Why I Make Commentary Videos on Vital YouTube Conversations
I started with Jordan Peterson's Biblical Series and Just Kept Going
Today's video is the first part of what will be a multi-part commentary on the conversation between @jordanbpeterson @BishopBarron @PageauJonathan and @vervaeke_john.
Why do I take the time to make these commentaries?
1. I think these conversations are important and helpful.
2. I want to participate, as @GrimGriz says "break the fourth wall".
3. I want to do something to make them more accessible to a wider audience. It's often the case that these learned individuals use ideas, concepts, phrases and references that go beyond what many of us can easily appropriate. I want to make it more digestible.
4. While many Youtube listeners speed up these (and my) videos to get more of them "in" (into their day) my desire is to slow us down. Speed causes indigestion. Many of these conversations are so rich they require time and multiple listens.
In this video I only treat the first hour of their two-hour conversation. I'm interested in the emerging rituals of these conversations. 2 hours is sort of becoming the standard. 4 people for a 2 hour conversation is pushing it.
The first 25 minutes are opening remarks about the definition of meaning and the relationship between meaning and religion. I did something in this video I hadn't done before. I rank ordered "performance". This was highly subjective obviously.
Comparing the four opening statements was actually helpful for assessing something of the role these four men are playing in the broader culture assessment of "religion" in our increasingly post-secular culture.
It was also revelatory about their particular skill sets, level of accomplishment on a stage like this and expertise in this emerging craft.
The next half hour was an appreciative exploration of what @vervaeke_john has aptly called "The Meaning Crisis". All four men are in agreement that we face this challenge. While I thought JV had the weakest opening statement I thought he had the stronger performance overall.
I hope to pick up this effort again today and do more commentary likely to be released on Friday. Doing it in multiple parts helps me because my main purpose for Youtube is to learn to think together. https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/p/how-youtube-is-teaching-me-meta-cognition
With each successive episode in the commentary, I gain from the comments and reactions which feeds back into the next commentary. We're third-lobing it people. Join in the fun. :)