In a rare departure for the Barrcast, we discuss the startup industry and the merits of a popular piece of jargon, "Strong opinions, weakly held."

Atwood: https://blog.codinghorror.com/strong-opinions-weakly-held/
Wilson: http://avc.com/2016/06/strong-views-weakly-held/
High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

It's time for some fall-cleaning here at the Barrcast! In this episode we race through several topics that have been languishing in the queue. Specifically:

- Work / Life & Mind / Body balance
- Paralysis vs. Preservation
- Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is a mistake
- What got you here won't get you goin'
- Preparedness bifurcation

You can download l8r here: http://appstore.com/l8r. The Zidane film we mention is called Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait.
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Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In this episode we contemplate output, Gombrowicz, and the interplay between criticism and art.

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Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In this mini-episode we challenge Shelly Kagan's claim that we are lucky to be alive.

Full course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA18FAF1AD9047B0. Episode #23 is the one we're reacting to.

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Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In this mini-episode we read from Gertrude Stein's portrait on Picasso.

Full text: www.rodoni.ch/PICASSO/Stein-on-Picasso.pdf

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Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In this episode we talk about nihilism, or at least my conception of it. We explore the claim that rather than getting past nihilism, we should embrace it, incorporate it, and employ it from time to time as a tool.

We discuss two great texts:

The Parable of the Madman: http://www.historyguide.org/europe/madman.html
The Snow Man: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45235

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Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In episode 10 we're joined by our friend Bruno Valle(https://twitter.com/brunovalle) to discuss the narrative around the Olympics in Rio, where Bruno lives. Later (27:00), we talk more about Meaningness and Bruno makes the case for his Stage 5 status.

Further reading:
* meaningness.com/metablog/how-to-think
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_Inc

~
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

A podcast pivot! In this episode we discuss some of the themes coming out of work by David Chapman for the hypertext book Meaningness.

Posts that we mention:

https://meaningness.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/developing-ethical-social-and-cognitive-competence/
http://meaningness.com/metablog/stem-fluidity-bridge

~
Enjoying the Barrcast? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: www.stitcher.com/podcast/barrcast. And consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nsbarr

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In episode 8 we read and translate Horacio Quiroga's poem "Tu Agonía."

Original: http://www.poesi.as/hq01078.htm

Translation:

the afternoon was dying and
your voice was a silk piano
and your wet hand felt
limp in mine.

your fingers anointed me
with something like
forgiveness and you spoke
and the gates closed behind us.

the summer gasped
and the daisies sighed
and the afternoon died,
bleeding out and into
your temples
and on those purple
lakes I saw two swans
heralding your agony.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com

In episode 7 we read Borges' essay "El Idioma Analítico de John Wilkins." Spanish and English versions here:

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/ldc/wilkins.html

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=8930

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit polytrope.substack.com