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Nov. 10, 2022 - Freedomain Radio - Stefan Molyneux
57:26
The Truth About Childhood - Izzy AMA 9 Nov 2022
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Time Text
Alright, we're here.
We're doing the show.
Showtime! Alright.
It's the Izzy Ask Me Anything one.
Ask you anything and then get answers.
Alright, so...
Hi, Izzy.
How do deep philosophical conversations go with peers in your age group?
If such conversations...
Take place often. Do you struggle to find friends who can stimulate you intellectually, considering in most cases they've not been raised by someone like your dad?
So I think that I don't ever really have philosophical conversations with friends that are my own age.
Or at least it's very rare.
Well, they try to have them with you, but you just can't keep up.
No, it's not. Like, it's baffling?
I don't try and have them with anyone through experience.
It just doesn't really work.
Well, it's interesting. So just for those of you who don't know and who don't have daughters, I'm being educated on Girl Planet.
Oh yes, very much so.
So I have solutions that are perfectly sensible, perfectly rational for issues with friends or whatever.
And I say, just do this and you say?
It's not how it works with girls.
It's not. The physics are reversed in Girl World.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
So like, I mean, if there's a circle of people...
And for some reason, you're trying to chat and you can't get into the circle.
What was my suggestion? Elbow in.
Yeah, just, excuse me, open up please.
And you said? Girls can't do that.
No, physically girls can't do that.
Okay, but it's not the thing. Look, if I'm trying to go into a group of girls and I go in like that, I'm going to be seen as like the weirdo, the like...
Like pushy? The rude one.
Yeah, like the pushy rude one.
But you're not entirely un-pushy at home.
Okay, yeah, but like that's what you get to know if you know me better.
Right, right, okay, okay. All right, so yeah, the girly world thing.
I would say that in my experience at your age, philosophical conversations tend to be a little volatile because people are still under the sway of how they were raised, their parents, their school, their cultural influences and so on.
Yeah. Having those kinds of conversations would probably not lead to a massive extended friend peer group.
What do you think? No, probably not.
Probably not. I get with like one person who had similar ideas and that's it.
Right, right. And it's not so much that you would have different opinions, I think.
I think that the issue would be that you don't have a way of mediating these, if you have disagreements.
Yeah. Right? Okay. So, as recently as How to Love a Modern Woman does one of my shows, and consistently, your dad's philosophy holds that a child must view the parents as a collective.
Now, let me just say this.
I try not to be annoyed at my listeners.
Yeah. Yeah. I fail.
At times. Okay. At times.
Okay. So do you know what the word is that bothers me there?
What? Collectively? View?
Must. Must. Yeah.
You got it, right? So do I say, you must do this or you must do that?
I don't say that. Anyway, so I just think that there's a logical case to be made that your parents...
No, the better words would be a child has to or else...
Credibility collapse. Augur.
Augur. Augur.
All right. In this case, if a mom proves to be evil, then both mom and dad must be held equally accountable because dad chose mom, right?
So this would be something like if you have a violent dad.
As a kid, when you grow up, you'll be mad at your dad often, but you won't necessarily be mad at your mom because your mom will play the victim and, you know, all of that.
And my argument is, while your mom had a wide variety, like any reasonably attractive female In her youth has usually at least a dozen guys who would ask her out.
And she chooses a guy who's violent.
She chooses to date him.
She chooses to get engaged to him.
She chooses to marry him.
She chooses to have children with him.
She chooses to stay with him with those children.
And so the only reason the violent guy is in the kid's life is Is because of the mother's choices.
Now, this doesn't mean the violent guy is not responsible, but there's always one get-out-of-jail-free card, so to speak.
There's always one parent who gets away.
Yeah. Like, oh, my dad was so violent, but my mother was a saint.
Right? I mean...
Not how it works. It's not how it works.
It's not how it works. So...
Okay, so let's see here.
If I were to ask your daughter something, I'd ask if she sees her parents as individuals...
And a collective, or strictly in the collective?
I'd say kind of both, the first one.
Like, I see kind of, like, a lot of you are like, okay, well, you both made the choices together, and other times it's like, yeah, well, you did that, and you did that differently, kind of.
Right, right. I'd say a mix of both.
If you had to create your ideal high school with your father as principal, for yourself and others your age, Hold on.
That's changing. I can see.
What? There's nothing about the father.
Reread that. So sorry. I have some dust on my glasses.
No, you don't. Actually, your entire glasses are like oil, but that's okay.
That's true. I'm like an importable fish tank here.
Do you want me to read if you can't?
Do you want to? No. Okay.
If you had to create your ideal high school for yourself and others your age, what would that ideal high school experience be?
Would there be six classes a day?
Would you sit in on any lectures you wanted?
Would it be just a meeting place for you and your peers to bring your own laptops and books and research, socialize, and collaborate?
I'm just interested in what the great mind of Izzy – ooh, he's really buttering you up, isn't he?
Wow, he really is.
Like a piece of toast.
Good Lord.
I'm just interested in what the great mind of Izzy thinks when it comes to ways to make high school a great experience.
Okay, so I would say...
That's hard. I'd say kind of a mix of, like, both that he, like, mentioned.
Like, let kids do it themselves and also have classes.
Because I think if you just let a bunch of teens do it themselves, they wouldn't really do anything.
They'd probably end up playing games.
Yes. So I think what it would be is kind of...
I don't like the whole, like, five days a week...
Eight hours a day. That's like 40 hours.
Like, that's insane. I mean, including homework, right?
Well, plus homework, adding homework.
No, because school is like nine to six with an hour for lunch and stuff.
Sorry, nine to three. So it's like six.
Sorry, I was thinking six hours. Oh, okay. I thought it was closer to eight hours because I thought it was like eight hours.
Certainly in high school, if you start to throw in things like maybe extracurricular activities, like sports and stuff that's optional, but the homework, we're talking seven, sometimes eight hours a day.
Yeah. Well, also, almost every kid, either by their choice or by their parents' choice, is like, yeah, you got to do some extra stuff, right?
Right, right. Well, and then they're studying for tests, and then there's science projects and all of that, right?
So I'd say three or four days a week, probably three.
Yeah. And it wouldn't be on the weekends, so I guess Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Right. How many hours a day do you think?
Well, I think that really depends.
I think there'd be a minimum of three hours.
And I say, like, there would be two classes a day so that you kind of get one of each.
You'd have math, science, English, history, I guess geography and geometry, kind of.
Which I think are the main most important ones that you can have.
Okay, yes, there's no philosophy because the philosophy in schools is not good.
Okay, you agree with me on this.
What? Don't hypnotize me.
Don't use your voodoo. The philosophy in schools is bad.
Philosophy in schools is bad?
If it's ideal, it's not.
Okay, but here's- Ideal.
Do you want me to read that question? I'm going to read the question again.
Okay, stop. What's your ideal- Okay, I'm- Look, so here's the thing.
When it comes to, I think, philosophy and stuff, that should be more so left to the parents a bit.
Sorry, philosophy and stuff?
It's just a pile of stuff and one of the things sticking out like a banana peel from the pile is philosophy?
Exactly! Philosophy and stuff.
Alright, listen, we're going back to the crib.
We're starting over. What?
Starting over. Rewind.
Okay, so a bunch of stuff should be left to the parents.
Uh-huh. Because it's more so if you have, like, Christians and, like, Catholics and then, like, atheists and stuff.
I don't think there should be one basic philosophy for everyone.
What? Look, I agree that your philosophy is the best, right?
It's not a prize. It's not, like, first among equals.
No, what I mean is in school.
Oh, okay. It shouldn't be taught in school, I think.
I think that should be left more so to the parents.
Triggered. Okay.
Okay. No, and because if it's ideal, parents have to want to send their kids there.
Yeah. And if the kids are learning philosophical principles that go against what the parents teach.
That's what I mean. Sorry, I accidentally agreed with you.
I'm returning to my earlier prejudice and outrage.
You're going back in the crib.
Oh God, let's start that again.
So I would say there'd be like three hours, two classes a day for an hour and a half.
Yeah. And I think the rest of that would be optional.
You can stay or you can leave after that.
Right. And if you wanted to stay and hang out with your friends or do some reading or, I don't know, even play a game for all I care.
Yeah. Or go out back and play tag and get exercise in or whatever.
Yeah. Then I think you could do that, but I think it should be at least minimum three hours a day of actual classes and the rest you kind of learn by yourself or do whatever you want.
Now, how do you test whether kids have actually learned something and retained it?
Truly, I don't think you can. What?!
Sorry, I don't mean to be shocked. I mean, like, you can ask them stuff, but I think kids really do have to learn it by themselves.
And look, if they aren't learning something, either, number one, the teaching system is bad, or number two, they're just, it's not their thing.
Like, I think there's a lot of things that just aren't kids' things.
Some kids are great at math, but cannot write a story for, like, if it, like, it's a life or death situation.
Right. Opposite of me.
Terrible at math, but very good at, like, writing stuff.
No, you're not terrible at math, because you don't fail the tests, generally, but...
Usually I do. No, you don't fail them.
You just got 9 out of 10 and 10 out of 10, didn't you just yesterday?
Right, yeah, okay, fine. Wait, you're even bad at evaluating your math scores?
What I mean is, earlier I used to get a lot of fails.
Yeah, but I would say that...
The best way to know if somebody knows something is to have them teach it.
So I think that you should have a school, not just a high school, and you shouldn't segregate by age.
But older kids should be able to sell tutoring to younger kids in the school.
And that way, if you learn something, you can...
Because it's way too much time between learning something and putting it to profitable use.
Absolutely. Dude, I'm learning algebra, and I'm probably going to use it in 10 years.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So if you learn algebra, then you can teach the younger kids, then you make profit from it, and you also have to learn it well enough to teach it.
And it also, being around younger kids teaches empathy to kids as well.
So I think that would just be a general plus, and that's been done before.
Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.
Anything else you wanted to add to that?
No, I don't think so. All right.
Hello, Izzy. Hello.
What kind of deadlines, deadlines, deadlines, deadlines do you have?
Okay, echoes don't get louder.
Yeah. Please share your thoughts on the deadline that you recently missed, or a deadline that you recently missed, and the feedback that you received.
So I missed a math test thing that was supposed to be like...
Monday at like 12 a.m.
It ended. Like you couldn't submit it after that.
And I missed that, although I got most of the other ones done.
And we had some educational tours and trips and like there was stuff that was going on.
We had a lot of stuff going on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it cut kind of late, right?
Oh, it cut kind of late. Okay, I want to be honest here.
I was... Unfortunately, I ended up having to do the test at the end.
The teacher's like, whatever, fine.
Because we have like a little math. It's like an hour.
I cried. What? I cried to get the teacher.
No, you didn't. Okay, so it's like a thing.
It's like once a week on Tuesday, like an hour, and then they give you a bit of coursework that you can do like throughout the week.
Yep. And we asked, oh, can we try the test again?
The teacher's like, sure. But I was actually kind of like, oh, yay, I don't have to finish it because I didn't get the table.
And I told you this at the time, I found this like kind of heartbreaking.
Yeah. So if you miss a deadline and you're 13 years old, right?
So you have some responsibility, but it's a family issue.
Yes, also because you were trying the math for that week.
I don't try math.
Yes, you do. I don't try math.
Yeah, you do. I flail around and then math drags me down like a giant squid to the inky depths of...
No, you were doing math like for the coursework that the teacher basically gives out for like the week.
He gives you like a few seconds, like a few pages of math or whatever, right?
Yeah. Sometimes they'll still need some instruction on that.
So you were doing that and you and I got to it kind of late.
We got to it kind of late. Now, so I viewed it as like a family failure, so to speak, right?
Now, of course, this one you can just ask for a redo.
So this one's not super...
Do you remember the analogy of the nurse?
I don't think I do. So the nurse, how do they learn to give injections?
Oh, from the oranges. Right. From the oranges, right?
They learn to give injections from oranges.
Now, if a nurse plunges the needle through the entire orange and squirts the medicine into air, then is that bad?
Yes. Yes, but nobody's hurt.
Okay, but... It's just an orange.
It's a test. The medicine doesn't even work on the oranges.
Yes, it does. Okay. So, the deadlines as a kid, it's not like they're super important, but they're practices.
So, the nurse is doing her thing in order to practice doing the real thing, right?
Right. Now, I think I agree with that, but I also don't agree with it because I'm almost always fine with deadlines if it's something I actually care about and have to do.
Because I know math is something I should have to do, but I don't exactly always feel that.
I'm kind of like... You don't exactly always feel that?
Do you ever feel that at any time?
No. Right, okay. But when it comes, I was doing an animation, and I kind of said to everyone who was helping with it, I said, okay, look, I'm going to be done this in like a month.
Right. And I ended up...
I finished a day after that.
Yes. I finished one day, but I mean...
You felt, in a sense, kind of pressured to get...
Very pressured. I was doing like four hours a day of animating kind of thing, because it was a 12-minute animation.
Plus there's editing afterwards and all that.
So I did a lot of animating during that time to get it done.
And it was only one day late. And I say that's pretty good because it was kind of an estimate of how fast I could do it.
One day late out of a month is what percent of the month?
About 3%, right?
Because I'm on 30 days. So one day, about 3%, right?
So no, that's pretty good.
And there was no reason for that deadline other than your commitment, which you had generated yourself.
Yes, and I had to do the commitment too early, but I should have given myself an extra 10 days.
But anyways, and there's just been a bunch of other stuff, but that was just the first one I could think of.
But I think when the deadlines actually mean something to me, I'll absolutely get them done.
Like, if there's a serious consequence for not getting them done.
No, you shouldn't put consequences to me not doing math, but I didn't say that.
Alright, getting the lighter. Okay.
Getting the lighter? Hello?
Alright, are you ready?
Yes. Will your daughter know about dysfunctional families?
Sometimes adults with good childhoods have a hard time understanding the crazy childhoods some people have.
No, I understand. We've been around some people with chaotic childhoods.
We have. I've talked about my childhood and, you know, Mama's discussed, you know, in the abstract some issues that people have from childhood.
So, and we've seen it.
We've seen it up close with some people.
Yeah. So, I think that...
You do know it.
The challenge is, of course, to have sympathy with people who've had a bad childhood, but without them exploiting you or messing you up.
I'll usually have sympathy until they can make their own choices.
Until they're about the age of 20 and have enough money to move away, if they really needed to, then I'll give them sympathy.
But if they're at the age of 20, they're not getting a job, they're not doing anything, it's like, okay, you could have left if you tried to work, but you're not leaving, so now I don't have sympathy for you.
And also, sympathy is like a resource that sometimes people exploit.
Especially people with bad childhoods.
Yeah. All right.
Hi, Izzy! Hi!
I grew up in a big family and absolutely loved always having someone to share activities and interests with.
I'm so curious what it's like to be an only child.
Have you ever wanted siblings?
Do you enjoy being an only child?
If so, why? And lastly, what do you think the benefits are of being an only child versus having siblings?
That's... Look, I think a sibling could be fun every now and then.
Okay, well, define every now and then.
Yes. But I think that it's, at least for me, I think being an only child is better because it means more time with parents.
But I can understand with parents that are more busy, then that would not be as good a thing.
But I also have some friends that are usually available.
If I'm bored, I'm like, okay, someone do something with me kind of thing.
But I think it's good.
I think a lot of kids, they're better off of siblings, but I think I'm more of a single, like, individual person, you could say.
So I think growing up, it was better that I didn't have siblings.
Well, and of course, you have the giant benefit of your parents being endlessly, perpetually, eternally around.
Yeah. What?
What? No, I mean, you're right.
I mean, so we have a lot of time to spend with you, which is great.
But if you...
I mean, I've talked to some listeners who are like, you know, the isolated, lonely kid playing video games and reading in their room and parents kind of being busy or absent or distracted or something like that.
Well, I think with a lot of...
I definitely have sympathy for that.
But I think with a lot of parents, if there's only one kid, they'll spend a lot more time on that one kid and maybe be mildly obsessed because that's like their only chance for their genes to continue.
What? I'm talking about you here.
Um... Oh, sorry.
Listen up just so because you don't know who she's looking at, she's talking about you.
Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I'm talking about whoever's listening right now.
There we go. Exactly.
Yeah, it's your fault. But yeah, I think if you only have one kid, then most parents are going to be more interested in that one kid, whereas if you have like three or four or even two, because then it's kind of like, oh, you can play by yourself kind of.
Well, it's like in a car, right?
So you have four tires and then you have a tire in the trunk.
You don't really care about the tire in the trunk.
It's just a spare. Yeah.
And that's kind of the case with like five or six siblings.
All right. Exactly. Now, what about the whole sharing thing?
I hate sharing so much. Go away.
It's my stuff. Back off.
Go on.
You'll be like, oh, can I use your top?
No. Go on.
Okay. I don't know. It's like, look, this is my thing.
Go get your own. Like, I don't know.
I just don't like sharing. Did I tell you about the one time I kind of panicked as a parent?
Yeah, go ahead. It's all again.
Do you know this story? I think I do.
Go. So, you were very little.
Maybe, I don't know, two or three.
And we had other kids coming over.
And... You want me to share my toy?
You've heard of pit bulls, right?
Yes. Okay, so pit bulls are fiercely protective and they're very territorial.
Yeah. And other kids were coming over and I had the vague feeling that other children might in fact want to touch your stuff.
Yes, that's evil.
I had some concern that you were going to freak out, not freak out, but you were going to get quite upset if they wanted to Touch your stuff.
Yes. Do you remember when a friend of ours used your chalk on the driveway?
No, it was too painful.
My brain erased it. There was some woe.
There is much woe. There was much woe.
So I... Okay, well, that's the end of the story.
No, it's not. What?
You gave me Skittles.
So I was quite, quite concerned that you, you know, that other kids enjoy coming over and using your stuff.
And so I, when the other kids were coming over, you were already gathering your stuff to yourself.
And hiding it. Well, I do this especially even now.
Well, sometimes, like, there's some younger kids I know, right?
And we'll occasionally have sleepovers, and she's usually, like, uh...
She doesn't have too much of an idea of personal space.
Boundaries. Boundaries, yeah.
So she will go sometimes around my room during the sleepover and just look at stuff.
She's an okay kid other than that, but I mean, it certainly happens.
And that's why if we ever end up, even just a visit, whether it's sleepover or not, it's kind of always like, okay, hide the stuff.
Well, okay, so would you rather a kid go through your stuff in your room or go through your gums with a fork?
You know what? I choose room because I need my gums for biting them to keep them away from the room.
Fair, fair. So I actually did – in desperation, I gave you skittles to loosen your death grip on your stuff when the children were coming over.
It worked a little bit.
Not really. Because although you love your stuff, your relationship with sugar is a whole other thing.
But I take the blame for that as a British person.
Dude, I'll remember like it'll be years since we've gone somewhere and you'll be like, hey, we should go there.
I'll be like, yeah, they had candy.
Yeah. Well, no, it's not just that.
We can go to a mall, I swear.
We could blindfold you, spin you around three times, put you upside down in a tank of water, give you only your fingertips to walk by, and where would you end up?
Menchies. Or wherever, right?
Yeah. Like the sugar store, wherever it's going to be.
You're like the butterflies that take three generations to get to Mexico.
It's incredible. Terrifying, but incredible.
I don't know. Either I smell it or I hear where people are talking, so I just navigate, but I just remember stuff.
Did we get something there?
I'd be like, yeah, we got that chocolate-covered Oreos.
Yeah, so what was the math equation we did yesterday?
No idea. Where was the candy store from six years ago?
Right there. Yes.
I think, and now I was concerned that this happened after you got bit by the chipmunk, that you had simply got a squirrel or chipmunk's memory of where you had buried things.
It happened before that.
Yeah. I don't know. It's wild, man.
No, genuinely. You asked me what I'm learning in math.
Like the other day, no clue.
I'm like, it's something to do with algebra.
And yet we started your, we didn't do your dungeon for a while.
We started your dungeon last night, like boom, boom, boom, boom.
Everything's there. Yeah.
Yeah, it's great. But math.
But math. All right. Okay, we're skipping this one.
Nope, what is it? Does your...
No, we read it.
Okay, be quiet. Does your dad get angry slash upset when he loses a game?
Oh, that's the end. No, it's not.
You are playing, or what he is...
Wait, start again. Okay. Does your dad get angry slash upset when he loses a game you were playing, or when...
Sorry. Not great, but...
Oh, wait. Hold up.
Start again. Or what he is cooking and tasting bad?
It's a little confusing. It's okay.
Or what he is cooking ends up tasting bad.
Or when he's cooking, yeah. Yeah, when he's cooking, I guess.
Why do you think that he does slash doesn't get upset?
Do you get angry or upset when you lose or cook something unpleasant?
Why do you think you do or don't?
Sorry, grammar was... I struggled with that.
Is there any more to that? There's nothing more to that.
Okay. Okay.
So... So the question is, do I get upset?
I know. Yeah, you get upset.
Yeah. I've improved a little?
Eh, a little bit. A little bit, right?
A little bit. Because of me.
No, no, absolutely because of you.
No, total credit where credit is due.
No, I mean, look, so if we're playing, I will usually stay very good-tempered when we play a game, and even...
It's annoying. It's really annoying.
And even at the end, if I am annoyed, I'll usually be like, still, oh, good game, that was fun, we should do it again.
Hey, so do I. Great game, everybody.
That was fun. I loved it. You're like, yeah, it was good.
I put a curse on your ancestors.
What? I don't know what that means.
So usually it'll be...
I'm going to make an example with a game called Settlers of Catan.
Or as I call it, Unsettled of Catan.
Okay. So it's basically like you start off on an island and there's different resources you can build on and you need more of those certain resources to get new building materials like houses or cities or roads and you can trade with other players.
Now... There's a certain victory points, and each time you build something new, you'll usually go up one victory point, depending on what the build is.
So we often set it to 13 on the game set that we played, so you need to get 13 points to win.
So when someone's at like 11 points, 12 points, you don't trade with them.
Because... They're gonna win. They're gonna win, and you can go up two points in one round.
There is two ways to do that, or if you have a lot of cards, there's way more than two ways.
But you don't trade with them, because they're about to win.
So what I get annoyed at is if all of us, or I guess I'll make it especially me, but if anyone's really also competing with someone else, and then you just keep trading with each other, it's like, what are you doing?
Because, again, it's a 1v1 game.
There's no real teams in Settlers of Catan, but...
Well, sometimes you'll implicitly team up against...
Well, that's the point. If there's five people in a game, one person's about to win, the four people kind of talk to each other and they're like, okay, stop trading with him.
Steal from him. Take his resources away.
But when people are just like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that.
And then like next round, oh, I really want that wood.
Okay, I'll trade with you.
It's like, stop it! Impulse control 101!
And the person whose name begins with J, who shall remain unnamed, is floating in my mind.
Oh, there's certainly a few people with the name J I'm thinking of right here that do that.
And also the name C, it starts with...
No, not you.
The other one. So yeah, I get annoyed when there's...
I have a chance of winning, or if even someone else has a chance of winning, and other players sabotage it with their bad play.
Yes, or...
And especially when you've given good advice and people don't listen.
Like, in Among Us, I think that happened once.
Okay, so there's a lot of people...
Actually, surprisingly, a lot of people don't know this game.
It's Among Us. It's basically a murder mystery game.
There's one imposter, which is the guy who has to kill everyone, and then the rest of them are called crewmates, and they have to vote out the imposter.
So... Basically, I will have the best evidence you can have on, like, there's usually two imposters.
I'll get even one to get voted out.
Then I get killed. And then for the next eight rounds...
You'll say, the two people it is...
I'll say, oh, it's like Bob and Sally, right?
Sally gets voted out.
Bob kills me the next round before I can call a meeting to get Bob voted out.
There will literally be eight or nine people left in the game, like good guys.
And Bob will still win the game because people have forgotten my suspicions, even though I was correct.
Dishonoring your memory.
They'll even mention, like, oh yeah, when Izzy voted out Sally, that was suspicious, and therefore this guy's also doing the same suspicious thing.
It's like, dude, you had it right there when I got someone voted out.
Yes, so if it's a fair loss...
I'm perfectly okay with it.
Fair loss, fair win, whatever.
I'll be like, good game, well played. But if someone messes up the whole game due to bad playing or bad memories, or even just multitasking, if they're doing other stuff, like, dude, if you're gonna play a game that requires concentration, don't, like, start doing other stuff, too.
Well, and as far as my former, now perfectly zen and calm irritation, as far as my former irritation goes, you know my theory about that, right?
Go ahead. What's your theory?
Well, my theory is that it's you and mom's fault.
Okay, of course. Because look, if it didn't work, I wouldn't do it.
Yeah. Clearly, I'm like water running down.
Like, it just finds the easiest passage.
It's not really my fault, because I keep telling mom, stop trading with him, stop helping him.
No, but then I get sad.
And mom's like, oh no!
What? Yeah, she's a very nice person, and I, you know, if I were a better person, I wouldn't exploit that.
Sure. Now, you also used to be much nicer.
Yeah, then I stopped because you kept winning.
Yes, but I kept winning. And then you'd get real smug, you'd be like, oh my!
What a lovely victory!
And then I couldn't whack you because it's a non-aggression principle.
So I think I'm slowly training mom out of being nice in this area.
Mildly. It's going to take a few more years.
Yeah, you learned pretty quickly.
I learned after like a few weeks.
Yeah, yeah. Like, oh, so if I'm nice to my father, he will exploit my niceness and then claim some moral victory.
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so, alright.
Why do, why do, why do?
Why do? Why do children repeat questions over and over again sometimes?
See, this is cases when I don't like the non-aggression principle.
That's the cases where I desperately need the non-aggression principle.
Unfortunately. I know some adults find it frustrating.
If so, why are children doing that?
Is it just a troll or a way of gauging the level of patience in an adult?
I think it's kind of a mix of both.
So trolling, if it goes well, can usually set a good mood for the next hour if people are laughing and you can keep doing it and stuff without others getting annoyed.
But also, if you're meeting kind of a new adult or a new person, trolling them can be a really good way to gauge their personality and their temper and also their mood just at the time.
So, if they get annoyed and they're like, oh, stop that, they just grumble or whatever, right?
Then, okay, well, you're not gonna troll them, you gotta figure out how they're like, if you know what I mean, or how they act.
So, I think it's a mix of having fun, gauging personality, and trying to see if other people reciprocate and trying to get adult attention, because kids like adult attention.
Yeah, I think it does good naturedness and general knowledge.
So you want to find the limits of your parents' knowledge.
Because when you're a kid, you're very young, your parents seem like gods, you know everything.
But in order for you to become an adult, you have to figure out the limits of your parents' knowledge so you can be like them.
And I think there's that issue as well.
All right. I remember a while back, Elon Musk said that the point of a SpaceX company was to make space travel more affordable to the everyday Joe.
Do you see yourself taking the 21-month journey to Mars?
And if so, what would you take with you?
See, that's hard, because I used to not like space at all, and I'd be like, absolutely not.
I'm never going there. But now I'm kind of like, you know, space is confusing.
I need to, like, see it.
So I think I would be happy going into space, but not for 21 whole months.
Well, technically you can't see space.
I just wanted to mention that, but go on.
Huh? You can't see space.
It's a vacuum. No, what I mean is, like, see stuff out there, like, from the perspective of space.
Right. But I think if it was with, like, a whole lot of different people that I didn't exactly know so I could meet new people, make new friends and stuff, and I wouldn't just be cooped up with the same people I know for 21 months straight.
No possibility of meeting anyone new and, you know, just that kind of stuff.
Like, if it was a whole bunch of people, then I'd probably do it, but...
If it was just like five or six people, I'd probably get so annoyed at them after a while, I wouldn't do it.
Or maybe two other people.
So you did kind of answer some part of the question.
What would I take with you?
Or with me, I guess.
A lot of paper, some pencil and erasers for drawing and stuff, because sometimes I still do paper drawing and all that.
Very rarely, though. What?
What? What are you looking at me like that for?
I'm below the list of pencils and paper!
Okay, well I assume you'd go with me because someone would have to pay for me to go.
Don't assume. Okay, fine.
You maybe get to go.
Nice. No, okay.
He said what would you take with, not who would you take with you.
Oh, fine, Miss Grammar.
Okay. Well, look, I can't read stuff with bad grammar, so...
Yeah, case in point with the last thing I tried to read.
Um... So I'd probably take my tablet, obviously charger, headphones, some paper and pencil.
Probably not, maybe, I don't know, like, probably not much else.
I don't have a lot of stuff.
Like, I just don't really get stuff.
It's just... So somebody else put a comment underneath that lizard people 100 million years in the future discover a thriving duck population on Mars.
You aren't supposed to tell people about that, though.
That's the end game. Ducks on Mars!
Hey, you'd finally get all the ducks they could actually fly because it's like much less gravity.
Yeah, poor Pekin ducks finally get a chance.
For most people between the ages of 11 and 18, an attitude of rebellion informs a lot of the adolescents' behaviors.
I'm curious whether an effect of good parenting is that this rebellion is mitigated or even wholly avoided.
I saw many young adults handicap their own potential future success and happiness by making decisions like building friendships with bad people or making habits of unhealthy drinks and drugs and food.
At least some of their starting down these bad paths was to resist their parents' violence, subsidized commands to eat well, be polite to strangers, work hard, whatever.
How much do you feel that Izzy will work to spite you as she gets more powerful in the coming years?
I am powerful! I don't know, like, I'll usually question stuff more, but I don't really think if you're like, don't do drugs, I'll be like, okay.
Or should I say, okay, yeah, dude, I won't do drugs, even though they're really cool.
The, uh, the stoner voice is like a new, where did it come from the dungeon last night?
Yeah, so there's an area in the, I'm hosting a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and there's an area known as the grasslands.
And you made a joke about drugs.
Oh, yes, you emerge in the grasslands like, dude, rad, let's play some hockey sack and have some snacks.
Yeah. So that's where it came from yesterday.
That's right. So whenever someone mentions like grass or weed or drugs or whatever, I'll just like, we do that.
Oh no, you went to meth though.
Oh yeah. Because meth is not like, dude, meth is like, okay.
I don't really know.
Okay, I'm not an expert in drugs.
Fair. So you are, I mean, you've definitely gotten, I wouldn't say more punchy, but you've gotten more skeptical and less prone to just, a little more punchy, but less prone to take things at face value and to be questioning and think, I mean, I want that, obviously, right?
Yeah, don't just be like, oh, you say that, okay?
Yeah. Well, the last thing I'd want you to be is some sort of puppet who parrots what I say, right?
Yeah. Think for yourself. So I think that, like, so the theory is that because I'm sort of, oh, reason and evidence, you're going to be like, I'm a teenager.
To heck with reason and evidence, I'm going to go with mysticism and graffiti.
I don't know what. But I don't think it'll happen because you're a sensible person.
Yeah. Much sensible.
All right. Hi, Izzy.
I'm 34. I've got a much younger half-sister who's 19.
Yo! Year old.
What? Year old.
Year old, sorry. Plural years.
We have the same dad, but different mothers.
At her age, I was much more independent, studying, working, living on my own.
Living on my own. She is much more privileged.
You're going to send a mom when she does that.
I know. She's much more privileged than I used to be.
Better school. She speaks perfectly three languages, etc.
Yet she only had one part-time job that lasted about a month.
I like to include her in some of my activities because she is my younger sibling, but it feels like she's my child.
She hardly pays for herself, although she has money for my parents.
When we go by car, she usually listens to her own music in headphones, and I must ask questions to have some conversation.
She doesn't ask much herself.
Hearing you speaking to your dad, you at your age seem much more mature than her at 19.
Do you think there is something I can do to help her development, or should this be her parents' job?
For your information, when the parents talk about her, you might think she is a baby if you didn't know she's actually 19, so it might be their fault.
Look, I think what people need, if they're really, like, spoiled in that way, just a hard-working job.
Like, honestly, get the parents.
Look, I don't think you should be seeing her as, like, your kid, because obviously not.
You shouldn't be taking...
I don't think you should be taking so much care of her.
What if he could give her advice?
What if he could give her parents' advice and they'd listen for sure?
If he could give parents' advice, I would say...
Take away the daughter's money that you've had.
I don't mean steal or anything.
Give it back, of course, but I mean temporarily maybe.
Well, that's kind of hard. She's 19.
Okay, fine. Don't give her any new money.
And if she wants to, I guess, drop out of school, I don't actually know what grade you'd be in if you're 19.
So you've graduated high school.
It could be your first, depending where you are.
It's your first year or two out of high school.
Okay, then just stop giving her money.
And, um, you know, she's gonna have to get a job.
Because I do think some hard work is genuinely gonna, you know, kind of put you in your place.
Go on. I just think if people are just living this life of, like, where everything just gets given to them, like, oh, I want that, okay, here's some money, you can get that.
Whereas instead of, oh, I want that, I guess I'll have to work at McDonald's for another week, right?
So, I mean, I think it kind of, if you actually have to work for what you want, people kind of fix themselves a bit.
Because again, you gotta be friendly to the customers, you gotta get tips if you're a waiter and stuff, so.
Or I guess a waitress in this case, but...
I also think it's very rude.
Like, come on. Someone's driving you places.
You're just gonna, like, block them out and, like, put your headphones on.
Like, what do you do? You wear headphones.
Okay, I wear headphones when I'm in my- When I'm in the house and I might want to talk at some point.
If you want to talk, you say, Izzy, can we talk?
And I pause my music and you talk.
Is that what I do? No, you usually will go up and play music next to my headphones.
Yeah, I'll just sit on you. Yeah, it's true.
One of those two. Okay, look, I'll wear headphones, but that's because, I don't know, either I'm drawing or, like, I'm doing something.
Of course, I'm just kidding. But if we're in the car together, now, unless, like, you and mom are talking, it's, like, a long drive or whatever, then maybe if I have headphones, I might do something.
But, like, I mean, I don't really wear headphones or, like, block out other people if I'm near them.
That's super rude. Yeah, that's ridiculously rude.
Now how do you think, as a question sort of related to this, I think, how do you think you learned the value of money?
Okay, so actually, apparently this is a very...
We have some American friends that I usually will talk with over, I guess, audio calls or whatever, right?
But we were just chatting, and apparently Americans and Europeans don't really know what...
They don't really have allowances for kids.
So for me, it was...
I would get a few dollars a month or whatever.
I think it was like five or something.
And I could spend that on toys and stuff or drawing materials or...
If you think it was a good purchase, then you'd maybe sometimes split the price, but usually it'd be like, okay, you want something, you pay for it.
So that I'd very much understand the value of money.
And for those $5 a month or whatever, I would do chores and go around the house like cleaning and like extra chores more than just like your average tidy up after yourself kind of thing.
And I think it went to 10 at one point.
I think at one point because that's when I was doing like the whole house, a lot of chores, like the whole house cleaning and stuff like that.
But it was five for a good chunk.
And then I cut it off because I'm like, I've saved up enough.
Yeah, you actually voluntarily said, I don't want to get allowance.
Yeah, because I don't know.
I don't really spend money.
Like, I'll see something, I'll be like, oh, that's $2.
That's a lot of money. I don't know why.
I just don't spend money.
No, because early, early, if you'd want something, like when you were very little and didn't have allowance, we'd maybe have a bit of a wrangle over whether you should have it or not.
And sometimes I'd just buy you stuff, and then you'd use it for a week, and then it would sit in a drawer, and then the next time you wanted something, what would I say?
Yeah. What about that last thing?
Yeah, but it's like, don't, you know, because I don't like the sort of kids have to sort of whine or want or desperate or beg.
You don't have your own money. Yeah, yeah, just have your own money and that way you can choose for yourself if you want it or not.
Yeah, I think that's a good plan.
Even stuff like my tablet, I'll usually, with all the money I've saved up, like, I'll just buy it.
Like, if I need a new tablet, I buy it.
Yeah, I think we've done halves on tablets for the most part.
Usually halves, I think. Well, that's because you use the tablet.
You very rarely game on the tablet, unless it's a social game.
I have two games on my tablet. I have four games on my whole tablet.
What are they? So, Clash Royale, which I play with a friend of mine.
I have Uno, which we play just because it's usually easier than the card version.
I have...
No, five games, sorry. Settlers of Catan, Among Us, which I honestly have not used unless I'm playing with friends, and another game called Goose Goose Duck, which I use if my laptop's ever out of power.
And the last two games are social.
Catan is social. Uno is social.
I'll occasionally play that myself, just against random people online, but yeah.
Right, so I mean, still a little bit social, but yeah, so that's, I mean, so...
It's mostly social, though.
Everything's social. It's like, since a lot of my friends do not live in Canada, and they're elsewhere, I'll just, we'll call, and we play games virtually, or chat virtually, or whatever, so that's why I have games.
For the first, like, I guess you could say six to eight months of having my tablet, all I had, no games at all.
It was just, like, drawing and, like, video editing and stuff.
Yeah, so, and we've always played games, even on tablets.
Almost always we played them, at least to some degree, socially.
Like, even when you had something like Dragon Veil, you and I would sort of play and all of that.
Okay, so, let's see here.
Has Izzy ever thought of being a booktuber or book reviewer?
It's a job that could lead to a career, or at least work experience, which you could easily start now.
Most booktubers are left-leaning, and a different perspective would be very helpful to authors trying to either be apolitical or just not toeing to the current book trends of the day.
You know, that's a good idea, but I genuinely never even considered that.
I gotta be honest, I read a decent amount of books because I'm in a book club, so it's two books a month.
I gotta say, and it's suggested by the other teens, I... Hate the majority of books.
Like, okay, everyone's like, oh, Percy Jackson's so good.
Oh, the last three books in the Wings of Fire series are so good.
It's like, they're so obvious, they're so predictable, and they're so left.
So left-wing. Look, I'm just gonna say, look, okay, I had to read this book series, or the first book in a series known as Percy Jackson.
I would genuinely say it's one of my least favorite books ever.
And everybody says it's amazing.
Well, you didn't just dislike that book.
Like, you wanted to, like, erase its family line.
Yeah, pretty much. No, look, okay.
So, I'll just make a few things about the plot, whether you know this book.
So, this kid, he's kind of weird.
His name's Percy, but...
Basically, he goes home after a boarding school trip, right?
And his dad's like a drunk- well, no, his stepdad's a drunk, and apparently he says, oh yeah, the guy was great for the first 30 seconds, and then the moment his parents got married, he just turned.
He just mysteriously changed! He just mysteriously changed.
It actually says that.
Also, the grammar in that book is terrible.
When you have a thinking, you're supposed to italicize it.
I know this for a thought.
Like, if the character is thinking, you italicize.
They don't do that. Anyways.
So it's confusing because you're going into thoughts, into reality.
You don't know the transition. I don't know what's happening.
Okay, and then the next part, his mom's just a complete angel.
Her name's Sally or something.
Oh yeah, she was dating this millionaire, really attractive, and then he just mysteriously got lost at sea, but not before she got pregnant with Percy and whatever, right?
Anyways, so it turns out later in the book, this is like a mystical book, his dad's actually Poseidon.
Um... And that's how he survived jumping 600 feet off a building into, like, a pond, because his Poseidon dad made the water, like, not hurt him.
Also, like, I'm sorry, your dad is literally, like, the coolest Poseidon guy ever, and he named his kid Percy.
Anyways, um, I don't like the name Percy.
I'm getting that. I think so.
So, it's unrealistic, dumb, kind of leftist.
Well, and I don't like it when kids don't have to do anything to earn their specialness.
It just happens to them.
Oh, it just happened to be the kid of Poseidon.
Now, that's not the one with the kid with the feathers on his arm, is it?
No, that's called Charlie Hernandez, which is also loved by that book club.
I hated that book so much.
I hated that even more than this one.
It was just... Oh, it was even more predictable, and it was just so cringe.
Oh, and this kid's a bit of an outcast, right?
And then with the pretty girl in school, it's just like, let's spend time together!
Oh, he's a complete outcast.
He's very shy. He stutters, cannot form a sentence.
And then the prettiest, most popular, most fit girl in school is like, I love you!
That's not wish fulfillment on the part of a lonely loser author, I guarantee you.
Oh yeah, no, I'm sure. So you could be a booktuber, but there would be a lot of bleeps.
No, I'm kidding. There would be a lot of negativity.
Very much. Well, not negativity.
Honestly, honesty, I think.
But, yeah.
Yeah. I want to say one of my favorite book series is Wings of Fire.
And if you have kids, or honestly, if you want to read it yourself, I think it's suitable for every age, except maybe 10 and under.
But, yeah. Don't read the last five books if you have kids that are going to read that.
They got to her. They don't read the last five books.
That's the whole series.
On a related note, do you love Shakespeare?
And if so, which is your favorite one?
I don't. I'm sorry to all Shakespeare lovers, but it's too poetic.
I'm sorry. Look, if you want to say something, say it.
Don't make me spend an hour analyzing two chapters because your writing is too mysterious.
If you have an analogy, or if you have a thought, or if you have some prediction, just say, oh, this is what's going to happen.
Oh, this is what I think. Don't be like, don't say the, or T, like, don't say the T-H instead of every word, like, thou the the the the.
That was his words! Back then.
Too bad. No, okay, what I mean by that is, I understand that was very, I guess you could say more complex back then, and that's fine.
If you like that, I totally understand, and honestly, good for you, because I don't find that interesting.
I think that's partly because I do not understand all that stuff yet.
But maybe as I get older, I'll like it more.
So Izzy and I have been working on a book story, and we finished plotting out the book, and I said to Izzy, should I do it more plain or in a very poetic style?
I think doing poetry and analogies for descriptions can be okay sometimes, but not for words, especially if it's a modern book.
I'll also remember how I had to man up your book.
Oh yes, so it was a bit of a feminized book, a bit of a girly book, and we were trying to figure out what next, and what did you do?
Hunting trip! Yeah, the men need a hunting trip!
And I'm like, oh really?
Oh, really? Really?
How fascinating. So yeah, you did dude up the book.
And you're like, oh, we need thinking, we need like lunches, feeling, and I'm like hunting.
Yeah, yeah. So you did man up the book quite a bit, which I thought was excellent.
Yeah. When your 13-year-old daughter helps your book become more masculine.
All right. Somebody says, yes, if...
Oh, all right. When you want something that you know your dad doesn't want you to have or to do, how terrifying is it to negotiate?
Yes. The terms for someone like Stefan.
Has this made you resort to craftiness?
Look, it's not, like, terrifying.
I feel like a lot of... He comes off as very, like, serious and strong-willed, I think, from his shows, because occasionally I can hear certain parts through the walls and stuff like that.
So I think he seems more terrifying than he is.
I mean, he lets me call him Egg Roll, because he's Egg, and he's long, being almost six feet tall.
So he's not that terrifying.
So... Look, usually I- Wait, not that terrifying, so I'm a little terrifying.
Tiny. Okay. When you don't do that.
A little terrifying!
Um, so- Anime noises intensify.
Oh, yeah. If he accidentally, like, stubs his toe, he'll make a mocking, like, anime girl noise, like, kind of- No, I'm not terrifying at all, right?
No, not really. I'm kidding.
Um, so- So, honestly, with anyone, no matter who they are, I'm going to resort to craftiness before talking about it, because, like, better ask for forgiveness after you do it than ask for permission.
Anime noises. That's not anime, that's just girly dude.
No, but you are pretty crafty when it comes to wanting things.
Yeah, usually. I don't often ask for stuff, I'll just do it, and then afterwards, if they're like, oh, you shouldn't have done that, sorry.
Yeah. Yeah, and you registered disapproval in indirect ways.
So we were playing Minecraft Dungeons the other day, and we did a tower mode.
Now, I got to choose some of the power-ups.
No, because I was outside taking care of the docks.
You chose one power-up, and you got the worst bow possible.
I got the worst bow possible, and you were like, well, no, I can see why you'd make that choice.
That's very interesting. Yeah. Yeah.
What happened? I did say, oh, did you change the bow?
Yeah, okay. Oh, it doesn't have overcharge, okay.
And then you're like, well, we'd be winning if it wasn't for the bow.
And then later said, we wouldn't have lost if it wasn't for the bow.
It's like, well, we're having trouble killing because of the bow.
I didn't say that. I said, this boss would go a lot faster if we had overcharge on the first bow.
Yes. And, oh, I hope we can complete this level with our bow.
Right. A lot of little digs there at the bow choice.
Can be a little indirect sometimes.
A little indirect, yeah. But I think I picked up on it.
All right. Yes, if I was as wise as Stefan, I'd be 20 times more full of myself.
But let's just say sometimes I do see a little ego from time to time.
I'm not sure who he's referring to there.
Do you have an emergency head deflator at home?
I'm only concerned because I love the guy.
Look, I don't, but if anyone would like to send one...
Okay, look. Yeah, sometimes.
He's definitely a bit more, like, in person than on the show you can say.
He's like, ew, I just had the most amazing this in a call where I solved all his problems.
Okay. And you say?
Father, I'm sure you're absolutely correct.
Let me put out a prayer mat and bring you a sandwich.
Hey, what happened? Yeah, what happened?
Yeah. So, yeah, certainly you can have a tad ego.
Okay. It's hard to have an ego when you knock on your daughter's door first thing in the morning.
Okay, now... First thing in the morning.
It became a joke because yesterday.
First thing in the morning. And do you hear, Oh, Father, how wonderful to see you.
Let me jump up and give you a foot rub.
No, what do you... What do I hear?
What? Yeah.
So, knock, knock, knock.
What? Yeah, so that's the head deflator.
He's all like, oh, it's a time change.
I don't know about you guys, but in Canada there's like a time change where it goes back an hour or whatever, right?
Every like six months.
It's dumb, honestly. I hate it.
It's like daylight savings. It's like, oh, there's a time change.
So it's not actually 9.30, it's 10.30.
And I'm like, yeah, well, I was up at two last night because it's actually only one.
It's not two. That was yesterday's time, not today's.
So, stop it.
You're not a morning person.
I'm sure. What are the worst things that parents in general, in general, usually do?
Honestly, I think, like, ignore their kids and just leave them to their own devices.
Because you had a complaint for a long time, and I really didn't notice it until you pointed it out, about how kids, like, it's less in case now, but just invisible in social situations.
Yeah, okay, so we'd be, back when you used to do tours and stuff more so, it would be like, We'd be in an area and some people would talk to you and be like, oh, hi, you're Stefan, whatever, right?
And I'd be there. And whether it was that or if it was just some random people we were just meeting, I could not say a word.
And literally a year ago, when I got my growth spurt and I went up to like over five feet, this switched.
I got seen as like literally just switched like that.
Even as like a restaurant or something, some waitress would be talking to us and I would say something and she'd actually turn to me.
Before I'd say something and she'd keep staring at you and be like, what are you doing?
I'm still a person.
Hello! Hello! Even though I don't pay the tip, I can influence it.
Yeah, yeah, true. All right.
And also, a lot of parents will go to restaurants based on what the kids like.
So, anyway. Would you consider yourself a creative person?
More creative than the average person.
What's your favorite medium of expression?
Well, I don't want to be like, oh, I'm so creative.
But yeah, I'd say I'm pretty creative.
Um... I don't know.
I do a lot of drawing. I'll do writing for homework and stuff like that.
I've created animations and stories with voice acting with my friends and stuff.
So I'd say I'm fairly creative.
What was the rest of the question?
I mean, we've done five years of interactive storytelling, many, many, many hours a week.
That's very creative stuff.
Yeah, that was our Dungeons and Dragons and stuff.
Your favorite medium of expression for how you like to express your creativity?
Drawing and writing. Alright, this is the favorite Minecraft texture pack.
I hate Minecraft texture packs.
I'm okay with resource packs that change the lighting and stuff like that.
Cannot stand stuff that changes the blocks.
Minecraft looks fine as it is.
I'm okay with a little extra glow from a mod that makes the lighting.
Can you stop snoring? Okay, I'm sorry.
I was thinking of Minecraft. Extra glow, maybe a little extra ripple in the water, some like brushing or like a swaying of the leaves.
But do not change my cobblestone and make it like ultra 16 pixel textured nonsense.
It's fine. I like texture packs and you turn them on, the lights in the neighborhood dim as more power is diverted to your computer.
Do you remember that meme where you made it ultra-realistic where you placed the bucket and the water sloshed around and the monitor exploded?
Oh yeah, beautiful. Do you daydream a lot?
As an artist, where do you get your ideas from?
I usually get my ideas from either, oh, you know, that'd be cool to draw.
And if it doesn't work, it just kind of, no, I'll be looking, I'll be like, I'm bored.
I don't feel like playing any games.
My friends aren't around or whatever.
Okay, I'll do some drawing or whatever, right?
So if I think, oh, you know, drawing a forest would look nice, I need a new wallpaper for my tablet, right?
Then I'll do something like that.
But also I'll get inspired by video games.
So I guess the game Among Us, another game which is a puzzle horror game called Little Nightmares.
Two games I really like.
I'll usually do fan art for those games because I just, I don't know, it's something fun I can draw and there's already like a character base and stuff.
And it gives me practice to draw people and all that.
So it's...
That's usually my inspiration is, oh, I like this game.
I'll do fan art. Or, oh, I need a new wallpaper for my tablet.
I'll do some drawing. Or, oh, I feel like drawing that because it looks pretty.
I'll do that. That's my inspiration.
Sorry, there was one more question.
Gosh, where did it go?
Am I missing something here? Oh, there's some stuff.
No, I think we've already used these.
Let's see. Yeah, we have.
Hang on. Never.
Yeah, we've... No, there was one question about what you liked about me, which I wanted to torture you with.
No, there wasn't. There was.
No, there wasn't. It's not on these.
You looked at them. Oh, yes.
Here we go. No, it isn't.
Wait, is it actually? What is your favorite thing about your dad?
What is your least... Okay, now that's the only question.
What is your favorite thing about your dad? What is your least favorite?
Thank you for the good grammar. I can read this.
Okay. I'd say favorite thing is your silliness.
And I'd say least favorite thing is your lectures.
Yes, by design. All right.
Recently, I met my 16-year-old relative.
Two years ago, she was wearing dresses.
Now she has blue hair and a cow ring, and she looks like a combination of a Japanese cartoon character and a bat.
Do you think it's a natural period of finding yourself or early signs of mental problems?
No, it's totally normal.
No, that's mental problems.
Look, I'm not gonna find myself by becoming a cartoon character and a bat.
A Japanese cartoon character and a bat.
Yeah. That's not how you find yourself.
You find yourself by talking about it.
Or maybe changing your hairstyle or whatever.
You don't get blue rings, dye your hair.
Words are failing.
You don't get nose rings and dye your hair blue.
That's just what everyone else is doing.
You don't find yourself by following some cliche of blue haired nonsense.
Yeah. Well, I saw this.
It has to do with that. I saw this meme where it was like, oh, tree frogs produce bright colors to warn off predators, and then it was a picture of a woman with, like, nose rings with, like, neon hair green.
Yeah, yeah. All right.
Oh, yeah. Being that you are someone who's only been peacefully parented, I'm curious to know what your relationship with your instincts is like.
Do you pretty much always trust your instincts and act accordingly?
Do you find that your instincts can be relied upon?
How often do you second...
Guess yourself. I often second-guess myself, but then I'm just like, I'll forget that nonsense, so I go back to my original instincts.
Can you think of an example?
Not really. Are you second-guessing your inability to think of an example?
Very much so. All right.
I don't honestly know.
Sometimes I'm like, oh. Oh, maybe in, like, social situations more so, like, oh, should I say this?
And then I'm like, maybe I shouldn't say this.
And I'm like, eh, you only live once.
Right, right. Okay, so that, yeah, I think, I mean, I have great admiration for your instincts, which have proven better than mine in some ways.
Many ways. Particularly in girly world and with social stuff, so I think that your instincts are very good.
And I think you have hesitation before doing something that might be controversial, which makes sense, and then I think you just YOLO it.
Yeah, pretty much. All right, good.
Well, listen, thanks everyone for your great questions.
Thanks, Issy, for some very interesting answers and anything you wanted to say on the outro that I always forget.
Oh, yes, yes. No, do not blow.
I blow on the microphone.
Anything else you want to say?
This is a risky game.
Oh, okay. All right.
I'm sorry. Okay, I'm blowing on the microphone.
Hopefully you're not wearing headphones.
We're not putting in a warning for you.
RIP headphone users.
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