Author: Tom
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Foundations of Monothink
Culture programs a society to operate in a desired way. Social norms, memes, and even the very language we use, shape how we think and therefore act in the world. Newspapers, TV, social media – these are all powerful engines of cultural message delivery and curation. This is why we have PR, brand, and influencers…
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Scarcity and Abundance
We live in a mindset of material scarcity and time abundance when it’s the other way around. When was the last time you thought about how long you had left to live? Unless we get a diagnosis we almost never think about how much time we have left.
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What if selfhood is a parasitic meme?
Julian Jaynes explores the idea that the “self” is installed via culture, not emergent by default from our minds. In his book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, he explores a beautifully complex and wide-ranging theory that suggests that we developed internal monologues as a mechanism of coordination and control.…
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How I think about self development
The right questions Always interrogate the question and verify the assumptions. Especially when dealing with areas that have outsized potential impacts on your life. Most people never question the question – do so and you instantly unlock more critical thinking. You angle of attack is important and is usually the primary influence on outcome. The…
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The Big Question – 2025 Edition
Here are my latest answers to the big questions I bump into all the time. Recorded for posterity and future reflection. I plan to come back and answer similar questions on a semi-regular basis. What is the purpose of life, the universe, and everything? Although I’m not convinced by the framing of this question and…
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Maximum You
Put aside the readings you’ve been doing about ego destruction and dissolution of self for a moment, because I want to talk about you. Or, to be truthful, any part of this universe in the process of selfing into a person. Lifespan This is typically what people are referring to when they talk about improving…
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Fake Science
Fake Science is a beautiful term. It perfectly captures the art of defining a metric, taking measurements, analysing those data points, and continually generating a complex output before chaining it to other inputs for yet more bullshittery. This is something I see almost on a daily basis, and it gets to the core of what…
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The Data Shufflers
“Dennis look!” came a worried request. “Huh, what’s up?” “It’s the humans again, they’ve built a data shuffler that does the shuffling for them!” “For the love of trifles not again” said the older man, his face all scrunched up and he pushed his thick glasses onto the top of his greying head, averting his…
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Honeymooning in Crete
A memory bank of our time away on the beautiful island of Crete. Take Off The journey is the reward – so say those beyond the finish line – but I’ll agree that the buoyancy that appears in the days leading up to a holiday is wonderful. While I’m typically dialling up my stress levels…
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Health Debt
When you’re young you’re made of rubber and magic (to quote Chris Williamson). Your body is primed to go full bore into the world and hammer through life at full speed. You’re in absolute health credit – you just don’t know it. But as you age, you effectively spend down that credit and most people…