My Methodology of Analysis (200k SUB SPECIAL!)
概要
TLDRThe creator shares their methodology for analysis, which involves focusing on 'what' questions rather than 'why,' exploring contradictions, and building simplified models of understanding. The video aims to offer educational content to enhance analytical skills, rather than provide entertainment. The creator discusses the importance of asking abundant questions, embracing contradictions around key elements to foster deeper comprehension, and maintaining focus on generalized understanding rather than concrete answers. The methodology includes avoiding over-dependence on existing definitions or the intentions of creators while committing to independently forming insights. The notion of 'forgetting the facts' is suggested to inspire fresh perspectives and question preconceived notions, driving towards context-free understanding and independent analytical capability. Self-improvement in analysis is encouraged through critical thinking, comparison, inquiry, and empowering individual frameworks over pre-established ones.
収穫
- 🤔 Ask 'what' not 'why' to gather foundational knowledge.
- 🔍 Explore contradictions for deeper insights.
- 📚 Form your understanding before turning to external definitions.
- 🧠 'Forget the facts' to reassess fundamental ideas.
- 📝 Use simplicity as a goal for creating guiding models.
- ❌ Critically engage with the idea of overanalysis.
- 🛠 Build independent frameworks rather than relying on existing ones.
- 🌟 Questioning drives more comprehensive understanding and learning.
- 📈 Prioritize self-improvement through critical thinking and analysis.
- 🔄 Be open to multiple models and perspectives; contradictions can coexist.
タイムライン
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The video creator feels awkward sharing their unique analysis methodology, noting that it's not typical YouTube content and will be a detailed, non-entertaining guide. Despite the discomfort, they aim to fulfill viewer requests and provide comprehensive, actionable insights into their analytical process.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The creator introduces two major rules in analysis: first, to ask "why" about everything to help identify potential causes and questions that can guide understanding. They emphasize the importance of asking every conceivable question to open up possible areas of investigation or theory.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
The creator stresses the importance of asking "what" instead of "why" to focus analysis on gathering knowledge rather than expressing confusion. They argue that "what" questions lead to more structured, meaningful inquiry and help create more grounded theories by focusing on defining observed facts.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
The creator discusses the nature of developing theories and models in analysis, emphasizing that these are approximations that help explain data more comprehensively. They caution against settling on superficial definitions or relying on others' definitions without individual exploration.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
A methodology involving ongoing questioning is recommended to navigate getting stuck in analysis. This includes strategies like identifying contradictions, finding pivot points in sequences, and comparing similar or contrasting elements to stimulate further inquiry and deepen the investigation.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
The creator introduces the technique of 'forgetting the facts' to stimulate new perspectives, akin to Einstein's approach to rethinking subject matter without preconceived notions. They suggest stepping back to reassess broader topics abstractly to break through analytical roadblocks.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:00
The creator highlights the qualities of good theories: Simplicity (reducing complexity through unified, elegant explanations), transformative understanding (making phenomena appear categorically different), and requiring specific evidence to substantiate theories.
- 00:35:00 - 00:40:00
A list of general analytical do's and don'ts includes rejecting the concept of over-analysis and treating all details as potentially intentional, to focus on learning. They emphasize the importance of remaining open to new ideas and being mindful of the ego in evaluation.
- 00:40:00 - 00:45:00
The creator advises comparing everything in analysis as a rich source of questions and encourages deep engagement with analysis. They stress the importance of being confident yet open to critique, and the necessity of clearly formulating and communicating ideas.
- 00:45:00 - 01:22:33
The video closes with reflections on the educational background that informed the creator's approach, underscoring the value of tradition in learning. The creator expresses gratitude for the support received on their channel, sharing insights from their unique academic experiences.
マインドマップ
よくある質問
What is the main focus of the video?
The video focuses on explaining the creator's unique methodology for analysis, aiming to be educational and useful.
Why does the creator feel awkward making this video?
The creator feels awkward because it involves explaining their analytical thought process, which feels self-aggrandizing.
How does the creator view 'why' and 'what' questions?
The creator suggests prioritizing 'what' questions over 'why' questions to focus on gathering knowledge and understanding causes.
What does the video say about contradictions in analysis?
Contradictions are viewed as opportunities for deeper understanding, indicating areas where traditional thought may not fully explain a phenomenon.
How should one approach using other people's definitions according to the creator?
The video advises forming one's own understanding first before referring to external definitions to enhance personal insight and analysis skills.
What is the significance of 'forgetting the facts' in analysis?
'Forgetting the facts' encourages a fresh perspective by reassessing preconceived notions and looking at the broader subject matter.
How does the video suggest improving analytical skills?
By practicing asking questions, seeking contradictions, using personal ingenuity, and not relying solely on external ideas.
What are some key takeaways from the video's suggested methodology?
Key points include asking more 'what' than 'why,' analyzing contradictions, and committing to independent analysis and model-building.
Does the video address the concept of overanalysis?
Yes, the creator dismisses overanalysis as a concept that stifles deeper understanding and suggests engaging with complex analysis.
Why does the creator emphasize using fewer external sources?
Using fewer external sources encourages developing a unique viewpoint, improves critical thinking, and prevents reliance on predefined ideas.
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- 00:00:00okay this is a video about my
- 00:00:01methodology of analysis and it feels
- 00:00:03very weird people have been asking me
- 00:00:05for something like this since I started
- 00:00:06making analysis content I do recognize
- 00:00:08that I have a unique style that a lot of
- 00:00:09people probably haven't been exposed to
- 00:00:10but it's just awkward being like come in
- 00:00:12here help my brilliant genius smart
- 00:00:14person brain works when you're just like
- 00:00:16a random guy on YouTube making videos
- 00:00:17about TV shows so that's weird the other
- 00:00:19weird thing is that there's no way
- 00:00:20around how un YouTube friendly this
- 00:00:22video is going to be this is not like a
- 00:00:24five easy ways to improve your analysis
- 00:00:26BuzzFeed article this is going to be
- 00:00:28very dry it's gonna be very abstract
- 00:00:29it's gonna be exhausting to listen to I
- 00:00:31am packing a ton of information into
- 00:00:33this I'm trying to make these
- 00:00:34methodology techniques and strategies
- 00:00:36and rules and ideas as comprehensive and
- 00:00:39actionable as possible and because of
- 00:00:41that it's not gonna be exciting it's not
- 00:00:42like fun content I'm not making this to
- 00:00:43entertain I'm making it to be useful and
- 00:00:45hopefully it will be but either way it's
- 00:00:47what the people want so that's what I
- 00:00:48have to do okay last note this is not
- 00:00:50going to be about fiction analysis per
- 00:00:51se it's gonna be about analysis in
- 00:00:53general how I would analyze anything I
- 00:00:54mentioned before my background is not in
- 00:00:56literally analysis it's in tamilrock law
- 00:00:58Jewish law this the brisker method my
- 00:01:00channel was like I don't know a science
- 00:01:01channel or a psychology Channel or a
- 00:01:03philosophy Channel or God forbid a
- 00:01:05politics Channel this video would
- 00:01:06probably look almost exactly the same
- 00:01:07okay so enough intro let's start okay so
- 00:01:10let's begin with the two biggest rules
- 00:01:11of analyzing anything which may or may
- 00:01:14not contradict each other rule number
- 00:01:15one is ask why about everything this
- 00:01:19idea is pretty intuitive but I don't
- 00:01:21think the extent of it is as intuitive
- 00:01:22the first thing to do with anything you
- 00:01:24are trying to analyze is to ask every
- 00:01:27question you can think of and I mean
- 00:01:28every question so if I have a scene just
- 00:01:31like a little kid almost what I want to
- 00:01:32do first is ask like a thousand why
- 00:01:34questions spoilers for Arcane shocker
- 00:01:37take the tea party scene why a tea party
- 00:01:38why is doing it at circle's old place
- 00:01:40why is a real valdiana here why is bunny
- 00:01:42here why does she need Milo and clicker
- 00:01:43here why does she need Vander here I
- 00:01:45thought they didn't have much of a
- 00:01:45relationship why do Jinx physically make
- 00:01:47two chairs representing her identities
- 00:01:48why did she decorate the powder chair
- 00:01:50with these specific decorations with
- 00:01:52these designs with this aesthetic and
- 00:01:53then the same for the Jinx chair why the
- 00:01:55feathers Etc and why chairs why sitting
- 00:01:57and why does she do the dead Caitlyn
- 00:01:59fake out why is she treating VI this way
- 00:02:01why the cupcake why was vice offered to
- 00:02:03leave piltover and zhan the one thing
- 00:02:04that gave Jinx Paws why did she gags
- 00:02:06tickle and Caitlyn but not VI and then
- 00:02:08other questions to what was her plan for
- 00:02:09the night how did she think this would
- 00:02:11go what would happen if I had killed
- 00:02:13Caitlyn what happened with silco if I
- 00:02:14does then lesoko really never gonna give
- 00:02:16Jinx to them or is he lying is there a
- 00:02:18chance that he was going to shoot Jinx
- 00:02:19here and not VI and then also questions
- 00:02:20about individual lines what does nothing
- 00:02:22ever stay dead mean what does are we
- 00:02:24still sisters mean what is but you
- 00:02:25changed to me what does your perfect
- 00:02:27mean what does will show them mean and
- 00:02:28I'm including questions here that if
- 00:02:30we're being perfectly honest are
- 00:02:31probably totally meaningless details in
- 00:02:33the scene why does the scene take place
- 00:02:34in the dark why the candles why put a
- 00:02:35smiley face on Caitlyn's gag why is this
- 00:02:37guy red here what's the star meaning
- 00:02:38behind the whole Shimmer aided scuffle
- 00:02:40with Kate why did Jinx have the lighter
- 00:02:42here what are each of these monsters and
- 00:02:44why the order what about their colors
- 00:02:46why is it by shouting out Mom and Dad if
- 00:02:47we never really met them what's with the
- 00:02:49gigantic Vine mouth and the gigantic
- 00:02:51Circle mouth and a lot of these
- 00:02:52questions are going to be kind of stupid
- 00:02:54kind of meaningless they're not going to
- 00:02:55matter but questions are your only tools
- 00:02:58to understand anything asking questions
- 00:03:00forces you to notice each little thing
- 00:03:02that is unexplained which really means
- 00:03:04identifying what could fall into the
- 00:03:06scope of your theory or your
- 00:03:07investigation you're not necessarily
- 00:03:08trying to answer these questions you're
- 00:03:10taking note of everything that is in the
- 00:03:12scope of your data and these questions
- 00:03:14could become relevant once you know a
- 00:03:15little bit more they could be a starting
- 00:03:17point there could be some little bit of
- 00:03:18evidence that becomes relevant later on
- 00:03:20they could connect your investigation to
- 00:03:22some other important topic or whatever
- 00:03:23it's not always necessary to like
- 00:03:25literally write out an endless list and
- 00:03:26push yourself to ask more and more and
- 00:03:28more but the more you notice that's
- 00:03:29unexplained the more tools you will have
- 00:03:31to build your theory and let me be clear
- 00:03:33here even if you think you know the
- 00:03:35answer still ask the question those
- 00:03:37answers you think you have you don't
- 00:03:38know if you're going to sickle them
- 00:03:39throughout your investigation you may
- 00:03:40find flaws you may develop them more or
- 00:03:42you may find entirely different answers
- 00:03:43that you like much better so still voice
- 00:03:44the questions and there's gonna be the
- 00:03:45case whenever I talk about questions in
- 00:03:47this video when you are in question mode
- 00:03:48be in question mode forget about answers
- 00:03:50or no answers it's always worth just
- 00:03:52asking the questions anyway so that is
- 00:03:54rule number one ask about everything
- 00:03:55asked why about everything specifically
- 00:03:57because at this stage of your
- 00:03:58understanding you really need to be
- 00:03:59viewing every everything is potentially
- 00:04:00having a cause even if it doesn't
- 00:04:02because you haven't begun your
- 00:04:04investigation yet you don't know that
- 00:04:05yet and why is the type of question that
- 00:04:07probes our causes it is the best
- 00:04:08question to ask ask why about everything
- 00:04:11that is rule number one rule number two
- 00:04:13is stop asking why about anything it's a
- 00:04:16bad question okay let me explain okay so
- 00:04:18the real rule number two is this ask
- 00:04:20what not why and I see this as without a
- 00:04:24doubt the most important rule of
- 00:04:26analysis this rule or tip or whatever
- 00:04:28you want to call this is what changes
- 00:04:29everything if you take away one thing
- 00:04:31from this video to use and how you think
- 00:04:32about things it should be this so before
- 00:04:34I explain it it's gonna be really
- 00:04:35helpful to see examples first so here's
- 00:04:36an example of this principle in action
- 00:04:38or maybe an inaction I made it short
- 00:04:40about the animal symbolism in Arcane and
- 00:04:43I titled it with a why question why is
- 00:04:45jinx a monkey meaning why is jinx
- 00:04:47associated with monkey imagery and
- 00:04:48Arcane and I got this answer in a
- 00:04:50comment it's because Jinx was associated
- 00:04:52with a monkey in get Jinx the music
- 00:04:54video this is true but this does not
- 00:04:56further my understanding in any way how
- 00:04:58did I ask the question in the short I
- 00:04:59didn't ask why I drink some monkey I ask
- 00:05:01well what is a monkey what are the
- 00:05:03characteristics of a monkey playful
- 00:05:05chaotic wild oh Suddenly I See The
- 00:05:07Parallel Jinx also has these
- 00:05:08characteristics why is Saron an eye
- 00:05:10response but he is not an eye in the
- 00:05:12books that is true that does not further
- 00:05:14my understanding how did I ask the
- 00:05:15question in the short what is an i what
- 00:05:18is seeing what does it feel like to be
- 00:05:20watched what is the connection between
- 00:05:21this All-Seeing Eye and the All-Seeing
- 00:05:24Eye that is taking me places we are on
- 00:05:26our way before I even get to the
- 00:05:27question mark what as a line of inquiry
- 00:05:29more often not necessarily but more
- 00:05:31often puts you in a knowledge Gathering
- 00:05:33mental mode why can put you in a
- 00:05:36knowledge Gathering mode but it's also
- 00:05:38often just an exclamation of I'm
- 00:05:40confused this thing is confusing there's
- 00:05:42something I don't understand here now
- 00:05:43what do I do and that's why you get all
- 00:05:45these weird null answers because
- 00:05:47confusion is uncomfortable something is
- 00:05:49out of place having to exclaim a
- 00:05:51question is a frustration it's an itch
- 00:05:52and really anything that scratches that
- 00:05:54itch that works for me as long as I stop
- 00:05:56itching hey man that's good enough for
- 00:05:58me that's fine I'm I'm not looking for
- 00:06:00more understanding I'm looking for
- 00:06:02relief from the pain of my confusion
- 00:06:04this is why why questions tend to be
- 00:06:05taken as so open-ended that they can
- 00:06:07easily lead down unproductive roads they
- 00:06:09can lead anywhere as long as it stops
- 00:06:10the itch but not so with what questions
- 00:06:12or at least not so with good what
- 00:06:14questions good what questions will take
- 00:06:16you someplace before you've even
- 00:06:17finished saying the question and by the
- 00:06:18time you're done answering your watch
- 00:06:20you'll find otherwise you possibly could
- 00:06:22have asked are already answered the what
- 00:06:24obliterates the why
- 00:06:26aside from just the inefficiency and
- 00:06:28ineffectiveness of why questions there's
- 00:06:30another crucial benefit of starting
- 00:06:31analysis in what mode there's word you
- 00:06:33probably hear me using a lot in my
- 00:06:34videos which is speculative and I know
- 00:06:36it's an odd word to use with analysis
- 00:06:38because a lot of analysis a lot of
- 00:06:39theory is almost by definition pure
- 00:06:41speculation we're all just thinking
- 00:06:43thoughts and making random observations
- 00:06:44and deductions until something
- 00:06:45interesting and relevant pops out right
- 00:06:47and yeah that's true on some level but
- 00:06:49there's a really important divide for me
- 00:06:50when I'm thinking about anything between
- 00:06:51the point at which building a theory or
- 00:06:53an idea is making use of just what is
- 00:06:55just the facts or just abstractions that
- 00:06:58are so close to the facts or social
- 00:06:59self-evident that they themselves can be
- 00:07:01considered factual and at what point you
- 00:07:04start building connections and making
- 00:07:05deductions or inductions beyond the
- 00:07:07facts beyond what just is AKA the stage
- 00:07:10where you start making abstractions that
- 00:07:11can be argued with that can be seen
- 00:07:13differently that can be wrong what I'm
- 00:07:14trying to highlight here is that
- 00:07:15eventually theories will get into
- 00:07:17speculative territory that is the nature
- 00:07:19of theories but if you can start with
- 00:07:21steps that are so grounded in just what
- 00:07:23is that they cannot be wrong you will
- 00:07:26end up with better theories even though
- 00:07:28granted they are still speculative at
- 00:07:29the end of the day all theories are
- 00:07:30speculative but it's like that Indiana
- 00:07:31Jones scene where he's stepping on the
- 00:07:32tiles and try not to fall into the abyss
- 00:07:34it is exponentially beneficial how much
- 00:07:37I can help your theories to start with
- 00:07:38instead of just jumping on whatever
- 00:07:40random tiles that seem interesting to
- 00:07:41you to start with three tiles you know
- 00:07:43have completely Solid Ground beneath
- 00:07:46them if your first few steps are not
- 00:07:48speculative at all if your first steps
- 00:07:50are so grounded in what is that they
- 00:07:52cannot be wrong you will be on a better
- 00:07:54track for the next steps that's what
- 00:07:56what questions are giving reasons
- 00:07:58answering was it's doing your best to
- 00:08:00identify or invent connections between
- 00:08:02things which anyone can do in any number
- 00:08:04of ways but answering what is defining
- 00:08:07just what you see and the closer you are
- 00:08:09to definition to focusing on information
- 00:08:10where you cannot be wrong the closer you
- 00:08:12will be defining truth through your
- 00:08:14theorizing and by the way this principle
- 00:08:15I did not make it up
- 00:08:19immediately
- 00:08:22the trained mine avoids the whole thing
- 00:08:26it's true he wants to find out why but
- 00:08:28he knows that that way is looking today
- 00:08:30the train line
- 00:08:33just it's fine what is going on here
- 00:08:35what is going on here
- 00:08:37you see the untrained mind this is
- 00:08:39astounded as I work I say careful it's
- 00:08:42paralyzed the train line forgets about
- 00:08:45the astonishment and all business but
- 00:08:47just think what is going on can we pray
- 00:08:49is there anything here
- 00:08:51instead of running all around answering
- 00:08:53wise we just took these facts and said
- 00:08:56what does these facts say what's the
- 00:08:58what's your new on the period many times
- 00:09:00wants to define the fact that
- 00:09:03I know whenever people are complimenting
- 00:09:05my analysis stuff and I'm going no
- 00:09:06seriously it's not me all credit to my
- 00:09:08teachers and they're like yeah yeah he's
- 00:09:10being modest that recording is from
- 00:09:111971. I've heard ask what not why all my
- 00:09:14life it was a mantra in my academic
- 00:09:16community and I actually just want to go
- 00:09:17back to that recording for a second when
- 00:09:18teacher 5 is talking about this he uses
- 00:09:20an example from Aristotle that's really
- 00:09:22great at illustrating what I've just
- 00:09:23been talking about I don't know what
- 00:09:24he's quoting from I don't even know if
- 00:09:25he's remembering the case correctly this
- 00:09:26wasn't like a prepared lecture or
- 00:09:28anything it was just a recording of an
- 00:09:29improperative discussion with the
- 00:09:30students but anyway the Casey's
- 00:09:31referencing is that Aristotle saw a
- 00:09:33group of black people who had children
- 00:09:35who were white and then those white
- 00:09:36children grew up and had children who
- 00:09:38were black black
- 00:09:41yeah it is
- 00:10:21that's what it is
- 00:10:33it was right
- 00:10:35you see Aristotle was right why was he
- 00:10:37right because just with his intellect he
- 00:10:39was able to know hey there has to be
- 00:10:41something in here
- 00:10:42now he didn't know what a Jew was but it
- 00:10:45was intelligent to know they're ready to
- 00:10:47be on the trail of the team see he knew
- 00:10:49how to be there somewhere it was closer
- 00:10:51than anybody else before
- 00:10:54you know what I mean then when when
- 00:10:56Linda made the Expressions
- 00:11:07[Music]
- 00:11:15[Music]
- 00:11:23we see that there must be black inside
- 00:11:25the White it has to be that way well
- 00:11:36I know he's saying where not what the
- 00:11:39wording doesn't actually matter it's not
- 00:11:40important to say the word what some good
- 00:11:41why questions are really what questions
- 00:11:43some bad what questions are really why
- 00:11:44questions Etc but anyway definition is
- 00:11:46the focus here what questions lead us to
- 00:11:48definitions not theories and then
- 00:11:50sometimes the definition itself will be
- 00:11:52enough and sometimes definitions will
- 00:11:53just lead to a much better Theory a
- 00:11:55theory built on a much firmer Foundation
- 00:11:57last point on what questions I've
- 00:11:58referenced this a bit already but the
- 00:12:00best what questions are already starting
- 00:12:01to Define in my Lord of the Rings versus
- 00:12:03Arcane video I asked what is the
- 00:12:05underlying frustration behind the
- 00:12:06heart's criticisms that is already
- 00:12:08acknowledging that even if I disagree
- 00:12:10with the heart's criticisms what's
- 00:12:11prompting these questions is real
- 00:12:13something real is causing frustration
- 00:12:15for this person and this question
- 00:12:16accurately characterizes the criticisms
- 00:12:18as a result of frustration and even
- 00:12:20worse Clues to identifying the nature of
- 00:12:22that frustration in this harmony short I
- 00:12:24asked what is the function of telling
- 00:12:25not showing by this character that's
- 00:12:26defining what we're seeing as telling
- 00:12:28not showing I'm not asking why are we
- 00:12:30breaking this rule my question is
- 00:12:31accurately identifying that there is a
- 00:12:32function being served here in the r our
- 00:12:35video I ask what traits are we seeing
- 00:12:37Showcase in ROM's introduction that is
- 00:12:39already defining one essential element
- 00:12:40of the functionality of a character
- 00:12:41intro scene and this is also implying
- 00:12:43that traits we see here have
- 00:12:44functionality for what we will later
- 00:12:46learn about who this guy is questions
- 00:12:47are not and should not just be
- 00:12:50exclamations of ignorance questions are
- 00:12:52an opportunity to identify the features
- 00:12:54of what you're examining that is why you
- 00:12:56will go far if you can endlessly ask
- 00:12:57questions on a topic you're finding all
- 00:12:59these things that stand out that might
- 00:13:00be clues for you later on and certain
- 00:13:03types of questions what questions
- 00:13:04specifically Orient you towards firmer
- 00:13:06foundations to build theories on and
- 00:13:08this has to do with the Mind mode they
- 00:13:09urge you towards we've departed from
- 00:13:11proclaiming hopeless painful ignorance
- 00:13:12here and instead we've gone to the much
- 00:13:14more productive knowledge Gathering mode
- 00:13:16and the other Advantage is all the
- 00:13:17implicit facts that the best what
- 00:13:19questions are premised on what questions
- 00:13:21lead you to take Rock Solid First Steps
- 00:13:23in building a theory they keep you from
- 00:13:25being wildly speculative and they focus
- 00:13:27you on just defining what you see and at
- 00:13:29that stage in the process what you're
- 00:13:30focusing on you cannot be wrong at that
- 00:13:32stage you are just looking at the facts
- 00:13:34and because because of that where those
- 00:13:35first steps lead will often just be
- 00:13:37truer and just to caveat here I'm not
- 00:13:39really saying don't ask why questions
- 00:13:40why questions can be great questions
- 00:13:42they can point to really strong
- 00:13:43contradictions they can also just be
- 00:13:45really great what questions in Disguise
- 00:13:46so keep asking all questions but
- 00:13:48specifically ask what not why Focus more
- 00:13:50give more value to what questions those
- 00:13:52are going to be the best questions you
- 00:13:54can ask like I said earlier this is the
- 00:13:56most useful analytical tool in my
- 00:13:58experience I understand it can be a
- 00:13:59weird principle to hear at first it can
- 00:14:01sound a bit arbitrary like it's a
- 00:14:02distinction without a difference but the
- 00:14:03more you see it in action the more you
- 00:14:05will see just how important it is if
- 00:14:06there's any one thing to talk about in
- 00:14:08this video that by itself can completely
- 00:14:09transform and supercharge your
- 00:14:11analytical skills it is getting good at
- 00:14:13this if you like my content it is by far
- 00:14:15the tool I use the most if you ask me to
- 00:14:17list 20 times off the top of my head
- 00:14:18where I use this in my videos I could do
- 00:14:20it easily I could do three examples I
- 00:14:21could do 50 examples actually I will do
- 00:14:23that here feel free to pause if you want
- 00:14:24you don't have to just to show evidence
- 00:14:26of how useful and how pervasive this is
- 00:14:27this rule really is everything for me
- 00:14:29okay so moving on next topic the brown
- 00:14:32throated thrush in this video we're
- 00:14:34going to moving through the stages of
- 00:14:35analysis here that's going to be the
- 00:14:37rough structure so we just talked about
- 00:14:38questions but you can't really get
- 00:14:39started with answers without knowing
- 00:14:41what type of answer you're looking for
- 00:14:42what are we trying to accomplish through
- 00:14:44this analysis I have five points here
- 00:14:46the first two have to do with this guy
- 00:14:48Richard Feynman famous physicist and
- 00:14:50prankster and lock picker and Bongo
- 00:14:52player worked on the Manhattan Project
- 00:14:53Nobel Prize Challenger disaster Etc
- 00:14:55famous guy a really cool guy listen to
- 00:14:56the story about his childhood and the
- 00:14:58next Monday we were playing in a field
- 00:15:00and the kids said to me say what's that
- 00:15:03bird what's the name of do you know the
- 00:15:04name Outburst says I'm the slightest
- 00:15:05idea
- 00:15:06he said well it's a brown-throated
- 00:15:08thrush he says your father doesn't teach
- 00:15:10you anything but my father had already
- 00:15:12taught me about the names of birds he
- 00:15:15once we walked and he says that's a
- 00:15:17brown sword of thrush he says know what
- 00:15:18the name of that bird it's a brown
- 00:15:20Throne of the thrush
- 00:15:21in German it's called a freaking plague
- 00:15:24in Chinese it's called a king long pong
- 00:15:27in Japanese
- 00:15:28and so on and when you know all the
- 00:15:31names in every language of that bird you
- 00:15:34know nothing but absolutely nothing
- 00:15:35about the bird
- 00:15:37then we would go on and talk about the
- 00:15:39pecking in the feathers so I had learned
- 00:15:41already that names though
- 00:15:42constitute knowledge names are not ideas
- 00:15:46jargon is not ideas analysis is not
- 00:15:49about making references to named ideas
- 00:15:51and using jargon to translate a
- 00:15:53phenomenon into some complex formulation
- 00:15:54of what you could just easily describe
- 00:15:56without any dragon that is not what
- 00:15:57analysis should be analyzing something
- 00:15:59should be about gaining knowledge it's
- 00:16:00about advancing your understanding of
- 00:16:02how something works or what the essence
- 00:16:03of a thing is if you don't come out of
- 00:16:05the process knowing more than you did
- 00:16:07before you've wasted your time and
- 00:16:08speaking in jargon if it's not helping
- 00:16:10you with that if it's just referencing
- 00:16:12named ideas as a flimsy replacement for
- 00:16:14understanding that is not good enough
- 00:16:15that is not knowing more about something
- 00:16:16so in terms of the goals of the analysis
- 00:16:18it is not that that is not what you're
- 00:16:20trying to do in terms of answers it
- 00:16:22should not be about that it should not
- 00:16:23be about looking for what to call things
- 00:16:25second Point similar point but I want to
- 00:16:26highlight something different we have
- 00:16:28another Richard Feynman childhood sorry
- 00:16:29listen to this one one day when I was
- 00:16:31playing with the little wagon for
- 00:16:33children to pull around
- 00:16:35it had a ball in it I remember this and
- 00:16:38had a ball in it and I pulled the wagon
- 00:16:40and I noticed something about the way
- 00:16:42the ball moved so I went to my father
- 00:16:44and I said say pop
- 00:16:48I noticed something
- 00:16:50when I pull the wagon the ball rolls to
- 00:16:52the back of the wagon it rushes to the
- 00:16:54back of the wagon and when I'm pulling
- 00:16:55along and I suddenly stop the ball rolls
- 00:16:57to the front of the wagon I said why is
- 00:16:58that
- 00:16:59and he said that he says nobody knows
- 00:17:04he said the general principle is that
- 00:17:06things that are moving try to keep on
- 00:17:08moving and things that are standing
- 00:17:10still tend to stand still unless you
- 00:17:12push on them hard
- 00:17:14and he says this tendency is called
- 00:17:16inertia but nobody knows why it's true
- 00:17:18so this is another fantastic stressing
- 00:17:20of the difference between names and
- 00:17:21ideas but I want to focus on the step of
- 00:17:23saying no one knows why but we call the
- 00:17:25pattern inertia this is such a perfect
- 00:17:27summing up of the stages of ethereum
- 00:17:29often really what a theory is at the end
- 00:17:30of the day what you are doing is
- 00:17:32creating models that are proximate
- 00:17:34reality and often that is all you can do
- 00:17:36I'm not a physicist but when we went
- 00:17:38from Aristotelian physics to whatever
- 00:17:39was next Galilean physics Newtonian
- 00:17:41physics it's not like science had
- 00:17:42defined the reality of what motion is
- 00:17:44and then it was wrong and noon was right
- 00:17:46and then Newton was wrong and Einstein
- 00:17:48was right no everyone had similar data
- 00:17:50sets and these were models they were
- 00:17:52patterns the human mind imposed on
- 00:17:54reality that helped us to understand
- 00:17:55what was happening each one was getting
- 00:17:58closer and closer to explaining a more
- 00:18:00and more complete segment of that data
- 00:18:02set but theories explaining something
- 00:18:04are not the thing they are
- 00:18:06approximations they are models that help
- 00:18:07us explain more of the data and
- 00:18:09sometimes the more your models develop
- 00:18:11the best models those may start to point
- 00:18:13at what the thing is but even if your
- 00:18:16theories don't get there you've
- 00:18:17accomplished a lot just by improving
- 00:18:19your models when I'm defining
- 00:18:20Cliffhangers or beauty or the bad movie
- 00:18:22Trend or masculinity or talking about
- 00:18:24some system of writing a powerful scene
- 00:18:26or what makes a good character or how to
- 00:18:28evaluate whether a story is good or not
- 00:18:30I am absolutely not saying this is the
- 00:18:32end-all be-all this is what the thing is
- 00:18:34no I'm trying to give a model to help us
- 00:18:36understand more of the data I'm looking
- 00:18:38for a more useful approximation of
- 00:18:40what's Happening than what I started
- 00:18:41with I am not trying to say why
- 00:18:43Richard's ball went to the back of the
- 00:18:44wagon I finding more accurate ways of
- 00:18:46describing the model the pattern that we
- 00:18:48call inertia worth mentioning at this
- 00:18:50point there's a very well-known saying
- 00:18:51in talmudic study
- 00:18:53it translates to these and these are
- 00:18:56both words of the Living God and what
- 00:18:57that means is that when you're working
- 00:18:59within an area like tomirik law or
- 00:19:01storytelling that is not a hard science
- 00:19:02good theories are not mutually exclusive
- 00:19:05even when they contradict each other and
- 00:19:07this is because they are models you will
- 00:19:09often end up with two models that are
- 00:19:10both logically sound that disagree with
- 00:19:12one another and your job ends there
- 00:19:13there's is know which one wins which one
- 00:19:15is the truth no both your theoretical
- 00:19:17models are words of the Living God so to
- 00:19:19speak they're good models they make
- 00:19:20sense they Advance your understanding
- 00:19:22and they're logical that is good that is
- 00:19:24exactly what you're looking for a full
- 00:19:25stop and by the way they both do have to
- 00:19:27be logical you can come up with two
- 00:19:28models that are contradictory and then
- 00:19:29you find flaws in one of them or one of
- 00:19:31them there's just better it's more
- 00:19:32elegant than the other one and then
- 00:19:33those are not both words of the Living
- 00:19:34God so to speak they're not both equally
- 00:19:36useful and then yeah one of them did win
- 00:19:38and that's also fine but what I'm trying
- 00:19:39to say is often just a waste of time
- 00:19:40trying to figure out like no which one
- 00:19:42of these ideas is beauty which is the
- 00:19:44end-all be-all reality of what a
- 00:19:46cliffhanger is or what makes a good
- 00:19:47character finding the one theory that
- 00:19:48works to the exclusion of all the other
- 00:19:50theories and why all the other theories
- 00:19:51are wrong it's a waste of time and let
- 00:19:53me take this point even further here
- 00:19:54even when you're not juggling multiple
- 00:19:56ideas anytime you're looking to explain
- 00:19:58data and have developed a working Theory
- 00:20:00what makes a compelling character is X
- 00:20:02is development let's say if someone says
- 00:20:04well I think R2D2 is a good character
- 00:20:06and he doesn't have any development your
- 00:20:08response to that should not be R2D2 is
- 00:20:10not a good character because character
- 00:20:12is all about development so you're wrong
- 00:20:13you your response should be to take this
- 00:20:15as an opportunity to discover the other
- 00:20:17person's model what makes a good
- 00:20:18character and that may mean that you end
- 00:20:20up with two contradictory models that
- 00:20:21are both words of the Living God or
- 00:20:22maybe you'll see your friends model and
- 00:20:24compare that to your own model and
- 00:20:25you'll discover some way to synthesize
- 00:20:26the two but the point is finding a model
- 00:20:28and using that to invalidate data that
- 00:20:30is the reverse of what you're trying to
- 00:20:31do you're trying to explain the data and
- 00:20:32in the Arts how people feel is part of
- 00:20:34the data set okay Point number three
- 00:20:36okay this is one that kind of fires me
- 00:20:37up a bit when I'm talking about what
- 00:20:39questions and definition I am not
- 00:20:42talking about dictionaries dictionaries
- 00:20:44are reference tools the goal of its
- 00:20:46contents are to help you to identify
- 00:20:48what words refer to the goal is not to
- 00:20:50give you a deep understanding of what
- 00:20:51the concept behind a word is example if
- 00:20:54you're trying to understand a mental
- 00:20:55health condition like depression let's
- 00:20:57say you should not look it up in the
- 00:20:58dictionary you should look it up in the
- 00:21:00DSM you should talk to people who work
- 00:21:01in Psychology and Psychiatry and
- 00:21:03Neuroscience you should talk to people
- 00:21:04who have suffered from depression or
- 00:21:05have friends and loved ones who've
- 00:21:06suffer from it mental health
- 00:21:07professionals didn't go to school and
- 00:21:09just look up every condition
- 00:21:10Merriam-Webster and get handed a diploma
- 00:21:12obviously so same with everything if
- 00:21:14you're analyzing a scene with a
- 00:21:15cliffhanger and you realize you're at a
- 00:21:16point where you have to Define it do not
- 00:21:18use a dictionary use your brain you do
- 00:21:20not need help to identify Cliffhangers
- 00:21:21which the dictionary definition may help
- 00:21:23you to do you are trying to understand
- 00:21:24the idea of it and you have all the data
- 00:21:27you need to think about it I.E your own
- 00:21:28experience of it your own experience
- 00:21:30hearing people talk about it other
- 00:21:31people's opinions of it so your job is
- 00:21:32to figure that out for yourself I could
- 00:21:34see using a dictionary definition as
- 00:21:35part of your data but the idea that a
- 00:21:36dictionary has some Authority when it
- 00:21:38comes to definitions specifically
- 00:21:39definitions of complex things I could
- 00:21:41not disagree with that more on a similar
- 00:21:43note 0.4 and this one is controversial
- 00:21:45hold off on using other people's
- 00:21:46definitions until you've worked on it
- 00:21:48yourself at least a little bit first of
- 00:21:49all just practically no two analyzes are
- 00:21:51the same and that may severely impact
- 00:21:53whether it relates to your investigation
- 00:21:54or not and some ways you might not even
- 00:21:56realize like if Aristotle has an idea of
- 00:21:58beauty he is dealing with entirely
- 00:21:59different data than I am and probably a
- 00:22:01different emotional lexicon as well and
- 00:22:02this is all fitting to some bigger
- 00:22:04General ideas of what beauty is in the
- 00:22:05natural world and other things about how
- 00:22:07nature works and how humans work all
- 00:22:09these other things that have impacted
- 00:22:10his analysis and his goals are probably
- 00:22:12different than ours he is doing
- 00:22:13philosophy for our investigation we're
- 00:22:15just trying to become better writers two
- 00:22:16completely different investigations so
- 00:22:18if you have a question like this and you
- 00:22:19start with someone else's answer you may
- 00:22:20throw yourself off the scent of the
- 00:22:21Beast you're really chasing and by the
- 00:22:23way that may be absolutely clear this
- 00:22:24applies equally to me and my YouTube
- 00:22:25videos as well if you're trying to think
- 00:22:27of something don't let me impact your
- 00:22:28thought process if I say something about
- 00:22:30it that resonates with you that's fine
- 00:22:31but I encourage you hold off and think
- 00:22:33about it on your own develop an idea
- 00:22:34that's unique to you and how you think
- 00:22:36and then you can compare it to my idea
- 00:22:37or to other people's ideas compare them
- 00:22:39to yours see if they fit see if they're
- 00:22:40better than what you came up with
- 00:22:41basically you lose Nothing by waiting
- 00:22:43and you do lose something by not waiting
- 00:22:45you may lose the opportunity to develop
- 00:22:46your understanding of your own unique
- 00:22:47worldview which is a pretty significant
- 00:22:49thing to lose and that is my premise
- 00:22:50here that everyone already has ideas
- 00:22:51about all these topics we talk about
- 00:22:53casually these ideas are in the back of
- 00:22:54your mind they're semi-conscious they're
- 00:22:55totally not developed and that is
- 00:22:57precisely what is worth exploring what
- 00:22:58is worth developing you person listening
- 00:23:00to this do you have a way of using the
- 00:23:01word beauty or the word Cliffhanger that
- 00:23:03operates by some unconscious rules and
- 00:23:05your analysis is going to largely
- 00:23:06consist of sharpening that really rough
- 00:23:07idea you already have into something
- 00:23:09more definitive more profound whatever
- 00:23:10and the best part will be that that idea
- 00:23:12is completely unique to you it has all
- 00:23:14these nuances that come from only how
- 00:23:16you think from experiences that only you
- 00:23:18have why sacrifice the opportunity to
- 00:23:19see this uniquely creative thing you do
- 00:23:21without even realizing it by running to
- 00:23:23someone else's idea first and letting
- 00:23:24the authority of that person overshadow
- 00:23:26whatever beautiful snowflake of an idea
- 00:23:28you have in your own beautiful brain no
- 00:23:30sharpen that unique idea only you are
- 00:23:32capable of producing I want to hear that
- 00:23:34you can always compare to other people's
- 00:23:35theories and definitions later but you
- 00:23:36really only have one chance to discover
- 00:23:38your ideas undiluted with as little
- 00:23:40outside influence as possible it's a
- 00:23:42special opportunity do not waste it so
- 00:23:44that is one reason to hold off when
- 00:23:45using other people's definitions second
- 00:23:47reason almost as important maybe even
- 00:23:49more important is that a large part of
- 00:23:50the goal of analysis should be to become
- 00:23:52better at analysis if you run into other
- 00:23:54people's definitions it's like asking
- 00:23:55someone else to do your squats for you
- 00:23:57at the gym what are you doing you should
- 00:23:58be trying to get better at thinking more
- 00:24:00precise more creative more logical more
- 00:24:01beautiful why let someone else have that
- 00:24:03workout and that payoff and by the way
- 00:24:04I'm not saying like don't read Aristotle
- 00:24:06or expose yourself to anyone else's
- 00:24:08definitions or World Views before we've
- 00:24:09completely developed everything about
- 00:24:10your own I'm saying when you're
- 00:24:12analyzing something I'm saying when
- 00:24:13you've said your sites a new thing to
- 00:24:14analyze you're sitting down to think at
- 00:24:16that moment hold off on other people's
- 00:24:18definitions do your thing and then go
- 00:24:19compare okay final point and this is a
- 00:24:21minute point but it's been drilled into
- 00:24:22me because it's a mistake that comes up
- 00:24:24so often and so easily that I think it's
- 00:24:26important to mention here a definition
- 00:24:27that starts with that which is not a
- 00:24:29definition what is a chair that which
- 00:24:31you sit on what is inertia that which
- 00:24:33makes things stay in motion what is a
- 00:24:34cliffhanger that which makes me feel
- 00:24:36suspense as a story ends if you're
- 00:24:37thinking about what you're saying you're
- 00:24:38using that witch so you don't have to
- 00:24:40say what the thing actually is you're
- 00:24:42skipping right to what it does so that
- 00:24:43definition is not really defining it
- 00:24:45it's defining its action or its
- 00:24:46potentiality no what is a chair it is a
- 00:24:49constructed raised service of a size and
- 00:24:51Constitution designed and built to
- 00:24:53support a certain human being something
- 00:24:54like that what is inertia it is a
- 00:24:56description of the pattern and physics
- 00:24:58of the behavioral objects in motion that
- 00:24:59they stay in motion what is a
- 00:25:01cliffhanger it is an ending that's
- 00:25:02rendered incomplete by withholding the
- 00:25:04resolution of a major arc and that often
- 00:25:07causes suspense but even if you
- 00:25:09personally don't feel that emotion it's
- 00:25:11still a cliffhanger and there are some
- 00:25:12cases where you do feel suspended and
- 00:25:14it's still not a cliffhanger just like
- 00:25:15there's plenty of things you can sit on
- 00:25:16that are not chairs so to sum up what
- 00:25:18are you trying to accomplish with your
- 00:25:19analysis what will the answers be like
- 00:25:21one they will provide a deeper
- 00:25:22understanding of what the thing is or
- 00:25:24how it functions which means you are not
- 00:25:26just naming something or referencing
- 00:25:27names or translating into jargon you are
- 00:25:29looking for a new understanding and if
- 00:25:30you come out of your analysis without
- 00:25:32that then you're not done you got more
- 00:25:33work to do number two you are not
- 00:25:35looking for the underlying reality the
- 00:25:36be-all and all truth of what the
- 00:25:38phenomenon is that you're investigating
- 00:25:39you're looking to find a model that will
- 00:25:41help you explain more of the data and
- 00:25:42there may be multiple valid models and
- 00:25:44they may even be contradictory but as
- 00:25:46long as they're logically consistent and
- 00:25:47advanced understanding that's exactly
- 00:25:49where you want to be not necessarily to
- 00:25:50go further than that number three do not
- 00:25:52use dictionary definitions number four
- 00:25:54hold off on other people's definitions
- 00:25:56until you've done some work on your own
- 00:25:58and both these points are about using
- 00:25:59that opportunity for deeper
- 00:26:00understanding sharpening UniQue Ideas
- 00:26:01only you have that you can then compare
- 00:26:03to ideas of other people and also it's
- 00:26:05about getting better analysis by making
- 00:26:07you do the thinking instead of leaving
- 00:26:08it for something else to do and letting
- 00:26:09that person get the practice and number
- 00:26:11five don't fall into the that which trap
- 00:26:12in your definitions it sounds like a
- 00:26:14definition but you're just describing
- 00:26:16what it does or what potentiality it has
- 00:26:18and really avoiding talking about the
- 00:26:19thing itself okay time for the next
- 00:26:21stage getting stuck is the next stage of
- 00:26:24analysis you've asked a bunch of
- 00:26:25questions congratulations now it all
- 00:26:27really doesn't make sense in all these
- 00:26:29like terrifying and specific ways or
- 00:26:31maybe you did make some headways still
- 00:26:32you're gonna get stuck everyone gets
- 00:26:33stuck it's part of the process so what
- 00:26:35do you do when you're stuck obviously
- 00:26:36what do you think I'm gonna say
- 00:26:37Obviously you ask more questions but
- 00:26:39specific questions or specific types of
- 00:26:40questions so let me list six types of
- 00:26:42questions I find to be particularly
- 00:26:44effective at getting you unstuck or
- 00:26:45getting you deeper into an investigation
- 00:26:47here's the list just as a preview number
- 00:26:49one contradictions number two pivot
- 00:26:50Points number three incomplete
- 00:26:51comparisons or incomplete contrast
- 00:26:53number four what's extra number five
- 00:26:54what's the address number six what must
- 00:26:56you say so number one contradictions
- 00:26:57I've talked about this quite a bit and
- 00:26:59this is number one because it is the
- 00:27:01most useful thing to find let me explain
- 00:27:03what's going on here because it can be a
- 00:27:04little counterintuitive contradictions
- 00:27:06usually the reason people don't like
- 00:27:07finding contradictions is that usually
- 00:27:09they're a sign of error it's sloppy
- 00:27:11writing sloppy reasoning sloppy argument
- 00:27:13rhetoric deduction logic we end up with
- 00:27:15conflicting components that expose the
- 00:27:17shoddy development contradictions
- 00:27:18usually end the discussion it shows
- 00:27:20there's no ideas behind this it's all
- 00:27:21farce but if there's a reason to assume
- 00:27:24There's real wisdom behind what you're
- 00:27:25analyzing then it's the opposite
- 00:27:27contradiction is a sign of depth it's a
- 00:27:29sign that there's more understanding to
- 00:27:31be gained it's an x marks the spot great
- 00:27:33ideas will be found right here here a
- 00:27:35contradiction is a sign of your sloppy
- 00:27:37thinking if anything there's a reason it
- 00:27:38looks nonsensical to you and it's your
- 00:27:40job to figure that out think about like
- 00:27:41a queen sacrifice in chess Queen best
- 00:27:42piece on the board you do not want to
- 00:27:44give that pizza for free if it's a bad
- 00:27:45player that's an error that sloppy
- 00:27:47thinking if it's Magnus and you think
- 00:27:49it's a nonsensical move that's on you
- 00:27:50there's something you're not
- 00:27:51understanding here and you probably want
- 00:27:53to think twice before taking that Queen
- 00:27:54so if a character is acting
- 00:27:55inconsistently in a bad story sloppy
- 00:27:58running there's nothing here next if a
- 00:28:00character is acting inconsistently in a
- 00:28:01great story and it's a great character a
- 00:28:03compelling character a Threading here
- 00:28:04does seem intentional then you better
- 00:28:06start digging there is buried treasure
- 00:28:08where you are standing and what I mean
- 00:28:09by digging contradictions Force you
- 00:28:11towards a more complex and nuanced
- 00:28:13perspective this is classic teacher
- 00:28:15number one first day of class this would
- 00:28:16be the first thing you would teach he
- 00:28:17called it subdividing when I let a rock
- 00:28:19go it falls to the ground when I let my
- 00:28:21balloon go it goes up into the sky
- 00:28:22contradiction so what do you do
- 00:28:24subdivide things that are heavier than
- 00:28:25air fall things that are lighter than
- 00:28:27air rise from there we get to buoyancy
- 00:28:29and we realize it's not too conflicting
- 00:28:30phenomena it is a single phenomenon that
- 00:28:32is more nuanced than our previous
- 00:28:33understanding Jinx says you change too
- 00:28:35but Vai is the one who didn't change
- 00:28:37subdivide we have reality reality and we
- 00:28:39have Jinx reality in reality reality VI
- 00:28:41didn't change but the way Jinx sees the
- 00:28:43world VI won't randomly kill Kate She is
- 00:28:45totally changed this proves it and
- 00:28:46there's a more nuanced understanding of
- 00:28:47the thing that is going on here or
- 00:28:49Theory 2 VI hasn't changed in terms of
- 00:28:51her love for powder but she has changed
- 00:28:53in terms of her love for her sister
- 00:28:55who's become someone different than
- 00:28:56powder and here we also end up with a
- 00:28:58more nuanced picture that shows us that
- 00:28:59she has changed and she hasn't it's more
- 00:29:01complex than we thought okay so question
- 00:29:03two what's the pivot point I stole this
- 00:29:05one from my brother you can thank him if
- 00:29:06you're dealing with a sequence that's
- 00:29:07hard to understand a sequence of any
- 00:29:09kind sequence of events dialogue
- 00:29:10sequence whatever anything ordered not
- 00:29:13always but but sometimes you can
- 00:29:14identify a point in the sequence when
- 00:29:16something changes before this point it
- 00:29:18was like this it was about this this was
- 00:29:20the essence after this point it was
- 00:29:21different it was about something else it
- 00:29:23had a different Focus different Essence
- 00:29:24and now that we found this pivot point
- 00:29:25now we can ask what's the relationship
- 00:29:27to how things were in the first half and
- 00:29:28how things were in the second half
- 00:29:29something changed what changed why did
- 00:29:31it have this impact and also similar
- 00:29:33contradictions you end up pushing
- 00:29:34yourself to find nudity as well this is
- 00:29:36the scene that powder changed into Jinx
- 00:29:38we can talk about all the differences
- 00:29:39but zeroing in on what the relationship
- 00:29:40is from before to after it's forcing you
- 00:29:43to Define really what did not change how
- 00:29:44is this still one single person next one
- 00:29:47is similar incomplete comparisons and
- 00:29:48incomplete contrast take any two similar
- 00:29:50elements that have even slightly
- 00:29:52different outcomes are treated slightly
- 00:29:53differently they're similar but they're
- 00:29:55not identical and those seemingly my new
- 00:29:57differences are going to be what
- 00:29:58determines the difference in outcome and
- 00:29:59then alternatively take any two opposite
- 00:30:01elements that have the same outcome or
- 00:30:03are treated the same or similarly
- 00:30:04they're opposite but not completely
- 00:30:06opposite not in every way and those
- 00:30:07seemingly minute similarities are going
- 00:30:09to be able to determine the similarity
- 00:30:10and outcome examples for comparisons if
- 00:30:12I'm trying to understand why or powder I
- 00:30:14can look at them in terms of comparisons
- 00:30:15to the other undercity kids we have the
- 00:30:16full set of VI powder Echo clagra Milo
- 00:30:19even Deckard they all started out pretty
- 00:30:20similar but drastically different
- 00:30:22outcomes so what determined these
- 00:30:23differences in outcome by seeing the
- 00:30:24details that don't exactly compare we
- 00:30:26identify the possible routes to the
- 00:30:27answers for example age is a difference
- 00:30:29engagement style is another difference
- 00:30:30relationships and other different
- 00:30:31capability another difference now
- 00:30:33examples for opposites Vander and silco
- 00:30:35these two characters could not be more
- 00:30:36different politically ethically in terms
- 00:30:38of parenting even physically but they
- 00:30:39have nearly identical outcomes so
- 00:30:41similarities they both love their
- 00:30:43daughters more than anything let's start
- 00:30:44there or they were both leaders or they
- 00:30:46were both from the lanes or they both
- 00:30:47fought piltober all reasonable starting
- 00:30:49points now we can examine all these
- 00:30:50differences between the two characters
- 00:30:52that we may think would change the
- 00:30:53outcome that the similarities rendered
- 00:30:55inconsequential and then we can think
- 00:30:56about why they're inconsequential
- 00:30:58another example Echo Heimerdinger could
- 00:30:59not be more different in terms of where
- 00:31:01they're from age experience physically
- 00:31:03philosophically how they see time
- 00:31:04relationships Fame but newly identical
- 00:31:06outcomes they are the only characters
- 00:31:07that end up with completely positive
- 00:31:09endings to their arcs so similarities
- 00:31:10they're both scientists they both value
- 00:31:12life more than anyone else in the show
- 00:31:14they both turn their backs in their
- 00:31:15societies great starting points okay
- 00:31:16number four what's extra what doesn't
- 00:31:18need to be here the boxing scene what is
- 00:31:20the point of that scene at all why do we
- 00:31:22need to hear all about Mel's mysterious
- 00:31:24brother who's this guy and what's the
- 00:31:25point of him why does Vander need to be
- 00:31:26represented in the scene why is the real
- 00:31:28vaviani here why does bunny need to be
- 00:31:29in every bunny scene why the color
- 00:31:31system what if it wasn't there and you
- 00:31:32can also do this with characters and
- 00:31:33scenes and arcs in terms of how they
- 00:31:35exist take any character and imagine the
- 00:31:37most default basic unadorned form of
- 00:31:39this thing you can possibly think of and
- 00:31:40then one by one see what each unique
- 00:31:42characteristic adds to the character's
- 00:31:44functionality I've used normal Rupert as
- 00:31:46a name for this tool in the past if I'm
- 00:31:48trying to figure out R2D2 or Chewbacca
- 00:31:49or whoever I imagine the character in
- 00:31:51the most default form I can think of
- 00:31:52totally average guy serving a similar
- 00:31:54purpose Han psychic is just a guy who
- 00:31:56follows him around instead of Chewbacca
- 00:31:57normal human guy normal Bill talks
- 00:31:59normally or serving the plot functions
- 00:32:01after D2 serves helping out on their
- 00:32:02ship or with computer stuff blending the
- 00:32:04mood with little gags normal guy normal
- 00:32:06human man just doing R2D2 things that
- 00:32:08thought experiment allows me to isolate
- 00:32:09the unique characteristics one by one
- 00:32:11Chewie is Big Chewie is an alien and
- 00:32:13Chewie makes growling noises instead of
- 00:32:15talking R2D2 is cute R2D2 moves around
- 00:32:17on Wheels kind of slowly R2D2 is
- 00:32:19cheerful and if it's a scene I imagine
- 00:32:21the most basic version of that scene
- 00:32:22imaginable Jinx and Echo just fight they
- 00:32:24shoot at each other hit each other
- 00:32:25that's it that's the scene and then now
- 00:32:27I can isolate the differences between
- 00:32:28that and the actual scene music
- 00:32:30flashbacks Arch style change in mood
- 00:32:31building a parallel Echoes fighting
- 00:32:33strategy jinx's fighting strategy I can
- 00:32:34do with an arc what's a basic normal
- 00:32:36fantasy Arc and now which photos are ah
- 00:32:38here are all these unusual factors so if
- 00:32:39something is interesting usually that
- 00:32:40means that there's a basic default
- 00:32:42version of it that you can hold next to
- 00:32:43it to bring into Focus everything that
- 00:32:45makes it interesting and investigate all
- 00:32:46the possible reasons for those changes
- 00:32:48number five is the weird one what's the
- 00:32:50address so there's another useful
- 00:32:52question to ask another one that's very
- 00:32:53common in my academic Community if I
- 00:32:55have a ton of questions and I feel
- 00:32:56totally lost maybe you can't get to the
- 00:32:58idea yet but you can ask what is the
- 00:33:01address of this idea approximately where
- 00:33:03would I find the answer let me give you
- 00:33:04an example Jinx incredibly complex
- 00:33:06character lots of moving Parts lots of
- 00:33:07complicated scenes relationships
- 00:33:08successes failures we got the mental
- 00:33:10health stuff we got the hallucinations
- 00:33:11we got all the wild decisions very tough
- 00:33:13topic to gain deep Insight on because
- 00:33:15it's all just so complex there's so much
- 00:33:16of it but I know everything about this
- 00:33:18character hinges on identity I know
- 00:33:20that's the address of whatever this idea
- 00:33:22will be or in similar vein I know this
- 00:33:23is probably the most important scene
- 00:33:25this is the location of the answers I'm
- 00:33:27looking for so I can't get the full
- 00:33:28answer I am not even close with finding
- 00:33:30the address finding where to look for
- 00:33:31the answer that can cut through a lot of
- 00:33:33the confusion and significantly Focus my
- 00:33:35investigation another example Mel again
- 00:33:37really complex what are the odd
- 00:33:38structure for an arc lots of unknowns
- 00:33:40lots of confusing relationships a lot
- 00:33:41left unsaid but I know this decision is
- 00:33:43what encapsulates everything this is
- 00:33:45what I should focus on this is the
- 00:33:46address similarly on a more micro scale
- 00:33:47the writers and animators are telling me
- 00:33:49gold is very important figure out what
- 00:33:51gold means so if you can't figure out
- 00:33:52the answer at least figure out where you
- 00:33:54should be looking final question number
- 00:33:56six what must you say another major
- 00:33:58Mantra of my academic Community it means
- 00:34:00you cannot get to the big Theory you
- 00:34:02cannot answer any of these questions
- 00:34:03maybe you don't even know the address
- 00:34:04but based on what you do have what must
- 00:34:07you say what is a single deduction you
- 00:34:09can make with absolute certainty even a
- 00:34:11teeny tiny itty bitty one even if it it
- 00:34:13seems totally insignificant once you
- 00:34:15start making solid steps even baby baby
- 00:34:17steps doesn't matter they're saying out
- 00:34:19loud anything new that you can say for
- 00:34:21certain that will consistently drag your
- 00:34:23brain into a new space make things shift
- 00:34:25just a little bit and maybe enable you
- 00:34:27to see the next step and then that will
- 00:34:29lead you to the next step and the next
- 00:34:30and so on I don't know why Jinx chooses
- 00:34:32the Jinx chair but what must you say up
- 00:34:34until this point she is still
- 00:34:36considering taking the powder chair that
- 00:34:38alone baby step still tells you a lot I
- 00:34:40don't know what the crows represent but
- 00:34:42what must you say it's relevant to these
- 00:34:44specific scenes that's something also
- 00:34:46whatever does represent Jinx has a
- 00:34:48contentious relationship with it that's
- 00:34:49also something we have one crow here we
- 00:34:51have many many crows here that
- 00:34:53definitely means there's a more
- 00:34:54pronounced manifestation of whatever
- 00:34:55crows represent in this scene Aragorn
- 00:34:58says to all the hobbits you about to
- 00:34:59know him even though it seems like Frodo
- 00:35:01or Frodo and Sam are the real heroes
- 00:35:03here are marrying Pippen really on the
- 00:35:04same level what must you say in terms of
- 00:35:06what Aragorn is saying yes they are on
- 00:35:08the same level apparently the reason
- 00:35:10Aragorn is bowing to all of them has to
- 00:35:12do with the commonality between in all
- 00:35:13of them even if Mary Pippen seemed like
- 00:35:15they did Less in terms of what Aragon
- 00:35:17cares about qualitatively maybe not
- 00:35:18quantitatively it applies equally or
- 00:35:20similarly to Frodo and Sam ah now that I
- 00:35:22made that step now I'm on a completely
- 00:35:24different path before this I'm just
- 00:35:25trying to figure out what Aragorn meant
- 00:35:27now I'm looking for share
- 00:35:28characteristics between all four Hobbit
- 00:35:30arcs and if you've noticed these six
- 00:35:31categories of questions are basically
- 00:35:33just consistent ways to generate even
- 00:35:35more even better questions each one of
- 00:35:36them just leads to more and more
- 00:35:38questions because like I said earlier at
- 00:35:39the end of the day questions are your
- 00:35:41only tool for understanding anything so
- 00:35:43contradictions pivot Points incomplete
- 00:35:45comparisons and complete contrasts what
- 00:35:46is extra what's the address what must
- 00:35:48you say if you're analyzing something
- 00:35:49and you are stuck in the mud these
- 00:35:51questions will pull you out and
- 00:35:52hopefully Advance you to the next stage
- 00:35:54of analysis which is getting stuck again
- 00:35:57even worse this time so this is the next
- 00:35:58topic you know the questions you found
- 00:36:00all the footholds you've squeezed every
- 00:36:02last drop of brain power out of your
- 00:36:03brain and you're still stuck you're just
- 00:36:05looking at the same questions now what
- 00:36:07do you do so this next thing I'm going
- 00:36:08to talk about this is the hardest one to
- 00:36:09get better at you can pretty easily get
- 00:36:11yourself into the habit of asking
- 00:36:12different kinds of questions and better
- 00:36:13questions but this next technique takes
- 00:36:14years to learn to do effectively doesn't
- 00:36:16mean you can't try and have good results
- 00:36:17but I'm just warning you I'm not even
- 00:36:19good at this this is the one that's
- 00:36:20really part of a lifelong process this
- 00:36:22is called forgetting the facts and this
- 00:36:23was teacher Forge big thing let me play
- 00:36:25you some audio of him being at this
- 00:36:26exact stage of analysis I'm not gonna go
- 00:36:27slow here because this is a subtle point
- 00:36:29we're gonna go step by step this doesn't
- 00:36:30encounter any topic that was a total
- 00:36:32mess we were stuck he was stuck it was
- 00:36:34awful but the way he describes where
- 00:36:36we're at it was it was so bizarre to me
- 00:36:37but anyway that's the problem with the
- 00:36:39silly the problem is you can go down
- 00:36:40every case you can just look at every
- 00:36:41case from every angle but it still is
- 00:36:45always a detailed uh you know you're
- 00:36:48always stuck in a particular it's very
- 00:36:50hard to to pull back
- 00:36:53and just ask you know the general
- 00:36:55question about try to get a general idea
- 00:36:58I just feel like yeah you can go through
- 00:37:00all the cases a hundred times but uh you
- 00:37:02know you're not going to get out of
- 00:37:03those D you're not going to get out of
- 00:37:04that get like a tunnel vision he's
- 00:37:06saying what makes this topic so hard is
- 00:37:08that we can't stop thinking about the
- 00:37:10particulars which is strange it's like a
- 00:37:12detective saying I need to stop thinking
- 00:37:14about the clues so I can solve the case
- 00:37:15or like assigned to saying I need to
- 00:37:16stop thinking about the data so I can
- 00:37:18come up with a theory explaining the
- 00:37:19data so I went ahead and I said that
- 00:37:20basically he was saying we needed to
- 00:37:22disengage from the particular so we can
- 00:37:23get to a more general idea so yes isn't
- 00:37:25focusing on the particulars how we're
- 00:37:26going to derive that bigger idea
- 00:37:29the problem is you got to pull your head
- 00:37:31out of the out of the specifics at one
- 00:37:33point
- 00:37:33so to look at the whole landscape I mean
- 00:37:36Johnny is definitely right you have to
- 00:37:39be well versed in all the details but I
- 00:37:42don't think you're going to get the big
- 00:37:43idea through a detail I don't think you
- 00:37:45get the idea by squeezing the details
- 00:37:47harder not going to shake out a big
- 00:37:49concept still seemed really weird to me
- 00:37:50so before I go on with this let me show
- 00:37:52you a situation where this comes up in
- 00:37:53our subject and star analysis I'm not
- 00:37:55always using this technique this tool
- 00:37:56but there's one great example in my
- 00:37:58videos of me encountering this situation
- 00:38:00explicitly and employing this method
- 00:38:02explicitly it was in the madness video
- 00:38:04at the beginning I had all these
- 00:38:05leftover questions about Jinx questions
- 00:38:06about particular quotes questions about
- 00:38:08particular mannerisms and I could answer
- 00:38:10these questions I did answer them I gave
- 00:38:11multiple answers and I still felt just
- 00:38:13as ignorant they were good answers and
- 00:38:15ultimately they were all unsatisfying I
- 00:38:17still felt completely lost I was hyper
- 00:38:19focused on the details and they were
- 00:38:20getting me nowhere okay so here's season
- 00:38:224 explaining what to do from here this
- 00:38:23is him explaining the forget the facts
- 00:38:25methodology and giving his own example
- 00:38:26of where and how it's effective and some
- 00:38:28vocab here Indian means subject matter a
- 00:38:30lot of times this is true in all in all
- 00:38:32thinking a lot of times you come to the
- 00:38:35table with certain preconceived notions
- 00:38:37and that's because you're sort of
- 00:38:39accepting certain basic things is true
- 00:38:41and if you're just studying the facts a
- 00:38:43lot of times that means you're not
- 00:38:45reassessing what you think you know yeah
- 00:38:47I mean you're just trying to fit a
- 00:38:49particular case into what you think you
- 00:38:51already know but when you drop
- 00:38:53everything and you say you know what
- 00:38:55let's start from scratch let's rethink
- 00:38:57the whole thing you really can only do
- 00:38:59that if you forget all the facts and a
- 00:39:01lot of times that's exactly the the
- 00:39:03right way to go to free yourself from
- 00:39:06preconceived notions that you didn't
- 00:39:07realize you were harboring you know a
- 00:39:10clear example of this is
- 00:39:12um with Einstein of course
- 00:39:15obviously
- 00:39:17there's certain cases in Newtonian
- 00:39:19physics that didn't work out I think the
- 00:39:21um the orbit of mercury was like a
- 00:39:23fraction off like slightly slightly off
- 00:39:26and turned out when Einstein develops
- 00:39:28this theory of uh general theory of
- 00:39:31relativity explain that deviation in his
- 00:39:35formulas it worked out perfectly
- 00:39:37but he says I wasn't thinking about that
- 00:39:39problem and and on the contrary if
- 00:39:41somebody were just working on that
- 00:39:42problem they would never get Beyond it
- 00:39:45would never get to the right solution
- 00:39:47because they are focused on this detail
- 00:39:49how can I account for the deviation in
- 00:39:52Mercury's
- 00:39:54maybe the calculations around maybe
- 00:39:56there's some other Force outside of it
- 00:39:58maybe there's something a different type
- 00:40:01of uh whatever it is but it's because
- 00:40:03you're not reassessing what you know
- 00:40:06you're just trying to fit this into what
- 00:40:08I do know
- 00:40:09it's what I think I know most of the
- 00:40:11times when you when you're faced with a
- 00:40:13particular problem it's better to forget
- 00:40:15the problem fall back to the general
- 00:40:17Union and think about it naturally and
- 00:40:21then you'll say oh well now I see now I
- 00:40:23see how to look at this
- 00:40:24now that I've developed the Indian
- 00:40:26properly now I'm in a better position to
- 00:40:28see how things should really be you
- 00:40:30always got to fall back whenever you
- 00:40:31have a problem it's always bad to think
- 00:40:32about the problem it's always better to
- 00:40:34fall back and think about the the
- 00:40:36subject matter
- 00:40:38and say well now I see I was coming to
- 00:40:40the subject with the preconceived notion
- 00:40:41because I never really analyzed the
- 00:40:43subject on its own terms because you
- 00:40:44have to always find a way of looking at
- 00:40:48it that these facts matter naturally
- 00:40:50that's what I really mean to say and you
- 00:40:52gotta look at the facts but if you're
- 00:40:54treating the facts like arbitrary
- 00:40:56details then you're you're not you're
- 00:40:58not thinking about it right you've got
- 00:41:00to look at the facts and say in what
- 00:41:02realm or in what system or in what way
- 00:41:05of looking at it with these facts
- 00:41:07naturally be important those I I would
- 00:41:10use the cases more as barometers of
- 00:41:12success you know like pretend you don't
- 00:41:15know about the cases and use them as as
- 00:41:17predictive power it's like when they
- 00:41:19model the universe you know
- 00:41:21put in certain assumptions and they sort
- 00:41:24of Play It Out see those come out like
- 00:41:26the universe we have then you know it
- 00:41:28seems like it's pretty likely that those
- 00:41:30initial assumptions were uh were true so
- 00:41:33he's saying like this sometimes you can
- 00:41:35use the tools and the framer to adjust
- 00:41:36the particular questions directly but
- 00:41:38when you absolutely can't it's often
- 00:41:40because your framework does not have
- 00:41:41those tools and you cannot use those
- 00:41:43questions to force a broad shift in your
- 00:41:45perspective they are too particularized
- 00:41:46to point you anywhere useful so the way
- 00:41:48to change your framework is to go back
- 00:41:50to what he's calling the subject matter
- 00:41:51the overarching topic your investigation
- 00:41:53connects to and work purely on
- 00:41:55developing your understanding of the
- 00:41:56subject matter on its own in abstract
- 00:41:58not thinking about the questions at all
- 00:42:00forgetting you were even investigating
- 00:42:01any of their particulars you do your
- 00:42:03best to come at the topic completely
- 00:42:04fresh Blank Slate think about it in a
- 00:42:07new way separate yourself from all past
- 00:42:09biases we cannot explain the orbit of
- 00:42:11mercury Newtonian physics does not have
- 00:42:13the tools for this Einstein meanwhile is
- 00:42:15rethinking the overarching center in its
- 00:42:17entirety time space motion whatever it
- 00:42:19is he comes at it completely fresh
- 00:42:21separates all past definitions past
- 00:42:23biases and reaches a novel understanding
- 00:42:25of what all of this stuff is and then he
- 00:42:28comes back and finds that the Orbiter
- 00:42:29Mercury works out naturally in his new
- 00:42:31framework in my madness video I had all
- 00:42:33these questions about particulars of
- 00:42:34what drinks says and does I wasn't
- 00:42:35getting anywhere so what did I do I took
- 00:42:37a giant step back and I thought about
- 00:42:39Madness as a whole I tried to understand
- 00:42:41it better on its own terms I totally
- 00:42:43forgot about Jinx I was not trying to
- 00:42:45address those questions at all I thought
- 00:42:47about much broader versions of the
- 00:42:48question like comparing Madness to
- 00:42:49mental distress I left Arcane I looked
- 00:42:51at other great examples of Madness
- 00:42:53Gollum denethor Billy Hayes Hitler I
- 00:42:55noticed specific ways of thinking they
- 00:42:57had manifestations of Madness that
- 00:42:58didn't seem to relate to jinx at all
- 00:43:00like the Nazi parade grounds in
- 00:43:02Nuremberg and what I noticed was this
- 00:43:04theme coming up over and over again of a
- 00:43:06delusional second world the mad person
- 00:43:07conjures up and externalizes lives in
- 00:43:10interacts with and yes the whole time I
- 00:43:12was on the lookout for what would hook
- 00:43:13me back to the problem at hand at what
- 00:43:15point could I flip the switch remember
- 00:43:16all the facts again and relate this back
- 00:43:17to what I see in Jinx and when it hit
- 00:43:19upon externalization what Jinx is all
- 00:43:21about externalization and so on and so
- 00:43:23on so forget the facts it's weird weird
- 00:43:25and if it sounds aimless it's not but it
- 00:43:27kind of is at first you forget the facts
- 00:43:29you step back you think about the
- 00:43:30general subject matter and what exactly
- 00:43:32am I supposed to be thinking about when
- 00:43:33I'm taking a step back teacher 4 would
- 00:43:34always say let it roll around in your
- 00:43:36head whatever that means but you're
- 00:43:37trying to just understand the whole
- 00:43:39topic more and it is a really hard
- 00:43:40balance you will often fall into the
- 00:43:42Trap of trying to redefine the big
- 00:43:43General things for the purpose of
- 00:43:45answering the questions and that is bad
- 00:43:46analysis and that can look and feel the
- 00:43:48same as doing it right but it's
- 00:43:49ultimately contrived it's not a general
- 00:43:51theory that gives you a simpler
- 00:43:52understanding of the data it's more
- 00:43:53complex because they're stuffing all the
- 00:43:54data into this explanation of one thing
- 00:43:56that's why it is forget the facts really
- 00:43:58think about it freely with zero
- 00:44:00constraints and yeah then sometimes it
- 00:44:01is too aimless and that's why it's so
- 00:44:03difficult you really need to find a very
- 00:44:05precise balance here listen to the way
- 00:44:06teacher 4 puts it knows I I would use
- 00:44:08the cases more as barometers of success
- 00:44:11you know like pretend you don't know
- 00:44:13about the cases and use them as as
- 00:44:15predictive power what he said in the
- 00:44:17last quote is the midpoint where you
- 00:44:18want to hover as a Rough Guide what sort
- 00:44:20of conceptual setup creates this exact
- 00:44:22situation naturally what understanding
- 00:44:24of Madness makes me write Jinx in this
- 00:44:27way what understanding of Cliffhangers
- 00:44:28makes me end the story in this way
- 00:44:30knowing it won't have the negatives of
- 00:44:32cliffhanger endings what is my
- 00:44:33definition of hero that generates this
- 00:44:35radically different hero's journey
- 00:44:36instead of the basic default Heroes
- 00:44:38journey and this is why I really try to
- 00:44:39get my video set and with induced
- 00:44:41threading rules and tips and advice
- 00:44:42because that's what I'm trying to get to
- 00:44:44what principles would make me write a
- 00:44:45character like this or a scene like this
- 00:44:47or an arc like this or a short film like
- 00:44:49this or even a comment like this so
- 00:44:50anyway try this out you're still gonna
- 00:44:52get stuck it's not gonna work completely
- 00:44:53but practice notice when other people do
- 00:44:56it you'll get better at it okay next
- 00:44:57part we've gotten to the actual
- 00:44:59theorizing congratulations now what does
- 00:45:02a good theory look like so let's talk
- 00:45:04about the invisible soccer ball there's
- 00:45:06another thing you're all going to have
- 00:45:07to thank teacher 4 for he didn't come up
- 00:45:08with us but he introduced it to us this
- 00:45:09is from a book called the God particle
- 00:45:11if the universe is the answer what is
- 00:45:13the question by Nobel Laureate Leon
- 00:45:15Letterman it's a pretty long analogy I'm
- 00:45:17gonna read the whole thing out loud
- 00:45:18because I think it's a fantastic
- 00:45:19metaphor so settle in and let me tell
- 00:45:22you a story imagine an intelligent race
- 00:45:24of being beings from the planet twilo
- 00:45:26they look more or less like us they talk
- 00:45:28like us they do everything like humans
- 00:45:30except for one thing they have a fluke
- 00:45:32in their visual apparatus they can't see
- 00:45:33objects with sharp juxtapositions of
- 00:45:35black and white they can't see zebras
- 00:45:37for example or shirts on NFL referees or
- 00:45:39soccer balls let's say this contingent
- 00:45:41from the planet twilo comes to Earth on
- 00:45:43a Goodwill Mission to give them a taste
- 00:45:45of our culture we take them to see one
- 00:45:46of the most popular cultural events on
- 00:45:48the planet a World Cup soccer match we
- 00:45:50of course don't know that they can't see
- 00:45:51the black and white soccer ball so they
- 00:45:53sit there watching the match with polite
- 00:45:54but confused looks on their faces as far
- 00:45:56as the twilowins are concerned a bunch
- 00:45:58of short pants people are running up and
- 00:46:00down the field kicking their legs
- 00:46:01pointlessly in the air banging into each
- 00:46:03other and falling down at times an
- 00:46:04official blows a whistle a player runs
- 00:46:06to the sideline stands there and extends
- 00:46:08both of his arms over his head while the
- 00:46:10other players watch him once in a great
- 00:46:11while the goalie inexplicably falls to
- 00:46:14the ground a great cheer goes up and one
- 00:46:16point is awarded to the opposite team
- 00:46:17the title would spend about 15 minutes
- 00:46:19being totally mystified then to pass the
- 00:46:21time they attempt to understand the game
- 00:46:22they deduce partially because of the
- 00:46:24clothing that they're are two teams in
- 00:46:25conflict with one another they chart the
- 00:46:27movements of the various players
- 00:46:28discovering that each player appears to
- 00:46:30remain more or less within a certain
- 00:46:31geographical territory on the field they
- 00:46:33discover that different players display
- 00:46:34different physical emotions the
- 00:46:36twilowans as humans would do clarify
- 00:46:38their search for meaning in World Cup
- 00:46:39soccer by giving names to the different
- 00:46:41positions played by each footballer the
- 00:46:43positions are categorized compared and
- 00:46:45contrasted the qualities and limitations
- 00:46:46of each position are listed on a giant
- 00:46:48chart a major break comes with twilins
- 00:46:50discovered that symmetry is at work for
- 00:46:52each position on team a there's a
- 00:46:53counterpart position on Team B with two
- 00:46:55minutes remaining in the game the
- 00:46:56Twilight ones have composed dozens of
- 00:46:58charts hundreds of tables and formulas
- 00:47:00and scores of complicated rules about
- 00:47:02soccer matches and though the rules
- 00:47:03might all be in a limited way correct
- 00:47:05none would really capture the essence of
- 00:47:07the game then one young pipsqueak of a
- 00:47:09twilowin silent until now speaks his
- 00:47:11mind let's postulate he Ventures
- 00:47:13nervously the existence of an invisible
- 00:47:15ball say what replied the Elder
- 00:47:17twilowans while his Elders were
- 00:47:19monitoring what appeared to be the core
- 00:47:20of the game the comings and goings of
- 00:47:22various players and the demarcations of
- 00:47:24the field squeak was keeping his eyes
- 00:47:25peeled for rare events and he found one
- 00:47:28immediately before the referee announced
- 00:47:29a score and a split second before the
- 00:47:31crowd cheered wildly the young Twilight
- 00:47:33noticed the momentary appearance of a
- 00:47:35bulge in the back of the golnut soccer
- 00:47:37is a low scoring game so there are a few
- 00:47:39boulders to observe and each was very
- 00:47:41short-lived even so there are enough
- 00:47:42events for the pipsqueak to notice that
- 00:47:44the shape of the Bulge was semi-spirical
- 00:47:45hence his wild conclusion that the game
- 00:47:47of soccer is dependent on the existence
- 00:47:49of an invisible ball invisible at least
- 00:47:51two of the Twilight ones the rest of the
- 00:47:53contention from twilo listened to this
- 00:47:54Theory and weak as the empirical
- 00:47:56evidence is after much arguing they
- 00:47:58conclude that the youngster has a point
- 00:47:59the Elder Statesman in the group of
- 00:48:00physicists it turns out observes that a
- 00:48:02few rare events are sometimes more
- 00:48:04Illuminating than a thousand mundane
- 00:48:06events but the real Clincher is the
- 00:48:07simple fact that there must be a ball
- 00:48:09positive the existence of a ball which
- 00:48:10for some reason the twiloons cannot see
- 00:48:12and suddenly everything works the game
- 00:48:14makes sense not only that but all the
- 00:48:16theories charts and diagrams compiled
- 00:48:18over the past afternoon remain valid the
- 00:48:20ball simply gives meaning to the rules
- 00:48:22this is an extended metaphor for many
- 00:48:24puzzles and accents especially relevant
- 00:48:26to particle physics we can't understand
- 00:48:27the rules the laws of nature without
- 00:48:29knowing the objects the ball and without
- 00:48:30a belief in a logical set of laws we
- 00:48:32would never deduce the existence of all
- 00:48:34the particles okay so a lot of this
- 00:48:35might sound similar to fireman's wagon
- 00:48:37the meaning comes from showing what the
- 00:48:38underlying thing is not just finding
- 00:48:40laws to describe what's happening and
- 00:48:42yeah it's a good analogy for that but it
- 00:48:43does a lot more than that too I want to
- 00:48:45talk about three crucial impacts of good
- 00:48:46theories of this analogy showcases
- 00:48:48really clearly the first is Simplicity
- 00:48:50which I think is part of what this guy
- 00:48:52is calling meaning if I'm explaining
- 00:48:53falling objects and I tell you A rock
- 00:48:55falls to the ground because the nature
- 00:48:57of Rocky matter is to fall Rock
- 00:48:59particles go down and this feather see
- 00:49:01how it falls differently that's because
- 00:49:02it's falling is caused by something
- 00:49:04totally different than Rock particles a
- 00:49:05substance we've termed feather particles
- 00:49:07and these fall slower and this bird
- 00:49:10doesn't fall because bird particles
- 00:49:11glide on the air and then yeah balloon
- 00:49:13particles whose nature is to rise upward
- 00:49:14and yeah look Mom I'm doing science I'm
- 00:49:17answering all the questions I'm
- 00:49:18explaining the reality by theorizing
- 00:49:19about the underlying substances behind
- 00:49:21physical phenomena but no obviously
- 00:49:23these are bad theories if I'm expanding
- 00:49:24four distinct phenomena with four
- 00:49:26distinct causes you might have
- 00:49:27substantial they are that theory is
- 00:49:29maintaining the same level of complexity
- 00:49:31I started with which is a bad thing my
- 00:49:33understanding has not Advanced because
- 00:49:35all analysis aims to get to a simpler
- 00:49:37not more simplistic but simpler more
- 00:49:39foundational understanding of the
- 00:49:40phenomena I think that's where meaning
- 00:49:42comes in because when you find a single
- 00:49:44idea that expresses itself in all these
- 00:49:46seemingly different manifestations but
- 00:49:47it's really all one cause you've found a
- 00:49:50deeper level of reality which is really
- 00:49:52the end goal of your investigation in
- 00:49:54the example all the other twilins were
- 00:49:55trying to answer all the questions about
- 00:49:56what was happening and they did get
- 00:49:58answers they had a whole system in
- 00:50:00charge some formulas explaining all the
- 00:50:01movements so well that may have been 100
- 00:50:03accurately predictive so why wasn't that
- 00:50:05good enough why didn't give the sense of
- 00:50:07meaning because it wasn't simplifying
- 00:50:08anything it didn't penetrate any deeper
- 00:50:10more foundational level of what they
- 00:50:12were trying to explain the mess of all
- 00:50:13these formulas and positionings and
- 00:50:15whatever it was all qualitatively as
- 00:50:16complex as what they started with but
- 00:50:18the soccer ball that is one thing that
- 00:50:20explains all of it that's perfect that's
- 00:50:22what you should be aiming for you won't
- 00:50:23always get there so times you'll be
- 00:50:25stuck at some level complexity but
- 00:50:26invisible soccer ball level
- 00:50:27simplification is exactly the type of
- 00:50:30theory you should be aiming for I don't
- 00:50:31want to call out other types of analyzes
- 00:50:33I've seen on YouTube and so I'll use a
- 00:50:35widespread problem but it definitely
- 00:50:37seems like some YouTube analysis aims to
- 00:50:39make a topic more complicated through
- 00:50:41their analysis they're taking something
- 00:50:42that may be simple and layering on extra
- 00:50:45levels of complexity Often by tying it
- 00:50:47to all these kind of unrelated topics or
- 00:50:49tying it to these entire systems of
- 00:50:50ideas and then using like a metric ton
- 00:50:52of jargon to make all that sound
- 00:50:54exponentially even more complicated
- 00:50:55maybe there's a value that I'm missing
- 00:50:57in this kind of analysis but I am
- 00:50:59missing it entirely it is the opposite
- 00:51:01of what I'm trying to do and I think
- 00:51:02it's just bad analysis again I don't
- 00:51:04think it's that common but I have seen
- 00:51:05analysis content like this and it's just
- 00:51:07mystifying to me but I can speculate on
- 00:51:09the reason why people fall into this
- 00:51:10trap that I think they're associating
- 00:51:11gaining understanding with confusion
- 00:51:13because sometimes the process is
- 00:51:15difficult and you do get confused but
- 00:51:16then they take that feeling and think
- 00:51:17that's how learning must feel they play
- 00:51:19it almost as an aesthetic to every step
- 00:51:21of the process like you're supposed to
- 00:51:23go through this frustrating scatterbrain
- 00:51:25roller coaster ride of an intellectual
- 00:51:27journey and that's how you earn your
- 00:51:28understanding and then that
- 00:51:30understanding itself that also has to be
- 00:51:32confusing because otherwise it's not
- 00:51:33learning learning has to feel confusing
- 00:51:35and no it's the opposite the point is to
- 00:51:38simplify and that doesn't mean dumb down
- 00:51:39the idea so they're easier to understand
- 00:51:40no it's gonna be a confusing process
- 00:51:42sometimes but confusion is a bad thing
- 00:51:43in presenting the idea we want as little
- 00:51:45of it as possible obviously and the
- 00:51:47final product may be hard to understand
- 00:51:48but essentially it has to be the
- 00:51:51simplest part of the entire thing that's
- 00:51:52the whole point I just don't get what
- 00:51:53you're doing otherwise okay second thing
- 00:51:55the final Theory looks and feels
- 00:51:57categorically different than the more
- 00:51:59superficial explanations this talk about
- 00:52:00Theory isn't made of the same conceptual
- 00:52:03stuff as the explanations of the other
- 00:52:04Twilight ones and this may seem
- 00:52:05superficial actually it is superficial
- 00:52:08but I think it's a Dependable
- 00:52:09superficial sign that the theory is
- 00:52:10pushing towards a deeper level of
- 00:52:11understanding it's pushed into an
- 00:52:13underlying reality that's new that you
- 00:52:14didn't see before and at this new level
- 00:52:16the entire phenomenon looks different
- 00:52:19your understanding isn't just broadening
- 00:52:21it's transforming I can't help but think
- 00:52:22about the way that people describe high
- 00:52:24level competition like it's a totally
- 00:52:26different game if I'm a chess player
- 00:52:28what I'm doing as a beginner is a
- 00:52:30fundamentally different activity than
- 00:52:32what like a 1000 rated player is doing
- 00:52:34and then compare them to a master and
- 00:52:36then compare a master to like Magnus
- 00:52:37Carlson the deeper your understanding
- 00:52:39gets the more radically different the
- 00:52:41phenomenon is in your mind it's one of
- 00:52:43those videos on YouTube that so and so
- 00:52:44explains X and five levels are so
- 00:52:46interesting no matter what the subject
- 00:52:47because what's being said and explaining
- 00:52:48the phenomenon to a child is completely
- 00:52:50different than what's being said to the
- 00:52:51teenager which is completely different
- 00:52:52from two experts talking about it and
- 00:52:54it's not just difference in degree it's
- 00:52:56transformatively different levels of
- 00:52:57understanding of things so I think
- 00:52:59that's important to keep in mind when
- 00:53:00you're searching for a good theory and
- 00:53:01I'll just reiterate as a disclaimer I
- 00:53:03don't think this is a necessary quality
- 00:53:04of a good theory but is present in good
- 00:53:06theories often enough that I think it's
- 00:53:07a good thing to look out for third thing
- 00:53:09and this is both very important and I
- 00:53:10think very hard to understand I still
- 00:53:12don't understand this but I know it's
- 00:53:13important if I summarize what happened
- 00:53:14in this story as the other twilowans
- 00:53:17tried to explain the soccer game without
- 00:53:19being able to see the ball they studied
- 00:53:20the data came up with complex theories
- 00:53:22and then the young pipsqueak who studied
- 00:53:23the same data came up with his simple
- 00:53:25elegant unified theory if that's my
- 00:53:27summary I'm leaving out possibly the
- 00:53:28most important step the Twilight study
- 00:53:30the data came up with their complex
- 00:53:31theories but this week also study the
- 00:53:33data also came up with a theory but not
- 00:53:34using the same data not basing his
- 00:53:37simpler theory on that same data no he
- 00:53:39did not come forth with his theory until
- 00:53:40one crucial new piece of data came to
- 00:53:42light he saw that semispherical bulge in
- 00:53:45the net that appeared in the moments
- 00:53:46before the cheering only then did he
- 00:53:48feel like he had enough data to base his
- 00:53:49therion meaning even though his theory
- 00:53:51would have still been just as much of a
- 00:53:53simplifying force that cut through all
- 00:53:55the complexity with a single elegant
- 00:53:57cause he was still looking for evidence
- 00:53:59that unmistakably pointed in specific to
- 00:54:02his exact Theory and no other Theory
- 00:54:04without that he still considered his
- 00:54:06theory to be too speculative and this
- 00:54:07aspect also like the last thing I don't
- 00:54:09know how necessary this is you can
- 00:54:11absolutely have good theories without
- 00:54:12this kind of evidence but great theories
- 00:54:14often will have it and something you
- 00:54:16should absolutely be looking for I
- 00:54:17personally am not capable of producing
- 00:54:19theories like this most of the time but
- 00:54:21let me show you an example where I did
- 00:54:22accomplish this it was in the middle
- 00:54:23video was this character with all these
- 00:54:25different parts that seemed really
- 00:54:27separate he got her relation to the city
- 00:54:28and her relationship to her mother fine
- 00:54:30not too hard to see some connection
- 00:54:31there but in terms of what's extra you
- 00:54:33had all the stuff about her brother that
- 00:54:34seemed like a total non-sequitur totally
- 00:54:36unrelated to the rest of her plot
- 00:54:37involvement and then he had this random
- 00:54:38thing at the end her using her magic
- 00:54:40saving everyone what did that have to do
- 00:54:42with the character and the painting was
- 00:54:43this just a random hobby what was the
- 00:54:45point of this then he had a relationship
- 00:54:46to Jace what was that all about and then
- 00:54:48her actual Arc about hex second
- 00:54:49technology and politics lots and lots
- 00:54:51and lots of parts so I did come up with
- 00:54:52a theory that simplified all this and
- 00:54:54that was fine but the part of my theory
- 00:54:56that involved the painting led me to
- 00:54:57this red gold symbolism when she was
- 00:54:59being a Madara like her mom it was
- 00:55:01always red and then in the end she
- 00:55:02paints over her painting in gold and
- 00:55:04then I noticed her back thing is also
- 00:55:07gold huh interesting and that led to
- 00:55:10some huge developments in the theory
- 00:55:12that were really really speculative
- 00:55:13reading Big Ideas into color symbolism
- 00:55:16that's always gonna be kind of shaky
- 00:55:17ground I needed my semi-spirical bulge
- 00:55:19moment and then I found it there's this
- 00:55:22little Split Second of a scene a half of
- 00:55:25the line of dialogue totally out of
- 00:55:27nowhere totally extra in this context
- 00:55:28not drawing any attention to itself
- 00:55:30almost a non-sequitur we'll paint the
- 00:55:33walls in gold but at the same time
- 00:55:35confirming everything about my color
- 00:55:37theory pointing directly to my exact
- 00:55:39idea in a way which was so specific that
- 00:55:41it was a total shock to me and yeah not
- 00:55:43quite as specific as the soccer ball so
- 00:55:44pretty specific though the photos I
- 00:55:46talked about in the let me in video was
- 00:55:47also this although with that analysis I
- 00:55:49noticed it early on and it led to the
- 00:55:51theory instead of confirming it but
- 00:55:52similar function as far as providing
- 00:55:53super specific evidence okay so this is
- 00:55:55obviously a very small list of qualities
- 00:55:57a good theory should have but these are
- 00:55:58the three that consciously guide me the
- 00:55:59most Simplicity transformativeness
- 00:56:02meaning it's made of different stuff
- 00:56:03than the more basic theory is and
- 00:56:05extremely particularized evidence moving
- 00:56:07on okay so we are in the middle of our
- 00:56:10analysis process what I want to talk
- 00:56:12about now is some general analysis do's
- 00:56:15and don'ts let's start with the don'ts
- 00:56:17number one don't be afraid of over
- 00:56:19analysis yes yes here it is let's talk
- 00:56:22about it this is a criticism I get at
- 00:56:24some level almost every video and I
- 00:56:25would say about 80 of the time it's from
- 00:56:28people who just aren't interested in
- 00:56:29learning anything about whatever subject
- 00:56:31I'm talking about and I'm saying this
- 00:56:32without judgment it's not a condemnation
- 00:56:34but something about the Simplicity of
- 00:56:36the thing without the questions I ask
- 00:56:37that appeals to them and the active
- 00:56:39analysis ruins that Purity they'd rather
- 00:56:41have the good feeling of that Purity
- 00:56:42than the good feeling of a deeper
- 00:56:44understanding and that makes them deny
- 00:56:45that any deeper understanding exists
- 00:56:47that's what I think is going on most of
- 00:56:48the time I see the word over analysis
- 00:56:50that really almost any analysis is going
- 00:56:52to be over analysis this thing is simple
- 00:56:53I like it simple I don't want anything
- 00:56:55more and I'm going to deny it if you
- 00:56:56think that there's anything more there
- 00:56:57and I as you can imagine really don't
- 00:56:59like that I'm fine if you want to do
- 00:57:00that you do you I really really don't
- 00:57:02like that 10 of the time it's a
- 00:57:04legitimately great question it's saying
- 00:57:05what you're analyzing and how you're
- 00:57:07looking at it the questions you're
- 00:57:08asking those are good questions but
- 00:57:10isn't the answer just this simpler thing
- 00:57:12that's great I love seeing that comment
- 00:57:14that's something that starts a great
- 00:57:15discussion if you're not asking that way
- 00:57:17you don't want to start a discussion and
- 00:57:18you're just using it to criticize if
- 00:57:19you're using it to stop further
- 00:57:21discussion then we have a problem but it
- 00:57:22has a legitimate critique I am all for
- 00:57:24this line of questioning and I
- 00:57:25frequently engage in myself like I said
- 00:57:26before complexity is a bad thing so
- 00:57:28overanalysis meaning that the analysis
- 00:57:30is producing something that is more
- 00:57:32complex than I think it should be
- 00:57:33because of this other thing that's
- 00:57:35exactly the kind of question you need to
- 00:57:36be asking this last category is the
- 00:57:38critique of your treating things as
- 00:57:40intentional that I don't think are
- 00:57:41intentional did the writers really
- 00:57:43intend this little thing you're basing
- 00:57:44your whole theory on it's too small of a
- 00:57:46detail it can't have been intentional so
- 00:57:48it should come as no surprise to you if
- 00:57:50you've seen my content that way I think
- 00:57:51that this is an excellent criticism in
- 00:57:53terms of the discussion it prompts my
- 00:57:55actual position on this practically is
- 00:57:56to treat everything as intentional even
- 00:57:58though I know that it's not intentional
- 00:58:00you can probably tell that I do this
- 00:58:02consciously even Alex ye and the AMA
- 00:58:04sounded like he understood that I do
- 00:58:05this and he understood why I do it also
- 00:58:07it has to do with understanding what
- 00:58:09you're analyzing and why you're
- 00:58:10analyzing it first of all let's say I'm
- 00:58:12an engineer and I'm trying to analyze
- 00:58:13the structure of a particular bridge in
- 00:58:15this analysis I am not going to bring in
- 00:58:17color symbolism for two reasons number
- 00:58:19one because that is not the language of
- 00:58:21Structural Engineering color doesn't
- 00:58:23play a part in What Bridges do in a
- 00:58:25structural sense number two engineering
- 00:58:26a bridge is I think I'm not an engineer
- 00:58:28but I assume engineering a bridge is
- 00:58:30completely conscious and intention
- 00:58:31driven as a process every aspect down to
- 00:58:33the details must be consciously designed
- 00:58:36and calculated now with storytelling
- 00:58:38number one color symbolism is in the
- 00:58:40language of Storytelling so best case
- 00:58:41scenario I'm understanding the conscious
- 00:58:43intention of the author but worse comes
- 00:58:44to worse I'm understanding how to use a
- 00:58:46storytelling thing better in conducting
- 00:58:48this analysis and investigating this
- 00:58:50particular aspect even if it's not the
- 00:58:51author's intention I have found an
- 00:58:53effective way to use color and I can
- 00:58:55take that and I can abstract it come up
- 00:58:57with principles come up with ideas maybe
- 00:58:58use it in my own writing and I never
- 00:59:00would have advanced my understanding of
- 00:59:01how to use symbolism in that way if I
- 00:59:03had been concerned about overthinking
- 00:59:05over analyzing if I'd been concerned
- 00:59:07about authorial intent that is not the
- 00:59:09point of my analysis the point is to
- 00:59:10learn something the point is to advance
- 00:59:11my understanding of The Craft of writing
- 00:59:13and number two storytelling is
- 00:59:15absolutely not completely conscious and
- 00:59:17intention driven as a process artists
- 00:59:19will very often do things for reasons
- 00:59:21they cannot articulate they'll be moved
- 00:59:22by their subconscious creative Instincts
- 00:59:24by some inner voice that tells them this
- 00:59:26is how it has to be it will be better
- 00:59:28this way maybe gold was intentional for
- 00:59:30the reason I said or maybe it just felt
- 00:59:32powerful in the scene it felt right and
- 00:59:33me as a writer I'm not going to think it
- 00:59:35did any more than that I don't need to I
- 00:59:37don't want to it just has to be gold
- 00:59:38here end of story or alternatively maybe
- 00:59:40there was Zero intention behind it at
- 00:59:42all maybe gold was completely arbitrary
- 00:59:44but then still it had this powerful
- 00:59:46emotional impact oh man when I saw that
- 00:59:48gold I really felt something and that's
- 00:59:50something we absolutely need to explain
- 00:59:52no matter what the intention was if I
- 00:59:54make a cookie and I have no idea what
- 00:59:56I'm doing but then it tastes amazing I
- 00:59:58can analyze that product no matter the
- 01:00:00intention or lack thereof and often it's
- 01:00:02because it completed some circuit in our
- 01:00:04brain subconsciously it aided some Arc
- 01:00:06it expressed some emotion it meant
- 01:00:08something and that can happen with or
- 01:00:09without intention intention does not
- 01:00:11matter the cookie still tastes great
- 01:00:13even if I know nothing about food
- 01:00:14chemistry so that's my role when I'm
- 01:00:16analyzing I'm not trying to analyze the
- 01:00:17intentions of the creators I am the food
- 01:00:19chemist analyzing why all the various
- 01:00:20cookies taste so delicious food chemists
- 01:00:22do not care about intentions unless
- 01:00:24practically it aids their investigation
- 01:00:25of what's in front of them an example I
- 01:00:27can't help but think of is Daniel Day
- 01:00:28Lewis who is undoubtedly a master of his
- 01:00:30art and have seen him interviewed
- 01:00:31sometimes about the subtleties of his
- 01:00:33performance and at times he'll sound
- 01:00:34almost clueless as though he hasn't
- 01:00:36thought through any of it because it's
- 01:00:37created process at times is that
- 01:00:39subconscious tell me what you wanted
- 01:00:41this character what did you wanna
- 01:00:43from within you what you wanted to show
- 01:00:45about Bill
- 01:00:48you know what I really I really wouldn't
- 01:00:50know how to answer that there was there
- 01:00:52was no conscious intention I don't think
- 01:00:54certainly like
- 01:00:56I remember
- 01:00:59feeling as I approached him a great
- 01:01:01sense of
- 01:01:04it was something I found I don't know
- 01:01:07I'm kind of Reinventing the truth
- 01:01:08because I honestly can't remember
- 01:01:10those because you're making so many
- 01:01:12decisions every day but most of them if
- 01:01:15things are going well in Martin's case
- 01:01:17that for the most part conscious
- 01:01:18decisions and if things are going well
- 01:01:20for me for the most part they're they're
- 01:01:22they've completed some other level so so
- 01:01:25you have no sense of control for the
- 01:01:27most part of those decisions that are
- 01:01:30being made nonetheless and just because
- 01:01:31there's no specific intention behind the
- 01:01:33nuances doesn't mean that other actors
- 01:01:34can't learn from those nuances of course
- 01:01:36not that is nonsensical obviously there
- 01:01:38are tons of these subconsciously
- 01:01:39generated aspects of Lewis's performance
- 01:01:40that make it effective in all these
- 01:01:42complex ways and by setting those
- 01:01:44aspects as if they were intentional we
- 01:01:46can apply those ideas intentionally even
- 01:01:48if he doesn't and it will make our art
- 01:01:50more effective as well next don't this
- 01:01:52is a two-parter first part is
- 01:01:53straightforward based on what we talked
- 01:01:55about don't worry about contradicting
- 01:01:56your own past theories remember these
- 01:01:58are models to help you explore the
- 01:01:59phenomenon and you don't want to set up
- 01:02:00Roblox instead of any potential roads
- 01:02:02that may lead you to where you want to
- 01:02:03go which is as I keep saying advancing
- 01:02:05your understanding the most harmful form
- 01:02:06that mistakes in terms of that goal is
- 01:02:08when I see usually in my comment section
- 01:02:10someone rejecting a new idea because
- 01:02:12they're afraid they have to give up
- 01:02:13their old idea which is an idea that
- 01:02:15they really like both ideas even if
- 01:02:17they're contradictory are quote unquote
- 01:02:19words of the Living God as we talked
- 01:02:20about earlier both of them can be good
- 01:02:21models one of them doesn't need to win
- 01:02:23so that's the conceptual stubbornness I
- 01:02:25see at play here there's an emotional
- 01:02:27component to the stubbornness as well
- 01:02:28which has its own accompanying don't let
- 01:02:30me play some audio from one of my other
- 01:02:32teachers this is actually that other
- 01:02:33mathematician I mentioned in the beauty
- 01:02:34video the one who led me to that Stephen
- 01:02:36Weinberg quote there's a certain
- 01:02:37Conquest involved in learning it's like
- 01:02:39they're problems and the problems are
- 01:02:41coming at you and yes they're they're
- 01:02:43bothers on the problem
- 01:02:45you're there's some frustration you want
- 01:02:47to work it out and you finally you get
- 01:02:49the idea and there's a certain personal
- 01:02:51involvement in the thing because
- 01:02:53certainly I got I worked it out there's
- 01:02:55a certain can't help but feeling happy
- 01:02:56or proud proud it's a better word you
- 01:02:58know you work out an idea there's a
- 01:03:00certain type of uh Caterers the whole
- 01:03:02experience caters to uh to certain
- 01:03:06certain uh certain emotions it's too
- 01:03:08mixed in with your own uh the self and
- 01:03:11the appreciation is partially
- 01:03:13appreciation of your own intelligence so
- 01:03:15your own ability to work it out don't
- 01:03:17let your judgment of an idea be clouded
- 01:03:19by the excitement or Pride or ego
- 01:03:21pleasure in discovering it this I see so
- 01:03:23often in myself but also my comment
- 01:03:25section especially aggressive comments
- 01:03:27people often have this unhealthy
- 01:03:28attachment to the first answer they
- 01:03:30encounter to some question it's almost a
- 01:03:31front to this idea that's my idea even
- 01:03:34because I came up with it are you saying
- 01:03:35my idea I came up with is bad it's
- 01:03:37flawed there's something wrong with it
- 01:03:38there's something wrong with me then my
- 01:03:40hard work was for nothing because
- 01:03:41there's this better idea out there or
- 01:03:42even if I didn't come up with it even if
- 01:03:44it was someone else's idea I worked hard
- 01:03:46to understand this and I had this
- 01:03:48difficult painful ignorance that this
- 01:03:49saved me from either way this has become
- 01:03:51an idea that means a lot to me and
- 01:03:53that's good it's good for ideas to mean
- 01:03:55something to you but there are hundreds
- 01:03:57of ways to answer any given question
- 01:03:58thousands and thousands of ways and you
- 01:04:01need to make room for those ideas too
- 01:04:02regardless of whether or not you already
- 01:04:04have a favorite idea and especially that
- 01:04:06favoritism isn't connected to the
- 01:04:07substance of the idea but just to your
- 01:04:09own ego investment in coming to it okay
- 01:04:11next another two-parter don't agree with
- 01:04:14anything you hear and don't disagree
- 01:04:17with anything you hear this is not like
- 01:04:19actual advice this is a thought exercise
- 01:04:20but it's also good for me you're
- 01:04:21thinking more nuanced as well anytime
- 01:04:23you hear something even if it's pretty
- 01:04:24close to what you yourself would say
- 01:04:26find some part of it you disagree with
- 01:04:28and Define why you would disagree with
- 01:04:29that one part and then anytime you hear
- 01:04:31something that you absolutely do
- 01:04:32disagree with try to figure out where
- 01:04:34common ground is and then Define the
- 01:04:36exact point where you diverge and it may
- 01:04:38be pretty far back conceptually but
- 01:04:39it'll help you come to more nuanced
- 01:04:40understanding of what this person is
- 01:04:42saying it'll help you define any
- 01:04:43marriage about the position that you
- 01:04:44missed because of what was the loudest
- 01:04:46part the party you disagree with and I
- 01:04:47hope you understand your own position a
- 01:04:48lot better too next on a similar note
- 01:04:50this will lead us into our analysis Do's
- 01:04:52another two-parter here don't let your
- 01:04:54ego get in the way of understanding
- 01:04:56descending opinions if someone says
- 01:04:58something in a hurtful way that's not an
- 01:05:00excuse for you not to think about what
- 01:05:01they said it's something that changes
- 01:05:02the way that you see a lot of these
- 01:05:04comments is What's Happening Here is
- 01:05:05that people get excited about ideas they
- 01:05:06get passionate they get frustrated they
- 01:05:08get confused and that's painful and
- 01:05:09that's usually what's behind the
- 01:05:10aggression you're seeing and it's not
- 01:05:12you it's how they feel about the idea so
- 01:05:14don't take aggression personally and yes
- 01:05:16do make an effort to understand just
- 01:05:17sending opinions try to figure out where
- 01:05:19the person is coming from this is a
- 01:05:20super valuable opportunity you have a
- 01:05:22person who's letting you know that they
- 01:05:24see things very differently from you
- 01:05:25this is someone who you can almost
- 01:05:26definitely learn something from and
- 01:05:28while the aggression and frustration can
- 01:05:30absolutely obscure the valuable
- 01:05:32perspective they're trying to share just
- 01:05:33as often as it obscures it the way they
- 01:05:36express themselves is just as often
- 01:05:37Clues to understanding them you can
- 01:05:39watch my Lord of the Rings versus Arcane
- 01:05:40video to see the set of do's and don'ts
- 01:05:42in action and yes granted sometimes
- 01:05:43there is absolutely nothing to learn
- 01:05:45from these people sometimes they're just
- 01:05:46being aggressive with no substance but
- 01:05:48at least stop and think at least take
- 01:05:49some time to figure out if there is
- 01:05:51anything there okay next do tackle
- 01:05:54really really hard questions questions
- 01:05:55that may feel impossible to answer if
- 01:05:58you're stuck in analyzing a tragedy in
- 01:06:00at its most basic level you realize that
- 01:06:01you just don't understand what makes
- 01:06:02tragedy compelling and you're looking at
- 01:06:04that question and that seems like a
- 01:06:06gigantic question it's Monumental how
- 01:06:08are you ever supposed to answer that
- 01:06:09that is good go for it go try your best
- 01:06:12to figure that out think about it see
- 01:06:13what you can come up with discuss it see
- 01:06:15what other people are saying try to
- 01:06:16learn more about it however you need to
- 01:06:17do it get yourself to that level of
- 01:06:18understanding that you need to be at to
- 01:06:20continue your analysis and Advance your
- 01:06:21understanding remember that is your goal
- 01:06:23you don't need to solve tragedy you
- 01:06:24don't need the answers you're looking
- 01:06:26for a better model of understanding so
- 01:06:28try to define the undefinable try to
- 01:06:30push for new theories about what makes
- 01:06:31characters good what makes writing good
- 01:06:33What conflict is what beauty is if you
- 01:06:35try if you make the effort you will find
- 01:06:36better models not the truth but better
- 01:06:38models and then down the road you'll
- 01:06:40encounter questions on those and you'll
- 01:06:41reinvent your understanding again and
- 01:06:43come up with something even better the
- 01:06:44school of advancing or understanding
- 01:06:45this is a long-term goal you're not
- 01:06:47trying to answer this question because
- 01:06:48you care so much about just this
- 01:06:50question you're in a lifelong pursuit of
- 01:06:52Greater understanding and this
- 01:06:53particular experience is just another
- 01:06:54step up that mountain next do separate
- 01:06:57points probably the most mundane
- 01:06:59sounding bit of a device in this entire
- 01:07:00video but so important t-shirt number
- 01:07:02two was the one who nailed this into my
- 01:07:04brain some background most famous
- 01:07:05commentary in Tommy to study is this
- 01:07:07little guy over here called Rashi he
- 01:07:09gives all the background you need to
- 01:07:10know to read the main body of the Tech
- 01:07:11switches here and the crazy thing is
- 01:07:13that this guy is super concise it is
- 01:07:17absolutely insane how concise this guy
- 01:07:19is and for three years straight in
- 01:07:20teacher two's class basically every day
- 01:07:22it was how many points is Rashi making
- 01:07:25this guy would say like 10 words and
- 01:07:27sometimes he'd be making three entirely
- 01:07:28separate points in 10 words because he
- 01:07:30is that concise and teacher too would
- 01:07:32Grill us on separating these points
- 01:07:34precisely because if you cannot identify
- 01:07:36how many different things you're trying
- 01:07:38to think about you will probably
- 01:07:39misunderstand them you will confuse one
- 01:07:42point to another you will miss Nuance
- 01:07:43you will miss questions you'll miss
- 01:07:45tools that will lead you to answers let
- 01:07:46me give you an example of this in our
- 01:07:48subject matter I thought you could love
- 01:07:49me like you used to but you changed to
- 01:07:51Four Points one I thought you could love
- 01:07:53me two like you used to three but you
- 01:07:57changed four two meaning one she thought
- 01:08:00vika love her that's something that's
- 01:08:01orange one we can talk about we can talk
- 01:08:03about the why we can talk about the how
- 01:08:04two she thought Vai used to love her in
- 01:08:07a specific way what way how why three
- 01:08:10she thinks if I change what was it
- 01:08:11change how did you change why did you
- 01:08:13change and four she thinks she herself
- 01:08:15also change again same questions
- 01:08:16separating aspects and characteristics
- 01:08:18it's the same principle Legolas is a
- 01:08:20cool character how so he does cool
- 01:08:22things he looks cool let's separate all
- 01:08:23the different aspects of this what
- 01:08:24comprises his coolness well he's super
- 01:08:26handsome he's super capable he is quiet
- 01:08:28and aloof he is graceful he does other
- 01:08:31things characters can do and often be
- 01:08:32seen no explanation for that and he
- 01:08:34doesn't even seem to care about being
- 01:08:35cool in all these different ways I can
- 01:08:37go on and on but this tool is saying
- 01:08:38things we have a general idea of that
- 01:08:39may be a simple thing and doing our best
- 01:08:41to break it down to its most basic
- 01:08:43components it's particles it's atoms
- 01:08:45extremely useful in preparing to analyze
- 01:08:47and discovering Nuance in your data and
- 01:08:49in ideas you're working to develop and
- 01:08:50communicating those ideas in the
- 01:08:52clearest form people often compliment me
- 01:08:53in my clarity of presentation imagine an
- 01:08:55hour and 10 minutes a day three years
- 01:08:57straight with the clearest Communicator
- 01:08:59of anyone you've ever met demanding that
- 01:09:01you separate points and everything you
- 01:09:02read you can thank teacher 2 for any
- 01:09:04Clarity that happened to rub off on me
- 01:09:06next do name ideas moving right along
- 01:09:09this is a teacher three habit this one
- 01:09:10I'm sure you've noticed do all over my
- 01:09:12videos and it may strike you as strange
- 01:09:14considering I had a whole section in
- 01:09:15this video about how names aren't ideas
- 01:09:17inertia and all that and yes that is
- 01:09:19true but once you do have ideas name
- 01:09:22them instead of just leaving ideas as an
- 01:09:24abstract definition a complicated jumble
- 01:09:25of thoughts in your brain shortcut all
- 01:09:27that by giving it a name so that you can
- 01:09:30refer to it easily so that it becomes a
- 01:09:32distinct entity in your mind and yeah
- 01:09:34personally I really really don't like
- 01:09:35academic jargon mostly because of how
- 01:09:37people use it as a site of hand to make
- 01:09:39ideas sound fancier and more complicated
- 01:09:40or as a substitute for ideas like I
- 01:09:42mentioned earlier so don't take your own
- 01:09:44jargon and do that with it that is bad
- 01:09:45but do make your own lexicon of your own
- 01:09:48ideas only use in ways that makes things
- 01:09:50simpler for you and more palatable for
- 01:09:51you and this also helps you to more
- 01:09:52efficiently start building a bunch of
- 01:09:54separate ideas into a whole system of
- 01:09:56ideas a system of how you personally
- 01:09:57think and that's something which is very
- 01:09:58useful to have next do compare
- 01:10:01everything to everything else when you
- 01:10:03find a new character you like compare
- 01:10:04that to other favorite characters of
- 01:10:06yours see if you can find a pattern
- 01:10:07compare that character to a version of
- 01:10:08the archetype you don't like see if you
- 01:10:10can figure out why and do more
- 01:10:11comparisons if they're a hero compare
- 01:10:13them to a villain if they're a side
- 01:10:14character compare them to a main
- 01:10:15character compare plots you like plots
- 01:10:16you hate questions as I keep saying are
- 01:10:18your only tool for understanding
- 01:10:19anything and compare contrasting is like
- 01:10:20the 7-Eleven of questions it is the most
- 01:10:22easily accessible source of good
- 01:10:24fruitful questions that you can always
- 01:10:25turn to 24 7 at any moment of the day
- 01:10:27okay next do advice is from this guy
- 01:10:30sarigo and a famous scholar who lived in
- 01:10:31the 900s do be 100 confident in your own
- 01:10:35ideas a hundred percent of the time
- 01:10:37until you are proven wrong and then be
- 01:10:39100 willing to retract everything and
- 01:10:41100 willing to admit you were wrong the
- 01:10:44smarter you get hopefully if you're on
- 01:10:45the right track the more humble you will
- 01:10:47also get you'll start seeing that
- 01:10:48there's a lot of smart people out there
- 01:10:49and Meanwhile your ideas are kind of
- 01:10:51Dopey at times you can be pretty sloppy
- 01:10:53you can be pretty incoherent there's so
- 01:10:55much you don't understand there's a
- 01:10:57natural imposter syndrome feeling you
- 01:10:58get but you cannot let that feeling
- 01:11:00impact your actual analysis humility is
- 01:11:02important but finding new ideas is far
- 01:11:05more important you cannot let a single
- 01:11:07great idea slip through your finger
- 01:11:08simply because you were too timid to
- 01:11:09explore some notion you have some
- 01:11:11direction or some question if you're
- 01:11:13stuck saying oh I had this idea but it's
- 01:11:15probably nothing I thought of this
- 01:11:16question but it's probably a bad
- 01:11:18question I had the steering kind of
- 01:11:19shaky about it no one is really saying
- 01:11:21anything like it no suck it up and
- 01:11:23plunge full steam ahead like you are the
- 01:11:25smartest person in the world and all
- 01:11:26your little Notions are going to lead to
- 01:11:27Big Ideas and everything you have is
- 01:11:29worth developing because it's going to
- 01:11:30be so cool and then once you're finished
- 01:11:32with your analysis if someone has a good
- 01:11:33criticism of it if you're wrong or if it
- 01:11:35just ends up being not great and full of
- 01:11:37holes and lackluster then be humble tail
- 01:11:39between your legs you know the routine
- 01:11:41and retract and try again I'm not
- 01:11:43suggesting that you actually be arrogant
- 01:11:45just use confidence as a tool to get
- 01:11:47better ideas and also use humility as a
- 01:11:49tool to get better ideas being able to
- 01:11:51confidently March forward and being able
- 01:11:53to admit you're wrong are both useful in
- 01:11:55different situations just because
- 01:11:56they're opposites doesn't mean that you
- 01:11:57can't use both when necessary to get
- 01:11:59better ideas just don't let either
- 01:12:00disposition be an impediment to you and
- 01:12:02let me add to this do be the first one
- 01:12:04to question your own ideas it is totally
- 01:12:06fine totally reasonable and productive
- 01:12:08to be like here's my idea and here's my
- 01:12:11question on it here's my idea and this
- 01:12:12is what I like about it and this is what
- 01:12:14I don't like about it it's productive in
- 01:12:15your own head when you're working on the
- 01:12:16idea by yourself but especially if
- 01:12:18you're discussing it or presenting it
- 01:12:20criticize your own ideas ask questions
- 01:12:21on them why because I'm gonna say it
- 01:12:23again questions are your only tools to
- 01:12:25understand anything if there's more
- 01:12:27understanding to be had from your answer
- 01:12:29it will happen through asking questions
- 01:12:31on it next do obsess over formulation if
- 01:12:34you can't talk about it clearly you are
- 01:12:36not thinking about it clearly find the
- 01:12:38absolute best ways to express your ideas
- 01:12:40that is the sign that you're coming to a
- 01:12:43clearer understanding of those ideas if
- 01:12:44you're having trouble expressing
- 01:12:46yourself that's good that's part of the
- 01:12:47process that is your clue to do more
- 01:12:49thinking to understand more last do
- 01:12:51different from the rest do think
- 01:12:54silently for long extended periods of
- 01:12:56time this is something which is a
- 01:12:58totally normal thing in the environment
- 01:12:59I come from you can walk into the study
- 01:13:00room and my old Tommy look Academy and
- 01:13:02it will not be uncommon to see people
- 01:13:04sitting at tables no books or notes or
- 01:13:06anything in front of them and they're
- 01:13:07just staring and thinking for like an
- 01:13:10hour sometimes more staring at the
- 01:13:12ceiling sometimes they're sitting and
- 01:13:14just spinning a pen or muttering to
- 01:13:16themselves or pacing back and forth
- 01:13:18you'll see two people sitting across
- 01:13:19from each other two study partners
- 01:13:21apparently studying together working on
- 01:13:23the same problem and they're not talking
- 01:13:25at all just thinking for like an hour
- 01:13:27but I understand in the outside world
- 01:13:29it's not a normal thing it's not really
- 01:13:30socially acceptable but it should be and
- 01:13:32I heavily recommend it to you spend long
- 01:13:34periods of time just thinking not on
- 01:13:37your phone not reading not typing notes
- 01:13:39not discussing things with your friend
- 01:13:41just thinking and that's it and it
- 01:13:43doesn't need to be like a sensory
- 01:13:44deprivation thing or anything crazy like
- 01:13:46that pace around talk out your thoughts
- 01:13:47to yourself or write them out whatever
- 01:13:49helps but just think take time to think
- 01:13:52and that's it it is invaluable to get
- 01:13:55into the habit of just doing that okay
- 01:13:57final section of the video we've gone
- 01:13:59through all these techniques you can use
- 01:14:00but there's obviously way mortar than
- 01:14:02that I'm just scratching the surface
- 01:14:03here I'm doing my best and again I'm
- 01:14:04just a random guy on YouTube I'm a
- 01:14:06nobody this is very much like writing
- 01:14:08advice you can go to your favorite
- 01:14:09author in the world have them tell you
- 01:14:10all about their processes you can listen
- 01:14:12to all the Brandon Sanderson lectures on
- 01:14:14YouTube and you still won't be able to
- 01:14:15write books like Brandon Sanderson so
- 01:14:16the real question is what's the best way
- 01:14:18to improve on your own how do you get
- 01:14:20better at analysis on your own and I'm
- 01:14:22saying beside practice obviously just
- 01:14:23like writing the best ways to practice
- 01:14:25get in the hours getting the feedback 40
- 01:14:27hours blah blah blah but is there more
- 01:14:29you can do yes there is more I'm calling
- 01:14:31this the Sammy method even though he and
- 01:14:33I came up with it together to compare
- 01:14:34the star king Sammy is my Victor comedic
- 01:14:36Academia functions and pairs you have a
- 01:14:38study partner you have more than one and
- 01:14:39it can be different study partners for
- 01:14:40different subjects and at different
- 01:14:41times throughout the scholarly part of
- 01:14:43your life but most often people will end
- 01:14:45up finding like their OTP study buddy
- 01:14:46who you just work so well with and for
- 01:14:49me it's this guy Sammy we've studied
- 01:14:50talmud together for like 14 years and we
- 01:14:52still studied together like four times a
- 01:14:53week he's not into analyzing stories
- 01:14:55like I am he's not a content creator or
- 01:14:57anything like that he's a dentist but
- 01:14:58anyway so we were in teacher Forest
- 01:14:59class for three and a half years and the
- 01:15:01way teacher 4 ran his class would be to
- 01:15:03prepare all the data beforehand but not
- 01:15:05theorize until class time and then we
- 01:15:08his students we'd get to see him come
- 01:15:10with this theories on this spot he would
- 01:15:12talk through his entire process he'd ask
- 01:15:14questions he'd talk it through with us
- 01:15:15he would hear our theories he would talk
- 01:15:17about what he liked what he didn't like
- 01:15:18about them we would watch him move on
- 01:15:20his own around different parts of the
- 01:15:21data set and he'd propose rough ideas
- 01:15:23and we'd see him tweak them expand them
- 01:15:25question them perfect them until they
- 01:15:27became the brilliant beautiful theories
- 01:15:29that we were there to hear it was a
- 01:15:31great way to teach and the way Sammy and
- 01:15:33I took advantage of that class structure
- 01:15:34was to review his class like almost by
- 01:15:36the minute we were breaking up into the
- 01:15:38tiniest steps we could lay it all out
- 01:15:40and our goal was to find three things
- 01:15:42how exactly precisely does each step
- 01:15:45lead to the next what would we have
- 01:15:47thought to do at that stage or what did
- 01:15:48we do when we were that stage and why
- 01:15:50did he do what he did instead if he
- 01:15:52fixated on a random data point we didn't
- 01:15:54see as very important what did he see in
- 01:15:56that and what were we missing and why
- 01:15:58did we miss it if he has a question that
- 01:16:00was different from what we asked a
- 01:16:01different question entirely like a
- 01:16:03question we missed or just a different
- 01:16:04formulation of a question we have again
- 01:16:06why did he do it his way what was our
- 01:16:08Instinct why did his way lead to more
- 01:16:10and Arsley to dead end what was his
- 01:16:12first step in answering the question why
- 01:16:14did he see that as the first step did we
- 01:16:16see it also as the first step why not
- 01:16:18and then how did it lead to the next
- 01:16:19step would we have gotten to the next
- 01:16:20step why not why was he able to get
- 01:16:22there what did he seen it what didn't we
- 01:16:23see why not Etc obviously there are a
- 01:16:25lot of creative leaps in theorizing you
- 01:16:27cannot connect each step precisely which
- 01:16:29is what we were trying to do you cannot
- 01:16:30do that but our goal was to get as close
- 01:16:32as we possibly could get and yes this
- 01:16:34was as obsessive as it sounds we knew
- 01:16:36that it was over analyzing we knew that
- 01:16:37too we were very realistic about what we
- 01:16:39were doing here a lot of it led nowhere
- 01:16:41and we expected that going in but that
- 01:16:43said it was Far and Away the best tool
- 01:16:45we had and it was incredibly effective
- 01:16:47for us we did for about two years two
- 01:16:48and a half years in teacher divorce
- 01:16:49class his style was perfect for it as I
- 01:16:51described and his ideas had the right
- 01:16:53kind of Brilliance I would say for that
- 01:16:55type of process and doesn't work for
- 01:16:56every type of idea after this we moved
- 01:16:58on to teacher 5's class and we couldn't
- 01:16:59do this because his ideas were just a
- 01:17:01level Beyond and that was that you just
- 01:17:03can't always do this method but yeah
- 01:17:04that's what we did analyze analysis kind
- 01:17:07of obvious when you say it out loud I
- 01:17:08definitely recommend trying this where
- 01:17:10you're able to do it to whatever degree
- 01:17:12you're able to find ideas you like see
- 01:17:14how the people got there try to define
- 01:17:15the steps and try to figure out what you
- 01:17:17did differently at each step it is often
- 01:17:19incredibly speculative you often don't
- 01:17:21get answers but in the long term very
- 01:17:24very fruitful process okay that is it
- 01:17:26did you find this video helpful let me
- 01:17:27know I can definitely relate to wanting
- 01:17:29methodology content my friends and I
- 01:17:30used to beg our teachers to do
- 01:17:32methodology lectures or discussions or
- 01:17:34to just give us advice about it and part
- 01:17:35of the reason why people don't talk
- 01:17:36about it is because it's very difficult
- 01:17:38to talk about it is hard to isolate
- 01:17:40patterns of your own thought when
- 01:17:41thinking itself isn't something you
- 01:17:42focus on when thinking it is incredibly
- 01:17:45difficult and I think it falls into the
- 01:17:46Trap I mentioned in one part of the
- 01:17:47video but certain topics people want to
- 01:17:49be mysterious they don't believe you
- 01:17:50should think about them that you should
- 01:17:51try to understand them like when I made
- 01:17:53that beautiful video anytime you try to
- 01:17:54analyze Beauty you always get people
- 01:17:55saying no Beauty cannot be defined by
- 01:17:57definition everyone is tried and failed
- 01:17:59you can't do it and they might be saying
- 01:18:00that because beauty is this difficult
- 01:18:02Topic in terms of the variety of how it
- 01:18:04manifests and how equivocally we use the
- 01:18:05term but more often is because people
- 01:18:06see beauty as this pure thing and they
- 01:18:08don't want to Sully that Purity with
- 01:18:10icky yucky mundane thinking it's the
- 01:18:12same with thinking itself people are
- 01:18:14very comfortable with the idea that
- 01:18:15thinking and coming up with Big Ideas
- 01:18:16profound ideas uncovering fundamental
- 01:18:19truths is this magical mysterious
- 01:18:21process because the ideas feel cool in
- 01:18:23that way and they want the mechanism
- 01:18:24that generates those ideas to feel cool
- 01:18:26in the same way but that's just not the
- 01:18:28reality if you want to get better at
- 01:18:29thinking you're just like anything else
- 01:18:30you study it you practice it and you
- 01:18:32learn how it works sports fans are the
- 01:18:33ones who love the idea of natural talent
- 01:18:35but actual athletes will often tell you
- 01:18:36yeah there is some talent but it's often
- 01:18:38more about hard work and experience and
- 01:18:40understanding specific things and that
- 01:18:43may be more boring and may take the
- 01:18:44magic out of it but it's true I want to
- 01:18:46end this by saying I don't know if
- 01:18:47people are sick of hearing this for me
- 01:18:48especially my patrons endless thanks to
- 01:18:50my teachers and that's also part of what
- 01:18:52made me really apprehensive about making
- 01:18:53a video like this I don't think I'm like
- 01:18:54this big smart guy just because I make
- 01:18:56videos on YouTube and it does make me
- 01:18:57uncomfortable that people want to know
- 01:18:58how this brain of mine works how it
- 01:19:00functions how it comes up with all these
- 01:19:02brilliant intricate wires deep whatever
- 01:19:04that's not me I don't see myself that
- 01:19:05way if you've watched my videos if
- 01:19:06you've seen me discussing things in
- 01:19:08comments you know that I am always
- 01:19:09finding problems with my own ideas I'm
- 01:19:10off often agreeing to other people's
- 01:19:12critiques I'm trying my best to rethink
- 01:19:13things and Shore up the weaker parts of
- 01:19:15my analyzes because I am pretty sloppy
- 01:19:16and my ideas have a lot of holes they're
- 01:19:18often inelegant and don't really get to
- 01:19:19the depth I'm hoping for or they're
- 01:19:21super speculative or not fully developed
- 01:19:22or they're formulated more for an
- 01:19:23impressive impact than for strict
- 01:19:25accuracy there's a lot of problems that
- 01:19:26is fact that is not arguable so it's
- 01:19:28weird making something like this that's
- 01:19:30probably why I wanted to stress and to
- 01:19:31prove that so much of the stuff people
- 01:19:33compliment me on in my videos isn't like
- 01:19:34me being this amazing thinker because
- 01:19:36I'm amazing I'm a beneficiary of a
- 01:19:37fantastic education and a fantastic
- 01:19:39tradition of Education I really did want
- 01:19:41to play for yourself like teacher 5
- 01:19:42outlining literally in the most
- 01:19:44important methodology rule I know of ask
- 01:19:46what not why in a recording from 50
- 01:19:48years ago and to play for you the moment
- 01:19:50teacher 4 actually taught me sitting in
- 01:19:52his class in 2010 the forget the facts
- 01:19:54idea and also if you happen to notice
- 01:19:55the background footage was from all
- 01:19:57these places that had to do with my
- 01:19:58academic tradition there's a little walk
- 01:20:00through tummy to history 1800 ish years
- 01:20:02of it because my teachers didn't come up
- 01:20:04with a stuff either although to be fair
- 01:20:05teacher 5 came up with quite a lot of it
- 01:20:07but he was a beneficiary of the Brisco
- 01:20:08Dera which originated here more or less
- 01:20:10close to here in an area known as breast
- 01:20:12and Belarus then known to Jews as brisk
- 01:20:15in Lithuania in the 1800s welcome to
- 01:20:16brisk sort of and brisk was told by his
- 01:20:20father who is the head teacher of this
- 01:20:22place who learned under a student of
- 01:20:23this guy we call the genius of vilna who
- 01:20:25lived here in Vilnius Lithuania in the
- 01:20:271700s that commentary mentioned teacher
- 01:20:293 grilling us on with that separation of
- 01:20:31points thing he lived right here in this
- 01:20:32French Town Tua about 900 years ago and
- 01:20:35then further back we get here to
- 01:20:36Fallujah one of the two places in Iraq
- 01:20:38where the talmud was written between the
- 01:20:39third and sixth centuries I am a very
- 01:20:41lucky person to be exposed to this 2000
- 01:20:43year old culture of exactly this kind of
- 01:20:45analysis in one form or another and I'm
- 01:20:47so grateful that it's something that I
- 01:20:49can share with you because I love this
- 01:20:51kind of analysis more than any of you I
- 01:20:53can say that confidently I live for this
- 01:20:54it's brought a kind of light to my life
- 01:20:56that nothing else will ever approximate
- 01:20:57in any form and I'm happy when I can do
- 01:20:59my part in lining up little parts of
- 01:21:01your lives in the same way but anyway
- 01:21:03this video was in response to hitting
- 01:21:05200 000 subscribers I cannot believe all
- 01:21:08the support you guys have given me it is
- 01:21:09just unreal to me I I uploaded my first
- 01:21:11Arcane video in November 2nd 2021 so
- 01:21:14it's been almost exactly a year and a
- 01:21:15half a few days short for getting 200
- 01:21:17000 subscribers that is nuts that's
- 01:21:20crazy to me this whole Channel what
- 01:21:21you've done for me has transformed my
- 01:21:23life in so many ways it's transformed my
- 01:21:25livelihood what I do every day how I
- 01:21:27think how I write and transformed
- 01:21:29fundamentally how I enjoy fiction now
- 01:21:30and who I enjoy it with so all the
- 01:21:32Gratitude in the world to all of you if
- 01:21:35you're subbed if you're not sub doesn't
- 01:21:36matter even if you just watch the
- 01:21:38channel every so often a couple videos
- 01:21:39here and there it is the most incredible
- 01:21:41feeling to have found people who
- 01:21:43appreciate what you have to contribute
- 01:21:44so truly thank you I'm gonna keep making
- 01:21:47videos I'm not stopping or anything like
- 01:21:49that so I'll see you again in a week or
- 01:21:51two for more analysis content shout out
- 01:21:52to the patrons as always consider
- 01:21:54joining for two dollars getting access
- 01:21:55to our wonderful thriving patreon
- 01:21:57Discord server where we talk about all
- 01:21:59the writing stuff we love to talk about
- 01:22:00and make writer friends and help each
- 01:22:01other with projects and volunteer to
- 01:22:03read and give feedback and start writing
- 01:22:04groups Etc it's a bunch of writing nerds
- 01:22:06being ready nerds so hop on board if you
- 01:22:08want we'd love to have you special shout
- 01:22:09out to new High tier patrons and
- 01:22:13anyway I really hope you enjoyed this it
- 01:22:15was hard to make in a different way than
- 01:22:17my other content but it was also super
- 01:22:18rewarding and super fun so thanks for
- 01:22:20200k and thanks for watching
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