Podcasts about Gorgias

Elliot Trabac est Senior Data Analytics Engineering Manager chez Gorgias. La scaleup qui propose une plateforme d'IA conversationnelle permettant aux e-commerçants de mieux gérer leur support client. Aujourd'hui ils comptent plus de 15 000 clients.On aborde :

After enjoying her new book Open Socrates so much (and having written about her previous book Aspiration in Second Act), I was delighted to talk to Agnes Callard, not least because, as she discusses in Open Socrates, she is a big Tolstoy admirer. We talked about Master and Man, one of my favourite Tolstoy stories, but also about the value of reading fiction, the relationship between fiction and a thought experiment, and other topics of related interest. George Eliot makes an appearance too. In the discussion about the use of fiction in philosophy classes, I was slightly shocked to hear about how much (or how little) reading her undergraduates are prepared to do, but I was interested that they love Pessoa. Agnes has previously written that the purpose of art is to show us evil. Here is Agnes on Twitter. Transcript below, may contain errors!I found this especially interesting.Exactly, and I mean, 10 seconds, that's a wild exaggeration. So do you know what the actual number is? No. On average. Okay, the average amount of time that you're allowed to wait before responding to something I say is two tenths of a second, which, it's crazy, isn't it? Which, that amount of time is not enough time for, that is a one second pause is an awkward pause, okay? So two tenths of a second is not long enough time for the signal that comes at the end of my talking, so the last sound I make, let's say, to reach your ears and then get into your brain and be processed, and then you figure out what you want to say. It's not enough time, which means you're making a prediction. That's what you're doing when I'm talking. You're making a prediction about when I'm going to stop talking, and you're so good at it that you're on almost every time. You're a little worse over Zoom. Zoom screws us up a little bit, right? But this is like what our brains are built to do. This is what we're super good at, is kind of like interacting, and I think it's really important that it be a genuine interaction. That's what I'm coming to see, is that we learn best from each other when we can interact, and it's not obvious that there are those same interaction possibilities by way of text at the moment, right? I'm not saying there couldn't be, but at the moment, we rely on the fact that we have all these channels open to us. Interestingly, it's the lag time on the phone, like if we were talking just by phone, is about the same. So we're so good at this, we don't need the visual information. That's why I said phone is also face-to-face. I think phone's okay, even though a lot of our informational stream is being cut. We're on target in terms of the quick responses, and there's some way in which what happens in that circumstance is we become a unit. We become a unit of thinking together, and if we're texting each other and each of us gets to ponder our response and all that, it becomes dissociated.Transcript (AI generated)Henry: Today, I am talking to Agnes Callard, professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, author of Aspiration, and now most recently, Open Socrates. But to begin with, we are going to talk about Tolstoy. Hello, Agnes: .Agnes: Hello.Henry: Shall we talk about Master of Man first?Agnes: Yeah, absolutely.Henry: So this is one of Tolstoy's late stories. I think it's from 1895. So he's quite old. He's working on What is Art? He's in what some people think is his crazy period. And I thought it would be interesting to talk about because you write a lot in Open Socrates about Tolstoy's midlife crisis, for want of a better word. Yeah. So what did you think?Agnes: So I think it's sort of a novel, a story about almost like a kind of fantasy of how a midlife crisis could go if it all went perfectly. Namely, there's this guy, Brekhunov, is that his name? And he is, you know, a landowner and he's well off and aristocratic. And he is selfish and only cares about his money. And the story is just, he takes this, you know, servant of his out to, he wants to go buy a forest and he wants to get there first before anyone else. And so he insists on going into this blizzard and he gets these opportunities to opt out of this plan. And he keeps turning them down. And eventually, you know, they end up kind of in the middle of the blizzard. And at kind of the last moment, when his servant is about to freeze to death, he throws himself on top of the servant and sacrifices himself for the servant. And the reason why it seems like a fantasy is it's like, it's like a guy whose life has a lacuna in it where, you know, where meaning is supposed to be. And he starts to get an inkling of the sort of terror of that as they're spending more and more time in the storm. And his initial response is like to try to basically abandon the servant and go out and continue to get to this forest. But eventually he like, it's like he achieves, he achieves the conquest of meaning through this heroic act of self-sacrifice that is itself kind of like an epiphany, like a fully fulfilling epiphany. He's like in tears and he's happy. He dies happy in this act of self-sacrifice. And the fantasy part of it is like, none of it ever has to get examined too carefully. It doesn't like, his thought doesn't need to be subjected to philosophical scrutiny because it's just this, this one momentary glorious kind of profusion of love. And then it all ends.Henry: So the difficult question is answered the moment it is asked. Exactly, exactly, right?Agnes: It's sort of, it's, I see it as like a counterpart to the death of Ivan Ilyich.Henry: Tell me, tell me more.Agnes: Well, in the death of Ivan Ilyich, the questions surface for even, you know, when death shows up for him. And he suddenly starts to realize, wait a minute, I've lived my whole life basically in the way that Brekhunov did. Basically in the way that Brekhunov does as, you know, pursuing money, trying to be a socially successful person. What was the point of all that? And he finds himself unable to answer it. And he finds himself, it's the exact opposite. He becomes very alienated from his wife and his daughter, I think.Henry: Yeah.Agnes: And the absence of an answer manifests as this absence of connection to anyone, except an old manservant who like lifts up his legs and that's the one relief that he gets. And, you know, it's mostly in the gesture of like someone who will sacrifice themselves for another. Right, that's once again where sort of meaning will show up for a Tolstoy, if it ever will show up in a kind of direct and unashamed way.Henry: Right, the exercise of human compassion is like a running theme for him. Like if you can get to that, things are going great. Otherwise you've really screwed up.Agnes: Yeah, that's like Tolstoy's deus ex machina is the sudden act of compassion.Henry: Right, right. But you think this is unphilosophical?Agnes: I think it's got its toe in philosophical waters and sort of not much more than that. And it's in a way that makes it quite philosophical in the sense that there's a kind of awareness of like a deep puzzle that is kind of like at the heart of existence. Like there's a sensitivity to that in Tolstoy that's part of what makes him a great writer. But there's not much faith in the prospect of sort of working that through rationally. It's mostly something we just got a gesture at.Henry: But he does think the question can be answered. Like this is what he shares with you, right? He does think that when you're confronted with the question, he's like, it's okay. There is an answer and it is a true answer. We don't just have to make some, he's like, I've had the truth for you.Agnes: Yes, I think that that's right. But I think that like the true answer that he comes to is it's compassion and it's sort of religiously flavored compassion, right? I mean, that it's important. It's not just. Yeah, it's a very Christian conclusion. Right, but the part that's important there in a way, even if it's not being Christian, but that it's being religious in the sense of, yes, this is the answer. But if you ask for too much explanation as to what the answer is, it's not going to be the right answer. But if you ask for too much explanation as to why it's the answer, you're going the wrong way. That is, it's gotta, part of the way in which it's the answer is by faith.Henry: Or revelation.Agnes: Or, right, faith, exactly. But like, but it's not your task to search and use your rational faculties to find the answer.Henry: I wonder though, because one of the things Tolstoy is doing is he's putting us in the position of the searcher. So I read this, I'm trying to go through like all of Tolstoy at the moment, which is obviously not, it's not currently happening, but I'm doing a lot of it. And I think basically everything in Tolstoy is the quest for death, right? Literature is always about quests. And he's saying these characters are all on a quest to have a good death. And they come very early or very late to this. So Pierre comes very early to this realization, right? Which is why he's like the great Tolstoy hero, master of man, Ivan Ilyich, they come very, and Tolstoy is like, wow, they really get in under the wire. They nearly missed, this is terrible. And all the way through this story, Tolstoy is giving us the means to see what's really going on in the symbolism and in all the biblical references, which maybe is harder for us because we don't know our Bible, like we're not all hearing our Bible every week, whereas for Tolstoy's readers, it's different. But I think he's putting us in the position of the searcher all the time. And he is staging two sides of the argument through these two characters. And when they get to the village and Vasily, he meets the horse thief and the horse thief's like, oh, my friend. And then they go and see the family and the family mirrors them. And Tolstoy's like, he's like, as soon as you can see this, as soon as you can work this out, you can find the truth. But if you're just reading the story for a story, I'm going to have to catch you at the end. And you're going to have to have the revelation and be like, oh my God, it's a whole, oh, it's a whole thing. Okay, I thought they were just having a journey in the snow. And I think he does that a lot, right? That's, I think that's why people love War and Peace because we go on Pierre's journey so much. And we can recognize that like, people's lives have, a lot of people's lives happen like that. Like Pierre's always like half thinking the question through and then half like, oh, there's another question. And then thinking that one through and then, oh, no, wait, there's another question. And I think maybe Tolstoy is very pragmatic. Like that's as philosophical as most people are going to get. Pierre is in some ways the realistic ideal.Agnes: I mean, Pierre is very similar to Tolstoy just in this respect that there's a specific like moment or two in his life where, he basically has Tolstoy's crisis. That is he confronts these big questions and Tolstoy describes it as like, there was a screw in his head that had got loose and he kept turning it, but it kept, it was like stripped. And so no matter when you turned it, it didn't go. It didn't grab into anything. And what happens eventually is like, oh, he learns to have a good conventional home life. Like, and like not, don't ask yourself these hard questions. They'll screw you up. And I mean, it's not exactly compassion, but it's something close to that. The way things sort of work out in War and Peace. And I guess I think that you're sort of right that Tolstoy is having us figure something out for ourselves. And in that way, you could say we're on a journey. There's a question, why? Why does he have us do that? Why not just tell us? Why have it figured out for ourselves? And one reason might be because he doesn't know, that he doesn't know what he wants to tell us. And so you got to have them figure out for themselves. And I think that that is actually part of the answer here. And it's even maybe part of what it is to be a genius as a writer is to be able to write from this place of not really having the answers, but still be able to help other people find them.Henry: You don't think it's, he wants to tell us to be Christians and to believe in God and to take this like.Agnes: Absolutely, he wants to tell us that. And in spite of that, he's a great writer. If that were all he was achieving, he'd be boring like other writers who just want to do that and just do that.Henry: But you're saying there's something additional than that, that is even mysterious to Tolstoy maybe.Agnes: Yeah.Henry: Did you find that additional mystery in Master in Man or do you see that more in the big novels?Agnes: I see it the most in Death of Ivan Ilyich. But I think it's true, like in Anna Karenina, I can feel Tolstoy being pulled back and forth between on the one hand, just a straight out moralistic condemnation of Anna. And of, there are the good guys in this story, Levine and Kitty, and then there's this like evil woman. And then actually being seduced by her charms at certain moments. And it's the fact that he is still susceptible to her and to the seductions of her charms, even though that's not the moral of the story, it's not the official lesson. There's like, he can't help but say more than what the official lesson is supposed to be. And yeah, I think if he were just, I think he makes the same estimation of himself that I am making in terms of saying, look, he finds most of his own art wanting, right? In what is art? Because it's insufficiently moralistic basically, or it's doing too much else besides being, he's still pretty moralistic. I mean, even War and Peace, even Anna Karenina, he's moralistic even in those texts, but his artistry outstrips his moralism. And that's why we're attracted to him, I think. If he were able to control himself as a writer and to be the novelist that he describes as his ideal in what is art, I don't think we would be so interested in reading it.Henry: And where do you see, you said you saw it in Ivan Ilyich as well.Agnes: Yes, so I think in Ivan Ilyich, it is in the fact that there actually is no deus ex machina in Ivan Ilyich. It's not resolved. I mean, you get this little bit of relation to the servant, but basically Ivan Ilyich is like the closest that Tolstoy comes to just like full confrontation with the potential meaninglessness of human existence. There's something incredibly courageous about it as a text.Henry: So what do you think about the bit at the end where he says he was looking for his earlier accustomed fear of death, but he couldn't find it. Where was death? What death? There was no fear whatsoever because there was no death. Instead of death, there was light. Suddenly he said, oh, that's it, oh bliss.Agnes: Okay, fair enough. I'd like forgotten that.Henry: Oh, okay. Well, so my feeling is that like you're more right. So my official thing is like, I don't agree with that, but I actually think you're more right than I think because to me that feels a bit at the end like he saw the light and he, okay, we got him right under the line, it's fine. And actually the bulk of the story just isn't, it's leading up to that. And it's the very Christian in all its imagery and symbolism, but it's interesting that this, when it's, this is adapted into films like Ikiru and there was a British one recently, there's just nothing about God. There's nothing about seeing the light. They're just very, very secular. They strip this into something totally different. And I'm a little bit of a grumpy. I'm like, well, that's not what Tolstoy was doing, but also it is what he was doing. I mean, you can't deny it, right? The interpreters are, they're seeing something and maybe he was so uncomfortable with that. That's why he wrote what is art.Agnes: Yeah, and that's the, I like that. I like that hypothesis. And right, I think it's like, I sort of ignore those last few lines because I'm like, ah, he copped out at the very end, but he's done the important, he's done the important, the important work, I think, is for instance, the scene with, even on his wife, where they part on the worst possible terms with just hatred, you know, like just pure hatred for the fact that she's forcing him to pretend that he isn't dying. Like that is like the profound moment.Henry: What I always remember is they're playing cards in the other room. And he's sitting there, he's lying there thinking about like the office politics and curtain, like what curtain fabrics we have to pick out and the like, his intense hatred of the triviality of life. And I love this because I think there's something, like a midlife crisis is a bit like being an adolescent in that you go through all these weird changes and you start to wonder like, who am I? What is my life? When you're an adolescent, you're told that's great. You should go ahead and you should, yes, lean into that. And when you're like in your forties, people are going, well, try and just put a lid on that. That's not a good idea. Whereas Tolstoy has the adolescent fury of like curtains and cards. Oh my, you know, you can feel the rage of his midlife crisis in some of that seemingly mundane description. Yeah. I think that's what we respond to, right? That like his hatred in a way.Agnes: Yeah. I mean, maybe we, many of us just have trouble taking ourselves as seriously as Tolstoy was able to, you know? And that's something, there's something glorious about that, that anyone else would listen to the people around them telling him, hey, don't worry, you're a great guy. Look, you wrote these important novels. You're a hero of the Russian people. You've got this wife, you're an aristocrat. You've got this family, you've got your affairs. I mean, come on, you've got everything a man could want. Just be happy with it all, you know? Many of us might be like, yeah, okay, I'm being silly. And Tolstoy is like, no one's going to tell me that I'm silly. Like I'm the one who's going to tell myself, if anything. And that kind of confidence is, you know, why he's sort of not willing to dismiss this thought.Henry: Yeah, yeah, interesting. So how do you think of Master and Man in relation to all the others? Because you know Tolstoy pretty well. You teach him a lot. How do you place it? Like how good do you think it is?Agnes: I don't teach him a lot. I'm trying to think if I ever taught Tolstoy.Henry: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I read that you had.Agnes: I've taught The Death of Ivan Ilyich. That's the one, I have taught that one. I wish, I mean, I would love to teach. I just can't imagine assigning any of these novels in a philosophy, my students wouldn't read it.Henry: They wouldn't read it?Agnes: No.Henry: Why?Agnes: It's pretty hard to get people to read long texts. And I mean, some of them certainly would, okay, for sure. But if I'm, you know, in a philosophy class where you'd have to kind of have pretty high numbers of page assignments per class, if we're going to, I mean, you know, forget War and Peace. I mean, even like Ivan Ilyich is going to be pushing it to assign it for one class. I've learned to shorten my reading assignments because students more and more, they're not in the habit of reading. And so I got to think, okay, what is the minimum that I can assign them that where I can predict that they will do it? Anyway, I'm going to be pushing that next year in a class I'm teaching. I normally, you know, I assign fiction in some of my classes but that's very much not a thing that most philosophers do. And I have to sign it alongside, you know, but so it's not only the fiction they're reading, they're also reading philosophical texts. And anyway, yeah, no, so I have not done much, but I have done in a class on death, I did assign Ivan Ilyich. I don't tend to think very much about the question, what is the level of quality of a work of art?Henry: Well, as in, all I mean is like, how does it compare for you to the other Tolstoy you've read?Agnes: I, so the question that I tend to ask myself is like, what can I learn from it or how much can I learn? Not, it's not because I don't think the question of, the other one is a good one. I just think I trust other people's judgment more than mine unlike artistic quality. And I guess I think it's not as good as Death of Ivan Ilyich and I kind of can't see, like, it's like, what do I learn from it that I don't learn from Death of Ivan Ilyich? Which is like a question that I ask myself. And, there's a way in which that like that little final move, maybe when I'm reading Death of Ivan Ilyich, I can ignore that little final bit and here I can't ignore it. Tolstoy made it impossible for me to ignore in this story. So that's maybe the advantage of this story. Tolstoy makes his move more overt and more dominating of the narrative.Henry: Yeah, I think also, I've known people who read Ivan Ilyich and not really see that it's very Christian. Yeah, oh yeah.Agnes: I don't think I- Much less.Henry: Yeah.Agnes: That's what I'm doing. I'm erasing that from the story.Henry: But that's like much less possible with this one. I agree.Agnes: Right, exactly. That's sort of what I mean is that- Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, here the message is more overt. And so therefore I think it's actually a pretty important story in that way. Like, let's say for understanding Tolstoy. That is, if you were to try to take your view of Tolstoy and base it on Death of Ivan Ilyich, which sometimes I do in my own head, because it's occupied such an important place for me, then this is a good way to temper that.Henry: Yeah, they make a nice pairing. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Let's pick up on this question about philosophers and fiction because you write about that in Open Socrates. You say, great fiction allows us to explore what we otherwise look away from. So it makes questions askable, but then you say only in relation to fictional characters, which you think is a limitation. Are you drawing too hard of a line between fictional characters and real people? Like if someone said, oh, we found out, we were in the archives, Ivan Ilyich, he didn't, it's not fiction. He was just a friend, just happened to a friend, basically word for word. He just did the work to make it kind of look okay for a novel, but basically it's just real. Would that really change very much?Agnes: I think it wouldn't, no. So it might change a little bit, but not that much. So maybe the point, maybe a better thing I could have said there is other people. That is one thing that fictional people are is resolutely other. There's no chance you're going to meet them. And like they are, part of what it is for them to be fictional is that, there isn't even a possible world in which you meet them because metaphysically what they are is the kind of thing that can't ever interact with you. And, like the possible world in which I run into Ivan and Ivan Ilyich is the world in which he's not a Tolstoy character anymore. He's not a character in a novel, obviously, because we're both real people. So I think it's that there's a kind of safety in proving the life of somebody who is not in any way a part of your life.Henry: The counter argument, which novelists would make is that if you gave some kind of philosophical propositional argument about death, about what it means to die, a lot of people just wouldn't, they'd like, maybe they'd understand what you're saying, but it just wouldn't affect them very much. Whereas if they've read Ivan Ilyich, this will actually affect them. I don't want to say it'll resonate with them, but you know what I mean. It will catch them in some way and they're more likely then to see something in their own life and be like, oh my God, I'm appreciating what Ivan Ilyich was telling me. Whereas, this is the argument, right? The statistics of social science, the propositions of philosophy, this just never gets through to people.Agnes: Yeah, so one way to put this is, novelists are fans of epiphanies. I mean, some novelists, like Tolstoy, it's quite explicit. You just get these epiphanies, right? Like in this story, epiphany. James Joyce, I mean, he's like master of every story in Dubliners, epiphany. Novelists have this fantasy that people's lives are changed in a sudden moment when they have a passionate, oh, I just read this story and I'm so happy about it. And I don't actually doubt that these things happen, these epiphanies, that is people have these passionate realizations. I don't know how stable they are. Like they may have a passionate realization and then, maybe it's a little bit the novelist's fantasy to say you have the passionate realization and everything is changed. In this story, we get around that problem because he dies, right? So, that, I don't know. I somehow am now James Joyce. I don't know. I somehow am now James Joyce is in my head. The final story in Dubliners is the dead. And there's this like, amazing, I don't know who read the story.Henry: Yeah, yeah. Also with snow, right?Agnes: Yeah, exactly.You know, and it's this amazing where this guy is realizing his wife, their relationship is not what he thought it was, whatever. But then the story ends, does he really change? Like, do they just go on and have the same marriage after that point? We don't know. I mean, Joyce avoids that question by having the story end. But, so you might say, you know, novelists like epiphanies and they're good at writing epiphanies and producing epiphanies and imagining that their readers will have epiphanies. And then there's a question, okay, how valuable is the epiphany? And I think, not nothing. I wouldn't put it at zero, but you might say, okay, but let's compare the epiphany and the argument, right? So, what philosophers and the social scientists have, what we have is arguments. And who's ever been changed by an argument? And I think I would say all of human history has been changed by arguments and it's pretty much the only thing that's ever done anything to stably change us is arguments. If you think about, like, what are the things we've moved on? What are the things we've come around on? You know, human rights, there's a big one. That's not a thing in antiquity. And it's a thing now. And I think it's a thing because of arguments. Some of those arguments, you know, are starting to come in their own in religious authors, but then really come in, the flourishing is really the enlightenment. And so you might think, well, maybe an argument is not the kind of thing that can change very easily an adult who was already pretty set in their ways and who is not going to devote much of their time to philosophizing. It isn't going to give them the kind of passionate feeling of your life has suddenly been turned around by an epiphany, but it might well be that if we keep arguing with each other, that is how humanity changes.Henry: I think a lot of the arguments were put into story form. So like the thing that changed things the most before the enlightenment maybe was the gospels. Which is just lots of stories. I know there are arguments in there, but basically everything is done through stories. Or metaphor, there's a lot of metaphor. I also think philosophers are curiously good at telling stories. So like some of the best, you know, there's this thing of micro fiction, which is like very, very short story. I think some of the best micro fiction is short stories. Is a thought experiment, sorry. Yeah. So people like Judith Jarvis Thompson, or well, his name has escaped my head, Reasons and Persons, you know who I mean? Derek Parfit, right. They write great short stories. Like you can sit around and argue about long-termism with just propositions, and people are going to be either like, this makes total sense or this is weird. And you see this when you try and do this with people. If you tell them Parfit's thought experiment that you drop a piece of glass in the woods, and a hundred years later, a little girl comes in and she cuts up. Okay, everyone's a long-termist in some way now. To some extent, everyone is just like, of course. Okay, fine. The story is good. The famous thought experiment about the child drowning in the pond. And then, okay, the pond is like 3000. Again, everyone's like, okay, I get it. I'm with you. Philosophers constantly resort to stories because they know that the argument is, you have to have to agree with you. You've got to have the argument. The argument's the fundamental thing. But when you put it in a story, it will actually, somehow it will then do its work.Agnes: I think it's really interesting to ask, and I never asked myself this question, like what is the relationship between a thought experiment and a story? And I think that, I'm fine with a thought experiment with saying it's a kind of story, but I think that, so one feature of a thought experiment is that the person who is listening to it is given often a kind of agency. Like, which way do you push the trolley? Or do you care that you left this piece of glass there? Or are you, suppose that the pond was so many miles away but there was a very long hand that reached from here and you put a coin in the machine and at the other end, the hand will pull the child out of the water. Do you put the coin in, right? So like you're given these choices. It's like a choose your own adventure story, right? And that's really not what Tolstoy wrote. He really did not write choose your own adventure stories. There's a, I think he is-Henry: But the philosopher always comes in at the end and says, by the way, this is the correct answer. I'm giving you this experiment so that you can see that, like, I'm proving my point. Peter Singer is not like, it's okay if you don't want to jump into the pond. This is your story, you can pick. He's like, no, you have to jump in. This is why I'm telling you the story.Agnes: That's right, but I can't tell it to you without, in effect, your participation in the story, without you seeing yourself as part of the story and as having like agency in the story. It's by way of your agency that I'm making your point. Part of why this is important is that otherwise philosophers become preachers, which is what Tolstoy is when he's kind of at his worst. That is, you know, the philosopher doesn't just want to like tell you what to think. The philosopher wants to show you that you're already committed to certain conclusions and he's just showing you the way between the premises you already accept and the conclusion that follows from your premises. And that's quite-Henry: No, philosophers want to tell you the particular, most philosophers create a thought experiment to be like, you should be a virtue ethicist or you should give money away. Like they're preaching.Agnes: I don't think that is preaching. So I think that, and like, I think that this is why so many philosophical thought experiments are sort of meant to rely on what people call intuitions. Like, oh, but don't you have the intuition that? What is the intuition? The intuition is supposed to be somehow the kind of visceral and inchoate grasp that you already have of the thing I am trying to teach you. You already think the thing I'm telling you. I'm just making it clear to you what you think. And, you know, like there's like, I want to go back to the gospels. Like, I think it's a real question I have. I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but I feel like something I sometimes think about Jesus and I say this as a non-Christian, is that Jesus was clearly a really exceptional, really extraordinary human being. And maybe he just never met his Plato. You know, he got these guys who are like telling stories about him. But like, I feel like he had some really interesting thoughts that we haven't accessed. Imagine, imagine if Socrates only ever had Xenophon. You know, if Socrates had never met Plato. We might just have this story about Socrates. Oh, he's kind of like a hero. He was very self-sacrificing. He asked everyone to care about everybody else. And he might like actually look quite a bit like Jesus on a sort of like, let's say simplistic picture of him. And it's like, maybe it's a real shame that Jesus didn't have a philosopher as one of the people who would tell a story about him. And that if we had that, there would be some amazing arguments that we've missed out on.Henry: Is Paul not the closest thing to that?Agnes: What does he give us?Henry: What are the arguments? Well, all the, you know, Paulian theology is huge. I mean, all the epistles, they're full of, maybe, I don't know if they're arguments more than declarations, but he's a great expounder of this is what Jesus meant, you should do this, right? And it's not quite what you're saying.Agnes: It's conclusions, right?Henry: Yes, yes.Agnes: So I think it's like, you could sort of imagine if we only had the end of the Gorgias, where Socrates lists some of his sayings, right? Yes, exactly, yes. You know, it's better to have injustice done to you than to do injustice. It's better to be just than to appear just. Oratories should, you should never flatter anyone under any circumstances. Like, you know, there's others in other dialogues. Everyone desires the good. There's no such thing as weakness of will, et cetera. There are these sort of sayings, right? And you could sort of imagine a version of someone who's telling the story of Socrates who gives you those sayings. And yeah, I just think, well, we'd be missing a lot if we didn't hear the arguments for the sayings.Henry: Yeah, I feel stumped. So the next thing you say about novelists, novelists give us a view onto the promised land, but not more. And this relates to what you're saying, everything you've just been saying. I want to bring in a George Eliot argument where she says, she kind of says, that's the point. She says, I'm not a teacher, I'm a companion in the struggle of thought. So I think a lot of the time, some of the differences we're discussing here are to do with the readers more than the authors. So Tolstoy and George Eliot, Jane Austen, novelists of their type and their caliber. It's like, if you're coming to think, if you're involved in the struggle of thought, I'm putting these ideas in and I'm going to really shake you up with what's happening to these people and you're going to go away and think about it and Pierre's going to stay with you and it's really going to open things up. If you're just going to read the story, sure, yeah, sure. And at the end, we'll have the big revelation and that's whoopee. And that's the same as just having the sayings from Socrates and whatever. But if you really read Middlemarch, one piece, whatever, Adam Bede is always the one that stays with me. Like you will have to think about it. Like if you've read Adam Bede and you know what happens to Hetty at the end, this has the, oh, well, I'm not going to spoil it because you have to read it because it's insane. It's really an exceptional book, but it has some of those qualities of the thought experiment. She really does put you, George Eliot's very good at this. She does put you in the position of saying like, what actually went right and wrong here? Like she's really going to confront you with the situation but with the difficulty of just saying, oh, you know, that's easy. This is what happened. This is the bad thing. Well, there were several different things and she's really putting it up close to you and saying, well, this is how life is. You need to think about that.Agnes: So that last bit, I mean, I think that this is how life is part. Yeah. Really do think that that's something you get out of novels. It's not, so here's how you should live it or so here's why it makes sense, or here are the answers. It's none of the answers, I think. It's just that there's a kind of, it's like, you might've thought that given that we all live lives, we live in a constant contact with reality but I think we don't. We live in a bubble of what it's, the information that's useful to me to take in at any given moment and what do I need in order to make it to the next step? And there's a way in which the novel like confronts you with like the whole of life as like a spectacle or something like that, as something to be examined and understood. But typically I think without much guidance as to how you should examine or understand it, at least that's my own experience of it is that often it's like posing a problem to me and not really telling me how to solve it. But the problem is one that I often, under other circumstances, I'm inclined to look away from and the novelist sort of forces me to look at it.Henry: Does that mean philosophers should be assigning more fiction?Agnes: I, you know, I am in general pretty wary of judgments of that kind just because I find it hard to know what anyone should do. I mean, even myself, let alone all other philosophers.Henry: But you're the philosopher. You should be telling us.Agnes: No, I actually just don't think that is what philosophers do. So like, it was like a clear disagreement about, you know, is the, like George Eliot's like, I'm not a teacher, but the philosopher also says I'm not a teacher. I mean, Tolstoy was like, I am a teacher.Henry: Yeah, I'm a teacher.Agnes: I'm ready to guide you all.Henry: You should take notes.Agnes: But I think it's right that, yeah. So I think it's like, you know, maybe they have some other way of forcing that confrontation with reality. But I, my own feeling is that philosophers, when they use examples, including some of the thought experiments, it's sort of the opposite of what you said. It's kind of like they're writing very bad fiction. And so they'll come up with these, like I am philosophy. We have to, we're forced to sort of come up with examples. And, you know, I discuss one in my aspiration book of, oh, once upon a time, there was a guy. And when he was young, he wanted to be a clown, but his family convinced him that he should be an investment banker and make money. And so he did that. But then when he was older, he finally recovered this long lost desire. And then he became a clown and then he was happy. It's a story in an article by a philosopher I respect. Okay, I like her very much. And I haven't read it in a long time. So I'm hoping I'm summarizing it correctly. But my point is like, and this is supposed to be a story about how sort of self-creation and self-realization and how you can discover your authentic self by contrast with like the social forces that are trying to make you into a certain kind of person. But it's also, it's just a very bad piece of fiction. And I'm like, well, you know, if I'm say teaching a class on self-creation as I do sometimes, I'm like, well, we can read some novelists who write about this process and they write about it in a way that really shows it to us, that really forces us to confront the reality of it. And that story was not the reality. So if you have some other way to do that as a philosopher, then great. I'm very instrumental about my use of fiction, but I haven't found another way.Henry: Which other fiction do you use in the self-creation class?Agnes: So in that class, we read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend. And we also read some Fernando Pessoa.Henry: Pessoa, what do your students think of Pessoa?Agnes: They love it. So when I first assigned it, I'm like, I don't know what you guys are going to make of this. It's kind of weird. We're reading like just, you know, 20 pages of excerpts I like from the Book of Disquiet. I mean, it's like my own text I'm creating, basically. I figure with that text, you can do a choose your own adventure. And they like it a lot. And I think that it really, that, you know, the thing that really resonates with them is this stuff where he talks. So there are two passages in particular. So one of them is, one where he talks about how he's like, yeah, he meets his friend. And he can't really listen to what his friend is saying, but he can remember with photographic precision the lines on the face when he's smiling, or like, it's like what he's saying is, I'm paying attention to the wrong thing. Like I'm paying attention to the facial expressions and not to the content. And that I'm somebody who's in a world where my organization of my own experience is not following the rules that are sort of being dictated to me about how my experience is supposed to be organized. And that's sort of his predicament. So that's a thing that they like. And then there's a wonderful passage about how I keep trying to free myself from the social forces oppressing me. And I take away this noose that's around my neck. And as I'm doing it, I realize my hand is attached to a noose and it's pulling me. Like I'm the one who's doing, I'm the one who's suffocating myself all along when I'm trying to free myself from social forces, it's me who's doing the oppressing. Anyway, so those are some passages that we talk about that they like. They like it a lot. They have a lot less trouble making something of it than I had expected that they would.Henry: Is this because he, is he well-suited to the age of social media and phones and fragmented personalities and you're always 16 different people? Is it that kind of thing?Agnes: Partly it's the short texts. I mean, as I said, meeting a problem, right? And so, yeah. So like they like Nietzsche too, probably for the same reason, right? I mean, anything where the-Henry: The aphorism.Agnes: Yeah, exactly. Like no joke. You know, it's not the era for War and Peace. It's the era for the Nietzschean aphorism.Henry: This is so depressing. I thought this wasn't true.Agnes: Yeah, I think it's true. I like, I had a conversation with a student in my office yesterday about this and about how like just his own struggles with reading and how all his friends have the same problem. And, you know, I have made some suggestions and I think maybe I need to push them harder in terms of, you know, just university creating device-free spaces and then people having like, I think we have to view it the way we view exercise. Like none of us would exercise if we didn't force ourselves to exercise. And we use strategies to do it. Like, you know, you have a friend and you're going to go together or, you know, you make a habit of it or whatever. I mean, like, I think we just have to approach reading the same way. Just let's accept that we're in an environment that's hostile to reading and make it a priority and organize things to make it possible rather than just like pretending that there isn't a problem. But yeah, there is. And it's hard for us to see. So you're not as old as me, but I'm old enough that all of my reading habits were formed in a world without all of this, right? So of course it's way easier for me. Even I get distracted, but, you know, for me spending a couple of hours in the evening reading, that's like a thing I can do. But like a lot of people, okay, I was at a like tech, in a little tech world conference in California. And it was early in the morning and my husband wasn't awake yet. So I was just, and it was one of these conferences where there's like a little group room and then you have your own, like we had like a hotel room type room, but like then I would had to be in the room with my husband who was sleeping. I couldn't turn the light on. So it was early. I woke up at four. So I went to the group room just to read. And I'm sitting there reading and someone came up to me and they were like, I can't believe you're just sitting there like reading. I don't think I've seen someone read a book in, you know, he's like ever or something, maybe. I mean, he's a half my age. Like he's like, that's just not a thing that people do. And it was like, he's like, it's so on brand that you're reading, you know? But it's like, it's, I think it's just, it's much harder for people who have grown up with all of this stuff that is in some way hostile to the world of reading. Yeah, it's much harder for them than for us. And we should be reorganizing things to make it easier.Henry: Yeah, I get that. I'm just, I'm alarmed that they can't read, like the depth of Ivan Ilyich. It's like, I don't know, it's like 50 pages or.Agnes: Yeah, for one class, no.Henry: It's very short. It's very short.Agnes: That's not short. 50 pages is not short.Henry: It's an hour or two hours of reading.Agnes: It's like, yeah, between two and three. They also read slower because they don't read as much.Henry: Okay, but you know what I'm like…Agnes: Yeah, right, three hours of reading is a lot to assign for a class. Especially if, in my case, I always also assign philosophy. So it's not the only thing I'm assigning.Henry: Sure, sure, but they read the philosophy.Agnes: Same problem. I mean, it's not like some different problem, right? Same problem, and in fact, they are a little bit more inclined to read the fiction than the philosophy, but the point is the total number of pages is kind of what matters. And from that point of view, philosophy is at an advantage because we compress a lot into very few pages. So, but you know, and again, it's like, it's a matter of like, it's probably not of the level. So I can, you know, I can be more sure that in an upper level class, students will do the reading, but I'm also a little bit more inclined to assign literature in the lower level classes because I'm warming people up to philosophy. So, yeah, I mean, but I think it is alarming, like it should be alarming.Henry: Now, one of the exciting things about Open Socrates, which most people listening to this would have read my review, so you know that I strongly recommend that you all read it now, but it is all about dialogue, like real dialogue. And can we find some, you know, I don't want to say like, oh, can we find some optimism? But like, people are just going to be reading less, more phones, all this talk about we're going back to an oral culture. I don't think that's the right way to phrase it or frame it or whatever, but there's much more opportunity for dialogue these days like this than there used to be. How can Open Socrates, how can people use that book as a way of saying, I want more, you know, intellectual life, but I don't want to read long books? I don't want to turn this into like, give us your five bullet points, self-help Socrates summary, but what can we, this is a very timely book in that sense.Agnes: Yeah, I kind of had thought about it that way, but yeah, I mean, it's a book that says, intellectual life in its sort of most foundational and fundamental form is social, it's a social life, because the kinds of intellectual inquiries that are the most important to us are ones that we can't really conduct on our own. I do think that, I think that some, there is some way in which, like as you're saying, novels can help us a little bit sort of simulate that kind of interaction, at least some of the time, or at least put a question on the table. I sort of agree that that's possible. I think that in terms of social encounters doing it, there are also other difficulties though. Like, so it's, we're not that close to a Socratic world, just giving up on reading doesn't immediately put us into a Socratic world, let's put it that way. And for one thing, I think that there really is a difference between face-to-face interaction, on the one hand, where let's even include Zoom, okay, or phone as face-to-face in an extended sense, and then texting, on the other hand, where text interaction, where like texting back and forth would be, fall under texting, so would social media, Twitter, et cetera, that's sort of- Email. Email, exactly. And I'm becoming more, when I first started working on this book, I thought, well, look, the thing that Socrates cares about is like, when he says that philosophy is like, you know, when he rejects written texts, and he's like, no, what I want to talk back, I'm like, well, the crucial thing is that they can respond, whether they respond by writing you something down or whether they respond by making a sound doesn't matter. And I agree that it doesn't matter whether they make a sound, like for instance, if they respond in sign language, that would be fine. But I think it matters that there is very little lag time between the responses, and you never get really short lag time in anything but what I'm calling face-to-face interaction.Henry: Right, there's always the possibility of what to forestall on text. Yeah. Whereas I can only sit here for like 10 seconds before I just have to like speak.Agnes: Exactly, and I mean, 10 seconds, that's a wild exaggeration. So do you know what the actual number is? No. On average. Okay, the average amount of time that you're allowed to wait before responding to something I say is two tenths of a second, which, it's crazy, isn't it? Which, that amount of time is not enough time for, that is a one second pause is an awkward pause, okay? So two tenths of a second is not long enough time for the signal that comes at the end of my talking, so the last sound I make, let's say, to reach your ears and then get into your brain and be processed, and then you figure out what you want to say. It's not enough time, which means you're making a prediction. That's what you're doing when I'm talking. You're making a prediction about when I'm going to stop talking, and you're so good at it that you're on almost every time. You're a little worse over Zoom. Zoom screws us up a little bit, right? But this is like what our brains are built to do. This is what we're super good at, is kind of like interacting, and I think it's really important that it be a genuine interaction. That's what I'm coming to see, is that we learn best from each other when we can interact, and it's not obvious that there are those same interaction possibilities by way of text at the moment, right? I'm not saying there couldn't be, but at the moment, we rely on the fact that we have all these channels open to us. Interestingly, it's the lag time on the phone, like if we were talking just by phone, is about the same. So we're so good at this, we don't need the visual information. That's why I said phone is also face-to-face. I think phone's okay, even though a lot of our informational stream is being cut. We're on target in terms of the quick responses, and there's some way in which what happens in that circumstance is we become a unit. We become a unit of thinking together, and if we're texting each other and each of us gets to ponder our response and all that, it becomes dissociated.Henry: So this, I do have a really, I'm really interested in this point. Your book doesn't contain scientific information, sociological studies. It's good old-fashioned philosophy, which I loved, but if you had turned it into more of a, this is the things you're telling me now, right? Oh, scientists have said this, and sociologists have said that. It could have been a different sort of book and maybe been, in some shallow way, more persuasive to more people, right? So you clearly made a choice about what you wanted to do. Talk me through why.Agnes: I think that it's maybe the answer here is less deep than you would want. I think that my book was based on the reading I was doing in order to write it, and I wasn't, at the time, asking myself the kinds of questions that scientists could answer. Coming off of the writing of it, I started to ask myself this question. So for instance, that's why I did all this reading in sociology, psychology, that's what I'm doing now is trying to learn. Why is it that we're not having philosophical conversations all the time? It's a real question for me. Why are we not having the conversations that I want us to be having? That's an empirical question, at least in part, because it's like, well, what kinds of conversations are we having? And then I have to sort of read up on that and learn about how conversation works. And it's surprising to me, like the amount of stuff we know, and that it's not what I thought. And so I'm not, maybe I'm a little bit less hostile than most philosophers, just as I'm less hostile to fiction, but I'm also less hostile to sort of empirical work. I mean, there's plenty of philosophers who are very open to the very specific kind of empirical work that is the overlap with their specialization. But for me, it's more like, well, depending on what question I ask, there's just like, who is ready with answers to the question? And I will like, you know, kind of like a mercenary, I will go to those people. And I mean, one thing I was surprised to learn, I'm very interested in conversation and in how it works and in what are the goals of conversation. And of course I started with philosophical stuff on it, you know, Grice and Searle, speech act theory, et cetera. And what I found is that that literature does not even realize that it's not about conversation. I mean, Grice, like the theory of conversational implicature and you know, Grice's logic on conversation, it's like if you thought that making a public service announcement was a kind of conversation, then it would be a theory of conversation. But the way that philosophers fundamentally understand speech is that like, you know, speakers issue utterances and then somebody has to interpret that utterance. The fact that that second person gets to talk too is not like part of the picture. It's not essential to the picture. But if you ask a sociologist, what is the smallest unit of conversation? They are not going to say an assertion. They're going to say something like greeting, greeting or question answer or command obeying or, right? Conversation is like, there's two people who get to talk, not just one person. That seems like the most obvious thing, but it's not really represented in the philosophical literature. So I'm like, okay, I guess I got to say goodbye philosophers. Let me go to the people who are actually talking about conversation. You know, I of course then read, my immediate thought was to read in psychology, which I did. Psychology is a bit shallow. They just don't get to theorize. It's very accessible. It's got lots of data, but it's kind of shallow. And then I'm like, okay, the people who really are grappling with the kind of deep structure of conversation are sociologists. And so that's what I've been reading a lot of in the past, like whatever, two months or so. But I just wasn't asking myself these questions when I wrote the book. And I think the kinds of questions that I was asking were in fact, the kinds of questions that get answered or at least get addressed in philosophical texts. And so those were the texts that I refer to.Henry: So all the sociology you've read, is it, how is it changing what you think about this? Is it giving you some kind of answer?Agnes: It's not changing any, my view, but any of the claims in the book, that is the exact reason that you brought out. But it is making me, it's making me realize how little I understand in a sort of concrete way, what like our modern predicament is. That is, where are we right now? Like what's happening right now? Is the question I ask myself. And I get a lot of, especially in interviews about this book, I get a lot of like, well, given where things are right now, is Socrates very timely? Or how can Socrates help or whatever? And I'm like, I don't think we know where things are right now. That is that given that, where is it? Where is it that we are? And so part of what this kind of sociology stuff is making me realize is like, that's a much harder question than it appears. And even where do we draw the lines? Like, when did now start happening? Like my instinct is like, one answer is like around 1900 is when now started happening. And, and so like, so I guess I'm interested both at the very micro level, how does the conversational interaction work? What are the ways in which I am deciding in this very conversation, I'm deciding what's allowed to be in and what's not allowed to be in the conversation, right? By the moves I'm making, and you're doing the same. How are we doing that? How are we orchestrating, manipulating this conversation so as to dictate what's in it and what's out of it in ways that are like below the surface that we're not noticing, that we either that we are doing it or that we're doing it ourselves. Neither of us is noticing, but we're doing that. So that's at the micro level. And then at the macro level is the question about when did now start happening? And what are the big shifts in like the human experience? And, are we at a point somehow in human history where culture like as a mechanism of coordination is a little bit falling apart and then what's going to come next? That's like a kind of question that I have to put in that kind of vague way. So maybe the right thing to say is that reading all these sociology texts has like, has given me a sets of questions to ask. And maybe what I'm trying to do is, it's like, what my book does is it describes a kind of ideal. And it describes that ideal, you know, using the power of reason to see what would it take to sort of set us straight? What is the straightened version of the crooked thing that we're already doing? And I think that that's right, but that's not at all the same thing as asking the question like, what's our next step? How do we get there from here? That's the question I'm asking now. But part of trying to answer the question, how do we get there from here is like, where are we now? And where are we both very, very locally in an interaction, what are we doing? And then in a big picture way, where are we? What is the big, what is like, you know, in the Taylor Swift sense, what era are we in? And, you know, I guess I still feel like we are, we are living in the world of Fernando Pessoa, Robert Musso, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Hermann Bruch, Franz Kafka, like that set of writers, like around 1900-ish set of writers who didn't all know each other or anything, didn't coordinate, but they all, there was this like primal scream moment where they were like, what the hell is going on? What has happened to humanity? Where are the rules? Like, who are we supposed to be? I mean, of all of those, I would pull out Musso as like the paradigm example. So this is me, I guess, taking inspiration from literature again, where I feel like, okay, there's something there about we're lost. There's an expression of, there's a thought we're lost. And I'm trying to understand, okay, how did we get lost? And are we still in that state of being lost? I think yes. And let's get a clear, once we get very clear on how lost we are, we'll already start to be found. Cause that's sort of what it is to, you know, once you understand why you're lost, like that's situating yourself.Henry: Those writers are a long time ago.Agnes: Yeah, I said around 1900.Henry: Yeah, but you don't, you don't, but there's nothing more recent that like expresses, like that's a very long now.Agnes: Yeah. Well, yes, I agree. So I say, when did now start happening? I think it started happening around 1900. So I think-Henry: So are we stuck?Agnes: Yeah, kind of. I think, so here's like a very, he's like a very simple part of history that must be too simple because history is not, is like, it's very mildly not my strong suit. I can't really understand history. But it's like, there is this set of writers and they don't really tell stories. It's not their thing, right? They're not into plot, but they are issuing this warning or proclamation or crisis, like flashing thing. And then what happens? What happens after that? Well, World War I happens, right? And then, you know, not very long after that, we got World War II and especially World War II, the result of that is kind of, oh no, actually we know what good and bad are. It's like fighting Nazis, that's bad. And, you know, so we got it all settled. And, but it's like, it's like we push something under the rug, I guess. And I think we haven't dealt with it. We haven't dealt with this crisis moment. And so, you know, I think I could say something very similar about Knausgaard or something that is, I think he's kind of saying the same thing and his novel has a novel, whatever you want to call it, the, you know, I'm talking about the later one. That's the kind of weird sort of horror quadrilogy or something. It has this feeling of like trying to express a sense of being lost. So there's more recent stuff that, a lot of it's autofiction, the genre of autofiction has that same character. So yeah, like maybe there is some big progress that's been made since then, but if there is, then it has passed me by.Henry: Agnes: Callard, thank you very much. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk/subscribe

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Join us for an enlightening conversation with Anna Tumanova, the Events Marketing Lead at Gorgias, as we unravel the complexities of managing large-scale events. With her impressive track record of orchestrating over a thousand events, Anna offers a unique perspective on how to elevate brand presence through strategic event marketing. From the grandeur of Gorgias Connect to small-scale dinners designed to test new markets, Anna reveals the secrets behind Gorgias's diverse event portfolio and their pivotal role in market expansion.Explore the meticulous details that go into making each event a success, from choosing the perfect venue in an unfamiliar city to the surprising impact of comfortable flooring on booth foot traffic. Anna shares her insights on how the goals of these events—be it lead generation, customer engagement, or brand enhancement—have evolved over time. Discover the financial wizardry behind budget allocations and how Gorgias tailors events to cater to various stakeholders, ensuring not just customer acquisition but also solidifying existing relationships.Peek behind the curtain to see how Anna and her team keep their event operations seamless and efficient. Learn about their process of using dedicated Slack channels for event requests, Asana for logistical management, and how tools like HubSpot and lemlist optimize marketing operations. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for marketing and MarTech professionals eager to automate and personalize event communications, drive engagement, and precisely measure success. Anna's expertise is sure to inspire and equip you with strategies to take your event marketing to the next level.RSVP for Anna's upcoming webinar series hereFind Anna on LinkedIn hereEpisode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Connect Scattered Data with AI AgentsExplore how easy AI can be with Forwrd.ai for Marketing OpsBuild AI agents that can predict, forecast, segment, and automate the entire data processing workflow -- integrating, prepping, cleaning, normalizing, analyzing, and even building and operating your models. With Forward, you can get it done 100 times faster. Support the show

John J. Miller is joined by Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago to discuss Plato's 'Gorgias.'

In this webinar replay, Splash's Haley Kaplan is joined by Anna Tumanova, Events Marketing Lead at Gorgias.Throughout their discussion, they share tips, trends, and tactics to shape your 2025 events. Tune in to learn:Key takeaways from event pros on what worked (and what didn't) in 2024Strategies to increase registrations, reduce attrition, and keep attendees engagedBest practices for defining and measuring ROIKey trends expected to shape events in 2025 ___________________________________________________________________If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know. Support our show by subscribing and leaving us a rating. If you want to get in touch with our team or be a guest on our show, email us at podcast@splashthat.com. We'd love to hear from you.Learn more about Splash: https://www.splashthat.comLearn more about Gorgias: https://www.gorgias.comFollow Splash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/splashthat-comTell us what you thought about the episode

As SaaS companies navigate 2025, building integration strategies that drive growth, retain customers, and adapt to evolving partner ecosystems is essential.In this conversation, we spoke with Product Managers and Technology Partnerships Leaders at Justuno, Triple Whale, and Gorgias who've successfully tackled integration challenges.Our panelists share:- Why a robust integration strategy important in 2025 including trends to look out for- Frameworks for prioritizing integrations that deliver the greatest impact.- Aligning GTM goals with integration planning --This podcast is hosted by Pandium, the only embedded integration platform that facilitates faster code-first development of integrations, allowing B2B SaaS companies to launch integrations at scale without sacrificing customization and control. Learn more about Pandium here: https://www.pandium.com/To access more resources and content on technology partnerships, integrations, and APIs, check out our blog and resources page belowBlog: https://www.pandium.com/blogResources on Technology Partnerships, Integrations, and APIs: https://www.pandium.com/ebooks

L'intelligence artificielle révolutionne le service client e-commerce en automatisant les réponses et en optimisant l'expérience client. Mais quel intérêt ? Quelles sont ses limites ?Dans cet extrait des Loyoly Talks, Yohan de Gorgias partage 5 automatisations essentielles pour améliorer la réactivité et l'efficacité des équipes support. Il aborde aussi les risques d'un service client trop automatisé, comme les erreurs de réponse ou l'absence d'émotion.Enfin, il présente l'AI Agent de Gorgias, conçu pour gérer certaines demandes de manière autonome et alléger la charge des équipes._______________________________________L'invité du jourSuivez Yohan sur Linkedin_______________________________________LoyolySuivez Loyoly sur LinkedIn & Instagram.Abonnez-nous à notre newsletter Customer Loop._______________________________________Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Vous cherchez des conseils service client pour améliorer votre e-commerce ?Dans cet extrait des Loyoly Talks, Yohan Loyer, EMEA Agency Partnerships chez Gorgias partage des astuces pratiques pour :Réduire votre temps de réponse et offrir une super expérience à vos clients.Connaître les 5 best practices pour offrir une expérience client fluide et professionnelle.S'inspirer avec 9 marchands qui excellent dans le domaine du service client.

In this episode of The Spinoza Triad, Dr. Richard Miller, Dan Rowland, and John Gibbs discuss the philosophical underpinnings of Plato's dialogues, particularly focusing on the Socratic method, the art of rhetoric, and the moral implications of persuasion. The discussion explores how these themes relate to modern education, the concept of virtue, and the challenges posed by cancel culture in contemporary debates. We reflect on the nature of the good life and the responsibilities that come with the power of persuasion, ultimately questioning how society defines and pursues virtue today. We discuss the philosophical themes of pleasure, happiness, virtue, and power, drawing on the dialogues of Socrates and Calicles. We discuss the implications of pursuing pleasure, the nature of morality, and the role of power in politics, ultimately questioning the modern interpretations of virtue and the societal values prioritizing wealth and success over genuine fulfillment.

In this episode of The Spinoza Triad, Dr. Richard Miller, Dan Rowland, and John Gibbs discuss the philosophical underpinnings of Plato's dialogues, particularly focusing on the Socratic method, the art of rhetoric, and the moral implications of persuasion. The discussion explores how these themes relate to modern education, the concept of virtue, and the challenges posed by cancel culture in contemporary debates. We reflect on the nature of the good life and the responsibilities that come with the power of persuasion, ultimately questioning how society defines and pursues virtue today. We discuss the philosophical themes of pleasure, happiness, virtue, and power, drawing on the dialogues of Socrates and Calicles. We discuss the implications of pursuing pleasure, the nature of morality, and the role of power in politics, ultimately questioning the modern interpretations of virtue and the societal values prioritizing wealth and success over genuine fulfillment.

Bienvenue dans le 9ème épisode de Loyoly Talks

This podcast empowers you to build a profitable Direct-to-Consumer business that excites you. Build and grow your online store with expert insights on ecommerce, marketing, tech, AI, and entrepreneurship. Ecommerce Coffee Break - Helping You Become A Smarter Online Seller. This podcast empowers you to build a profitable Direct-to-Consumer business that excites you. Build and grow your online store with expert insights on ecommerce, marketing, tech, AI, and entrepreneurship. The goal of every episode is to uplevel you as an online merchant and business owner, taking your online sales and marketing strategy to the next level. Each week, host and digital marketing veteran Claus Lauter interviews world-class ecommerce experts and marketers. They share their stories, tips, tactics, and strategies on how to build a successful online brand. The show explores a broad range of topics, including ecommerce apps, direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC or D2C), Marketing technology (MarTech), social media, dropshipping, paid advertising, AI, entrepreneurship, and much more. Previous episodes have featured experts from Google, Gorgias, ReferralCandy, Cartloop, Adroll, StoreHero, Limespot, Yotpo, Preezy, LoyaltyLion, PartnerHero, and many others. Whether you have an online store, want to leave your 9-5 job, do a side hustle, or start your own e-commerce business, this podcast is for you. With over 380 episodes, you'll find the help you need to start, run, and grow your DTC brand or online store fast. Short episodes, ideal for listening on the go. MORE RESOURCESDownload the Ecommerce Conversion Handbook for store optimization tips at https://tinyurl.com/CRO-ebook Best Apps to Grow Your eCommerce Store: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/best-shopify-marketing-tools-recommendations/ Become a smarter online seller in just 7 minutes Our free newsletter is your shortcut to ecommerce success. Every Thursday. 100% free. Unsubscribe anytime. Sign up at https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com Rate, Review & Follow Enjoying this episode? Help others like you by rating and reviewing my show on Apple Podcasts. Rate here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ecommerce-coffee-break-digital-marketing-podcast-for/id1567749422 And if you haven't yet, follow the podcast to catch all the bonus episodes I'm adding. Don't miss out—hit that follow button now!

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 97Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the earth rejoice; *let the multitude of the isles be glad.2Clouds and darkness are round about him, *righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.3A fire goes before him *and burns up his enemies on every side.4His lightnings light up the world; *the earth sees it and is afraid.5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, *at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.6The heavens declare his righteousness, *and all the peoples see his glory.7Confounded be all who worship carved imagesand delight in false gods! *Bow down before him, all you gods.8Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, *because of your judgments, O Lord.9For you are the Lord,most high over all the earth; *you are exalted far above all gods.10The Lord loves those who hate evil; *he preserves the lives of his saintsand delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11Light has sprung up for the righteous, *and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, *and give thanks to his holy Name.Psalm 99Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the people tremble; *he is enthroned upon the cherubim;let the earth shake.2The Lord is great in Zion; *he is high above all peoples.3Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *he is the Holy One.4“O mighty King, lover of justice,you have established equity; *you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”5Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand fall down before his footstool; *he is the Holy One.6Moses and Aaron among his priests,and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.7He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.8“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *you were a God who forgave them,yet punished them for their evil deeds.”9Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand worship him upon his holy hill; *for the Lord our God is the Holy One. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons1 Maccabees 3:25-41New Revised Standard Version Catholic EditionThen Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell on the Gentiles all around them. His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas.When King Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army. He opened his coffers and gave a year's pay to his forces, and ordered them to be ready for any need. Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster that he had caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest days. He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts that he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings. He was greatly perplexed in mind; then he determined to go to Persia and collect the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund.He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the king's affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt. Lysias was also to take care of his son Antiochus until he returned. And he turned over to Lysias half of his forces and the elephants, and gave him orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and Jerusalem, Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place, settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land by lot. Then the king took the remaining half of his forces and left Antioch his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates river and went through the upper provinces.Lysias chose Ptolemy son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, able men among the Friends of the king, and sent with them forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to go into the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded. So they set out with their entire force, and when they arrived they encamped near Emmaus in the plain. When the traders of the region heard what was said to them, they took silver and gold in immense amounts, and fetters, and went to the camp to get the Israelites for slaves. And forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines joined with them.Revelation 21:1-8English Standard VersionThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 28Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Guter Kundenservice ist einer der ganz großen Hebel für Online-Shops. Nicht nur, wenn es darum geht eine gute Experience zu schaffen, sondern auch, wenn es darum geht die Retention zu erhöhen und Umsätze zu steigern. Doch wie genau das geht, welche Stellschrauben du mit dem Online-Shop hier hast und was die Best-Practices sind, das besprechen wir in dieser Folge. Wir haben eine absolute Expertin bei uns hier im Podcast - sie hat selbst jahrelang im Kundenservice gearbeitet, Support-Teams aufgebaut und berät nun auch viele der führenden Shopify Brands. Sie verrät hier auch warum sie Gorgias als Kundenservice Tool so feiert und wie sie es richtig einsetzt. Natürlich sind AI & auch Black Friday auch ein Thema. Doch mehr erfahrt ihr in der Folge selbst.

In today's Checkout episode, we're joined by founding partner of Kelly+Partners, Danny Chiha, who shares his unique insights into the world of e-commerce accounting. Danny opens up about his surprising lack of online shopping habits, his admiration for clients like Vic Gigliotti from Muscle Republic and Geedup Co founder Jake Paco, and how the ecom platform Gorgias transformed customer service for his wife's business, The Little Homie. He also shares his thoughts on managing teams, and why learning from business titans like Nike and Amazon is key for growth.Check out our full-length interview with Danny here:Danny Chiha and Natalie McDermott from Kelly+Partners: Knowing Your Numbers in Ecommerce | #425About our guest:Danny is the founding partner of Kelly+Partners Northern Beaches and also leads Kelly+Partners Startup. Starting his career at Crowe Horwath, he went on to lead teams at Coca-Cola Amatil as the Financial Accounting Manager where he led a successful team of 17 professionals. Leveraging over 10 years of business advisory and commercial accounting experience, Danny is passionate about assisting businesses and startups develop and execute strategies that create business viability. About your host:Nathan Bush is the host of the Add To Cart podcast and a leading ecommerce transformation consultant. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia's Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.Please contact us if you:Want to come on board as an Add To Cart sponsorAre interested in joining Add To Cart as a guestHave any feedback or suggestions on how to make Add To Cart betterEmail hello@addtocart.com.au We look forward to hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

279. Así pues, ésta es la verdad y lo reconocerás si te distingues a cosas mayor importancia, dejando ya la filosofía. Ciertamente, Sócrates, la filosofía tiene su encanto si se toma moderadamente en su juventud; pero si se insiste en ella más de lo conveniente es la perdición de los hombres. Fuente: Platón, Gorgias 484c-486b. Muchas gracias por escucharme y espero que te guste. Puedes visitar mi web para mantenerte informado de nuevos estrenos https://curiosihistoria.com

SaaStr 751: How to Use AI-Powered Marketing to Get More Leads and Customers with Guillaume Cabane of HyperGrowth Partners As a marketing leader, how do you use today's AI platforms and tools to become more efficient?  Guillaume Cabane, Co-Founder and General Partner at HyperGrowth Partners and ex-head of marketing at Drift, Gorgias and Segment, shares how you can win with AI in outbound, SEO, and paid.  AI was good a year or two ago, but its quality was less than that of a human. There was less cost and less quality. Nowadays, we have more quality and speed, yet still at a lower cost. What does that mean for marketing? Each motion has different CACs. The sales-led approach we're used to, which is pretty efficient but relatively expensive. On the other side, you have PLG, which is fairly cheap but generally drives lower CAC and smaller customers. You have this spectrum from low contract value to high ACV, which is correlated with low CAC to high CAC. With those CACs and ACVs, you have typical segmentation of micro to Enterprise, and within that segmentation, you have the channels. On the cheap, low-CAC side, you'll have SEO and virality: the PLG playbooks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Join us in 2024 at: SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20 --------------

In S4 E1 of Chew on This, ​Ron and Ash sit down with Kevin Gould, Co-Founder of Glamnetic, as he shares his entrepreneurial journey from starting Beautycon to co-founding Glamnetic. He discusses the challenges faced during the pandemic and the importance of influencer marketing and community building. Kevin also emphasizes the significance of analyzing marketing campaign success and managing separate teams for different ventures while also sharing learnings between them. He highlights how collaborations and cross-promotions between brands are key strategies for growth, and how building unique value propositions and brand loyalty over time, along with thoughtful product development and retail distribution strategies, are essential for long-term success in the beauty industry.

Sid is the Head of Studio at Forum VC, a venture studio with a goal of building 8 AI companies per year. Prior to joining Forum VC, Sid started Broca, an AI software that generates ad copy and other forms of marketing content. He has also helped dozens of SAAS companies with their growth. Some companies he has worked with include Thinkific, LemonStand, Gorgias, Plato, Typeform, and ClickUp This episode is brought to you with the support of Oracle Netsuite, learn more at netsuite.com/uncharted --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uncharted1/support

03 Muerte y educación en Valencia Podemos hacernos la pregunta del huevo y la gallina con Blasco Ibáñez. ¿Qué fue primero su éxito arrollador o la pertenencia a algún grupo secreto o discreto que lo encumbrase al éxito? Como hemos comentado desde el principio, desde muy pequeño era aficionado a inventarse las mas pintorescas historias y aunque mucha de su obra infantil y juvenil no ha llegado a nuestros días podemos decir que al igual que hoy los grupos de poder captan a los jóvenes influencers para impregnar a la sociedad de sus ideas a través de estos, en esa época ocurría otro tanto similar. Con tan solo 16 años funda y dirige el semanario El Miguelete, y cesado éste funda El Turia. Con 18 colabora en El Correo de Valencia y a los 20 publica el primer número del periódico federal del que es también director, La Revolución. También crea el semanario La Bandera Federal y la editorial La Propaganda Democrática. En 1892 nace su hija Libertad que sólo vive trece días. Seguimos viendo la importancia del 13 y recordamos como en la serie de Berlanga sobre la vida de Vicente Blasco hace una alusión velada al “comercio de mercancía sagrada o intercambio de niños de unos linajes a otros” con la adopción del primo de Blasco. (poner video el Femater.mp4) Hacen alusión al cuento el Femater, el basurero, de la colección cuentos valencianos. ¿Podría ser que el director se refiriese al propio Blasco ya que poco o nada se sabe de ese supuesto primo adoptado? A los 26 años entra en política presentándose como candidato por la Unión Republicana por el distrito de Sueca. (video Berlanga Parte 1 56:00 a 57:17 Obra el juez y muerte de su madre.mp4) El 12 de Mayo de 1894 se estrena en valencia su única obra de teatro llamada “El Juez”, que no tiene mucho éxito además ese mismo día fallece su madre a los 51 años de edad (5+1=6) y el 12 de noviembre de 1894, 184 días más tarde (6 meses justos) publica el primer número de El Pueblo, fundado y dirigido por él. Un diario dirigido a las clases populares a mitad de precio que los otros diarios. El 11 de enero de 1903 publica en dicho diario un artículo titulado «La Universidad Popular», la cual se inaugurará el 8 de febrero. Vemos muy acertada la expresión que le dedica el profesor de la Universidad de Valencia Ramiro Reig a Blasco, "un experto en marketing editorial”, el cual como hemos visto creo 4 o 5 periódicos y semanarios, 7 casinos republicanos y uno central en la Universidad Popular, universidad que aún sobrevive. Según Reig, el liderazgo del escritor se afianzó mediante la creación de una eficaz maquinaria organizativa asentada en los casinos republicanos. Recordó este historiador que "él no los inventó pero, si se nos permite el anacronismo, los macdonalizó, distribuyéndolos estratégicamente en la ciudad y sometiéndolos a un menú ideológico estándar, fácil de digerir y con abundancia de sal y pimienta". En opinión de Reig "la utilización del lenguaje espontáneo de la calle y de formas plebeyas, de la sensibilidad mediterránea y su afición por el tumulto y el ruido, de las relaciones de barrio y de las fiestas, hicieron que el republicanismo fuera, no solo la expresión política de las clases populares, sino de su manera de ser, de hablar y de imaginar la vida". 30 años antes de la proclamación de la II República Blasco Ibáñez impulsó decenas de escuelas laicas en Valencia (Carles, Cheste, Buñol, Sagunto, Catarroja o Cullera) y la Universidad Popular gracias al movimiento republicano blasquista en Valencia, al inicio del siglo XX, una época de hegemonía de la Iglesia Católica en la educación. La universidad Popular es un proyecto que impulsó Blasco Ibáñez desde su periódico "El Pueblo" hasta el punto que es reconocido como el creador de esta. Por contra de lo que parece sugerir el nombre de la institución en la universidad no sé impartían cursos reglados en los que se obtiene una titulación, si no que se realizaban conferencias, muchas de ellas nocturnas para hacerlo accesible a los obreros. Ya nos podemos imaginar que sería una fuente para impartir ideología más que otra cosa. Escribía Blasco Ibáñez en El Pueblo el 11 de enero de 1903 un famoso artículo sobre la Universidad popular: "Un terreno nuevo, donde todos puedan entrar, donde se presente la enseñanza con ropajes de fiesta y se sirva la ciencia como una diversión. La Universidad Popular será todas las noches algo así como un teatro libre y gratuito de la enseñanza” "Que los Profesores den su sabiduría, y nosotros les daremos un público. El hombre de estudio no puede permanecer insensible a la noble y justa vanidad de que su palabra sea escuchada, no por unos cuantos escolares aburridos por la monotonía del programa, sino por mil personas que se estremezcan y vibren ante la hermosura de esa Ciencia que hoy solo ven de lejos, envuelta en velos, como una Isis misteriosa y ceñuda.” En estos momentos, la UP de Valencia sigue vigente y cuenta con un total de 31 centros donde se imparten clases de danza, plantas aromáticas, manualidades, jardinería en terrazas y balcones, cultivo de boletos comestibles, cursos de español para extranjeros, ingles e informática básica para adultos…etc. La conferencia inaugural fue a cargo del político y jurista Gumersindo de Azcárate, catedrático de la Universidad Central, diputado republicano por León y, entre otros, presidente de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza, de la Institución para la Enseñanza de la Mujer, del Instituto de Reformas Sociales y del Ateneo Madrileño. Valencia sufría a principios del siglo XX unos inquietantes índices de analfabetismo: el 48% de los hombres y el 64% de las mujeres apenas sabían leer y a ese público iba en parte dirigido su periódico El Pueblo. Pío Baroja, dijo de él: “sabe componer, escribe claro; pero, para mí, es aburrido, es un conjunto de perfecciones vulgares y mostrencas, que a mí me ahoga. Tiene las opiniones de todo el mundo, los gustos de todo el mundo. Yo, a la larga, no le puedo soportar”. El populismo actual de las cadenas de televisión ya estaba inventado por el famoso escritor que gracias a estar en todos los saraos, duelos, entradas y salidas de la cárcel y aventuras varias se hacia cada vez mas famoso. Blasco Ibáñez como editor al frente de las editoriales Prometeo o Sempere, que a un módico precio, inyectaban en el mercado miles de ejemplares de sus propias obras y de autores "que leen las élites progresistas de la burguesía europea". La razón social de Prometeo se estableció en un edificio situado en la Gran Vía Germanías, núm. 33. Nótese que germanías fue una revuelta social del S. XVI de la sociedad burguesa valenciana en contra de la nobleza, la concordancia en ese sentido con la revolución francesa tan admirada por Blasco es manifiesta y el numero 33 es el máximo escalafón masónico. ¿Casualidad o causalidad? Editorial Prometeo, el que da el "Fuego/Conocimiento a los hombres” es más bien el Ángel de Luz que cayó del Cielo o sea Lucifer. Ese que tienen exhibido en el Rockefeller Center y del que también recibe nombre el Colectivo Prometeo creado por Julio Anguita. Dicha editorial fue muy propagandista e impulsora de ideas de masones como Voltaire, Rousseau, Michelet…Vamos, fue la versión antigua de herramientas actuales cómo Wikipedia, internet o ChatGPT. En “Viajes hacia la literatura satánica en un cambio de siglo” José Mariano Leyva dice: “Los nuevos leprosos, patrocinados por el demo­nio, que utilizaban la literatura como utensilio de su depravada alquimia, se estaban formando. La novedosa nigromancia, y sus postulantes eran tan peligrosos como aquellos seres de mús­culos podridos. Los motivos también eran afi­nes: su enfermedad era contagiosa y ponían en tela de juicio la bondad y progreso de las civili­zaciones. Vicente Blasco Ibáñez lo sabía. Y por ello, como mecenas de un hervidero de especímenes nocivos, advertía: “Algunas novelas célebres de intensa belleza pueden parecer de una lectura extremadamente libre para determinadas per­sonas. Por esto en nuestros catálogos hay libros que llevan la indicación de una *. Esta marca * significa que son obras que no pueden dejarse en todas las manos”. Uno de aquellos autores con asterisco era Huysmans­-Durtal: “Era verdad que no poseían nada sobresaliente las le­tras del momento; nada, a no ser una necesidad de lo sobrenatural, que, a falta de ideas más ele­vadas, caminaba a tropezones y como mejor podía por el espiritismo y el ocultismo” El catedrático de Teoría e Historia de la Educación de la Universidad de Valencia Luis Miguel Lázaro en su libro “La Nueva Atenas del Mediterráneo. El sueño de un novelista Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, cultura y educación populares en Valencia” titula su primer capitulo como “Los emisarios de Belcebú. La escuela laica como alternativa social y pedagógica”. ¿Blasco Ibáñez, emisario de Belcebú? En la RAE podemos leer lo que significa emisario: “Mensajero que se envía para indagar lo que se desea saber, para comunicar a alguien algo o para concertarse en secreto con tercera o terceras personas.” O sea, alguien que en secreto va a realizar la obra de Belcebú, del diablo. En Historia de los Heterodoxos españoles, Menéndez Pelayo dice esto sobre La Institución Libre de Enseñanza: «Necesario era... mostrar claro y al descubierto el misterio eleusino que bajo tales monsergas se encerraba, el fétido esqueleto con cuyas estériles caricias se ha estado convidando y entonteciendo por tantos años a la juventud española». «Han sido más que una escuela; han sido una logia, una sociedad de socorros mutuos, una tribu, un círculo de «alumbrados», una «fratría», lo que la pragmática de don Juan II llama «cofradía y monipodio», algo en suma, tenebroso y repugnante a toda alma independiente y aborrecedora de trampantojos. Se ayudaban y se protegían unos a otros; cuando mandaban, se repartían las cátedras como botín conquistado. Todos hablaban igual, todos vestían igual, todos se parecían en su aspecto exterior, aunque no se pareciesen antes... Todos eran tétricos, cejijuntos, sombríos; todos respondían por fórmulas hasta en las insulseces de la vida práctica; siempre en su papel, siempre sabios…». Entre la nómina de colaboradores del Boletín de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza podemos encontrar a sospechosos habituales como Bertrand Russell o H. G. Wells. Sobre Wells les hice una disección en mi serie de artículos “Anticipandonos a HG Wells” donde en su libro El Nuevo Orden Mundial nos mostraba los planes de la élite para deshacerse del dinero en metálico: “La Bolsa de Valores y el crédito bancario y todas las artes de los préstamos, la usura y la prevención sin duda disminuirán juntas a medida que se establezca el Orden Mundial. Si y cuando el orden mundial se establece. Serán reemplazados, como cáscaras de huevo y membranas fetales. No hay razón para denunciar a quienes idearon y trabajaron esos métodos e instituciones como sinvergüenzas y villanos. Honestamente lo hicieron de acuerdo a sus luces. Eran una parte necesaria del proceso de sacar al Homo sapiens de su cueva y bajarlo de su árbol.” Veamos lo que pensaba LORD Bertrand Arthur William Russell, tercer conde de Russell sobre la educación infantil a través de un texto extraído de su obra "La Perspectiva Científica” de 1931: “En las raras ocasiones en que un niño o una niña que haya pasado la edad en la que se determina la clase social, (sobre los 6 años), muestre una capacidad muy señalada para sentirse intelectualmente igual a los niños destinados a las clases gobernantes, se suscitará una cuestión difícil que requerirá un estudio muy serio. Si el joven se contenta con abandonar a sus antiguos compañeros y echarse lealmente en brazos de los gobernantes, podría ser promovido, después de pruebas convenientes, al rango de éstos. Pero si demuestra alguna solidaridad, que sería lamentable, con sus antiguos compañeros, los gobernantes deducirán con repugnancia que no puede hacerse nada por él, excepto enviarle a la cámara de la muerte, antes de que su inteligencia, mal disciplinada, tenga tiempo de propagar la revuelta. Éste será un penoso deber de los gobernantes; pero creo que no retrocederán ante él." A la vista de todo lo dicho hasta aqui Blasco nos parece un antiguo sofista griego que mediante la sinarquia busca solo la persuasión de una audiencia, ya sea en asambleas políticas o mediante la propaganda periodística. Los sofistas desarrollan el razonamiento cuyo objetivo es solo la eficacia persuasiva, y no la verdad, y que como tales suelen contener sofismos (falacias). Como sofistas reconocidos como Gorgias o Protágoras, el señor Blasco vivía para el dinero y quería conseguir el éxito a toda costa. El concepto de sinarquia lo explica muy bien el historiador José Antonio Bielsa: “La “Sinarquía” es el sustrato sobre el que se retroalimenta el gobierno oculto mundial. Me explicaré: si en el mundo antiguo, la Sinarquía (syn [integración/concentración] + arkhia [poder/gobierno]) era la unión de varios príncipes coaligados para la dominación de los pueblos, hoy es algo mucho más sutil y diabólico, cohesionado en la unión de las fuerzas financieras y económicas multinacionales, asociadas en un tremendo poder a otros organismos pantalla, para así gobernar al Sistema-mundo a su libre voluntad y por medio de las tácticas recurrentes de diseño (conflictos bélicos, explotación humana, difusión de enfermedades y pandemias, masificación en núcleos urbanos, ignorancia y/o atraso de las masas, etcétera). Todas las sociedades humanas están siendo sometidas, bien por agrado, bien por la fuerza, a los designios de esa imparable inercia que llamamos Sinarquía.” “En 1908, cuando Mr. Archer Milton Huntington, millonario y filántropo visitó una exposición de Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863–1923) en Londres quedó fascinado por el talento del pintor valenciano, el millonario mostró su deseo de presentar su obra en Nueva York, que realizaría al año siguiente en febrero de 1909 con una muestra para impulsar la Hispanic Society of America ya inaugurada en 1904. Con trescientas cincuenta y seis obras sorollescas fue un completo éxito, mayor del esperado, vendió una cincuentena de cuadros, uno de ellos era el óleo Caballero español: el retrato de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez pintado en 1906, de pie con abrigo negro y en la mano izquierda fumando un habano, ya que estos eran paisanos y amigos valencianos. Tras este éxito, Sorolla firmó un contrato el 26 de noviembre de 1911 con Mr. Huntington para pintar un mural de 60 metros, pero como Sorolla vivía en España, convinieron en pintar 14 cuadros de la serie Visión de España, obra también conocida como Las Regiones de España, por 150.000 dólares. Fueron pintados entre 1912 y 1919; se expusieron en 1926. Sufrió Sorolla un ataque de hemiplejia en su casa de Madrid el 17 de abril de 1920, falleciendo tres años después. La vida no quiso que el maestro disfrutara de la gran inauguración de su obra maestra en Nueva York en 1926, tres años después de su muerte (1923). El autor de este reportaje tuvo el privilegio de ver y admirar esta magna exposición en su tournée por España en los salones del Centro Cultural Bancaja expuestos entre octubre de 2009 al 10 de enero de 2010. Lo cierto es que no se pueden olvidar tantas maravillas. Bien, como Vicente Blasco Ibáñez se hizo amigo de Mr. Archer Huntington y, además sabía que era el propietario de su retrato El Caballero español, se puso en contacto con él, por lo que sería nombrado socio de honor en 1910, en la Hispanic Society. Al regresar VBI tras su gira de conferencias en Argentina, más concretamente, el día 6 de marzo de 1910, Blasco le formuló por carta la siguiente consulta a Archer Huntington: «Siento con toda mi alma no saber inglés… ¿No sería posible dar ahí algunas conferencias sobre la España moderna y antigua? ¿Habría en Nueva York público para unas conferencias en español?» Debido a sus dotes oratorias estaba seguro que repetiría la misma suerte argentina en los Estados Unidos, pero no fue así, había que esperar el momento propicio. Buscaba VBI la complicidad de personajes vinculados al mundo de la prensa, la literatura o la política para conseguir sus objetivos de proyección. Y esta vez perseguía la connivencia de una figura de singular relieve como Mr. Huntington. Pero como en primera instancia no consiguió viajar a Norteamérica, quedó en Argentina dando conferencias, fundó dos colonias en Argentina entre 1909 y 1913 donde comprará cinco mil hectáreas que llamará Colonia Cervantes situada en Río Negro en los desiertos de la Patagonia, y una segunda llamada Nueva Valencia en el estado de Corrientes en Río de la Plata, donde llevó a unos 200 colonos valencianos del pueblo de Sueca, conocedores del cultivo del arroz. También hizo incursiones en Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay. La quiebra de los bancos que le concedieron préstamos le llevó a la ruina. Regresó a Europa, concretamente a París, en un vapor alemán donde le cogió la Gran Guerra de 1914.” Se sucedían los homenajes incluso en su tierra. El 21 de diciembre de 1919 pusieron una calle a su nombre en Burjasot sonando la Marsellesa. Decía Blasco Ibáñez, en El Sol, en 1922: “Hace dos años y medio me avergonzaba de mis fabulosas ganancias. Hoy ya no; las encuentro naturales y quiero aumentarlas. Los dos escritores que ganamos más dinero en el mundo somos Rudyard Kipling y yo; es decir, no. Hay un tercero: Wells. Sí, somos tres los escritores que ganamos más en el mundo. Tengo más de un millón de dólares. Cobro setecientos por un cuento corto. Las empresas editoriales de los Estados Unidos me cablegrafían pidiéndome artículos constantemente, sobre tal o cual tema. Y así hago esta vida mezclada de príncipe y esclavo: príncipe, por mis automóviles, por mis jardines en la Costa Azul, por mis relaciones internacionales constantes con los huéspedes de París, Montecarlo y Nueva York; de esclavo, porque sigo trabajando de doce a catorce horas diarias, escribiendo novelas o dictando pequeñeces a mis secretarios”. Y es que con su novela “Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis” (12 millones de ejemplares vendidos) que se había convertido en un “símbolo de paz”, y en 1921, en un éxito de pantalla, la sexta película muda más taquillera de la historia Blasco se había hecho millonario. Ramón Fernández Palmeral nos lo cuenta en un artículo: “Gracias a ella, Rodolfo Valentino pudo consagrarse como actor guaperas y Blasco Ibáñez vender a paletadas frenéticas el resto de sus obras en el vasto mercado estadounidense. Una cadena de prensa le ofreció hasta 1000 dólares por cada artículo periodístico (colaboraba con más de 100); La gira norteamericana se la organizó un tal Mr. Pond, que le hizo inmensamente rico por la traducción al inglés de Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis, el primer best-seller de la historia. En octubre de 1919, Blasco Ibáñez viajó a los Estados Unidos, invitado por las grandes editoriales, cadenas periodísticas y productoras cinematográficas, que deseaban conocer al autor y traducir sus obras. Blasco permaneció en los Estados Unidos hasta junio de 1920, recibiendo los más altos honores, como el título de Doctor Honoris Causa por la Universidad George Washington, y visitando, entre otros, el Congreso o la Academia de West Point. Viajó por todo el país. Ganó mucho dinero con las conferencias. Al regresar a Europa se comprará un coche Rolls Royce. (poner video Hollywood.mp4) En Hollywood firma el contrato para las versiones cinematográficas de Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis y de Sangre y Arena, que protagonizará, nada más y nada menos que el divo del cine negro y mudo, Rodolfo Valentino. Greta Garbo debuta en Sangre y Arena. Por si fuera poco, la neoyorquina International Book Review, de 2 millones de suscriptores, organizó en 1924 un concurso para conocer quiénes eran, según el público, los 10 escritores más famosos del mundo. El escrutinio reveló que don Vicente era el segundo autor más popular ( H. G. Wells le superó en 90 votos).” Sin embargo, en España, Pio Baroja y Azorin, sus colegas escritores de la generación del 98 le criticaban por escribir lo que el inculto publico de masas demandaba. Esas masas grises eran ya carne de Hollywood, templo hollicapitalista por excelencia como decía Pedro Bustamante y Vicente Blasco Ibañez fue de los primeros españoles en triunfar allí. No solo se compró un Rolls-Royce, también una mansión lujosísima en la Costa Azul, La villa Fontana Rosa en Menton (Francia) Tras la muerte de María Blasco, el 21 de enero de 1925 en Valencia, a los cincuenta y cinco años, de la que estaba prácticamente separado, contrajo segundas nupcias con su amante chilena de ascendencia vasca, Elena Ortúzar, el 4 de julio en Mentón; se dice que lo único que le interesaba a ella era su dinero. En 1926, dos años antes de morir, Blasco escribe “A los pies de Venus”. En “Los libros de mama” Francisco Umbral nos cuenta de que va: “Una novela de millonarios europeos y decadentes, un gran mundo que al propio Blasco le fascina más que al lector, con fascinación de nuevo rico, estatuas de mármol en el jardín, con los labios pintados de pecadores y violentos carmines profanadores. Blasco parece recrear aquí su mansión de Menton, que luego he visto descrita por Cela y otros muchos escritores como un panteón de estatuas ya muerto y olvidado.” Inventado o no su nacimiento en dia 29, lo que si esta claro es el otro 28 que se convierte en 29, esto es, en 11, en la madrugada del 28 al 29 de enero de 1928 con su muerte justo en el perigeo de Luna creciente. Fue otro Vicente, el alcalde de Valencia, Vicente Alfaro Moreno el que decidió repatriar los restos de Blasco desde Francia donde falleció siendo enterrado en Mentón el cuerpo del escritor. El día 29 de octubre de 1933, con la II República española ya instaurada desde hacía dos años, una multitud de trescientas mil personas lo recibió en el puerto de Valencia, incluyendo al presidente de la República, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora; al del Consejo de Ministros, Alejandro Lerroux; y al de la Generalitat catalana, Francesc Macià. Fue trasladado en un barco militar y recibido con honores militares como si se tratase de un ministro civil que hubiera fallecido en el ejercicio de su cargo. El destacado artista valenciano y amigo suyo Mariano Benlliure fue el encargado de diseñar un sarcófago muy masónico para él, una Pirámide truncada. Benlliure modeló en la parte superior del sarcófago la figura yacente de Blasco Ibáñez envuelta en un sudario, con la cabeza apoyada en un cojín y rodeada de ramas de laurel. A modo de mascara mortuoria se podia ver la cara de Blasco Ibáñez. El arquitecto Javier Goerlich Lleó fue elegido para diseñar el mausoleo definitivo para los restos de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez en el Cementerio General de Valencia. El proyecto incluía el sarcófago realizado por el escultor Mariano Benlliure en 1935. Sin embargo, este mausoleo nunca llegó a construirse debido a la inestabilidad política de la época. Su madre, Asunción Lleó, era hija de uno de los herederos del principal propietario de inmuebles de la Valencia de mediados del siglo XIX, el comerciante e industrial sedero hecho a sí mismo Juan Bautista Romero, marqués de San Juan. Néstor Morente Martín, doctor en historia del arte, nos cuenta en su tesis doctoral “El art déco en la imagen alegórica de la ii república española en valencia: Vicente Alfaro promotor de las artes”: "El centro del mausoleo, estaba destinado para ser presidido por el sarcófago de latón de Benlliure, en forma de pirámide truncada, en el que incluyó en los laterales, en bajo relieve,18 figuras de protagonistas de sus novelas más conocidas, de las que se anuncian sus títulos sobre el listel de la base del sarcófago; en la parte frontal, el escudo de la ciudad de Valencia. La parte superior, la ocupa todo el cuerpo yacente de Blasco Ibáñez rodeado de hojas de laurel, envuelto en un sudario, respetando con todo detalle el rigor mortis con el que fue fotografiado en su lecho de muerte en 1928, en Mentón y de donde tomó referencia para esta obra funeraria. Los laterales del pedestal, están decorados con guirnaldas de bronce simbolizando los frutos de la huerta valenciana. En 1933, el alcalde de Valencia, Vicente Lambies y la Diputación, enviaron a Menton (Francia), dos pebeteros de carácter monumental, realizados en bronce dorado para acompañar las exequias del traslado a Valencia de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Fueron expuestos junto al féretro en el Ayuntamiento de la localidad francesa y transportados en el cortejo fúnebre desde el acorazado Jaime I. Los dos pebeteros, son idénticos en su factura a excepción de sus escudos, en uno lleva el de la ciudad de Valencia y en el otro, el de la Diputación Provincial. Ambos llevan grabado el tan celebrado año de 1933 para la memoria de Blasco Ibáñez. Los pebeteros, fueron trasladados al Cementerio Municipal de Valencia junto al cuerpo de Blasco Ibáñez, a la espera de la construcción del mausoleo, en el que hasta 1935 no se colocó la primera piedra. Por la magnitud y suntuosidad de los pebeteros, es lógico pensar que fueron encargados, no tan solo con la idea de acompañar un cortejo fúnebre, sino para formar parte del mismo conjunto arquitectónico del panteón diseñado desde 1932. La Guerra Civil, paralizó la construcción de la esperada obra, quedando estas dos piezas de orfebrería en el olvido, en un cuarto trastero del mismo cementerio. En el año 2012, el capellán mayor del Cementerio Municipal de Valencia, al realizar unas reformas en la capilla, descubrió los pebeteros junto a un montón de “chatarra” en unas condiciones de importante deterioro por él óxido. Sin saber de lo que se trataba, los restauró y por su forma, les dio la función de pilas para albergar el agua bendita, colocándolos en la entrada de la capilla, permaneciendo de esta forma hasta la actualidad.” Les traduzco: El nieto de un marques, el arquitecto municipal de Valencia Javier Goerlich, realizó el diseño de un mausoleo para un masón donde se iban a utilizar unos pebeteros que terminaron en una capilla y uno de los cuales fue sufragado por una institución, la Diputación provincial, que fue creada por la dictadura de Primo de Rivera, el supuesto enemigo de Blasco y la República. En el artículo de el puntal de Dios LOS MANUSCRITOS MUERTOS Y LAS VIDAS CREADAS (pars secunda) podíamos ver como todos los “importantes” dejan su máscara mortuoria para la posteridad. En la cara posterior representó la esfera terrestre flanqueada por dos cornucopias, dos cabezas de águila y sobre ella, iluminándola, el disco solar con una cabeza alada, que podría identificarse con el mítico Prometeo, que había dado nombre a la editorial fundada por el escritor. Se le rindieron honores propios de un jefe de Estado. Debido al considerable peso del féretro, cerca de 700 kg, se formaron alrededor de medio centenar de grupos de porteadores para trasladarlo hasta la Lonja, donde quedó expuesto durante varios días antes de ser llevado a la sala de Concejales del Cementerio. Todo esto cambió drásticamente en 1936 con el inicio de la Guerra Civil. Los restos de Blasco fueron trasladados a un nicho provisional en el cementerio municipal de Valencia por temor a que su cuerpo fuera profanado. Allí permanecen hasta el día de hoy, en el nicho 93 de la sección 3.ª del cementerio civil de Valencia, resguardados por una lápida de color gris oscuro en la que apenas destaca su nombre en letras plateadas. Desde luego cuesta encontrar fotos de “la cara buena” de la pirámide truncada Illuminati que es el sarcófago truncado de Blasco Ibáñez. Incluso en las noticias que ponen una foto de ese lado como la del diario Las Provincias luego no podemos verla dentro de la noticia. No podemos ver ninguna a alta resolución en ningún medio de comunicación. Solo por el lado donde se ven las musas, el símbolo de Valencia y los títulos de algunas de sus novelas. ¿Qué esconden y por qué lo hacen? Los cuernos de la fortuna que iban a acompañar a Blasco en el mas allá nunca lo recibieron en su seno. El cenotafio que no sarcófago, porque el cadáver de Blasco Ibáñez nunca fue colocado dentro, ha estado dando vueltas desde su construcción en 1935. En 1940 se guardó en los almacenes del Museo de Bellas Artes para ser restaurado en 1998 e instalado en el Centro del Carmen. En 2017 regresó al San Pío V, donde se instala de forma permanente en un patio interior donde le daba “la luz”. (poner video blasco Ibáñez el sarcófago.mp4) El 6 de abril de 2020, en plena pandemia de covid, se retira el cenotafio del museo. Y el 23 de abril de 2020, el día del libro y de Sant Jordi, el sarcófago ya era visitable. Supuestamente coincidiendo con la conmemoración del centenario del homenaje que en 1921 recibió el autor en su ciudad natal. Pero les adelantare que fue en mayo cuando visitó Valencia y no en abril. Tal y como nos cuenta Raquel Andrés Dura en un artículo de La Vanguardia: “El sarcófago que el escultor Mariano Benlliure hizo para el escritor Vicente Blasco Ibáñez por encargo del Ayuntamiento de València ha llegado hoy a su destino final, el Cementerio General de València, 88 años después de cuando fue creado.” La cara de Medusa, una égida de Atenea metálica para proteger al espíritu iluminándolo, con el disco solar acompañado de los cuernos de la fortuna. Fijaos que la bola del mundo que está entre las garras de las dos águilas o del águila de dos cabezas parece un huevo. El huevo alquímico de la masonería, ese germen que tratan de transformar con dos fuerzas, izquierda y derecha, blanco y negro, azul y rojo para lograr la síntesis. La culminación de su obra. ¿Qué fue antes, el huevo o la gallina? —-------------------------------------------------- Creadores: ToniM @ToniMbuscadores …. Dra Yane #JusticiaParaUTP @ayec98_2 Médico y Buscadora de la verdad. Con Dios siempre! No permito q me dividan c/izq -derecha, raza, religión ni nada de la Creación. https://youtu.be/TXEEZUYd4c0 …. UTP Ramón Valero @tecn_preocupado Un técnico Preocupado un FP2 IVOOX UTP http://cutt.ly/dzhhGrf BLOG http://cutt.ly/dzhh2LX Ayúdame desde mi Crowfunding aquí https://cutt.ly/W0DsPVq ……….. Voces Narrador: Ramón Valero (un técnico preocupado) Vicente Blasco Ibáñez y su antítesis “el caballero audaz”: Toni Marco Diferentes voces femeninas: Dra Yane Voces masculinas: el puntal de Dios Narración extra: abriendo los ojos ………………………………………………………………………………………. Enlaces citados en el podcast: Bibliografia completa https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/vicente_blasco_ibanez/su_obra_bibliografia/ Cronología de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/vicente_blasco_ibanez/autor_cronologia/#anyo_1900 Cronologia literaria Blasco Ibáñez https://anyblascoibanez.gva.es/va/cronologia-literaria Time line de su vida https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/vicente-blasco-ibanez-5ac50faf-ff35-40dd-be42-708435362932 Galeria de imágenes https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cervantesvirtual.com%2Fimages%2Fportales%2Fvicente_blasco_ibanez%2Fgraf%2Fcronologia%2F03_cro_blasco_ibanez_retrato_1018_s.jpg&tbnid=s0ix0VfxLAJ4aM&vet=12ahUKEwi45LKn8vr-AhVYmycCHf1fDVMQMygkegUIARDGAQ..i&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cervantesvirtual.com%2Fportales%2Fvicente_blasco_ibanez%2Fautor_cronologia%2F&docid=rpcl3y5OiYotjM&w=301&h=450&q=Mar%C3%ADa%20Blasco%20blasco%20iba%C3%B1ez&hl=es&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwi45LKn8vr-AhVYmycCHf1fDVMQMygkegUIARDGAQ ……… Capítulo 3 La familia Blasco Ibáñez - 1867 https://elargonautavalenciano.blogspot.com/2016/01/la-familia-blasco-ibanez-1867.html El "comecuras" Vicente Blasco Ibáñez: escritor e impulsor de la educación laica y popular en Valencia https://www.eldiario.es/comunitat-valenciana/comecuras-vicente-blasco-ibanez-escritor-e-impulsor-educacion-laica-popular-valencia_1_8027488.html La Nueva Atenas del Mediterráneo. El sueño de un novelista Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, cultura y educación populares en Valencia del catedrático de Teoría e Historia de la Educación de la Universidad de Valencia Luis Miguel Lázaro https://www.alfonselmagnanim.net/media/dival/files/sample-119161.pdf La nueva Atenas del Mediterráneo. visor https://www.proquest.com/openview/69c1c3034ed7f81c36f405c1b377897e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=54848 La nueva Atenas del Mediterráneo. Otro enlace en pdf https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwib_Nqn69L-AhWKsKQKHYRIBZwQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Frevistas.uned.es%2Findex.php%2FHMe%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F31813%2F24523%2F84305&usg=AOvVaw0raZf70GBF-4NeLAyPZBF5 La Universidad Popular https://www.casamuseoblascoibanez.es/la-universidad-popular/ Reig dice que Blasco Ibáñez fue un "fabricante" de 'best sellers' https://elpais.com/diario/2000/09/23/cvalenciana/969736712_850215.html# LO MAS INTERESANTE SIEMPRE POR LA PUERTA DE ATRÁS https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2017/04/10/lo-mas-interesante-siempre-por-la-puerta-de-atras/ La Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE) según MENENDEZ PELAYO https://filosofia.org/aut/ile/index.htm Institución Libre de Enseñanza https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instituci%C3%B3n_Libre_de_Ense%C3%B1anza MIRANDO HACIA ATRÁS III: ANTICIPÁNDONOS A HG WELLS PRIMERA PARTE https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2020/01/06/mirando-hacia-atras-iii-anticipandonos-a-hg-wells-primera-parte/ MIRANDO HACIA ATRÁS IV: ANTICIPÁNDONOS A HG WELLS SEGUNDA PARTE https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2020/01/16/mirando-hacia-atras-iv-anticipandonos-a-hg-wells-segunda-parte/ MIRANDO HACIA ATRÁS V: ANTICIPÁNDONOS A HG WELLS TERCERA PARTE https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2020/01/24/mirando-hacia-atras-v-anticipandonos-a-hg-wells-tercera-parte/ MIRANDO HACIA ATRÁS VI: ANTICIPÁNDONOS A HG WELLS CUARTA PARTE https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2020/01/31/mirando-hacia-atras-vi-anticipandonos-a-hg-wells-cuarta-parte/ LORD Bertrand Arthur William Russell, tercer conde de Russell https://twitter.com/BabylonDab/status/1096603122414309376 Perversa "La Perpectiva Científica" de Lord Bertrand Russell y sus cámaras de muerte para niñ@s disidentes. https://desmontandoababylon.com/2017/06/03/la-maldita-perspectiva-de-russell-ya-es-realidad/ Universidad Popular de Valencia https://universitatpopular.com/ Tres amigos valencianos https://www.amigosnaugran.org/bsb-tres-amigos-valencianos-benlliure/ Los libros de mama de Francisco Umbral https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/vicente_blasco_ibanez/estudios_autor/autor/Umbral,%20Francisco,%201932-2007/ Vicente Blasco Ibáñez y la madrastra España https://www.todoliteratura.es/noticia/56006/firma-invitada/vicente-blasco-ibanez-y-la-madrastra-espana.html Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Su azarosa vida y sus últimos años en la Costa Azul https://www.meer.com/es/64910-vicente-blasco-ibanez A los 50 años http://elargonautavalenciano.blogspot.com/search/label/A%C3%B1o%201917 El inesperado éxito de Blasco Ibáñez en los Estados Unidos https://www.meer.com/es/66142-el-inesperado-exito-de-blasco-ibanez-en-los-estados-unidos La excesiva personalidad de Blasco Ibáñez https://www.elespanol.com/el-cultural/blogs/tengo_una_cita/20190815/excesiva-personalidad-blasco-ibanez/421827814_12.html Editorial Prometeo https://www.academia.edu/27468622/El_legado_de_una_editorial_emblem%C3%A1tica_Prometeo_Valencia_1914_ Portal:Editorial Prometeo - Wikisource https://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Editorial_Prometeo Viajes hacia la literatura satánica en un cambio de siglo https://web.archive.org/web/20200717011843/https://www.estudioshistoricos.inah.gob.mx/revistaHistorias/?p=583 Traslado de los restos mortales de Blasco Ibáñez a Valencia http://archivo.dival.es/es/actividad/traslado-de-los-restos-mortales-de-blasco-ib%C3%A1%C3%B1ez-valencia TESIS DOCTORAL El ART DÉCO EN LA IMAGEN ALEGÓRICA DE LA II REPÚBLICA ESPAÑOLA EN VALENCIA: VICENTE ALFARO PROMOTOR DE LAS ARTES https://core.ac.uk/reader/75989300 Honores militares BOE 28 octubre 1933 https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE/1933/301/A00682-00682.pdf El sarcófago de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez https://cultural.valencia.es/es/el-sarcofag-de-vicente-blasco-ibanez/ Javier Goerlich https://valenciaoculta.com/javier-goerlich/ Marie Tussaud: La artista de máscaras mortuorias de cera https://www.culturabizarra.com/marie-tussaud-mascaras-mortuorias-cera/ LAS VIDAS CREADAS https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2023/01/22/los-manuscritos-muertos-y-las-vidas-creadas-pars-secunda/ València inicia el traslado del sarcófago de Blasco Ibáñez al cementerio general https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/valencia/20210406/6631360/valencia-inicia-traslado-sarcofago-blasco-ibanez-cementerio-general.amp.html El sarcófago de Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ya está en el Cementerio General de València https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/valencia/20210423/7107566/sarcofago-vicente-blasco-ibanez-cementerio-general-valencia.amp.html Fin al capítulo del sarcófago de Blasco Ibáñez https://www.lasprovincias.es/culturas/sarcofago-blasco-ibanez-20210423133737-nt.html

Send Everyday AI and Jordan a text messagePrompting a large language model requires a bunch of tech know-how right?↳ Super structured inputs↳ RAG↳ Fine-tuningMeh. Not so much. The best way to prompt your way to better results? Flex your domain expertise. Jared Zoneraich, Founder of PromptLayer, joins us to discuss.Newsletter: Sign up for our free daily newsletterMore on this Episode: Episode PageJoin the discussion: Ask Jordan and Jared questions on building AIRelated Episodes: Ep 164: ChatGPT Doesn't Suck. Your Prompts Do.Ep 179: Mastering Prompts With An OpenAI Ambassador – The One Secret Skill RevealedUpcoming Episodes: Check out the upcoming Everyday AI Livestream lineupWebsite: YourEverydayAI.comEmail The Show: info@youreverydayai.comConnect with Jordan on LinkedInTopics Covered in This Episode:1. Importance of prompt engineering2. Role of non-technical domain experts3. Evolving landscape of AI technology4. Future concerns and preparationsTimestamps:01:35 Daily AI news04:32 About Jared and PromptLayer07:19 Creating successful AI product hinges on expertise.08:45 Simplifying AI development and retaining human input.11:50 Small models vs big models: implications for AI.17:10 LLMs elevate conversation and knowledge sharing.21:12 Product success depends on voice and connection.22:29 Rapid adaptation to new technology creates disparity.27:02 Prepare AI models, modular approach, conversational application.29:38 Key steps in maximizing AI model productivity.Keywords:Jordan Wilson, prompt engineering, machine learning, Pope Francis, ethical AI, G7 summit, AI regulation, General Paul Nakasone, OpenAI, cybersecurity, Microsoft, recall feature, privacy advocates, Jared Zoneraich, Prompt Lair, nontechnical domain experts, AI products, AI services, Cursor, Copilot, Hevia, ParentLab, Gorgias, communication skills, large language models, commoditization of knowledge, computational thinking, AI revolution, AI applications, human expertise in AI. Get more out of ChatGPT by learning our PPP method in this live, interactive and free training! Sign up now: https://youreverydayai.com/ppp-registration/

Gorgias by Plato audiobook. This dialogue brings Socrates face to face with the famous sophist Gorgias and his followers. It is a work likely completed around the time of 'Republic' and illuminates many of the spiritual ideas of Plato. The spirituality, as Jowett points out in his wonderful introduction, has many ideas akin to Christianity, but is more generous as it reserves damnation only for the tyrants of the world. Some of the truths of Socrates, as presented by Plato, shine forth in this wonderful work on sophistry and other forms of persuasion or cookery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conversation with Andy Ridgeway of Hello Gorgias! Sign up for Theory Writing 101 https://theoryunderground.com/product/tw-101/ Follow Hello Gorgias! on Substack: https://hellogorgias.substack.com/     ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKS Become a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, office hours, clubs, and critical feedback that will help you evolve your comprehension capacities and critical faculties, via the website here: https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/    Don't have time for that but want to help anyway? Consider supporting the patreon here: Welcome to Theory Underground. https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground   Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications   Theory Underground is a lecture, research, and publishing platform by and for working class intellectuals, autodidacts, and academics who want to do more than they are able to within the confines of academia.   Think of Theory Underground like a Jiu Jitsu gym for your brain. Or like a post-political theory church. It doesn't matter. None of the analogies will do it justice. We're post-identity anyway. Just see if the vibe is right for you. We hope you get something out of it!   If you want to help me get setup sooner/faster in a totally gratuitous way, or support me but you don't care about the subscription or want to bother with the monthly stuff, here is a way to buy me something concrete and immediately useful, then you can buy me important equipment for my office on this list (these items will be automatically shipped to my address if you use the list here) https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?   Buy me some coffee: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb   If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one's reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI See Theory Underground memes here: https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground/ https://tiktok.com/@theory_underground   Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand. https://theoryunderground.com/courses   MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk            

To sign up for this summer’s seminar: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/more-real-than-the-world-ancient-insights-into-the-nature-of-god-tickets-882717049457 Or support the Maurin Academy on Patreon for access to this and all our other classes, reading groups and events: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy Follow the Maurin Academy on Twitter and Instagram for notifications about upcoming events, and get our free newsletter: https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/ More info about the class here: https://pmaurin.org/classes-and-series-cult/ … More Plato’s Gorgias: Heaven, Hell, and the In-Between Place (Seminar 2024 Readings 5)

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Welcome to the DTC Podcast! In this episode, Kevin Gould from Glamnetic and Romain Lapeyre from Gorgias dive into the challenges and solutions of managing explosive growth in e-commerce. Glamnetic's remarkable leap to $50 million in just one year brought immense customer support demands. Discover how leveraging Gorgias's AI-powered tools enabled them to transform their customer support into a seamless and proactive customer experience. Key insights include: How Glamnetic scaled customer support to handle rapid growth, achieving a 20% deflection rate with AI and aiming for 70% deflection. Strategic use of personalized touches to boost customer loyalty. Preparing for peak seasons like Black Friday with scalable AI-driven support. Learn how AI and innovative customer support strategies can turn challenges into opportunities for growth and customer satisfaction. Get proactive about your customer experience: https://partner.gorgias.com/DTCpodcast Keywords: Customer Experience, AI, E-commerce, Glamnetic, Gorgias, Kevin Gould, Romain Lapeyre, Customer Support, Scaling Business, Customer Loyalty, Proactive Support, Black Friday Prep, Digital Marketing, Growth Strategy. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:30 - The Role of AI in Customer Support 4:50 - Glamnetic's Growth Story: From $1M to $50M 7:10 - Reactive vs. Proactive Customer Experience 9:00 - Using AI to Automate Customer Service 11:30 - The Impact of AI on Customer Satisfaction 14:10 - Building a Customer-Centric Culture 16:50 - Enhancing Customer Experience with Personalized Gifts 19:00 - The Future of Customer Experience with Persistent AI 22:00 - Preparing for Q4 and Black Friday/Cyber Monday 25:00 - The Future of Voice and AI in Customer Support 27:30 - Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events Hashtags: #CustomerExperience #AI #Glamnetic #Gorgias #Ecommerce #DTC #CustomerSupport #AIAutomation #EcommerceGrowth #CX #CustomerService #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #Podcast #TechInnovations #FutureOfCX Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher Plato's dialogue, the Gorgias. This lecture focuses specifically on a set of points that Socrates makes in his conversation with Gorgias, outlining a common dynamic that tends to produce anger and even lead to abusive language between people who are discussing or exploring a subject matter together. When subject matters or topics are difficult to define, people will accuse each other of being unclear or incorrect in what they say. It is easy for interlocutors to assume that the other person is arguing their position in bad faith, out of a desire to win, to be right, to dominate, rather than a desire to seek out and articulate the truth together. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 3,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Plato's Gorgias - https://amzn.to/3yjaoMY

This lecture discusses key ideas from the ancient philosopher Plato's dialogue, the Gorgias. This lecture focuses specifically on a passage in the conversation between Socrates and the host of the evening's conversations, Callicles. After Callicles has told Socrates that philosophy is fine for children and young men, but that a mature man ought to leave it behind, Socrates ironically tells Callicles that he is certain to get a good assessment of his character from Callicles. Socrates claims that for a person who wants to be a good tester and judge of whether others are living their lives well, and whether their souls are well-nurtured, three characteristics are needed. These three are knowledge (epistēmē) good will (eunoia), and frankness or freedom of speech (parrhēsia). Socrates claims that Callicles has demonstrated that he possesses all three of these traits, and has displayed them towards Socrates. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 3,000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Plato's Gorgias - https://amzn.to/3yjaoMY

Waweru says it's impossible to translate, Liam proposes an anti-arguement conspiracy, and we empathize with Socrate's murderersMagic Mind can be found at https://www.magicmind.com/rashunadvised !Restriction Until age 16 for the following:Music of the Aeolian and Lydian modes.Discussion of Restricted TextsDiscussion of unplatonic modes of thoughtYou  can also now support us on patreon! you should, it will  make you a better person in the only way that matters-the eyes of the  hostsSupport the Show.

Challenges facing agencies and brands in the e-commerce world. From the impact of app usage on website performance to the importance of ethical business practices, we explore the secrets to success.In this episode, Jordan West and Ben Sharf, co-founder of Platter, they get into the challenges and misalignments in the e-commerce industry, particularly in relation to app usage, pricing, and improving cost-effectiveness for brand owners. Ben shares his perspective on ethical agency practices and the unique solutions offered by Platter to address these industry issues.Listen and learn in this episode!Key takeaways from this episode:The discussion highlights misalignments between development agencies and brand owners, particularly regarding app usage, pricing, and improving cost-effectiveness for brand owners.There's a need to simplify app functionality to debunk the myth that building a high-converting storefront is expensive and time-consuming and to address the issue of brands getting stuck with too many apps, support teams, and high monthly expenses.Touches on potential partnership opportunities and investment offers, highlighting the strategy of creating a shared back office for mundane tasks and enabling agencies to exit at a higher multiple by being part of the roll together.Emphasizes the importance of agencies focusing on education, integrity, and efficiency in their operations, and providing cost-effective and transparent solutions for brands.Recommended Tools/App:Clay: https://clay.earth/ Rebuy: https://www.rebuyengine.com/ Today's Guest: Ben Sharf is the co-founder of Platter, a company offering a theme and app bundle with white-glove implementation to enhance profitability on Shopify storefronts. During the episode, Ben expresses frustration with agencies moving brands to Headless architecture to control operations and profit without considering ethics. He advocates for ethical agency practices, stating that Platter focuses on education, integrity, and efficiency. Growth Plan: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/growMillion Dollar Offers: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/growIn this episode's sponsor is Subsummit - led by Christopher George, Co-Founder and CEO, is the hub for subscription commerce enthusiasts. Christopher's entrepreneurial expertise, showcased through successful ventures like Gentleman's Box, fuels SubSummit's mission. He shares valuable insights at e-commerce conferences nationwide and inspires aspiring entrepreneurs through guest lectures and mentorship programs. SubSummit embodies Christopher's dedication to empowering the subscription commerce community.SubSummit is the world's largest gathering for DTC subscription and membership brands. It brings together industry leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs to explore the booming 2-trillion-dollar subscription industry. Whether you're already involved or looking to join, SubSummit is your go-to event for networking and learning in this thriving sector.Learn more here: Subsummit

Ashu Dubey is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gleen, a leading generative AI-based customer service solution. As a serial AI entrepreneur, Ashu previously was CTO and Co-Founder of 12 Labs, an early pioneer in AI-powered personalized health recommendations. Ashu led top of the funnel user growth at LinkedIn, where he significantly accelerated user growth and was instrumental in launching innovative products such as LinkedIn Events. Ashu has an MBA from UCLA, attended IIT Dhanbad, and consistently merges technology and innovation to shape industry landscapes.In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:40] Intro[01:47] Bridging Discord and Ecommerce gaps[03:08] The importance of reliable AI in business[04:25] Balancing AI risks and benefits[04:49] Limitations of ChatGPT integration[06:09] Aligning AI abilities with customer expectations[07:05] Improving your AI tool through feedbacks[07:35] Safeguarding customer information[08:35] Editing and customizing AI responses[09:43] Incorporating AI into help desks[10:26] Testing AI exposure levels on customers [11:03] Seamless Setup with Gleen AI[12:10] Gleen's quick turnaround for integration requests[12:27] Unified suite of AI services with Gleen AI[14:17] Gleen's special offer for Honest Ecommerce listeners[15:01] The omnichannel capability of Gleen[15:50] Find Ashu on LinkedIn and Twitter/XResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeGenerative AI platform for customer success https://gleen.ai/Follow Ashu Dubey https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashudubeyIf you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works. In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors.  In Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2023), Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work. Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator living in southern Greece. Among his numerous translations of Greek works are Plato's Symposium, Gorgias, and Republic, all published in the Oxford World's Classics series. His previous works of history include Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece and Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works. In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors.  In Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2023), Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work. Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator living in southern Greece. Among his numerous translations of Greek works are Plato's Symposium, Gorgias, and Republic, all published in the Oxford World's Classics series. His previous works of history include Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece and Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works. In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors.  In Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2023), Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work. Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator living in southern Greece. Among his numerous translations of Greek works are Plato's Symposium, Gorgias, and Republic, all published in the Oxford World's Classics series. His previous works of history include Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece and Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works. In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors.  In Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2023), Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work. Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator living in southern Greece. Among his numerous translations of Greek works are Plato's Symposium, Gorgias, and Republic, all published in the Oxford World's Classics series. His previous works of history include Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece and Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the final episode of March! In this week's episode Murms, Stephanie, DJ Chuckie, and OSHEA IV are joined by special guest co-host, fellow podcastateer, and old friend-King Hulie! Listen as this quirky quintet discusses: Philosophical questions, rigged sports, sea critters, and Gorgias! We hope you all enjoy this week's episode, and happy Easter everyone! "THE SKY IS PURPLE!"

SaaStr 725: Mastering High-Volume, Low-CAC Marketing: Strategies from Gorgias, Vercel, and Hypergrowth Partners In today's world, there's a clear shift in what founders, boards, and investors are all after — scalable, low-CAC (customer-acquisition cost) growth strategies.  In a panel, Guillaume Cabane (G) and Martin Gontovnikas (Gonto), co-founders of HyperGrowth Partners, Axelle Heems, Senior Director of Growth Operations at Gorgias, and Morgane Palomares, VP of Marketing at Vercel, share real-life examples of how demand generation, growth, and marketing strategies have been executed to scale beyond 2x ARR each year, even on a low budget.  Let's deep dive into how combining innovative demand gen strategies with a modern tech stack and specific team setup can provide a winning formula for scaling B2B growth, even with low budgets of greater than a 2x burn multiple.  In this episode we'll share:  Automated outbound at-scale strategies.  Sales-assisted, product-led growth strategies that close Enterprise leads.  How to use community as a driver of product-led growth.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Join us in 2024 at: SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20 SaaStr Europa: June 5-6 in London. We'll be hosting the 5th SaaStr Europa in London for two days of content and networking. Join 3,000 SaaS and Cloud leaders. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on Europa tickets here: https://www.saastreuropa2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave200 -------------- This episode is sponsored by: Northwest Registered Agent When starting your business, it's important to use a service that will actually help you. Northwest Registered Agent is that service. They'll form your company fast, give you the documents you need to open a business bank account, and even provide you with mail scanning and a business address to keep your personal privacy intact. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/saastr to get a 60 percent discount on your next LLC.

This week, Jeff and Dave continue on their stroll through the wonders of Marrou's volume on ancient education. Specifically, they look at Chapter V and the question of the Sophists. Men like Protagoras, Gorgias, and Prodicus were doing something new and unusual at the close of the fifth century, no doubt. And that something was -- wait for it -- selling education! Many arch-conservatives like Plato and Aristophanes did not take to it kindly. But is there any way to sort the wheat from the chaff? How can we know that what Plato tells us about the Sophists is the genuine article, and not just some envious hyperbole? Were these traveling salesman peddling snake oil, or could they really teach how to govern a state properly, the πολιτικὴ τέχνη. And if so, does that constitute ἐπιστήμη? Come along for a lively discussion, complete with the usual round of questionable puns, absurd asides, and just a dash of inanity. Before long, you'll be eating at the Midway food court just like the rest of us. Did someone say M-Burger?

Having not taught Plato's Gorgias since graduate school in the '90's, I had forgotten how rich and important this dialogue is to the Western tradition. Having now recorded the whole dialogue for Simple Gifts, I am delighted to share it with you. Gorgias was one of the most famous Sophists in the time of Classical Greece. He was one of a number of traveling teachers of the discipline of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. The ability to persuade others to agree with you, regardless of the truth of what you are persuading them of, has given us our modern understanding of the term "sophistry" as persuasive, clever speech that is nevertheless dishonest and misleading. Obviously, this ability is most valuable for two professions, lawyers and politicians. Socrates (and by extension Plato) thinks that the true purpose of speech and dialogue is the discovery of truth, not persuasion. Philosophy, then, is a true art, whereas rhetoric is, as Socrates declares, a sort of flattery. In much of the dialogue, Gorgias is rather a passive listener to the discussion than an active participant, but those who are Socrates' persistent interlocutors (Polus and Callicles) are most definitely maintaining the Sophist position. The dialogue is set in the house of Callicles. Enjoy! If you enjoy our content, why not buy us a cup of coffee? via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist #plato, #socrates, #platoandsocrates, #socratesandplato, #love, #symposium, #republic, #westerntradition, #philosophy, #rationality, #drjohndwise, #philosopher, #philosophical, #philosophicalauthor #westerntraditionphilosophy, #traditionalphilosophy, #foundations, #foundationalphilosopher, #foundationaltext, #platosrepublic, #philosophy, #dialogue, #dialogues, #greekphilosophy, #ancientgreekphilosophy, #athens, #platonicdialogue, #platonic, #ancientgreeks, #ancientgreece,#hellen, #hellenistic, #athenian, #atheniantradition, #greekcivilization, #greeksociety, #greekhistory #euthyphro #plato #socrates #socraticdialogue #trialofsocrates #piety #justice #aporia #socraticirony #onthesoul #phaedo #plato #socrates #ancientgreek #ancientgreece #greek #greece #apology #republic #gorgias #dialectic

Having not taught Plato's Gorgias since graduate school in the '90's, I had forgotten how rich and important this dialogue is to the Western tradition. Having now recorded the whole dialogue for Simple Gifts, I am delighted to share it with you. Gorgias was one of the most famous Sophists in the time of Classical Greece. He was one of a number of traveling teachers of the discipline of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. The ability to persuade others to agree with you, regardless of the truth of what you are persuading them of, has given us our modern understanding of the term "sophistry" as persuasive, clever speech that is nevertheless dishonest and misleading. Obviously, this ability is most valuable for two professions, lawyers and politicians. Socrates (and by extension Plato) thinks that the true purpose of speech and dialogue is the discovery of truth, not persuasion. Philosophy, then, is a true art, whereas rhetoric is, as Socrates declares, a sort of flattery. In much of the dialogue, Gorgias is rather a passive listener to the discussion than an active participant, but those who are Socrates' persistent interlocutors (Polus and Callicles) are most definitely maintaining the Sophist position. The dialogue is set in the house of Callicles. Enjoy! If you enjoy our content, why not buy us a cup of coffee? via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist #plato, #socrates, #platoandsocrates, #socratesandplato, #love, #symposium, #republic, #westerntradition, #philosophy, #rationality, #drjohndwise, #philosopher, #philosophical, #philosophicalauthor #westerntraditionphilosophy, #traditionalphilosophy, #foundations, #foundationalphilosopher, #foundationaltext, #platosrepublic, #philosophy, #dialogue, #dialogues, #greekphilosophy, #ancientgreekphilosophy, #athens, #platonicdialogue, #platonic, #ancientgreeks, #ancientgreece,#hellen, #hellenistic, #athenian, #atheniantradition, #greekcivilization, #greeksociety, #greekhistory #euthyphro #plato #socrates #socraticdialogue #trialofsocrates #piety #justice #aporia #socraticirony #onthesoul #phaedo #plato #socrates #ancientgreek #ancientgreece #greek #greece #apology #republic #gorgias #dialectic

Having not taught Plato's Gorgias since graduate school in the '90's, I had forgotten how rich and important this dialogue is to the Western tradition. Having now recorded the whole dialogue for Simple Gifts, I am delighted to share it with you. Gorgias was one of the most famous Sophists in the time of Classical Greece. He was one of a number of traveling teachers of the discipline of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. The ability to persuade others to agree with you, regardless of the truth of what you are persuading them of, has given us our modern understanding of the term "sophistry" as persuasive, clever speech that is nevertheless dishonest and misleading. Obviously, this ability is most valuable for two professions, lawyers and politicians. Socrates (and by extension Plato) thinks that the true purpose of speech and dialogue is the discovery of truth, not persuasion. Philosophy, then, is a true art, whereas rhetoric is, as Socrates declares, a sort of flattery. In much of the dialogue, Gorgias is rather a passive listener to the discussion than an active participant, but those who are Socrates' persistent interlocutors (Polus and Callicles) are most definitely maintaining the Sophist position. The dialogue is set in the house of Callicles. Enjoy! If you enjoy our content, why not buy us a cup of coffee? via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist #plato, #socrates, #platoandsocrates, #socratesandplato, #love, #symposium, #republic, #westerntradition, #philosophy, #rationality, #drjohndwise, #philosopher, #philosophical, #philosophicalauthor #westerntraditionphilosophy, #traditionalphilosophy, #foundations, #foundationalphilosopher, #foundationaltext, #platosrepublic, #philosophy, #dialogue, #dialogues, #greekphilosophy, #ancientgreekphilosophy, #athens, #platonicdialogue, #platonic, #ancientgreeks, #ancientgreece,#hellen, #hellenistic, #athenian, #atheniantradition, #greekcivilization, #greeksociety, #greekhistory #euthyphro #plato #socrates #socraticdialogue #trialofsocrates #piety #justice #aporia #socraticirony #onthesoul #phaedo #plato #socrates #ancientgreek #ancientgreece #greek #greece #apology #republic #gorgias #dialectic

Guillaume Cabane is a growth advisor to high-growth SaaS Startups, including Ramp, Spot, Airbyte, G2, Gorgias, Metadata, Madkudu, and others. Guillaume held VP of Growth roles at Drift, Segment, and other successful startups, where he helped them grow from ~50 to 300. Prior, Guillaume spent 6 years at Apple. In Today's Episode with Guillaume Cabane We Discuss: 1. Entry into Growth: How did Guillaume make his way into the world of growth? What are 1-2 of his biggest lessons from him time at Segment where he 4x revenue? What does Guillaume know now that he wishes he had known when he entered growth? 2. Enterprise vs SMB & CAC/LTV: Why does Guillaume think it is harder to go enterprise down than SMB up? What are the biggest mistakes companies make when scaling into enterprise? What are the biggest mistakes startups make with product-led-growth motions? Why does Guillaume believe it is impossible to analyse CAC/LTV in early companies? 3. Activation, Engagement and KPI Setting: What are the biggest mistakes companies and teams make in activation? What can growth and marketing teams do to guarantee engagement in prospects? Why are all KPIs not tied to revenue BS? 4. Hiring the Growth Team: What are the core characteristics of great growth hires? How quickly does it become apparent when you have made a bad growth hire? Why do founders make the best profiles when hiring your first growth hire? What are the biggest mistakes Guillaume has made when hiring for growth? 5. Why Growth is Like Venture: What is the secret to building a great growth portfolio? Why is it impossible to scale to $50M ARR with only one good channel? What is the right way to spread resources across channels? When is the right time to add new channels and diversify?

Having not taught Plato's Gorgias since graduate school in the '90's, I had forgotten how rich and important this dialogue is to the Western tradition. Having now recorded the whole dialogue for Simple Gifts, I am delighted to share it with you. Gorgias was one of the most famous Sophists in the time of Classical Greece. He was one of a number of traveling teachers of the discipline of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. The ability to persuade others to agree with you, regardless of the truth of what you are persuading them of, has given us our modern understanding of the term "sophistry" as persuasive, clever speech that is nevertheless dishonest and misleading. Obviously, this ability is most valuable for two professions, lawyers and politicians. Socrates (and by extension Plato) thinks that the true purpose of speech and dialogue is the discovery of truth, not persuasion. Philosophy, then, is a true art, whereas rhetoric is, as Socrates declares, a sort of flattery. In much of the dialogue, Gorgias is rather a passive listener to the discussion than an active participant, but those who are Socrates' persistent interlocutors (Polus and Callicles) are most definitely maintaining the Sophist position. The dialogue is set in the house of Callicles. Enjoy! If you enjoy our content, why not buy us a cup of coffee? via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist #plato, #socrates, #platoandsocrates, #socratesandplato, #love, #symposium, #republic, #westerntradition, #philosophy, #rationality, #drjohndwise, #philosopher, #philosophical, #philosophicalauthor #westerntraditionphilosophy, #traditionalphilosophy, #foundations, #foundationalphilosopher, #foundationaltext, #platosrepublic, #philosophy, #dialogue, #dialogues, #greekphilosophy, #ancientgreekphilosophy, #athens, #platonicdialogue, #platonic, #ancientgreeks, #ancientgreece,#hellen, #hellenistic, #athenian, #atheniantradition, #greekcivilization, #greeksociety, #greekhistory #euthyphro #plato #socrates #socraticdialogue #trialofsocrates #piety #justice #aporia #socraticirony #onthesoul #phaedo #plato #socrates #ancientgreek #ancientgreece #greek #greece #apology #republic #gorgias #dialectic

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 97Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the earth rejoice; *let the multitude of the isles be glad.2Clouds and darkness are round about him, *righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.3A fire goes before him *and burns up his enemies on every side.4His lightnings light up the world; *the earth sees it and is afraid.5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, *at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.6The heavens declare his righteousness, *and all the peoples see his glory.7Confounded be all who worship carved imagesand delight in false gods! *Bow down before him, all you gods.8Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, *because of your judgments, O Lord.9For you are the Lord,most high over all the earth; *you are exalted far above all gods.10The Lord loves those who hate evil; *he preserves the lives of his saintsand delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11Light has sprung up for the righteous, *and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.12Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, *and give thanks to his holy Name.Psalm 99Dominus regnavit1The Lord is King;let the people tremble; *he is enthroned upon the cherubim;let the earth shake.2The Lord is great in Zion; *he is high above all peoples.3Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *he is the Holy One.4“O mighty King, lover of justice,you have established equity; *you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”5Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand fall down before his footstool; *he is the Holy One.6Moses and Aaron among his priests,and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.7He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.8“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *you were a God who forgave them,yet punished them for their evil deeds.”9Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand worship him upon his holy hill; *for the Lord our God is the Holy One. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Lessons1 Maccabees 3:25-41New Revised Standard Version Catholic EditionThen Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell on the Gentiles all around them. His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas.When King Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army. He opened his coffers and gave a year's pay to his forces, and ordered them to be ready for any need. Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster that he had caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest days. He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts that he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings. He was greatly perplexed in mind; then he determined to go to Persia and collect the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund.He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the king's affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt. Lysias was also to take care of his son Antiochus until he returned. And he turned over to Lysias half of his forces and the elephants, and gave him orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and Jerusalem, Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place, settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land by lot. Then the king took the remaining half of his forces and left Antioch his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates river and went through the upper provinces.Lysias chose Ptolemy son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, able men among the Friends of the king, and sent with them forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to go into the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded. So they set out with their entire force, and when they arrived they encamped near Emmaus in the plain. When the traders of the region heard what was said to them, they took silver and gold in immense amounts, and fetters, and went to the camp to get the Israelites for slaves. And forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines joined with them.Revelation 21:1-8English Standard VersionThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsProper 28Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Having not taught Plato's Gorgias since graduate school in the '90's, I had forgotten how rich and important this dialogue is to the Western tradition. Having now recorded the whole dialogue for Simple Gifts, I am delighted to share it with you. Gorgias was one of the most famous Sophists in the time of Classical Greece. He was one of a number of traveling teachers of the discipline of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. The ability to persuade others to agree with you, regardless of the truth of what you are persuading them of, has given us our modern understanding of the term "sophistry" as persuasive, clever speech that is nevertheless dishonest and misleading. Obviously, this ability is most valuable for two professions, lawyers and politicians. Socrates (and by extension Plato) thinks that the true purpose of speech and dialogue is the discovery of truth, not persuasion. Philosophy, then, is a true art, whereas rhetoric is, as Socrates declares, a sort of flattery. In much of the dialogue, Gorgias is rather a passive listener to the discussion than an active participant, but those who are Socrates' persistent interlocutors (Polus and Callicles) are most definitely maintaining the Sophist position. The dialogue is set in the house of Callicles. Enjoy! If you enjoy our content, why not buy us a cup of coffee? via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist #plato, #socrates, #platoandsocrates, #socratesandplato, #love, #symposium, #republic, #westerntradition, #philosophy, #rationality, #drjohndwise, #philosopher, #philosophical, #philosophicalauthor #westerntraditionphilosophy, #traditionalphilosophy, #foundations, #foundationalphilosopher, #foundationaltext, #platosrepublic, #philosophy, #dialogue, #dialogues, #greekphilosophy, #ancientgreekphilosophy, #athens, #platonicdialogue, #platonic, #ancientgreeks, #ancientgreece,#hellen, #hellenistic, #athenian, #atheniantradition, #greekcivilization, #greeksociety, #greekhistory #euthyphro #plato #socrates #socraticdialogue #trialofsocrates #piety #justice #aporia #socraticirony #onthesoul #phaedo #plato #socrates #ancientgreek #ancientgreece #greek #greece #apology #republic #gorgias #dialectic

Nikki Tooman, Founder & CEO of Sticky Digital joins Retention Chronicles and if hearing Noah and Nikki discuss Shoptalk 2022 isn't enough incentive to listen in, then hearing Nikki's perspective of the Shopify brand and partner ecosystem sure is! Nikki has been in the Shopify ecosystem since Shopify has been in the game, and learned the core of the ecosystem at one of the biggest agencies at the time.  For all our Shopify brands out there, do you know exactly what technology you should be using for your specific storefront? Nikki knows it all and shares it all so you'll have to listen to hear all of her shoutouts, but we'll break it down for you real quick- Loop, Recharge, Yotpo, Klaviyo, Okendo/Junip, Gorgias are table stakes for Nikki and her team.  Retention marketing (email, SMS) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) is her jam - she and her team at Sticky Digital excel working with Shopify brands.  What do you think the goal of partnerships is? Generating revenue, getting better discounts, relationship building? You'll have to listen to hear what Nikki says about the industry and how to truly map a good partnership.  BFCM (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) is in full-swing for the ecommerce community and Nikki shares her BFCM tips for Shopify brands: 1) Start your efforts early, 2.) We need to figure out retention stuff set up today & 3.) Post-purchase survey for first time purchasers.  Did you know that 20% of your website traffic hits the order tracking experience? Turn all of that customer engagement into customer loyalty. Malomo helps you get ahead of shipping issues, brand your order tracking experience, and reconvert shoppers while they wait for their package to arrive.  To see what your custom mockup of branded order tracking and transactional email/SMS would look like, fill out this form & we'll send your custom design right to your inbox!

Jack Altman is the Founder and CEO @ Lattice, the #1 people management platform, last valued at $3BN. Jack is an investor through his founding of Jack Altman Capital where he has invested in WorkOS, NexHealth, Owner.com, Mercury and more. Auren Hoffman is the Founder and CEO @ Safegraph, the most accurate database of global points of interest, last valued at $550M. Auren is an investor through his founding of Flex Capital where he has invested in Chime, Checkr, Coinbase, Flexport, Vercel and more. Jason Lemkin is the Founder and CEO @ SaaStr, the world's largest SaaS community. Jason is an investor through his founding of The SaaStr Fund. In the past, Jason has invested in Pipedrive, Algolia, Salesloft, Front, GreenHouse, Owner.com, Gorgias and more. In Today's Episode on Founder-Led Funds We Discuss: Why have we seen the rise of "Founder-led Funds"? Are founder-led funds more empathetic to the founders they invest in? How do founder-led funds source and pick investments in a way that traditional VC does not? Will we see founder-led Funds truly compete against the Sequoias of the world? How does being an operator make you a better investor? How does investing help you be a better founder and operator? How do you communicate your investing practice and firm to your company and team? What are the biggest excitements and concerns LPs have for Founder-led Funds? Will we see the face of venture changing much more broadly and structurally? How do founder-led funds manage both time and company conflicts?

Jeff discusses the historical and intellectual roots of Critical Race Theory with Robert George of Princeton University. What is CRT? Where does it come from? What are its roots as an academic movement? What does it preach, in practice, and how do these things shape the mind of the individual and relations between people?George suggested a few readings, linked below.Plato's Dialogue with Gorgias: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/gorgias.htmlJane Austin's Pride and Prejudice: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1342Federalist 10: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/federalist-10/CS Lewis' "The Abolition of Man" : https://www.amazon.com/Abolition-Man-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652942Repressive Tolerance: https://www.marcuse.org/herbert/publications/1960s/1965-repressive-tolerance-fulltext.htmlGeorge's article on the topic: https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/6/23800937/critical-race-theory-martin-luther-king-jr-deiHost: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Greg McBrayerProducer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe via popular podcast apps: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Ken Pilot interviews Sheryl Clark, CEO & President of Boston Proper, a best-kept secret for women over 40, designing unique, on-trend, high-quality fashion for every occasion. Sheryl's experience includes time at Bloomingdales, Gap and Old Navy prior to joining Boston Proper.Key highlights of the interview are:Sheryl's Background and Career Journey: Sheryl shares her background, growing up in an Italian immigrant family, and her early fascination with clothing. She discusses her education in business economics and fashion merchandising, as well as her start in the Bloomingdale's executive training program.Career at Gap Inc.: Sheryl talks about her time at Gap Inc., including her experiences at Bloomingdale's and the Gap. She highlights a pivotal moment when she took on a VP of men's position, demonstrating the importance of being open to new opportunities.Transition to Old Navy: Sheryl discusses her transition to Old Navy, where she played a significant role in the brand's growth and success. She emphasizes the importance of key items and marketing in differentiating the brand.Challenges and Growth at Boston Proper: Sheryl shares her decision to leave Gap Inc. and join Boston Proper as CEO. She reflects on the challenges and changes the company underwent, including a sale to Chico's and a subsequent transition to private equity ownership. She also introduces the concept of "Lucy," the brand's target customer.Future Plans and Strategies: Sheryl outlines the three pillars of Boston Proper's growth strategy: shifting from catalog-focused to customer-focused, enhancing customer experience, and going digital. She also announces the upcoming launch of the Miracle marketplace, which aims to expand the brand's assortment and reach new customers.Marketplace Strategy vs. Pure Wholesale: Sheryl Clark discusses Boston Proper's interest in utilizing the Miracle Marketplace Network rather than pure wholesale due to margin considerations and the need to refine their sourcing strategy.Transition to Digital: Sheryl emphasizes the brand's shift towards digital, acknowledging the challenge of transitioning a 30-year-old catalog-centric culture to a digital-focused approach.Introduction of a Loyalty Program: Sheryl mentions the launch of Boston Proper's first-ever loyalty program with Yap-O, aiming to increase customer frequency and average order value.Technological Advancements: Sheryl outlines the adoption of various technologies to enhance customer experience, including Publitas for digitizing the physical catalog, Gorgias for customer service, and exploring shoppable video platforms like Firework.Marketing Shift Towards Digital: Sheryl discusses the evolution of Boston Proper's marketing strategy from predominantly catalog-based to allocating over 50% of marketing spend on digital channels. She highlights successful ventures into OTT advertising and podcasts with iHeartMedia.