Whattup Antelopes (an update)
Hello antelopes, how are you doing?
Firstly, I hope you liked the new video. I’ve seen a fair few comments pointing out that just because stuff is automatic in the brain doesn’t mean the whole thing is. I have to concede they’re right. I don’t want to get into a big old metaphysical argument here, but god damn it’s tricky to talk about consciousness without knowing what the hell it is. Apologies if I missed the mark. There’s always a very special feeling when you’re watching a video for the final time before it’s uploaded, when you realise exactly what you should have said – or why your points are wrong. And by then it’s generally too late. STILL. I do stand by the general claim. I hope that’s all right with you.
And on top of that, I hope you’re doing well.
So, I’m going to go video-silent for a month. And as usual with this little dance, there’s no way I’m going to accept your patronage for July because of that.
I’m one of those people who is incapable of multitasking. I’d prefer to sink full days into a single thing, rather than spread it out over weeks. For that reason the new book still isn’t proofread. It’s sitting right there on my desktop, all the writing done, the cover done, the blurb done, and it still isn’t real. So I’m just going to throw myself at it for July. This thing has been sitting in my head for quite some time now and I’d like it out in the world. (The cover should be attached below by the way, designed by a graphic artist I really dig. I hope you like it.) I forget if I’ve mentioned the concept before, but it’s a book of short stories going chronologically from the beginning of the human galactic empire to the end. And a bit beyond.
I took a weekend to visit a small village recently called Melnik, in Bulgaria. I’m not sure if you’ve tried travelling alone, but if you can bear it, it’s wonderful. Every day I’d chug several pots of coffee, then climb (that’s a strong word for ‘walk briskly’, I guess) one of the nearby mountains and just look out over the village. It gave me a shit load of time to think. What kept coming up again and again is the almost-hitting-30 feeling. Which I am. I’m not sure if you’re grappling with your age yet, or if you’ve done it already, but Jesus it springs up on you. I’m still healthy, and most of my faculties are intact I suppose, but one can already feel things beginning to slow down – my brain in particular. It’s obvious to say I guess, but it hit me that this feeling of degradation is going to get stronger and stronger as the years go by now. At the same time though, you’re accruing life experience and hopefully getting a bit wiser about the world. That’s a strange dance: biology on the decline, and world-experience on the up. Well. Anyway.
I’d also like to say a massive sorry. I apologised last month for not responding yet to some of your emails. I spend about 2 hours a day going through my inbox recently and it still isn’t cutting it. I have no intention of hiring someone to help because I think that rather defeats the point of people writing to you personally in the first place. If I haven’t responded, please know that I will – I do to every message. I have no delusions of grandeur about being a ‘someone’, but for whatever reason I do get messages – most of them hilarious – and I think you should bloody well make the effort to respond properly. Bear with me, I’ll get back to you, promise.
In other news, I spend most of my free time learning Bulgarian these days. The language is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful in the world. Unfortunately the grammar also happens to be fucking insane for an English native speaker. Are you learning a language, or do you speak several already? How the hell are you doing it/how did you do it? I am surrounded by people who’ve picked up German and English and Latin and all sorts effortlessly and it’s humiliating in a quiet way I cannot even begin to describe.
That’s the happy haps, anyway. I’ve also attached a recent picture of Freya/The Destroyer of Worlds for your enjoyment. She is getting larger and meowier as the days go by. Her recent trick is to wake me up at obscene hours in the morning by purring straight into my ear. This is pleasant and horrific at the same time.
Again, I’m not going to accept anything from you kind folk this month, but nonetheless your support still means the absolute world. It allows a technophobe with no visual taste to actually get hold of half-decent stock video and go off and make stuff. A friend of mine recently was talking about about how humans are primarily motivated by capital and self-interest. To a degree no doubt we are, but I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. I used the fact that folks like you are supporting my excuse for content as a clear example of the unexpected kindness of strangers. And it is a good example really. I wouldn’t be making stuff without you. I simply couldn’t. So as always, thank you.
All the very best, and hopefully next time we chat I’ll be sending you the new book.
Best of luck with your projects, carbon units,
Ex.
P.S – This is fantastic:
Comments (11)
I just got your first book, and your short story, Tap, was amazing, my heart was racing and the suspense was incredible. I became a patron to give you this feedback. Thank you.
I learned English by absorbing large amounts of American and British subtitled television over the course of many years and then school did a fair bit of refining. A horrifically inefficient way to learn a language, but it seems to have worked. Edit: I just noticed the high quality loaf, good stuff.
Great new video, as always. Good vibes at the end. That being said though, when you make such a big effort to tear apart 'you' and 'whatever your brain does', the whole (well, nearly the whole) field of philosophy of mind (including me) rolls their eyes, especially when you bring up Libet (at which point all of neuroscience, including my girlfriend), also rolls their eyes. I guess I should send you my dissertation when it's finished. Should be in about a few months. I have a thing or two to say about the notion of mind. Oh and P.S.: I'll also send you my girlfriend's dissertation. She does actual science, and investigates when and to what degree we can become / do become conscious of processes in our brain.
Видеото беше, както винаги, страхотно! Относно ученето на нов език: малко е като ученето да караш кола или мотор - повече практика, по-малко теория и, може би най-важно, твърдоглавие. Успех! :)
The new videi was great. Unexpected to be so soon after the last one for some reason so a month of video silence won't be a problem if you ask me. I do speak multiple languages. Seeing as my native language isn't English I had to (Croatian) the way I learned it is... Well I moved around a lot as a kid so, again, I had to. Currently I'm working on Spanish on an on and off basis for the hell of it. I love languages and I've set myself a goal of learning at least 5 foreign languages. Hopefully I'll make it. 2 fluently, 2 I know basics of so I'd say I'm half way there. The reason I saying this is not to shame you or to brag (okay I do want to brag a bit) but ti tell you hiw difficult learning a language is even if you know multiple. The great thing is you're doing it and I wish you the best
Loved the new vid. You say that some viewers found small logical gaps in the argument. Welcome to the internet, what's new? But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to tell you how that hit home. I'm a scientist and I like science. I might even be on the spectrum, that's how uncomfortable I am with things being even slightly inexact. I thought I should fell at home in science and forever improve the accuracy and precision of facts, ideas, predictions, measurements. And I was wrong. I'm still learning to let go of being uselessly precise. What's the point of predicting a result within 3 decimal places if anything this generation will measure is 1 decimal place? Does that make me more right? No, it makes me more of an idiot. My aim is now to be as precise as I need to be in order to tell a story. All I want is to add a step and hopefully someone else will build on it and make the model/measurement better. I want to get better at seeing the big picture when I know all the trees have error bars. I'm trying to make the argument that big picture stories are important. No matter how many holes the interwebs find in them.
On a separate note, I personally don't mind continuing my patronage even during a month when you don't put out any content; the way I see it you're still working on something for my eyeballs' enjoyment.
I'm really bad at languages even though I'm fluent in 2. Yeah, it confuses me too. I was 7 when I was introduced to my second language and I haven't been able to pick up any more since. My main problem is retention; I grasp grammar pretty easily, and get a feel for how words should behave but I just can't remember the vocabulary. I don't know why I'm still taking, I've been wildly unhelpful...
Good luck on your book, Exurbia. I like the cover album graphic design. We look forward to your insightful videos in August or September. P.S.: Loved the East vs West Philosophies Rap Battle in History music video. 😂 West siiiiiide! ✌😉✌
The video was fantastic; it was really interesting and funny. Thanks! Also, I am learning Turkish and so far I speak Spanish and English at a fluent level. From my experience the best way to learn a language is by being exposed to it –hopefully every single minute of the day. However, not only by listening to it but by actually speaking it as much as possible. Here is a link to an article I find helpful <a href="https://www.weareteacherfinder.com/blog/15-language-learning-techniques-polyglots/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.weareteacherfinder.com/blog/15-language-learning-techniques-polyglots/</a>
Thank you. This antelope is having a swell day.