Unresearched - Metafiction and the Endgame of Verisimilitude

First, a glossary of terms/an apologia:

Metacognition [metacognitive narrative]: The awareness of characters that they are in a piece of fictional media. Also read: metafiction.

Directly metacognitive [directly metafictional]: An integral element of the narrative--a main character is most effective--explicitly recognizes there in a way that matters to the plot.

Obliquely/indirectly metacognitive [obliquely/indirectly metafictional]: Most manifestations of metafiction occur as humorous asides or even more unaffecting gestures, often to the complete ignorance of many or all of the main characters.

Verisimilitude of engagement: The idea that, even if the fictional, simulated world a user is engaging with doesn’t look realistic, if the user can function in that simulated realm in all the ways one can function in the real world, that might just be good enough.

I’m aware that ‘leaped’ should be ‘leapt’. Fixed in the transcript, at the Dispatches homepage, listed below.

I’m also aware that the volume dips between, roughly, 3:00 and 6:00. Headphones help. Sorry about that. Instead of Unresearched, maybe I should’ve called this podcast Unrehearsed. ;) 

To enjoy Dr. Joe’s other media rantings--as well as a transcript of this podcast episode--check out Dispatches from the Adventure: https://profanderson79.wordpress.com/

Dr. Joe has also made a few ill-advised forays into visual media! Check them out on YouTube!: https://tinyurl.com/DrJoesYTChannel