Episode 308: The Gray Man who Dreamed (Borges' "Shakespeare's Memory")

Very Bad Wizards

Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David and Tamler return to their happy place and talk about two pieces by JL Borges – the story “Shakespeare’s Memory” and the [essay/story/poem/literary sketch??] “Everything and Nothing.” What would it mean to have the memory of a supreme artist like Shakespeare? Would it help us understand his work, or how he was able to produce masterpiece after masterpiece What does it mean to have our own memories? How does all this connect to our sense of self?

Plus cancel culture comes to Cornell, but don’t worry it’s about that one thing it's fine to cancel people over.

Cornell President's NYT Op-Ed March 31, 2025 "Universities like the one I run aren't afraid to let people argue"

Kehlani speaks out after Cornell cancels her Slope Day appearance over 'hateful views' [cnycentral.com]

Cornell Musicians Oppose Kehlani’s Cancellation [cornellsun.com]

Shakespeare's Memory by Jorge Luis Borges [wikipedia.org]

Everything and Nothing by Jorge Luis Borges [dilipsimeon.blogspot.com]

Transcript

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0:00.0	Very Bad Wizards is a podcast with a philosopher, my dad, and psychologist Dave Vizarro,
0:06.0	having an informal discussion about issues in science and ethics. Please note that the discussion
0:10.7	contains bad words that I'm not allowed to say, and knowing my dad, some very inappropriate jokes.
0:17.0	This is not a new world. It is simply an extension of what began in the old one.
0:23.9	It is patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time.
0:35.8	The great end boss has spoken.
0:38.3	Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
0:43.3	Who are you?
0:49.3	Who are you?
0:51.3	I'm a very bad man. I'm a very good man.
0:56.0	Good man.
0:57.0	They think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have.
1:03.0	May no attention to that man.
1:07.0	Anybody can have a brain?
1:14.0	You're a very bad man.
1:16.5	I'm a very good man.
1:18.3	Just a very bad wizard.
1:21.3	Welcome to Very Bad Wizards.
1:22.9	I'm Tamler Summers from the University of Houston.
1:25.2	Dave, your L.A. Lakers have their backs to the wall,
1:28.7	down 3-1 to the Timberwolves. Be honest. Does some part of you just want it to be over?
1:34.8	Yes. It didn't even take me that long to realize it. Like, just put us out of our misery.
	...

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