trsh

This is a great way to frame a shift in perspective around what we consume, but just to add some nuance to this: not only should we be thoughtful about the content we consume in a similar way that we are thoughtful about the food we consume, but we should also be self compassionate.

Sometimes we want to eat those Chicken 'n' Waffles, just like sometimes we go on a trashy TV show binge! It's just a small thing that serves as a comforting release, and we shouldn't let the guilt overcome us!

The idea that because it's risky right now and that a decrease in risk will provide higher returns isn't necessarily sound. For example, playing a financial equivalent to Russian roulette won't give you higher returns. You can look at the countries titled with the euphemistic "developing markets" which have historically had extremely high risks AND a much lower return than in lower risk countries. The risk-return trade-off may be assumed often, but there are controversies, and it's underlying theoretical basis only holds in an efficient capital markets where market participants are capable of pricing risk. A bank can price the risk of a mortgage default, but how can you price the risk of anything in the Blockchain space, like say Ethereum getting completely wiped out by a hack, etc?

I don't find this idea very compelling at all.

A good/bad axis over time doesn't really tell you anything new about the story that you don't already know, and the only information contained in the "shape" is how many times the good/bad axis is crossed (I don't see how Cinderella is more 'step shaped' than 'boy meets girl' stories). Crossing this good/bad axis already has a better concept to describe it while also encapsulating more complex story events: the plot point.

The idea is completely useless in stories with any ambiguity (most good stories), or absurdist, or anti-hero (like Taxi Driver), or conflicting narratives, or where time isn't uni-directional (such as recollections like Citizen Kane) etc.

I feel like life is a lot better if people prioritize these things in the reverse order of what Winston prescribes. Look at our bureaucracies and you'll see that the people leading it have taken Winston's advice to heart -- excellent speakers, decent writers, and low quality ideas / creativity.

Although personally, I have no desire to become like the people who currently lead our society -- the most 'successful' -- so I guess I'm disagreeing more with his definition of success than his means of achieving it within the bounds he has set.