-you’re ungrateful -you’re greedy -you’re distracted but other than that, you’re not doing enough, you’re not active enough not ALIVE enough Setting aside motivation, and likely poison of delusion in it, setting aside frenzy, restlessness, compulsiveness, distractability DOING MORE is better than doing less directionally it’s right doing LESS is closer to death …
If You Got Lucky — You’re Left With a Tall Order or Stagnation
Let’s say you got LUCKY, what now? -you think you deserve it, naturally -you think you’ve earned it -you think more great things will keep happening to you, your growth will continue at this dazzling pace Ironically it sometimes works this way, At least you’re not lacking confidence And you can use the accumulated …
No One Is Exempt From Madness Unless Reality Brutally Humbles Them
NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, IS EXEMPT from becoming UTTERLY UTTERLY DERANGED — when REALITY ceases to INVALIDATE THEIR DELUSIONS no one, It doesn’t have to have ANYTHING to do with INTELLIGENCE or INSIGHT or EGO, If REALITY around you is WARPED ENOUGH — you’re actually RATIONAL to BELIEVE what you see TIME AND …
The Bastard Child of the Serious and the Common
I like the marriage of the serious, the formal, the academic, the rigorous, the theoretical with the casual, the informal, the vernacular, the everyday, the practical I also despise it Because this is yet another way in which we mislead others and ourselves Not everything can be formulated rigorously And then even if …
You’re Confused About Public Sentiment and Power
Public sentiment is just people = number of individuals = individual magnitude doesn’t so much matter = so basic statistics will do, e.g. asking the same question and seeing the answers Likewise for contexts like democracy, where each vote is equal = then you can extrapolate what the state is like politically (albeit politicians …
“Good Enough” Not Good Enough, “Not Good Enough” Good Enough
People mistake “good enough” for NOT good enough and people mistake NOT good enough for good enough A thing has attributes If you need something for its particular attribute — all things that have that attribute are good enough Optionality however, the extra potential utility — doesn’t make it better now — but …
Politics Should Be Boring
Politics should be boring Politicians should be boring Structure should be boring Law and order should be boring Processes should be boring The world is chaotic enough Not only in bad a way, such as: wars, including culture wars, plagues, pandemics, crises, natural disasters But also in good way, such as: …
Vice Spreads and Corrupts The Rest
I once wrote: Weakness Transcends the Weak and Corrupts the Whole I was too narrow. I should have written: “Vice spreads and corrupts the rest” or maybe simply: “Corruption spreads” See there are two paths: 1) You’re already mediocre and complacent, and complacently let yourself gradually sour, corrupt, rot 2) You’re doing quite …
Think Big and Give Up are Not in Contradiction
Similar idea is explored here: The World as Paradise and Great Disappointment consider this a more practical extension going after what you want striving trying things exploring evolving are obviously good What does good even mean here? Selfishly, solipsistically, they make you happy They make you thrive, before you die We don’t have …
Contrarianism Is Downstream From Being Right
Are you a contrarian? Or just a fool? The question to ask is: Are you MORE OFTEN RIGHT than others? If not — then you’re just a fool, aren’t you? Of course there’s the question of payoff Maybe your scepticism makes you unduly reject prevailing wisdom sometimes, And maybe it makes you susceptible …