NPC
Non-playable character; a video game term that has found its way into the game of life.
Describes someone who acts and speaks like a real person, but fails to express anything beyond their programming. As a result, they are not playing any games themselves, they are a passive participant who serves at the pleasure of their designer.
The modern equivalency of a USEFUL IDIOT.
See: ZEALOT
Posted: 18 Apr 2023
Wisdom
The view from beyond.
The accumulation of all lessons learned; the bitter medicine we refuse to take.
A guide containing the totality of common sense, modesty, and practical knowledge while remaining conspicuously void of hubris, idealism, and special interests.
A body of knowledge characterized by its permanence and capacity to persevere, which means it can never be ‘in fashion.’ This is why markets find it so unattractive - they need to be able to sell us inanities designed to establish trends. Wisdom is always relevant and therefore cannot be trendy, which means it does not make money. In fact, it is likely to persuade us to keep more of our money and attention to ourselves.
To be avoided, corrupted, or usurped at all costs by ideologues, intellectuals, and progressives because it is perpetually at odds with their anointed vision – it is their nemesis. Substitutions are often produced by interested parties to confuse ordinary people into adopting arrogant and self-destructive perspectives because it benefits elites.
Wisdom is advice built upon a foundation of reality, not internal or subjective machinations. A feature of arrogance is a disinterest in other people’s experiences and input, because you alone possess all the knowledge and experience necessary to plan and live a life on terms you alone define. This will force us to re-tool our own experiences when they ultimately fail to serve our interests, and we will permit ourselves to be both the hero and the victim within our failed journeys. We will learn nothing because everything we did was right the whole time, which means that everything we do in the future will also be right.
Wisdom is in the blind spot of the arrogant, their knowledge is complete and they need not concern themselves because they will not be punished for violating it – it does not apply to them.
We often exist in a state of confusion, especially in our currently hyper-novel and sophisticated world that has produced incredible technologies while also making us sick. The extent of our confusion is determined by many things, but there are a few offerings that entice an existential dread that plagues every one of us. Many of us either began or remain confused about the difference between right and wrong, if they have anything in common, or if they exist at all. Should we revere or value something more than ourselves? If so, what? If not, then how do we stabilize our minds without succumbing to narcissism or nihilism? Do we understand these questions as fundamental, or are they secondary concerns?
Preoccupations about purpose surface eventually, and we move into meaning shortly thereafter. We toy with notions of infinity both in poetry and potentials, and we settle somewhere either at odds or in accordance with our natures. We can sense our inclinations – what we feel driven to do – but there are clear warnings in dedicating ourselves entirely to our default programming, just as there are obvious dangers in trying to be anything other than human. Remaining idle, petrified by these concerns, does not constitute living. Spending all our time needling every decision to mitigate risk is inefficient and unsatisfying. Ignoring all concern is both irresponsible and maladaptive. We worry about making the wrong choice as we attempt to walk a balanced path, but developing one on our own in virtually impossible, and so we look for guidance: established epistemologies and systems of belief, religious or otherwise.
Which to choose? Do we even think about the criteria of an acceptable or functional model? Or do we just pick the one we like? Or the one we are told we should like? Or the one that is trending? If we do not think carefully about which features would specifically assist us in navigating life, then we are no further ahead, but we will gravitate towards the temporary contentment of whatever fleeting guidance is on offer. When these placations end, as they all do, we are met with two options: remain still because it is familiar, or replace it with another short-lived appeasement. This system will repeat until death unless we break our cycle of nonthought by clarifying the criteria of a more substantial model. An important starting point is establishing, in specific terms, our goals and objectives in both the short and long term.
Whenever we decide to establish our criteria, an examination of what we value will play an integral role in giving them coherence. There are many reservoirs of potential discovery available to us, and some prefer ones over others. Our sensory experience is a potential guide, as is our interpretations of those experiences. We can adopt the criteria of our peer group, or attach ourselves to whatever social trends that claim to offer insight. We can lean into our inclinations and formalize them into a model, or we may construct our criteria around the potential rewards we have decided are worthy of pursuing. We can integrate information and knowledge that we believe worthwhile in guiding us towards our goals, or we can rely on existing frameworks and ideologies to define the terms for us. How do we determine which is best? And what does ‘best’ mean, recognizing that none of these alone constitute wisdom? In many ways, all of these are forgeries.
In such matters, wisdom plays a special role. Real wisdom is a commentary on the union of all criteria – it is a well at the heart of concentricity. The distinction of ‘real’ in this instance is an acknowledgment of the forgeries, not only the criteria-generating phenomena, but also the falsehoods that are so compellingly espoused by the anointed – which I call ‘anti-wisdom.’ The main issue underpinning these reservoirs is that each are subject to rationalizations that trick us into avoiding learning anything that preceded us. They do not possess the meta-commentary of their own shortcomings; this is alone offered by wisdom. Systems often fail to see their own inadequacies because they are mired in the muck that rests at the bottom of their respective reservoir. Wisdom draws from each reservoir so a pattern becomes visible from a vantage point that is impossible to replicate from within any system itself. This infers that what is ‘best’ is an orientation towards a perspective that can glimpse the strands of truth woven into reality, because it provides the highest resolution image.
Wisdom is most often maligned by those who prefer we confuse what is ‘best’ with what is ‘best for them.’ Remaining in any reservoir invites confusion and wanderlust, and when we approach their shores, we believe the world ends there, a state actively sought by the anointed. The anointed love cycles, and their favourites are rebellion and revolution, especially ones fought by those they manage to bamboozle into suffering the cost on their behalf. They will keep the waters warm, give us plenty of pool toys, and decorate the shores, but transgressing the threshold is forbidden – wisdom is found in the great beyond.
Rather than codify their antipathy by generating misleading criteria, they can conceal their disdain with falsehoods that present as wisdom, with all its empowering and esteemed tendrils. Anti-wisdom is wisdom’s evil twin: it looks like wisdom, but instead of liberating our minds, it causes us to perceive virtue in the confinement of our reservoir. It modifies a word here and there and hopes we do not notice how the substitution fundamentally alters our operating system. This is most obviously done through the inversion of stability, especially when categories are involved. Ideologies are the most common sources of anti-wisdom – they cause us to perceive ourselves free as it manipulates our strings.
If wisdom would suggest nuance, anti-wisdom suggests rigidity. If wisdom would suggest foundational principles, anti-wisdom suggests relativism. The interplay and substitution of these contrary positions is the preferred game of the anti-wise. The goal is to make understanding impossible. The wise will apply nuance in general, and rigidity when necessary for coherence. The anti-wise do the reverse. The wise will suggest foundational principles for general considerations, and invoke relativism for pleasure. The anti-wise do the opposite. The confusion about when it is appropriate to rely on one approach or another is the engineered bedlam designed to make every view appear equally valid or wise. Interestingly, the wise seek the clarity to end the bedlam, the anti-wise revel in it.
Wisdom recognizes similarities and differences; anti-wisdom insists upon them or ignores them entirely.
Wisdom is sobering and grounding; anti-wisdom is aspirational and idealistic.
Wisdom veers towards individualism; anti-wisdom veers towards collectivism.
Wisdom suggests that self-sacrifice is the only ethical sacrifice; anti-wisdom claims that any sacrifice is worthwhile for the greater good, especially if they are in a different reservoir.
Wisdom balances self-interest and reciprocity; anti-wisdom selectively pathologizes self-interest and empathy.
Wisdom respects the lessons learned by others and applies them in making decisions; anti-wisdom does not believe that these lessons apply to their ‘unique’ circumstance.
Wisdom insists upon coherence; anti-wisdom claims it is irrelevant.
Wisdom insists that reality is respected; anti-wisdom redefines reality or seeks to have it conform to an ideal.
Wisdom leads to fulfillment through meaning and purpose; anti-wisdom robs us of our humanity as we chase fleeting hedonism and narcissism.
These are all examples of the inversion of nuance and rigidity that confuse so many of us into believing we are wise when we are, in fact, the opposite.
Wisdom lies at the heart, pumping perspective into each reservoir before it returns, like a circulatory system. To maximize efficiency, it needs a clear route, free of narrowing, plaque, and unwelcome pathogens. These are all anti-wisdom; they seek heart failure.
Read books, think for yourself, learn how to do something useful - teach others how to do it as well, and speak with your neighbours, whether you like them or not, lest our hearts expire, and our brains soon thereafter.
And that would not be very wise.
Posted: 17 Apr 2023
Human
An end; never a means.
An animal that is constantly at odds with itself in every respect all the time. A mystery wrapped in an enigma.
The only organism that hates existence so much, it actively seeks an early grave.
Capable of the most depraved, disgusting, evil, and vile conduct imaginable. Also capable of the most profoundly noble, ingenious, kind, and selfless acts ever conceived.
Constantly in search of redemption while posturing indifference.
Always worthy of consideration, even when we would rather punish or write them off.
Difficult to trust, but always worth taking a chance on.
Even in our darkest days, even when all hope is lost, never bet against humanity.
No other animal would.
Posted: 5 Apr 2023
Hymenoptera
The penultimate stage of human evolution actively sought by elites, so that we may finally become aligned with how we are perceived by them.
The elite entomologists themselves will remain as human, of course, who will benevolently manage the rest of us for our own good while they live outside the farm; parasites are not permitted in proper dwellings.
Insects are numerous and disposable, and thus do not require care or consideration if they are not sufficiently contributing towards the GREATER GOOD.
Hymenoptera is an order of insects that includes sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. They live in distinct colonies, dedicate themselves to the success of their swarm, prioritize reproduction, and will graciously sacrifice themselves if necessary. There is only one problem: we are not insects, and we cannot function as insects. This does not appear to dissuade entomologists. Their perception of us justifies their tinkering in our lives – we are in their farm – and we are expected to conform to their prescribed trajectory. This validates their belief in their own excellence and status as a ruling class.
Humans cannot function as one, and we suffer when forced. Behaving as a cohesive unit with a singular purpose guided by a concern for the colony is unnatural for us. This does not diminish the notions of pluralism and the universality of human standards, rather, we are distinct in that we can organize around a set of unifying principles that we may prioritize with varying degrees of importance. We can live as a collective but remain as individuals.
Entomologists fight to prevent this from occurring at all costs. We must either live to serve their interests, or remain sufficiently at war with one another while they attempt to build another ant farm.
‘You just keep pumping out those eggs and making that honey, if you know what’s good for you.’
See: HUBRIS, INTELLECTUALS
Posted: 5 Apr 2023
Love
An analogue of adaptation; the model that seeks to modify an organism or its parts to make it more fit for existence.
A thematic statement whose essence is illustrated when we seek to improve someone or something for its own sake according to well-established wisdom.(1)
See: WISDOM
(1) March, M. A., The Song and the Swallow: Authenticity and Love, 2022, FriesenPress, Manitoba.
Posted: 2 Apr 2023
Emotions
Generally speaking: a subjective experience. For the desperate and prideful: leverage.
A weapon employed when our logical payload is insufficient.
An opportunity to avoid thinking, reasoning, articulating, or compromising - I feel, therefore I am.
One of the easiest and most reliable ways to exploit the empathy of others, which is why it is has become so popular - I feel, therefore I deserve.
Both predator and prey for the bleeding heart.
See: VICTIMHOOD
Posted: 1 Apr 2023
Deontology
The only coherent ethical model; occurs when we acknowledge that some things are more important than satisfying our cravings.
The ‘democracy’ of ethical models, because it is the worst except for all the other ones.
Without a doubt, deontological approaches are the cornerstone of human rights and democracy. Equal access to free speech, voting rights, and private ownership are only possible within this model. Equally as important are precepts such as the presumption of innocence in legal matters, the unencumbered pursuit of truth, the honest reporting of events by the media, and the integrity of government programs. None of these manifest as perfect iterations of their deontological models, rather it is our insistence that they necessarily approximate their abstract nature as closely as possible in the pursuit of fairness and justice. Their imperfection does not discount them as asymptotic virtues.
Beyond those listed, there are many more precious human ideals that fit into this model, and even more that do not. No single approach can address the limitless complexity of existence, but the most valuable and important aspects of life must be grounded in principles that function coherently from beneath a veil of ignorance.
Deontology is the only model that disavows rationalizations as the impetus for administration, and the gaps it cannot fill are resolved through the axioms it permits.
See: CONSEQUENTIALISM
Posted: 30 Mar 2023
Consequentialism
An incoherent ethical model; an analogue of Machiavellianism.
A philosophy designed to reframe narcissistic tendencies as sound judgment, which makes the model unethical by design.
Any framework that invites ex ante, ad hoc and post hoc rationalizations will not produce much else.
Freedom and democracy have no place within a consequentialist paradigm. Keep this in mind the next time you hear someone justifying their immoral conduct.
See: DARK TRIAD
Posted: 30 Mar 2023
Critical Theory
A self-issued licence to be an ASSHOLE.
An ideal philosophy for the self-obsessed who miraculously manage to avoid self-reflection at every turn. Purveyors consistently circumvent applying the technique to their own views.
A perversion of the Kantian synthesis model that conjugates literally into Neo-Marxism.
The originator of the most pervasive and destructive ideologies plaguing virtually every Western institution.
See: IDEOLOGY, INTELLECTUALS
Posted: 30 Mar 2023
Internet
Not a real place.
A waking dream for our lesser natures.
A way to behave in an antisocial manner without having to suffer any real consequences.
A democratized and universally accessible collection of all known information, knowledge, and wisdom. Despite this, it is predominantly used to watch porn, insult others, feed our confirmation bias, and seek validation for our insecurities.
Cat videos are also popular.
Posted: 29 Mar 2023
Consumption
A modern sacrament.
How much we consume is a testament to how well we are living. The more we consume, the better our lives.
Ignore the fact that consuming too much makes us sick – we are blessed to have escaped the meager grasp of discipline.
Ignore the fact that consuming certain things in any amount has a deranging and destructive effect – we are here to live our lives to the fullest and enjoy all that this world has to offer.
Eat more, drink more, smoke more, fuck more and spend more. Take more pictures of yourself, watch more videos, obsess over yourself and what others think of you, wear more make up, have more opinions on things you do not understand, and berate anyone who stands in your way.
If none of this is making you happy, it is because you need more.
Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
See: 7
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Decency
An arbitrary and unstable measure used as a justification for destroying or ruining someone’s life.
Antithetical to the rule of law.
When we say or do something that attracts disapproval by interested parties, the argument is that we are being indecent. We are generally not breaking any laws, violating any customs, or harming anyone in any foreseeable or reasonable manner. Even if we are alleged to have caused OFFENCE, is this not an accusation that may be levied against any of us by any number of people that take exception to our views or how we express them? We are all equally guilty then, and so why are some privileged to destroy us when we permit them to exist?
What does this definition of decency come from? Says who? And why should anyone else care? These are questions without obvious answers, and those on offer do not generalize well. It is strange to consider that someone’s subjective interpretation of our decency is an adequate barometer in any setting to determine our inclusion or exclusion in society. It is argued that although we may not have committed any crimes in a literal sense, we have transgressed an ethical boundary that renders us not only inappropriate and unacceptable, but also irredeemable. This is quite the punishment for a dogmatically innocent party.
Whether we receive our sense of decency from an external source (narratives, evolution, ideology, faith) or internally (from our own sense of justice), in which ways are others subject to our standards? Do we give ourselves the permission to interfere in the lives of others based on an unwritten and likely ill-conceived set of acceptable prescriptions? How is a demand for repentance based on rules to which they do not subscribe considered justice? How is cancelling others an appropriate punishment for our offence? How is any of this conceivable in a free society? The answer is relatively straight-forward in this instance: because we are an ASSHOLE.
Assholes imbue their preferences with a moral character, where the conduct of others, if it is deemed inappropriate, is tantamount to a sin. Due to the nature of the transgression, it does not bid forgiveness or discussion, because assholes do not dabble in acceptance or compromise; they only know how to shit on others.
Purveyors of arbitrary measures live arbitrary lives, and they manage their inconsequential existence by disrupting the lives of others who are brave enough to abide by standards that they impose on themselves alone.
Leveraging decency as an argument is a tactic used only by those whose narcissism is so prominent, they have become a caricature, less than human, which is indecent for any us.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Gossip
Junk food; thrifty saturated messaging.
Easily accessible messaging that easily triggers our emotions, but fails to get at the heart of anything in any meaningful way.
Consumed for personal excitement without consideration of an authentic or high-resolution understanding of the subject matter - it is heartless and brainless.
Obsessing about the personal lives of others makes us mentally flabby and fat.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Respect
An asset that exists in extremely limited quantities, hence the interest in mass-producing forgeries for distribution.
Commanded by the worthy; demanded by the inadequate.
Can only be legitimately earned through accomplishment or talent, which makes it the natural enemy of equity. Engineered distribution of any precious commodity vilifies the recipient, despite what is claim by the benefactor.
Necessary for coherent human rights, although the specifics are often misunderstood.
Human rights are a story predicated on an acknowledge that each of us possesses an intrinsic value worthy enough to afford us inalienable rights granted solely by virtue of our birth - our humanity. Within this framework, we are equal in this way and no others. The respect we reserve for ourselves and one another is codified by the ubiquitous humanity that we both share and are contained by.
We ought to respect one another’s humanity, we are not compelled to respect another human.
There is a difference.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Religion
Extended phenotype that has emerged in one way or another across virtually all cultures in recorded history by natural selection.
A source of archetypal knowledge that transcends generations.
An example of how things need not be literally true for them to be important. We are willing to kill or die for our faith.
Demonstrates how preoccupied we are with the afterlife and its value in anesthetizing us against our fear of dying.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Reality
That which punishes us for ignoring it; the constellation of truths.
What is beyond negotiation; the objective beyond the subjective.
“We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand
Reality is what we bump into when we make an error about the nature of the universe, and it is always right.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
Forgiveness
A necessary mechanism for progress in a world without rewind or reset buttons.
In lieu of these modest displays, we often seek to punish others for their transgressions. This is despite the fact that if punishment becomes a preferred modality over forgiveness, then we should expect to see ours as retaliation. It is incredible how quickly suffering is wielded as recompense, and how blurry the line is between victim and perpetrator. We often find the intoxicating aroma of vengeance more attractive than the temperance of sheathing our sword.
Pathological displays of humility have become commonplace, where the pathetic beg for forgiveness for transgressions they have not committed, hoping that it will spare them from future aggression. This is an indication of how vindictive we have become - innocent people feel as though they may be viewed as guilty for the crime of existing. Worse, we seem preoccupied with inventing crimes to induce guilt, whether it be due to our lineage or according to some insane ideological position. It seems that some of us have a guilty conscience, and we would like others to feel as guilty as we do.
Our desire to forgive is intertwined with our desire to punish, and both are informed by our desire for absolution. If we desire absolution, then we may experience this best by forgiving someone for their transgressions. This would make us feel righteous. Alternatively, we may justify punishing them if we feel it shall absolve us of our own sins according to our faith or ideology. This makes us feel righteous in another way.
The desire for absolution manifests similarly when we are the subject. If we seek forgiveness, it is because we would like to be absolved of the burden of guilt we experience due to our transgressions against another. If we are seeking punishment instead of forgiveness, the preferred outcome is still the same: to dissolve the burden.
As a matter of circumstance, we are far more likely the perpetrator than the victim, and it was considered wise to forgive and forget precisely because engaging in a game of never-ending punishment is both destructive and tiring.
When punishment has become synonymous with progress, and our forgiveness is systematically awarded following induced guilt, we have either lost the plot, or we are determined to replicate the sins of our past.
Voluntary and reciprocal forgiveness is a much better strategy. Let us absolve one another through compassion and understanding.
It is discouraging that some of us still believe in reset buttons.
Posted: 26 Mar 2023