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Patron Bonus Episode - Another(?) Interview with M R. X. Dentith
26 Plays2 years ago
Josh interviews his old university chum, M R. X. Dentith, to get the goss on the 2017 paper they co-authored with Martin Orr.
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Transcript
Introduction and Confusion
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello, blessed patrons. Well, as I suggested in the main episode, I've managed to secure us another interview with the world famous, I assume, Dr. M. Denteth over in Zhuhai, China. How are things going, Dr. Denteth? Sorry, did you say another interview with me?
00:00:26
Speaker
Well, do you remember Brian and I did one of your papers a while ago and we got in touch with you to talk about that one? No, it was a while ago. No, I mean, I do a lot of interviews, so but I'm not recalling that at all.
00:00:41
Speaker
Are you sure you interviewed me? I'm quite certain. Have you been keeping tabs on the podcast? I mean, Brian and I talk about a lot of things, but we have done two of your papers. This was the second one we did now. And I'm quite certain I reached out again. I mean, I mean, your podcast is completely new to me. I have I've I mean, I know Brian and we used to go to university together. I wasn't aware the two of you were doing a podcast, though. This is all it's all rather exciting and interesting, but
00:01:08
Speaker
I have no memory or recollection of this claim that you've interviewed me before?
Humor and Memory Lapses
00:01:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's slightly concerning. Have the lizard people overdone it with the memory wipes again? I know they enjoy applying them so much, but sometimes they can get a little bit overzealous and you end up forgetting things that
00:01:30
Speaker
that have happened within the past year or so? Or maybe you've been consuming too many of Terence McKenna's fungi? I mean, just turn the tables on you. Are you sure the mushrooms in your salad aren't actually affecting your brainwaves?
00:01:47
Speaker
Well, I mean, I do have the notes from the last one. It doesn't matter whose brain has been nefariously affected.
Feedback and Promotion
00:01:55
Speaker
Really, the fact is that the two of us are talking now. Good to see you. Glad things are on the up and up with you.
00:02:02
Speaker
Have you had time to listen to the advance copy of this week's episode that I sent to you? Yes, yes I did. It was interesting. Okay, good. So then you'll have heard at the end Brian was interested in just what sort of impact this paper might have had. Has there been any replies to it? Has it sparked any major international incidents?
00:02:29
Speaker
I can summarise the response to this paper with two academic terms which are diddly and also squat. Interesting. So lots of upper leg exercises. Good. Well I did hurt my hamstring recently so you know. Too many squats then. I believe Games Club Shop are bringing the squats back so that's actually quite exciting. Oh very good.
00:02:54
Speaker
Oh, did something just fall down or explode in the background? No, that would be one of my colleagues rushing off to a meeting. Yeah, well that's no fun at all.
00:03:05
Speaker
So, I mean, yeah, really, we just wanted just a little bit of reaction from you, maybe possibly a sound bite, you know, that we could obviously a person, an academic of your stature, if we could get a little bit of something that we can stick in promos for the podcast, it might be able to up our profile a little bit. You know, I don't want to be seen as riding on your coattails, but while I've got you here, it'd be silly not to.
00:03:28
Speaker
How many listeners does your podcast have? Oh, dozens, at least. We may even be up to three figures. I mean, my maths isn't great. Last time I took this, it was somewhere between about three dozen and several million. So in that range, give or take, plus or minus. Why numerically wide?
Awkward Banter
00:03:53
Speaker
So it's your mother. That seems like a very weird thing to say.
00:03:58
Speaker
I mean, you've met my mother. I mean, we did spend time at university watching videos into late of night and my mother was very kind to you, providing with food. So I'm not entirely sure why you want to make what appear to be double entendre about my mother. I mean, is that really an appropriate thing to say to a guest you're interviewing for a podcast? Just trying to rekindle a bit of banter with a former
00:04:25
Speaker
university chum, you know, bringing back old days. I haven't heard from you in two decades. Yeah, I know that's why I'm keen to get back into the banter and the mild ribbing as soon as possible. So one of the first things you do when you talk to someone you haven't spoken to for two decades is to bring up their mother in a sexually inappropriate fashion.
00:04:48
Speaker
When the opportunity presents itself, yes, frankly, I would consider myself irresponsible if I didn't. Do you talk to your work colleagues in this way? Would you approach a client with a your-mother joke? It would depend on the client and the client's mother, to be honest.
00:05:05
Speaker
I have a feeling our lives have gone in very, very different directions.
Work and Conspiracy Theories
00:05:10
Speaker
Yes, yes, that's entirely possible. I suppose you're busy and sourcelled in your works about which I understand we're not allowed to say too much. Why would you say that? Can you give us any...? No, it's just my understanding was that
00:05:29
Speaker
Many of the projects you work on are of potentially earth-shattering importance, and of too many of the details of them got out, it could lead to the downfall of civilisation as we know it. I'm a philosopher. It's not if I work for the Illuminati or
00:05:45
Speaker
I'm involved in some kind of bloodline conspiracy theory. I'm just paid to write academic papers on conspiracy theory and challenge to try and publish five within three years. I mean, there's no vast conspiracy here. The work I do is very... In fact, I'm trying to make my work as public as possible by paying for open access for everything which I'm producing at this stage.
00:06:09
Speaker
I'm really finding this interview to be very, very off-putting. Well, I mean, I'm assuming that was a complicated double bluff on your part, in which case, very good. Yes, exactly. Not doing anything for... No, I'm doing a lot. I mean, I've got a paper coming out.
00:06:27
Speaker
Later this year, I'm working on a special issue, the journal Social Epistemology, in which I'm writing the introduction and the final piece. I helped run a conference in February of this year. I'm meant to be finishing off a book at the moment, although the less said about that, the better. I mean, there's not
Parallel Universe Claims
00:06:47
Speaker
much secrecy going on with the work I do. I'm very happy to talk about the work I'm working on. I would just rather have less of this in the window.
00:06:56
Speaker
in your endo, yes. Actually, do you know what, as we've been talking, I think there might have been a slight hiccup here. Can I just check
00:07:11
Speaker
What year was President Nixon assassinated? President Nixon was not assassinated. He was about to be impeached and then he resigned and then he was basically given a slap with a wet bus ticket by his successor. Nixon died relatively of natural causes, if you want to call cancer a natural cause, but he wasn't assassinated.
00:07:35
Speaker
right and the first man on the moon would be neil armstrong right okay sorry i see what's happened here we um i've i've i've accidentally dialed into the wrong universe when i've jacked up this interview it's happened before i'm sorry to sorry to inconvenience you so you're right all along this is actually
00:07:55
Speaker
the first time we've spoken. Last time, it would have been the endentith from the correct universe and not one of the many others. Actually, interesting fact, sorry, just while I've got you here. When I've been cycling through the various dentith variations to try and find the right, there's actually a universe where you and I do this podcast together. It's actually, we do make quite a pair.
00:08:21
Speaker
I must give you the right frequency for it so you can check it out. It's most visible, but I'm not as good as the one Brian and I do, obviously. Can I just stop you before you continue on this weird reminiscence here? So you are claiming that you are calling me via zoom from a parallel reality.
00:08:42
Speaker
Well, I mean, if in your world Nixon was never assassinated and Chuck Yeager was not the first man on the moon, I think that's the only possible explanation.
00:08:52
Speaker
Well, the other possible explanation is that you are suffering from some kind of psychosis because, frankly, knowing a little bit about physics, the ability to even transport minute nanoparticulate matter from one universe to another requires such an astounding energy cost that the idea that you could actually have a full-blown conversation with me and somehow do it over the internet beggars belief.
00:09:21
Speaker
So I think the more likely explanation here is that you are delusional and that still doesn't really explain much, although maybe it does justify your mother jokes because you might be suffering from some kind of psychotic break. Okay, look, sorry, I'm getting a better picture
Conclusion
00:09:40
Speaker
now. Obviously your universe is not one of the ones that's achieved enlightenment
00:09:48
Speaker
and has suffered none of the usual incursions that the rest of our students really do, so I can understand why this all must seem a little bit strange. Now I don't want to, knowing this now, I really don't want to be responsible for any sort of shattering event in your plane, so I think possibly the best thing to do would be to just bring this call to a close and pretend like it never happened.
00:10:15
Speaker
I mean, you can pretend like it never happened, but I might be getting in contact with NetSafe in Aotearoa, New Zealand to raise some curious questions about your conduct. So, you know. Yes, not sure, you know, NetSafe. NetSafe and only NetSafe.
00:10:35
Speaker
What do you mean, only an episode? Nothing at all. I think I've said too much. So thank you for being on this interview, Dr. Denteth. Good to catch up. I've got to go now. Goodbye.