JORDAN PETERSON IS A ROCK STAR, AND ITS REALLY IMPORTANT

If you would have told me, say, 10 years ago, when I was the tender age of 18 doing some light reading of Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman, that you would have to wait in LINE to get in to see a speaker/thinker of the same caliber speak - I would have laughed in your face.

I was proven wrong when I went to see Jordan speak about creativity in Ottawa. I was expecting a modest crowd, maybe some coffee reception afterwards so I could invite him to our show - man - was I wrong. Hundreds of people waiting in line, not to mention the protesters who were protesting something that had nothing to do with the talk - typical.

If you've seen even 10 minutes of The Badassery Show, you know I value Jordan Peterson a tremendous amount. Here's why. I've always considered myself a serious thinker, and to escape the pretension of what that meant, I did - some serious thinking...meaning that when I was confronted with political, artistic, musical, philosophical and other complex issues I reacted, then I paused, and thought long and hard about what my opinion was. It's an interesting thing to observe discourse, our need to perfectly separate it into two clumps overides our understanding of the complex subtleties that underly it in the first place.

Take atheism and its rise in popularity.

I've always been a child of the school of Enlightenment and rationality. My favourite music comes from that era, so it felt natural to align myself with its ideals, but if we jump 200 years down the line, I felt every one started to hold this nihilistic view of the world - a type of hyper rationality that blinded us from the intricate complexities that create the human spirit. We held rational science as our new God - all knowing, all rational. I had a problem with this, and it wasn't until 7 months ago that I found someone who could perfectly encapsulate my issue.

enter Jordan.

Jordan's appearance on Joe Rogan blew us all away - we no longer had to believe that the world is a dark hole filled with nothing but facts. We can achieve the artist's purpose again - in believing that, yes, obviously we should not ignore objective facts, but we should also be careful not to step across the line to the monster of chaos, or the monster of order, because they both lead to hell. Instead, find that place in the middle, the place where we can find meaning. And above all else, keep an open mind.

That's whats most important about Jordan's message, FREE SPEECH and an open mind. Argue with yourself. Make sure you understand your own biases and presumptions. This is why I left the talk inspired, not only because Jordan is an incredible speaker, but also because people were there in flocks as if they were going to see Bono speak. People are interested in information, and in understanding progress.

Thank you Jordan for bringing back the passion and vitality of Art in the realm of Science. They are meant to act as one.

The theatre of life will not grant you access to wisdom unless you understand yourself as an actor, and how to not fall off the stage.

Also, something about music :P