The Water in Which We Swim | Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn on How Narrative Drives Reality

Описание: In this video, Matt Zeigler talks with Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn of Epsilon Theory about how governments, corporations, and media use language to shape public perception and consent. They explore how narratives create their own reality, how “semantic signatures” can quantify storytelling power, and how investors can build narrative awareness as a form of defense. The conversation connects history, data, and psychology to explain how stories influence both policy and markets.

Main topics covered:

How narratives mobilize public opinion before action
The origins of Perscient and the measurement of narrative density
The difference between “truth” and “story-created truth”
How framing influences legality and perception of protest vs. gathering
What “semantic signatures” reveal about coordinated messaging
The role of fear and repetition in narrative amplification
Why investors and citizens alike need critical distance from headlines
How governments justify actions through linguistic framing
Lessons from “Letters from a Birmingham Museum” and civil rights-era propaganda
Building narrative immunity in a fiat world of stories

Timestamps:
00:00 Narratives as the water we swim in
01:00 The origins of Perscient and Ben Hunt’s academic work
05:00 Why governments sell before they act
20:00 Measuring semantic signatures and narrative density
33:00 Truth vs. story-created truth
55:00 Protest, gathering, and the language of criminalization
58:00 Narrative density and the widening “terrorism” frame
1:02:00 Generational awareness and narrative defense
1:04:00 Where to find Epsilon Theory and Perscient’s tools