0:05 - Digital Likeness Ownership
0:43 - The Extremism Debate
2:13 - Historical Context of Iran
3:47 - The Nature of Violence
4:02 - Public Exposure and Privacy
8:35 - Intellectual Property Discussion
10:22 - Impact of IP Law on Creativity
13:56 - Lawsuits in the Music Industry
16:03 - Understanding Smoking Habits
22:14 - The Role of Pornography
23:21 - Parent-Child Relationships
28:02 - Regret and Parental Choices
29:37 - Neo-Medievalism and Future Society
29:58 - Closing Thoughts and Reflections
In this episode, we explore the complex issue of digital ownership, specifically the concept of owning one's digital likeness and voice. I firmly believe that individuals should have control over how their likeness is used and withheld from unauthorized exploitation, particularly in the age of deep fakes and digital impersonations. I delve into the implications of this control and why it is essential for personal agency.
Our discussion transitions to the political climate, examining violent acts attributed to extremist elements, and the shifting perceptions of ideologies that fuel them. I reference various commentators who highlight the hypocrisy and inconsistency in political reactions and public outrage, emphasizing the dangers of erasing accountability in favor of convenience and narrative control.
We then turn our attention to historical perspectives, particularly regarding Iran's tumultuous political journey. I recount the events that led to the rise of the current regime following Western intervention, illustrating how past mistakes continue to haunt present-day geopolitics. This historical context draws attention to the cyclical nature of authority and rebellion, serving as a reminder of the impact of decisions made by previous generations.
Throughout the episode, I tackle various listener questions ranging from the implications of intellectual property laws to the concept of self-erasure and assertion. I suggest that assertiveness stems from honesty, while aggression attempts to intimidate, which leads to unhealthy relationships with personal truths. We also discuss how societal pressures, such as smoking and workaholism, often mask deeper psychological conflicts.
The dialogue continues into the realm of popular culture, where we touch on issues related to the music industry, emphasizing how legal disputes can stifle creativity. Through anecdotes and analysis, I highlight the problematic trends that arise from excessive litigation, alongside the cultural costs these raise.
The conversation shifts into the realm of parenting and interpersonal relationships, where I address the importance of honesty and connection with children. I stress the dire need for parents to provide emotional support rather than financial provision, as well as the effects of this dynamic on future generations' understanding of relationships.
As the episode concludes, I reflect on the pressing need for peaceful parenting and the potential for a decentralized power structure in society. I advocate for greater communal responsibility in raising children—not only to address societal issues but also to foster lasting connections that can escape the grasp of authoritarian regimes.
This multifaceted discussion reveals how interconnected our experiences are with those in power and how personal agency and individual responsibility are crucial in navigating both digital and physical realms. The takeaway emphasizes the importance of fostering honest communication and understanding within our relationships while being acutely aware of the societal structures that shape our lives.
[0:00] There was a good question at the start. Should you own your digital likeness? I think so, yeah.
[0:06] I mean, you own yourself, you own the effect of your actions, and I don't think that other people should just be able to use your digital likeness without your permission. So I think that you should own your digital likeness, you should own your voice. And one of the reasons for that is that just that your bad people will create deep fakes of you doing terrible things or something like that. So I think that you should have recourse against that.
[0:44] Can you give more of your opinions about Adler? I will, but not at the moment, because that's a bit of a specialized topic. All right. Let me close that, open that. I'm happy to take questions and comments in this relatively uncensored venue. Happy to hear. Yes, Cabot Phillips on X said, in the last six months, leftists have murdered a healthcare CEO, murdered two Israeli diplomats, murdered a state rep in Minnesota, firebombed a Tesla dealerships, firebombed many Tesla dealerships, firebombed Jewish demonstrators, burned Los Angeles. Which side is extremist again? And jeffrey tucker wrote the people who ratted out their neighbors five years ago for holding house parties disobeying stay-at-home orders or walking without masks we're out in full force today protesting tyranny these people who seem mostly to live off interest and dividends who two years ago check decided they were huge fans of a place called ukraine are today really upset by something some held signs that they were that were openly and shockingly full of bloodlust can anyone really explain this i can't yeah i mean they're just jeffrey they're just shifting sands people. They do whatever they're told. They're full of rage and they just need ideologies to point their rage at someone so that they can act outraged and use aggression.
[2:14] Yeah dr simon goddek wrote 70 years ago iran looked just like any western country short skirts rock and roll open universities it's 1953 iran elects a secular socialist mohammed masadegh he nationalizes oil that pisses off bp cold war excuse cian mi6 stage a coup operation ajax masadegh is overthrown they install the shah a brutal u.s-backed dictator secret police torture chambers. Iran turns into a puppet state. People that are desperate, they turn to Khomeini, an exiled cleric, promising independence and dignity. 1979, Islamic revolution. The Shah flees. US embassy stormed. Hostage crisis. America never forgives. Arms Saddam Hussein. Iraq invades Iran. US provides chemical weapons, satellite intel, logistics. A million Iranians die. Iranian kids sent into minefields with plastic keys around their necks. US shoots down Iran air flight 655, 290 civilians dead, no apology. Fast forward to today, Israel attacks Iran. U.S. immediately says, we stand with Israel. They talk about regime change. They say that Iranians deserve freedom. No mention of the coup they started, no mention of the dictator they installed, no mention of the war they fueled, no mention of the decades of sanctions and sabotage they created the monster, and now act shocked. It's still breathing. Now, the key part there is the Iranians elected a socialist, and it all went to hell from there.
[3:35] So they're not exactly victims. I mean, the current generation, yes. But the previous generation who decided to elect a socialist, well, they said a social question should be decided using violence.
[3:47] Social questions should be decided using violence.
[3:58] All right.
[4:02] Oh, good call. I hate it when I see an unsolicited photo of me online. Yeah, I mean, in public spaces, you're going to be in the background. It's funny, I occasionally think of how many times I'm in the background of people's photos and they don't even know that i'm a kind of semi-famous philosopher right maybe they'll you know like 20 years 50 years from now their kids are being like hey like i was at a renaissance fair with my daughter and i was picked to judge between a juggler and a.
[4:37] Um magician a jugular and a magician the jug jugular was very handsome and i said well i have my and then the magician was was significantly overweight and i said well i have my own i came up to to judge them who was better and i said to the crowd uh well i have my nicknames for these fine gentlemen this one is flynn rider and he actually had a saucepan that he brought on stage and i said and this one is tank gandalf i was going to call him chunk gandalf but that seemed a bit rude and so i said i'll let the crowd so and i just did this little speech just goofy thing at a renaissance fair and uh it was being filmed and some people are going to be like hey, many years from now that guy he was there all right uh what can philosophy teach us about dealing with antagonism with serenity philosophy might be able to teach you about that i'm not sure i can right so like the the guy uh another two cents or whatever he's a troll for me over on.
[5:34] On rumble and he's like i'm not going to apologize to you just for disagreeing with you lol right or somebody posted on upb one of my upb videos about how oh well rationality rules destroyed this guy and and blah blah he couldn't even answer a um a question from his own book and i mean the context of that was uh rationality rules was asking me about an isolated sentence in my book and i said well i have to see the context right so i'd have to go and look at the context and i'm not going to do that. If you wanted me to do that live in a debate, you should have sent me the thing ahead of time and say, I'm going to ask you about this. But... You know, it would be like saying to a Christian who, you know, obviously hadn't memorized the whole Bible, well, the Bible says there is no God. What does that mean? And it's like the quote is, the fool in his heart has said there is no God. So there was a sentence fragment. He asked me about it. And I said, well, I'm not going to respond to that because I'd have to pull out the book, find it, read the context. And that's kind of awkward thing. So it's a trick, right? I'm not saying he did it consciously, but it's a sophist trick where either you stop and pause. And then what do they say? See, the guy doesn't even know his own book, right? Or you say, look, I'm happy to deal with that afterwards, but I'm not going to do a live response to a sentence from my book because I need to know the context, what it is that I'm talking about.
[6:52] So, it's, you know, either I look kind of goofy and foolish because I'm looking at my own book and trying to find the passage and what does it mean and all of that, right? He doesn't even know his own book. Or I say, I'm not going to do it. And then it's like, see, he can't even answer. He just dodges questions from his own book. like it's just a it's a trick right i wouldn't do that to someone but that's what sophists do so i still feel a little bit of annoyance even though of course many years ago and who cares and all that kind of stuff right so uh don't to not engage is the key right just don't engage with antagonistic people that's why with this guy i said i started reading things like oh yeah you're the guy i don't want to talk to right so i'm i i guess he can come and type if he wants right.
[7:36] But you know of course it's ridiculous to say that i would demand an apology from someone who just disagreed with me i mean that's just such a troll thing to say it's just such a troll thing to say all right and then what so what do you do what do you do right do you say well no i people disagree with me all that then you're falling into the trap right so you just have to be like nope not going to engage not everyone can see it and the people who can't see it aren't worth talking to like i don't know if you saw this guy uh typing uh i'm not gonna apologize to you just for disagreeing with you like people can't disagree with me or something like that i disagree with myself from time to time so i'm sure you all saw that and you all were like well that's just not true so the good people can see the truth and the people who can't see the truth you're never going to convince them because they're too corrupt or dishonest or unintelligent anyway all right.
[8:36] Speaking of people using your digital likeness, what's your take on IP property becoming public domain? Shouldn't the family or others involved in its creation keep ownership? Well, no, but generally the rule is some number of decades, could be 50 years or 70 years. So with IP the way it works right now, if somebody writes a great song and then they get hit by a bus, it's not just the life of the songwriter, right? Because if he gets hit by a bus tomorrow or he writes it on his deathbed, well, then his family should get some consideration, right? So generally, but not forever, not for like a thousand years, right? That's too long. So they come up with 50 years, 40 years, 70 years, whatever it is, that people benefit from what they've created and then it goes into the public domain. Excuse me. What are your thoughts about the relationship between self-erasure and aggression or assertion, or both? The conflation of aggression with assertion and aggression taking place of a healthy relationship with assertion as it relates to self-erasure. What? Did you read that back and think it makes sense? What are your thoughts about the relationship with self-erasure and aggression or assertion, or both?
[9:45] So being assertive is just being honest. Being aggressive is trying to intimidate someone into taking your point of view. Right. So I'm not sure what self-erasure has to do with that. Is the meetup in July happening? Yes.
[10:06] I don't support the governments of either nation. Iran's leaders are no more popular in their own country than our leaders, so-called, are here. Well, I think they're less popular in some ways.
[10:23] We disagree with you about being a we disagree about you being a troll well that we can settle who has the power to ban the other, i'm gonna follow that, steamboat willie starring the original mickey mouse is now public domain yeah i'm not a big fan of ip as a whole um i mean it could be contract based but i'm not a big fan of ip as a whole i love classical music and the places where classical music grew the most and was the most creative and innovative innovative was were places without copyright or ip laws because you could take and adapt and move without getting sued and all of that sort of stuff so a huge amount of creativity is destroyed through ip law and everybody who loves classical music has to recognize that, when musicians get sued a lot their creativity goes down right which is one of the reasons why music is my lower iq and all of that but music has become pretty trashy lately because, it's all you know breathy female vocalist gyrating on a stripper pole and then angry rap guy in the middle right that's all it is these days and that's because there's a lot of a lot of lawsuits flying around and if there's a profession that gets sued a lot then a lot of People don't want to get into it because they don't want to really deal with the legal system, right?
[11:51] All right. What else did I have here for you? Steve Kirsch, I don't know. I can't really evaluate. He seems like a pretty decent guy. He seems like an honest and honorable guy. But he texted this to RFK. I'm not endorsing this. I'm just, it's a pretty wild thing. He says, from the Levi Florida study, we can now get a very reliable underreporting factor for deaths in the vaccine adverse events reporting system for the COVID vaccine, 45x. I'd heard 30x. So for every death that's reported in the vaccine adverse events reporting system, it's 30 times because they only get 3%. Now he says 45 times. He says that means that the vaccine or the government killed 585,000 Americans. Wowzy. That's really something.
[12:47] That's really, again, I mean, nobody will ever really suffer for it. Reputations might be destroyed in the far future of that. How would a free society handle using someone's digital likeness or impersonating? Good people who find out would ostracize them, but what other possibilities are there? Well, you need to read my novel, The Future, or my book, Practical Anarchy. So, no, you have DROs, right? So DROs are your dispute resolution organization. So you have your digital likeness. If somebody uses it without your permission, then the DRO says, stop doing that. And if the person doesn't stop doing that, the DRO imposes sanctions. Some pay from them to you. And if they don't pay, then they start to get disconnected from the payment systems and the economic interactions until they conform, right? I mean, it's kind of ironic about how I was talking about ostracism is the way to deal with, particularly economic ostracism is the way to deal with these kinds of conflicts, and then I got de-platformed.
[13:56] Two examples, men at work, 30-year lawsuit over their song, infringement of the kookaburra kids song. They lost, lawyers are the only winners. Oh my God, it goes on. um don henley his wife was crippled and she got dragged in for some lawsuit over their music, um don frogerty of ccr got involved in endless lawsuits uh regarding their music uh i'm reading the beach boys uh brian wilson's autobiography and he's just talking about these lawsuits are gone and on i mean meatloaf the singer really got crippled after bat out of hell went big because everyone sued everyone and he got dragged into this that and the other and basically hit at home being depressed with all these lawsuits for a couple of years and then started doing clubs and getting back into the world and you can see him like he was never never really happy after that uh it's really rough man, If I meet a decent woman, but she occasionally smokes, should I try helping her quit? Or should I just assume that people in general don't change and evaluate them as they are currently?
[14:57] Well, find out why she smokes. And smoking is partly, in part, in my opinion, smoking is self-medication for the unhappiness or anxiety of child abuse. So get to the root and deal with that. And the manifestations then diminish of their own accord. And I'm sure that she also wants to quit. I mean, she would be better off if she didn't smoke at all. So, no, I mean, we all can use improvement, right? We all can use some improvement. So I wouldn't say try helping her quit like you're policing her behavior or anything like that, but ask her, would you rather not smoke? And then ask her if you have any habits that she'd rather you not have. Maybe you swear and she doesn't like that or maybe you're a little overweight or maybe you don't exercise or maybe you're a bit volatile in conflict situations. I don't know. So you can both go with each other about things you can improve. And that's that's a good thing.
[15:59] That's a good thing.
[16:04] Yeah music lawsuits are brutal so why do so many boomers smoke they don't see how they were raised as abuse uh you mean why did so many boomers smoke in the past, well because when boomers were first smoking there was not as really readily communicated the link between smoking and disease, right so i mean smoking is i assume a nice thing so uh it feels good right it raises that nicotine is a stimulant and so they did it because they felt good and they didn't understand the negative effects and just because someone doesn't see how they were raised as abusive doesn't mean that it wasn't abusive right so and they have mostly quit what smoking rates are down to like 11 percent in some places from like 50 percent in the past right so um i mean the boomers don't smoke now do they, or very few do or maybe a pipe or whatever but.
[17:13] All right we have a quiet audience which is fine um i don't want to drag it out if you don't have any particular questions. Sargon of Accard wrote, Montesquieu pointed out that tyrants have feminized men to secure their power. And this is a quote. Aristodemus, tyrant of Kume, used all his endeavors to banish courage and to enervate the minds of youth. That means to weaken and make tired. He ordered the boys should let their hair grow in the same manner as girls, that they should deck it with flowers and wear long robes of different colors down to their heels, that when they went to their masters of music and dancing, they should have women with them to carry their umbrellas, perfumes, and fans and present them with combs and looking glasses, whenever they bathed. This education lasted until the age of 20, an education that could be agreeable to none but a petty tyrant who exposes his sovereignty to defend his life. Yeah.
[18:09] Yeah, this Melissa Hortman, this woman, after she voted no on health care for illegals in Minnesota, she and her husband, I think, were assassinated. And this is where politics is at now, right? And the guy who's a suspect or the prime suspect was appointed to some place by Tim Walz. Absolutely wild. Absolutely wild. I like this, uh, eyelashes are supposed to prevent things from going into your eyes, but whenever I have something in my eye, it's always an eyelash. I-ronic. That's very funny.
[19:00] All right. Did you ever play Age of Empires? Somebody wrote, All right.
[19:41] A hitch slap. It's a great, great phrase. He wrote, IQ research is one of the most replicated areas in psychology, but some of the largest effect sizes. Despite this, it's constantly attacked as pseudoscience. The reason for this is simple. It threatens the holiest leftist notion of all, the blank slate. Yeah. Another one of the most interesting findings in social sciences is that conservatives understand why liberals think the way they do, but disagree. while liberals are never able to understand the values and motivations of conservatives and instead assume that they're irrationally evil. Yeah, that's very true. Very true. All right, let me get back to your questions and comments. What have we got? Oh, a little easier on a rumble. Excuse me.
[20:39] Hello, Stef. I hope all is well. I listened to a two-part response to a listener's question concerning the morality of monetizing the unearned, hallowed only fans. On the morality of pornography, does the fact that the porn industry preys on children by making content which targets children and resists age verification measures as well as content which caters to pedophiles give you cause to oppose the porn industry in practice, if not in principle?
[21:03] Well, I think that the lack of age verification is brutal. Brutal uh of course right i mean i've talked to enough listeners who are struggling with relationships in their 20s 30s or beyond who were exposed to pornography at a very young age i think that's that's terrible yeah that's absolutely terrible stuff of course pornography is solved in a free society to a large degree maybe not perfectly because a free society only emerges is when children are treated well and if children are treated well they won't want to participate in pornography and so on i mean there'll still be historical pornography available and all of that but uh if people if people get married young and have you know great sex uh within a marriage, then they would be much less likely to turn to pornography pornography is to some degree to some degree an effect of people's uh bad sex lives right so we delay getting married we delay and And, you know, it's important to be thoughtful and generous as a lover and all these kinds of things. So if people have great sex, they would prefer that to pornography. So not like having access to pornography can prevent people from pursuing women for sure. And that's a big problem.
[22:15] But if people got married in their late teens, early 20s, had great sex lives, went around having kids and all of that, I think the pornography would diminish considerably.
[22:30] Somebody says that's interesting the rapper 50 cent was able to dodge getting i think he's down to a dime now post-covid value of money uh was able to dodge getting sued he used other artists music putting his vocals over whatever beat he was rapping to then claiming he's not profiting from the music but using it for promotion prince in an interview mentioned him and hated this, Stef could we get a new chapter reading please the previous were gold yes not right now I've got Father's Day and I've got a lot of stuff to do that ostracism by governments can be used on anyone anytime if they don't like you, it was not specifically governments that ostracized me, I know it's a human condition but I really hate how politics has become nasty and tribalistic well it always has been it's just it's more obvious now.
[23:22] Thank you for answering, Stef. Just finished The Future. Looking forward to your next novel. Oh, good. Thanks. Somebody says, Jay says, Stef, I started listening three weeks ago and have listened to many hours of your content. It's hit a lot of nerves and I'm feeling a sadness I don't remember ever feeling. Is this typical of new listeners and any advice on what it could be telling me? I suspect it's that I've reframed my parents' pursuit of work to provide us with financial freedom as workaholism to escape that they didn't have a romantic relationship and were themselves melancholic yeah i mean this is something uh there was some rich guy who decided to go around the world in a hot air balloon and there was just some comment some pass away comments like okay we get it you don't like your wife i understand and a lot of workaholism i mean i was a very effective entrepreneur when i wasn't happy with my relationship because going to work was was where i felt productive and positive and valued and and rewarded and the relationship was difficult at times and not in a good way like challenging and growing so yeah a lot and kids they don't want stuff they want their parents they want love they want connection they want conversation.
[24:38] And the substitution of paid play for parental connection is one of the greatest tragedies of the modern world that everything you do with your kids costs 50 bucks 100 bucks right you're going to an arcade you're going to the movies you're going to chuck e cheese you're going to whatever some theme park or whatever so it's all structured and it all has to do with the collapse of trust in the local neighborhoods and so on but yeah it's really really sad uh was it two days ago um my daughter and i went on a river hike perfectly free right we we go to a river and we've got nets and, we catch stuff and we wobble around and she actually fell in at one point, which was quite vivid. And it was a blast. Totally free. A lot of the stuff that we've done, like the role-playing games that we've done, totally free. A lot of the great stuff that we've done, the tree climbing and so on, are totally free. And that's how I grew up. I grew up, we didn't have any money for toys, really. We didn't have any money for activities. So my friends and I, we would just go out and do things that were free and i i don't have any particularly negative memories the only thing i wish i'd been able to do was when i was in um my mid-teens there was a school trip to russia i would have loved to have gone to russia but it was like 1500 bucks and might as well have been 15 million back in the day so.
[26:01] The sadness comes from realizing truths about your life that are inconvenient to those around you. It's not your sadness. It's your parents' incoming sadness if you tell them the truth. I mean, obviously I've made mistakes in my life, no question. I really can't think of a big giant mistake I've made that like if I'd been a bad parent, you know, I'm reading Brian Wilson's autobiography. He talks about being a bad parent, a bad father. and I haven't done things where I'm like oh my god I really should like you know I wanted to pursue, being in the theater world so I did I went to the national theater school I acted in plays I wrote like 30 plays wasn't for me I was interested in academia pursued academia I was recognized as brilliant but couldn't find any mentors and and things were getting increasingly politically correct and they were very hostile to advocates of the free market so that didn't work out for me I liked the business world, and I spent many years in the business world, but the money grubbing and corruption got too much for me. I was interested in being a novelist, so I took a great writing program and got an agent and great reviews and so on, but nobody would publish me because generally they're all a bunch of propagandistic socialists or communists.
[27:19] So I then dug into podcasting, and that's been the best thing, the greatest thing for me. I'm happily married uh and i have a great relationship with my wife and daughter i have good friends so you know things that i don't i haven't had big spans where i'm like oh if only i'd you know like i mean if i was some programmer and i'd always wanted to be an actor i'd probably be kind of bitter because i you know to me it's like give it your all find out if it's right for you if you want to do something give it your all find out if it's right for you and uh if i if i was in academia it would be bad as well right so uh this i can be honest right.
[28:02] So, if your parents made bad decisions, they chased after money, telling themselves that money made them good parents, and money is generally made by not spending, like women serve their family by being there, men serve the family by being away hunting or working or whatever. So, if it is the case that your parents made a bad decision, which was to pursue money instead of connection with their children then there is a huge amount of regret that's in their heart but that regret will remain hidden from them unless you bring it up so you are feeling your parents sadness over their bad choices and their hope that you won't talk about it with them i think you need to because what matters is not your parents past choices but your own future choice as a parent right and you you can't correct that which you don't criticize if you don't criticize your parents, you can't correct their behavior. If I'm driving in the wrong direction, but I never criticize the direction I'm driving in or have any doubt about its virtue and value, I won't turn around.
[29:02] Stef, in your novel The Future, does it count as ironic that a man pulled forward into utopia would choose to live as our primitive ancestors did? A man, oh, um, well, he didn't choose to live that way. He would not be honest, he would not accept responsibility. That's what ended up. It's like saying somebody chose cancer because, no, they choose cigarettes. They choose to smoke each individual cigarette, then they end up with cancer, right? It's not ironic. It's a result of their choices. I did see that sign about the duck. I showed it to Izzy. Thank you.
[29:38] Have you come across the concept of neo-medievalism? It refers to the decentralization of government power into smaller entities, a peaceful or violent power shift to corporations, religious groups, militant groups, modern versions of nobles, city-states, etc. Do you think this could bring us closer to a long-lasting free society, civilization, or push it to be 10,000 years away? I know that peaceful parenting is the only chance we have.
[29:59] It's the only chance we have is peaceful parenting and the hour is getting very late because the surveillance state and cdbcs are coming so um i've done everything i can to promote peaceful parenting so except maybe going back on twitter so all right any other last questions comments issues challenges problems anything i can help you with my friends and thank you so much for your very kind support of what it is that i do i really really do appreciate it and i'm deeply and humbly grateful and thankful for this thank you thank you so much all right i'm just going to give a pause here in case anything comes in.
[30:38] Uh and cap air wrote on twitter comparing to a household annual income 51 561 dollars annual spending 71 637 deficit 20 000 debt 369 000 the doge cuts being celebrated a grand total of $94. Well, let's go to the unfunded liabilities. It's even worse, even worse.
[31:09] He says, he says, he says. Parents made in the past huge mistakes. I'm sorry about that. Happy Father's Day. My dad's death. I certainly am. I've been a stay-at-home dad. My daughter is going to be 17 this year so we're almost done so thanks everyone so much i really appreciate your support lots of love from up here my friends take care i'll talk to you soon bye.
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