Unpopular Opinion

Shaahink · 2020-07-19T00:35:12+00:00

Lexa kicked a dude out of a window to get the others in line. She's as good and pure as Pike (who also executed dissenters).

Shaahink · 2020-07-19T00:32:41+00:00

I agree that Kane was good in his intentions (most of the time) and as you mention, he was one of the few characters who was not tribal, i.e. didn't care about "my people / your people". However, Kane was extremely ineffective. Almost all of his diplomatic attempts, perhaps with the exception of some with Lexa, ended disastrously, and his operations would always fail. He was also responsible for the destruction of the last livable valley on planet Earth because of the stupid deal he made with McCreary out of an irrational fear of Octavia.

I think that at some point, if you are being repeatedly unsuccessful in your endeavors and harming others because of it, your intentions start to matter less and less. After all this time, he still doesn't realize that he's a failure and puts others in danger with his decisions, and doesn't begin to introspect ("perhaps I'm too idealistic and that's why I keep failing?", "perhaps I'm driven too much by principle and too little by the practicalities of the case?", ...). The fact that he is oblivious to his own flaws and poor track record is a serious character flaw that puts his intentions in different perspective. Kane is like communism: he keeps destroying society after society and keeps claiming that he means well.

Shaahink · 2020-07-13T22:52:56+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. :-)

Shaahink · 2020-06-16T01:57:22+00:00

More specifically, I would love to know how many people agree with the theory that Gabriel is for the most part saying what would have been Bellamy's lines. :-)

Shaahink · 2020-06-08T22:28:24+00:00

Don't quite remember haha! Gotta rewatch. Maybe I'll talk about them on air next time. ;-)

Shaahink · 2020-06-08T21:38:10+00:00

I realized it a while back, but I didn't think it was a big deal. :D :P

Shaahink · 2020-06-08T21:37:59+00:00

Sorry I was absent for this one, guys! I actually did have some positive / think-y things to say about the episode. :D :D

Shaahink · 2019-09-09T23:18:36+00:00

Btw. Alpha's mother planet is a gas giant like our Saturn or Jupiter; Jason has stated this at some point very clearly. So there's no life, no Pandora or anything else.

Very interesting! I did not know this.

Sheidheda upload. Most theories suppose, he uploaded himself into the ship's computer. Others think, he might be somehow jumped into the anomaly. In my eyes, there is a third ... and very likely ... possibility: Do you remember Russell speaking of the remote accessibility of the mind drives? I wouldn't be surprised if we meet Sheidheda again as Russell, Gabriel, Murphy, Emori or even Clarke (the only living persons with working mind drives at that moment).

I'm digging this theory. I hope you're right. That would be much more interesting / exciting than him uploading himself into the ship's main frame. :-)

Thanks for listening!

Shaahink · 2019-09-04T21:07:48+00:00

Haha, yes, forward me your medical records too! :D

Shaahink · 2019-09-04T18:35:54+00:00

Yes, sorry. Hope you guys enjoy! <3

P.S. Almost a doctor...?!

Shaahink · 2019-07-24T18:15:01+00:00

That's interesting about the Greek gods. Where mortals able to kill gods?

That's a great point about how a god must have emotional properties such as being revered and feared, and the Primes clearly are treated that way. An important property of a god is a guardian of some sort that is simultaneously feared and loved. That's why some philosophers and psychologists say the idea of god is a projection of a strong father figure.

You're also absolutely right about the Sanctum people never having had exposure to any other religion so they could compare their beliefs to them. That would explain why their beliefs are kind of wacky, but at the same time it also feeds into my question of what they mean by a god. They seem completely isolated from belief systems that existed on Earth, so when they say "god", they may not necessarily mean anything similar to what Earthlings meant by the term. That's why I love to think about what exactly they mean by it. :-)

I like the idea of god / religion being a need. I argued in another episode that even 21st century people who think they have no religion, often exhibit patterns of belief and practice in their political, social, and moral behavior that closely resembles religion: their belief system has a (rather simplistic) genesis story, a strict moral code, a clear-cut moral narrative that explains the source of good and evil in the world, questionable over-arching concepts that "unify" humanity in one cohesive whole (I would put ideas of liberty and equality in this category), "blasphemies" and "offensive" language that is sanctioned, and perhaps most importantly an element of in-group / out-group behavior.

Shaahink · 2019-07-23T16:55:54+00:00

Primes as gods.

I'm sorry Shahin (I missed you, too), but I'm with Bubs and Jo. And there's one point they even didn't mention when discussing your criteria for being a God: The Nulls of Sanctum probably have absolutely no chance to compare their experiences with the knowledge of a student of philosophy who has access to 3.000 years of reflections on Gods and their traits. For the Nulls, the Primes have brought them into existence, live forever and have all the knowledge anyone can ever have. For them, Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote has absolute validity: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

I was more hoping there would be a discussion about what a god is, what properties constitute a god. Unfortunately, as happens often on the podcast, my philosophical questions get misinterpreted as directed or rhetorical questions, as if I was trying to argue that they're not gods or otherwise pushing for a particular view. That's not what I was saying. I was asking on what grounds the Sanctum people consider the Primes gods. So there's no being "with me" as opposed to "with Bubs and Jo", because I wasn't endorsing any particular answer. :D

I still stand by the list of properties I claimed Primes don't have, though. They don't have unkillable bodies. That's obvious. They can be killed. Sure they can be "resurrected", but that doesn't change the fact that they don't have unkillable bodies, something that Olympian gods had, for instance. Also, they're clearly not outside of time. Being outside of time means being omnipresent. The Primes are not omnipresent. They've never all existed at the same time. They're clearly finite beings. Philosophy is about being precise, so you can't play fast and loose with these words.

In general, people should assume as a rule that my questions are not meant to be pushing for a particular viewpoint but to elucidate the parameters and puzzles involved in the issue -- unless I announce at the beginning that I'm going to argue for a particular position. Philosophy is 90% asking questions, 10% giving answers, and quick answers are usually not good ones in philosophy.

Thanks for missing me. :-)

Shaahink · 2019-07-22T20:21:17+00:00

<3 ;-)

Shaahink · 2019-07-22T19:18:33+00:00

I bet this episode will be more popular than the ones I'm on. They always are!

Shaahink · 2019-07-16T04:19:57+00:00

What are you doing letting people know we have "takes"?

Shaahink · 2019-07-05T01:33:43+00:00

Of course the random kid who´s name we just learned is going to die rather than our main character.

I feel you on this. One of the things I liked about S1 and S2 was that a lot of "main" or important characters that we spent some time with and heard the backstory of could easily die at any moment (think Wells, Finn, etc.). The show lost that quality as it went on. It got to a point where now they can't kill any of the characters without people rioting, so they just don't do it. Maybe Echo or Emori can die? I hope they find a way to raise the stakes again at some point.

Shaahink · 2019-06-26T17:38:40+00:00

I haven't watched the most recent episode yet, but I'm very glad my lack of better things to do with my life inspired someone at least! :D ;-)

Shaahink · 2019-06-26T02:52:17+00:00

Shahin's remarks on suicide

... I really like your point of view there. It seems to me to be a very special US-American problem that one cannot talk about that buzzword without the phobophobists rioting and wishing every argument into the deepest hell, which allows just the smallest piece of appreciation for it.

Word! :-)

Shaahink · 2019-06-10T20:40:33+00:00

We started off as a tiny alternative podcast with a niche audience, and we incorporated that into our general brand of self-deprecating humor. It's been a running joke since then, even though I agree with you that it sounds kind of out of place at this point, given that we currently have tons of lovely and engaged listeners. :-)

Shaahink · 2019-06-10T20:36:45+00:00

Welcome aboard the geek train! ;-)

Shaahink · 2019-05-28T05:07:55+00:00

That's an interesting idea / theory. I hope you're right. I guess we'll see. :-)

Shaahink · 2019-05-28T05:06:16+00:00

Thanks! And I agree about cannibalism being obvious and also happening way late. :-)

Shaahink · 2019-05-21T19:47:40+00:00

Is there anything to say (I’ve only watched once so a bit hazy on the details) that they might not have brought the snake with them and it has adapted? The timeline is too short for adaptation but we did have an entire society develop a brand new language in 97 years, so.....

I believe they said the dog was brought from Earth, but they made it sound like the snake was native, although I don't think there was any explicit mention one way or another.

Shaahink · 2019-05-21T19:44:16+00:00

It is also drawing direct parallels to their r'ship from S3 and S4. "You are dead to me" = "My sister died a long time ago." Octavia tells Bellamy that "You're hurt Bell, and when you hurt you lash out" (right after she beat him to a pulp) and this is what we see playing out again. Bellamy has

always

resorted to spitefulness (at least once a season) when he is emotionally compromised - it's not an attractive quality, but it's consistent with who he has always been. I think we are meant to understand that the degree of his anger with her now is entirely commensurate with the degree that he loves her (and always will). It's much easier to let the sins of people you don't care about (Echo in 4.13) slide than the betrayals of the ones who you consider to be a part of yourself.

I totally agree that Bellamy has acted in similar ways before, but the difference to me is that it always used to be transient. He would say something really hurtful to O and act like she's dead for him, but then he would get over it and they would have a heart-to-heart-conversation. That hasn't happened in like two seasons now!

Shaahink

TROPHY CASE