I had a completely secular upbringing, so I'm not plagued with having to overcome that programming. I also happen to think that we don't have Free Will, but that at the same time, the notion is not contradictory with predestination, so there's an element of both in how I view the universe.
And the fiction/non question, well, I think that fiction only reveals more about the author if you happen to know about that author on a personal level to begin with. I wouldn't even dream of drawing any conclusions about what Tim Powers or Guy Gavriel Kay are like as human beings based on what they write other than that they most likely have an interest in mythology and magick. So I might be able to get a sense of interest or themes from fiction but I don't get to know the individual behind those ideas at all, whereas if someone writes something more factual, even if they're lying, how they choose to lie about themselves is very revealing.
Ultimately, we're all presenting an edited image of ourselves to the world whichever way you slice it, so I suppose it comes down to the individual what lens they want to look through.
tl;dr answer - yes, I feel that I got to know YOU better because of this entry.
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Date: 2011-05-11 06:20 pm (UTC)And the fiction/non question, well, I think that fiction only reveals more about the author if you happen to know about that author on a personal level to begin with. I wouldn't even dream of drawing any conclusions about what Tim Powers or Guy Gavriel Kay are like as human beings based on what they write other than that they most likely have an interest in mythology and magick. So I might be able to get a sense of interest or themes from fiction but I don't get to know the individual behind those ideas at all, whereas if someone writes something more factual, even if they're lying, how they choose to lie about themselves is very revealing.
Ultimately, we're all presenting an edited image of ourselves to the world whichever way you slice it, so I suppose it comes down to the individual what lens they want to look through.
tl;dr answer - yes, I feel that I got to know YOU better because of this entry.