Criminal Curiosity, A Trained Mind, Best Video Games

Three Point Thursday

Hola amigo,

Happy Three Point Thursday!

This week’s post features a call to criminal curiosity, a nugget of wisdom from the Dhammapada, and a list of my top five video games of all time.

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1. You need to be criminally curious.

I’m talking about reading widely and deeply. Studying radically different branches of philosophy. Learning other languages. Considering ways of thinking you disagree with. Looking into the most controversial events and ideas. Traveling to foreign countries. It’s a real thrill.

So I say to you, read Nietzsche but don’t forget about the Buddha’s wisdom. Enjoy the sayings of Jesus but give Machiavelli his due. Consider the economic philosophy of both Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Dive into Biblical passages while having an understanding of the process of evolution by natural selection. Gain an understanding of the tyranny of both communism and fascism. Contemplate the perspectives of the atheists and the faithful. Hear out the AI doomers and the techno-optimists. Read the poetry of Rumi and the aphorisms of La Rochefoucauld. Investigate both independent and corporate media. Think about the paradoxes in both the Tao Te Ching and the Bhagavad Gita. Ponder the ideas of both Emerson and Schopenhauer.

Do this not from a place of moral or cultural relativism. Let’s be clear: objective truth exists, and some cultures are more pleasant to live in than other cultures.

Rather, do this from a place of criminal curiosity. The philosopher Albert Camus is often attributed with saying, “Always go too far, because that’s where you’ll find the truth.” Do it. Go too far.

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2. The wisdom of the Dhammapada.

“Hard it is to train the mind, which goes where it likes and does what it wants.

But a trained mind brings health and happiness.

The wise can direct their thoughts, subtle and elusive, wherever they choose: a trained mind brings health and happiness.”

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3. My favorite video games of all time.

I recently bought an Xbox Series X and a Google TV and have been loving it. The nostalgia and enjoyment of playing a hardcore Minecraft survival world with my brothers has been awesome. I’m also eagerly awaiting the new NBA 2K. I’m a sucker for the classic MyCareer mode. I’ve been living in Austin for a little over a year now, and I didn’t have a console or TV the whole time. I’m glad I did this, it made it easier to be locked in on reading and writing—there was no possibility of mindlessly watching a show or something and being too distracted. But admittedly, after not gaming for a very long time, and seeing the new 2K trailer, I got infected with an itch that needs to be scratched for a week or two.

Also, more than anything, you can only watch so many movies on your laptop with your girlfriend until you’re like, all right, enough is enough, I’m going to upgrade this setup.

All that said, I wanted to share my top five video games of all time:

1. Call of Duty Warzone (with the boys during the pandemic)

2. Minecraft

3. NBA 2K MyCareer

4. Sid Meier’s Civilization

5. Age of Mythology

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Keep shooting,

Jeff