More Power Users was worth the price of subscription today. Usually when people talk about trauma and PTSD, I think it does not apply to me. I have never seen war, been the target of violence, or lived through natural disaster, I had good parents and have never been abused by partners or family members. Iāve always had enough money, so Iāve never known the trauma of poverty. Then Merlin talked about trauma being expressed as shame, and I thought, āOh.ā
Iām about to start listening to the Ezra Klein podcast now.
Itās here, btw:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-van-der-kolk.html
Two thoughts.
First, my experience is like yours. You and I have been blessed.
Second, I have not yet listened to the episode, so I donāt want to assume too much. But, Iāll go where angels fear to tread. 
On a preliminary basis having not listened to the episode yet, I hope that the argument is not that all shame is trauma. There is good shame. It is the shame we should feel if we have done something shameful. A degree of ātraumaā is warranted. There is bad shame. Bad shame is unwarranted shame or being shamed. Good shame is evidence of a working conscience. Bad shame can be evidence of an overly sensitive conscience. Being shamed, as in humiliated, is wrong and can be trauma producing.
Iām looking forward to listening to the episode when on the treadmill tomorrow.
I think there is a difference between shame and guilt. Shame is paralyzing. Guilt is on the pathway to acknowledgement , acceptance and redemption. Perhaps this is more of a definition issue - āgood shameā is my equivalent of guilt.
The trauma and PTSD discussion was behind the paywall, so I canāt comment on that part of the episode. It sure sounds like Merlin was traumatized by Claude. 
In truth, I found it a frustrating episodeāsome clarity on exactly what Merlin is doing with Codex and how, and why he couldnāt do it with Claude Code would have been welcome.
I must be getting oldā¦.after 5 references to cocaine and 3 profane words bleeped out before we even hit 10 minutes; I had to turn it off. For such a classy show, that guest missed the markā¦
Perhaps, as LLMs approach the singularity, they will finally help me understand what this fella is on about whenever he pops out of my speakers. A bit like if you sat me down in front of Dr Who, pinned my eyelids open and I still couldnāt tell you what is going on, itās exactly the same for me with Mr Mannās riffing schtick. And yes, I was there back in the 43 Folders days so this is not new to me. This episode (the shortened, free one with ads) maintains that standard, with another torrent of blathering. Just an exhausting listen. Perpetually baffled by the fact that speaking into a microphone is his job.
I didnāt last as long as you didā¦I hope THAT wasnāt a hint of upcoming attractionsā¦ā¦
I guess Merlin is an acquired taste. Are cocaine references, profanity and constant complaining what the cool kids are into these days? Hard pass for me. I turned it off.
You guys, I already wanted to listen, no need to sell me on it so hard! 
I couldnāt care less about the cocaine and the swearing, but there are other podcasts I can listen to if I want to mainline a disorganized mind having thoughts and stepping all over his hosts in the process. I go to MPU for something more nutritious than that. Too much hyperventilating, not enough elucidation, in short.
I say this as someone who embraced The Hipster PDA and Merlinās āNothing doesnāt go in hereā notebook ethos.
I take it back. I do care, because thatās not how the good folks at MPU roll, and Merlin knows it.
It may be an ADHD thing (unsure) but this episode (Iām not finished yet) gave me a lot of ideas to pursue. It piqued my curiosity.
Although I will say Iām a bit disappointed at the lack of curse words. I was misled. The first one was at 27 minutes, another sort-of curse word a few minutes later, and ā¦ thatās it? I still have 20+ minutes to go but I havenāt heard one thing bleeped out.
Or maybe itās a difference between the YouTube version and the audio-only version? ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
And yet they keep inviting him back on. This was his 10th appearance. Maybe the āgood folks at MPUā donāt roll quite the way you think they do?
I did the same. Turned it off and deleted it after 5 minutes or so. I did anticipate this possibility after hearing Merlin years ago.
I usually just supply my own. Makes it an interactive podcast.
Mine too. But rather than directing me to the path I might follow to satisfy it, Merlin gestured wildly towards the mountains and said āThereās fertile land on the other side, and boy howdy did I struggle to get there, but I canāt tell you how.ā
Perhaps they use him as the exception that proves the rule In all seriousness, I think MPUās hosts work hard to demonstrate respect for each other, their guests, and their audience by 1) thoughtful preparation and 2) a measured decorum (Yes! An old fashioned word!) in their delivery.
I know David and Stephen can take care of themselves, but I really thought Merlin disrespected their show-prepping workflow at around the 1:05 marker. And while he may have meant it in good fun, it really rubbed me the wrong way, not the least because he still didnāt explain the scaffolding behind the topic of the chapter, Triangulation.
Haha, Merlin is like my favorite guest. He showed up shortly after Stephen Hackett joined and I was hoping heād show up this year for @beardfm .
My only disappointment is he didnāt say Stephen Hackett deeply disliked him.
I do enjoy a dose of Merlin in other contexts myself! I think he and John Siracusa were put on this earth to be each otherās perfect foils.