I'm a sucker for the classics. I would actually discuss the classics with my grandpa when I was growing up and your work makes glad and nostalgic at the same time. I think you have an interesting set up to run the analysis from. I wonder if you used a more narrative structure and just one font if the work would land a bit more cohesively. I really like what you are doing!
Glad you enjoyed reading it. For me, these stories also bring me back to childhood and to the conversations I had with my father before sleep. Remembering and reshaping those stories gives me a lot of joy. I was also thinking that I should make the writing more narrative, so the line of thought feels clearer. I’ll try to execute it better in future texts. Substack is a good training ground.
Yeah, people have always been rebellious. The myth, and the idea I was trying to communicate, is that there is nothing wrong with criticizing authority or institutions when they become corrupt. My point was that many people completely reject the game of status and prestige, thinking their talent can exist outside of it. But when they do that, their talent often gets reduced to mere utility, because it loses the frame that could have created visibility and appreciation.
Thank you, your comment made me laugh. :D Yes, it happens very often. Sometimes it is because the majority has pretty bad taste, or because the road to recognition becomes easier when you have no inner critic and are ready to do whatever is needed.
The skill of any artist is to convey subtle nuances in such a way that imparts the piece's actual intent. Robust, yet flexable enough to be gleaned and processed by any beholder, and get it.
Maybe I got it. Maybe not.
For me, this is what I got out of it: Convention creates standards; which is good. Our memes (from tech to governance to education to social conventions, etc) hopefully move us closer to our ideals.
That's the back drop. The specifics appear to reflect a sense of despotism of the collective elite. In other words, whose in and whose out.
Memes, like genes, mutate. Sometimes for the better, sometimes melign: Turning on themselves.
I'll leave it at that. Cryptic? Yeah.
After a lifetime of compliance to an overall zeitgeist; ignoring the holes in the proverbial swiss cheese... I kinda feel like this guy:
This feels less like mythology analysis and more like a philosophical essay using myth as metaphor.
What stood out to me is that it doesn’t fully defend either side. It criticizes arrogance in talent, but also critiques institutions and power when they hide behind status. Arachne isn’t punished for lack of skill. She’s punished for challenging authority publicly and refusing to bend. That makes the story feel very modern.
I also think the “mastery without recognition” part is probably the strongest section because a lot of talented people live there. Skilled enough to create, but without the structure, visibility, or name that gives the work permanence.
The writing itself feels intellectual but still accessible. Almost like cultural criticism mixed with literary philosophy.
Thank you for your insights. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Yes, I’m trying to write clearly and make these essays accessible to a broader public. I often treat Substack as a playground for expressing ideas in a clear and engaging way.
Maybe, like Arachne, I also feel that many intellectual essays hide behind academic vocabulary. :)
I'm a sucker for the classics. I would actually discuss the classics with my grandpa when I was growing up and your work makes glad and nostalgic at the same time. I think you have an interesting set up to run the analysis from. I wonder if you used a more narrative structure and just one font if the work would land a bit more cohesively. I really like what you are doing!
Glad you enjoyed reading it. For me, these stories also bring me back to childhood and to the conversations I had with my father before sleep. Remembering and reshaping those stories gives me a lot of joy. I was also thinking that I should make the writing more narrative, so the line of thought feels clearer. I’ll try to execute it better in future texts. Substack is a good training ground.
Does this mean rebeledy has always existed? And people that fall in line lack own free mind? As you say, it's a trap.
Yeah, people have always been rebellious. The myth, and the idea I was trying to communicate, is that there is nothing wrong with criticizing authority or institutions when they become corrupt. My point was that many people completely reject the game of status and prestige, thinking their talent can exist outside of it. But when they do that, their talent often gets reduced to mere utility, because it loses the frame that could have created visibility and appreciation.
This prompts the phrase: "Shit floats to the top"
You'll have to connect the dots yourself.
Thank you, your comment made me laugh. :D Yes, it happens very often. Sometimes it is because the majority has pretty bad taste, or because the road to recognition becomes easier when you have no inner critic and are ready to do whatever is needed.
The skill of any artist is to convey subtle nuances in such a way that imparts the piece's actual intent. Robust, yet flexable enough to be gleaned and processed by any beholder, and get it.
Maybe I got it. Maybe not.
For me, this is what I got out of it: Convention creates standards; which is good. Our memes (from tech to governance to education to social conventions, etc) hopefully move us closer to our ideals.
That's the back drop. The specifics appear to reflect a sense of despotism of the collective elite. In other words, whose in and whose out.
Memes, like genes, mutate. Sometimes for the better, sometimes melign: Turning on themselves.
I'll leave it at that. Cryptic? Yeah.
After a lifetime of compliance to an overall zeitgeist; ignoring the holes in the proverbial swiss cheese... I kinda feel like this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGo5rXUAH2o
This feels less like mythology analysis and more like a philosophical essay using myth as metaphor.
What stood out to me is that it doesn’t fully defend either side. It criticizes arrogance in talent, but also critiques institutions and power when they hide behind status. Arachne isn’t punished for lack of skill. She’s punished for challenging authority publicly and refusing to bend. That makes the story feel very modern.
I also think the “mastery without recognition” part is probably the strongest section because a lot of talented people live there. Skilled enough to create, but without the structure, visibility, or name that gives the work permanence.
The writing itself feels intellectual but still accessible. Almost like cultural criticism mixed with literary philosophy.
Thank you for your insights. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Yes, I’m trying to write clearly and make these essays accessible to a broader public. I often treat Substack as a playground for expressing ideas in a clear and engaging way.
Maybe, like Arachne, I also feel that many intellectual essays hide behind academic vocabulary. :)