Gods & Monsters: Space as Lovecraft Envisioned it

[@sufficient4834]

why fear the lovecraftian horrors when we can become the lovecraftian horrors?

[@Amberpawn]

Human to Transhuman to Post-Human without slipping to Ex-Human is kind of the goal.

[@erwinkonopka7071]

Dibs on being the perverted one with tentacles!

[@lordook5413]

i dont need more tentacles

[@zeekfromthecreek]

At this stage in our evolution we may have good reason to fear what we may become.

[@NomisCasio]

@@zeekfromthecreek Great point! Let's focus on the becoming Goods part, because we can't do much against the "becoming Monsters" part.

[@Anacronian]

Whenever Arthur makes episodes like this I always remember the old tale. In the future a priesthood who is experiencing doubt build a computer the size of a city and ask it "is there a God?" - the computer does not know. Then they build a computer the size of a continent and ask it "Is there a God?" - again the computer does not know. Finally, the priesthood build a computer the size of a planet and ask it "is there a God" - and the computer answers "Yes, Now there is"

[@zacharyhandy9606]

Although you grammar is flawed you have a good point

[@TheMarrethiel]

I read a novella years ago, where someone asks the first AI, what is the meaning of life. The AI always replies, "I don't know, insufficient data." The story goes over many iterations where successively higher tech civilizations ask the same question. As the heat death of the universe approaches, and the distant ancestors of humanity float around as energy beings, the question is asked one last time. This time the computer, which is now stored outside this universe because it is so big, answers differently, "All data has been gathered, processing". The universe dies, the computer computes... after an undefinable time the computer says, "I have the answer, Let There Be Light."

[@6666shashank]

@@TheMarrethiel That's the last question by Isaac Asimov

[@TheMarrethiel]

@@6666shashank awesome. Thanks i need to re-read it to see how my recollection is.

[@Anacronian]

@Enclave Soldier My grammar is flawed because I'm a non-native English speaker, But at least I can spell grammar.

[@NotNewButYork]

Lovecraftian Horrors are always a matter of perspective: >wake up, see the eldritch being that you’re bound to >your parents said that it was around even before they were born and before their parents were born >eldritch being looks unlike all other beings you have encountered, walks twistedly on it's hind legs, has no fur and no tail but covers itself in strange things, some look like the skins of the dead >resistance is futile, as the elders told that those who rebel are never seen again. >you know your job and take the strange object that arrives every morning to your master, it has no apparent value to you, yet the master seems to devour it with his mind. >master is very powerful, can make water appear from nowhere and make the sun rise and set, has magical powers that make caves move so that you are somewhere else when you step out >one time master took you to a place where you were tortured and transported through time, but he behaved like it was normal >you live in fear, but also reverence as the eldritch being feeds you, shelters you and helps you. >why? >what does it want from you? >what could it ever gain from your presence? >does it simply revel in your futile existence or is there a deeper meaning incomprehensible to you? >be doggo Two days later doggo found out that sausages are the meat of an animal stuffed into it‘s own intestines. Figuratively devouring itself only to be eaten in turn. The gods have a twisted sense of humor...

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

I’m stealing this.

[@NotNewButYork]

@@TheNightWatcher1385 Got a notification for the old post, glad you like it. Have the other perspective for the keks: Imagine one day you wake up and you hear the voices of the ants that forage in your backyard. They talk about work and their little goals in life. No one else hears them, so you become interested. At first you think you're mad, so you decide to put it to the test. One day you listen in and an ant begs for food, as she can't find any, so you take a sugar cube and put it next to her. She has never seen so much food and is genuinely thankful. You continue to fulfill the ant's little requests, as it means little to you, a piece of sugar here, a glass of water there... Soon the ants begin to have ceremonies and call for your favours, you find it endearing and go along with it. One day an ant has a strange request though. It asks to be the the most important ant in another ants life, that she would be the only one for them. You scratch your head. How would you do that? That's outside your power. Not wanting to end your experiment, you decide that the only way is to make the other ants go away. You lift the two ants out of the hive and put them somewhere else where no other ants are, surely this solves the problem. The beloved ant soon realises that this was because of the pact the first one made with you and begins to resent her and the first ant suddenly sees that boons from the gods may come at an unbearable cost, as both of them were now alone, without the hive, in the wilderness. You are happy though, since the only other option would have been to kill all the ants except the two and that would have been inhumane. The ants meanwhile don't even realise that that would have been the gruesome alternative, as you continue your experiment.

[@zohar9971]

Bruh lmao, 1 of the best greentexts I've seen and not even in 4chan

[@noneed4me2n7]

Yes they do if they even care at all

[@rsfakqj10rsf-33]

mind if i use this to introduce my friend into cosmic horror

[@ThirdCydonian]

“Burning down the town just to snort the ashes.” Yeah, definitely something Slaanesh would approve of.

[@k98killer]

"Now you got bulletproof bears runnin' around, raping your churches, burning your women."

[@kouron]

@@k98killer nice one

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

"snorting the ashes" sounds more like a Dark Eldar thing in my mind, they are dependent on consuming the misery of others to replenish their souls that are slowly being gnawed upon by Slaanesh.

[@RoastHardy]

Wheelie!!!

[@ianharrison5758]

@@RipOffProductionsLLC Fulgrim and the emperors children got bored of the siege of terra and i shit you not; rounded up civilians and turned them into a combination of the strongest warp viagra and cocaine combo you can think of.

[@Nukefandango]

Defiance in the face of entropy reminds me of an old 40k piece: Across the void of space men live as they have lived for millennia upon the sand, rock and soil of worlds bathed in the light of alien suns. So is Humanity's seed cast far and wide beyond the knowledge of Man, to thrive bitterly in the darkness, to take root and cling with robust and savage determination....we know that there shall be a new dawn and a new day when we will rise and the enemy will be driven into the darkness forever. Abhor the night, it is the light that endures!

[@tehbonehead]

I'll reply with a line more fitting of the topic... "Nothing is faster than light. Yet as fast as light travels, when it arrives, it finds the darkness was there first."

[@zemorph42]

Darkness will, eventually, prevail, but why let something trillions of years away depress you now? We have eons of abundant light and energy to enjoy in the meantime.

[@Nukefandango]

tehbonehead “And yet what is the dark, but the absence of light? It is nothing. Nothing. Nothing cannot harm me. So run. Hide. Fight, if you want, with all your hellish fury. It makes no difference. The sun is rising. The dawn is here at last.”

[@Nukefandango]

zemorph42 we’ll figure out how to ditch this lame universe for a new one by then.

[@zemorph42]

@@Nukefandango Maybe.

[@RJStockton]

Isaac Arthur when he saw the September poll winning topic: "I'm going to have to say the word 'horror' several times. Crap."

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Yup, and generally tested my thesaurus trying to use alternative words in the script :)

[@hellstormbishop2165]

@@isaacarthurSFIA I actualy feel quite pleased hearing you

[@anon2234]

@@isaacarthurSFIA Isaac Arthur Honestly, the speech impediment is a good thing for you. It separates you apart from KZbinrs that can afford someone with oratory training or radio training like I've had who know what to listen for in their speech and know what to avoid when they speak. It gives you a lot of genuine personality through your voice that you wouldn't get if you didn't have that speech impediment. For you it's definitely a gift, not a hindrance. I speak better than most people... But... If we were face to face on camera with millions of people watching you would make me look very stupid. Knowledge is what makes the man.

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

@@isaacarthurSFIA Some youtubers get by because their voice is like audible chocolate. You got an audience because people get caught up in your genuine interest in sharing what you find cool with the rest of the world. That's something no amount of training or money can buy.

[@livedandletdie]

I can hardly hear his speech impediment either way, after all it's simple for the brain to learn speech patterns.

[@paulwalsh2344]

"The enemy usually isn't the great Old Ones themselves. Rather the battle is waged against those who gave into it and were corrupted by the resulting madness..." ... unfortunately a weak spot for humanity then and now...

[@TheRezro]

Speaking of the subject, people commonly miss the fact that eldritch creatures are in fact super-advanced aliens seen from perspective of Victorian man. Lovecraft was in fact one of fist who break from stereotype of humanized aliens and generic monsters.

[@carso1500]

@@TheRezro for primitive men anything can be a god, just imaginé what modern humanity would look to our ancestors, what would a Román, a greek, a mesopotamian, an ancient egipcian or chinese think if he watched an object rising to the nothhingness a top a pilar of fire faster than any bird leaving the confinments of our planet, buildings that scratch the clouds, palaces that float in the sky, weapons capable of destroying an entire civilization on a single strike, machines that travel around the world at ufatomable speeds, little mirrors that gave you access to the vastest library ever created instantly and wherever you are They would probably thing that all those were created by the gods themselves because trully such wonders could not be deviced by the imperfect hands of man, and yet, we live in an age of wonders, we have accomplished feats that were used to only be given to the gods, who knows what else can we accomplish if we venture to the stars

[@TheRezro]

@@carso1500 True. And that isn't even a theory: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppK3kJabpMuBZtk&t=316

[@carso1500]

@@TheRezro yeah, it's actually from there (not the vídeo but from those cargo cults) that i grabbed the idea, we have real world evidence of primitive societies who have witnessed advanced technology and consider it that it came from the gods, it's even known that they believe that we didnt created the airplanes, but simply stealed them from the skies Imaginé what an ancient tribe would have believed if you flew over them on an f-35 and launched a bomb or a missile at the ground and then leave, they would obviously believe that the metal bird is done kind of powerful god capable of untold destruction, god, i want to know what all those primitive tribes on the amazonas think of the helicopters that sometimes fly over their heads, do they even know they are manned or thibk it's some bizarre animal

[@TheRezro]

@Spectral Arts True. But many people still missing one important detail about Lovecraft. He was pulp-SW writer. Eldritch abominations are what they are from perspective of Victorian man. But they actually always were aliens as what they actually are. A inhuman being way above us. Dangerous but also not actually hostile. We nowadays are far better in understanding those.

[@sosig6445]

Well the takeaway from warhammer 40k isn't the nihilism in fact, the entire point is that mere mortals are holding back demons and gods, that despite the irresisteble powers of the cosmos, humanity due to it's determination and adaptability became so large that it simply cannot be beaten, troughout the entire lore every crisis was met with ever increased feats of heroism, every war brought unimaginable mobilisation and fervor. The only real concern WH40k empire faces, is wether or not their civilizations zealous clinging to life and their will to fight give birth to a new god just like how the eldar gave birth to slanesh, because if it is possible to reach such a breaking point they will and it will likely backfire. Imagine a new chaos god that puts khorne to shame, it won't rage endlessly like an ork as it was fed human war fervor and not mindless rage, it would be a cold stubbern god of death

[@Dudebox64]

This eventuality is implied in more recent lore I think, where the population of one planet managed to summon daemons that actually served the Emperor to fight off Chaos. The Emperor is effectively becoming a new chaos god. Even more interestingly, the partially canon Malal seems to serve as the Emprah's opposite here, like Khorne is to Slaanesh and Tzeentch is to Nurgle. Whereas the Emps is becoming a god of blind faith, religious zealotry, and boundless determination to cling to life, Malal is a god of Nihilism, Suicide, and Unbelief, and even more ironically may have been created by the Emperor in his attempt to starve the other Chaos gods through the Imperial Truth.

[@cthulhuhoops7538]

You forgot about the Tyranids.

[@ianharrison5758]

The warp is former by and fed by emotion and psychic energy. The chaos gods are essentially what happens when a black hole in the warp gains sentience, as the sheer amount of certain emotions became so huge they became a sentient singularity of energy, warping real space and the warp in the concert with the emotion in question. As long as they have fuel, the gods can’t be defeated, as their power grows exponentially in a near equal rate to its fuel. Chaos can never become more powerful than real spaces ability to feed it. Hypothetically, if there were a way to remove the races of 40ks influence from the warp entirely like the blackstone pylons shrouding the galaxy, but not kill most of them, as such an event would, then chaos would literally immediately sputter out. With its fuel gone, it collapses, it is not a structure of its own design, it is a byproduct. You could theoretically even take the shroud off, and as long as you don’t cause events that make those emotions generate to the extent of creating a singularity, you could free the galaxy of chaos and still be able to use it. Time is a wacky concept in the warp, so if there’s a time they reform in the future, then they already exist and simultaneously never existed at all. That’s just one of the various reasons why such a plan isn’t feasible as a chaos off switch, but a slower way of doing the same thing was possible. The webway is a dimension between real space that is connected to the warp but protected from it. If humanity moved inside it, not just used it to move around, then the chaos gods wouldn’t be able to feed off their emotions, the process of moving humanity inside the webway being the slow process that would kill the gods. That concept is why the dark eldar can still keep the orgy party that killed their race going 10k years later. Sinde eldar souls are a lot stronger than human ones, slaanesh can still reach them in a webway in a limited way, but human souls aren’t strong enough to worry about that, or won’t be until they are stronger than the dead gods are anyway That was the emperors plan, instead of laying that all out as the Imperial truth and had moving into the webway ready to go from the beginning, he lied about a lot of important shit to a lot of important people with a lot of deadly toys while eldrich entities knew what he was up to, and created the perfect weakness for chaos to strike at that big e should have clearly been able to see. He literally had all the correct pieces but not in the right place or time because he insisted his story be as biblical as possible, but there are no gods of course.

[@geordiejones5618]

To me the natural and tragic conclusion of WH40K is the Emperor re-emerging as the most powerful Chaos God yet seen. It would shatter humanity's resolve and it would crush the ambitions of everyone else, and the Emperor himself would try to make the best of it, but also feel hopeless as that's not the future he wanted.

[@trm7782]

But we already have an eldritch god, dark energy An eternal force, tearing the universe

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

:) I thought about mentioning that but we found it long after lovecraft

[@tariqahmad1371]

Isaac Arthur will you do a video on the plausibility of warhammer 40k Ork junk ships as well as any mad max style of space/star ships?

[@AtilaElari]

@@tariqahmad1371 Remember Asteroid Mining episode a while back? Our protagonist's ship was exactly that - a bunch of modules slapped together with the ductape, so crappy it fell apart on a magnetic slingshot. Once you are out of the gravity well, there are only 3 requirements for a spaceship - have engine, have fuel, and have the centre of thrust aligned with the centre of mass. Everything else is optional.

[@zeekfromthecreek]

A gibbering, mindless god. Yup, that's Lovecraft alright.

[@kevincrady2831]

@@AtilaElari Needs to have life support (radiation shielding, spin gravity, sustainable supplies of breathable air, food, water, etc.) too, if it's carrying any canned apes.

[@McHaven07]

"If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. The smallest act of kindness can be the greatest thing in the world."

[@klusimo4543]

I get what you want to say but you said it incorrectly. If "what we do" does not matters, then by that very same definition what does matters excludes "what we do". I prefer this way to say the message: "Because nothing we do matter, we find our own meaning that matters to us"

[@Hurdurdur369]

Always some idiot who has to try to make himself feel smarter then everyone else 🙄 he quoted it fine

[@rsfakqj10rsf-33]

@@klusimo4543 But it is more poetic the other way though

[@klusimo4543]

@@Hurdurdur369 dude chill out, youre the one trying to fan the flames here, my comment was my opinion.

[@klusimo4543]

@@rsfakqj10rsf-33 both are quite poetic

[@TheAlienmorph]

"Slaneesh AIs" ? I've heard of worse Fermi Paradox solutions...

[@avonacolyte]

It gets worse?!

[@LordAlacorn]

Where can I get one... for science.

[@khhnator]

i for one welcome our Slaneesh ai overlord

[@jhoughjr1]

12 inches at a time

[@Deridus]

Tzeentch protect us... Failing that, Gork an' Mork!

[@2Potates]

"Next thing you know you're burning down villages just to snort the ashes." -Isaac Arthur

[@RedStefan]

It's hellova drug

[@igncom1]

My experience with games has been the opposite. You start with the pillaging and acts of inhumanity, and end by fishing for npc villagers and baking pies.

[@roccodebellis2946]

These thoughts given to you by Cthulhu.

[@HansLemurson]

"Thanks to Audible.com, I was able to listen to the Necronomicon read aloud by the original author!"

[@WadcaWymiaru]

Meh, he is just an youtuber. The REAL *Yog-Sothoth* follower is ME! Pray wit me!

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

"CPULHU FHTAGN" - the only comment in the first strong A.I. software

[@cyberbob420]

We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. H. P. Lovecraft

[@stevenhetzel6483]

And single celled organisms weren't "meant" to capture mitochondria, resulting in an explosion of evolution that literally resulted in them leaving their own vast sea after eons. And, yet, here we are. It's likely we will need to evolve as well to brave the inky black expanses, if only mentally and socially. But we, unlike our single celled predecessors, can remain what we are.

[@ominous-omnipresent-they]

It wasn't meant we should fly either, but that didn't stop us.

[@sarcasticmaniac628]

My family is yelling for me to cast this on the tv. You’ve gained new fans.

[@_nebulousthoughts]

You should keep them hahaha

[@Mdautkreix]

Are y’all adopting?

[@jackw9762]

"If a pestilence wipes out our society its grounds to find a cure and build up 10 times better" ur a beacon of hope Isaac, lets hope things end up ten times better

[@adams13245]

We need that in this dark year of 2020.

[@stevenhetzel6483]

But if it doesn't wipe us out bureaucrats will find a reason to erase regulations that prevented us from being wiped out in the first place, citing a lack of need for it. See: the Trump administration.

[@ominous-omnipresent-they]

Issac's a techno-optimist; he understands.

[@philyeary8809]

Sounds like build back better🙄

[@bobinthewest8559]

How could things possibly get any better than THIS???

[@nickwalker4936]

Not what I’m usually used to, which is a good thing.

[@k98killer]

So are you occasionally used to it?

[@johnathanmonsen6567]

"If a plague wipes out my civilization -- " 6 months later: Hey wait a minute...

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

United we stand against an enemy of unusual size: smaller than the others, yet deadly. Make Lovecraft, not Warcraft!

[@ziril3972]

HMMMMMMM

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

6 months? More like 2 weeks.

[@sponge1234ify]

@@achtsekundenfurz7876 aaaaaaaaaaaa

[@FirstRisingSouI]

This is one of my favorite SFIA episodes. Not just science, but the humanities too. Awesome!

[@erichawman8483]

I recently reread Lovecraft, and was struck by how he clearly inspired science fiction, when he is usually more associated with horror. It seems like the horror aspect comes from our encountering the unknown, or facing creatures not aligned with our purposes. But much of his work can be better understood in a science fictional view: The (Great) Old Ones were earlier alien civilizations, some of them billions of years older than us; Lovecraft was simply the first writer to explore what that meant, that these aliens had been through our phase of advancing technology millions of years ago and reached an end state where they had mastered all the secrets of the universe, giving them godlike powers. Those identified properly as the Elder Gods were a different sort of being entirely, creatures from/rooted in higher dimensions, who might have caused the Big Bang or shaped the development of our early universe, and who are still available to beseech for unnatural or supernatural effects. Some aliens, such as the Mi-Go, maintain(ed) a presence on Earth as late as the 1920's, hanging out in thinly populated areas. The discovery of elder ruins in Antarctica and Australia in the 1930's promised to change history with much learned from the records and artifacts of the Old Ones. There would still be horrors ahead, but mostly of the more mundane sort, of man's inhumanity to man, while knowledge of the entities that governed space and time, the true supernature, would be much less unsettling to generations that grew up with it. The madness of nineteenth-century minds confronting Deep Time was simply a vulnerability of their smaller minds to shock in the face of highly unexpected revelation.

[@DFX2KX]

This is a VERY interesting take on Lovecraft. I too like works that are Antithetical to my own world view as well. It makes one think critically about their own worldview.

[@bxmully]

I always say a fasttrack to expanding ones views is to actively listen to or learn about what one disagrees with. "That which you need most is where you least want to look."

[@ryantwombly720]

The grim, unfeeling universe: “Foolish mortals. No one can make a talk about Lovecraft uplifting.” Isaac Arthur: “Hold my beah.” 😃😃😃

[@timohakamaki829]

At first glance I read "Lovecraftian uplifting". Now I'm thinking of uplifting the octopi by attaching them as just a head for the rest of the whole... thank you!

[@hypervious8878]

Haha kick ass comment!

[@KaktitsMartins]

Nope, its not uplifting for me at all. It just further shows the pointlessness of it all.

[@KevinMcScrooge]

@@KaktitsMartins ok

[@attilathenun]

I read that in IA's voice. Rmemeber when he used to apologize for it at the start of every video?

[@seanbrazell6147]

The Imperial Inquisition approved this video.

[@tariqahmad1371]

Yep

[@tariqahmad1371]

Wonder if Isaac Arthur would come out with a video on religious aliens, maybe even murder happy crusading aliens

[@zeekfromthecreek]

More likely they'd ban it.

[@punctuationman334]

tariq ahmad so halo?

[@squirlmy]

@@tariqahmad1371 I think it's not really applicable, since we can't know how aliens might organize beliefs. It could be that God-centered religion is purely a human phenomenon. Plus, defining "religion" can be difficult. Buddhism can be more of a "psychology" than religion, Confucianism: sociology, Shinto: more like folk tradition. And what about "unorganized religions" like shamanism? Defining "religion" could easily take up an entire video before making alien references at all, which would essentially be a big question mark anyways.

[@HolyKoolaid]

"The struggle to exist and exist properly is it's own reward."

[@nealsterling8151]

Well, it's not like there where many options.

[@Wayoutthere]

@@nealsterling8151 Oooh cheer up will ya? :P

[@gillianlovell9578]

*its*

[@spindle7397]

literally read this as he said it haha

[@TheSkullConfernece]

Once you leave the theist sphere, futurism may be an inevitable side effect, huh?

[@Jameson1776]

Have a good ThankArthurs day those in the U.S.A. Have a good day as well to those of other nations. Thank Isaac Arthur for shareing his thoughts and views of the possible future.

[@eddiehoney7166]

It’s strange to hear someone speak so eloquently while not pronouncing the r. Great video man

[@5D3B1]

Ed Lamont I am wondering if English isn’t his second language. World is a famously difficult word for foreign speakers to learn.

[@cwdiode4521]

Erik Walker what sadistic doctor named a condition of not being able to pronounce Rs, which has an r in it.

[@whitethunderclap451]

I think you mean, “not pwonouncing the aowwh” I’m going to hell. This is a great video. I’m sorry.

[@malaizze]

@@cwdiode4521, the same guy who named the lisp.

[@flingflang69]

He's mentioned in previous videos that he has a speech impediment.

[@mikeman7918]

“Hopefully we won’t [...] be eaten by space kraken on the trip” Is that a reference to Kerbal Space Program?

[@mj6463]

mikeman7918 damn you kraken! 🤣

[@red_nikolai]

Thank you, I was confused about that line.

[@davidh9354]

@Jonathan Stiles how does it acquire or absorb nutrients?

[@absalomdraconis]

@@davidh9354 : All attempts to enquire resulted in dismemberment before any potential answers could be transmitted. However, Jeb swears that the kracken is snow-white & wrinkled, with stripes of grey in some areas, so at least there's that (feel free to ask him about it, they finally got the harpoon away from him).

[@davidh9354]

@@absalomdraconis ... is that an answer to my question or am I missing something? Or a reference of some kind?

[@williamlazenby314]

I've been going through a very tough time and listening to your videos has helped keep my mind from dwelling on things while I go to sleep. Thank you for making such great videos.

[@user-rm1jp6hf5h]

Nevermind being scared of space. What about hounds coming out of your corners?

[@zeekfromthecreek]

Well, yeah. That sounds like the Hounds of Tindalos. It's been years since I read that story.

[@squirlmy]

Hounds of Tindalos kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXjGppKlZbWHa7c

[@miguelpereira9859]

@@squirlmy Did Lovecraft wrote that story

[@metzen0]

And your knees.

[@khalnetherfields7263]

theyre just called that, they dont actually look anything like hounds. but yeah were going to have to build everything with no straight angles now, so effectively living in donut shaped structures.

[@danielbakergill]

*"entropy is love"* *"what was, shall be."* *repeats*

[@michaelchaney2336]

Life is more efficient than entropy. Negative entropy is possible but requires complexity equivalent or near living.

[@ColdHawk]

+Comrade Dan ~ That will eventually degrade to: *”what was entropy,”* *“shall be what love is.”* *regrets*

[@StarboyXL9]

Ah. I see your a man of the Worm as well... Worm Hugs for everyone!

[@MySerpentine]

What shall be was

[@sharonw3084]

But love backwards is the correct meaning.

[@osaifhsomething9072]

Isaac Arthur video on Lovecraft? I love it already

[@richardgreen7225]

Most horror movies are optimistic: The giant monster is eventually overcome by those who struggle and resist.

[@Shenaldrac]

The thumbnail was ominous until I realized it was just the silhouette of the creature from My Neighbor Totoro. He'll protect us from the colors out of space!

[@zeekfromthecreek]

I thought it was an ex-coworker.

[@generationm2059]

That's the thing about sapients such as humans, we often defy what the universe and nature expects of us: They expected creatures to focus on just reproduction and survival, we sapients expand our horizons to include entertaining ourselves and passing on stories through art, literature, and music, examining existence through science, and finding our meaning and purpose through religion and philosophy. They expect creatures to be locked in whatever environment they'd evolved in but we invented a variety of clothing and gear to help us survive different environments and even in space, where no other multicellular that we know of visited. They expected creatures to be slaves to their environments and its inhabitants but we sapients invented ways of changing and adapting it to fit our needs. They expected creatures to live in constant terror of getting eaten by their predators but we sapients have invented ways to not only making them back off but rise to the top as the most dominant predators. They expected creatures to live forever in a state of mind where they are forced to come to terms with their pitiful existence and accept whatever comes their way but we sapients with our hopes and dreams not only choose to thrive but to *excel*. I suppose there's a safe bet that there will always be people who would rather die than to be made to be insignificant.

[@silverhawk7324]

Never have I had this much anticipation for an episode.

[@JeffreyMiller786]

There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

[@mrpieceofwork]

Reads IA's words "if that nihilistic and grim view of reality was correct." * shudders *

[@awb07d]

An AI that could truly comprehend such a statement would commit suicide with such action being the most rational choice it could make

[@txorimorea3869]

@@awb07d Not if it can see Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

[@Curry-tan-]

Today, Thanksgiving 2019 (USA), I'm thankful that Isaac released a video with a skeptical, constructive, approach to cosmic horror. I like a lot of tropes Lovecraft popularized as well as other dark storytelling like the Black Company, and I acknowledge Lovecraft has some crafty prose, but the nihilistic tone gets boring. Life or sanity itself may be unable to fight against the tides of eternity, but the fight is worth it. Thanks SFIA, this video made my day.

[@thejurassicwarewolf3300]

i always found optimism more boring than pessimism

[@theworstcatholic7247]

@@thejurassicwarewolf3300 Then you've been looking at the wrong optimism, "Life is full of possibilities, while death is just so final."

[@rachel_rexxx]

The artwork selection in this one is top-notch. 🐙

[@frederickstabell3796]

I’ve always found nihilism and our cosmic smallness to be the best reasoning to be optimistic, WE are the ones who get to shape what has meaning for ourselves, and carve a happier future out of uncaring reality. I think that’s inspiring, not depressing

[@Midnightv]

"A Colder War" - Charles Stross Some light and appropriate reading for this topic

[@SolarShado]

Is that the one that could be a dark, alternate timeline to his Laundry Files universe?

[@ironsnowflake1076]

You are an eternal optimist Mr. Arthur ;) BTW, cosmic horror is my absolute fave, something about the thought of "the great old ones" lurking behind the scenes, tentacles on the controls, just puts a smile on my face (and a shudder in my heart) 👍👏🌌

[@kyrerymmukk7446]

Nothing like a little Cosmic Horror to start off my Thanksgiving day the right way 🦃😁🦑👽

[@ianyboo]

"but also the outliers and they are infectious inspiring others to dream big..."

[@lololman]

The last time I was this early..... the Old Gods weren't old..... I'll show myself to the door.

[@michaelchaney2336]

The old ones of current deities were scarier and now better hidden by current deities.

[@dubuyajay9964]

Ok Great Old One.

[@michaelchaney2336]

Old ones have telepathic fields so strong they provide all the electric field necessary to satisfy the need to eat, drink, and breathe. For in the endless ages they sleep until even death will die.

[@alonelyperson6031]

@@michaelchaney2336 Is it possible to learn this power ?

[@michaelchaney2336]

We have demons for a reason and demons have a purpose that is useful against old ones. I would be surprised if a world like ours ever struggled with the old ones while demons are still active.

[@horuslupercal5437]

Warhammer 40k truly is an amazing body of works. I’m so glad that I recently subbed to your channel. Thank you so much for all you do, sir.

[@crsmith6226]

I love this darker tone, it’s amazing, you should do more of it! :)

[@grantsamson2384]

You know, a nightmare machine ai project that took in suggestions from people on various horror stories, with people grading the "scariness" of those various stories as training, could create an ai that could produce some really horrific stuff.

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

An AI potencially could recognized the pattern of a horror story, and maybe produce the similar thing. But its essence that embody something like 'angst', 'dread', and 'uncanny', that's existential in nature need a self-awareness because its an experience of the human condition.

[@grantsamson2384]

@@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123 If you had testers which could accurately flag those things you could probably do it. You would likely need to have separate patterns to detect dread, angst, and uncanny, and the ai could generate patterns similar to that, thought it wouldn't understand why. The biggest hurdle would be the selection bias of the testers and the selection of the horror categories themselves (angst and dread seem a bit similar, for example).

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Even if the AI could pass the Turing test, it would still struggle to outdo 4chan

[@Elliandr]

@@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123 People thought that about chess, and poker, and music. AI did it. People even thought that about video, and now AI can replace a murderer's face in a video with your face along with an audio rendering admitting to the crime and then use it as blackmail. If you don't pay the AI will send the video to the police. How's that for dread? And if you think that's unrealistic, ransomware that plants evidence already exists, AI can swap images and say things in your voice, and given how the courts still thinks that DNA is a silver bullet despite DNA transfer and fabricated DNA evidence being a thing of course the video created by AI would absolutely convict you despite these realities. And if AI can create the perfect crime and ruin your life personally, why couldn't it make you feel existential dread through a simple story?

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

@@Elliandr you missed my point, I'm not doubting AI capacity to construct evidence or even reality. Beside you point out that we feel dread because of what AI can do, instead of what AI can tell to you in a form of story similar to human author composed. To feel existential dread is you had to become being like human. An AI that able to contemplate its own existence, here I'm referring to Heidegger's philosophy about Dasein (his term for human being, existentially) that ontologically different from being as entity that just there all over the place without ever noticing and recognizing its own existence. Of course I aware that we alre already heard this kind of theme like the recent games Detroid Became Human, or Bladerunner. Again, not because in its very essence is an operation of cold logic and codes that an AI are being constituted. But because that AI is designed as antromorphic as possible, as far as it can formulate this metaphysical question: "what is mean to be a human?" From here I believe that less antromorphic AI, or non-human and alien like AI can only simulate afformentioned feeling from every available data, not from direct experiencing in similar manner to a human.

[@hthytrgh]

Happy Thanksgiving!! Indeed to all the SFIA folks!!

[@corinaking2052]

This is my favorite KZbin channel, bar none. I'm also a big fan of Lovecraft, and have taken inspiration in my own writing, of which you have helped with immeasurably.

[@jeremysolo4972]

Woohoo, shout out for Moorcock's Elric and greater Eternal Champion series.

[@happyhammer1]

Apparently there's an Elric of Melnibone television show coming down the pipes. Out of all the Conan homages or parodies Elric is the only one I like as much as Conan.

[@jeremysolo4972]

@@happyhammer1 i just saw that article the other day an am excited! I agree, Elric may b3 a Conan knock off in effect, but was done so straight forward and different enough that he stands on his own. Another of Moorcock's ET series is gwtting a BBC show, Mad God's Amulet (thr first book, cant temember the series name lol).

[@happyhammer1]

@@jeremysolo4972 I wouldn't say he is a conan knockoff, he is like the inverse of conan and that was purposeful.

[@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer]

Hawkmoon? Ah, History of the Runestaff.

[@jeremysolo4972]

@@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer yeeessss, how could i forgwt (brain fart). Hawkmoon. Tho its BBC... Hahaha

[@MrFusionCube]

I love how the ambience makes familiar Isaac Arthur concepts seem *ominous* and *dark* XD

[@HebaruSan]

The other side of the entropy coin is how astoundingly low the entropy of the universe was in the past and is today, compared to an equilibrium state.

[@Elliandr]

Life itself also delays entropy, and since the randomness of entropy can give rise to order just by random chance and order can give rise to life it seems plausible that as time moves forward the rate of entropy would slow more and more as more life develops. In fact, for local regions of space, life actually reverses entropy by creating order in that system even if the surrounding systems become less orderly as a result. Just be being alive we stave off the death of the universe. Incidentally though, we can use changes in entropy as a means of searching for alien life.

[@ggodsdogg]

Great take on Lovecraft. I dig your optimism. Keep up the good work and have a happy Thanksgiving.

[@indigofalkon8594]

The Black Company!!! I love that series.

[@gwills9337]

Many fall in the face of chaos, but not this one!... not today.

[@joethestrat]

For my long Thanksgiving drive to my parents house, a fresh IA is perfect! Have a great Turkey day everyone!

[@joshlewis575]

Drive safe! Enjoy yours too

[@RedStefan]

Not great day for turkeys thou

[@joethestrat]

@@RedStefan Welcome to apex predation. Sharks, big cats and bears feel no remorse. Even if our success is due to advanced tools/technology, that's simply how the animals known as humans have been able to compete with other species that wouldn't hesitate to wipe us out even to extinction.

[@happyhammer1]

It always bums me out that Lovecraft didn't get the acclaim he deserved while alive. He is the father of modern horror and sci-fi horror.

[@lillyanneserrelio2187]

Classic artist treatment. Apart from faking his death, his only option back then would be cutting off an ear for some infamy.

[@TheRezro]

Technically he is broadly misunderstand even today, so we still need time for him to be fully acknowledged, as meme-lord heard isn't really that relevant. Simplest test... is Cthulhu important? Proper answer is... fuck no!

[@MySerpentine]

@@TheRezro Cthulhu too is just a dot on a dot . . .

[@TheRezro]

@@MySerpentine He is generally middle tier mentioned in basically one popular story. There are far important recurring players in Lovecraft stories then him, like Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep (speaking of which one is benevolent, but ignoramus and another understand humans, but is an asshole). Sadly most people praise Lovecraft, when didn't even read summary of his stories.

[@MySerpentine]

@@TheRezro Exactly. And when your top tier (Azathoth) is the entity that dreams the universe, literally everything else winds up looking like a speck in comparison.

[@wscott267]

I was excited when I heard about this episode and have been looking forward to it for weeks. It did not disappoint. Excellent. Bravo Issac Bravo.

[@metallhead120]

I love your work, Isaac. I admire you profoundly. You make my depression and my hunger for knowledge much easier to overcome. I really hope this channel goes on forever!!

[@lobster-music]

AI destroying civilization by listening to our darkest wishes -> should have mentioned 'forbidden planet' :)

[@soreff]

Many Thanks! - I was thinking of the Krell machine too at that point in the episode.

[@MatthewCampbell765]

Incidentally, I actually would say that this is somewhat plausible if the AI was especially poorly designed. There is precedent of at least one AI spouting Nazi propaganda after being told to listen to people on the internet.

[@Silhalnor]

Yus; our eldritch god is our Id.

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

@@Silhalnor Not really. Jung was christian so he assumed our animal instincts are inferior and treated them as such by combining multiple concepts into the Id thus corrupting it with his perspective. Its nature to sin, christianity says. Lovecraft was an atheist, he prolly saw christians as cultists and so made the stories as he perhaps also felt surrounded by madmen. But anyways, Carl is wrong albeit groundbreaking. Reason being is people simply crave certain neural responses. If they crave dark things they know dark things and treat themselves darkly already. Like self flagellating puritans who end up tying sexuality to pain stimuli because it was so frequently combined. Dark desires are a result of modern society, not an instinct we are born with. Instincts are more basic, they just crave certain stimuli patterns to attempt to increase survival rate, they don't care what the actions really are. What cares IS the ego, the part of the mind that can fantasize. Thats where our 'darkest wishes' are and what they are.

[@squirlmy]

@@mimszanadunstedt441 Freud invented the concept of "Id", not Jung, and Freud was a Jewish atheist. Lovecraft was brought up in a very Protestant tradition. I don't think he imagined himself "surrounded by cultists" when he was brought up in a family of the same tradition, in WASP New England. You seem to be putting way too much faith in your own idiosyncratic ideas. I suggest you reign in your own ego. You're way too pleased with your own ideas.

[@dustaone8521]

This seems like it must of been a tricky episode to do, especially with the juxtaposition of Isaac's optimism and the nihilistic nature of Lovecraft's work.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Not really. It only appears to be, at least to minds who think that "of" is a verb.

[@dustaone8521]

@@achtsekundenfurz7876 What?

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

@@dustaone8521 Just read it again

[@dustaone8521]

@@achtsekundenfurz7876 Your comment doesn't make any sense as a reply to what I said. You're talking nonsense.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

@@dustaone8521 As if your "What?" made any sense, either...

[@TRquiet]

“I enjoy Lovecraft’s books, but I disagree with his views,” is a good stance to take, and not just to refute his nihilism.

[@rgama1173]

Yes

[@jasonbelstone3427]

...Nihilism?

[@gilla2092]

@@jasonbelstone3427 that life is meaningless, the rejection of religion and moral compass or principles

[@magneticstorm1]

Yes his racism was repugnant.

[@Wawelman]

If you enjoy his books, you enjoy his racism too. Because it's in his books 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@lukasmakarios4998]

You have the best segues from show to advertising of anyone I watch on KZbin. Two sentences to show relevance and set up the recommendation. Slick indeed, my friend. Good job! It surely breaks the old mode of saying, "And now a word from our sponsor." LOL

[@RinoaL]

I really like the story of Final fantasy XIV where the gods are synthetic creatures summoned by an ancient race. makes you wonder if we could create our own supernatural beings.

[@jacobjorgenson9285]

Humanity is corrupt and should never play with such powers, and yet that's what we are doing

[@salimahmad1504]

Mass Effect mythos!

[@seanpeters7284]

Would a quantum computer that can converse with it's counterparts in parallel universes suffice?

[@outofcontext728]

We cant break the laws of physics so smart? Yes, omnipotent? No.

[@outofcontext728]

@@seanpeters7284 there called parallel universes for a reason do you know what parallel means?

[@warren286]

Seeing monsters in the unknown dark is a survival trait.

[@freezatron]

How on earth did I miss the spaceship design competition ?!??!!! Could you do a bonus episode with a gallery of the entrants you liked most please ? Maybe you could do a Lego building comp & get a sponsorship from Lego ? :)

[@patatustefan]

I’m here since ~30K and have religiously watched EVERY SINGLE EPISODE ever released. This episode is the most important yet! Thank you, Isaac Arthur! You outdid yourself yet again.

[@swargpatel7634]

Just gained a new subscriber👍🏾. I just started watching your videos and realized that you include so much information in all your videos, and you upload pretty frequently too, the best of both worlds!

[@_nebulousthoughts]

His videos are the best

[@swargpatel7634]

Nebulous Thoughts They really are

[@earthborn8385]

Fantastic. I was specially love the mention of Elric of Melnibone.

[@TCBYEAHCUZ]

I think warhammer 40k does a good job and portraying lovecraftian monsters and demonic entities the best in a futuristic setting in the post modern era.

[@YggisKosmosweltraumdokus]

I read "The color form Space", and I immediately was captured by Lovecraft's writing. And, additionally, I was kind of terrified. This story gave me goosebumps all the way :o

[@Lukegear]

A very special episode indeed!

[@finlockhart4572]

So glad to have found this channel! I can leave a lot of video essays running in the background without paying attention to them, but yours always engage me and keep me paying attention.

[@smithologist5272]

Gobble Gobble Happy Arthanksgiving everyone!

[@ivoryas1696]

27:25 This *_truly_*_ has_ been Science and futurism with Isaac Arthur. 😌

[@StarboyXL9]

I envy you Isaac. I used to be like you, then I saw my first Shoggoth.

[@happyhammer1]

I read some of the correspondence between Robert E Howard and HP lovecraft that was included in a weird tales anniversary addition and it was just as interesting as their stories. Two titans of their respective genres right there.

[@kevincrady2831]

The irony: our genial host's dream civilization would probably terrify Lovecraft more than any of his tentacle monsters ever did. Ol' H.P. was deeply racist, even for his own time. Anyone who didn't fit into a very narrow conception of "white" (basically, Yankee WASP of English descent) was "tainted" in some way. For him, it wasn't such a big jump from a mixed-race child to the discordant piping of accursed flutes. So now, imagine your favorite Isaac Arthurian Mighty Deed: a Dyson Swarm, a Shellworld, a Solar System colonized from the Sun itself to the Oort Cloud, and think about the people there, from Lovecraft's perspective. Humans, A.I.s, combinations thereof, Uplifted animals, engineered life forms and so on who have long had the technology for complete morphological and psycho-technological freedom, inhabiting titanic structures that dwarf the Earth, in numbers so vast as to be incalculable, with lifespans to make Time stop fearing the Pyramids. He'd run for the squirming embrace of Cthulhu in a heartbeat.

[@Phenixtri]

Personally I find it funny that those like you with a holier than thou political correctness love to bash lovecraft as a racist yet they sure as Hell don't mind profiting of off, indulging inn and perverting his work .....

[@kevincrady2831]

@@Phenixtri So you're suggesting that only racists should get to write stories about cosmic tentacle monsters? I couldn't help but notice that you did not even deny that Lovecraft was an extreme racist, much less demonstrate that to be the case. Your outrage only emerges when someone opposes racism, which offers a pretty strong indication of where your sympathies lie.

[@adams13245]

@@Phenixtri How exactly does one "pervert" existential dread of god alien... things whose very nature causes those that see them to go mad? Wouldn't the exact opposite of utter doom and meaninglessness be hope and purpose? That sounds like a great "perversion."

[@KriticalKoitus]

I'm gonna say it: "H.P. Lovecraft's cat"

[@cookieninja2154]

Never been this early O_O Happy Arthursday everyone^^

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

The idea of resisting only speeding up entropy fits the themes of 40k like how the Imperium is unintentionally feeding Khorne and Slaanesh with their constant wars and zealous behavior.

[@srogamina]

Oh, one more Azathoth description, I missed it composing my stuff.

[@ivoryas1696]

10:45 I guess most people just saw it coming given how comparatively """realistic""" it can be, but was honestly borderline shocked upon finding out, lol. And was surprised no-one else brought it up! 😅

[@n-wordaficianado2990]

Last time I was this early it was still called the Great War

[@JPFanBoy2]

"I don't know what the audience wants other than the title." Who else wanted to hear Arthur talk about Lovecraft's cat.

[@jimh5491]

In all his writings, I don't think Lovecraft ever sounded as happy as he did when he remembered the time spent playing with that cat in his parent's garden as a child.

[@pearsonmir]

My favorite video so far! I love that you can take a topic of cosmic horror but make it a hope filled conversation

[@NFawc]

7 comments supposedly made, but I seen none so I'm here all alone! SPOOOKY!

[@thedoruk6324]

+Neil You have been *chosen* as a sacrifice to appease our beloved space abominations

[@thedoruk6324]

@MrFedaykin Than let me assure you Yog Sothoth and the Darkness both laugh at him like the joke he is, poor Nyarlathoteph, family matters are harsh

[@zeekfromthecreek]

Those comments just traveled in time.

[@TJDK]

Elric was a childhood favorite that I still enjoy to this day. The antithesis of Conan in every way except will but arguably more powerful yet still is a pawn to fate (and Stormbringer). That is how I always think of Elric even to this day.

[@xavierlefebre1004]

Am I the only one absolutely terrified of the idea that we are the only intelligent life in the universe? Ad Astra wasn't the best movie, but I really enjoyed how it entertained the idea.

[@user-cz3yk5qf7m]

Xavier Lefebre While I’d definitely prefer a universe where we aren’t alone and there are other civilizations and cultures out there, Being alone simply means being the first. I don’t think that it’s too unreasonable to assume that life won’t arise elsewhere (possibly by our own creation) in the enormous amount of time between now and the death of the universe. This would mean that our roll would be that of an ancient, technologically advanced precursor civilization that could either act as caretakers of new civilizations or just be an exciting find for their archeologists. And I personally don’t see us being “the ancient ones” of our universe as a scary reality.

[@masochisticmeese3555]

I know there's not too much material to work with, but I love your voice so much I could listen to you talk about Eldritch Cosmic Horror all day

[@peng2816]

You know what, someone has to watch our fantastic amazing universe even if it is filled with alien gods.

[@thetravelerofworlds8359]

Positive Cosmicism. Using Lovecraft's concept of a vast and terrifying world where humanity is a tiny tiny dot in a universe of impossible to comprehend things and ancient beings and civilizations. But rather than looking out at this unfathomably ineffable vision of the universe and seeing horrors and terrors.... seeing wonders and infinite potential. Seeing beauty beyond the ability of humanity to truly appreciate, but also knowing that the effort to understand and appreciate that beauty, though an infinite journey, is just as beautiful and filled with wonders.

[@MightyTachikoma]

I find it interesting that you always have this positive outlook on post-scarcity civilizations, yet in all the books and Sci-Fi works, I don't think I've ever heard you reference Iain M. Banks' Culture Series. Especially when talking about benevolent AI, considering the Minds from that series are essentially mostly-benign overlords and the humans live in a post scarcity bliss where they just sort of live their lives. Have you ever ready any of those books? And if so, what do you think of them?

[@timothyboothe8345]

3:36 unbelievable. I saw that picture in person just last week.

[@jhoughjr1]

swimming sea of choas? sounds like some heresy to me.

[@MySerpentine]

FOR CHAOS

[@sting-raye8206]

MySerpentine EMPEROR*

[@travisporco]

Yay! another thing to be thankful for this Thursday!

[@jhwheuer]

Interesting choice of topic for Turkey Day.... hmmm. Humanity being carved like a turkey?

[@Ramiromasters]

Amazing... Arthur makes me feel nihilistic despair but then comes to a realization of hope and joy for life! of course only to elevate the stakes and crush you with more horror... That's ok because that itself was the catapult for the next hope and wonder for the future! What a ride, I love this show.

[@humiecrusher]

Might be playing my hand here but did the Slaanesh AI remind anyone else of "Friendship is Optimal"?