If it feels epic, that is a good thing. If it just feels really long, that is probably a bad thing. Multiplying numbers or time consumed by 10 gets you closer to the latter than the former.
: Zubon
One thought on “Variations on a Feeling”
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Epic is a function of Consequence over Time. Earning a million dollars over a few years of playing blackjack expertly is cool, but it’s not epic. Betting that same million on a single hand, getting an eighteen, and saying “Hit me” is epic.
Sometimes part of the Consequence is the time invested to reach the epic moment. The series finale of Avatar: the Last Airbender felt epic, because every episode over the past three seasons had been pointing directly or indirectly toward that final battle.
The same with epic accomplishments such as the great wall of China. It is epic when the first cornerstone is laid; it is epic when the final brick in the final turret is mortared into place. In the years between, you wish the government would spend less on their bloated defense projects and repair some of the potholes your oxcart has to dodge on the way to town each week.