Dang you've made me reconsider a few things. You're right in that Dune is not subverting the Chosen One but more the Foreign Messiah trope. And also the fact that the Paul's arc is shown as tragic than a decent into Evil. Having Power didn't necessarily make him Evil but that depends on who you ask.

(I also love your phrases. "Wibbly wobbly..“ and fucking the dog...)

I do see your point of the lack of free will removing any morality conundrum off Paul. Depending on the scale of foresight (next week, next 10 years, next few centuries), the weight of each decision flips on its head. E.g. killing millions of sandpeople is bad on a small scale.. but super necessary when the entire human race is on the line. The more books you read, the more it feels that Herbert 'retcons' everything. The only insight into Paul's character and his decisions have to be judged before he went all Godlike (pre drinking Water of Life).

My introduction to Dune isn't as cool as yours as I mostly audiobooked so it's hazy. Maybe not with Jamis but potentially with Fade Rautha, he was faced with a Choice. With fight against Jamis for example, Paul knew he could most probably win so his actions were chosen. I brought the Dark Side theme (and conversely the Good) into this since the Taoist philosophy of the Force is quite sympathetic to the message of "understand your role is on a cosmic scale and please try not to have ego". Luke, if he was a Yoda level Jedi, may not have made same Choice as Paul (assuming Paul could only see glimpses into small future at this stage). He would have simply be struck down as Obi Wan had done? If we give Luke prescience, then yeah, he'll probably do as Paul does and try for the Greater Good.

True test of character is when you have incomplete information and then are judged by your intent.. and there are only a handful of moments where Paul consciously pushes the dominoes available to him. Paul is shown, in those few moment of actual agency, to make the Choice towards survival, revenge and Ego (one of which in my head can classify him as somewhat Evil on my scale, but different on yours since survival+family is a relatable and human trait). Whether he could glimpse 1Million years into future or 10 years, that's up to debate. Extrapolations on incomplete information is dangerous.. But he chose to consciously trust it. Surprise surprise, it was the bestest decision in the universe! Luke is shown as well meaning Good and, if in Paul's shoes, therefore would push the dominoes that favor immediate bonds and choosing the Right thing (not killing Palpatine when he had the chance for example?). Surprise surprise, it would be the bestest decision in the universe.

Yep, throwing in foresight completely allows Paul to sidestep ethics. And cue years of trolley problems. We don't have counter factuals and just have to play along with Herbert's word which as you said, jumps many sharks and takes plenty of narrative shortcuts.

My entire argument hinges on this assumption: prescience, as depicted in the books was not a 100% Omniscience. More like hallucinogenic coffee where your previous knowledge and biases affect the path of extrapolation. When Paul gets generations of Matriarch knowledge, he can extrapolate better and further. Before that, he's somewhat relatable and makes choices which can be looked at as self serving. Luke would have done the same.. Yoda may not have due to his trust in the Force.

(Sorry for the length. Thank you for engaging)

Maybe that's why the Egyptian Pharaohs were buried with all their stuff...

This is a hard ask.. especially since there are so many snake oil folks.

I know it's basic advice but.. It may be worth looking on YouTube for "Life as a X" or some of those "Experiences working as an Y" or "How I would start in Z now" videos. All the Career advisors have migrated into the over sharing economy, which is nice. You can get a feel of the people and advice and then potentially message them for specifics.

Happy Hunting!

Just let the AI out of the box! I liked that small twist in turning Minutes into a proper "character". She would be scary as the actual villain, one trying to 'revive' the actual Kang, trying to mold variants into the version she likes by manipulating events. If she falls, bye bye timeline. She could eventually succeed and Kang gets in power and then you might get a HAL9000 moment maybe..

But back to the point, the pacing seems off somehow. We should know the characters by now and the tensions should manifest but it's just not hitting the spot for me yet. At least there seems to be a clear story and certain bits are well thought out so hoping it leads somewhere nice.

Steins;Gate is one of those few shows I'd recommend which come with the annoying disclaimer "You need to watch until episode X and then you're in for a ride"

And what a ride. Tuturuuu.

Thank you for sharing. I love the "philosophy will come back to me" line.

Forgive my analogies.. it's almost as if you're using "Philosophy" as a map. Your initial studies helped you draw it up and kinda internalize it. Now you know roughly know where you are going and your community also help you not get lost. If you do lose way, you'll peek at the map, tweak it as per your surroundings and keep walking. It feels like you've found a nice ratio and I pray you find your footing in each step.

My initial analogy of equating philosophy to a compass was a little lacking. It's more relatable to Faith... Now I'm of the opinion I haven't read enough!

I'm my case, I'm kinda sure what path I'm on but I end up constantly peeking/tweaking at my map and then end up getting lost as I'm not looking up. It seems a balance is possible but need to go over that initial hurdle of drawing the map first. And as you mentioned, it's important to keep walking the uphill walk, even if simply on faith.

Sometimes there are moments where some people have different life experiences which lead to different stimuli of insight. These people may potentially take criticism roughly and may need some easing and gentleness. Such people may have the tendency to withdraw or lose confidence upon hearing relatively short messages with no emotional context and then perceive them having negative intent or feeling that they are not worth you time. They may want to talk to sit and form connections instead of pure efficiency of communication. (/s?)

I enjoy shaping bushes. Great memories.

Played Alpha and vividly remembered the first night when the monsters come out. Terrified.

Then I discovered mods. Entire game changer when I discovered the Portal Gun.

Good times.

Maybe op has only used shower gloves and has now seen the light..

Someone added in "or laziness or busyness" and it stuck with me.

I can't put a finger on the missing piece.. the cast are doing their best. The paranoia concept is great but it's never "shown". The time with Hill and the opening sequence were the only memorable times where the identity change had an impact.

I understand the undercurrent fear but it feels like there's no set up, just telling the changes. For example, everyone says Fury has changed but we never see the decline? Maybe the change is that he's becoming a tired, old, cranky man? I wanted to see Fury planning and shrewd and espionagey.

I've kept up with almost all MCU (for my sins) so maybe it's an "unexplored character" thing. Going to keep watching for hope of payoff of these relatively boring setups.

Now I'm like.. what to do? Should I just let go completely?

What then?