Syllojism is a bi-weekly science, culture, and philosophy challenge podcast on the edge of chaos.

This week's challenge: Read Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard.

For the video of this episode, subscribe to Theory Gang on YouTube. (Also check out the Simulacra of a Simulacra AI-reading I uploaded….if you’re really looking for a good time.)

Show Notes:

1:51 The Challenge of the Challenge

3:40 “Brett” is a signifier for Curly-Headed Fuck.

8:10 Econ Talk and the nature of creativity 

9:40 Zipf’s law

13:05 The problem with science: Scientific Shamanism

17:03 Noam Chomsky on Postmodernists 

21:13 Simulating war

24:29 Why Baudrillard might be the most dangerous man in history: where existential risk meets post-modernism

27:22 Baudrillard’s nihilism vs neoliberal long-termism

30:25 The reality of the Conservative-Progressive spectrum

33:48 Sex and Simulation

37:38  The “best” film of the 2021 HUMP Film festival

40:23 Deconstructing hierarchy…and intimacy

46:56 Sexual simulation could be contributing to the evolution of humanity

51:19 Remaining optimistic despite reality and its various simulations.

52:05 Brett’s final hermeneutic hyperreal synopsis

That’s it for Season 1! Be sure to subscribe to theory_gang on YouTube and Discord for more videos and challenges in Season 2!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theorygang.substack.com/subscribe