12. Stories, Balance, and Truth

A conversation with Brian Ore. We discuss saying the alphabet backwards and drunkenness, the longest walkable road, traveling alone or with another person, sharing your experiences with others, The Three Body Problem, adapting books into tv shows or movies, Lin Qi's poisoning, Dan Weiss and David Benioff, entertainment made by one mind versus many minds, modern myths and the lack of a unifying story, the current breakdown in epistemology and trust in evidence, logic vs intuition (rational vs emotional thinking), how intuition has its basis in logic, how the heart doesn't actually feel emotion, how the brain works according to Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, whether you can be incorrect in a good way, whether civilization is worth it, whether intelligent life is planned or accidental, determinism, taking things literally, static characters and staying true to what you believe, Lord of the Rings and how things aren't black and white, the possible necessity of evil, addressing problems incrementally, coming to terms with your real nature and your shadow, sexual repression and how it fuels sexual obsession, differing but equally true truths and good goods, whether it might be better to split the country in half rather than have civil war, freedom vs truth, free will and compatibilism, what emotions are, how everything is the same, CHIM and having a lasting impact on the world, why we can reread the same book over and over, and the benefit of forgetting. The longest walkable road in the world: https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/71078/worlds-longest-walkable-route-stretches-from-cape-town-to-russia Lord of the Rings analysis video (part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndEWof-8xTY&t Lord of the Rings analysis video (part 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HYlbg6RKMA The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/ Video about CHIM (Elder Scrolls): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWmCmxi2e28