Comments on: This Boy’s Life

By: Trent

Trent — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:16:58 +0000

Good fiction is usually agreeable to at least some scientific rationale, but not always aligned with excessive scientific materialism and empiricism (or the scientific meta-narrative). Binary modes of thinking are the anti-thesis of most literature’s end game.

By: stephen

stephen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:06:40 +0000

“When you come across these sorts of biases and self-lies, how do you go about fixing them? Any good advice, or a system that works for you?”

Shut the fuck up and get back to work.

I’m not trying to be cute. That’s really the answer.

By: joseph

joseph — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:16:33 +0000

When you come across these sorts of biases and self-lies, how do you go about fixing them? Any good advice, or a system that works for you?

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:35:59 +0000

This is a great post. I wonder if the transition from adolescent to adult takes longer now than in the late 60′s when Elkind wrote his paper. It seems for many people today, it doesn’t happen at all. I also see the passage says most teens grow into mature adults ‘in theory.’

Would fiction without any hint of truth in it simply be nonsense or just come off as stupid?

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:23:36 +0000

There are probably a lot of people who talk and write about emotions they have never experienced, but I don’t think that has much to do with their ignorance of science.

It seems like you have something important to say about being open and aware of our own authentic experience, but I don’t think that has much to do with science.

By: Ator

Ator — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:02:44 +0000

Adam, if there’s anything my time in the military taught me it’s that you in fact are replaceable. Easily, in fact. So am I and everyone else for the most part. The only thing that isn’t replaceable is time spent doing nothing and pontificating as to whether or not work is valuable. It is, and you clearly know that. To quote my mentors, “shut the fuck up and get back to work.”

Thanks for the post, Ryan.

By: adam

adam — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:29:02 +0000

so in order not to fall under the personal fable theory I must remember that life is not a catalogue where my dreams will come true if I order them to be, and that hard work is required? is that right? I actually do think my life is unique and special, perhaps not out of the ordinary, but certainly of high value and i know that hard work precedes accomplishment.

By: Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Well technically this book is a memoir so it’s a little different.

But I’ll keep what you said in mind in my search for popular songs that talk about emotions that don’t exist and comedy filled with incorrect observations.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:13:08 +0000

I don’t think it would be worse. I don’t see that scientific accuracy has much to do with how good a passage of fiction is.

By: Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:56:55 +0000

Ok, think about it this way. Would that passage be better if it was contradicted by scientific discoveries?

Whether he knew it when he was writing it or not is irrelevant.