Video Throughput: An Astronomer Reacts to Dune

Marchmaine says:

Another good episode.

Regarding the section on psychic powers… my (long ago) reading of that was less psychic than hyper genetic… the key (for me) was the ‘Mitochondrial Inheritance’ of the Bene Gesserit (literaly both ‘Do Gooders’ & ‘Good Bearers’) that enabled them to inherit the fullness of the previous lives via their genetic inheritance. It struck me as a balance between pure science and mystic discipline (powered by spice)… like a breakthrough that required proper breeding/genes to have access to the mystic discipline — which was then unlocked by a chemical, spice, via a mystic ritual that either granted access to the DNA memories or death. The absence of the Mystical Training/Discipline is the madness that overtakes Aliya. It’s all very rational; hyper rational; mystically rational.

[We can ignore, if we wish, Brian Herbert’s next evolutionary discovery regarding male orgasms… and insect like reflexes… but that’s part & parcel of their hyper genetic approach to mysticism.]

I like the pre-cognition comparing it to a hyper-mentat state… plausible… but oddly, here I’m not entirely sure how it reconciles with the Golden Path… the Path is Teleological, the computing the grains of sand is mathematical. I guess I just reduced the Teleology to preventing extinction… but that’s a pretty monstrous Teleology, all things considered.

Of course, the Teleology and Hyper-Genetics come together under Leto II rather spectacularly.Report