The Mahabharata

[Archaea]

it's about time I finally read it.

Anybody else wish to tackle this with me and my boy?

[il Padrino Ute]

I'll give it a try, but I won't be able to start it until next week.

Is there any particular abridgment I should get?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I'll give it a try, but I won't be able to start it until next week.

Is there any particular abridgment I should get?

I'm researching it.

It's about eighteen armies over eighteen days of war.

Here's a snippet about it.

The Mahabharata (composed between 300 BC and 300 AD) has the honor of being the longest epic in world literature, 100,000 2-line stanzas (although the most recent critical edition edits this down to about 88,000), making it eight times as long as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey together, and over 3 times as long as the Bible (Chaitanya vii). According to the Narasimhan version, only about 4000 lines relate to the main story; the rest contain additional myths and teachings. In other words, the Mahabharata resembles a long journey with many side roads and detours. It is said that “Whatever is here is found elsewhere. But whatever is not here is nowhere else.”
The name means “great [story of the] Bharatas.” Bharata was an early ancestor of both the Pandavas and Kauravas who fight each other in a great war, but the word is also used generically for the Indian race, so the Mahabharata sometimes is referred to as “the great story of India.”
The work is divided into 18 books (concerning an 18-day war among 18 armies). The main narrative concerning the war is contained in the first ten books.

[il Padrino Ute]

Yikes!

I guess I'll have to spend less time online in order to read that, eh?

[Jeff Lebowski]

That's child abuse, Arch.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

That's child abuse, Arch.

He likes it. He says he wishes to be properly prepared to be a BYU or AFA engineering student.

I'm scaring him into believing that engineering students are ten times smarter than he, so he's asking for help to become prepared.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Archaea

He likes it. He says he wishes to be properly prepared to be a BYU or AFA engineering student.

I'm scaring him into believing that engineering students are ten times smarter than he, so he's asking for help to become prepared.

Yikes. That's worse. If you would have him believe that this is preparation for engineering, then he may change his mind. Tell him that this is what classicists and folks in the liberal arts do. Then he will want to major in engineering for sure. You know; reverse psychology.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Yikes. That's worse. If you would have him believe that this is preparation for engineering, then he may change his mind. Tell him that this is what classicists and folks in the liberal arts do. Then he will want to major in engineering for sure. You know; reverse psychology.

My math is no longer any good but we have communicated with Cal Tech but they don't seem too interested to help an eighth grader work on Quarks because he doesn't know advanced math. Do you know anybody there to help us?

He simply wishes to be prepared to work with you smart guys.

I'm trying to introduce him to the concept that being a Renaissance guy is cool, and being smart is hip. Right now I have him fooled. Girls may cause him to change that belief, but it's working for the time being. At least he thinks Zep is the coolest band ever.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Archaea

My math is no longer any good but we have communicated with Cal Tech but they don't seem too interested to help an eighth grader work on Quarks because he doesn't know advanced math. Do you know anybody there to help us?

He simply wishes to be prepared to work with you smart guys.

I'm trying to introduce him to the concept that being a Renaissance guy is cool, and being smart is hip. Right now I have him fooled. Girls may cause him to change that belief, but it's working for the time being. At least he thinks Zep is the coolest band ever.

Listen, your last line there seals the deal. Your work is done.

Seriously, just have him focus on getting through AP Calculus. And AP Physics and AP Chemistry for good measure. He will be fine. Of course, if you want to do all that other stuff and he enjoys it, knock yourself out.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by Archaea

My math is no longer any good but we have communicated with Cal Tech but they don't seem too interested to help an eighth grader work on Quarks because he doesn't know advanced math. Do you know anybody there to help us?

He simply wishes to be prepared to work with you smart guys.

I'm trying to introduce him to the concept that being a Renaissance guy is cool, and being smart is hip. Right now I have him fooled. Girls may cause him to change that belief, but it's working for the time being. At least he thinks Zep is the coolest band ever.

Arch, one thing you can do to really help your son be cool is to ease up on the classics and rent Animal House and watch it together. You clearly are not familiar with it. You cannot be cool and not have a working knowledge of Animal House. Also, the kind of girls who are turned on by guys who like Zeppelin usually work in bowling alleys and drive Nissan Pulsars with an Indian Dream Catcher hanging from the rear view mirror. Work in some contemporary music.