Mitch McConnell’s unwillingness to bar Trump from office via the second impeachment will be the first sentence of his final-form Wikipedia entry.
Edit: I bring this up because it was the point of maximum leverage for political elites in the collective action problem. But McConnell proved what Trump knows in his bones - the political class, particularly the GOP, is made up of weak men.
As Gary Kasparov says, an autocrat never asks why; he one asks why not.
This was really interesting, Anna. It got me thinking about the commonly seen tendency to maintain excessive optionality in one’s personal life by refusing to commit such that the desired comedic ending instead becomes tragic. I wonder how that fits into the framework? Options decay over time even in the absence of a narrowing event?
Tragicomedies are an exciting genre. An example everyone would know is "Life Is Beautiful". Starts with a love story ("gets hitched"), then midway the stakes and optionality change and the story d/evolves into a tragedy ("dies").
In the case of postmodern stories where optionally does not narrow, however, we can't really talk about either tragedy or comedy. Those plays I would just categorize as "drama", sometimes with tragic undertones. Chekhov plays with this, and this is also why his plays are 4 acts - the 4th act signifies a restart of the spiral (while an odd number always signifies finality).
Loved this! I was just thinking about current Indian politics when you first explained the entropy model, and then you got into autocracies around the world and it all made so much sense again.
Also, your eleven sentence essays were one of the first substacks I subscribed to, and it's lovely to now get to read longer pieces too! Excited to read more of your work ❤️
I could read an entire book about this topic - loved the way you shaped the analysis! The entropy funnel model for limited options as time goes on was fascinating. Really well done, Anna. Looking forward to more long form!
This was a pleasure to read. I appreciate the intersection of literature/art and politics in a way that feels enlightening on both.
Lovely and complex and surprising, Anna. So glad you’re doing this & can’t wait to read more.
You are the undisputed BEST. Thank you for reading!
Mitch McConnell’s unwillingness to bar Trump from office via the second impeachment will be the first sentence of his final-form Wikipedia entry.
Edit: I bring this up because it was the point of maximum leverage for political elites in the collective action problem. But McConnell proved what Trump knows in his bones - the political class, particularly the GOP, is made up of weak men.
As Gary Kasparov says, an autocrat never asks why; he one asks why not.
I believe he liked Clay the great compromiser. In a way that’s a fitting first line of an echoe of antebellum America
This was really interesting, Anna. It got me thinking about the commonly seen tendency to maintain excessive optionality in one’s personal life by refusing to commit such that the desired comedic ending instead becomes tragic. I wonder how that fits into the framework? Options decay over time even in the absence of a narrowing event?
Tragicomedies are an exciting genre. An example everyone would know is "Life Is Beautiful". Starts with a love story ("gets hitched"), then midway the stakes and optionality change and the story d/evolves into a tragedy ("dies").
In the case of postmodern stories where optionally does not narrow, however, we can't really talk about either tragedy or comedy. Those plays I would just categorize as "drama", sometimes with tragic undertones. Chekhov plays with this, and this is also why his plays are 4 acts - the 4th act signifies a restart of the spiral (while an odd number always signifies finality).
Loved this! I was just thinking about current Indian politics when you first explained the entropy model, and then you got into autocracies around the world and it all made so much sense again.
Also, your eleven sentence essays were one of the first substacks I subscribed to, and it's lovely to now get to read longer pieces too! Excited to read more of your work ❤️
Thank you!! And SO happy it's useful for understanding India too
Amazing essay, I enjoyed the analysis thoroughly. As a physicist, I appreciate the unexpected, but appropriate appearance of surprisal!
THANK you ❤️
I could read an entire book about this topic - loved the way you shaped the analysis! The entropy funnel model for limited options as time goes on was fascinating. Really well done, Anna. Looking forward to more long form!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to share more ideas soon 💥
Glad to see the move to longform & love the way you framed this essay. It's a coincidence I turned to movies & culture to analyse the current moment also recently: https://rajeshachanta.substack.com/p/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-maria