VentralVex

  A few months ago, I finished watching Better Call Sau l. I praise this show endlessly. I’ve consumed countless stories, but Better Call Sau l is one of the few I label a gold standard for storytelling. Most stories make subjective storytelling choices that readers may consider flaws. For example, some One Piece fans dislike Oda’s decision to give Luffy power-ups during battles. Though Better Call Saul is not flawless, it follows objective writing principles, such as show don’t tell, better than any other story I’ve seen. One of the most fascinating ideas Better Call Saul explores is the power of communication. All communication contains inherent assumptions. Recall the times you’ve clarified the meaning of a text message. Chances are, you omitted details necessary for comprehension because of your hidden assumptions. One reason these assumptions appear more commonly in texts than in other communication channels is that body language conveys additional information. For instance,...

  I recently watched a video about longtermism uploaded by a YouTube channel called Sabine Hossenfelder, which I highly recommend for its objective perspective on scientific news and complex real world issues. Longtermism, as defined in the video, is “the philosophical idea that the long-term future of humanity is way more important than the present.” Longtermists maintain that because the approximately 8 billion living humans are a tiny fraction of the lives that will populate the future, long-term issues are many orders of magnitude more significant than seemingly pressing issues like starvation, which afflict a ‘mere’ few hundred million. Sabine’s video presents longtermist views espoused by technocrats Elon Musk and Peter Thiel in addition to common arguments regarding these ideologies. I want to posit an argument against longtermism as a nonpartisan teenager who is admittedly dissatisfied with the trajectory of human innovation.  Most longtermists contend society should ...

Anyone who knows me or has read my writing knows that I love existential philosophy. I preach about it regularly. In our increasingly complicated world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lose a sense of purpose in life. Existentialism is more important now than ever. I consider myself to be abnormal in some ways. Most of us can arbitrarily label ourselves as “abnormal” in some sense of the word, because the idea of normality itself is somewhat arbitrary. Therefore, we each have an idiosyncratic relationship with existentialism.  For as long as I can remember, I have tried to perceive reality as objectively as possible. As a result, I had an obstinately cynical and mundane outlook on life. I was trapped in an education system that failed me. I’ve always loved to learn new things, but school didn’t cut it for me; it was a terribly boring place where I’d listen to my teachers lecture concepts I could easily understand by reading a textbook and subsequently complete tedious chores call...

I finally did it. I absolved myself of my sins as a MyAnimeList fan by becoming a casual Anilist enjoyer (the UI and database are superior). After a year of reading terrible reviews, I’m finally free. At least, that’s what I thought before encountering a slew of terrible anime takes on the internet. The ubiquity of these horrendous takes prompts me to crystallize my opinions on what constitutes quality anime discourse. Without being an elitist, it’s first important to understand common issues plaguing discourse within the community. 1.Elitism Axiomatically, people’s opinions regarding anime are subjective. Rating anime, while fun, should keep this fact in mind. All too often, anime fans will react to someone’s ranking of specific anime, celebrating commonalities of opinion and belittling differences. Even I’m guilty of this. This notion that some people’s taste is superior to others detracts from the fun of anime. It’s excellent that so many kinds of shows exist because it means that t...

  The Boondocks  and Political Apathy In March, I endeavored to educate myself politically. I read Morning Brew’s newsletter almost daily, perused political science publications, and began watching several current affairs channels (I’ve listed many of these resources under “recommendations”). I never cared much about current affairs. I was depressed by the global political climate. I genuinely wish for the best in humanity and with almost every news article I read, I’m increasingly disillusioned with the incompetence of government leadership. Since childhood, observing the failings of authority figures and having my opinions dismissed for my lack of experience was infuriating. Sure, it’s interesting that Trump has been indicted for alleged hush money payments, but what does it matter? I thought to myself. As my dissatisfaction with the world grew, I closed my heart to these struggles, to the opportunities I had to help others. The anime Erased , Mushoku Tensei , and Oregairu ...

Through many years of avid reading, I’ve never had a favorite author. I adore many books, but few authors have produced multiple literary books I can proudly label as some of my favorites. As a storyteller and writer, I understand that this is because creativity can be spontaneous; the flash of inspiration that shapes one’s magnum opus cannot be easily reproduced by even the most skilled of storytellers. Many of us storytellers can identify with struggling to continue writing better stories. We often cultivate excellent writing skills, like character development and worldbuilding, but can’t capture the same novelty of previous work. Notwithstanding, Carnby Kim, creator of webtoons Bastard, Sweet Home, Pigpen, Shotgun Boy, and Flawed Almighty has cemented himself as my favorite author with his Midas touch.  I place Kim’s Bastard and Sweet Home in my top 10 list of book series, but his other three webtoons are nothing to scoff at. Although I haven’t finished Pigpen , Shotgun Boy , ...