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[-] Des@hexbear.net 51 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

while i know it's been made clear he won't just "become the old Matt again", you can tell he's using his big broken brain's neuroplasticity to rewire stuff.

he's basically learning to process language in parts of the brain that don't normally do it. if he's trying to convey more complex ideas he does this kind of word association. it's not grammatically correct obviously but you can tell what he's trying to convey. and then sometimes he'll associate one word with another, poetically, in his "strokes of genius" poem style.

as weird as this sounds it's like he's learning to conversate while peaking on a hallucinogen (this will make sense only to those who have experienced it)

he's still young and incredibly smart i think he will eventually weave these new pathways together into a crazy jumbled mess that works. just like how individuals have lost entire brain regions to trauma and eventually other regions replicate the original function.

compared to his first appearance on the show (post incident) though he's recovered amazingly

you will never get the old Matt back, but a new one will be reborn!! manhattan

(i am just a wistful hypothesizing nerdy girl please if i'm way off base or this seems ableist let me know)

[-] Llituro@hexbear.net 23 points 3 days ago

it's what the old matt would have wanted and also seemed to spend a lot of time dreading

[-] Des@hexbear.net 19 points 2 days ago

i agree. i only watched a few cushVlogs but i was aware of what he was feeling.

maybe during his explorations he tapped into some subconscious, autonomic function that knew there was an issue.

too bad our bodies don't have built in diagnostic systems, instead you just get "vague sense of impending doom after doing acid"

paradoxically he may have trained his brain for this exact thing, by both exploring these alternate pathways and supercharging his neuroplasticity.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

if i'm way off base or this seems ableist let me know

I think you're good, though I think it also depends a lot on what "the old Matt" means, since yeah he's different now, but it seems possible (especially hearing his poetry and about his book) that much of his actual personality, though it might have been changed by the trauma and hardship he's experienced, was not destroyed by the stroke. It comes across very differently because his tools for communicating were absolutely fucked, but a lot of what's actually in there in terms of who he is seems to have survived. Not that I knew him or know him, of course.

But if you mean not "Matt" the human but "Matt" the podcast persona, then I agree that that's probably mostly gone because it was so defined by his idiosyncratic communication style, his speed, his range of expression, and so on. It's super parasocial of me, but I'm mostly just glad that Matt the human seems to have held on to himself despite what he went through.

[-] Des@hexbear.net 7 points 2 days ago

yeah i meant the podcast persona. i know he's still there, thats why i used the hallucinogen analogy.

he's the same person just in a new, altered state of consciousness that he has to adapt to

but the only personality change i've seen is has kind of accepted his own helplessness, sort of jokerfied, but this is absolutely understandable as traumatic response not brain injury

[-] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 3 points 2 days ago

As someone who has more than a few times eaten an irresponsible amount of mushrooms I agree with that analogy.

[-] Des@hexbear.net 4 points 2 days ago

lol yes. both that and LSD for me.

relearn how to use language, relearn what constitutes being an individual being is, relearn the concept of self - but all accelerated and time dilated at the same time

the mere thought of going through that again is exhausting me

[-] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 2 points 2 days ago

Think I might get some tomorrow now actually

[-] Des@hexbear.net 2 points 2 days ago

good luck! enjoy the brain zone

[-] Doubledee@hexbear.net 46 points 3 days ago

I won't lie I've really missed him. I think they might need to slow down a little bit to make room for him to contribute, he sounds like he's a lot more articulate than he was a few months ago but I think they can easily bowl over him or outpace him in their usual tempo.

[-] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 39 points 3 days ago

Yea I can definitely tell, but I am just glad to hear him again. He is the single greatest contributor to how I became the educated communist I am today. It all started with that rant about Charlottesville and liberals unable or unwilling to do anything about fascism.

[-] sexywheat@hexbear.net 15 points 3 days ago

It all started with that rant about Charlottesville and liberals unable or unwilling to do anything about fascism.

Any idea what ep that was? I wouldn't mind giving it a listen.

[-] NephewAlphaBravo@hexbear.net 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)
[-] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 3 points 2 days ago

Listening to this during the genocide. Damn, that is prescient.

[-] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[-] Wertheimer@hexbear.net 7 points 2 days ago

I was on my way to a Charlottesville vigil / protest when I heard about CTH for the first time. I never ended up listening to the show but I found the subreddit that night and have been here ever since.

[-] marxisthayaca@hexbear.net 21 points 3 days ago

the podcast has not been the same without him. He really made the show. Will and Felix have been holding it down, but it's just not the same.

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 8 points 2 days ago

He was known for not speaking for like entire episodes before as well. But I got what you mean

[-] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 5 points 2 days ago

I blame Meg McArdle specifically

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r752os2uUgI&t=815s

That article about the Grenfell Tower Fire

[-] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 2 days ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[-] segfault11@hexbear.net 19 points 2 days ago

"he's getting brain, trust" –matt-jokerfied

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 21 points 3 days ago

The return of the king? I might have to start listening again.

[-] radio_free_asgarthr@hexbear.net 15 points 3 days ago

Yeah, he definitely is doing much better than he was on previous appearances, but is still not at 100% Hope he will be on more episodes going forward.

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 11 points 2 days ago

I hope one day he can do history side series again. Hell on Earth was fantastic

[-] Llituro@hexbear.net 12 points 3 days ago
[-] tombruzzo@hexbear.net 9 points 2 days ago

It was good to have him back. He may not have spoke as much but it felt like old times

[-] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago

His poems are really good.

[-] Red_sun_in_the_sky@hexbear.net 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You know, Quasimodo predicted all this

[-] CliffordBigRedDog@hexbear.net 3 points 2 days ago

They need to bring him the next time the seeking derangement ppl are on, i think it will really help with his recovery

this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2025
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