Confessions of a Quirky Christian Artist

Sam Harris debated Ezra Klein.  I listen to both these guy’s podcasts.   But I’m a much bigger fan of Sam Harris.   His is the only podcast in my library that I truly savor.   I’ve also read most of his books.   I just like the way he thinks.   I like his heart for communication and ethics, his willingness to engage with contrary opinions, and his ability to articulate his ideas well.   But that last part really only applies to a certain demographic that I just happen to be a part of.   Here are some of the quirks of me and that demographic.   1. We care more about ideas and systems than we do about particular people and their stories.   (This is NOT the same as not caring about people, but that’s a whole ‘nother issue)   2. We have a LOT of patience for focusing on long form arguments.   3. A boring monotone voice doesn’t put us off.   I enjoy Ezra’s work on a different level.   I like hearing far Left argum...

I spent some time transcribing my podcast list for someone. Might as well share it here.  Seems like a fun little snapshot of part of my intellectual life.  We The People Live (Politics, hasn't updated in months, might be dead) 99% Invisible (A lot of philosophy of design and industrial design talk) Ask Science Mike (A Christian-turned-atheist-turned-mystic/christian-ish talks science and faith and sometimes how they mix) Audition: A Mars Hill Podcast (No, not THAT Mars Hill. An organization that's like PBS for Evangelical Christians. Very smart intellectual cultural analysis full of interviews with fascinating people. A big part of my education on how to interrogate culture and diagnose worldviews) The Glenn Show (A (politically middle-ish) African American Economist from Brown University talks politics, culture, economics. Usually guest hosted by my favorite linguist, John John McWhorter (A bit further left on the spectrum) Building A Story Brand With Donald...

I'm concerned about the science fiction genre.  I'm in the middle of Altered Carbon, which I think is fantastic.  And it's the perfect example of my concern. First of all, a perennial problem with any sci-fi that takes place with humans in the future is that it doesn't age well.  No author can account for the black swan innovations and how emerging technologies will interact, so the result is a short shelf-life. But Altered Carbon demonstrates an emerging problem I've been picking up on over the past couple years.  Here's a partial list of the future technologies that play a significant role in the story. Clones, Transhumans, Gene Editing, Consciousness Transfer, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, A.I., Alien Technology, and maybe Robots? That's on top of the more surfacey stuff like exotic weapons, flying cars and weird hair. One thing I’ve learned from all my self-learning on writing is that for every new or strange concept that a wr...