Three Degrees of Freedom
We don't get to choose reality, but at least we get to choose our view of it.
Mon Sep 16 2024
Phase Blindness
Our felt experience of time is thicker, weirder, and more malleable than you might think
Sun May 26 2024
Mix Math and Morality in Moderation
Quantifying morality is helpful, but we need to be careful
Mon Mar 04 2024
Ego Death by Any Other Name
Dissolution, de-reification, depersonalization, non-dual experience, the oceanic state, psychic death...
Sun Jan 28 2024
Suffering = Pain × Resistance
Meditative techniques for coping with physical and emotional pain. Also, math.
Wed Dec 13 2023
Navigating Manic Psychosis
Some advice on a wild mindstate, from experience and observation
Sun Nov 05 2023
Exegesis: Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain"
George Clinton's masterpiece of semi-Satanic psychedelic Afro-futurism
Thu Aug 31 2023
The Link Between Meditation and Inner Work
Psychological maturity is a requirement for bliss
Sun Aug 27 2023
Exegesis: Stalker and Roadside Picnic
Dissecting Tarkovsky's masterpiece and the novel it was based on
Sun Jul 23 2023
How to Enjoy Things
Cultivating "wide attention" with Marion Milner, Colin Wilson, and Alan Watts
Sat Jul 08 2023
Church of Reality: Ernst Mach on Mind, Matter, and the Illusion of Self
"The ego must be given up."
Fri May 19 2023
Contra Ozy Brennan on Ameliatarianism
Constructing an ethical diet is hard. Utilitarian morality isn't the answer.
Thu May 04 2023
You Don't Always Have to be Rational
Really. It's OK. Take a break. You'll feel better.
Sun Apr 16 2023
The Shapes of Stories with ChatGPT
Investigating classic literature with a Large Language Model
Sat Mar 18 2023
Taoism, Minus the Nonsense
A beautiful ontology, brilliant semiotics, and practical ethics. Also sex magic.
Sat Mar 11 2023
Beware the Variable-Maximizers
Optimizing for a single metric is bad, whether it's clicks, shareholder value, or paperclips
Thu Mar 02 2023
Active Dreaming: Methods, Habits, and Drugs
Ways to improve dream recall, awareness, depth, and engagement
Sun Feb 12 2023
Church of Reality: Max Planck on Idealism and the Role of Faith in Science
"I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness."
Mon Jan 16 2023
Time is a Wheel, Time is an Arrow
Linear and cyclical views of time have competed for millennia
Thu Dec 15 2022
The Psychosocial Beauty of r/AmITheAsshole
Social norms are hard. AITA is the new Emily Post.
Wed Nov 30 2022
Active Dreaming is More Powerful than Meditation and Safer than Psychedelics
Active Dreaming is an underrated way to introspect, combat mental health issues, and access exotic mindstates
Tue Nov 22 2022
Can we Trust Self-Reported Mystical Experiences?
Some heuristics for evaluating experience reports
Mon Nov 07 2022
Church of Reality: Barbara McClintock on Scientific Mysticism and Plant Consciousness
"Every time I walk on grass I feel sorry because I know the grass is screaming at me."
Sat Nov 05 2022
A Different Kind of AI Risk: Artificial Suffering
Avoiding moral catastrophe as artificial intelligence evolves
Sun Oct 16 2022
Church of Reality: Cantor on Infinity and Divine Freedom
Cantor uncovered the nature of infinity, but both mathematicians and theologians accused him of blasphemy.
Thu Oct 06 2022
Church of Reality: Schrödinger on Free Will and Pantheism
Schrödinger was a world-class physicist who wrote a great deal about philosophy, theology, and metaphysics
Sat Sep 24 2022
Psychedelics are Becoming a Touchpoint Between Science and Religion
After centuries of conflict, science and religion are starting to communicate via psychedelic research
Sun Sep 11 2022
The U.S. military is growing concerned about UFOs. Should we worry?
Trying to make sense of a subject rife with nonsense
Sat Sep 03 2022
Digging into the Drake Equation
Or: how I learned to abuse mathematics and make wild assertions
Fri Sep 02 2022
Religion is an Ego-modulator
William James, Aldous Huxley, and the functions of religion
Thu Aug 18 2022
