197. The Outsider on the Inside: Marcus Collins [reads] "Predictably Irrational."

Marcus Collins reading from Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational.

If you're an anglophile and of a certain age, then you'll know the comedic operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, The Pirates of Penzance, Trial by Jury, The Mikado. They are all classics. I mean, I am an anglophile of a certain age, so I can sing the entirety of I Am a Very Model of a Modern Major General. I mean, really: 

“I am the very model of a modern major general. I've information, vegetable, and animal, and mineral. I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical, from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical. I'm very well acquainted, too, with mathematical. I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical. About binomial theorem, I'm teeming with a lot of news. Ha ha, with many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.”

Now, tell me, do you get that from any other podcast? I don't think so. And you may laugh, but I've won a pub quiz by being able to recite that. Now, Gilbert and Sullivan were actually all about the laughs. Their operators are very funny. But outside that partnership, they were both hungry to do more serious work. Now, really the only work I know is by Sullivan, Arthur Sullivan, and it's a song called The Lost Chord. And he wrote it on the deathbed of his brother. And the opening lyrics go like this. 

I was seated one day at the organ. I was weary and ill at ease, and my fingers wandered idly over the noisy keys. I know not what I was playing or what I was dreaming then, but I struck one chord of music, like the sound of a great amen.

One chord, the sound of a great amen. It is such a powerful way to name a moment of insight, of awareness, of presence, of deep familiarity, of awe. So, are you listening for your one chord? Because hearing it can make all the difference.

Marcus Collins, a creative at heart and a product of Detroit, brings a unique perspective to the podcast with his background in advertising, music, and academia. As a researcher and author of "For the Culture," Marcus delves into the complexities of human behavior and cultural influences. His experiences as an outsider and insider have shaped his empathetic approach to understanding the forces that shape our interactions and behaviors in society.

Subscribe to the 2 Pages newsletter at https://2pageswithmbs.substack.com.

Marcus Collins reads two pages from Predictably Irrational. [reading begins at 26:47]

Hear us discuss:

• "Understanding the impact of the Ten Commandments and curbing dishonesty might help prevent the next Enron-like fraud." [28:47]
• "The truth is subjective, right? The world manifests through your meaning making system based on how you see the world." [33:38]
• "Culture is always evolving. It's always changing. But those things could change the vector. It can go left or right. It can go negative or positive." [44:22]
• "We traverse the world believing that we have all the agency there is that we wake up in the morning, decide what we're going to wear, where we're going to go, we're going to do, who we're going to marry, if we're going to marry." [45:37]
• "The influence of the social world in which we navigate is far greater than we give it credit for." [45:24]

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Resources:

Marcus Collins | Website | For the Culture

Dan Ariely | Predictably Irrational

Mentioned Episodes:

#11 Conflict & Curiosity with Ian Leslie

#24 How to be 100% Yourself with Jordan Dinwiddie