Glossary
The sacred rule humans must not violate; breaking it opens the game and can transfer godlike authority to the violator.
Topic brief
A Jiang Lens evidence brief for this topic, built from source tags, transcript matches, and linked source refs.
ultimate taboo
The sacred rule humans must not violate; breaking it opens the game and can transfer godlike authority to the violator.
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Key Notes
model
Breaking the ultimate taboo is a game hack: once a ruler sacks the temple and survives, he shows that humans can violate what only gods were allowed to violate and can become godlike himself.
diagnosis
The Spanish defeat of Aztecs and Incas is explained as outsiders who do not know or respect the local sacred game and therefore can kill the god-king, break the ultimate taboo, and leave people helpless.
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Nuclear weapons are Jiang's modern example of an ultimate taboo: states may fight economically or conventionally, but nuclear use is forbidden because it would end the world.
prediction
Jiang predicts that Russia or the United States will not use nuclear weapons because nuclear use is the ultimate taboo and would be like killing God.
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An actor not inhibited by a society's ultimate taboo can dominate that society with a small force, because violating the taboo collapses the target's assumptions before material strength matters.
Timestamped Evidence
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"...hack, or he cheated, whatever. But he figured out what the ultimate taboo is, okay? The ultimate taboo. And he broke it. If you..."
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"...establish an equilibrium, okay? The equilibrium is held together by an ultimate taboo. But then someone comes along and breaks this ultimate taboo, which..."
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"...as well. And when you do that, when you put the ultimate taboo, you leave people completely helpless. Okay, does that make sense? So,..."
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"So you can kill the enemy's army on the field, but you don't attack the city. And also there are city walls to protect..."
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"In today's world, there is an ultimate taboo among societies, okay? So, China, United States can engage in economic warfare. Russia and Ukraine can..."
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"...nuclear weapons, okay? It's not going to happen, because it's the ultimate taboo. If anyone uses nuclear weapons, the world ends. It's like killing..."
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"...happened. It's game theory. If you're able to figure out the ultimate taboo, and you're able to use it against the local people, then..."
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"...world to hate them because by doing this they create the ultimate taboo right we find this disgusting and contemptuous so the entire"
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"...because it's addictive and ultimately there's a transgression that is the ultimate taboo which is what you guys know yeah right this right can..."
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"...did not want to become king. Because being king was the ultimate taboo in Rome. Does that make sense? Julius Caesar could not imagine..."
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"...Everyone else just stood paralyzed because, as you said, it was taboo. It was the ultimate taboo to commit violence in the Senate. So,..."
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"...wasn't fear of death. There was this fear of bringing this ultimate taboo of time. this woman Senate okay so thank thanks for that..."
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Relevant Lectures And Readings
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Disease, steel, horses, and divide-and-conquer matter.
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Related Topics
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