8 Comments
Nov 11, 2023Liked by Michael Huemer

Have you heard of the idea that the money paid for some artwork is money laundering? Clever if true.

Expand full comment

Actually the main critique is that of a fact that books undergo natural selection just as animals in evolution

So if you know something from 1000 years ago and that’s something popular now, it must’ve been popular for centuries and centuries in a row thus greatly increasing probability of greatness aposteriori

Expand full comment

It's the magic of his words. He had a superb ear for language. If you can't appreciate that, there are many modern writers you won't "get."

Expand full comment

I mean, aesthetic judgements are fairly subjective. If Shakespeare didn't resonate with you, that's just your point of view. I wouldn't call him the best writer ever, but I think his reputation is earned. I find Hamlet's To be or not to be speech to be superb. Hell, just words, words, words, is a great, great line. I feel like you can dismiss all of philosophy with that one.

Expand full comment

"But I saw Romeo and Juliet, and was considerably more entertained, and felt far, far more emotionally invested, as I was when I saw Game of Thrones S1-3. Romeo and Juliet is the most compulsively watchable and thought-provoking item of media I've ever encountered." - like, I don't believe you. Just quit your bullshit.

Disagree? Please identify a Shakespearean character death more upsetting than (SPOILER ALERT) S***'s in Downton Abbey, or a more entertaining Shakespearean plot line than Game of Thrones S1-3, or a better dialogue than https://youtu.be/UzqqNDDEndc?si=gw0WfQquKMbFcz83, OR:

- Robert and Cersei finally drop their pretenses toward each other: https://youtu.be/O8ES_ElI6Wg?si=W7O70tcv6Df8chRx

OR

- Arya and Tywin's conversations are also pretty endearing; an old military general shows fatherly appreciation for the talents of a young girl, who he doesn't realize is secretly the younger sister of his enemy: https://youtu.be/A8Wr-yrAL1c?si=Y0RLQiEWnXs8pXpp

OR

- When Tyrion asks his father for the family estate: https://youtu.be/7who4CaKl14?si=DCMSOXMcrjHQA9_w or breaks down in court (https://youtu.be/uvX4k_3Cmvs?si=5-ZdkWCpl-OboRfH) (admittedly, these dialogues will only have their strongest effect on you if you have actually watched the show up to the point where they are said)

OR

- "The North will Never Forget" (a refrain which had been repeated several times as a rallying cry over the South), followed by "Good. Let them remember what happens when they march upon the South." after Tywin defeats them in the most dishonorable way possible.

OR

- “Any man who must say I am the king is no true king,” followed by “The king is tired. See him to his chambers" and "You just sent the most powerful man in the seven kingdoms to bed without his supper.": (https://youtu.be/BM6kMHH-G64?si=1ZsvFMKaYT3c7rc0)

Shakespearean characters and plots are generally extremely shallow when compared to, say, the first three novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin (more imaginative worlds, vastly more ambitious plots, and a much more rich and complex cast of characters; and the dialogue exceptional - eg., any of Tywin Lannister's monologues https://youtu.be/7who4CaKl14?si=DCMSOXMcrjHQA9_w ), or the first two seasons of Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes (beautiful language + compulsively likable characters + inherently gripping story), Hamilton: An American Musical, or even Harry Potter (what Shakespearean play has the power to absolutely mesmerize literally millions of children and young adults?).

As Huemer wrote:

"SBF points out that, despite its reputation as the classic love story, Romeo and Juliet is a very low-quality, unrealistic, one-dimensional love story. There’s no development of their relationship, no subtlety; Romeo is in love seconds after seeing Juliet, with zero interaction. There are much deeper and more moving love stories in literature."

Expand full comment