u/senoritaasshammer

I feel like the themes and arc Martel is going for is weakened with a mentality that the rational story MUST be true, and the religious story MUST be an allegory.

It’s not that choosing to *believe* the rational story weakens the book, but rather that the book’s larger message and the author’s attitude towards the book is centered on the *story*, not the truth. So the issue is more with DISMISSAL rather than your belief.

This is going to make you say “no duh”, but hear me out: Life is Pi is a STORY, not a real account. Martel never asks you: “what story makes more sense?” He asks: “which story is better?” Which story is better for the point of the book? Which is better for what the book is saying to you?

Life of Pi isn’t a simple story of trauma and the rationality causes of religion as a coping mechanism. It isn’t solely asking the reader to piece together a metaphorical recount of a tragic event. It isn’t intentionally reductive or literal - it is a story about faith, stories, religion, and human perseverance in the face of a shitty, broken world.

It’s asking a question bigger than “which story is the real one”, and is asking questions like “what is the purpose of belief in seemingly fantastical stories and religion in a world filled with rational suffering?” That might lead to one conclusion: “it helps us manage unbelievable hardships.” But it can easily lead to another conclusion: “because belief in these stories makes hardship make sense.” For the latter in the context of Life of Pi being a fictional story: “belief in the animal story makes the larger themes I take from Life of Pi make more sense.”

This didn’t fully articulate my larger point, but long story short: I believe in the story with animals, because I believe it makes for a better story.

Passed the exams first try for both (430, 400 - USA). Have a background and experience and finance, but took very few accounting classes (and a more condensed finance program than most since it was part of my masters).

Looking back, my most important tips:

• Start with your weaker topic first - by the time you reach the last few weeks of studying for your last exam, you’ll have nothing in the tank. Even though I have a background in finance, my Part 2 exam score was lower because I just didn’t have the patience to drill. If that was my head space for Part 1, I wouldn’t have that cushion.
• Target a specific number of hours everyday. I did 2.5 hours on weekdays and 3 hours for weekends on part 1, for about 2.5 months, and 2 hours everyday for part 2 with Saturdays off, about 2.5 months as well. It’s just a matter of time - if you put in a set amount of high quality hours for a given duration, you’ll be fine.
• Try not to get sucked into really difficult topics too much. Most topics will only have like 3-4 questions on the exam related to them, and a few topics might have a couple more. If you spend too much time trying to get through a really annoying subject while neglecting your holistic understanding of the topic, you can easily lose sharpness and get frustrated.
• Try to have atleast one day a week off, or with minimal study. I think if I incorporated that into my studies for part 1, I would have been in a much better position for the last few weeks of part 2.

To anyone beginning this journey - you got this, I believe in you. If I can do it, so can you. If anyone wants any further advice, so let me know.

Every time I play as Trajan in VI, I spawn near cannibalistic, crack-infused horse barbarians ripped straight out of Roman propaganda about the Gauls. And I genuinely turn into a terrible person as a result of it.

Everyone has their own ideas of what makes a good shooting form, but not everyone has experience coaching it. There’s a difference between pointing things out, and teaching how to correct those things effectively. This isn’t a criticism of the sub’s intelligence - I do the same things too. It’s just the nature of the internet.

If you’re looking to improve at shooting, try to find a shooting coach if that’s possible for you. Real shooting requires habit building, being aware of your own tendencies, and a constant reminder to avoid a bad habit.

That will be much more effective than trying to decipher 10 comments saying 10 different contradictory things.

When you are studying for the exam, I recommend studying the part which you are less familiar with first.

Because my goodness is my motivation low for my second part. If I had to study for the part I had more difficulty with, I’d be absolutely miserable and dejected.

Burnout is a real thing and is your biggest obstacle - you will get it with enough time. Just make sure you have enough juice to keep trying to get at it in the first place.