limits. Lots of nuance.

@reason Turns out there are actually zero qualifiers in the first amendment, soooo... Maybe he hasn't read it?

At the debate, Tim Walz said hate speech and misinformation were not protected by the First Amendment. He's wrong. reason.com/2024/10/03/tim…

@maytrakand I have read it through many times. Doing a chapter-by-chapter while listening to @WoTSpoilers is a great way to really get to the marrow of the series, IMO. And there’s no way a single read was enough!

Y'all know what I've been thinking about? What if I reread WoT and don't like it as much as the first time? I'd cry for years

@dissidentaf Absolutely agree, especially in a culture where people can honesty disagree and still rally together. Those have to be the right people (ahem … on the bus).

Dialogue and debate - not consensus! "There’s a huge distinction between consensus decisions and intelligent decisions, and usually the two are negatively correlated. When we study where the best decisions come from and how the best decisions were made as companies made their shifts from good to great, we were struck by the absence of consensus decisions." - Jim Collins

@dissidentaf @AgoristN Is the OP account a satirical one? This quote was from the other candidate, infamously.

@AgoristN What about that pesky old innocent until proven guilty thing? Makes for a real hassle sometimes... But we thought it was supposed to be important or something? We forget...

@dissidentaf Term limits probably make sense for both groups. I like 2 9-year terms for SCOTUS, 3 for senators, and 6 for Reps. SCOTUS is different in that they do not have any accountability to anyone after nomination and approval (unlike the others who have to be re-elected).

Ironically, Congressional term limits gains no momentum in Congress... The hypocrisy is palpable.

@thetiffanyryder How DARE you?! I may be a lawyer, but … ummm… yeah!!!

@BrandonWBeam What a lawyer thing to say!

If Health Insurance was on Tinder would you swipe right? Serious Poolside Question. 🚩🚩🚩

@thetiffanyryder Just defining terms, @thetiffanyryder ! 😉

@thetiffanyryder “Serious poolside question” = ? 😂

@TriceratopsGame Help us get the expansion a bunch of followers so we can get this thing launched! And thanks! kickstarter.com/projects/trice…

Help us out and follow our pre-launch for our first JAQ expansion: JAQ Odyssey! Heroes, monster powers, companions, pack items, and a ton of new equipment, spells, adventures, quests, and solo cards. kickstarter.com/projects/trice…

@thetiffanyryder When I was leading a health system IT team, we struggled. Evidence-based care should be represented in the EMR, but we got pushback from doctors who couldn’t agree on simple standards & nurses who couldn’t tell us which fields to remove. Everyone was jaded (and IT got the blame)

I went into medicine because I thought that it was an opportunity to help people by exercising creative solutions and implementing evidence-based medicine. Turns out it's lots of mouse clicking and following orders defined by pharmaceutical companies and corporate interests. Total disappointment.

@Gholam_WoT #WoTBookSpoilers But on the other hand, their relationship was always infused with Aes Sedai wordplay. She did as promised, and gave agency to all those who wanted to do what he claimed as his sole right. Like many things in the books, though … it’s only cool because it worked.

#WotBookSpoilers Nynaeve dumping Lan on the coast and going on a recruiting spree despite his expressed wish not to lead men into the blight was taking away his agency every bit as much as the bond shift that Moiraine did, and if I were him I would never trust her again.

Visit us in booth 2859!

@AielMelindhra I think Gawyn is unfairly hated by the fandom. He does not make a single choice that is worse than things that Rand, Egwene, Perrin, Nynaeve, or Matt make. He just doesn’t have the plot armor of ta’veren to give him full redemption arcs. (And I don’t know why.)

@BestFirstChair WoTS is the only podcast I never miss an episode of, period. I loved the first 300, and I continue to love those that you co-host. IMO, you were good when you started, and you’ve grown to great, with the trajectory still going up. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and thoughts.

@WatcherOfSeals #WOTBookSpoilers Tam calling out Cadsuane. Rand explaining to Nynaeve that he knows he is destroying himself. Morraine’s letters.

We all know Dumai’s Wells, the Cleansing of the Taint and “Will he ride alone”; But what scene in WOT do you think DOESN’T get the buzz it deserves? For me it’s Elayne unweaving the gateway. You? #TwitterOfTime #WheelOfTime #WOTBookSpoilers