Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is an introduction to Any Austin:
Any Austin has carved a unique niche for himself on YouTube: analyzing seemingly mundane or otherwise overlooked details in video games with the seriousness of an art critic examining Renaissance sculptures. With millions of viewers hanging on his every word about fluvial flows in Breath of the Wild or unemployment rates in the towns of Skyrim, Austin has become what Tyler calls “the very best in the world at the hermeneutics of infrastructure within video games.” But Austin’s deeper mission is teaching us to think analytically about everything we encounter, and to replace gaming culture’s obsession with technical specs and comparative analysis with a deeper aesthetic appreciation that asks simply: what are we looking at, and what does it reveal?
Excerpt:
COWEN: The role in history is important to me. Now AI-generated art would have its own role in history, but it wouldn’t compete directly with Michelangelo. When it comes to movies, I think it’s different because mostly when I’m seeing movies, I’m seeing new movies that don’t yet have a role in history. If the new movie were made in part or fully by the AI, or maybe I’m making it myself, I don’t think I would be any less interested. It’s all artifice anyway.
AUSTIN: There’re two things I take a little issue with there. I don’t take issue with the fact that the role in history is important and beautiful, but the fact that you can watch a movie and get an emotional thing from it without having its role in history implies that there’s some intrinsic, whatever, value to the movie itself, et cetera. Is the implication there that if you didn’t know the role in history of Michelangelo’s David, or whatever, you would look at it and go, “That’s just a guy.” Do you think there’s no intrinsic something to that thing?
COWEN: There’s some, but if I didn’t understand Christianity, Florence, the Renaissance, I think it would lose more than half its value.
AUSTIN: Which artistic mediums is that true for you, and which ones isn’t it? Like music —
COWEN: Abstract music — the role in history is not that important in most cases.
AUSTIN: It’s more of a supplement to you. It makes it more fun to learn about. If you know that Mozart was in the place with these people and were . . . If you understand all of that stuff, it’s fun.
COWEN: That’s 10 percent of the value, but not that much.
AUSTIN: Is it 10 percent . . . Is it the same type of value to you? Or is it just a separate thing to know —
COWEN: Separate thing. With opera, the role in history becomes important again. You hear Don Giovanni. You know about Romanticism, the Enlightenment, Casanova. It all makes much more sense, and it’s funnier.
And this:
COWEN: I have a favorite infrastructure. For me, it would be bridges, ports, and harbors. Do you have a favorite infrastructure?
AUSTIN: Definitely. I’m a big fan of . . . Oh, man, bridges are really good. Bridges, ports, harbors. Roads are good. Actually, no, it’s the stuff we don’t see. Sewage is pretty crazy to me. That we’ve managed to take care of all of that is pretty wild. Energy infrastructure is really fascinating to me.
COWEN: I love wind power turbines.
AUSTIN: Wind power turbines are scary, but I respect your opinion. Nuclear power plants are awesome. Really, really cool.
COWEN: Agreed.
AUSTIN: We should have more. That’s not a policy thing. I think they’re neat. We should build them for the aesthetics, honestly. We should just build those towers. Forget about the —
COWEN: You don’t need the power. Just build the thing. That’s why it’s an artwork.
AUSTIN: Yes, I agree. You have to put in some kind of steam thing because you want to see the steam coming out of it, but just generate steam for no reason. Don’t put any fans in or any spinning turbines or anything. Just have them.
COWEN: We would have historical context like with the sculptures, right?
Definitely recommended, an excellent and very different episode.
And note that Conversations with Tyler now has a dedicated YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com/@CowenConvos.
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