Leo D.M.J. Aurini - Sid Meier's Civilization, Personality, and the Shadow Self

00:00:00.000 Music

00:00:27.800 Music

00:00:29.000 Civilization is a series of video games by Sid Meier.

00:00:35.340 In them, you start a civilization in 4000 BC and lead it all the way up to the near future,

00:00:43.620 to 2050 AD, where you launch the space program.

00:00:47.680 They are very in-depth strategy games, and they're some of my favorites.

00:00:51.940 And the reason I'm talking about them today is because they are an excellent metaphor

00:00:59.800 for personality, for the nature of human development.

00:01:07.920 They're very complex, in-depth games with a lot of character to them.

00:01:14.620 You start with this basic rule set, and you wind up with something very much approximating

00:01:21.080 a human personality.

00:01:23.640 Now, if you've played the games, this is quite obvious with the artificial intelligence.

00:01:31.160 The different AIs, the different players, because of course you have all these different

00:01:35.840 civilizations.

00:01:36.860 You've got the Romans, you've got the Greeks, you've got the Egyptians. 0.89

00:01:40.860 Every single civilization with every single leader will have a very unique personality.

00:01:46.920 So, first you have the AI that just handles the basics, it handles the combat, it handles

00:01:54.260 the buildings, all of that.

00:01:58.000 But then you've got the personality of the robot, the person, the artificial intelligence

00:02:05.260 controlling that empire.

00:02:07.840 How trustworthy they are, what they value, whether or not you can make alliances with them, whether

00:02:14.840 they like you or not.

00:02:18.400 And it's really, with Civilization 4, the personality traits of the AIs were boiled down to less than 0.87

00:02:24.460 a dozen factors.

00:02:25.900 With Civ 5, they've moved up to 30, but there's really only a few of them that are that important.

00:02:32.100 But what is really amazing is that the more times you play through the game, the more you

00:02:40.040 get used to the different personalities of the artificial intelligences.

00:02:46.180 It really is striking just how unique each one of them is.

00:02:51.440 But that's not the sort of personality I'm going to be talking about in this video.

00:02:57.460 If you play the game a little bit, you'll quickly grasp the fact that each of the different

00:03:03.000 AIs has its own personality.

00:03:07.460 What I want to talk about is the personalities present in each empire that you play.

00:03:17.080 Because when you play Civilization, you pick out one of the empires to play as.

00:03:26.560 And that empire, its innate traits, because every one of them is a little bit different.

00:03:33.500 Every empire is going to have a special combat unit.

00:03:37.460 So for the Greeks, it's the Hoplites. 0.99

00:03:40.320 You know, for the Celts, it's the Pictish warrior.

00:03:43.860 And they're going to be based upon a regular unit, but a little bit different.

00:03:49.360 They're going to have some different bonuses, some different effects.

00:03:53.460 And you're also going to have unique buildings based upon the regular buildings, but a little

00:03:58.440 bit unique.

00:03:59.500 And some trait to your empire.

00:04:05.580 Now, all of these differences that you get, they create a lot of flavor to the game.

00:04:11.680 Because every game that you play is going to be different based upon who you are playing

00:04:17.600 as and who you're playing against.

00:04:22.840 And these innate qualities of the Civilization.

00:04:28.520 These always lead me.

00:04:30.700 When I play the game, I'm trying to play the perfect game.

00:04:34.900 I'm trying to tell a story.

00:04:38.540 I'm trying to build this civilization so that everything comes together in an aesthetic

00:04:45.360 whole.

00:04:46.960 So, I've recently been playing a game with the Celts.

00:04:50.720 And I'm going with a strong religious focus.

00:04:54.120 So I build Stonehenge, because that seems appropriate with the Celts. 1.00

00:04:57.680 And, you know, the Pictish warrior gets some bonuses from Faith.

00:05:03.420 I'm trying to play the perfect game by having a unique story.

00:05:10.020 The best story that I can play with the Celts.

00:05:13.860 And I'm trying to set up my cities to build an empire that's got a personality to it.

00:05:19.100 That has a meaning to it.

00:05:21.240 And, you know, it strikes me this is really what we do with our own lives.

00:05:32.240 Because every single one of us is born with certain personality traits.

00:05:39.920 Certain things.

00:05:41.480 Maybe they are just from our childhood that affected us.

00:05:45.140 Maybe we grew up in a small town.

00:05:46.780 Maybe we grew up in a big city.

00:05:48.100 You know, in a small town, maybe you're really naive.

00:05:53.620 In the big city, maybe you're really cynical.

00:05:58.020 And this is going to influence you throughout your life.

00:06:01.060 In the same way, in civilization, the buildings you choose to build right at the beginning,

00:06:07.400 or just the innate traits of the civilization that you're playing as,

00:06:11.000 are going to affect you right from the very beginning, all the way forward.

00:06:18.100 And now in the game, the game developers try and balance all of this stuff out, of course.

00:06:28.400 But the thing with the game, what really makes it interesting,

00:06:31.360 is that every single choice you make is a sacrifice.

00:06:35.200 You know, at the beginning stages,

00:06:37.360 are you going to build a granary,

00:06:39.920 which will help your city grow faster,

00:06:41.960 thus making you able to build things faster,

00:06:44.020 or will you build a library,

00:06:46.840 which allows you to increase science so you can develop technologies faster.

00:06:52.480 Everything is a trade-off.

00:06:55.320 Every decision is crucial,

00:06:57.660 especially at the beginning of the game.

00:06:59.660 And it really shows how things are going to turn out further down the road.

00:07:04.940 And so I like to find the most interesting,

00:07:11.420 the most characteristic,

00:07:13.240 the aesthetically pleasing,

00:07:15.300 the things that fit a narrative.

00:07:17.720 Those are the strategic choices I make.

00:07:20.260 For instance, building Stonehenge with the Celts, 1.00

00:07:23.420 because, you know, who else should build Stonehenge?

00:07:25.580 Now, there's a different type of perfect game.

00:07:38.040 That's the perfect game where you do everything perfectly.

00:07:42.620 That's where you put the game on easy mode.

00:07:47.020 And the world wonders.

00:07:48.900 Stonehenge is one of the world wonders.

00:07:50.800 Only one civilization can build it.

00:07:52.480 Whoever gets there first.

00:07:53.520 And it gives you special bonuses.

00:08:00.920 But if you're going to build Stonehenge,

00:08:02.800 you don't get to build the great library.

00:08:07.100 The other type of perfect game that you could feasibly play

00:08:10.360 is to put the difficulty on easy mode

00:08:13.240 and build all of the world wonders.

00:08:16.640 And have a civilization that is number one in culture,

00:08:20.180 number one in technology,

00:08:21.240 number one in landmass.

00:08:23.520 You name it.

00:08:28.320 But, you know, that's not much of a game, is it?

00:08:34.540 And, in fact, the only way you can do that

00:08:36.400 is effectively by cheating.

00:08:40.720 When you drop the difficulty level, 0.98

00:08:47.600 it's not that the AI gets stupider.

00:08:50.540 It's actually that they just give you more bonuses. 0.97

00:08:55.820 So you're living in an artificial environment,

00:08:58.660 creating an artificial story

00:09:00.540 with no trade-offs whatsoever,

00:09:03.140 just so you can be number one

00:09:05.220 all over all of these computer competitors.

00:09:15.300 Now let's step back from the video game for a moment

00:09:17.940 and introduce a second topic.

00:09:21.100 Insults.

00:09:26.600 Because, you know, I've been thinking a lot about this recently.

00:09:30.880 Insults are a very interesting phenomenon,

00:09:35.280 if you think about it.

00:09:36.420 Now, I'm not talking, like, the sort of insult

00:09:41.060 where, you know, it's like,

00:09:44.240 hey, buddy, you're skinny, you need to work out. 0.97

00:09:47.040 Or, you know, you stink, you need to have a shower. 0.98

00:09:50.460 Okay?

00:09:50.660 That's not what I'm talking about.

00:09:53.440 Some, sometimes you get,

00:09:55.240 if you're violating social standards,

00:09:57.180 you'll get a negative reaction saying,

00:09:59.400 hey, you're, you know, brush your teeth.

00:10:02.460 That sort of a thing.

00:10:04.840 You know, that's not an insult.

00:10:06.660 That's not bullying.

00:10:07.820 Okay?

00:10:08.100 That's, you're violating social standards

00:10:10.100 and people are trying to tell you,

00:10:11.480 hey, shape up or ship out.

00:10:13.360 Because we're not going to put up

00:10:14.340 with that behavior around here.

00:10:15.500 Now, insults...

00:10:21.500 Well, insults usually start out...

00:10:26.500 They start off with the shotgun approach.

00:10:31.420 If you've ever had anybody,

00:10:33.980 probably a family member,

00:10:37.040 that is angry at you.

00:10:40.280 You know, they're really angry at you.

00:10:42.900 And with families,

00:10:44.320 families tend to often be very, very nasty

00:10:48.260 because, you know,

00:10:49.060 you can't get rid of your family.

00:10:50.140 You're stuck with them.

00:10:53.460 So what they'll do

00:10:54.420 is they will shotgun you with insults.

00:10:59.900 Because they don't know what's going to insult you.

00:11:02.480 Or sometimes they do

00:11:03.840 because they know you really well.

00:11:05.260 But they'll say, you know, 1.00

00:11:07.520 you're a loser. 1.00

00:11:08.480 You're stupid. 1.00

00:11:09.640 You're ugly. 1.00

00:11:10.680 You're whatever. 1.00

00:11:12.520 And they'll keep throwing those at you

00:11:15.460 until they find one that sticks. 0.96

00:11:22.260 You know, if you call a rich guy a loser,

00:11:25.880 it's not going to hurt his feelings.

00:11:27.560 But if you say, you know,

00:11:29.380 it's like you're a virgin.

00:11:30.400 You say that to a guy that's dated a lot of women,

00:11:34.020 it's not going to hurt his feelings.

00:11:35.000 They're going to keep throwing them

00:11:38.300 until they find that spot

00:11:42.340 that you react.

00:11:45.120 And then they hone in on it.

00:11:46.720 Now, these civilizations

00:11:54.700 in civilization,

00:11:57.540 every one of them

00:11:58.820 has their strengths and weaknesses.

00:12:02.140 Okay?

00:12:02.540 Now, the way it's played in the game

00:12:04.760 is that you have all these bonuses.

00:12:09.240 Right?

00:12:09.720 But a bonus somebody else has,

00:12:13.260 that's foundationally,

00:12:15.180 that's no different from a weakness

00:12:16.640 that you have.

00:12:19.800 Psychologically, it's a little bit different

00:12:20.920 because everybody wants a bonus.

00:12:22.580 So here you get a bonus for culture.

00:12:24.240 Oh, that sounds really good.

00:12:25.140 Here you get a bonus with religion.

00:12:26.960 Oh, that sounds really good.

00:12:29.160 You know, you could just as well say

00:12:30.740 that you've got a negative in religion and military,

00:12:32.880 but you've got normal culture.

00:12:34.700 Oh, that sounds really bad.

00:12:35.780 Okay.

00:12:39.720 But it's these

00:12:44.480 contrasts

00:12:46.700 in strengths and weaknesses

00:12:48.420 that makes civilization so

00:12:51.320 interesting.

00:12:53.640 It's what makes the game worth playing.

00:12:56.560 That you're not just playing

00:12:57.640 Joe civilization. 0.58

00:13:00.260 Because Joe civilization, 0.98

00:13:02.380 you quickly figure out

00:13:03.560 what the best way to win the game is

00:13:05.620 and it's all over.

00:13:06.920 It's boring.

00:13:07.420 You're just playing a bunch

00:13:10.320 of computer AIs

00:13:12.100 and you're smarter than them.

00:13:13.320 You hack the system.

00:13:16.900 Because all the civilizations

00:13:18.320 are a little bit,

00:13:19.000 they each have their own

00:13:20.200 style,

00:13:21.280 their own flair.

00:13:23.320 That's what makes it interesting.

00:13:25.920 That's

00:13:26.360 what makes the contrast.

00:13:33.600 Now there's one place where

00:13:34.840 the game civilization breaks down.

00:13:37.420 And that's the

00:13:39.700 that's the win state

00:13:41.680 or the fail state.

00:13:45.320 The ultimate goal of civilization

00:13:46.840 is to achieve a victory.

00:13:50.180 And there's several different types of victory.

00:13:52.020 You can have the space race victory

00:13:53.760 by being the first one to colonize a planet.

00:13:55.560 You can have the cultural victory

00:13:58.040 by making everybody else

00:13:59.740 buy your Levi's jeans

00:14:01.200 and drink Coca-Cola.

00:14:02.820 You can have a military victory 0.83

00:14:05.340 by just annihilating all your opponents.

00:14:07.420 Um, 0.99

00:14:08.340 et cetera.

00:14:11.500 That's the one place where the game breaks down.

00:14:13.800 Because

00:14:14.200 civilization

00:14:15.540 is not actually about

00:14:17.840 achieving the victory.

00:14:21.920 Particularly with Civ 5,

00:14:23.920 which is the one I'm most experienced with.

00:14:27.160 Started on Civ 3,

00:14:28.380 but Civ 5 is the one I know the best.

00:14:30.780 Um,

00:14:31.140 I'll usually stop playing

00:14:33.000 late in the game.

00:14:35.540 Not just because I've already

00:14:36.880 ensured my victory,

00:14:38.320 but because I've lost interest.

00:14:43.980 Because civilization,

00:14:45.080 like,

00:14:45.160 the victory has to be there

00:14:46.480 because it's a video game.

00:14:47.840 And because eventually

00:14:48.580 you run out of technologies

00:14:49.840 to discover.

00:14:51.060 You know,

00:14:51.320 once you discover the

00:14:52.440 mech robots

00:14:53.400 of this future technology,

00:14:54.900 there's not much point

00:14:55.840 in playing anymore.

00:14:56.740 But I always come back to it

00:14:59.700 and I play a new game.

00:15:01.200 Because it's so interesting

00:15:02.860 to watch this development

00:15:05.200 and the networking.

00:15:07.060 Because you're trading

00:15:08.140 with these other civilizations.

00:15:09.660 You're competing

00:15:10.280 and you're cooperating.

00:15:12.480 Jordan B. Peterson

00:15:16.260 pointed this out.

00:15:17.120 Like,

00:15:17.280 when you watch a hockey game,

00:15:19.140 are the two teams,

00:15:20.220 are they competing

00:15:20.840 or are they cooperating?

00:15:23.520 What about the individual

00:15:24.480 players on the team?

00:15:25.720 Are they competing

00:15:26.620 with one another

00:15:27.200 or are they cooperating

00:15:28.280 with one another?

00:15:29.580 And it's a little bit of both.

00:15:34.380 And so the best part

00:15:35.500 of civilization

00:15:36.180 is where

00:15:37.960 you're cooperating.

00:15:40.360 You're competitively

00:15:42.160 cooperating

00:15:43.360 with all

00:15:44.480 the other civilizations.

00:15:51.160 And being number one,

00:15:53.020 being the best

00:15:53.540 at everything,

00:15:54.080 that's not fun.

00:15:55.280 That's not interesting.

00:15:56.080 It's not engaging.

00:16:01.580 So let's go back

00:16:02.380 to the insult.

00:16:03.260 Let's talk about

00:16:03.900 what an insult is.

00:16:05.180 So they're

00:16:06.080 peppering you

00:16:07.220 and then they

00:16:08.140 they figure out

00:16:10.400 that one thing

00:16:11.600 that you're sensitive

00:16:13.580 about.

00:16:17.380 And you say,

00:16:18.060 well,

00:16:18.540 you know,

00:16:19.300 you know,

00:16:20.180 it's not really my fault.

00:16:21.300 And then they

00:16:22.080 double down.

00:16:23.700 They attack you

00:16:24.300 even harder.

00:16:25.180 Now,

00:16:25.480 what are they doing here?

00:16:31.220 They're trying to

00:16:32.480 define,

00:16:35.060 to

00:16:35.400 delineate

00:16:36.640 your existence

00:16:39.380 through their words.

00:16:43.300 You know,

00:16:44.100 spiel,

00:16:46.460 spell.

00:16:48.360 They are casting

00:16:49.320 a spell on you.

00:16:53.420 And so,

00:16:54.520 let's say you have

00:16:55.340 a bunch of bullies

00:16:57.340 and let's, 0.92

00:16:59.840 for sake of argument,

00:17:00.440 let's say they're

00:17:00.960 smart.

00:17:02.300 Okay,

00:17:02.560 a bunch of geeks,

00:17:03.380 let's say they're 0.80

00:17:03.720 bullying a jock.

00:17:05.360 Because,

00:17:05.780 you know,

00:17:06.000 why not?

00:17:06.380 Let's invert

00:17:06.700 some tropes.

00:17:08.520 And they'll say,

00:17:09.320 oh,

00:17:09.480 you're just 1.00

00:17:09.880 a lunkhead. 1.00

00:17:10.860 You're just 1.00

00:17:11.380 a meathead. 0.99

00:17:12.980 You're just 1.00

00:17:13.280 violent. 0.54

00:17:14.900 You know,

00:17:15.200 you don't,

00:17:15.860 you don't have any,

00:17:16.600 you're just a

00:17:17.440 Greek creature.

00:17:27.520 Think of Montezuma

00:17:28.560 in civilization.

00:17:31.900 Now,

00:17:32.380 again,

00:17:32.560 this analogy

00:17:33.200 kind of breaks

00:17:33.800 down.

00:17:36.920 Because

00:17:37.400 warfare

00:17:37.960 in civilization,

00:17:39.620 it's often

00:17:41.000 slightly profitable

00:17:41.940 for both sides

00:17:42.980 in the military,

00:17:44.600 in the conflict.

00:17:45.600 It's not

00:17:46.020 equivalent,

00:17:47.540 it's not fully

00:17:48.080 equivalent to

00:17:48.820 real life fights.

00:17:50.800 It's not a

00:17:51.460 zero-sum

00:17:52.220 game

00:17:52.980 the way that

00:17:54.380 it can be

00:17:55.080 in real life.

00:17:55.660 both sides

00:17:58.260 get something

00:17:58.700 out of it.

00:17:59.220 You improve

00:18:00.220 the quality

00:18:00.640 of your military

00:18:01.360 by putting them

00:18:02.100 through the battle.

00:18:09.100 And again,

00:18:09.740 if you think

00:18:10.060 of Montezuma,

00:18:10.940 who's a very

00:18:11.560 militaristic character

00:18:12.620 in the game,

00:18:13.920 and it's,

00:18:14.380 all right,

00:18:14.560 so Montezuma

00:18:15.060 takes over

00:18:15.500 the entire world,

00:18:16.660 he wins,

00:18:17.880 now what?

00:18:20.420 That's not

00:18:20.940 interesting.

00:18:22.000 Yeah,

00:18:22.400 as soon as you

00:18:22.820 win the game,

00:18:23.480 it's not

00:18:23.760 interesting anymore.

00:18:25.660 And so

00:18:30.320 what these

00:18:32.900 geeks are trying

00:18:33.680 to do to the 0.95

00:18:34.160 bully

00:18:34.420 is they're

00:18:36.040 trying to

00:18:36.800 put their

00:18:37.580 standards upon

00:18:38.320 him.

00:18:40.480 They've got

00:18:41.280 the bonuses,

00:18:43.300 they're

00:18:43.640 intelligent,

00:18:44.780 they're geeky,

00:18:45.220 whatever,

00:18:45.600 and they're

00:18:46.160 going to say

00:18:46.400 this is the

00:18:47.540 standard

00:18:48.460 for living

00:18:49.600 your life.

00:18:50.160 and the

00:18:52.980 bully 0.59

00:18:53.520 is a 0.97

00:18:54.700 failure

00:18:55.240 at that

00:18:55.720 standard.

00:18:58.980 Or sorry, 0.90

00:18:59.580 that bully, 0.96

00:19:00.120 the jock, 1.00

00:19:01.820 the meathead,

00:19:02.420 the buff

00:19:02.980 dude,

00:19:03.640 he's a 0.99

00:19:04.100 failure 0.99

00:19:04.560 at being

00:19:06.120 smart.

00:19:10.900 And so

00:19:11.400 you say

00:19:11.640 that to

00:19:12.060 him,

00:19:12.460 and well,

00:19:14.000 and here's

00:19:14.460 the Freudian

00:19:14.960 slip that

00:19:15.640 you just

00:19:15.940 caught,

00:19:16.220 by the

00:19:16.420 way,

00:19:17.000 what does

00:19:17.500 he become

00:19:18.100 when you

00:19:19.100 say he's 1.00

00:19:19.640 stupid? 1.00

00:19:21.020 That he's 1.00

00:19:21.640 good for

00:19:22.080 nothing but

00:19:22.480 violence?

00:19:23.780 Well,

00:19:24.760 he becomes 0.93

00:19:25.760 a bully. 0.89

00:19:26.960 He becomes 0.98

00:19:27.800 nothing but

00:19:28.900 violence.

00:19:30.880 You have

00:19:31.700 turned him

00:19:32.320 into a 0.97

00:19:33.240 monster.

00:19:36.000 From the

00:19:36.680 Greek,

00:19:37.840 warning, 0.68

00:19:40.780 the monster,

00:19:41.420 something unnatural,

00:19:42.460 something that

00:19:42.740 doesn't belong,

00:19:44.840 you have

00:19:45.160 told him,

00:19:46.400 you're not 0.84

00:19:46.740 smart, 0.98

00:19:47.180 so you're 1.00

00:19:47.440 a monster. 1.00

00:19:47.920 and he

00:19:49.460 becomes a 0.77

00:19:49.880 monster.

00:19:55.880 This

00:19:56.360 is the

00:19:58.160 shadow

00:19:58.440 self.

00:20:04.120 See,

00:20:04.620 when they're

00:20:04.860 peppering you

00:20:05.680 with these

00:20:06.800 insults,

00:20:07.980 they don't

00:20:10.400 know what

00:20:10.600 your shadow

00:20:10.940 self is.

00:20:12.620 And again,

00:20:13.040 in civilization,

00:20:13.760 the enemy

00:20:15.500 AI doesn't

00:20:16.720 know where

00:20:18.020 your armies

00:20:18.620 are located,

00:20:19.460 it doesn't

00:20:19.740 know the

00:20:20.300 exact state

00:20:21.420 of your

00:20:21.700 culture,

00:20:22.740 it doesn't

00:20:23.480 know all

00:20:23.940 the details.

00:20:24.740 It's got an

00:20:25.100 idea,

00:20:26.460 but it doesn't

00:20:27.160 know all

00:20:27.420 the details.

00:20:30.740 And so

00:20:31.360 sometimes it

00:20:31.960 will poke

00:20:32.280 and prod at

00:20:32.840 you,

00:20:33.500 and test to

00:20:34.660 see if you're

00:20:35.040 weak.

00:20:39.280 And if it

00:20:39.940 discovers you're

00:20:40.620 weak,

00:20:40.880 then it will

00:20:41.360 go after

00:20:42.560 you.

00:20:47.040 And yet,

00:20:48.080 it's this

00:20:48.680 weakness that

00:20:49.420 you have

00:20:50.020 that makes

00:20:50.560 it so

00:20:50.840 interesting.

00:20:52.740 Okay,

00:20:53.240 where you're

00:20:53.440 saying,

00:20:53.880 I just need

00:20:54.440 another three

00:20:56.560 turns to

00:20:57.700 finish building

00:20:58.280 that monument.

00:20:59.780 You know,

00:21:00.000 just hold off,

00:21:00.660 I just don't

00:21:01.080 want a war 0.96

00:21:01.680 for a few

00:21:02.120 more turns.

00:21:04.180 That's what

00:21:04.720 makes it

00:21:05.080 interesting,

00:21:05.660 that's what

00:21:05.800 gives you

00:21:06.100 anticipation.

00:21:06.880 when we

00:21:18.000 target people

00:21:18.500 with bullying,

00:21:19.100 we are

00:21:19.460 targeting their

00:21:20.060 shadow self.

00:21:23.560 Because again,

00:21:24.360 in civilization,

00:21:25.320 you need to

00:21:25.800 present a

00:21:26.500 coherent front,

00:21:27.940 a strong

00:21:28.840 front.

00:21:29.480 Even if you're

00:21:30.100 going for the

00:21:30.980 scientific

00:21:31.680 victory,

00:21:32.600 or the

00:21:32.840 diplomatic

00:21:33.160 victory,

00:21:33.740 you still

00:21:34.680 need to

00:21:35.080 maintain a

00:21:35.780 large army.

00:21:36.600 You know,

00:21:38.560 you need to

00:21:39.020 be competent

00:21:39.680 at everything

00:21:40.480 and pick

00:21:41.360 one area

00:21:42.140 to excel

00:21:43.360 in.

00:21:45.500 And the

00:21:46.300 insult is

00:21:47.000 trying to

00:21:47.340 look at that

00:21:47.720 one area

00:21:48.560 where you're

00:21:49.440 weak,

00:21:50.340 or sometimes

00:21:51.340 even that

00:21:51.760 area where

00:21:52.180 you're strong,

00:21:53.100 and define

00:21:54.040 that as a

00:21:54.440 negative.

00:21:55.300 Define you

00:21:56.020 as negative.

00:21:59.240 And so

00:21:59.580 either you

00:22:00.360 become a

00:22:01.560 slave, 0.95

00:22:02.140 you submit 0.86

00:22:02.620 to them,

00:22:03.940 or you

00:22:05.760 become

00:22:06.460 the monster

00:22:08.020 that they 0.84

00:22:08.980 want you

00:22:09.460 to become.

00:22:21.420 And usually

00:22:22.240 when people

00:22:22.640 are insulting

00:22:23.240 you,

00:22:24.540 either you've

00:22:29.680 done something

00:22:30.120 or somebody

00:22:30.480 else has done

00:22:31.000 something to

00:22:32.620 them.

00:22:32.880 Somebody has

00:22:33.240 insulted them,

00:22:33.920 and they've

00:22:35.220 turned them

00:22:35.860 into the

00:22:37.460 monster.

00:22:38.640 They've

00:22:38.860 said,

00:22:39.060 oh,

00:22:39.200 you're

00:22:39.360 strong,

00:22:40.340 you're a

00:22:40.660 jock,

00:22:41.300 you're 0.92

00:22:41.580 nothing but 1.00

00:22:42.840 a violent 0.99

00:22:43.280 bully. 0.99

00:22:45.740 And so

00:22:46.300 they become

00:22:46.720 the violent

00:22:47.160 bully and

00:22:47.560 they go and

00:22:48.280 bully somebody

00:22:48.940 else.

00:22:49.320 the

00:22:59.760 strange thing

00:23:00.800 is that

00:23:01.100 when you

00:23:01.400 are that 0.99

00:23:01.800 monster,

00:23:02.820 the

00:23:03.500 monster

00:23:04.000 is in

00:23:06.140 complete

00:23:06.440 denial

00:23:06.920 about it.

00:23:12.780 The

00:23:13.480 person

00:23:13.820 insulting,

00:23:14.680 the 0.97

00:23:14.920 bully,

00:23:15.280 has

00:23:18.500 embraced

00:23:18.920 that

00:23:19.140 dynamic

00:23:19.600 of

00:23:20.160 being

00:23:20.620 a 0.96

00:23:20.780 monster,

00:23:21.140 but they

00:23:21.340 have

00:23:21.660 asserted

00:23:22.300 that it's

00:23:23.820 the only

00:23:24.400 way to

00:23:25.560 be.

00:23:27.700 So the

00:23:28.340 smart kids,

00:23:29.160 the geeks,

00:23:29.660 said to the

00:23:30.020 jock,

00:23:30.560 you're 1.00

00:23:31.080 stupid. 1.00

00:23:32.480 You can 1.00

00:23:33.060 never be

00:23:33.780 smart.

00:23:35.280 You're not

00:23:35.660 a real

00:23:35.980 person.

00:23:37.520 The jock

00:23:38.400 says,

00:23:39.240 well,

00:23:40.480 they're just

00:23:40.880 eggheads,

00:23:41.960 and I'm

00:23:42.280 going to go

00:23:42.580 pick on 0.68

00:23:43.120 them,

00:23:43.520 because

00:23:44.280 they're

00:23:44.660 a bunch

00:23:44.960 of 1.00

00:23:45.400 losers. 1.00

00:23:52.260 And all 1.00

00:23:53.100 of it

00:23:53.380 is about

00:23:53.760 running

00:23:54.200 away

00:23:54.820 from the

00:23:55.300 weakness.

00:23:57.360 It's,

00:23:57.560 again,

00:23:58.880 it's like

00:23:59.100 trying to

00:23:59.520 play that

00:23:59.880 game of

00:24:00.200 civilization

00:24:00.900 perfectly

00:24:02.360 where you

00:24:02.920 build

00:24:03.240 everything

00:24:03.860 and you're

00:24:04.580 the best

00:24:04.980 at

00:24:05.120 everything.

00:24:09.200 These

00:24:09.680 people that

00:24:10.020 go out

00:24:10.300 and do

00:24:10.560 that,

00:24:12.140 they're

00:24:12.820 denying

00:24:13.360 that they

00:24:14.080 have any

00:24:14.480 weaknesses.

00:24:16.640 And they're

00:24:17.460 saying,

00:24:18.420 I have

00:24:18.640 nothing but

00:24:19.260 strength.

00:24:20.140 I am

00:24:20.720 strong,

00:24:21.560 I am

00:24:21.840 good at

00:24:23.020 everything.

00:24:24.640 And there's

00:24:25.200 no contrast

00:24:25.780 in that.

00:24:26.160 And that

00:24:26.400 right there

00:24:26.840 is

00:24:27.180 narcissism.

00:24:32.220 And,

00:24:32.700 you know,

00:24:32.780 this is

00:24:33.020 something you're

00:24:33.460 seeing,

00:24:34.440 well,

00:24:35.920 I've talked

00:24:36.560 about it in

00:24:36.980 cinema,

00:24:37.600 you're seeing

00:24:38.200 it in

00:24:38.420 video games

00:24:39.000 now as

00:24:39.460 well.

00:24:39.720 because I'm

00:24:41.060 talking about

00:24:41.420 the contrast

00:24:42.280 of the

00:24:42.860 civilizations

00:24:43.440 and

00:24:43.940 civilization.

00:24:48.000 There also

00:24:48.800 used to be a

00:24:49.200 lot of

00:24:49.400 contrast in

00:24:50.060 RPGs.

00:24:52.600 You know,

00:24:53.260 the reason

00:24:53.760 when you're

00:24:55.020 doing the

00:24:55.340 pen and

00:24:55.620 paper

00:24:55.960 tabletop

00:24:56.680 RPG,

00:24:57.300 you wanted

00:24:57.680 a fighter

00:24:58.880 and a

00:24:59.400 rogue

00:24:59.700 and a

00:25:00.180 magic user.

00:25:01.500 You wanted

00:25:02.460 all these

00:25:03.080 different

00:25:03.500 specializations,

00:25:05.000 all of them

00:25:05.820 with slightly

00:25:06.280 different

00:25:06.680 personalities,

00:25:07.360 all of them

00:25:08.740 with their

00:25:09.380 own goals

00:25:09.920 and objectives

00:25:10.480 and messing

00:25:12.000 with one

00:25:12.460 another.

00:25:14.640 You know,

00:25:14.940 D&D is not

00:25:16.580 so much

00:25:17.380 about killing 0.99

00:25:18.100 the orcs 0.91

00:25:18.760 the DM

00:25:19.340 throws up

00:25:19.880 in front

00:25:20.160 of you,

00:25:20.660 it's about

00:25:21.280 interacting

00:25:22.020 with the

00:25:23.060 other people

00:25:23.540 in the

00:25:23.760 party who

00:25:24.280 all have

00:25:24.620 slightly

00:25:24.900 different

00:25:25.220 objectives.

00:25:30.320 But RPGs

00:25:31.420 nowadays,

00:25:32.420 look at the

00:25:32.880 transition from

00:25:33.620 the original

00:25:34.100 Fallouts to

00:25:35.740 Fallout 3 and

00:25:36.600 Fallout New

00:25:37.120 Vegas.

00:25:40.160 In these

00:25:40.940 Bethesda

00:25:41.380 games,

00:25:42.980 by end

00:25:43.680 game,

00:25:44.220 you are the

00:25:44.740 best at

00:25:45.240 everything.

00:25:46.080 You've

00:25:46.320 maxed out

00:25:46.980 your skills

00:25:47.900 at everything.

00:25:51.100 And so

00:25:51.820 it's not

00:25:52.220 interesting

00:25:53.080 anymore,

00:25:53.520 it's not

00:25:53.880 fun,

00:25:54.740 you're this

00:25:55.480 demigod 0.69

00:25:56.380 walking around

00:25:57.480 upon the

00:25:58.020 earth.

00:25:58.840 And what's

00:25:59.300 the interest

00:25:59.860 in that?

00:26:04.760 Except that

00:26:05.500 seems to be

00:26:06.060 what so many

00:26:06.640 people are

00:26:07.060 trying to

00:26:07.580 do.

00:26:10.420 You know,

00:26:11.000 we've seen

00:26:11.300 some,

00:26:12.460 this is,

00:26:13.520 this is what

00:26:14.680 we're seeing

00:26:15.000 everywhere,

00:26:16.220 okay,

00:26:16.480 in the

00:26:16.740 alt-right,

00:26:17.460 in mainstream

00:26:17.980 politics,

00:26:19.340 in mainstream

00:26:20.280 culture.

00:26:21.700 Everybody is

00:26:22.520 trying to be

00:26:23.300 perfect at

00:26:25.140 everything,

00:26:26.700 and denying

00:26:28.140 that they have

00:26:28.640 any shadow

00:26:29.100 self,

00:26:29.480 denying that

00:26:30.020 they have a

00:26:30.580 weakness,

00:26:31.460 and yet then

00:26:32.080 the shadow

00:26:32.760 self takes

00:26:35.220 over.

00:26:42.560 You know,

00:26:43.200 we feel so

00:26:43.780 much guilt

00:26:46.520 and shame,

00:26:48.580 not at,

00:26:50.920 not at things

00:26:51.800 we've done

00:26:52.300 wrong,

00:26:52.720 but at who

00:26:54.520 we are,

00:26:55.960 about the

00:26:56.720 quirks of

00:26:57.820 our personality.

00:27:03.500 And we try

00:27:04.240 and run

00:27:04.580 from those,

00:27:05.040 but we only

00:27:05.380 double down.

00:27:09.860 We only

00:27:10.500 become exactly

00:27:11.520 what we're

00:27:11.960 running from.

00:27:12.560 we allow

00:27:18.160 these,

00:27:18.620 these empty

00:27:19.200 words to,

00:27:20.180 to create

00:27:20.600 our lives.

00:27:25.320 When,

00:27:26.220 if we were

00:27:27.140 perfect,

00:27:28.180 if we were

00:27:29.020 the best at

00:27:29.580 everything,

00:27:30.800 if we didn't

00:27:31.640 have,

00:27:32.120 you know,

00:27:33.120 flaws,

00:27:34.440 life wouldn't

00:27:35.580 be interesting.

00:27:40.660 The new

00:27:41.340 Star Wars,

00:27:41.800 uh,

00:27:42.580 movie.

00:27:44.160 Star Wars,

00:27:44.960 uh,

00:27:45.180 episodes,

00:27:46.100 uh,

00:27:46.860 seven,

00:27:47.300 or whatever

00:27:47.580 it was.

00:27:51.180 Red Letter

00:27:51.700 Media commented,

00:27:53.520 they said

00:27:54.420 something along

00:27:54.920 the lines of,

00:27:55.480 like,

00:27:55.640 listen,

00:27:55.860 I'm not going

00:27:56.180 to complain

00:27:56.580 about there

00:27:56.920 being a

00:27:57.420 female protagonist

00:27:58.180 or anything.

00:27:58.660 Yeah,

00:27:58.840 that's,

00:27:59.100 that's cool,

00:27:59.640 that's interesting,

00:28:00.360 we've got

00:28:00.600 diversity,

00:28:01.220 but,

00:28:01.500 but where's

00:28:02.040 the romance?

00:28:06.320 How can

00:28:06.920 you have

00:28:07.280 romance

00:28:07.980 without

00:28:10.120 disparity?

00:28:11.800 when the

00:28:17.540 princess is

00:28:18.080 rescuing

00:28:18.540 herself,

00:28:19.160 there's

00:28:19.320 nobody

00:28:19.560 needed to

00:28:20.060 rescue the

00:28:20.520 princess.

00:28:20.860 you need

00:28:34.400 flaws,

00:28:35.680 you need

00:28:35.980 weaknesses

00:28:36.740 for life

00:28:38.000 to be

00:28:38.800 interesting.

00:28:39.320 These are

00:28:39.500 not things

00:28:40.580 that you

00:28:41.200 should

00:28:41.800 be feeling

00:28:43.580 terrible

00:28:44.680 about.

00:28:46.540 You know,

00:28:47.060 like,

00:28:47.320 we're all

00:28:48.120 a little

00:28:49.200 bit weird.

00:28:50.660 Okay?

00:28:51.080 And you

00:28:51.440 know what,

00:28:51.860 you need

00:28:52.160 to get,

00:28:52.540 whatever your

00:28:53.300 weirdness is,

00:28:54.300 you need

00:28:54.700 to get that

00:28:55.240 weirdness

00:28:55.900 into check.

00:28:58.060 Right?

00:28:58.760 Like,

00:28:59.060 even if you're

00:28:59.420 playing a

00:28:59.780 diplomatic game

00:29:00.620 in civilization,

00:29:01.500 you still need

00:29:01.960 to build an

00:29:02.380 army.

00:29:03.600 You need to

00:29:04.360 figure out how

00:29:05.060 to get along

00:29:05.500 with people.

00:29:06.000 but that

00:29:07.380 shadow self,

00:29:09.340 those weaknesses

00:29:10.100 within you,

00:29:12.040 that's not a

00:29:14.720 problem with

00:29:15.480 you,

00:29:15.780 that's just

00:29:16.580 you.

00:29:19.280 And the

00:29:19.980 game sure

00:29:20.560 as hell

00:29:20.960 wouldn't be

00:29:21.520 interesting

00:29:22.140 if we

00:29:23.120 didn't have

00:29:23.660 all these

00:29:24.440 differences

00:29:25.680 and disparities.

00:29:33.740 So what I'm

00:29:34.480 saying with

00:29:34.820 all of

00:29:35.180 this,

00:29:36.000 is,

00:29:38.780 you know,

00:29:39.600 the disparities,

00:29:42.080 the darkness,

00:29:43.300 that's what

00:29:44.500 makes life

00:29:45.000 interesting.

00:29:45.720 That's what

00:29:45.980 makes it

00:29:46.440 worth living.

00:29:51.960 And you

00:29:52.600 can't beat

00:29:53.060 yourself up.

00:29:54.440 You can't

00:29:55.280 hate yourself

00:29:55.940 and you can't

00:29:56.440 run from

00:29:56.940 yourself because 0.75

00:29:58.200 you're a

00:29:59.060 little bit

00:29:59.460 X.

00:30:01.300 Whether

00:30:01.820 it's

00:30:02.440 introverted

00:30:04.140 or,

00:30:04.940 too extroverted,

00:30:07.460 you lack 0.95

00:30:07.840 attention span,

00:30:09.160 or if it's

00:30:09.840 whatever it

00:30:12.120 is.

00:30:12.600 Whatever makes

00:30:13.240 you weird

00:30:13.980 is also what 0.72

00:30:14.840 makes you

00:30:15.460 you.

00:30:17.560 And if you

00:30:18.480 don't run

00:30:21.180 with that,

00:30:21.720 if you don't

00:30:22.200 embrace your

00:30:23.720 shadow self,

00:30:24.960 acknowledge it

00:30:26.020 and compensate

00:30:27.540 for it because,

00:30:28.560 you know,

00:30:29.080 you shouldn't be

00:30:29.520 walking around

00:30:30.520 being a victim

00:30:31.300 all the time,

00:30:32.060 you shouldn't be

00:30:33.520 nothing but your

00:30:35.400 shadow self.

00:30:39.840 You need the

00:30:41.120 balance,

00:30:42.200 the light and

00:30:43.660 the dark.

00:30:45.480 Otherwise,

00:30:46.480 you just fall

00:30:47.260 into this pit

00:30:48.240 of nihilism,

00:30:51.320 of pride,

00:30:53.460 and ultimately

00:30:54.340 of self-destruction.

00:31:08.140 At the end of the

00:31:08.980 day, you've got to

00:31:09.560 live with yourself

00:31:10.300 and that really

00:31:12.000 ain't so bad.

00:31:12.960 I'm not saying

00:31:16.580 don't self-improve,

00:31:18.140 but I am saying

00:31:18.940 don't pretend

00:31:21.200 to be something

00:31:21.780 you're not.

00:31:23.140 Just try

00:31:24.040 and be the

00:31:24.680 best version.

00:31:27.780 Tell the

00:31:28.200 best story

00:31:29.520 that you

00:31:31.200 can possibly

00:31:32.100 tell.

00:31:35.180 Thanks for

00:31:35.940 listening,

00:31:36.380 folks.

00:31:37.980 Deus

00:31:38.220 Volt,

00:31:39.580 Irini out.

00:31:42.960 Number

00:31:55.980 Passing

00:32:01.400 to

00:32:02.440 Miss

00:32:08.960 Miss

00:32:09.480 Miss

00:32:10.740 Miss

00:32:11.640 Miss

00:32:12.640 Miss

00:32:12.900 Miss

00:32:12.920 Miss

Leo D.M.J. Aurini - February 01, 2017

Sid Meier's Civilization, Personality, and the Shadow Self

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript