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  "description": "It’s hard to go into a work without any preconceived notion, but I find that in actually doing the work, the text is often much richer and deeper than I had expected.",
  "path": "/see-for-yourself/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-26T21:46:47.000Z",
  "site": "https://mnchrm.co",
  "tags": [
    "I wrote about trying to get myself back on track",
    "The Catherine Project",
    "membership",
    "Retro",
    "Buy me a coffee"
  ],
  "textContent": "A few weeks ago, I wrote about trying to get myself back on track in my reading for the year, which has been really successful—sometimes all you need is a bit of a kickstart. Now, I’m back in my goldilocks zone, where my appetite for the written word is extremely high. There are so many books I’ve got on my list, the promise of the next book often as compelling as the current book. Because of this thirst, I’ve been bouncing around between wildly different works; from literary fiction to religious works, philosophy books, interviews, and more.\n\nThroughout this whole process, I’ve continued to read Plato’s _The Republic_ with The Catherine Project, which has been a rich experience. It’s always a bit of a dice-roll to read with others (each group I’ve been part of has had at least one person who I would describe lovingly as “a kook”), but it truly is a rewarding process.\n\nUnlike some of the other works I’ve read with The Catherine Project, I don’t believe I’ve read any of _The Republic_ before, but so much of what’s contained is just subsumed into Western thought and culture at this point, it sometimes feels like I have. I think most people are familiar with the concept of the “philosopher king,” or have heard about the “allegory of the cave.” While these ideas are not new to me, in reading them directly I’m finding them to be far removed from how I had thought of them.\n\nTake the allegory of the cave—you might even be able to picture the setup: people watching shadows reflected on the walls of a cave, thinking the shadows are the world, when we all know the _real_ world is outside. This is part of it, but the cave Socrates describes is a bit different. He describes the people in the cave as prisoners, the cave itself as a type of prison. The people in the cave are bound, forced to look at the wall, unable to turn their head around (or leave, of course). The one who does leave would not want to go, would be blinded by the light of the Sun, forced to adapt to their new reality.\n\nI had thought the allegory of the cave was about rejecting ignorance and embracing education, bringing us closer to the life we “should” be living. It sort of is, but it’s specifically about the education of the philosopher king, who after seeing the real world (the forms, or close to it) mustn’t be permitted to ponder this higher level of existence, but _forced back into the cave_ to govern those inside with his superior wisdom. This philosopher king would want to free those in the cave, show them the wisdom he found, but the idea isn’t seriously discussed. In fact, those in the cave will see the philosopher as a fool at best, and a threat at worst, whom they’ll _try to kill_ after hearing him speak. Not quite what I had thought!\n\n* * *\n\n_If you enjoyed this issue, consider joining my_ membership_program, The Order of the Black Lotus. For the price of a cup of coffee in Tokyo ($3/month or $30/year), you not only support my writing and photography, but I’ll send you a**handwritten, one-of-one postcard from me in Tokyo** —a tangible piece of my journey, just for you. You’ll also get access to all **exclusive posts** , and an invitation to **my private photography feed on**_ Retro_._\n\nJOIN THE ORDER OF THE BLACK LOTUS\n\n _Joining is the most meaningful way to ensure this work continues, and I thank you for your support!_\n\n* * *\n\nAnother book I’ve read recently is Machiavelli’s _The Prince_. _The Prince_ is obviously a notorious book, known for its shrewd and cruel advice. I knew nothing about Machiavelli himself before reading, so I was glad my edition had a lengthy introduction about his life and works (did you know he also wrote plays, some of which are apparently pretty raunchy?). I’ve always been a bit curious about _The Prince_ , but my understanding of it comes mostly from attempted applications of his teachings via state-building focused anime, like _Genjitsu Shugi Yūsha no Ōkoku Saikenki_(eng: _How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom_), aka, Incredibly Trustworthy Sources.\n\nLike _The Republic_ , there’s sort of a cultural consciousness around _The Prince_ , though it’s more of a vibe rather than specifics. Still, I was expecting to read this and find advice like, _Make sure you kill anyone who betrays you_ , or _Undercut everyone around you so only you succeed_ , and while there are plenty of examples of cunning or calculating advice given (“in general you must either pamper people or destroy them”), I found it in general a lot tamer (and more interesting) than I had been led to believe. Machiavelli’s biggest advice is to make sure your people never hate you, because there is strength in numbers. But rather than fear and avoid them, you should arm your citizens, because “When you’re the one giving people arms, those arms become yours.”\n\nProbably the first time I can remember having this experience was during college, when I took a class that read _Moby Dick_ (I don’t remember what sort of a class this would’ve been; I guess an English course). _Moby Dick_ is a huge book, and has an impressive reputation as one of the most important books in English, a reputation I’ll happily echo. But again, the book I found was much lighter and more approachable than I’d been told. I wasn’t expecting so many dick jokes, for example, or for the bizarre metafictional sections. But these are all parts of _Moby Dick_ , and collectively make the work so special and so powerful, even almost 200 years after it came out.\n\nSimilar to my experience with Handke, engaging with these works directly has been a lot more fruitful than just thinking about them. Part of what made The Catherine Project interesting to me in the first place was the idea that by participating in a reading group, I could get support to tackle tougher texts; and what I learned almost immediately was that while it was valuable to read with others, I _could_ read these texts by myself. This confidence has continued out of the Zoom classrooms and into my regular life; and often, the work I ended up experiencing differs greatly from the image I had in my head.\n\n* * *\n\n## Subscribe to Refrakt\n\nA bi-weekly newsletter on curiosity, creativity, and (hopefully!) insight, through the lens of photography, writing, study, art and beauty, and my life.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nJoin 150+ members on the path.\n\nBuy me a coffee",
  "title": "See For Yourself",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-26T21:46:47.793Z"
}