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Right Story, Wrong Story
Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta’s bestselling debut, cast an Indigenous lens on contemporary society. It was, said Melissa Lucashenko, ‘an extraordinary invitation into the world of the Dreaming’.
Right Story, Wrong Story extends Yunkaporta’s explorations of how we can learn from Indigenous thinking. Along the way, he talks to a range of people including liberal economists, memorisation experts, Frisian ecologists, and Elders who are wood carvers, mathematicians and storytellers.
Right Story, Wrong Story describes how our relationship with land is inseparable from how we relate to each other. This book is a sequence of thought experiments, which are, as Yunkaporta writes, ‘crowd-sourced narratives where everybody’s contribution to the story, no matter how contradictory, is honoured and included…the closest thing I can find in the world to the Aboriginal collective process of what we call “yarning”.’
And, as he argues, story is at the heart of everything. But what is right or wrong story? This exhilarating book is an attempt to answer that question. Right Story, Wrong Story is a formidably original essay about how we teach and learn, and how we can talk to each other to shape forms of collective thinking that are aligned with land and creation.
Right Story, Wrong Story extends Yunkaporta’s explorations of how we can learn from Indigenous thinking. Along the way, he talks to a range of people including liberal economists, memorisation experts, Frisian ecologists, and Elders who are wood carvers, mathematicians and storytellers.
Right Story, Wrong Story describes how our relationship with land is inseparable from how we relate to each other. This book is a sequence of thought experiments, which are, as Yunkaporta writes, ‘crowd-sourced narratives where everybody’s contribution to the story, no matter how contradictory, is honoured and included…the closest thing I can find in the world to the Aboriginal collective process of what we call “yarning”.’
And, as he argues, story is at the heart of everything. But what is right or wrong story? This exhilarating book is an attempt to answer that question. Right Story, Wrong Story is a formidably original essay about how we teach and learn, and how we can talk to each other to shape forms of collective thinking that are aligned with land and creation.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2023
65 people are currently reading
864 people want to read
About the author
Tyson Yunkaporta
8 books237 followersTyson Yunkaporta is an academic, an arts critic, and a researcher who is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland. He carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne. He lives in Melbourne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 24, 2023
I wanted to like this more than I did, and part of that is because of the way Tyson relates information. I think it's an ambitious idea, to essentially talk to the reader and process information within a relationship; but it's hard to have a conversation when you can't ask questions, or clarify, or offer your own thoughts on the matter under discussion. I listen to audiobooks expecting to be educated by experts or authorities, not offered half-formed arguments and personal reflections on big topics and ideas. That being said, Tyson's musings are always interesting and I don't regret spending the time listening to them; I just wish I could follow along a little better with a different structure, or a clearer understanding of what is actually under discussion. Because the narration is a bit all over the place, there were bits that I really didn't like, and bits that I really did, and bits that felt recycled from Sand Talk. Half the time, I had no idea what idea, exactly, we were supposed to be exploring. I almost DNFed after 2 chapters, but am glad I pushed through for topics in the 2nd half.
I think the main takeaway for me was to be wary of information that is out of context and without relationships. Right story should always be grounded in relations, whether that's with the land, family, other stories and narratives, or objects. Wrong story supports division and isolation - much misinformation and disinformation does this.
Overall, if you're new to Yunkaporta's work, Sand Talk is much more accessible and a better place to start, but this book is still an interesting place to while away a few hours as well.
I think the main takeaway for me was to be wary of information that is out of context and without relationships. Right story should always be grounded in relations, whether that's with the land, family, other stories and narratives, or objects. Wrong story supports division and isolation - much misinformation and disinformation does this.
Overall, if you're new to Yunkaporta's work, Sand Talk is much more accessible and a better place to start, but this book is still an interesting place to while away a few hours as well.
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February 8, 2024The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of Right Story, Wrong Story
‘Yunkaporta’s writing style is disarming in the best way possible, never speaking to the reader with anything except earnest camaraderie and effortlessly weaving between corny jokes, mythological allusion, and rigorous cultural theory…Right Story, Wrong Story, at its core, is an invitation to sit, listen and share space in your head with another human being for a while. It’s compelling, it’s refreshing and it’s something I would recommend to anyone disillusioned with modernity and looking for a new perspective.’
Readings Monthly
‘The scope of his intellect is breathtaking…Each chapter requires careful reading, then a pause to reflect and digest the ideas and information.’
Good Reading
‘There is so much to learn about Indigenous thinking and Yunkaporta is determined to make sure all of that knowledge is shared with the world. Right Story, Wrong Story, is the perfect gift for the insatiable knowledge seeker in your life.’
WellRead
‘Engaging and generous…An ideal gift for anyone feeling disillusioned by the state of the world.’
West Australian
‘It will take many re-readings to understand everything Yunkaporta is trying to say in this amazing essay, but it is a journey I am more than willing to join him on.’
Otago Daily Times
‘Yunkaporta’s writing style is disarming in the best way possible, never speaking to the reader with anything except earnest camaraderie and effortlessly weaving between corny jokes, mythological allusion, and rigorous cultural theory…Right Story, Wrong Story, at its core, is an invitation to sit, listen and share space in your head with another human being for a while. It’s compelling, it’s refreshing and it’s something I would recommend to anyone disillusioned with modernity and looking for a new perspective.’
Readings Monthly
‘The scope of his intellect is breathtaking…Each chapter requires careful reading, then a pause to reflect and digest the ideas and information.’
Good Reading
‘There is so much to learn about Indigenous thinking and Yunkaporta is determined to make sure all of that knowledge is shared with the world. Right Story, Wrong Story, is the perfect gift for the insatiable knowledge seeker in your life.’
WellRead
‘Engaging and generous…An ideal gift for anyone feeling disillusioned by the state of the world.’
West Australian
‘It will take many re-readings to understand everything Yunkaporta is trying to say in this amazing essay, but it is a journey I am more than willing to join him on.’
Otago Daily Times
May 30, 2024
I found "Right Story, Wrong Story" to be a bit scattered in thought. I enjoyed Tyson Yunkaporta's first book, "Sand Talk" better. Still, "Right Story, Wrong Story" was written similarly. Both are like someone's musings. Think of a time when you were lying in bed and couldn't stop thinking about getting to sleep. These two books remind me of that effort to sleep when you cannot stop thinking. No, there is no way for others to participate in this conversation you have in your mind. So, when you read the book, you don't get to add what you think or how you feel or ask any questions. You get a great sense of what Yunkaporta thinks about these different issues.
The second half of the book is much better than the first. Yunkaporta did a superb job presenting the issues he and other Aboriginals feel they must face. My favorite part was with Katherine and the bee "talk." Yes, the bible gets a mention here where bees are concerned.
The pandemic changed a few things. Yunkaporta speaks a lot about this time. It was a life-changing period for many people and even for businesses. Culture has been forever changed by the pandemic. Our responses to each other have differed over the pandemic. Introspection became a constant for many of us with so much more time on our hands, particularly solitary time.
Overall, I recommend this reading and enjoyed it tremendously. It wasn't as good as "Sand Talk," but it rates high up there.
The second half of the book is much better than the first. Yunkaporta did a superb job presenting the issues he and other Aboriginals feel they must face. My favorite part was with Katherine and the bee "talk." Yes, the bible gets a mention here where bees are concerned.
The pandemic changed a few things. Yunkaporta speaks a lot about this time. It was a life-changing period for many people and even for businesses. Culture has been forever changed by the pandemic. Our responses to each other have differed over the pandemic. Introspection became a constant for many of us with so much more time on our hands, particularly solitary time.
Overall, I recommend this reading and enjoyed it tremendously. It wasn't as good as "Sand Talk," but it rates high up there.
October 18, 2023
Tyson Yunkaporta is one of the most important First Nations writers and Australian academics of our time in my view. I’ve read a few things written by him in recent months and he talks about a complex and troubling issue with the sensitivity and cultural insight it deserves.
We’ve just experienced a few very difficult months in Australia. Reading this book is my attempt to understand why and how, and will be the focus of my reflection during the week of silence requested by people I have the utmost respect for.
After the week I will write a careful review of this book which explains why I see it as part of an important conversation in the Australian context.
We’ve just experienced a few very difficult months in Australia. Reading this book is my attempt to understand why and how, and will be the focus of my reflection during the week of silence requested by people I have the utmost respect for.
After the week I will write a careful review of this book which explains why I see it as part of an important conversation in the Australian context.
March 7, 2024
I read this book before Christmas and loved it even more than Sand Talk.
Tyson inspired me to read Dante and then return to the book. Second time round I listened to the audio book read by Tyson himself. Wow, he really brings the book alive with his enthusiasm, various character voices and the parts where he goes off script to add things he’s thought about since writing the book.
Bravo Tyson 👏👏
Tyson inspired me to read Dante and then return to the book. Second time round I listened to the audio book read by Tyson himself. Wow, he really brings the book alive with his enthusiasm, various character voices and the parts where he goes off script to add things he’s thought about since writing the book.
Bravo Tyson 👏👏
February 3, 2024
I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed Sand Talk. It is written in a similar style, so if you didn’t enjoy Sand Talk then you probably won’t enjoy this one.
Yunkaporta writes about Koori concepts and ways of thinking. He doesn’t seem to translate them into equivalent European concepts, although it might seem that way because of the way they fall strangely into white fellas understanding. There are many incongruencies between white fellas and Koori understandings.
An example of that is the concept of real property. The European concept of property is about ownership, exclusive use and partitioning it off from others. The Koori concept of property seems to be about belonging to the land, including all other beings who belong to the land. It is an inclusive concept of real property.
It sounds lovely, but it is very uncomfortable to white fella’s sensibility. If you don’t believe me try imagining including others in your ownership of your property and taking down your fence to allow others to belong. It’s a challenging exercise, and this book is full of such challenges.
But maybe, this is something that we, white Australia, has to work through to achieve true reconciliation.
Yunkaporta writes about Koori concepts and ways of thinking. He doesn’t seem to translate them into equivalent European concepts, although it might seem that way because of the way they fall strangely into white fellas understanding. There are many incongruencies between white fellas and Koori understandings.
An example of that is the concept of real property. The European concept of property is about ownership, exclusive use and partitioning it off from others. The Koori concept of property seems to be about belonging to the land, including all other beings who belong to the land. It is an inclusive concept of real property.
It sounds lovely, but it is very uncomfortable to white fella’s sensibility. If you don’t believe me try imagining including others in your ownership of your property and taking down your fence to allow others to belong. It’s a challenging exercise, and this book is full of such challenges.
But maybe, this is something that we, white Australia, has to work through to achieve true reconciliation.
November 26, 2023
I'm going to label this stream of consciousness pop-sci.
The reading experience was like being privy to someone's 3am thoughts where they win imaginary arguments against their detractors and solve all the world's problems. Tyson Yunkaporta maintained a constant "yeah, nah" tone the whole book, which makes it feel like you're being assaulted with ideas the whole time.
There were many interesting ideas presented and it was genuinely thought-provoking. I think I would have enjoyed the experience more if I dipped in and out over a period of time. Alas, as I'd hired the book from the library I read it cover-to-cover.
Overall a worthwhile but exhausting read.
The reading experience was like being privy to someone's 3am thoughts where they win imaginary arguments against their detractors and solve all the world's problems. Tyson Yunkaporta maintained a constant "yeah, nah" tone the whole book, which makes it feel like you're being assaulted with ideas the whole time.
There were many interesting ideas presented and it was genuinely thought-provoking. I think I would have enjoyed the experience more if I dipped in and out over a period of time. Alas, as I'd hired the book from the library I read it cover-to-cover.
Overall a worthwhile but exhausting read.
October 13, 2023
I found this book rather like intellectual jazz, and just list improvisational jazz I found it annoying and underwhelming. Some really good bits, and interesting ideas but lots of so-so stuff in between. Rather like a second book syndrome, where the first book was a banger, and the second one comes perhaps too quickly. I’m not super clear what the message of the book was meant to be, but it would have benefited from a rather closer edit, or some clearer kind of message than: things are complicated, but have good intentions.
December 21, 2023
Loved Sand Talk but didn’t follow any of this one …
did-not-finish
March 1, 2024DNFing in the interest of clearing out my currently-reading shelf. The little I did read was interesting. I'll come back to it!
August 1, 2024
3.5 stars. To me this was like an in-depth yarn when I am a little intoxicated. I don’t really understand everything discussed (but think that I do), and I walk away with a lot of feelings and believe I will be a better person for it. Like ‘Sand Talk’ this is a book I’d like to visit again in the future.
October 13, 2024
Tyson Yunkaporta is an Australian treasure, though a frustrating one. He is a fascinating Aboriginal intellectual who holds a deeply nihilistic view of modern Western culture - yet he hints at having solutions to address its issues without fully revealing them.
That frustration, however, is more broadly directed at Aboriginal culture’s tendency to remain guarded in sharing their millennia-old knowledge—a traditional adherence Yunkaporta is just abiding to himself. It’s a line of thinking I never understood. But after reading his books, I finally get it: that approach is entirely justified.
🤷🏻♂️ A CASUAL INDIFFERENCE 🤷🏻♂️
The West's insouciance towards anything remotely resembling Indigenous thinking is disheartening, and it reflects a deep-seated disregard for alternative ways of structuring society, especially those flying in the face of capitalism. This disregard is nothing short of a cultural slap in the face for our First Nations people.
After all, Indigenous populations have time on their side—millennia, to be exact—as proof of their effectiveness in co-existing with Nature. We are not even half a millennium into modern living, and its track record is already floundering.
But Yunkaporta is hesitant to spell out those solutions or ideas in bold terms, choosing instead to epistemically flirt with the reader, lifting his intellectual dress ever so slightly to entice with the tiniest hint of hopeful glimpses of what a utopic coexistence with Mother Earth could look like.
🥸 EPISTEMIC APPROPRIATION 🥸
Why the hesitation? Well, that's rooted in the wider Indigenous concern regarding epistemic appropriation and its capitalistic exploitation.
In short: white fellas will most probably use millennia’s worth of finely tuned knowledge, behaviors, and thinking—knowledge propagated in very particular circumstances requiring a specific mindset and holistic approach for it to work—and they will almost certainly misuse it, implementing it in bad faith for short-term monetary gains, thereby making a mockery of tens of thousands of years of Indigenous culture and the values it stands for.
So we’re given only a surface-level skim into what gives those tribal systems such longevity. Broad brush strokes from which we have to squint to see the picture being painted. But its broadest stroke is bright enough to provide a clear picture.
🎭 THE STORIES WE TELL 🎭
Story. It all comes down to the stories we tell, or as Yuval Harari might say, the myths we create.
The Rainbow Serpent is a mythical creature living in the sky that came down to earth when everything was flat, featureless, and devoid of life. As it slithered across the landscape, it carved out long, winding tracks that became rivers, and its body pressed down on the earth, forming valleys and mountains.
Now, that might sound like a fabulous Aboriginal fable, yet the story is embedded with a wealth of epistemic treasure related to different territories in real life.
It acts as a mnemonic device that is didactic in nature, conveying information about the natural landscape and water sources (among many other touchpoints). That would be an example of a Right Story—one that ensures a balanced relationship and symbiotic coexistence with the environment. It is rooted in cyclical systems like weather, seasons, and other cosmic factors, allowing humanity to ebb and flow in harmony with the universe as much as possible.
In contrast, in modern western society we created money: a system that places value on a metaphysical concept that isn’t natural and doesn’t exist outside of human minds - it’s an intersubjective reality as Harari calls it. This concept is not in sync with any cosmic or natural event and depends on human exploitation of natural resources, with little regard for a harmonious coexistence with Nature. That is an example of a Wrong Story.
💊💀 RED PILLED 💀💊
Now, add the internet to that equation, and you multiply the Wrong Story by infinity, as fractals of misinformation further splinter society into echo chambers and informational silos swimming in a sea of wrong story. This all leads to increased paranoia that destabilise an already isolated society devoid of community.
It’s a rabbit hole Yunkaporta finds himself falling into increasingly more as the book continues. Without giving the reader too much detail, he is forced to navigate himself out of his own personal hell—a turmoil that is exploited by a cold algorithm serving him a consistent plate of warm Wrong Story: a main course of red pill conspiracy theories served with a side of selective Truth and garnished with confirmation bias.
It’s easy to get sucked in, and for a moment there he is, but luckily for Yunkaporta, he is surrounded by a tight-knit community of non-blood family that looks out for him. He is one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, in our current epidemic of incel culture led astray by Wrong Story, that community that saved Yunkaporta is sorely lacking in Western society.
🪽 SPIRITUAL HEALING 🪽
What Yunkaporta also hints at is that we need a bit of “woo woo” in our lives—a bit of spiritual anchoring. For all its empirical posturing and scientific pontificating, Western culture lacks Rainbow Serpent-like stories to instill humility and cosmic deference in the face of ever-increasing narcissistic greed.
That absence highlights a critical gap; applying any sort of Indigenous thinking to our current Western template is a recipe for disappointment without the correct framework in place—one that would mock a culture honed over millennia. And Culture is the last vestige of agency that Indigenous peoples can still lay claim to; without it, we risk crushing any semblance of survivalism they still have.
In the meantime, we have to stay alert to pick up on whatever intellectual flirtations come our way. And hopefully we can carve a perpetually resonating Right Story out of that.
That frustration, however, is more broadly directed at Aboriginal culture’s tendency to remain guarded in sharing their millennia-old knowledge—a traditional adherence Yunkaporta is just abiding to himself. It’s a line of thinking I never understood. But after reading his books, I finally get it: that approach is entirely justified.
🤷🏻♂️ A CASUAL INDIFFERENCE 🤷🏻♂️
The West's insouciance towards anything remotely resembling Indigenous thinking is disheartening, and it reflects a deep-seated disregard for alternative ways of structuring society, especially those flying in the face of capitalism. This disregard is nothing short of a cultural slap in the face for our First Nations people.
After all, Indigenous populations have time on their side—millennia, to be exact—as proof of their effectiveness in co-existing with Nature. We are not even half a millennium into modern living, and its track record is already floundering.
But Yunkaporta is hesitant to spell out those solutions or ideas in bold terms, choosing instead to epistemically flirt with the reader, lifting his intellectual dress ever so slightly to entice with the tiniest hint of hopeful glimpses of what a utopic coexistence with Mother Earth could look like.
🥸 EPISTEMIC APPROPRIATION 🥸
Why the hesitation? Well, that's rooted in the wider Indigenous concern regarding epistemic appropriation and its capitalistic exploitation.
In short: white fellas will most probably use millennia’s worth of finely tuned knowledge, behaviors, and thinking—knowledge propagated in very particular circumstances requiring a specific mindset and holistic approach for it to work—and they will almost certainly misuse it, implementing it in bad faith for short-term monetary gains, thereby making a mockery of tens of thousands of years of Indigenous culture and the values it stands for.
So we’re given only a surface-level skim into what gives those tribal systems such longevity. Broad brush strokes from which we have to squint to see the picture being painted. But its broadest stroke is bright enough to provide a clear picture.
🎭 THE STORIES WE TELL 🎭
Story. It all comes down to the stories we tell, or as Yuval Harari might say, the myths we create.
The Rainbow Serpent is a mythical creature living in the sky that came down to earth when everything was flat, featureless, and devoid of life. As it slithered across the landscape, it carved out long, winding tracks that became rivers, and its body pressed down on the earth, forming valleys and mountains.
Now, that might sound like a fabulous Aboriginal fable, yet the story is embedded with a wealth of epistemic treasure related to different territories in real life.
It acts as a mnemonic device that is didactic in nature, conveying information about the natural landscape and water sources (among many other touchpoints). That would be an example of a Right Story—one that ensures a balanced relationship and symbiotic coexistence with the environment. It is rooted in cyclical systems like weather, seasons, and other cosmic factors, allowing humanity to ebb and flow in harmony with the universe as much as possible.
In contrast, in modern western society we created money: a system that places value on a metaphysical concept that isn’t natural and doesn’t exist outside of human minds - it’s an intersubjective reality as Harari calls it. This concept is not in sync with any cosmic or natural event and depends on human exploitation of natural resources, with little regard for a harmonious coexistence with Nature. That is an example of a Wrong Story.
💊💀 RED PILLED 💀💊
Now, add the internet to that equation, and you multiply the Wrong Story by infinity, as fractals of misinformation further splinter society into echo chambers and informational silos swimming in a sea of wrong story. This all leads to increased paranoia that destabilise an already isolated society devoid of community.
It’s a rabbit hole Yunkaporta finds himself falling into increasingly more as the book continues. Without giving the reader too much detail, he is forced to navigate himself out of his own personal hell—a turmoil that is exploited by a cold algorithm serving him a consistent plate of warm Wrong Story: a main course of red pill conspiracy theories served with a side of selective Truth and garnished with confirmation bias.
It’s easy to get sucked in, and for a moment there he is, but luckily for Yunkaporta, he is surrounded by a tight-knit community of non-blood family that looks out for him. He is one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, in our current epidemic of incel culture led astray by Wrong Story, that community that saved Yunkaporta is sorely lacking in Western society.
🪽 SPIRITUAL HEALING 🪽
What Yunkaporta also hints at is that we need a bit of “woo woo” in our lives—a bit of spiritual anchoring. For all its empirical posturing and scientific pontificating, Western culture lacks Rainbow Serpent-like stories to instill humility and cosmic deference in the face of ever-increasing narcissistic greed.
That absence highlights a critical gap; applying any sort of Indigenous thinking to our current Western template is a recipe for disappointment without the correct framework in place—one that would mock a culture honed over millennia. And Culture is the last vestige of agency that Indigenous peoples can still lay claim to; without it, we risk crushing any semblance of survivalism they still have.
In the meantime, we have to stay alert to pick up on whatever intellectual flirtations come our way. And hopefully we can carve a perpetually resonating Right Story out of that.
November 22, 2023
A wild ride (us-two in the canoe). So many ideas, stories and interesting people. Heart-breaking, funny, informative, brilliant, cynical, honest, and deadly serious. The audiobook was like going on a personal journey with Tyson himself, and I deeply appreciated the work done in the final chapter to check in on my personal safety after so much time exploring wrong story. I don’t get it all, but that’s the point. I will revisit the printed book again and again to help it all sink in, and commit to trying to find/make/respect right story as much as I can.
February 1, 2024
This book was chaotic. I enjoyed the stream of consciousness adventure. It felt more half baked than sand talk, it was a bit like reading a diary, or being in a confessional.
I get the sense it was deliberately less polished and messier, it wasn’t designed to comfort or educate. It was an exploration. And like reality rather than fiction things didn’t necessarily tie up in a neat bow.
I would definitely recommend reading it. But I can’t say that I enjoyed it per se. Or did I? I don’t even know…
I get the sense it was deliberately less polished and messier, it wasn’t designed to comfort or educate. It was an exploration. And like reality rather than fiction things didn’t necessarily tie up in a neat bow.
I would definitely recommend reading it. But I can’t say that I enjoyed it per se. Or did I? I don’t even know…
January 8, 2024
This was a really engaging and entertaining read despite being about dead serious topics. Framing the topics in the view of a yarn, as a dialogue, and not a debate, made it understandable and easier to dive into the topics of the book.
Overall it's very interesting and should be read!
Overall it's very interesting and should be read!
February 4, 2024
Do yourself a favour and listen to the audiobook version - it's brilliant.
April 24, 2024
Deep. Go slowly. Sit with the ideas and remember that it's an opportunity to experience a new cultural perspective.
Great listening to him read it, too. It stems from oral tradition, after all.
Great listening to him read it, too. It stems from oral tradition, after all.
June 15, 2024
It is a fact that our society is coming up against some hard boundaries. The most obvious here is climate change, but also the destruction of nature, and technological transformations that are happening faster than our culture, economics and politics can adapt.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Australian indigenous society is that a vast continent populated with intelligent, creative and vigorous people was able to sustain a viable lifestyle for thousands of years. As it stands, our own culture looks to have at most 100 years in it.
This is why it is so important that work like Yunkaporta’s exists. We desperately need to be able to transition not only our economy, but also the underlying systems and thinking that has led to the current situation. And that transition will be that much more effective if we can learn from a culture that lasted for tens of thousands of years.
Right Story Wrong Story is to my mind a lot more approachable that Sandtalk, but one really has to have read the first to get the most of the second.
I love Yunkaporta’s style, I like the way there’s a narrative in what is effectively a work of non-fiction, and I am in awe of his willingness to have respect for those with wildly differing and unpleasant views. He is also willing to acknowledge some of the less positive elements of traditional indigenous society.
It was interesting to learn about the importance of fire as a land management tool in lost of other pre-colonial societies.
An enjoyable read and an essential exploration of indigenous modes of thinking and their potential relation to modern society - arguably one of the most important projects of our times.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Australian indigenous society is that a vast continent populated with intelligent, creative and vigorous people was able to sustain a viable lifestyle for thousands of years. As it stands, our own culture looks to have at most 100 years in it.
This is why it is so important that work like Yunkaporta’s exists. We desperately need to be able to transition not only our economy, but also the underlying systems and thinking that has led to the current situation. And that transition will be that much more effective if we can learn from a culture that lasted for tens of thousands of years.
Right Story Wrong Story is to my mind a lot more approachable that Sandtalk, but one really has to have read the first to get the most of the second.
I love Yunkaporta’s style, I like the way there’s a narrative in what is effectively a work of non-fiction, and I am in awe of his willingness to have respect for those with wildly differing and unpleasant views. He is also willing to acknowledge some of the less positive elements of traditional indigenous society.
It was interesting to learn about the importance of fire as a land management tool in lost of other pre-colonial societies.
An enjoyable read and an essential exploration of indigenous modes of thinking and their potential relation to modern society - arguably one of the most important projects of our times.
February 11, 2025
I "specialised" in Dante at an undergraduate level, although I've yet to bring that up with an Italian whose expression doesn't betray polite sympathy for my pretention. Unlike the author, I didn't get a donna's tongue in my mouth for my efforts, but I did get a piece of paper.
I don't really have anything intelligent to add, except I appreciated how the author relocated the action from Jerusalem to the Land Down Under, and took us along on a very relatable journey through his spirituality's version of events. I also liked the technique of bringing the reader along in a very inclusive way while not posing as Virgil.
Oh, also, I'm pretty sure Mr. Yunkaporta is in a better place emotionally and in life than Dante, who pretended to love some random lady so nobody would guess he really loved some other lady, who made him so nervous he puked whenever she talked to him and left him bed-ridden, she whom he would later immortalize from afar in literature as residing highest in the heavens in the most exalted circles of paradise. Talk about putting a lady on the old stone pedestal while creeping on her. Or don't. He was a good writer. Patron of the national Italian idiom! Cheers with wine in Rome, beer in Bamberg, wild mead in Ethiopia, soma in the Pandava's Hastanipur, or kumis and cannabis among Scythians on the plains and in the mountains. At the risk of becoming a list, we'll stop there.
I don't really have anything intelligent to add, except I appreciated how the author relocated the action from Jerusalem to the Land Down Under, and took us along on a very relatable journey through his spirituality's version of events. I also liked the technique of bringing the reader along in a very inclusive way while not posing as Virgil.
Oh, also, I'm pretty sure Mr. Yunkaporta is in a better place emotionally and in life than Dante, who pretended to love some random lady so nobody would guess he really loved some other lady, who made him so nervous he puked whenever she talked to him and left him bed-ridden, she whom he would later immortalize from afar in literature as residing highest in the heavens in the most exalted circles of paradise. Talk about putting a lady on the old stone pedestal while creeping on her. Or don't. He was a good writer. Patron of the national Italian idiom! Cheers with wine in Rome, beer in Bamberg, wild mead in Ethiopia, soma in the Pandava's Hastanipur, or kumis and cannabis among Scythians on the plains and in the mountains. At the risk of becoming a list, we'll stop there.
January 30, 2025
At first I couldn't pinpoint exactly what disappointed me with this, the second of Tyson Yunkaporta's books on how Indigenous methods of inquiry might resolve complex issues and explore global crises. I have plenty of Post-Its for ideas that I want to spend more time mulling over, ideas that I believe are most definitely worth investing my time in—and yet 50 pages from the end of the book I put it down. Instead, I started thinking about why I didn't want to keep on reading.
My conclusion was actually pretty simple: Yunkaporta wrote exclusively about the male side of Indigenous thinking. As a man in his culture he's not privy to women's business and that side of Indigenous thinking is not his to reveal. He quite properly does not include those stories in his writing.
However, this means that no matter how true his stories are, no matter that the concepts he shares are thought-provoking and do help the reader to move to a different perspective about the global crises that we face today, we are only exposed to half the possible stories that might help to resolve the world’s issues.
Half is not enough.
The right story must be the full story. I stopped reading because I realized the full story was never going to be found in this book even if I read to the very last page.
My conclusion was actually pretty simple: Yunkaporta wrote exclusively about the male side of Indigenous thinking. As a man in his culture he's not privy to women's business and that side of Indigenous thinking is not his to reveal. He quite properly does not include those stories in his writing.
However, this means that no matter how true his stories are, no matter that the concepts he shares are thought-provoking and do help the reader to move to a different perspective about the global crises that we face today, we are only exposed to half the possible stories that might help to resolve the world’s issues.
Half is not enough.
The right story must be the full story. I stopped reading because I realized the full story was never going to be found in this book even if I read to the very last page.
November 22, 2023
This is a demanding book for a white fella like me. I could not always follow the methodology or the conjunctions of sometimes clashing narratives from
Different disciplines brought together here. At times the argument was breathtakingly audacious and delightful. At others it was opaque to me and I can’t judge whether that’s just my woeful ignorance or a failure in the writing - or possibly both. Some things I probably don’t deserve to know.
There were moments of heart break and times when I felt deep concern for the mental health and well being of the author, deeply tied to the distress so many of us feel about the misuse of land, water and air. Coming right way, finding right story is a slow journey requiring more humility than most of us are open to - yet Yunkaporta hints at some pathways of connection still open to those willing to slow down, step down and listen.
Different disciplines brought together here. At times the argument was breathtakingly audacious and delightful. At others it was opaque to me and I can’t judge whether that’s just my woeful ignorance or a failure in the writing - or possibly both. Some things I probably don’t deserve to know.
There were moments of heart break and times when I felt deep concern for the mental health and well being of the author, deeply tied to the distress so many of us feel about the misuse of land, water and air. Coming right way, finding right story is a slow journey requiring more humility than most of us are open to - yet Yunkaporta hints at some pathways of connection still open to those willing to slow down, step down and listen.
January 8, 2025
Finished a few days ago but needed to sit on it for a bit to digest. 5 stars but not in a "this was groundbreaking and bringing forward concepts previously unheard of" but 5 stars in a "this was a really enjoyable experience and caused an almost imperceptible shift in myself in how I approach the world". Realistic in that nothing can change until we dismantle capitalism and imperialism, but also shows how in our day to day life we can create change and meaning for ourselves and those immediately around us.
The antithesis of those who would say humans are a virus/cancer. Rather, Yunkaporta repeatedly reiterates we are a custodial species and have a duty to fulfill, as well as expressing the importance of story, ritual, and understanding. Great stuff.
The antithesis of those who would say humans are a virus/cancer. Rather, Yunkaporta repeatedly reiterates we are a custodial species and have a duty to fulfill, as well as expressing the importance of story, ritual, and understanding. Great stuff.
January 24, 2024
You can really feel the struggle in Tyson’s thoughts in this book - it’s curly, difficult, contradictory and that’s the point. We’re made to wade through and make it make sense. I’m definitely with the premise that wrong story is the most dangerous technology that exists. Tyson gives you hints to tune yourself to understanding story in your own context.
It’s rambly, shambolic and makes you think, without giving absolute answers.
It’s rambly, shambolic and makes you think, without giving absolute answers.
January 7, 2025
Tyson Yunkaporta’s Right Story, Wrong Story talks about how Indigenous thinking can help solve today’s problems. He explains the difference between "right" stories, based on connection and balance, and "wrong" stories, which focus on control and progress without care for nature. Stories are important for passing on knowledge and understanding complex ideas. He encourages people to question harmful ideas and follow Indigenous wisdom to create a better and more sustainable future.
January 7, 2024
I tuned out for large portions of the book, which seemed like a meandering conversation but never really grasped what exactly was under discussion. The chapter about violence and conflict was perhaps the most interesting and made the most sense to me. Maybe a bit more structure would have better elucidated no doubt important narratives.
November 12, 2024
Very difficult to follow the ideas and concepts in this book and ultimately left not really knowing what the point of each chapter was. Also, clearly post-modern emphasis although he regularly contradicts his philosophy/epistemology throughout the book. An attempt of trying to integrate aboriginal ideology and post-modernism into an intellectual piece but fails for obvious reasons.
February 18, 2024
I didn't find my flow as easily with this as I did with Sand Talk, but I'm still sat here hours later thinking about it and know I'll marinate in its wit and wisdom for weeks to come and hopefully carry at least some of it with me. I look forward to his next book.
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March 10, 2025To rate this book would run counter to the ethos of the yarn.
It's an interesting, perverse task to dive into the depths of the hells to explore wrong stories.
What do we learn from coming into relationship with various wrong stories?
It's an interesting, perverse task to dive into the depths of the hells to explore wrong stories.
What do we learn from coming into relationship with various wrong stories?
January 21, 2024
Complex, and compelling but also gracious and generous. Yunkaporta makes a significant contribution to Australian thinking in this time of challenge and change.
January 31, 2024
Every bit as good as Sand Talk. I like how some topics are rebutted and refined. Always a lot to learn by listening.
Can't wait to see what comes next, assuming it does.
Can't wait to see what comes next, assuming it does.
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