Are there reasons we (Less Wrong/SF fandom folks) are interested in torture beyond S/M and sexual gratification?
I guess that we are just more comfortable to admit it and probably also a bit naive about the social perception of doing so.
There is a very broad spectrum of what humans like. I am pretty sure that some people would be shocked if the different tastes and attitudes would be revealed, let alone extrapolated.
Anonymity provides some examples of how quite a few people tick.
anonymity ... [link to rant about reddit]
Reddit is not anonymous. Unless you mean the upvotes.
I have never read very much Science Fiction, unlike some of the people here on Less Wrong, and I think I would like to. At least, the few books I have read I enjoyed. I've read a couple of books from Asimov's Foundation Series, two Michael Crichton books, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, and an anthology of SciFi short stories (no really famous authors) that my dad owned.
That list looks very short. I just finished reading a fiction book, and am looking to start another. Recommendations? What are the two or three books I simply must read?