The real power of True Detective is how it forces us to confront the stories we tell ourselves. Rust Cohle's journey is more than a gritty crime thriller—it's a battle between the narratives of despair and hope, nihilism and awakening. That switch from “time is a flat circle” to “light’s winning” isn’t a betrayal; it’s an evolution. It’s about moving from cynicism to vulnerability, from isolation to connection.
We all get trapped in our own "locked rooms," cycling through the patterns and beliefs that keep us comfortably numb. Rust wakes up, and in doing so, he tears open the comfort of denial. But to see life as just a series of endless loops is to miss out on the possibility of transformation. Sometimes the price of waking up is realizing just how long you've been asleep.
Thanks for the insight. I’ve read much of Frederik’s good stuff and share a lot of his mental model - it has either enhanced my, or resonated with, my views.
Key problem that keeps us in the cycle: bias, which does serve materialist view. Key opportunity: understanding causes of it and reducing it, ultimately mostly overcome it - this bhodisattva idea.
Sources of internal bias: the stories we tell ourselves and choose to live by are caused by all our “mental/perception” systems, the majority which are subconscious and subcognitive.
Sources of external bias, or how external stimuli influence our stories: mainly it’s influence of our perception of the aggregation of others’ stories and how others choose to act, including nature’s stimuli.
Ultimately, one has to decide who they are and from this how to see and act that yes, maximizes their utility, but ultimately this utility has to be an odd combo of one’s subjectivity and other’s with a rudder based on the philosophical notion of “good, true, and beautiful.”
We are defined by our affinities and the actions that flow from them… affinity->awareness->objectivity (oddly: my subjectivity+ others’ subjectivity+ and good true beautiful)->effectiveness,
The real power of True Detective is how it forces us to confront the stories we tell ourselves. Rust Cohle's journey is more than a gritty crime thriller—it's a battle between the narratives of despair and hope, nihilism and awakening. That switch from “time is a flat circle” to “light’s winning” isn’t a betrayal; it’s an evolution. It’s about moving from cynicism to vulnerability, from isolation to connection.
We all get trapped in our own "locked rooms," cycling through the patterns and beliefs that keep us comfortably numb. Rust wakes up, and in doing so, he tears open the comfort of denial. But to see life as just a series of endless loops is to miss out on the possibility of transformation. Sometimes the price of waking up is realizing just how long you've been asleep.
Well put. We can get attached to the misery of the endless circle and prevent ourselves from the possibility of transformation.
My all-time favorite show. This was an interesting review- thank you!
Thank you 👍🏼
Outstanding piece. Thank you.
Thanks, Mark!
One of the most beautiful series I have ever seen. Rust is a fragile soul, Rust is us.
Indeed - sensitive yet strong.
Thanks for the insight. I’ve read much of Frederik’s good stuff and share a lot of his mental model - it has either enhanced my, or resonated with, my views.
Key problem that keeps us in the cycle: bias, which does serve materialist view. Key opportunity: understanding causes of it and reducing it, ultimately mostly overcome it - this bhodisattva idea.
Sources of internal bias: the stories we tell ourselves and choose to live by are caused by all our “mental/perception” systems, the majority which are subconscious and subcognitive.
Sources of external bias, or how external stimuli influence our stories: mainly it’s influence of our perception of the aggregation of others’ stories and how others choose to act, including nature’s stimuli.
Ultimately, one has to decide who they are and from this how to see and act that yes, maximizes their utility, but ultimately this utility has to be an odd combo of one’s subjectivity and other’s with a rudder based on the philosophical notion of “good, true, and beautiful.”
We are defined by our affinities and the actions that flow from them… affinity->awareness->objectivity (oddly: my subjectivity+ others’ subjectivity+ and good true beautiful)->effectiveness,