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How to Escape Ignorance and the Dunning-Kruger effect

September 26, 2019

Philosophy

idiocy, ignorance, mediocrity, social masses, society

Most great thinkers in history share a common oversight: they have not talked enough about idiocy; that kind of bottomless, malevolent ignorance that plagues the world. How to escape ignorance is something philosophers haven’t tackled, and that has come back to bite us all.

With the possible exception of the delightfully pessimistic Plato, philosophers through the miserable centuries have talked about truth and ethics having a rather idealistic picture of humanity in mind.

Even Marx, who talked about the responsibility of philosophers to actually change the world instead of simply interpreting it, underestimated popular idiocy.

Let’s not fool ourselves, being poor or working-class is a shield against neither ignorance nor malice.

how to escape ignorance
The problem with ignorance is that ignorant people don’t realize their own ignorance
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Review of Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

September 20, 2019

Book Review, Criticism

book, fiction, Gothic, Japan, literary fiction, literature, Murakami, review

As I might have mentioned before, I am a fan of Japanese literature. I’m really drawn to the minimalist, abstract, sometimes absurd and sometimes mundane style of many Japanese authors. Haruki Murakami is such an author, but when I began reading his Killing Commendatore I would never expect that a review of Killing Commendatore would include the tag “Gothic”.

As a typical Murakami book, it’s not quite simple to put it into a prefabricated shape. It’s many things, and yet it isn’t. It has a beginning and an ending, and yet it doesn’t. It’s one of those novels that you’ll either love or hate. The good news is, fans of Haruki Murakami will most definitely love it.

Review of Killing Commendatore
The (Gothic) conflict between natural and unnatural, real and unreal, becomes literally true in Killing Commendatore
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Irony in Fiction Writing: a How-To Guide

September 15, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, fiction, irony, literature, writing

Most people understand what irony is – whether they can always recognize it when they see it, is another subject altogether. Or, actually… it isn’t. This is precisely our topic today, only from a writer’s perspective: How to successfully include irony in your fiction, in a way that you can help the audience understand it.

Having said that, there’s a limit to what an author can do to help their audience. Some people won’t get it no matter what you do. Irony, in particular, is harder to get than a simple explanation of how something works or why.

The reason, as we’ll see in more detail below, is that irony heavily relies on cultural background information. And irony in fiction is an even more complicated matter, as it might overlap with other non-literal meanings and symbolical elements.

irony in fiction
Sometimes irony is a matter of incongruity or skillful juxtaposition
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