--- title: "Civilization #36: Memory of the Norse transcript" description: "Source-synced transcript archive for Civilization #36: Memory of the Norse." source_title: "Civilization #36: Memory of the Norse" published_at: "2025-03-06" source_class: "episode" public_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/" markdown_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.md" text_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.txt" source_url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY" data_url: "https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy.json" --- # Civilization #36: Memory of the Norse transcript - Source: [Civilization #36: Memory of the Norse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY) - Published: 2025-03-06, day precision - Human transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/) - Episode page: [/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/) - Transcript Markdown: [/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.md](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.md) - Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript.txt) - Episode JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy.json) ## Transcript ### 0:00 seg-0001 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0001` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0001](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0001) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=0s) Good morning. So today we continue the Vikings. And this morning we will look at their worldview, their cultural system. And as I mentioned last class, I do believe that the Viking culture is truly one of the outstanding cultures in Western civilization. The problem though is we know actually very little about the Viking culture. And there are certain reasons for that. The first reason is that they were purposefully an oral tradition. So it is our prejudice, it is our belief that a literary culture is superior to an oral tradition. It's harder to read and write. But what we forget is that when we transition from an oral tradition to a literary culture, we lose a lot in the process. Yes. And there are many cultures that have the capacity to read and write, but they chose not to because for them, it was much more important to preserve the oral tradition than it was to adopt a literary culture. ### 1:14 seg-0002 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0002` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0002](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0002) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=74s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=74s) And as I explained in today's lecture, there are many actually good reasons why you would want to preserve an oral tradition. That's the first reason. The Vikings were purposely an oral tradition culture. The second reason is that. Eventually, the Vikings would convert to Christianity. And in this conversion process, which would take generations, they had to abandon a lot of their tradition and heritage, including their mythologies and their historical memory. The Vikings were perceived as barbarians by the Christians. And because of the traumatic history of the Vikings, they were considered barbarians by the Christians. Viking encounters with Europe, there was an intention or purpose in trying to eradicate the Viking memory. Okay, so please keep in mind that we don't know that much about the Vikings. What we do know about the Vikings comes from two sources. The first is archaeology. We basically dug up their graves, some of their graves, not all of their graves, and through their graves we were able to reconstruct some of their culture. ### 2:38 seg-0003 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0003` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0003](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0003) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=158s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=158s) But the main source of our understanding is through Norse mythology. Unfortunately we only have a fraction of their entire mythology. Their mythology, it's vast, it's grand, it's epic, it's beautiful, but we only have a fraction of that. Unfortunately, over time, so many Vikings that we know of, they are actually banging the ground and they're Christian intellectuals want to sanctify or purify the Norse mythology because the Norse mythology is extremely violent and sexual and so they basically clean it up which means that a lot of what we have has been interpreted through Christian lens so please be careful about that okay so I will try my best to reconstruct the Viking worldview but please understand there are severe constraints and limitations and the way I will reconstruct the Viking worldview is by comparing contrasting it with other mythologies other civilizations ### 3:46 seg-0004 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0004` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0004](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0004) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=226s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=226s) other cultures and by using literary interpretation and ultimately by using my imagination okay so please take what I what I say with a grain of salt be skeptical be suspicious ask questions challenge me where you feel you need to okay all right so let's get started all right um let's look at the Viking tradition in contrast to the Greeks and the Romans okay so the Greeks how do they see the world remember um their idea of the community was the idea of the polis the polis is gives us our word for politics and the idea is that a community is a group of men only men who come together to debate and argue of the future of the community and as such the individual is someone who stands out okay the word they use is eudaimonia or arete okay eudaimonia means flourishing you can only flourish if you stand out among a group of men ### 5:01 seg-0005 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0005` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0005](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0005) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=301s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=301s) arete is proving your excellence among a group of men and so I'll give you two examples of this Greek worldview so the first is Achilles from the Iliad remember in the Iliad Achilles tells everyone I am in Troy to seek personal glory I don't care about the Greeks I don't care about Helen or Troy I don't care about what others think I to stand out I care about my own personal glory and that's why he's willing to let Hector and the Trojans almost destroy the Greek army okay so that's one example another example is from Herodotus his book histories and it has to do with the Athenian leader Themistocles okay so this is a year 480 BC and in the year 480 BCE the Persians are invading the Greek mainland Sparta Athens have united against the Persians the Persians burned down Athens and the Athenian people are on their ships and at this point the ### 6:18 seg-0006 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0006` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0006](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0006) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=378s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=378s) Spartans who are who is who are in command of the military the Athenians have a huge argument the Athenians want to challenge the Persians on the sea and defeat them and defeat their Navy the Spartans want to use their Navy to protect their homeland the Peloponnese against the Persian invasion and they cannot come to an agreement so what Themistocles does is he sends a spy a servant to the king of the Persians and tell him hey the entire Greek Navy is stationed in Salamis okay and but they're about to run away from you so here's a great chance to send your entire Persian Navy to crush the Greek Navy once and for all and that's what the king does and at the Battle Salamis the Athenians and the Spartans destroy the Persian Navy and churn the course of not only the war but of Western history because if the Persians had won that day then ### 7:28 seg-0007 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0007` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0007](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0007) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=448s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=448s) we would be living in a Persian influenced world and that's what the king does and so in the Persian as opposed to a Greek -influenced world, okay? But if you think about it, what Achilles and Phinexes are doing is what we would call sedition or treason or betrayal, okay? But that's just the Greek worldview. The Romans had a very different perspective. They understood community as fundamentally about tradition. And as such, the individual had to be pious to the tradition, had to be loyal to the tradition. They used the word piety. Now, in China, we have a concept called filial piety. Guys, this is very important, completely opposite, okay? In China, filial piety means obedience to your father. What your father says is right, okay? That's what it means. But in Rome, piety means loyalty to the traditions of Rome. So the classic example is Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar wanted to be king, and he was about to break a lot of Roman traditions. ### 8:46 seg-0008 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0008` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0008](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0008) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=526s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=526s) So his friends, including his biological son, Marcus Brutus, killed him. It was more important for Marcus Brutus to be loyal to the traditions of Rome than to be loyal to his father. Okay, so that's the Roman tradition. Then you have the Viking tradition. For the Vikings, and this is very interesting, the community is a set of stories, okay? And stories are not the same as tradition. Tradition is what is past. It is what is written down. Stories are memories that are living, that which a community tells about itself. And therefore, there is a flexibility. Okay? There is a flexibility to these stories. They can be reimagined over and over. The basic structure, the outline is the same, but the community has to constantly relive and reimagine these stories. And therefore, the individual is a person who acts out these stories, okay? Acts out these stories. And he acts out these stories by, either through ritual, either through adventure or exploration. ### 10:12 seg-0009 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0009` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0009](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0009) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=612s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=612s) Okay? So, this is a hard idea to understand. Okay? How is this different from the Roman tradition? But let me tell you a story to illustrate this Viking culture. Okay. So, 30 years ago, a long time ago, I was having lunch with a new friend. And he went to a very good school called Georgetown. It's based in Washington, D.C., and it's where Bill Clinton went, okay? This is where the, a lot of his friends, a lot of the Washington foreign policy elite go to school. And he told me that at Georgetown, there's a tradition, a competition among undergraduates. And the competition is who can go the furthest to do the most useless thing. And a lot of undergraduates participate in this competition. So, what my friend and his friend did was, one day, they got in a car, they drove 12 hours to Canada. ### 11:11 seg-0010 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0010` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0010](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0010) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=671s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=671s) The Canadian border. They crossed the Canadian border. Then they got out of the car and went into the forest to take a piss. Then they got back in the car and drove all the way back to Georgetown. They spent 24 hours driving so that they could take a piss in Canada. Okay? Now, you think, this sounds really stupid. But the most interesting thing about the story is that it is memorable. Right? Memorable. And what this means is that 50 years after they graduate from Georgetown, people will still remember what they did. Not only that, but they'll tell their friends, they'll tell their colleagues, they'll tell their children. So this memory will persist over time. No one should remember who got the best grades at Georgetown that year. No one should remember who had the most money, who made the most money in his or her life. Okay? But everyone should remember these ### 12:15 seg-0011 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0011` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0011](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0011) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=735s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=735s) two guys who got in their car and drove 24 hours just so that they can go to Canada to take a piss. All right? So that is Viking culture. It's not about winning glory or protecting tradition. It's about doing what is shocking, what is new, what will add to the imagination and the memory of the community. Okay? Does that make sense? All right. So their main memory is, of course, their mythology, Norse mythology. And Norse mythology, I would argue, is the greatest mythology in human history. We still have it today. Okay? You might have seen these Marvel movies, right? Thor, the Thor series. There are a lot of TV shows based on the Vikings. So the Viking culture, the Norse mythology, is still celebrated today. Okay? So let me explain to you why I would argue that Norse mythology is probably the greatest cosmological system we have. Okay. So first, it's grand. In this mythology, there are nine realms. ### 13:33 seg-0012 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0012` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0012](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0012) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=813s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=813s) Okay? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. And it's all connected by a world tree called Idrisel. Okay? No one knows what this world tree looks like, but it's basically the equivalent of God in this system. Okay? And in this, in Idrisel, there are three gods who control the fate and destiny of the world called Anans. Okay? So it's very grand and epic. Also, what's important to understand is there's nothing outside this universe. Okay? This is it. Second is that it's complete. What I mean by that is it has a beginning and it has an end. Okay? The beginning is there's a rift and from the rift steps a frost giant named Imar. And then comes a cow, a cosmic cow who then licks the ice and that releases another god who will eventually give birth to another god who will give birth to the three major gods including Odin. ### 14:43 seg-0013 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0013` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0013](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0013) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=883s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=883s) And these three major gods will kill Imar and from Imar's birth carcass they will build the universe. Okay? That's the beginning. But there's also an end and the end is what I call what's what they call Ragnarok. Ragnarok. And Ragnarok Ragnarok is the end of everything. It is a final battle between the gods who are called the Aesir. Okay? So Odin is the um Allfather the main god but and all children are called the Aesir. Okay? The Aesir will fight a final cosmic battle between them and their enemies. And in this final battle everything will die. Nothing will be left. Okay? Then that's it. Now as I mentioned the Christian uh tradition will take the story and adapt it for its own ends. So in the Christian tradition Ragnarok does happen but guess what? After the end of the world two humans a man and a woman will emerge from the destruction and reconstitute the world. ### 15:54 seg-0014 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0014` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0014](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0014) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=954s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=954s) Okay? That's the Christian tradition. In the Norse tradition in the Norse tradition everything ends. And you may think to yourself oh well this sounds extremely pessimistic. That's only because we're looking at it from our perspective. From the perspective of the Vikings the end of the world means that you must cherish every single day. Live with honor live with glory live with courage. Cherish every moment. Okay? And that's the idea. The third thing about Norse mythology is that it's unified. So all the characters everything that happens is contained within this mythology and contributes to development of this mythology. So this mythology not only includes gods but also includes humans. Okay? Who are champions of the gods. So there's a very famous story within this mythology between um a human named Sigard and a Valkyrie uh who is a servant of the gods named um Brumhilde. Um eventually what will happen is that there will ### 17:19 seg-0015 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0015` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0015](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0015) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1039s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1039s) be a very famous German composer named Wagner who will take the story of Sigard Brumhilde and this entire Norse mythology and construct something called a cycle which is the most famous opera in German history and this becomes one of the foundations of modern German culture. This Norse mythology will also become the inspiration for Tolkien's epic called Lord of the Rings. ### 17:48 seg-0016 - Speaker: UNKNOWN - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0016` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0016](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0016) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1068s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1068s) So ### 17:54 seg-0017 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0017` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0017](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0017) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1074s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1074s) these are the two most obvious examples of how Norse mythology um still impacts our world today. Okay? And as we go along the semester I will show other influences. Alright? So what Norse mythology is trying to do is create community among the Vikings and instill certain values. Okay? The three major values that these stories manifest and express are courage. The courage to explore the courage to seek what is new and unknown. To venture forth into the unknown. Because Vikings are mainly explorers and adventurers. Raiding is only a small part of their community. Okay? Second is the idea of loyalty. And this is a very important concept. When you go out on your adventures you usually go out with your brothers your friends. Okay? It's like a band of brothers. You have to be willing to die for them. You have to die for each other. If the survival of the group requires you to make the ultimate sacrifice you have to do so. ### 19:17 seg-0018 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0018` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0018](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0018) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1157s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1157s) Okay? Loyalty. Loyalty means love for each other. It does not mean obedience. Remember, in the Viking world it is very egalitarian. There's very little hierarchy. Okay? There are high status people but they're high status because they're proving themselves worthier than the others because they're braver because they're stronger because they're more clever. Okay? The last Viking value is resourcefulness. So the idea here is when you venture off into the unknown you cannot know what to expect. You can't plan ahead. You can't be strategic. So you can only be resourceful meaning you must respond to the danger as it arises. what we call quick -witted. You have to have street smarts. Okay? So these are the three main values or ideas that Norse mythology is trying to express and instill in the people. Okay? So that's a general introduction to Viking culture. Now what I will do is I will provide evidence and examples for this argument. ### 20:33 seg-0019 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0019` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0019](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0019) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1233s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1233s) Okay? Alright. But first of all let's do the PPT and look at the evidence and the examples. Okay. Alright. The Viking worldview. Alright. First thing I need you guys to understand is that every culture every society fundamentally asks itself three questions that this painting from Paul Gauguin captures. Okay? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Every culture is trying to grapple with these three questions. Paul Gauguin I'm not sure if you know who he is. He is a very famous French artist. He started off actually as a financier a stockbroker and then he basically became disgusted with the material lifestyle of modern society. So he got on a boat and went to Tahiti where he painted. He interacted with the natives and through this inaction he began to grapple with what it means to be a human. What is the human project? And what he ### 21:47 seg-0020 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0020` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0020](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0020) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1307s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1307s) believes and what most actually anthropologists believe is to be human is to ask these three questions. Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Okay? And that's ultimately what Norse mythology is trying to grapple with as well. Okay. So again we know our evidence our understanding of the Vikings comes from archaeology. So we are able to dig up their graves. And what we discover is and it's very interesting is that each grave is unique. Okay? And it seems that each grave in its own way is telling a story about who this person is. It's like this grave was not meant just to send this individual into the afterworld but also to remember him or her and his or her achievements and life. Okay? So let's look at some reconstruction of these graves. Okay? And as you can see this woman is buried with tools an arrow as well as a dead horse. ### 23:04 seg-0021 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0021` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0021](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0021) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1384s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1384s) So we're not able to reconstruct her story but obviously those who knew her knew exactly what the story represented. Another example where man is buried with his ship. The Vikings are the only society to bury people in ships. Another example and as you can see they're all unique. In fact what's really interesting for us is to appreciate that funerals were the most important aspect of Viking society. It's what brought the community together and it was what they remember the most. Funerals are what contributed to historical memory in the Viking world. As you can see this funeral is extremely elaborate involving a lot of animal sacrifice. These horses are being gathered up to be sacrificed. There's also human sacrifice and these funerals can last for a long time, 10 days. So again because the Vikings never wrote anything down we actually don't know that much about these funerals. In fact we only have one historical record of a funeral. ### 24:23 seg-0022 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0022` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0022](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0022) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1463s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1463s) And this happened in the Viking Rus. So this is diplomat and traveler by the name of Ahmad ibn Badlan. And he is from the Abbasid Caliphate. And he is in the Viking world in order to negotiate a treaty of trade. The Abbasids and the Vikings traded a lot. And as an honored guest the Vikings invited him to a funeral of a deceased chieftain or king. Now there are certain things about this funeral that's important for us. The first thing is that it would last 10 days. It's a very elaborate affair that requires a lot of choreography and coronation. The second thing is that a third of the man's wealth were spent on the funeral expenses. So basically a feast for everyone. A third was spent on his funeral clothes that was tailor -made for him. So this is like the best clothes. And a third was given to his wife. ### 25:36 seg-0023 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0023` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0023](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0023) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1536s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1536s) What this tells us is first of all this man even though he was high status he didn't have that much wealth. And second of all the Vikings are a very egalitarian society. The third thing that's important for us they didn't care that much about wealth. Period. Right? They spent a third on the funeral. They just burned away the money. So what's also important for us to remember is there is a funeral director. There's a woman who Ibn Fadin calls the angel of death who is coordinating and orchestrating this funeral. During the course of this funeral there are things that happen that actually disgust him. So before we continue please keep in mind that Ibn Fadin is an observer. He doesn't speak the language. He doesn't know culture. So he doesn't exactly know what's going on. Second of all he's a Muslim. So he has his own cultural worldview that is in conflict with the Viking worldview. ### 26:40 seg-0024 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0024` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0024](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0024) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1600s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1600s) The third thing is he is writing this down after the fact. And if you do that what often happens is that you will misremember a lot of things. So please take his description with a grain of salt with some skepticism but also please remember that we have no choice in the matter because this is the only written record of a Viking funeral from this time. Okay? So we have absolutely no choice in the matter. So let's look at what he writes and then try to reconstruct the Viking culture and understanding. Okay. So first thing he says is look into and threw the halves into the boat and place the man's weapons beside him. Okay? So again they are celebrating his life. They are memorizing his life. They had two horses run themselves sweaty cut them to pieces and threw the meat into the ship. Finally they killed two cows a hen and a cock and did the same thing Now this is interesting. ### 27:52 seg-0025 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0025` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0025](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0025) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1672s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1672s) They asked for a human sacrifice and a slave girl volunteers. Volunteers. Okay? Clearly she didn't volunteer but she volunteers. And let's see what happens. Meanwhile the slave girl went from one tent to the other and had sexual intercourse with the master of each. Every man told her tell your master that I have done this purely out of love for you. Okay it's not this is incorrect it should be for him. Alright? So this is really confusing for us. It's a funeral and they're having sex with the woman who is about to be sacrificed. So we don't we have absolutely no idea what's going on. But I'm going to make a guess. I'm gonna use my imagination. Okay? First it's important for us to understand who the slave girl is. She's not a normal person. I believe I would argue that she must be the lover of the deceased chieftain. ### 28:48 seg-0026 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0026` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0026](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0026) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1728s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1728s) Why? Okay. Here's the logic. Remember the Iliad. Okay? In the Iliad the entire story begins with a problem. The problem is that Agamemnon the leader of the Greeks he has kidnapped a girl who happens to be the daughter of a high priest to Apollo. And the king and the priest comes to him and says I will give you all the gold in the world but please give me back my daughter. And all the Greeks are said oh you should do that Agamemnon please give back the daughter. Okay? That's just the custom of war. The father can ransom the daughter you have to return her. But Agamemnon says this I'm not going to return her because I love her. I love her more than my wife. And as a result the high priest prays to Apollo who unleashes a deadly plague among the Greeks. The Greeks are dying. So finally Achilles steps up and says to Agamemnon you have to return the girl. ### 29:54 seg-0027 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0027` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0027](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0027) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1794s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1794s) Alright? Now Agamemnon has lost face so he says to Achilles fine I will return the girl that I love more than anything else in the world but you must return your girl your slave girl. And Achilles gets so angry at this that he refuses to fight for the Greeks which leads to the disaster of the Trojan War. Okay? So what is this telling us? This is telling us that in this world where these men are far from home and they kidnap these slave girls they fall in love with them. And in the process of falling in love with them these great men confer status and power onto these slave girls. Okay? Does that make sense? Alright? I know this is hard to understand but the slave girl is not a normal girl. She is the lover the mistress essentially the wife of the chieftain who's died. ### 30:54 seg-0028 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0028` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0028](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0028) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1854s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1854s) Okay? So another question then is why has she volunteered to kill herself? Okay. Well if we continue the logic then I would argue that it's because without the man she has no status and power in the community. She'll go back to being a slave and she might be ostracized. So by volunteering and sacrificing herself she will win status and power and honor for her children and for her relatives in the community. She will make her family part of that community. Okay? That's why she does this. Now then the question then is okay I don't get it now because if in fact the slave girl is the chieftain's favorite mistress and if this slave girl does in fact love this man why is she having sex with everyone? Okay. And the answer is in this world gifts are very important. Basically if you go to war and you win things you have to share it with everyone. ### 32:05 seg-0029 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0029` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0029](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0029) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1925s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1925s) Okay? And so the slave girl will give you one final gift and it's most the greatest treasure that I can possibly give you which is the woman I love. Okay? And that's why each man is forced to have sex with her and they tell this girl when you go to your master tell him I only do this out of my love for him not for you. I don't have sex with you. I do not want to have sex with you but I will in order to celebrate him to honor him to love him. Yes. So June that's a great question. In their imagination are they having sex with the dead master? And um yes. You can make that argument. Okay? Because remember in this world homosexuality is not it doesn't exist. It's very it's okay for men to have sex with each other. It's okay for men to have sex with together with one woman. ### 33:18 seg-0030 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0030` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0030](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0030) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1998s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=1998s) Okay? And that's how they create intimacy and bonding. Because remember when you're out in war you have to be able to make the ultimate sacrifice. So you have to bond with your fellow soldiers. And the best way to bond is through sex. Okay? Sex with each other but also sex with other women. Okay? So so yeah. So you can make that argument. Okay? Again I don't know what goes on their heads. Yes. Then they think they're having sex with the master through the girl. Alright? And that's why they say I'm already doing this out of my love for for him. Not for you but for him. Okay? Um so let's continue. Okay? In the afternoon they moved the slave girl to something that looked like a door frame where she was lifted on the palms of the man three times. So the door frame represents access to the after world. Okay? ### 34:18 seg-0031 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0031` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0031](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0031) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2058s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2058s) The father and mother the second time she saw all her deceased relatives and the third time she saw her master in paradise. Okay? So what this is is she the slave girl who is not who is not part of the community. What she's really doing is implanting her personal memory into the community as a whole. She's making her family part of the community now. Right? She's talking about her past. And everyone again this is a community event everyone's observing. Everyone can hear her. Alright? So they know that after she dies they must honor her memory by honoring her relatives and family. There it was green and beautiful and together with him she saw a man and young people. She saw her master beckon for her and she was brought a chicken which she which she decasipated and which was then thrown on the boat. Okay? Again this is some some strange ritual that I have no idea what it means but it must mean something. ### 35:20 seg-0032 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0032` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0032](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0032) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2120s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2120s) Okay? Often what they do is they reenact mythologies. Okay? So there must have been a famous story where a woman decapitates a chicken for some reason. Okay? And she's doing that. They are reliving mythologies. Alright. Let's continue. Thereafter the slave girl was taken away to the ship. She removed her bracelets and gave them to the old woman. Okay? She took what was most valuable to her and gave her to the old woman who was the angel of death the funeral director. Right? She's paying she's giving her a gift she's bribing her for the honor of being sacrificed. Thereafter she removed her anklets and gave them to the old man's two daughters. Then they took her aboard the ship but they did not allow her to enter the tent where the dead chieftain lay. Okay? She's about to be she's about to be sacrificed. The girl received several vessels of intoxicating drinks and she sang. ### 36:15 seg-0033 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0033` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0033](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0033) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2175s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2175s) These intoxicating drinks are often psychedelics. Okay? So the psychedelics are meant to enhance her visuals. Okay? Now she's singing. Before the old woman urged her to enter the tent I saw that the girl did not know what she was doing notes Ibn Thalin. Okay? So Ibn Thalin is completely confused by this. But what we need to understand is this is highly choreographed. Right? Every person knows what to do in this process. It's a ritual meaning that there's a script in place and meaning that the chieftain and the slave girl and the old woman all discussed this beforehand. Okay? That's the only way this makes sense. Then the girl was pulled into the tent by the old woman and the men started to beat on their shields with sticks so her screams could not be heard. Okay? So the tent is being surrounded by warriors with shields. Okay? ### 37:13 seg-0034 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0034` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0034](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0034) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2233s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2233s) Six men entered the tent to have intercourse with the girl after which they laid her onto her master's bed beside him. Alright? So six men basically rape her together. And what this is doing is reenacting the memory of being with the chieftain. Right? Going out on raids sacking a city and then raping the woman together. Guys, I know this is terrible. I know this is terrible but again we have to try to understand their worldview and their practice. The two men grabbed her hands and two men her wrists. They put a rope around her neck and while two men pulled the rope the old woman stabbed the girl between her ribs with a knife. Okay? She's being sacrificed by the angel of death and that's how she dies. Alright? Thereafter the closest male relative of the dead chieftain walked backwards naked covering his anus with one hand on a piece of burning wood with the other. ### 38:15 seg-0035 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0035` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0035](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0035) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2295s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2295s) Again this must come from a certain mythology. Okay? That's the only way we can explain this practice. this ship aflame after which other people added wood to the fire. Okay? And that's how he dies. Alright? Again this sounds gruesome what they're doing is they're celebrating the man and implanting his memory into the community because everyone participates in his funeral the man his memory is now part of the community's for his achievements. Okay? Does that make sense guys? Alright? So this is again a depiction of the funeral. And again the Greeks and the Romans had equivalents so that and we'll discuss these equivalents so you better understand what's going on. For the Romans that's something called a triumph. A triumph was the highlight of Roman life. It was basically a general who won great conquests. And so he came back in a military parade. The parade would offer a lot of things. It would offer some pictures of the conquered territory. ### 39:43 seg-0036 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0036` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0036](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0036) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2383s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2383s) It would parade treasures like elephants or gold captured from the conquered people. It will also parade slaves and captured people like usually kings. And it would feature the soldiers as well as the triumphant Okay? What's important for us to remember is at the end of this parade they go to the temple of Jupiter their god and they will sacrifice these slaves and these captured kings to the god to the god Jupiter. Okay? So it's very similar to the funeral guys. The Greeks on the other hand had theater to build the community's collective consciousness. Theater. So there were no professional actors. It was community members that participated in the theater. And the community the spectators would judge which theater was the best. It was the highlight of the community to pick the best playwright for that year. It was the greatest honor. It's like winning the Nobel Prize basically. Okay? ### 41:01 seg-0037 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0037` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0037](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0037) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2461s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2461s) The theater was it's very different. They didn't practice any human sacrifice. They didn't parade slaves around. What they did was often was write about war from the perspective of the enemy. Okay? So Euripides wrote something called Trojan Woman where he wrote about the the Trojan Woman who were raped and captured and kidnapped by the Greeks. And Aeschylus wrote about the Persian laws. Okay? And that's why the Greek civilization is considered the most imaginative in human history because it practices empathy. It changes perspectives. It's willing to celebrate everyone. Okay? So that's the Greek world. Okay. All right. Let's talk a little about Norse mythology. Remember what I said was that Norse mythology its purpose is to express and promote three values. Courage loyalty and resourcefulness. Right? So the example of courage is Odin. At the beginning of the world Odin who's a god of knowledge he wants to seek all knowledge. So he flies around Idrisel the ### 42:17 seg-0038 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0038` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0038](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0038) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2537s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2537s) world tree and he goes into different realms and he meets a god who has something called the well of cosmic knowledge. You drink from the soup you gain cosmic knowledge. So Odin wanted to drink it but he had to make an offering. So he offered what was most valuable to him which was his eye guys. Okay. His eye. So he plucked out his eye gave it to the god and drank from the well of cosmic knowledge. But once he drank from the well and learned cosmic knowledge he became more curious about the universe. And so he started to venture into more unknowns. Eventually he went into the realm of death. And no matter how hard he tried he could not penetrate this world. There are too many There are too many barriers. So he killed himself. Right. Because that's what you do. If you want to enter a death world you have to kill yourself. ### 43:12 seg-0039 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0039` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0039](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0039) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2592s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2592s) So he killed himself and was dead for a long time. But in his death he was able to see all the secrets of the universe. And then afterwards he resurrected himself. Okay. So Odin personifies the idea of courage in the Viking world. To seek the unknown relentlessly. Okay. Even if it costs you your life the idea of loyalty. All right. So in the Norse world there'll be a Ragnarok. And there's a wolf Fenris who will foreshadow the arrival of Ragnarok. He's very dangerous. But when he's born he's just a little pup. So the Esar the gods basically decide to adopt him as a pet. Okay. They think And his master is Tyr who is the god of war among the Esar. And but very quickly Fenris grows to be huge. And now the gods see him as a menace. So they try to tie him up. But no matter how hard they try they can't tie him up. ### 44:23 seg-0040 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0040` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0040](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0040) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2663s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2663s) And it becomes like a game. Like and Fenris thinks this is really funny. Okay. But the gods become really worried so they go to the dwarves. And they ask the dwarves to create a magic rope. Which they do. And Tyr goes back to Fenris and says hey let's continue this game of us trying to tie of us trying to tie you up. Fenris is like okay but how do I know that you will release me if I can't get out? Here. Put your hand in my mouth and if you don't release me I'll take your hand. Alright. So the gods discuss this and Tyr volunteers to do this. Knowing that he's going to lose his hand. Alright. And that's what happens. They tie Fenris up and Fenris gets wants to be released the gods refuse because he's a menace. And then Fenris just cuts off bites off the hand. That's the idea of loyalty. ### 45:23 seg-0041 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0041` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0041](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0041) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2723s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2723s) Loyalty to your friends. Resourcefulness. Okay. So the gods are always at war with the frost giants. One day a man named the Builder comes to them and says I can build you a wall to protect you from your enemies for in 18 months. Okay. This is Asgard the home of the gods. And the Builder says I will do this but I want three things. I want the sun. I want the moon. I want the beautiful goddess Freyja in marriage. And Odin the god's like no that's a stupid deal. But Loki who is the god of mischief and the blood brother of Odin says to Odin take the deal but make it six months give him six months. That way he'll get he'll finish about a third of the wall and we can finish the rest. And Odin thinks that's a great idea. Okay. The Builder agrees to this deal on one condition that he's allowed to use his horse in order to carry the bricks and the concrete. ### 46:33 seg-0042 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0042` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0042](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0042) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2793s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2793s) And the gods agree. What they don't know is the horse is a magic horse. And the horse is able to travel as fast as light itself. And so the Builder is able to really quickly build that wall and he's about to finish the wall. Odin says to Loki you got us you got us into this mess get us out of this mess or I will kill you. So what does Loki do? Loki thinks and he's and he's a shape shifter. Right? And he and he's able to shape shape shift into a mirror a beautiful horse. Okay? Like this. The Builder's horse sees the mirror and becomes really excited. Right? And he runs off. And the Builder's not able to finish the wall. And Loki gives birth to a horse. A baby horse that then becomes Odin's horse. Okay? ### 47:26 seg-0043 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0043` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0043](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0043) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2846s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2846s) That's the idea of resourcefulness. There are some really funny stories within Norse mythology. Okay? One of the funniest is this. Thor has a magic hammer named Mjölnir. He loves it. He loves it so much that he sleeps with it. He puts it under his pillow. One day he wakes up and finds it missing. So of course he thinks it must be Loki. Because Loki's always playing these tricks on the gods. But Loki says I didn't do it and I will find out for you who did it. So Loki explores the horse and he finds out that it was the Frostshank King who stole the hammer. The Frostshank King will only return the hammer if the gods give him Freyja as a wife. Loki goes back and Freyja says screw off. I'm not I'm not going to do this. So Loki says to Thor I have a plan. The plan is he's going to dress Thor up as Freyja. ### 48:28 seg-0044 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0044` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0044](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0044) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2908s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2908s) He's going to put a wedding dress on Freyja and a veil on Thor and Loki will disguise himself as a bridesmaid. Okay? Stupid plan but they do this. They go off and the Frostshank King doesn't really notice that that Freyja is a huge man. They have this huge feast and unfortunately Thor loves to eat and he loves to drink. So basically this huge feast Thor is eating this oxen he's drinking all this beer and he's burping in the process. So Frost Giant King is kind of like confused but he's also really excited. At the wedding the Frost Giant King presents the hammer Mjolnir to Thor and he lifts the veil to kiss Thor and that's when he realizes that it's actually a man. And then Thor gets his hammer and beats the crap out of the king. So there are many stories like this which are really funny and imaginative. ### 49:38 seg-0045 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0045` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0045](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0045) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2978s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=2978s) What do these stories tell us about the understanding of the individual in the Viking world? This is Neil Price and to prepare for this lecture I did a lot of research including listening to his YouTube lecture which has over about a million views on YouTube. But he's a Viking expert he's an archaeologist I highly recommend that you listen to his YouTube videos if you're interested in this material. But this is what he has to say about the Viking world view. The Viking the individual is shaped by four forces. First is the hammer the hammer is basically the shell or the shape of the person the outer being. So it may not be the body actually but it's the shell. Second is the idea of the humming jar. The humming jar think of it as a pet who follows you around and it personifies luck. And because it's a pet you can either nurture the pet or not nurture it. ### 50:54 seg-0046 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0046` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0046](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0046) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3054s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3054s) You nurture it by showing courage. So in battle if you run off if you enter the battle of courage the pet will be with you. But if you run away and hide yourself the pet might run away. And in the Viking world all that matters is humming jar. You win if you get lucky not because you're stronger. The third idea is hugur and hugur is your essence your soul who you are really. The last idea is feija and feija is what you inherit from your family. It is the guardian spirit of your family. So think of it as the collection of your ancestors who whisper you advice in your dreams. Today we would call this concept intuition. Right? Intuition. That's what it represents. So as you can see Neil Price and other experts are showing us that we think of the Vikings as barbarians but in fact they're very smart and nuanced understanding of themselves and the world. ### 52:07 seg-0047 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0047` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0047](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0047) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3127s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3127s) Alright? Okay. So another question then is how are the Vikings able to do this? My argument to you is it's because of the oral tradition. We are simply not as creative as people who tell stories every day and who make stories the heart and center of the community. Okay? So I want us to understand this graph before people lived in the oral tradition. What this meant is they told stories. When you tell stories you need at least two people. You need the speaker and you need the listener. You can't do it otherwise. Okay? You can't tell a story to yourself. So you need at least two people but often it was a whole community that participated in the stories. And what this meant is that the stories were living things. They were things that you played with that were flexible. They were like clay. You can change the stories over and over. ### 53:15 seg-0048 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0048` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0048](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0048) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3195s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3195s) Each person who told a story would tell it different. So there are like millions of different versions of these Norse stories that I just told you. Okay? Because each person can interpret that story differently. So these are living memories. And that means that each story is unique. Now there's a concept in cultural theory called the aura. Okay? The essence. The soul. And each story has its own soul if you think about it. Let's contrast this with literary culture. In literary culture reading and writing you have to do it by yourself. You cannot write with a friend. It would be terrible if you did that. Alright? But the benefit is that whatever you write leaves you and becomes part of the page. It's permanent now. And as a result your words can escape time and space. It becomes timeless. We have Homer because Homer's words were written down even though Homer was probably illiterate. Today we live in the visual culture. ### 54:29 seg-0049 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0049` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0049](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0049) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3269s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3269s) So think of videos think of photographs. Right? First thing to understand is that it's passive. Both in literary and oral culture you have to participate. You have to use your imagination to make the thing alive. But with a photograph it's all provided to you. It's a very passive experience. It's self enclosed meaning it's impossible for you to add anything to it. But you get more information that way. So there are benefits to visual culture. So for example a map. Right? If you look at a map it tells you a lot more information than if someone tried to explain it to you with words. And the last advantage of a visual culture is that it is universal. So if an alien species came down to our planet and looked at our pictures they would know what's going on. Okay? Whereas if they heard a story or read a book they would have absolutely no idea what's going on. ### 55:28 seg-0050 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0050` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0050](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0050) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3328s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3328s) Right? So this is the oral tradition in contrast with literary culture and visual culture. The oral tradition is extremely complex. We tend to think that it's just about telling a story. Okay? But if you think about it there are so many variables and nuance and factors in the telling of a story. And that's why each version is unique unto itself. Okay? So I can teach the same material but if we change the classroom if we change the students if we change the lighting the experience of being in this classroom would change. The Norse the Vikings the way they told stories is they would tell it in a big hall. Because remember it's usually cold up north. It's snowing outside. They would tell it in a big hall. And it's dark. So they have a big fire inside the hall. And the storyteller the bard would recite the story or tell the story beside the fire as everyone um listens. ### 56:38 seg-0051 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0051` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0051](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0051) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3398s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3398s) Some important things to know about this. First is the halls were huge. As huge as a Greek amphitheater. So you could see about a thousand two thousand people within the hall. Okay? Second is the idea of darkness. When it's dark and you can't see your ears become much more perceptive. So the words have become alive. They're more colored. They're more detailed. They're much more imagery. Okay? And third is these these these are bouncing off the walls and they're creating echo and resonance. And so these words almost like bonds that unite everyone in the telling of the story. Okay? And if you think about it this experience is very similar to the Ice Age. Remember last semester at the very beginning we did the Ice Age cave paintings. And what we need to understand is people came together in these caves not to paint in ### 57:46 seg-0052 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0052` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0052](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0052) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3466s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3466s) the caves but to tell stories about where they came from who they are and where they're going. Alright? And all of our ancestors every one of them for thousands of years participated in this process of converging into ice caves and hearing stories being told to them in these dark wet caves. So this takes us back to the time of the Ice Age. It's activating a nostalgia within us and that's why the oral tradition is so powerful. Okay? Alright. So these stories have been told in a certain way to excite the audience. Okay? So think of this class. In this class we have no tests. I don't even take attendance. So when I present material in this class it has to be interesting for you. Right? Why is it interesting? Because it has it's shocking. It has emotions. It has structure. When I come to class I actually do not script out my class. ### 58:55 seg-0053 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0053` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0053](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0053) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3535s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3535s) What I do is I think of the narrative structure the story I want to tell and then in class depending on your reactions depending on the question you ask I will change some of the details in the story to make it much more interesting for you. In the oral tradition it's a co -creation collaborative process. That's what makes it so powerful. As an experiment what you can do is this. Think about think about this. In class there might be some material you found really interesting. Right? So then you go on YouTube I post these lectures on YouTube to try to remember the experience. And what you'll find is it's not because we've switched from oral culture to visual culture. The same is true if it's your birthday okay it's your 18th birthday you go out with your friends and you have a wonderful time and you're like I want to take a picture to remember this experience. ### 59:54 seg-0054 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0054` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0054](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0054) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3594s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3594s) But what you will find when you do that is the picture doesn't really capture the experience for you. You cannot the picture cannot bring back the feeling for you. Right? And that's why the Vikings were so insistent on maintaining their old tradition and not transitioning into the literary culture. Because their old tradition is what gave the community purpose and meaning. If you gave that up then your community would lose cohesiveness. Right? Does it does it make sense to you guys? Alright. So what's the old tradition? Again we've lost it we've mainly lost it but remember what it is. Okay? Let's take two things that you know very well and merge them together and then you can experience what the old tradition is. It's basically the immersion of a movie. Think of going to a good movie. And remember the power the immersive power of being in that movie. You are in that movie. Okay? ### 1:00:54 seg-0055 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0055` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0055](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0055) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3654s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3654s) You combine it with the intimacy of a conversation. Just think of like having this like four or five hour conversation with your best friend and talking about life and love in general. Okay? The old tradition combines these two things and that's why it's so powerful. That's why it cannot be remembered. Okay? The Viking old tradition was extremely powerful but it was so powerful that it cannot be remembered. It cannot be written down. But as I will show you in future classes this old tradition will go on to influence major European civilization. Specifically the Germans and the British but also the Russians as well. So again for most of human history we as humans have shared our time together telling stories. Why did we lose the old tradition? Okay? Remember this. Why did we lose the old tradition? Well we transitioned to a literary culture that emphasized reading and writing. So in school we have you read books but we don't have you tell stories. ### 1:02:10 seg-0056 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0056` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0056](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0056) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3730s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3730s) We don't tell stories to you. We went from paganism to Christianity. Okay? The problem with Christianity is it is extremely uh sanctimonious. It focuses on what is good and evil. Whereas pagan culture is like whether it's interesting or not interesting. Whether it's memorable or not memorable. Okay? Live a memorable interesting adventurous life. And the Christians are like no that's not good because if you do that you're going to create a lot of evil. So live a good life. Avoid committing evil. The last thing is we went from a egalitarian world where everyone can contribute to the story to a hierarchical world where the top the elite insist on indoctrinating us and controlling how we think. Alright? Okay? Does that make sense to you guys? Any questions so far? So this is why we left the oral tradition and adopted literary and visual culture. Okay. ### 1:03:17 seg-0057 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0057` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0057](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0057) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3797s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3797s) So to conclude the class uh I know this is a lot to take in it's a lot of information so I apologize okay but let me conclude with a story. Um so I have two young boys and I sleep with them. Okay? And what I do is I tell them stories. I don't have them I don't have them do math I don't have them read books but I tell them stories where I make them the characters the heroes of the story. So I'll tell you one story that I told my youngest son Maomao. Okay? The story goes like this. It is Maomao's fourth birthday and I tell Maomao on your fourth birthday something magical happens. You can pray to God and whatever you wish for God will grant you your wish. So Maomao is really excited and he thinks a long time about what he wants. On his fourth birthday he prays to God and says I wish for a room where full of strawberries every single day. ### 1:04:25 seg-0058 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0058` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0058](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0058) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3865s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3865s) He says that and God immediately responds. Immediately in his room it's full of strawberries and Maomao he's he loves strawberries he eats it right away. The next day the room is also full of strawberries and he eats it again. The third day again. But by the fourth day he's kind of sick of strawberries. So eventually strawberries overflow and fill the house. And then they fill the street. At this time the neighbors are really worried. And we have to explain to our neighbors oh it's because Maomao wished for strawberries and that's why we have so many strawberries. But hey let's share strawberries together. And the neighbors are at first happy but then eventually they get sick of strawberries too. And then the strawberries fill the entire street. Then the city of Beijing is filled with these strawberries. Now it's a national emergency. Okay. The military come. ### 1:05:25 seg-0059 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0059` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0059](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0059) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3925s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3925s) Scientists come. Everyone's trying to resolve this issue. Then the whole country of China is filled with strawberries. Then the whole continent of Asia is filled with strawberries. Eventually everyone has to get on a spaceship and get out of get out into space and go to the moon to recolonize the moon. But strawberries keep on overflowing until they reach the moon. At this point the entire world says to Maomao, listen, your fifth birthday is tomorrow. Please pray to God and tell him no more strawberries. Maomao, if you do this for us we will make you president and king of the world. We will give you all the chocolate in the world. We'll give you all the gold in the world. Can you please do this? Can you please tell God no more strawberries? If you do that we'll give you all the chocolate in the world. Maomao says, yes, I will. And on his fifth birthday ### 1:06:26 seg-0060 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0060` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0060](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0060) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3986s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=3986s) Maomao closes her eyes, prays to God and says, dear God, I wish for a room full of chocolate every day. And that's how the story ends. Okay? Now, it's a very strange story. But guess what? My son's going to remember this for a long time. But knowing that it's going to inspire him to think about the story and tell his own story. Okay? All he has to do is change the story a bit and now he has his own story. He can change the characters. He can change some of the details. All right? That's the power of the old tradition. But if I were to write down this story I couldn't say it in this way. I couldn't do it. Okay? Let's see how I would change the story if I wrote it down. Okay? Let's say the same story but now I write it down rather than say it to Maomao himself. For his fourth birthday Maomao prayed to God for a room full of strawberries every day. ### 1:07:26 seg-0061 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0061` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0061](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0061) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4046s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4046s) Immediately his room filled with strawberries. He ate them happily. The next morning his room filled with strawberries. He ate them. The very next morning his room filled with strawberries. He did not eat them. Okay? So I have to make this story shorter. More compact. So that's easier to read. The house filled with strawberries and the street filled with them. Then the city. Then the country. On his fifth birthday Maomao prayed to God for no more strawberries. His room became clean. And Maomao understood the power of words. Do you understand? Why am I doing this? Why has literary culture changed the story? Because now I know that the words leave me and they leave Maomao. They go out into the wider world. And therefore people will judge my words. They will think like I'm a bad father or whatever. I'm conscious of that. ### 1:08:22 seg-0062 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0062` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0062](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0062) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4102s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4102s) Okay? So I change in a way that is not so offensive. So I change so that people can better appreciate this. You understand? Do you see the difference between oral culture and literary culture? In oral culture you can be intimate. Therefore you can play. You can experiment. You can be curious. You can be adventurous. And that's what leads to the imagination. But in a literary culture everyone is watching you. Hundred years from now people are still watching you. Therefore you have a sense of shame. You're very conscious about your thoughts and how they affect on people. Alright? So a metaphor we can use is this transition from oral tradition to literary culture is really like the story of Adam and Eve. Where because they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge they developed a sense of shame. They understood that they are naked and therefore they're being watched. Okay? ### 1:09:22 seg-0063 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0063` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0063](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0063) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4162s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4162s) And because of this they are thrown out of the Garden of Eden. with that metaphor. Okay? Oral tradition we leave it behind and we think that is a good thing. But we tend to forget the power and beauty of the oral tradition. Alright? So I leave you with three questions. Okay? To help us better understand and remember the lecture. The first question is what is the imagination? What is the memory? Well in the oral tradition we would think that the imagination is just an extension of the memory. By making our stories memorable we excite the imagination. Therefore we allow for the process of creation. Second question is could we have Homer, Dante and Shakespeare without the oral tradition? And the answer I think is no. Okay? I think we would not have the greatest poetry in human history if it were not for the oral tradition. In fact if you think about for the past 50 years what has ### 1:10:26 seg-0064 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy@transcript:v1#seg-0064` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0064](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-tymnsa83nhy/transcript/#seg-0064) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4226s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYMNsa83NHY&t=4226s) humanity even though there's like eight billion of us we have more wealth and technology than ever before what literary masterpiece have we created? I know you guys read the Doylet Club in school and it sucks. Okay? I'm telling you right now it is terrible. It's a piece of crap. And I can't think of a literary masterpiece of the past 50 to 60 years. Okay? There are some very entertaining books alright but not of the stature and power of Homer, Dante and Shakespeare. And the last question I have is does civilization make us less creative? Okay? Does being a civilization make us more ashamed of exploring or being curious or playing? Are we less creative because of civilization? Alright? Okay. So that's it guys. Any questions? Okay. So next week we start we will do the Abyssinian Caliphate. Okay? Alright. So I will see you guys next Tuesday.