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Know Thyself

E179 - Reggie Watts: The Absurdity of Being a Human Being

20 Jan 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 4.175 Reggie Watts

We're creating our relationship to reality every nanosecond that we're alive.

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Chapter 2: What is the relationship between service to self and service to others?

4.276 - 13.245 Reggie Watts

We're always creating. I think the most important thing is not to get better at creating. It's getting better at allowing yourself to view yourself as a creative entity.

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Chapter 3: What does Reggie Watts mean by the absurdity of being human?

13.806 - 17.63 André Duqum

I'm just curious, like, how do you think people can realize the artist inside of them?

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17.83 - 21.354 Reggie Watts

Some people are like, I'm not good at anything or I'm not an artist and stuff like that. I'm like, that's not true.

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Chapter 4: How can self-reflection lead to greater creativity?

21.414 - 26.039 Reggie Watts

There's plenty of things that we do. You could, like, make a smoothie really well. Not compartmentalize this. I'm good at this.

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Chapter 5: What is the philosophy behind improvisation?

26.379 - 40.855 Reggie Watts

I'm not good at this. It's like, well, that's only as true as you want it to be. These dark times are here for a reason, and those reminders are the things that keep you going. This reality is a Muppet reality. It's just a bunch of goofiness. It's all silly. Even if it gets really dark, it's still weird, and that's what I love.

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41.596 - 48.784 Reggie Watts

Everything turns into a game at that point, like fighting for fun, and I think recognize yourself in others.

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Chapter 6: How can one realize their inner artist?

49.064 - 57.713 Reggie Watts

There's a phrase that I wrote on a T-shirt, when in doubt, zoom out. It's that zoomed out perspective that gives us context for how ridiculous it is that you even exist in this moment right now.

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64.443 - 71.72 André Duqum

Reggie, my man. Hello. Laughter is a moment of instantaneous enlightenment. Hmm.

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Chapter 7: What insights does Reggie share about death meditation?

72.301 - 73.685 André Duqum

Yeah. Say that. Say more.

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73.705 - 97.538 Reggie Watts

Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, it's like, it's just this kind of like realization that, uh, you know, like what makes people laugh and what triggers laughter. And I just kind of realized that all humor is essentially, it's working off a paradox. So you're setting up an expectation, you're subverting the expectation.

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97.518 - 121.02 Reggie Watts

and in the annihilation of the two things um and you know the creation of all things but like the when that hits in that moment it triggers a response from people and the response is like this instantaneous awareness of you know, I mean, for lack of a better term, like everyone's divinity or what I like to call the absurdity of life.

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121.181 - 132.661 Reggie Watts

And so it just kind of flashes and people react and they laugh, you know, because they're like remembering essentially. So in that moment, I always think of it as instantaneous enlightenment. And there's different levels of laughter.

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Chapter 8: How do altered states of consciousness affect perception?

132.701 - 133.482 Reggie Watts

There's kinds of

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133.462 - 161.46 André Duqum

gradients but like yeah in general like when people really get it and there's a big moment it's like that feels like everyone's on exactly on the same page no matter what they think or what they believe in and it's it's beautiful it seems like because that's the case you can say things through comedy you otherwise can't often you know and how it like laughter as the way you're describing it like it kind of cracks the character our ideological identities and whatnot um

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161.66 - 177.226 André Duqum

I'm just curious your thoughts on like your journey over the years, being able to, and throughout like just the capacity comedy has to be able to see those insights and kind of push at the boundaries of people's identities. Yeah.

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177.907 - 187.262 Reggie Watts

Yeah, for sure. Well, I mean, comedy is like, you know, comedy specifically absurdity. I mean, all comedy, but absurdity for me is kind of,

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188.069 - 212.338 Reggie Watts

another level in the sense that it not only unveils the well i think it unveils the true nature of reality so whatever is being talked about whatever the subject matter is you're not only revealing what it is but you're also dismantling what it is and and in meaning meaning that like um

212.318 - 228.074 Reggie Watts

you are kind of like you're commenting on what it is, but then you're also reminding people that ultimately everything is nothing and and everything, everything is paradox. Essentially, like reality is paradox. Paradox is the engine of this reality.

228.174 - 243.209 Reggie Watts

So, you know, so you're kind of like diving into that and you're kind of like showing like not only is this cup a cup, but also this cup is made of subatomic particles that essentially are that don't exist but do exist simultaneously. You know, like that type of shit or whatever.

243.81 - 255.981 Reggie Watts

So the commentary, so to me, absurdity, like Salvador Dali and, you know, these kind of, you know, visual artists or video artists, and they kind of break apart the notion of what is reality or even AI generated video.

256.342 - 279.668 Reggie Watts

You know, there's a guy called Doopie Doo on Instagram, brilliant Russian video artist, hyper surreal, but like it looks, all the characters look very hyper real, but like super dream core, And the way that things transform and morph and things of that nature are very, you know, it's like what we see in the dream state or it's like dream logic.

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