You Already Know Something's Wrong You're interacting constantly. Texting, commenting, video calls, group chats, "staying connected." And somehow you feel more alone than ever. Not because you don't care about people. Not because they don't care about you. But because somewhere along the way, almost everything started feeling like performance instead of presence. You know … Continue reading When Nothing Feels Real Anymore: A Guide to Actual Contact
Tag: society
When Kindness Needs Boundaries: Understanding Healthy Distance in Relationships
We're often told that being a good person means being open and welcoming to everyone. We hear phrases like "everyone belongs" and "we're all connected." These ideas are beautiful and true in an important way—every person has value and deserves to be treated with basic respect. But here's something that doesn't get talked about enough: … Continue reading When Kindness Needs Boundaries: Understanding Healthy Distance in Relationships
🧭 Structural Stability Self-Check
What this is:A quick way to figure out which collaboration skill you need to work on right now. Not a diagnosis—just a mirror to see where you're getting stuck. Why it matters:Sometimes conversations feel hard, but we don't know why. This helps you identify the specific thing that needs attention. Understanding This Practice You're not … Continue reading 🧭 Structural Stability Self-Check
Evil: Between Circumstance and Disposition
https://twitter.com/DiabolicalSpuds/status/1970837235907035151 Evil: Between Circumstance and Disposition The claim that "evil does not exist" offers seductive comfort in our contemporary moment. It suggests that all human harm can be explained away through trauma, ideology, or circumstance—that beneath every atrocity lies a victim of forces beyond their control. Yet this denial, however psychologically appealing, fails to account … Continue reading Evil: Between Circumstance and Disposition
Comments on “On Great Conversation”
This essay, "On Great Conversation," feels like an extension, and frankly, better expression, of some of the ideas I was trying to get at with Principles of Interaction. They key points: Conversation is (or should be) a co-creation of shared meaning. Good conversation has new additions building on old, whereas bad conversation replaces what came … Continue reading Comments on “On Great Conversation”
Principles of Interaction
Note: This essay is a work in progress, a way to think through some ideas I have about social interaction, reality testing, worldviews and what not. Introduction "Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my 3-year-old son, and the two of them would talk as equals, and I sometimes wondered if he used the … Continue reading Principles of Interaction
Gakjil (Persona)
Cutting Concepts: Status, Relationships, Society and Civilizations.
"Cultural evolution is about overcoming human nature. Or rather, it is about encouraging certain aspects of human nature and suppressing other aspects of human nature. Without civilization, humans tend to organize into small, slightly polygynous groups that fight each other over women and resources. Civilizations evolved because they could form bigger and more efficient armies … Continue reading Cutting Concepts: Status, Relationships, Society and Civilizations.
The Advertising Test
Enjoying The Work Despite Its Creator’s Flaws
"It can still be ours, is the thing. There is a great deal of handwringing about whether we can still enjoy the work of hideous men. The question is not typically how to root out influence. It is whether we can still enjoy, but we are reaching for another word beyond it. What we are … Continue reading Enjoying The Work Despite Its Creator’s Flaws
The Self: Presented, Perceived & Real
Read, "Didi" by Amber Caron reprinted on the Electric Literature website as "A Teenage Girl is a Funhouse Mirror," and I liked it quite a bit. I thought I'd reference it here because I can imagine referring to it again in the future. The key takeaway that I took from it is that it is … Continue reading The Self: Presented, Perceived & Real
Parking Lots & Cultural Stans
"The twin gods of Smooth Traffic and Ample Parking have turned our downtowns into places that are easy to get to, but not worth arriving at.” The quote is from urban designer Jeff Speck. It’s hard to think of a pithier one to describe the parking pandemic blighting America’s city centers — except perhaps the … Continue reading Parking Lots & Cultural Stans
Spielen Macht Frei (Play Sets You Free)
"The Prussian model seeks to create a population for whom work, no matter how mind-numbing or back-breaking, is the only hope. That's why they try to inspire us with the promise of a freedom that will never come. When we keep play alive in our own lives, in the lives of our children, even if … Continue reading Spielen Macht Frei (Play Sets You Free)
Filter Failure & Critical Ignoring
"As important as the ability to think critically continues to be, we argue that it is insufficient to borrow the tools developed for offline environments and apply them to the digital world. When the world comes to people filtered through digital devices, there is no longer a need to decide what information to seek. Instead, … Continue reading Filter Failure & Critical Ignoring
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