Meaning of Art, Science Fiction's Charm, Purpose of Language
Three Point Thursday
Art is an ode to consciousness itself.
I too was here, I too felt it all, I too made something. From the first handprints in caves, to the sculptures in the Vatican, to a masterpiece of a movie, this is one of the meanings of art.
Read science fiction.
My morning routine recently: pound a strong Nespresso coffee and read a novel, more or less immediately after waking up. It gets me so dialed. I’ve long been someone who reads before bed, but doing it first thing in the morning is great because my mind is operating at a much higher level. I'll fly through 40 pages without even realizing it was that much. This is perfect for sci-fi books in particular, considering you have to absorb so much information quickly to know what’s going on in the story. Rapidly processing so much info is a skill that translates to other areas of life, which is one reason why reading someone like Arthur C. Clarke is so valuable. It’s also fascinating how sci-fi stories are sometimes a catalyst for innovation in the real world. Writers aren’t limited by gaps in our knowledge of physics, or a lack of hardware and software. The only limit is how much they can imagine. So when humanity starts turning sci-fi inspiration into real stuff—as we are starting to with AI, space travel, and more—it’s just so cool to see.
Nassim Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes.
“Language is largely made to show-off, gossip, confuse people, delude them, charm them, seduce them, scare them, and exploit them. And, as a side effect, convey information.”
