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00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,570
Now, how many of you

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00:00:09,570 --> 00:00:11,595
have a favorite
fictional story,

3
00:00:11,595 --> 00:00:14,085
something that
resonated with you.

4
00:00:14,085 --> 00:00:16,540
Get an example
from the audience.

5
00:00:17,990 --> 00:00:20,325
Ok, go.

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00:00:20,325 --> 00:00:22,965
What about a favorite
fictional hero,

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00:00:22,965 --> 00:00:24,330
perhaps someone
who resonated with

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00:00:24,330 --> 00:00:25,890
you on an ideological
level or someone

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00:00:25,890 --> 00:00:27,270
you gravitate to you on a

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00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:29,910
personal, this little
guy right here.

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00:00:29,910 --> 00:00:34,095
So all my god
dude. I feel yeah.

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00:00:34,095 --> 00:00:40,155
Alright, you, Superman.
The mother figures.

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00:00:40,155 --> 00:00:42,755
So although it's a little

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naive and nineties

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00:00:44,570 --> 00:00:45,680
boyish if you
think about it,

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00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,195
he's this extra
terrestrial.

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00:00:47,195 --> 00:00:50,390
He has all the power
to enslave humanity,

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00:00:50,390 --> 00:00:51,380
and yet he chooses

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00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:52,760
instead to protect
these people.

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00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,530
He could push the plane
away from the sun.

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00:00:54,530 --> 00:00:56,810
He could laser beam
a town and half.

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He could, he could

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00:00:58,235 --> 00:00:59,810
toss it Juju train
across the horizon.

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Instead, he
chooses again to

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00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,425
use these powers to
protect these people.

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00:01:03,425 --> 00:01:04,880
Now if you think for
a second what it

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00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,245
goes to the Fortress
of Solitude.

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He sit that reflects

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00:01:07,190 --> 00:01:08,060
in a reflection
or something

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00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:09,875
and he's going there,

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probably be alone
and to cry.

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And I don't know. I
gravitate to that.

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What are you? Well,

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00:01:17,660 --> 00:01:19,370
that's that's
easy pick for me.

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00:01:19,370 --> 00:01:20,960
Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

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00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:23,720
Timber, his arms wide.

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00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,275
Alright. Well
for one, he is,

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for me an amalgamation
of everything that

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00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,200
idealize that a
person is rational.

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He has stalwart in the face

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of any and all adversity,

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and he always seems
to know what to do.

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I often asked myself when

44
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I'm faced with a
hairy situation,

45
00:01:41,780 --> 00:01:43,400
what would
Catholic hard do?

46
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,590
It's all solid.

47
00:01:45,590 --> 00:01:48,035
So what do we do this?

48
00:01:48,035 --> 00:01:51,110
Why do we make people
and stories up?

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00:01:51,110 --> 00:01:53,960
Well, ghosts
entertaining, right?

50
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,060
Sure, but that's
the easy answer.

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00:01:56,060 --> 00:01:56,735
That seems like kind of

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00:01:56,735 --> 00:01:57,770
the the cop-out answer.

53
00:01:57,770 --> 00:02:00,350
If you ask me. What if

54
00:02:00,350 --> 00:02:01,940
it's more complicated
than that?

55
00:02:01,940 --> 00:02:06,155
Is it interesting
or odd to imagine?

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00:02:06,155 --> 00:02:07,700
We can learn so much

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00:02:07,700 --> 00:02:09,815
from the characters
have never existed.

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00:02:09,815 --> 00:02:11,900
People who have lived
through events and

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00:02:11,900 --> 00:02:14,165
settings that never were.

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00:02:14,165 --> 00:02:16,850
Big. Broad question here.

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00:02:16,850 --> 00:02:18,260
If we're going to
answer something like

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00:02:18,260 --> 00:02:19,610
this, we got to
start somewhere.

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What is fiction?
Alright, well,

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I think we're going
to answer this.

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We should probably start
by stepping through

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our collective
history and seeing

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how it's manifested.

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00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:30,860
Alright, so I'll maybe
start with a couple

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of contemporary examples.

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Alright? I'm certain that

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00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:35,510
everybody in the room here

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can identify the symbol.

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Whether you've had access

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to internet connection,

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00:02:40,430 --> 00:02:42,020
bend to a bookstore.

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00:02:42,020 --> 00:02:43,850
Bend present
during a protest,

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00:02:43,850 --> 00:02:45,260
turned on the news.
It doesn't matter.

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00:02:45,260 --> 00:02:46,730
I'm certain
everybody in here

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00:02:46,730 --> 00:02:49,115
has identified this
symbol is somewhere.

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Remember, remember the
fifth of November,

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00:02:52,190 --> 00:02:53,630
the gunpowder
treason and plot.

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00:02:53,630 --> 00:02:55,250
I know of no reason why

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00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:57,980
the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

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00:02:57,980 --> 00:03:01,310
Sorry, striking, isn't
it? What does it mean?

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00:03:01,310 --> 00:03:03,635
Well, it stems
from a story,

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00:03:03,635 --> 00:03:05,600
a comic book rather,
that was written by

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00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:07,550
Alan Moore and illustrated
by David Lloyd.

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00:03:07,550 --> 00:03:08,675
It's about a lot of things.

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00:03:08,675 --> 00:03:10,040
It's about overcoming
a triangle.

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00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:11,540
Governments about
Righteous are

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00:03:11,540 --> 00:03:13,879
balanced by unifying
and solidarity.

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Now, the generations of

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00:03:16,190 --> 00:03:17,960
the sixties and
seventies glommed

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onto a symbol that

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00:03:19,850 --> 00:03:22,550
wasn't too dissimilar
and use the peace sign.

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The millennial see
we've glommed onto

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00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:26,630
this symbol of again,

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00:03:26,630 --> 00:03:28,040
unification and whatnot.

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00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,650
So it's prime it here,

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00:03:30,650 --> 00:03:32,735
whether this use is a

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00:03:32,735 --> 00:03:35,375
good or a bad thing is
strictly upper debate.

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00:03:35,375 --> 00:03:37,250
But the truth of the
matter is, this is

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00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:39,320
an example of a
piece of fiction

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00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,090
that has transcended
the paper it's printed

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00:03:41,090 --> 00:03:44,160
on and made its
way into reality.

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00:03:44,650 --> 00:03:46,940
Until everybody
in this audience

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00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:49,070
recognizes this
term Orwellian.

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00:03:49,070 --> 00:03:50,570
I've think I've read

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that once on a
bathroom saw.

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00:03:51,935 --> 00:03:54,920
Okay. Well, now the story

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from once this term,

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00:03:56,435 --> 00:03:59,615
King George Orwell's 1984,

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00:03:59,615 --> 00:04:01,880
is a cautionary tale

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00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,270
where power is not
a means, it is net.

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00:04:05,270 --> 00:04:08,884
Where wars, peace,
freedom is slavery,

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and ignorance is strength.

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Now these anecdotes in

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the story would define it,

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00:04:13,685 --> 00:04:15,590
but also define this term,

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which today we hear
used by bloggers,

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00:04:18,845 --> 00:04:21,785
newscasters, politicians,
people at large,

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00:04:21,785 --> 00:04:23,975
is another example
of fiction that has

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00:04:23,975 --> 00:04:26,180
transcended it's
fictional boundary

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00:04:26,180 --> 00:04:27,800
and bled into
the real world.

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So kinda putting both
into a hopper here.

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Figure really speaking, we

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00:04:31,790 --> 00:04:33,770
have a symbol and we
have a definition.

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00:04:33,770 --> 00:04:37,580
We have two very useful
vehicles of meaning.

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They're both
readily relatable,

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00:04:40,685 --> 00:04:43,385
but just
entertainment, right?

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00:04:43,385 --> 00:04:44,270
I mean, people just like

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00:04:44,270 --> 00:04:46,445
these things enough, right?

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00:04:46,445 --> 00:04:47,900
What can we haven't
quite flesh

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00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:48,860
this out with the
audience yet?

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00:04:48,860 --> 00:04:51,080
So let's entertain a
few more examples.

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00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,990
Good place to start
is with fairy tale.

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00:04:53,990 --> 00:04:55,070
God, those things
mess me up,

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00:04:55,070 --> 00:04:56,570
man. Years of therapy.

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00:04:56,570 --> 00:04:57,905
So we all know what's the

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00:04:57,905 --> 00:04:59,555
tortoise and
Harris, correct?

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00:04:59,555 --> 00:05:01,820
It's the story
of a quick bots,

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00:05:01,820 --> 00:05:03,770
arrogant hair
pitted against

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00:05:03,770 --> 00:05:05,090
a slope at determined
toward us.

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00:05:05,090 --> 00:05:06,860
Or of the boy
who cried wolf.

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00:05:06,860 --> 00:05:09,380
Story of a boy who
finds it entertained to

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00:05:09,380 --> 00:05:12,380
cry to as guardians
when in truth,

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00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:15,935
there is no Wolf
until there is.

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00:05:15,935 --> 00:05:19,235
Slow and steady,
wins the race and

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00:05:19,235 --> 00:05:21,620
don't be a detestable stain

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00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:23,640
on your community.

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00:05:23,740 --> 00:05:26,945
So are these just
entertainment

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00:05:26,945 --> 00:05:29,330
or these functional
pieces of fiction here?

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00:05:29,330 --> 00:05:31,550
I say yes to
both, actually.

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00:05:31,550 --> 00:05:34,460
Now, according to a
Canadian psychologist,

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00:05:34,460 --> 00:05:36,260
Raymond Mar, fiction

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00:05:36,260 --> 00:05:38,059
serves two primary
functions.

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00:05:38,059 --> 00:05:39,440
The first of which is

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00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:40,940
to simulate and
the second is

159
00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:44,120
to abstract human
experience.

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00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:45,875
Now take that a
step further.

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00:05:45,875 --> 00:05:48,050
He says that like
mathematics,

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00:05:48,050 --> 00:05:50,810
narrative clarifies
understandings of

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00:05:50,810 --> 00:05:52,340
certain generalizable
principles that

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00:05:52,340 --> 00:05:54,320
underlie human experience,

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00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:55,970
namely intended
human action.

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00:05:55,970 --> 00:05:57,230
So he's doing a corollary

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00:05:57,230 --> 00:05:58,880
between math and narrative,

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00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:00,380
saying that both the things

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00:06:00,380 --> 00:06:01,580
which are highly abstract

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00:06:01,580 --> 00:06:02,210
can be used to

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00:06:02,210 --> 00:06:05,340
problem-solve in
a very real way.

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00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,245
Another psychologists
by an imager and Bruner

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00:06:09,245 --> 00:06:10,850
said that story in

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00:06:10,850 --> 00:06:13,144
a word is vicarious
experience.

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00:06:13,144 --> 00:06:14,960
So in a sense,

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we're sort of experiencing

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00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:18,170
these conundrums and these

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00:06:18,170 --> 00:06:19,685
problems with
these characters.

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00:06:19,685 --> 00:06:21,470
And all without having

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00:06:21,470 --> 00:06:22,610
to experience the
consequences are

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00:06:22,610 --> 00:06:23,660
ourselves like perhaps

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00:06:23,660 --> 00:06:25,280
being deservedly eaten by

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00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:27,995
all for being a
little, right?

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00:06:27,995 --> 00:06:29,795
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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00:06:29,795 --> 00:06:30,710
Now,

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00:06:30,710 --> 00:06:33,065
exploring this concept
a little bit further,

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00:06:33,065 --> 00:06:33,740
I think we'll need

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00:06:33,740 --> 00:06:35,090
another example and
I can think of no

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00:06:35,090 --> 00:06:38,420
better than the
Greek mythos time.

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00:06:38,420 --> 00:06:42,890
Stories of what does it
to the Homeric Hymns,

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00:06:42,890 --> 00:06:44,180
Greek mythologies and tall

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00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:46,015
tales of, correct, right.

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00:06:46,015 --> 00:06:48,350
Now these were
interlaced into

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00:06:48,350 --> 00:06:51,395
every facet of Greek life.

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00:06:51,395 --> 00:06:53,555
Great polo Marx who
claim that they were

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00:06:53,555 --> 00:06:56,030
descended from heroes
are Demi Gods.

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00:06:56,030 --> 00:06:57,530
Cults were erected to

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00:06:57,530 --> 00:06:59,315
these figures even believe,

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00:06:59,315 --> 00:07:02,210
bled into daily
use of language.

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00:07:02,210 --> 00:07:03,590
For instance, if

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00:07:03,590 --> 00:07:04,955
a woman was
considered beautiful,

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00:07:04,955 --> 00:07:07,024
she said to be in a
likeness of Aphrodite.

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00:07:07,024 --> 00:07:09,635
If a man were Hanson
call Madonna's,

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00:07:09,635 --> 00:07:11,390
If someone were powerful,

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00:07:11,390 --> 00:07:13,505
there'd be said
to be herculean.

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00:07:13,505 --> 00:07:15,200
These were very

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00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,120
present in their
day to day life.

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00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,640
They defined like is

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00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:21,170
that everything they did.

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00:07:21,170 --> 00:07:23,195
Virtues to be honored,

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00:07:23,195 --> 00:07:24,575
vices to be avoided,

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00:07:24,575 --> 00:07:26,940
deeds to aspire to.

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00:07:27,430 --> 00:07:29,810
So if we kind of

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00:07:29,810 --> 00:07:31,235
put these in perspective
a little bit,

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00:07:31,235 --> 00:07:32,990
something like a fairytale,

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00:07:32,990 --> 00:07:34,625
simple one here, the
torus and hairs,

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00:07:34,625 --> 00:07:36,815
something more akin to

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00:07:36,815 --> 00:07:38,630
basic math like
two plus two

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00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:39,500
while something

220
00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:40,580
like the Iliad
and the Odyssey,

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00:07:40,580 --> 00:07:42,080
something more
complex that I'm

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00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:42,680
not going to be

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00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,540
bothered to break
down for you.

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00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:46,580
Right now. Some
of these are far

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00:07:46,580 --> 00:07:47,825
more complex
and even these,

226
00:07:47,825 --> 00:07:50,090
they can be far
more algebraic.

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00:07:50,090 --> 00:07:52,085
And the best example
I can think of

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00:07:52,085 --> 00:07:54,439
is the platonic dialogues.

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00:07:54,439 --> 00:07:58,070
Now, these were works
of historical fiction,

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00:07:58,070 --> 00:07:59,990
and sometimes they're
whimsically called the

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00:07:59,990 --> 00:08:03,035
world's greatest
works of fan fic.

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00:08:03,035 --> 00:08:05,840
So from Plato's works,

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00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:06,830
what would you
argue that we

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00:08:06,830 --> 00:08:08,780
gained or do
these function?

235
00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:10,325
Oh, yes. Oh yes,
and caught.

236
00:08:10,325 --> 00:08:12,320
And we've gained
a lot actually.

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00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:13,955
Now, puedo used

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00:08:13,955 --> 00:08:15,950
these dialogues which
featured predominantly

239
00:08:15,950 --> 00:08:17,660
his teacher and friend

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00:08:17,660 --> 00:08:19,220
Socrates and other
interlocutors

241
00:08:19,220 --> 00:08:20,960
who were the movers
and shakers of

242
00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,480
ancient Greece to workout

243
00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:28,235
every question that
has plagued humanity.

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00:08:28,235 --> 00:08:29,390
For as long as

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00:08:29,390 --> 00:08:31,025
human history has
been recorded.

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00:08:31,025 --> 00:08:33,665
Things like,
what is virtue?

247
00:08:33,665 --> 00:08:35,180
What is justice?

248
00:08:35,180 --> 00:08:37,235
What does it mean to
live a good life?

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00:08:37,235 --> 00:08:39,005
And beyond even that?

250
00:08:39,005 --> 00:08:40,400
We've extracted
from these works,

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00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,235
the scientific method
and its nascent form,

252
00:08:43,235 --> 00:08:45,380
and even the academic
model that we still

253
00:08:45,380 --> 00:08:48,600
employ today, the
Socratic method.

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00:08:49,540 --> 00:08:52,160
So Alfred North Whitehead

255
00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:53,780
once very famously
stated that

256
00:08:53,780 --> 00:08:56,000
the safest general
characterization

257
00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:57,710
of the European

258
00:08:57,710 --> 00:08:59,090
philosophical
tradition is that it

259
00:08:59,090 --> 00:09:00,920
consists of a series
of footnotes to

260
00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:05,660
Plato case you doubt
that this is pantheon.

261
00:09:05,660 --> 00:09:09,740
Pantheon is a scoring
algorithm that in

262
00:09:09,740 --> 00:09:13,090
so many words elucidates us

263
00:09:13,090 --> 00:09:17,440
on cultural impact of
individual actors.

264
00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:18,970
So at the top there you can

265
00:09:18,970 --> 00:09:21,310
see his student Aristotle.

266
00:09:21,310 --> 00:09:24,880
Beneath our stall is
his, is Plato himself.

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00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,215
That is Jesus Christ

268
00:09:26,215 --> 00:09:27,955
and his teacher Socrates.

269
00:09:27,955 --> 00:09:30,760
That's not bad for a
guy who wrote fan fix

270
00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:32,140
that featured allegories

271
00:09:32,140 --> 00:09:33,310
and myths about caves,

272
00:09:33,310 --> 00:09:35,080
gold rings and ladders.

273
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:37,255
We're looking
at about maybe

274
00:09:37,255 --> 00:09:39,505
2500 years of
examples here.

275
00:09:39,505 --> 00:09:40,090
We're going to ask

276
00:09:40,090 --> 00:09:41,320
a really big question here.

277
00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,180
How far does the
creativity go?

278
00:09:43,180 --> 00:09:45,070
I mean, could we go even

279
00:09:45,070 --> 00:09:47,180
further back than this?

280
00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:50,500
Seems like we think really

281
00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:53,910
tacky. Which, but
that neurons.

282
00:09:53,910 --> 00:09:55,850
Probably not. And
that much with

283
00:09:55,850 --> 00:09:58,430
the stationary widget,

284
00:09:58,430 --> 00:09:59,600
would you put in
your bathroom

285
00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:03,980
even know goodwill were

286
00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:05,120
not for the cultural
significance?

287
00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,910
Likely. Okay, so this piece

288
00:10:07,910 --> 00:10:09,680
of figurative art is
known as the Lion.

289
00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:12,905
Mm. Why is this important?

290
00:10:12,905 --> 00:10:15,470
Well, archaeologists
consider this

291
00:10:15,470 --> 00:10:17,240
a most vital human fined as

292
00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,520
it fit directly
marks the beginning

293
00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,370
of our abstract and
spiritual thoughts.

294
00:10:22,370 --> 00:10:24,875
So how old is
Lion man here?

295
00:10:24,875 --> 00:10:27,770
Well, it was
discovered in 1839,

296
00:10:27,770 --> 00:10:30,515
and carbon dating had
suggested that it's

297
00:10:30,515 --> 00:10:32,630
between thirty
five thousand

298
00:10:32,630 --> 00:10:35,285
and forty thousand
years old.

299
00:10:35,285 --> 00:10:36,860
That's really
boggling because

300
00:10:36,860 --> 00:10:37,250
if you think about

301
00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:38,480
just the grand scheme

302
00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:39,920
of everything,
just everything,

303
00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:41,090
all of our
recorded history,

304
00:10:41,090 --> 00:10:41,990
just what we understand,

305
00:10:41,990 --> 00:10:45,200
the data we extract
from nature. That's it.

306
00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:46,580
That's very young. That was

307
00:10:46,580 --> 00:10:49,670
a very new tool
in our arsenal.

308
00:10:49,670 --> 00:10:52,565
And we can see
just how far it's

309
00:10:52,565 --> 00:10:54,410
really shoe horned into

310
00:10:54,410 --> 00:10:55,655
just our everyday life.

311
00:10:55,655 --> 00:10:57,635
I mean, there is a
cultural impact,

312
00:10:57,635 --> 00:10:59,150
a creative impact that has

313
00:10:59,150 --> 00:11:01,655
come from fiction
through it.

314
00:11:01,655 --> 00:11:05,015
We can communicate
through symbolism.

315
00:11:05,015 --> 00:11:07,040
We can moralize
and teach through

316
00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:08,900
vicarious experience
and simulation.

317
00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:10,190
And it has the capacity

318
00:11:10,190 --> 00:11:13,025
to craft entire
civilizations.

319
00:11:13,025 --> 00:11:14,990
Well, why?

320
00:11:14,990 --> 00:11:17,060
I mean, is it, after

321
00:11:17,060 --> 00:11:19,205
all this still just
entertainment?

322
00:11:19,205 --> 00:11:22,190
I would say demonstrably
not so if anything,

323
00:11:22,190 --> 00:11:24,320
the entertaining
facet of fiction

324
00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,020
is secondary to
its true nature.

325
00:11:27,020 --> 00:11:30,860
We had we not evolved
to abstract like this.

326
00:11:30,860 --> 00:11:32,540
We'd likely still be roving

327
00:11:32,540 --> 00:11:34,910
the wilds in small
family groups.

328
00:11:34,910 --> 00:11:36,320
Picking please off each

329
00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,705
other and dying at the
ripe old age of 19.

330
00:11:38,705 --> 00:11:41,165
That sounds quite
riveting. Yeah, actually.

331
00:11:41,165 --> 00:11:43,040
So, but again,

332
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:43,790
we're still left with

333
00:11:43,790 --> 00:11:44,780
this question,
what is fiction?

334
00:11:44,780 --> 00:11:45,410
What does it do with it?

335
00:11:45,410 --> 00:11:48,980
We haven't yet defined
it definitively.

336
00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:50,615
Well, I think we have we,

337
00:11:50,615 --> 00:11:51,920
not only through examples,

338
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:53,150
but we've defined it

339
00:11:53,150 --> 00:11:55,145
really with specific
word choices.

340
00:11:55,145 --> 00:11:57,720
We do it isn't higher time.

341
00:11:57,820 --> 00:12:02,720
Abstraction. Abstraction
is our ability

342
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,580
to engage in

343
00:12:04,580 --> 00:12:06,320
the wild and
imaginative thought.

344
00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:07,535
It is the product,

345
00:12:07,535 --> 00:12:09,695
fiction being the
product of this.

346
00:12:09,695 --> 00:12:11,495
It's all abstraction.

347
00:12:11,495 --> 00:12:14,030
A famous British
author once wrote,

348
00:12:14,030 --> 00:12:16,925
only animals live in
the here and now.

349
00:12:16,925 --> 00:12:18,650
Only nature knows
neither memory

350
00:12:18,650 --> 00:12:20,300
nor history but men.

351
00:12:20,300 --> 00:12:22,580
Let me offer you
a definition.

352
00:12:22,580 --> 00:12:24,950
Is the storytelling animal.

353
00:12:24,950 --> 00:12:26,600
Right now, let's
take a second to

354
00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,340
reflect on this
for a moment.

355
00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:32,030
Recall what Raymond
Mar said about fiction

356
00:12:32,030 --> 00:12:35,615
serving a similar
function as mathematics.

357
00:12:35,615 --> 00:12:38,735
No, math itself is
actually highly abstract.

358
00:12:38,735 --> 00:12:41,660
We made it up. And yet

359
00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:43,415
we can see that it's
done a lot for us.

360
00:12:43,415 --> 00:12:45,740
It has allowed us
to build cities.

361
00:12:45,740 --> 00:12:47,905
It has taken us to
the moon, plug.

362
00:12:47,905 --> 00:12:50,600
This is tax-paying
adults. That too.

363
00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,460
And fiction has done

364
00:12:52,460 --> 00:12:54,260
no less for us, but
in a different way.

365
00:12:54,260 --> 00:12:56,975
It, fiction has
helped us to develop

366
00:12:56,975 --> 00:13:00,860
our social evolution
moving forward.

367
00:13:00,860 --> 00:13:02,180
Let's take a moment to

368
00:13:02,180 --> 00:13:04,880
acknowledge the
power fiction.

369
00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,025
It's not just
entertainment,

370
00:13:07,025 --> 00:13:08,555
nor is it a childish out

371
00:13:08,555 --> 00:13:09,965
Gillette outlet
for Dante's.

372
00:13:09,965 --> 00:13:11,240
It's more than that.

373
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,800
This is what separates

374
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:14,810
us from the rest of
terrestrial life.

375
00:13:14,810 --> 00:13:17,930
It's what makes us the
storytelling animal.

376
00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:19,700
Now, I think we

377
00:13:19,700 --> 00:13:23,480
should maybe exemplify
one last thing that

378
00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,300
perhaps best illustrates up

379
00:13:26,300 --> 00:13:29,345
good and positive
use of fiction,

380
00:13:29,345 --> 00:13:30,665
probably with one
last example.

381
00:13:30,665 --> 00:13:33,740
Yep, yep. So everybody
here recognizes this.

382
00:13:33,740 --> 00:13:35,300
I'm sure it's very famous

383
00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:36,845
little piece of Americana.

384
00:13:36,845 --> 00:13:39,170
Now, Star Trek came

385
00:13:39,170 --> 00:13:40,670
out of the late 19 sixties.

386
00:13:40,670 --> 00:13:43,250
This was a very
tumultuous time for us.

387
00:13:43,250 --> 00:13:46,340
And despite the political
and social turmoil

388
00:13:46,340 --> 00:13:47,765
that marked this era,

389
00:13:47,765 --> 00:13:49,340
it dared to model a future

390
00:13:49,340 --> 00:13:51,229
where there was no war,

391
00:13:51,229 --> 00:13:53,465
there was no
disease, no poverty.

392
00:13:53,465 --> 00:13:55,745
In fact, there was
no money at all.

393
00:13:55,745 --> 00:13:57,530
It seems like we
can mature or those

394
00:13:57,530 --> 00:13:58,700
things in this
kind of setting.

395
00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:01,250
Yeah, absolutely. The
five-year mission

396
00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:03,440
and this Michel me, what
does it, what is it?

397
00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,270
Well, Gene Roddenberry,

398
00:14:05,270 --> 00:14:07,775
cobble together curve
that was multi-racial,

399
00:14:07,775 --> 00:14:11,540
multi gendered,
multi-species,

400
00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:13,865
multinational, multi
national, right?

401
00:14:13,865 --> 00:14:17,630
To go and explore
the final frontier,

402
00:14:17,630 --> 00:14:19,745
to explore strange
new worlds,

403
00:14:19,745 --> 00:14:22,325
to seek out new life
and new civilizations,

404
00:14:22,325 --> 00:14:23,540
and to boldly go where no

405
00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:25,325
man has gone before,

406
00:14:25,325 --> 00:14:27,410
is challenged
many longstanding

407
00:14:27,410 --> 00:14:28,460
traditions and

408
00:14:28,460 --> 00:14:31,910
continues to inspire
generations of people.

409
00:14:31,910 --> 00:14:35,900
So if you ask anybody
that works for nasa,

410
00:14:35,900 --> 00:14:38,060
they are likely to
tell you or site

411
00:14:38,060 --> 00:14:39,020
at least something from

412
00:14:39,020 --> 00:14:40,595
Star Trek that
inspired them,

413
00:14:40,595 --> 00:14:42,485
drove them to do
something unique.

414
00:14:42,485 --> 00:14:44,540
I mean forgot, say,
nasa celebrated

415
00:14:44,540 --> 00:14:46,820
the 50th anniversary
of Star Trek.

416
00:14:46,820 --> 00:14:49,085
And in 1992, they
even released

417
00:14:49,085 --> 00:14:51,650
its creator Gene Ron
Berg's ashes in space.

418
00:14:51,650 --> 00:14:54,050
Not just that, but
Star Trek is inspired.

419
00:14:54,050 --> 00:14:55,910
It is future
model technology

420
00:14:55,910 --> 00:14:57,275
that a lot of people

421
00:14:57,275 --> 00:14:58,970
in industry and otherwise

422
00:14:58,970 --> 00:15:01,295
have aimed to try
and replicate,

423
00:15:01,295 --> 00:15:02,690
like you sitting there

424
00:15:02,690 --> 00:15:04,040
in the front row at
that cell phone,

425
00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:05,060
that thing that is probably

426
00:15:05,060 --> 00:15:06,740
brainwashing you in taking

427
00:15:06,740 --> 00:15:08,270
every little piece
of information about

428
00:15:08,270 --> 00:15:10,835
you and creating some
horrible algorithm.

429
00:15:10,835 --> 00:15:12,860
That piece of technology

430
00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:13,730
and Star Trek was very

431
00:15:13,730 --> 00:15:14,870
whimsically called
a tricorder

432
00:15:14,870 --> 00:15:16,910
or communicate
or vice versa.

433
00:15:16,910 --> 00:15:20,870
Right? Now, let's
recap for a moment.

434
00:15:20,870 --> 00:15:22,850
So what does
fiction do for us?

435
00:15:22,850 --> 00:15:26,795
It can help us to derive
symbolic meaning.

436
00:15:26,795 --> 00:15:31,160
We can use it to teach
and to more lies.

437
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,115
We can use it to build
entire civilizations.

438
00:15:34,115 --> 00:15:35,780
And perhaps most
importantly,

439
00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:38,495
we can use it to forecast

440
00:15:38,495 --> 00:15:41,270
or feature to make
up a goalpost,

441
00:15:41,270 --> 00:15:43,040
something worth
a strive for.

442
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,365
Now, that being said,

443
00:15:45,365 --> 00:15:48,140
is there room for
abuse of power?

444
00:15:48,140 --> 00:15:49,790
I would say absolutely.

445
00:15:49,790 --> 00:15:51,380
Throughout history
we've seen

446
00:15:51,380 --> 00:15:53,480
examples of abuse
of power fiction,

447
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:54,620
everything from
propaganda to

448
00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:56,060
the more overtly
subversive.

449
00:15:56,060 --> 00:15:59,075
We've seen people
use fiction

450
00:15:59,075 --> 00:16:00,710
to sway and manipulate

451
00:16:00,710 --> 00:16:02,689
the general thoughts
of a populace.

452
00:16:02,689 --> 00:16:04,010
Not just that
there's people on

453
00:16:04,010 --> 00:16:05,660
the individual level have

454
00:16:05,660 --> 00:16:07,820
difficulties separating
the blurred lines

455
00:16:07,820 --> 00:16:09,635
between fiction
and reality.

456
00:16:09,635 --> 00:16:11,030
Some of these people
get themselves in

457
00:16:11,030 --> 00:16:13,070
very uncomfortable
positions and some of them

458
00:16:13,070 --> 00:16:13,790
even get themselves in

459
00:16:13,790 --> 00:16:15,545
some very serious danger.

460
00:16:15,545 --> 00:16:17,435
That begs another question.

461
00:16:17,435 --> 00:16:20,150
Be regulating
absolutely not.

462
00:16:20,150 --> 00:16:23,030
Fiction stems from the
human consciousness.

463
00:16:23,030 --> 00:16:24,610
It's part of what we arts,

464
00:16:24,610 --> 00:16:25,910
what separates us from

465
00:16:25,910 --> 00:16:27,380
the rest of
terrestrial life.

466
00:16:27,380 --> 00:16:29,960
It should come
raw, natural,

467
00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,915
unmitigated computer
or from humanity.

468
00:16:32,915 --> 00:16:33,710
And I feel that

469
00:16:33,710 --> 00:16:35,090
history throughout
time has done

470
00:16:35,090 --> 00:16:36,950
a good job already

471
00:16:36,950 --> 00:16:39,005
determining what
is good fiction,

472
00:16:39,005 --> 00:16:40,190
what is valuable fiction,

473
00:16:40,190 --> 00:16:41,630
and what does not
valuable fiction.

474
00:16:41,630 --> 00:16:44,135
What if Gene Roddenberry,
for example,

475
00:16:44,135 --> 00:16:45,470
were not given
the right out of

476
00:16:45,470 --> 00:16:47,795
the 19 sixties to
do anything he did,

477
00:16:47,795 --> 00:16:49,130
God forbid he put

478
00:16:49,130 --> 00:16:51,245
a black woman on the
bridge of a starship.

479
00:16:51,245 --> 00:16:52,250
God forbid he show

480
00:16:52,250 --> 00:16:53,450
the first interracial kiss.

481
00:16:53,450 --> 00:16:56,855
And God forbid,
during the Cold War,

482
00:16:56,855 --> 00:16:58,070
he shall a Russian as

483
00:16:58,070 --> 00:17:00,525
the helm, helms
men on that thing.

484
00:17:00,525 --> 00:17:04,750
Fiction provides
for us greater

485
00:17:04,750 --> 00:17:06,460
meaning to our lives during

486
00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:08,980
our very short stay
here on Earth.

487
00:17:08,980 --> 00:17:11,620
And it's what defines

488
00:17:11,620 --> 00:17:14,395
us as the
storytelling animal.

489
00:17:14,395 --> 00:17:16,495
So let's think about
it for a second.

490
00:17:16,495 --> 00:17:18,010
Talked a lot about
all this and went up.

491
00:17:18,010 --> 00:17:19,030
But we gotta, we
gotta answer, so we

492
00:17:19,030 --> 00:17:20,695
gotta clear something
up real quick.

493
00:17:20,695 --> 00:17:23,290
When we craft our fictions,

494
00:17:23,290 --> 00:17:24,430
no matter what
medium or shape

495
00:17:24,430 --> 00:17:25,450
becomes and does it have

496
00:17:25,450 --> 00:17:26,830
the right to be
entertaining?

497
00:17:26,830 --> 00:17:27,805
Yes, absolutely.

498
00:17:27,805 --> 00:17:29,080
And I would agree,
absolutely.

499
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:30,610
Some of the best fiction

500
00:17:30,610 --> 00:17:33,235
out there is just
entertainment.

501
00:17:33,235 --> 00:17:35,770
But let's consider this.

502
00:17:35,770 --> 00:17:37,990
Maybe your stories can

503
00:17:37,990 --> 00:17:40,660
possess genuine meaning.

504
00:17:40,660 --> 00:17:43,410
Like your characters
that you create.

505
00:17:43,410 --> 00:17:44,900
They had the
ability to possess

506
00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:46,775
genuine purpose.

507
00:17:46,775 --> 00:17:49,760
Their actions can be
meaningful. Of all.

508
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,500
With all the
examples we've made,

509
00:17:51,500 --> 00:17:53,945
what we can see that
these things have, have,

510
00:17:53,945 --> 00:17:56,360
have taught so they've
symbolize, they've,

511
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,225
they've guided future
generations or whatnot.

512
00:17:59,225 --> 00:18:00,350
So when your thing
you're crafting

513
00:18:00,350 --> 00:18:01,895
your fiction with it,

514
00:18:01,895 --> 00:18:03,995
you can actually make
a difference within,

515
00:18:03,995 --> 00:18:07,850
unbeknownst to you, that
fiction you create.

516
00:18:07,850 --> 00:18:09,320
You might just add to the

517
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,675
story of human history.

518
00:18:11,675 --> 00:18:14,490
Live long and prosper.