[I posted this on the Ran Prieur subreddit a while back. I held off on the cross-post because I didn't want anyone to think I had returned at that time.]
[I also realize this piece has a very small potential audience. If someone is used to thinking about politics morally they probably won't want to think about futurism probabilisticly. None of these ideas give me a warm glow, nor would I stay attached to them if new information came in that showed them to be wrong. See also Crony Beliefs by Kevin Simler]
[And now, the piece I had written.]
===
I think projecting future outcomes for Americans is best done in 3 tranches:
top 1%: whose wealth is in run-away imperial mode. I think it's entirely possible this group will be able to hold on to high-tech through all of the long emergency, if not watch the tech improve. That's the weird part, the idea that it seems more people have on [r/ranprieur] than any other sampling of doomer thought I have seen.
next 19%: who are so busy, busy, busy. Much too busy to think, certainly too busy to give any group any slack to any imperfection in themselves or others. I have the hardest time projecting what will happen for this group. I am pretty sure the savings they have so dutifully placed in stock-only index funds will be wiped out in the next crash (or run-away stagflation). They have been primed for this robbery, however, conditioned day in and out to follow orders, and accept lies at all levels of life. Little drones, who have learned to dis-integrate (they say "compartmentalize"), so they have no integrity. Why would anyone else have integrity either? After the great robberies, they will shrug and get back to work (hell, they know someone whose kid got into Harvard -- bet those student loans will be a bugger!) They will work for this system as long as the system has use of them. Again, I don't know how to mentally model how long that will be.
[Not much longer than true general purpose autonomous vehicles, though. That problem is harder than most people think, while automating much of office work is easier than most people think. The status of the various workers creates a bias about the cognitive loads.]
lower 80: who will see third-world results. The long crisis has already begun for them, but the middle 19% allow the counter-revolution to continue grinding (often, hilariously, under the guise of social leftism). Whatever innovations that might be created by altruistic groups trying to help the global poor do more-with-less might (but only might) be imported back to help this population. Two further thoughts: 1) their carbon footprint will be drastically smaller in 50 years than it is now (and I mean *ahem* one way, or another). 2) They will have virtually no economic demand-pull if our political economy stays on its course (or even has the same assumptions).
I think these are the forces at work. They mix and match in a lot of possible ways, from genocide, to wars, to some possible hybrid of extremely low carbon footprints with some need for UBI or guaranteed work.
[Looking back, I now realize this attempt at modeling is really for generation X onward. The Baby Boomer retirement and medical crises will be a political convulsion. I detest the moral vacuity of the groups thought-leaders, but there is a real generational solidarity, so I would never bet against them politically. So . . . The robbery of the gen-X (and onward) 19% might not be directly from the markets as much as taxes. This much would be obvious to someone to the right of me. What isn't obvious to that person is that it is older, white people who played at rugged individualist when it was their turn to pay taxes who will be pushing the redistribution and then attempting to absorb all of it.]
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Round Up #21
From Research
I am looking into investment again, so that is what I captured in my research.
I have heard about at least one billionaire hoarding nickles. Looking into it further lead to this marvelously interesting article on the work done to change the alloy. (Also, some analysis of hoarding a million dollars in nickles).
I thought that maybe healthcare as a sector would be protected against inflation. Turns out that is almost certainly wrong.
If I hadn't moved into different intellectual circles, I wouldn't know that Netflix isn't very much in China, but instead is growing in India and Japan. Whether that is deliberate strategy or there are forces barring their way, the article doesn't say.
The great puzzle of our time: why so many bonds with negative interest rates around the world? (including now negative interest rates for "junk" ie "high yield" bonds). I like this short memo on the topic.
Reddit
I wrote two popular pieces on r/leanfire, one about leaving my job, and the second about the aftermath.
I suggest r/BottleNeck for people who wants to learn about peak energy without fear porn.
I took a quick stab at answering the question of how many of the Celtics in 1960s are in the Hall of Fame based just on team success and reputation. This then manifested someone showing me the work done more rigorously.
A hot take on the possibility of negative interest rates in the U.S. (see above).
Musings on why most people don't really know what makes for a good manager.
Reminder that our culture is a wasteland.
I saw A Narcissist's Prayer :
Aphorisms/Shorts
What conservatives don't understand is that only artificial things can be as clean as they want.
Liberals prefer to be liberal with other people's money, and conservatives prefer to be conservative with other people's morals. Oh, I'm now an old man, fighting last generation's war. Now right-wingers also prefer to be right-wing with other people's money and leftists prefer to signal leftism about other people's morals.
Space travel isn't going to be colonization. It is going to be white flight.
I love bad decisions; I could watch them all day.
The argument that it was better to build a school than a prison might have been true. But now, in order to pay for the care of the richest generation in human history, we will soon have money for neither.
The way the ideas of Buddhism spread through the West was basically self-help for affluent people.
"Why bother explaining if the audience always sees it as a starting point for a win-lose debate rather than an opportunity to learn?" Jacob Lund Fisker, hallow be his name.
"Anxiety is paying interest on pain, but if you catch it in time, you only have to pay the principal." Ran Prieur
I am looking into investment again, so that is what I captured in my research.
I have heard about at least one billionaire hoarding nickles. Looking into it further lead to this marvelously interesting article on the work done to change the alloy. (Also, some analysis of hoarding a million dollars in nickles).
I thought that maybe healthcare as a sector would be protected against inflation. Turns out that is almost certainly wrong.
If I hadn't moved into different intellectual circles, I wouldn't know that Netflix isn't very much in China, but instead is growing in India and Japan. Whether that is deliberate strategy or there are forces barring their way, the article doesn't say.
The great puzzle of our time: why so many bonds with negative interest rates around the world? (including now negative interest rates for "junk" ie "high yield" bonds). I like this short memo on the topic.
I wrote two popular pieces on r/leanfire, one about leaving my job, and the second about the aftermath.
I suggest r/BottleNeck for people who wants to learn about peak energy without fear porn.
I took a quick stab at answering the question of how many of the Celtics in 1960s are in the Hall of Fame based just on team success and reputation. This then manifested someone showing me the work done more rigorously.
A hot take on the possibility of negative interest rates in the U.S. (see above).
Musings on why most people don't really know what makes for a good manager.
Reminder that our culture is a wasteland.
I saw A Narcissist's Prayer :
That didn't happen. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. And if it was, that's not a big deal. And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did... You deserved it.
Aphorisms/Shorts
What conservatives don't understand is that only artificial things can be as clean as they want.
Liberals prefer to be liberal with other people's money, and conservatives prefer to be conservative with other people's morals. Oh, I'm now an old man, fighting last generation's war. Now right-wingers also prefer to be right-wing with other people's money and leftists prefer to signal leftism about other people's morals.
Space travel isn't going to be colonization. It is going to be white flight.
I love bad decisions; I could watch them all day.
The argument that it was better to build a school than a prison might have been true. But now, in order to pay for the care of the richest generation in human history, we will soon have money for neither.
The way the ideas of Buddhism spread through the West was basically self-help for affluent people.
"Why bother explaining if the audience always sees it as a starting point for a win-lose debate rather than an opportunity to learn?" Jacob Lund Fisker, hallow be his name.
"Anxiety is paying interest on pain, but if you catch it in time, you only have to pay the principal." Ran Prieur
I'm Back.
I'm back. I can't promise that I'll post every Wednesday, but I'll shoot for 90% here.
The top piece will always be a serious attempt at doing my best -- either artistically, or in the attempt to further truth. When I post more than one piece on the same day, the piece further down (ie posted a bit earlier) will usually be some kind of B side -- either a humor piece or something that I think might be of limited interest, such as how long I can continue on with the same razor.
The top piece will always be a serious attempt at doing my best -- either artistically, or in the attempt to further truth. When I post more than one piece on the same day, the piece further down (ie posted a bit earlier) will usually be some kind of B side -- either a humor piece or something that I think might be of limited interest, such as how long I can continue on with the same razor.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Just Executing
It looks like I will be the executor of my grandparents' Will -- well, actually, the term is personal representative, but you can still say I will be executing the wishes of the Will. This will be a another full time job to add to what was already the most challenging job I have ever worked.
Therefore this blog will be suspended until further notice.
I will e-mail Degringolade when I am able to publish again as he is one of my most reliable readers. Until then, check out his blog. He and I very like minded people, even though we are at different points in our lives, and I am glad that I have been able to know him through posts and e-mails.
Another similar spirit is Ran Prieur, though I do not vouch for his musings on consciousness (I don't repudiate them, either -- it's just not a sphere I am thinking of much, and my intuitions line up differently from his at present).
Odds are decent you came here from John Michael Greer. If not, let me introduce you, and then send you along to his most recent work. (With Greer, my caveats are about Astrology and support of Donald Trump -- but no one said you have to read every piece someone writes).
==
I am weary, friends.
It's all I can do to make a little time to journal and doodle a bit. I am making time to be creative because it has now becoming a more reliable way for me to feel alive -- especially under the restrains I am now living under during working hours -- and besides, it honors my grandmother's life as an artist. I am using some of her paper and supplies. My skill level is such that all I am able to is cartoons and then maybe use some other marker or paint to make the piece pop, but it is a better escape than anything consumerism and its so-called escapism has to offer.
Writing is my favorite medium, for its expressiveness, but it is stressful for me to get my drafts right, especially under any kind of deadline. I need art to be about pleasure and joy right now, and to serve as a solace in the stolen hours between an endless grind.
I hope to see you on the other side of it.
Therefore this blog will be suspended until further notice.
I will e-mail Degringolade when I am able to publish again as he is one of my most reliable readers. Until then, check out his blog. He and I very like minded people, even though we are at different points in our lives, and I am glad that I have been able to know him through posts and e-mails.
Another similar spirit is Ran Prieur, though I do not vouch for his musings on consciousness (I don't repudiate them, either -- it's just not a sphere I am thinking of much, and my intuitions line up differently from his at present).
Odds are decent you came here from John Michael Greer. If not, let me introduce you, and then send you along to his most recent work. (With Greer, my caveats are about Astrology and support of Donald Trump -- but no one said you have to read every piece someone writes).
==
I am weary, friends.
It's all I can do to make a little time to journal and doodle a bit. I am making time to be creative because it has now becoming a more reliable way for me to feel alive -- especially under the restrains I am now living under during working hours -- and besides, it honors my grandmother's life as an artist. I am using some of her paper and supplies. My skill level is such that all I am able to is cartoons and then maybe use some other marker or paint to make the piece pop, but it is a better escape than anything consumerism and its so-called escapism has to offer.
Writing is my favorite medium, for its expressiveness, but it is stressful for me to get my drafts right, especially under any kind of deadline. I need art to be about pleasure and joy right now, and to serve as a solace in the stolen hours between an endless grind.
I hope to see you on the other side of it.
Round Up #20
Free Books Read
Romeo and Juliet. A rereading, of course. In fact, I taught it for several years. I had a conversation recently with a friend that reminded me that we discount a great many books we read when we were younger, leaving them in a ghetto to no longer be examined. Romeo and Juliet is a play not just for the young, but everyone who was once young.
Hamlet. I think I had last read it in high school. It was more powerful for me then when it was the story of a person, this time I caught the subtleties to know it is a story about a world. If you think life is unfair, you should really examine death more closely. Hamlet is a play not just for the dead, but everyone who will one day be dead.
Reddit
That's why I'm the friendly doomer.
Oklahoma is not exactly what you think it is.
Aphorisms/Shorts
We are living an odd double life, still a rush from judgement in face-to-face encounters, but a stampede to judgment online. Something has to give.
As Hume lifted Kant from his dogmatic slumbers, Captain Beefheart lifted me from my slumbers of normality. And so far, the results have been lasting.
Speaking of music, I find that Beefheart and Miles Davis great for drawing and painting, terrible for writing a draft. I listen to pink noise instead.
Only artificial things can get as clean as most conservatives want, and most conservatives don't know that.
Of all the lessons to teach a Harvard or Oxford grad, the hardest seems to be a non sequitur. Particularly about where one went to school.
In reviewing the cliche I hate the most, I came across someone criticizing another, "it is what it is."
Anti-social media platforms which allow only upvotes are the ultimate fool's paradise.
To someone who wrote: "Imagine actually believing things in 2019 LMAO." . . . Imagine believing that as you don't believe in anything you are free from consequences.
The literati: by pretending to have read everything, they end up not reading anything (at least not deeply).
Reason operates on the Faith that it has all the information. (Faith often reasons that it doesn't).
Romeo and Juliet. A rereading, of course. In fact, I taught it for several years. I had a conversation recently with a friend that reminded me that we discount a great many books we read when we were younger, leaving them in a ghetto to no longer be examined. Romeo and Juliet is a play not just for the young, but everyone who was once young.
Hamlet. I think I had last read it in high school. It was more powerful for me then when it was the story of a person, this time I caught the subtleties to know it is a story about a world. If you think life is unfair, you should really examine death more closely. Hamlet is a play not just for the dead, but everyone who will one day be dead.
That's why I'm the friendly doomer.
Oklahoma is not exactly what you think it is.
Aphorisms/Shorts
We are living an odd double life, still a rush from judgement in face-to-face encounters, but a stampede to judgment online. Something has to give.
As Hume lifted Kant from his dogmatic slumbers, Captain Beefheart lifted me from my slumbers of normality. And so far, the results have been lasting.
Speaking of music, I find that Beefheart and Miles Davis great for drawing and painting, terrible for writing a draft. I listen to pink noise instead.
Only artificial things can get as clean as most conservatives want, and most conservatives don't know that.
Of all the lessons to teach a Harvard or Oxford grad, the hardest seems to be a non sequitur. Particularly about where one went to school.
In reviewing the cliche I hate the most, I came across someone criticizing another, "it is what it is."
Anti-social media platforms which allow only upvotes are the ultimate fool's paradise.
To someone who wrote: "Imagine actually believing things in 2019 LMAO." . . . Imagine believing that as you don't believe in anything you are free from consequences.
The literati: by pretending to have read everything, they end up not reading anything (at least not deeply).
Reason operates on the Faith that it has all the information. (Faith often reasons that it doesn't).
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Just Processing
I'm taking this week off from writing to process my grandmother's death and catch up my work.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Obituary for my Grandmother
Virginia Huddleston was born in Norman, Oklahoma on November 12, 1933 to Leroy and Emily Allen. She lived her entire life in Norman. On June 19th, 1954, she married Max Leroy Huddleston. Virginia was a cheery, bubbly, eccentric who dressed in bold prints and pursued a passion for painting. At the same time, she was always dedicated to her family, generously giving her time and help. She was one of the most positive people you could meet, and never had a bad word to say about anyone. She would advise family members to "wake up every day with something exciting to look forward to for that day." She believed in dreams, and she believed that if you were having enough fun the hard work would take care of itself. And through her creative spirit, she showed that it could be true.
Virginia was preceded in death by her husband and, tragically, her two children, Alan and Ray Huddleston. Many in the family take comfort in thinking she has rejoined her men.
Norman Transcript
Virginia was preceded in death by her husband and, tragically, her two children, Alan and Ray Huddleston. Many in the family take comfort in thinking she has rejoined her men.
Norman Transcript
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Round Up #19
Finds While Surfing
1) The hacking mindset as essentially the opposite of mathematics. And, bonus, he points out that hackers like puns. Thus, a possible corollary: the reason normies don't like puns is because they want a more stable reality than language -- and really reality -- can offer. << That's one of my favorite sentences I've ever written.
2) Ran Prieur on status
4) Also Anthill had a podcast whose theme was darkness and did several riffs on different aspects of the word, including London nightlife and dark matter.
5) Math can be as beautiful as so-called abstract art, which is really non-representational art, which is really decoration. I probably should add that I think that beauty is much more important than most people think.
Infinite Jest
Some of the most thoughtful writing I have done recently is in threads on the Infinite Jest subreddit.-
Books from the Local Library
No Time to Spare Ursula LeGuin. I will put some quotes from the book below.
1) The hacking mindset as essentially the opposite of mathematics. And, bonus, he points out that hackers like puns. Thus, a possible corollary: the reason normies don't like puns is because they want a more stable reality than language -- and really reality -- can offer. << That's one of my favorite sentences I've ever written.
2) Ran Prieur on status
It's hard for me to even understand status. If you use status to get your way with people, it's different from paying them, different from physically threatening them, and different from being actually qualified to tell them what to do. As far as I can figure, status is a mental shortcut, the appearance of being qualified to tell people what to do, for observers who are too lazy to discern the reality. The word "prestige" comes from French and Latin words for deceit and illusion.3) Anthill podcast series on the Future of India. Listened to this and this and this.
4) Also Anthill had a podcast whose theme was darkness and did several riffs on different aspects of the word, including London nightlife and dark matter.
5) Math can be as beautiful as so-called abstract art, which is really non-representational art, which is really decoration. I probably should add that I think that beauty is much more important than most people think.
Infinite Jest
Some of the most thoughtful writing I have done recently is in threads on the Infinite Jest subreddit.-
- A piece on Infinite Jest and the film critic Bazin, moving on to good art being about more than one variable.
- Responding to a criticism of Wallace's choice of characters to focus on.
Free Books Read
Right, Ho Jeeves (audio) and My Man Jeeves and The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. The prose of Wodehouse is like a tonic for the soul. My wife said she was reading a bougie mystery. I replied that Wodehouse's world is so aristocratic that you get beyond bougie anxiety to real comfort, and eccentricity.
MacBeth by you-know-who. I recommend using a side-by-side translation, such as here, though that does add distractions and ads. You could find printed copies cheap or at a library, though.
MacBeth by you-know-who. I recommend using a side-by-side translation, such as here, though that does add distractions and ads. You could find printed copies cheap or at a library, though.
Books from the Local Library
No Time to Spare Ursula LeGuin. I will put some quotes from the book below.
Aphorisms/Shorts
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug . . . almost as much as belief in progress.
The short run is the only run Americans care about anymore.
I actually think there are many business books that are well-researched and have important things to offer, however in the interest of truth they should open with this disclaimer: "the vast majority organizations will not be able to get through the incentive-traps of their own office politics to correctly do any of this, but . . . "
"It's so much easier to blame the grownups than to be one." Ursula LeGuin
"Fear is seldom wise and never kind." Ibid.
What if happiness meant being the kind of person who overreacts to spoilers?
" . . . the real difficulty of democracy is not that voters are unworthy, but that their vote is generally the least worthy thing about them." C.K. Chesterton
Americans are trained to show their taste by complaining, especially about what they lack. If you say something is good enough to an standard American, prepare for an intense argument.
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug . . . almost as much as belief in progress.
The short run is the only run Americans care about anymore.
I actually think there are many business books that are well-researched and have important things to offer, however in the interest of truth they should open with this disclaimer: "the vast majority organizations will not be able to get through the incentive-traps of their own office politics to correctly do any of this, but . . . "
"It's so much easier to blame the grownups than to be one." Ursula LeGuin
"Fear is seldom wise and never kind." Ibid.
What if happiness meant being the kind of person who overreacts to spoilers?
" . . . the real difficulty of democracy is not that voters are unworthy, but that their vote is generally the least worthy thing about them." C.K. Chesterton
Americans are trained to show their taste by complaining, especially about what they lack. If you say something is good enough to an standard American, prepare for an intense argument.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Insight into Insight, as Well as Happiness
After reading Sarah Perry's Trying to See Through: A Unified Theory of Nerddom a little over a month ago, I have been thinking a lot about my passion to understand the world -- my own nerddom, if you will. And I don't like what I see.
According to Perry
There is a strong bi-directional relationship between this seeing-through and depression. By being interested in insight rather than the day-to-day stuff people want to talk about, you can become socially isolated and depressed. Conversely, given that someone is socially isolated and depressed for other reasons, it might kick in depressive realism. Either way, what keeps the cycle going is probably the aforementioned "grotesque insight reward seeking."
So what does depression under insight do? Back to Perry:
As I am trying to recover from my insight-addiction, I have started to use two phrases a lot in conversations with my wife: first "What would a happy person say/do right now?" and second is the lament "I can't not know . . ." because I know whatever it is that I know I know (and know I can't not know) is something a person happier than me wouldn't notice or would subsume into some kind of optimistic story (a technique I have only begun to experiment with; I'll try to report back later on my progress).
There are many things that I can't not know, but it does help to not dwell on them. I have learned to not rant. And most importantly, I have learned not organize my day around gathering more negativity.
Ran Prieur noted in 2017:
Insight is a lot like whisky and cola [3]. Each individual hit seems reasonable enough, but eventually it starts to blur your judgement toward your quantity consumed. . . and then you have other problems.
===
[1] See Allie Brosh for what might be the greatest work on depression ever (cartoons are very much underrated at a medium). Part 1 and Part 2. I feel fortunate to have only been in the full "detached meaningless fog" at one point in my life.
[2] Humanity is still a passion best enjoyed with an eye on the minimum effective dose, and awareness of what can happen when I go over that dose. But it turns out that I could have never made it as a hermit.
[3] Perry uses another term having to do with being stimulated watching other people do . . . something. Starts with a "p." I like that metaphor too because it shows a lack of *ahem* real action or working with the complications of the real world. . . Porn. I mean insight porn.
According to Perry
Our overdeveloped, grotesque insight reward seeking is likely maladaptive, and is probably not even doing our individual selves any good.I think that's about right. Putting a spin on the old saying about wealth, "if you're so smart, why aren't you happy?"
There is a strong bi-directional relationship between this seeing-through and depression. By being interested in insight rather than the day-to-day stuff people want to talk about, you can become socially isolated and depressed. Conversely, given that someone is socially isolated and depressed for other reasons, it might kick in depressive realism. Either way, what keeps the cycle going is probably the aforementioned "grotesque insight reward seeking."
So what does depression under insight do? Back to Perry:
Meaning is deconstructed in depression; social connection is weakened. Ideas and things that for normal individuals glow with significance appear to the depressed person as empty husks. The deceptive power of social and sacredness illusions is weakened for the depressed person (as are certain other healthy illusions, such as the illusion of control).Furthermore, the inverse is true:
self-deception is strongly related to happiness; the consolation of insight may not make up for the loss of sacredness in terms of individual happiness.This is where I see some hope for myself on the happiness front. I rarely lose the ability to perceive sacredness. I never lost it during my darkest times, where going on a walk into semi-nature was my mental salvation. It was actually later, when I went on my first sabbatical and ended up too socially isolated that I have a journal entry about going outside and feeling . . . nothing [1]. And that was a sufficient wake-up call to go back to work. It turns out, much to my disappointment, that I need contact with people other than my wife [2].
As I am trying to recover from my insight-addiction, I have started to use two phrases a lot in conversations with my wife: first "What would a happy person say/do right now?" and second is the lament "I can't not know . . ." because I know whatever it is that I know I know (and know I can't not know) is something a person happier than me wouldn't notice or would subsume into some kind of optimistic story (a technique I have only begun to experiment with; I'll try to report back later on my progress).
There are many things that I can't not know, but it does help to not dwell on them. I have learned to not rant. And most importantly, I have learned not organize my day around gathering more negativity.
Ran Prieur noted in 2017:
Over the last year I've sensed more toxicity when I go online. Maybe I just got better at noticing it, but that's why I'm trying to quit writing about what's wrong with the world. My working theory is, thinking about what's wrong with the world is linked to a general attitude, a subconscious habit of constantly scanning for wrongness, and it's like a dark universe that I'm trying to escape.This is not to say there isn't a place for darkness, but darkness should be used, either for productive actions or some act of creation -- even including a good conversation, provided the parties know when it is time to switch topics. (What a rare trait in America, anymore).
Insight is a lot like whisky and cola [3]. Each individual hit seems reasonable enough, but eventually it starts to blur your judgement toward your quantity consumed. . . and then you have other problems.
===
[1] See Allie Brosh for what might be the greatest work on depression ever (cartoons are very much underrated at a medium). Part 1 and Part 2. I feel fortunate to have only been in the full "detached meaningless fog" at one point in my life.
[2] Humanity is still a passion best enjoyed with an eye on the minimum effective dose, and awareness of what can happen when I go over that dose. But it turns out that I could have never made it as a hermit.
[3] Perry uses another term having to do with being stimulated watching other people do . . . something. Starts with a "p." I like that metaphor too because it shows a lack of *ahem* real action or working with the complications of the real world. . . Porn. I mean insight porn.
Degringolade Responds Re Darren Allen
Degringolade had a response to last week's post. Some highlights:
. . . I studied, I attempted understanding, I followed the rules and accepted the role assigned me. But looking around me now, I realized that the truth of the matter is that the passion and the anger and the effort that I put into watching and understanding and discussing things that I had no effect on was truly a waste of my time and my life.And
I do like to keep up, I do try to read the updates on the world once a week. I miss the days when The Economist wasn't a shameless shill and apologist for every rich bastard in the world. In the 80's and 90's when they were my go to, a once a week read followed by some drill-down on specific issues kept me pretty aware of my surroundings. But those days are gone, and to keep up and keep out of the clutches of the mass-media hysteria machine, I have to refine the extremely low-grade ore that is the internet.Finishing with
Nope, Ran's decision to drop out, play video games, and get mellow aren't necessarily invalid, the positions advocated by Mr. Allen are equally ambiguous. I think that one derives from a desire to be right, the other derives from a desire to be left alone. I think I know which one I would prefer to hang out with.
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Darren Allen, Purity Politics, and the Time Remaining
I recently had an interesting exchange on Reddit with Darren Allen (his website, though it's been frequently down). The topic was his critique of Ran Prieur, whom Allen had lumped in with other people he called "unofficial socialists."
The piece was well-written, but a bit on the long side. In essence, Allen is accusing all seven people and groups of not being anarchist enough for him. In our conversation, I provided the connection that he was describing different incentive traps which no one has the incentive to get out -- i.e. Scott Alexander's use of Moloch.
Anarchism, like the rest of politics, is something I only allow myself the indulgence of finding meta-interesting, especially in its meta-politics. Anarchism is absolutely an example of wandist, if not godist, thinking. So, once you admit it's never going to happen, as Darren Allen does in our exchange, what do you do next? One option is to try to implement your ideas on a small scale. Another is to continue on in a wandist mode and accuse others of not taking pure enough symbolic stances. If an anarchist keeps going it is usually out of the joy of perceiving that they are correct. (Libertarianism is like this but usually in practice also includes an identification with, and thus a fetish for, our captains of industry).
But life isn't just about winning political arguments. Ran Prieur has very much understood this in his post-doomer / post-back-to-the-land phase. And I'll speak for myself: I'm no longer going to waste my limited life feeling horror, dread, or debilitating depression about things I cannot control. I have tried to remove these from my information diet and habits of thought and instead seek out beauty. And though there have been alterations to how I go about it, that's the current project of my life: trying to live well in the face of an inevitable death, one that might be hastened by forces around me.
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Hopefully the above gives enough context for my last post in the thread, which Mr. Allen has at this point not responded to. It begins with a quote from him:
That might be as good as a place as any to examine, assuming we are wanting to find common ground. What does a private/public divide mean to you? Why is the binary useful in this context?
Or, really, why should anyone have "obligations" to the public side when we have so little ability to move any needle at all? And surely that is a fair summary of our last exchange. It looks like the impediments to your preferred world are 1) political inaction, which means corporations and the security state continue unabetted 2) the entire political right 3) capture of the official left 4) the subtle capture of the unofficial socialists you outline.
Though there are more people who understand collapse, I'll agree with your figure of 1,000 to 100,000 who understand that the best state for humanity is anarcho-primitivism in an area with human activity below ecological carrying capacity. And if I could magic wand it, I'd probably will into existence something close to what you would as well. I buy that we made a wrong turn at agriculture and the bad situation became increasingly worse with institutions seeking legibility.
But I have no position in a meaningful res publica, let alone a polis, let alone king of the world. The real position for us who see through is to drop out or semi-drop out. And then what?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you are saying people need to dedicate themselves to a purity politics that you know won't work. But why?
I think it is noble enough to look for what is beautiful and interesting, and share what you find. It's being a private person and sharing the overflow.
The last few months of Ran's blog have
===
I also used Reddit as the comments section. Ran even responded.
The piece was well-written, but a bit on the long side. In essence, Allen is accusing all seven people and groups of not being anarchist enough for him. In our conversation, I provided the connection that he was describing different incentive traps which no one has the incentive to get out -- i.e. Scott Alexander's use of Moloch.
Anarchism, like the rest of politics, is something I only allow myself the indulgence of finding meta-interesting, especially in its meta-politics. Anarchism is absolutely an example of wandist, if not godist, thinking. So, once you admit it's never going to happen, as Darren Allen does in our exchange, what do you do next? One option is to try to implement your ideas on a small scale. Another is to continue on in a wandist mode and accuse others of not taking pure enough symbolic stances. If an anarchist keeps going it is usually out of the joy of perceiving that they are correct. (Libertarianism is like this but usually in practice also includes an identification with, and thus a fetish for, our captains of industry).
But life isn't just about winning political arguments. Ran Prieur has very much understood this in his post-doomer / post-back-to-the-land phase. And I'll speak for myself: I'm no longer going to waste my limited life feeling horror, dread, or debilitating depression about things I cannot control. I have tried to remove these from my information diet and habits of thought and instead seek out beauty. And though there have been alterations to how I go about it, that's the current project of my life: trying to live well in the face of an inevitable death, one that might be hastened by forces around me.
===
Hopefully the above gives enough context for my last post in the thread, which Mr. Allen has at this point not responded to. It begins with a quote from him:
As i say, I still like him as a private bod, but as a public intellectual (thinker / teacher / writer / etc) he has nothing to say any more, and it is my duty to point that out and why
That might be as good as a place as any to examine, assuming we are wanting to find common ground. What does a private/public divide mean to you? Why is the binary useful in this context?
Or, really, why should anyone have "obligations" to the public side when we have so little ability to move any needle at all? And surely that is a fair summary of our last exchange. It looks like the impediments to your preferred world are 1) political inaction, which means corporations and the security state continue unabetted 2) the entire political right 3) capture of the official left 4) the subtle capture of the unofficial socialists you outline.
Though there are more people who understand collapse, I'll agree with your figure of 1,000 to 100,000 who understand that the best state for humanity is anarcho-primitivism in an area with human activity below ecological carrying capacity. And if I could magic wand it, I'd probably will into existence something close to what you would as well. I buy that we made a wrong turn at agriculture and the bad situation became increasingly worse with institutions seeking legibility.
But I have no position in a meaningful res publica, let alone a polis, let alone king of the world. The real position for us who see through is to drop out or semi-drop out. And then what?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you are saying people need to dedicate themselves to a purity politics that you know won't work. But why?
I think it is noble enough to look for what is beautiful and interesting, and share what you find. It's being a private person and sharing the overflow.
The last few months of Ran's blog have
- Turned me on to Miles Davis's later psychedelic/funk work
- interrogated American chore habits
- had open-minded essays (attempts, not proclamations) about confidence, panpsychism, and the like.
===
I also used Reddit as the comments section. Ran even responded.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Why Do I Copy from the Commons?
"Good artists borrow, great artists steal" -- Steve Jobs stole this from Picasso who probably stole it from elsewhere. And that's the complete opposite of irony.
Inspired by this idea that has made it's rounds, I would say "great societies make it so it is not considered theft to copy ideas."
This transformation, which could be what comes after capitalism, has not been driven by power elites from above, abstractions, centralized planning, or even votes. And it won't be driven by any of those things until perhaps, and only perhaps, the eleventh hour just before a different world is already inevitable.
The interesting thing is that you can be the change you want to see, or at least I can be. [1] This blog is a kind of hub for me to live in an information environment that about the discovery and spreading of ideas, without participating in the society-wide program of super-stimulation leading to super-greed [2]. The negative space is really important here; it's not just what I spread, but what I filter out.
I find, link to, and copy enough content to keep myself instructed and amused for a lifetime. And any time I spend in this way is time not spent embodying the delusions and terrors of artificial scarcity. So why copy from the commons? 1) Because I can. 2) Doing so shows that you can 3) It makes the commons more resilient by one more node.
I know I'm some kind of dork for having a "blogger" blog here at the blogspot. I know there are those who would take me more seriously if I had a domain all to myself, and some stylish (I refuse to use the term "unique" in this context) website. But if you think about it, I am taking the text from most likely another server and making a copy of it on one owned by Google. Like it or not, and I respect the opinions of those who do not, Google is one of the most successful companies in the world, with many advantages that unlikely to go away any time soon. This is probably a pretty node to add to any ideas network.
Information doesn't just want to be free. It also wants to survive.
===
[1] If you are reading this, you are probably quite a weird person indeed. I have hope for you. Nonetheless, I decided to speak only for myself in this piece from this point forward.
[2] See JMG's acronym LESS -- Less Energy Stimulation Stuff
Inspired by this idea that has made it's rounds, I would say "great societies make it so it is not considered theft to copy ideas."
This transformation, which could be what comes after capitalism, has not been driven by power elites from above, abstractions, centralized planning, or even votes. And it won't be driven by any of those things until perhaps, and only perhaps, the eleventh hour just before a different world is already inevitable.
The interesting thing is that you can be the change you want to see, or at least I can be. [1] This blog is a kind of hub for me to live in an information environment that about the discovery and spreading of ideas, without participating in the society-wide program of super-stimulation leading to super-greed [2]. The negative space is really important here; it's not just what I spread, but what I filter out.
I find, link to, and copy enough content to keep myself instructed and amused for a lifetime. And any time I spend in this way is time not spent embodying the delusions and terrors of artificial scarcity. So why copy from the commons? 1) Because I can. 2) Doing so shows that you can 3) It makes the commons more resilient by one more node.
I know I'm some kind of dork for having a "blogger" blog here at the blogspot. I know there are those who would take me more seriously if I had a domain all to myself, and some stylish (I refuse to use the term "unique" in this context) website. But if you think about it, I am taking the text from most likely another server and making a copy of it on one owned by Google. Like it or not, and I respect the opinions of those who do not, Google is one of the most successful companies in the world, with many advantages that unlikely to go away any time soon. This is probably a pretty node to add to any ideas network.
Information doesn't just want to be free. It also wants to survive.
===
[1] If you are reading this, you are probably quite a weird person indeed. I have hope for you. Nonetheless, I decided to speak only for myself in this piece from this point forward.
[2] See JMG's acronym LESS -- Less Energy Stimulation Stuff
The last part of the acronym, "stimulation," may seem surprising to my readers, but it’s a crucial part of the recipe. For the last thirty years and more, Americans have been pushing their nervous systems into continual overload with various kinds of stimulation, and I’ve come to think that this is another symptom of the deeply troubled national conscience discussed in recent Archdruid Report posts. A mind that’s constantly flooded with noise from television, video games, or what have you, is a mind that never has the time or space to think its own thoughts, and in a nation that’s trying not to notice that it’s sold its own grandchildren down the river, that’s probably the point of the exercise. Be that as it may, recovering the ability to think one’s own thoughts, to clear one’s mind of media-driven chatter, manufactured imagery, and all the other thoughtstopping clutter we use to numb ourselves to the increasingly unwelcome realities of life in a failing civilization, is an indispensable tool for surviving the challenges ahead . . .
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