Stormlight Archive : Truthless, Taravangian, and Totalitarianism
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive is full of metaphor about law, governance, and social forces. Here I tug on one of those threads, the connection between the always-obedient Truthless and the bifurcated mind of Taravangian.
All artwork is credited to the original creator. If it has no attribution it was made by me with a sketchpad and help from Stable Diffusion to speed things along.
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00:00 Intro
00:54 Truthless
01:59 Taravangian
05:03 Parshendi Radicalization
07:38 Radiants and Power
11:26 Parting Thoughts
The coat will never fail!
Keep up the great work! Adding to my backlog of series to look into etc.
Another interesting metaphor can be found in the Shards, the god-lite entities that rule the worlds of the Cosmere.
Shards give immense power to their holders, yet at the same time, each shard has an Intent, a particular concept is is built around-Preservation, Dominion, Honor, Ambition, and so on. While a Shard holder can, theoretically, do virtually anything with their power, it will *resist* if you make it do something against it's nature, and over time, the mere act of holding a Shard gradually warps your personality to match it's intent. Honor cannot act dishonorably, even for the greater good, Cultivation cannot act directly, but must 'cultivate' proxies, and holding two shards leaves you paralyzed between contradictory impulses.
In the real world, structures of power, by design or organic evolution, are structured as to serve a specific purpose. Even with theoretically absolute control of a power structure, the structure itself, in it's shape, limits what you can do with it. A fascist government is a government built from the ground up to do fascist things. If a fascist dictator dies and a kindhearted liberal lucks into the vacant position, even as an absolute ruler, she cannot simply use the fascist machinery to non-fascist ends, because that isn't what the machines are built to do. You cannot use a saw to pound hammers.
I would argue that the State is too large and too all-encompassing to fit the comparison given with those shards, as the State touches all and everything. Not necessarily very well, but it certainly does.
Education, military, religion, policing, infrastructure, industry, culture. Would all be touched and run by a Fascist government.
The whole point of a Totalitarianism is to grab everything by the horn.
@@Hugebull Governments are held together by active support structures. The simplest physical example I can think of is a pie plate kept in the air by shooting water at its bottom. If you want to change a government that's been running on raw power so that it's held together by law instead, how do you do it? You can paper over major issues, if people believe you have power, because no one will risk bringing your personal wrath down on them, but that's not rule of law, that's just not giving you an excuse.
Eventually, you either have to stomp on someone who's breaking the law in support of you, in which case 'serving your interests' is revealed as not a way to avoid your displeasure. Or someone opposes you, but legally, and you don't strike them down. Eventually both events happen.
Now your clients no longer believe in your protection and your enemies no longer believe in your vengeance. And nobody with real power besides you believes in the law; they all got their positions under the old rules. How do you square the circle of maintaining your own power while establishing a rule of law ostensibly above it?
It can be done, but you're talking decades on the fast side and centuries on the slower, and you're probably going to have at least one internal war in the process. And you won't be there for the end of it.
Ah here's the fantasy videos you were talking about making. Hope to see more soon.
I've had the evening and the morning to think about this, and now that I have my breakfast, it is the perfect time to talk about radicalism!
Radicalism is, I would argue, always a reaction. Even in the example given here in the video, it is a reaction to the war.
Although I can only go by this video and not the work itself, I find the idea of using a dire "World War" to be the wrong way to exploring radicalism, or radicalization.
Personal story before we continue.
I have an estranged half-brother. We have the same mom, but different dad. I was raised by my grandparents on my dad's side, he was raised by his dad. The location of our mother is currently unknown. And I had not interacted with him since he was 5 or so, me being around 5 years older than him.
My only connection with that side of the family is occasionally meeting with our shared uncle. And he then told me what my half-brother had been up to. Now buckle up.
My half-brother had always had a keen interest in history since he was a small boy. His dad even took him to Normandy some years ago for a thing remembering D-Day.
Now, where this ended up, was that he did the extra tilt.
And he found a group of likeminded individuals.
- They drove to the Sola Air Museum, where they simply hooked up an old WW2 anti-air gun and drove it home to his dad and parked it in his garage.
- They bought a whole bunch of deactivated German WW2 weapons. Such as lugers, an MG42, and some StG 44s if I remember correctly.
Which was perfectly legal to do as they were deactivated.
- He went to fight in Ukraine against the Russians. How much fighting he actually saw I don't know, but he wasn't there very long. Got the gear, took some pictures, and went home again.
- Shortly after returning home, he and some buddies travelled to Germany. Here they bought more guns and gun parts, which would be used to re-activate the weapons.
The PST (Norwegian Police Security Service, our tiny version of our own little FBI/DHS) had been monitoring him and his friends for a long while. And they swooped him up entering the country, and they sent him straight to prison for a year.
- Shortly after getting out, he threatened the life of the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of the municipality. And so the police sent him straight to jail once again.
And that was the last I ever heard of it.
Now, while this was happening, I was doing my own thing. We had not interacted for almost 20 years, so I had no idea what was going on.
Now, I was in a little bit of a prepper phase.
I bought some freeze-dried food, and just the most general of general survival stuff just for the sake of it.
Then, while shopping for a wool undershirt from a Danish company, I also saw they had one of those simple bullet-proof vests on sale. Not a whole plate carrier, just enough to stop a small caliber.
So I figured, while I'm at it, may as well.
Now, for the next couple years, every single package I purchased online would be opened and re-packaged. The ones that DHL delivered even had a sticker on it that said it had been opened and checked.
This was actually pretty nice. They saved quite a few books from being damaged from the rain, as they always put my books in plastic bags.
Once I found out that my brother was in jail, I connected the dots.
I don't blame the Security Service for being worried about me.
As a teen, I got a third place in the National Rifle competition in the teen category. (We use 6.5 mm rifle ammunition, none of that bb-gun Olympic stuff).
I have zero social media presence.
I live on a farm, (had not taken it over yet), which means I have easy access to fertilizer and fuel and other such things on a large scale.
And my employment history has massive holes and gaps.
No wonder they were worried.
--------------------
Now to bring this back.
This is not a unique story in this modern day of ours.
Broken homes, extreme actions and disasters.
So, I would not say that World Wars or such events or disasters lead to radicalism.
I would probably argue that radical thought or radical movements exist almost like magnets, drawing in the pieces that have fallen away from the mass or the core.
I don't see World War One as the event that radicalized the German people.
But rather it was the Revolution of 1918. The Kaiser kicked out. The new Weimar Republic. Berlin being a war zone. A ceasefire transformed into an absolute surrender that gave up 13% of their land, with 10% of their population and 48% of their iron production.
Followed by half a generation of bad policy, humiliation, social degradation. And then of course the economic crash itself serving as an unrelenting catalyst.
People, disconnected and torn away from what had once been their "German identity", fell into the draw of figurative magnets.
We have to remember, there wasn't just "one big bad evil movement" that served as some cartoonish dark shadow that fell over the continent like some third act of a Disney movie.
It was a gaggle of movements all across the country, shouting every ideology under the sun.
I would argue.
That radicalism and extremism is what happens when young men and women have ended up in a situation where they will have to give a reaction or make a response.
But, being without proper guidance.
Either because there are no one willing or able to give that good guidance, or because the young have been so thoroughly disconnected from the people who could give that advice.
So, they make their reaction in a vacuum.
And so, when that reaction is made in a vacuum, this becomes the playground of the Devil.
To you that Devil may be figurative.
To me it is literal.
But as you stated in the video, the result is the same.
Of course the Colleges have become centers for radicalism and extremism. The pupils have probably never had any proper guidance by an adult ever before.
Going by the averages, their parents are either divorced, or spend all day at work, and perhaps both.
The children have been raised by the State, by mass media, by social media, and by each other.
And so, the first time they have any real connection with a real grown-up, is when they attend college.
They do not register the pure villainy that is taught to them, as they are more focused on, for the first time in their lives, actually being guided.
Where they are being guided, they do not have the ability to judge.
I remember when I was in my late teens.
I was an angry child.
Broken home. Dead dad. Mad mother. Raised by disconnected grandparents who are real close to being narcissists.
I was an Atheist. A Nihilist. And I was angry. Furious. I was mad at my grandparents, at my teachers in trade school and at grown-ups in general.
I wanted to cause harm. Real harm and real damage.
if I had not had the space that my disconnected grandparents gave me.
If I had not had World of Warcraft and other social video games.
If I had not inherited some money from my dad.
If I did not have the opportunity to just shut myself in my room for years and just play video games and watch movies and TV.
I don't know where I would have ended up.
But I can absolutely guarantee that I would have reached a level that would have left my estranged brother in the dust.
--------------
Radicalism and extremism come from a calm and silent place. By the time someone mentions what they're thinking or reveal what they believe, it has already been growing for months if not for years.
This is one of the reasons as to why freedom of speech is such a vital thing.
Not just as a political idea, but you need it as a cultural bedrock.
If you dismiss, insult, or ridicule people for wanting to talk about an idea, or for revealing something they have been thinking about. You have pushed someone into the arms of the radicals and to the Devil himself.
There is an absolute need for honest and open discourse about every topic.
if something is off the table, that thing will fester.
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I ran out of steam.
If TH-cam nukes this comment, I will try and reformulate it.
There's a whole lot to respond to there.
First, regarding your half-brother: I vaguely recall some stories out of Germany a few years ago to that effect. Of course here it's always portrayed as some neo-nazi plot because our media gets obsessed with their own narratives.
And it reminds me of the weird differences in national laws and how they always create envious gaps. Here in America it's far easier to get functional firearms, and yet if we could get a few STG-44s or MG-42s imported as parts kits people would pay Holy Grail prices for them.
----
The free speech question is one of my no-compromise points. I want everything on the table for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately these days it's hard to say anything without a sizable chunk of the population taking it as an endorsement. There's an unwillingness to confront things even in a detached, analytical way.
I've had several videos here demonetized simply for mentioning National Socialism or Fascism in a historical context, but the entire culture has become like that. Everyone I know (myself included) self-censors to some extent thanks to that "is this worth the backlash" calculus that's infected us. It was even worse in University, one of the reasons I quit my PhD program. (Mostly though it was the sudden loss of grant funding coupled with my unwillingness to amass debt for a humanities degree)
Perhaps its just my perception slipping into grumpy old man mode as the years slip by, but it seems like not only has the discourse declined but the willingness of people to engage with ideas has deteriorated. There's so much worry about drawing consequences from offending or looking stupid for being wrong that no one says what they think anymore.
Which reminds me of one of the most important lessons I learned in graduate-level studies. Nothing to do with my discipline, but rather the importance of being able to write up an argument, present it to peers, have it dissected and then at the end, be detached enough to take in the new information, stand up, and admit that the argument falls apart when certain verifiable facts are taken into account. Bad thesis, do better next time.
It seems like at least half the problems in the modern world are the result of political and business leaders being pathologically incapable of doing that.
@@feralhistorian Last year, the NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. part of the E.U. broadcasting thing) did a survey in Norway, where they found that over 40% of people age 19-39, do not speak their opinion in fear of reactions.
I have absolutely no idea where they got these numbers from or how this was put together.
But even if the true number is half in reality, or even just a quarter, the room for a storm to form is... frightening.
The people who keep quiet are not going to be part of the mainstream. If they were, they would have no reason to be quiet.
Which means the silent ones are... square.
Add this with the horrendously and comically bad discourse about all topics, and the final result becomes an inevitable disaster.
The Nazis are painted as movie or cartoon villains, evil phantoms of nightmares who manifested out of the dark crevices of our planet for the sole purpose of doing evil.
The moment anybody picks up something that has just a tiny little bit of nuance, the entire foundation that the public educational system and national television has tried their very best to instill, falls apart.
And what manifests on the other side could be anything. But it will certainly cause a reaction that can easily transform into something not very good.
They have, in essence, been lied to for their entire decade of mandatory education. Nobody who passes that mental threshold will do so with a smile on their face.
I'm seeing the same thing happening in the United States about the Civil War. Something is asked or brought up, and the other immediately starts to shout "Lost Cause".
Trying to bring up that four Slave States fought for the Union, or about what Abraham Lincoln wanted to do with the American Colonial Society, is just not welcome in any sphere of mainstream society.
No wonder people fly the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.
I like Sanderson's work quite a bit, but the Stormlight Archive is more fun to talk about than to actually read.
I dislike at least 2/3rds of the characters and so its a slog reading through about 2/3rds of the books.
But this was a good discussion, I hadn't considered the concept of Szeth as an embodiment of state power.
I would not have finished Way of Kings if I hadn't been told by several people that I NEEEED to read it. I ended up liking it, but damn it can be slow and dreary for long stretches.
first! i love these books so im excited to see whats the topic of discussion today
I enjoy the Stormlight Archives now, but it took me multiple tries over the course of a couple of years to get through the first book.
lol I read it over a couple of days while on vaca
Cool, a new series to check out. Kinda reminded me of Kim Stanley Robinson's alternative history/future 'The Years of Rice and Salt'.
Now that you mention it, I should do something on "Years of Rice and Salt" one of these days. I have some thoughts on that book . . .
@@feralhistorian I thought Mitchell's Cloud Atlas kinda ripped off Robinson's premise...though the movie did allow me to witness Tom Hanks in blackface, so...
Trench Coat on a mountain.
so well said, great video!
Foggy day.
Nice rock!
I've been reading Sanderson since he first released Elantris and really should go back and re-read this series with Wind and Truth coming out end of 2024.
Thou shalt place no algorithm before me
Taravangian comes off as a classic bipolar person having a manic episode and trying to make heads and tails of his scribblings afterwards.
Think Terrence Howard that believes he has unlocked physics or Kanye coming up with a billion dollar business enterprise including managing energy and logistics.
Are you familiar with the First Law trilogy (and other related works) by Joe Abercrombie? I think you would appreciate them
I am not familiar with the series, but it's on my reading list now. Thanks for the recommendation.
Great video, I’m a big fan of fantasy works like Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire. Speaking of which, will you do a video on A Song of Ice and Fire in the future? Peace ✌🏻
There's definitely more fantasy stuff in the works, looking at some aspects in unusual ways. I don't think I'll ever do Song of Ice and Fire though, at least not in any comprehensive way, mostly because I didn't read the books as they were released and now . . . it seems like a lot of time investment for a story that I'm fairly certain will never be completed.
@@feralhistorian Okay that's fair. Is Lord of the Rings amongst the fantasy stuff in your plan?
@@crusader2112 Absolutely.
@@feralhistorian Great. Looking forward to it. Take care.
3:06 reminds of something that is topical right now, the Golden Path in dune. Humanity losing its soul in an attempt to keep the species alive forever, would that be worth it? Maybe death is inevitable to prevent sentient beings from being even more psychotic than they already are?
On the Taravangian part. First, I am glad you didn't jump to Religion here, it would have been very easy to do.
Second, I tried watching "Foundation" TV show. It was only watchable when I skipped half the show and only watched the stuff with Empire, and even then there was stuff that made me not want to watch it. But the special effects were great, so there is that.
The supposedly super-smart and mega-wise Taravangian is repeating the same stuff that the Foundation does. Preserve mankind at all costs, et cetera.
Out of all the choices and options, preserving mankind is not the most important, and it is certainly not the wisest thing to do at all costs.
How we live is far more important than for how long.
But then again, this is only a tiny part of a work that I have not read. So, whether this is a failure of the writer or a failure of the character, I obviously don't know.
----
Also, you needed a special stone to be able to be crowned the King of Scotland during the Middle Ages.
Rock on.
Taravangian is explicitly depicted as a very flawed individual, and his ultimate (so far) fate certainly reflects that.
@@Philistine47 Good. I've just developed an allergy towards stated "smart" or "wise" characters. Such as Sherlock Holmes or House in House MD. They are nothing but vessels for the writers to veil their nonsense opinions to fantastical characters to dazzle an unprepared audience.
I'm glad the writer did not fall into that deep shallow pit.
@@Hugebull Remember, Doyle believed in faeries, seances, and all sorts of other early twentieth-century pop-mysticism. I imagine one could say something similar about the writers of _House._
Explaining about the parshendi gods would have done no good to stop gavillar, assassinating him was the proper and probably only, course.
What the singers want, is not relevant to Gavillar, he wanted them back for his own ends.
lol
Still cant think of a clever comment but gotta say something for engagement.
Oh i know, why are always fkin bombers flying by in your vids? Do you have beef with the aorforce?
I think they just like to remind me that yes, they can take the sky from me.
My only gripe with Sanderson's works is his insistence on shoehorning then all into the same multiverse for some inane (I imagine comic inspired) reason. It's unnecessary and limits your ability to tell a story more than it helps.
They're not all in the cosmere, and the cosmere isn't a multiverse. He has a large multi-planet setting and usually comes up with stories set in it while thinking of it, as opposing to forcing stories into it. He published at least two books last year not set in the cosmere.
The reason is more a blending of science fiction and fantasy than comic-book logic - something we've seen from other authors before, but not to this extent. Sanderson has a few overarching plotlines woven through the books he hopes to tell by the cosmere's end.
I disagree entirely it's not shoe horned it was planned from the beginning. Any limits it put on the storytelling is intentional. You can't craft a story without limits or it would be a total mess where you can just accomplish any task because the story requires it. All creativity requires limits you must struggle or the product is valueless
Don't care, it's dumb. Instead of coming up with whatever he likes and we the audience being able to take it all at face value because they're separate settings that cannot and will not interact, now we have to acknowledge that the pile of functional magic systems that he dreams up as a hobby (which all operate at drastically different power scales and are bound by different rules) all somehow work in the same universe but they're so poorly balanced in scale between series' that they really can't ever interact and still have it all make sense.
It's all the same juxtaposition of putting Superman and Green Arrow in the same universe (Justice League) and expecting the latter to bring anything really useful to the story when you want them to interact. He only works as a character in his own setting with characters that match his scale. Not shoehorned (even notionally) into someone else's.
@@mr.stotruppen8724 I don't think you can really make that determination until we get to such material - Mistborn, Stormlight, and Elantris were basically always meant to interact with one another by the final stage of the cosmere, and the more powerful magic users of each will likely be at comparable power levels, just with different strengths and weaknesses.
@mr.stotruppen8724 I think you're making the comparison to something like marvel and thinking that just because they exist in the same universe and because each system of magic is different that is poorly done, when the very thing you're complaining about, i.e them being vastly different in scale and balancing is done...purposefully. you saying it's dumb is more a subjective take than an actual objective critique. Because when you take the time to understand the over arching balance and system and story at work you see why and how it actually operates pretty cohesively. The difference in scale between power systems is done purposefully to show and exemplify the specific limitations between systems and how they eventually are able to catch up with one another.