The idea that running away is a virtue bothers a lot of people, but when you find that the greatest men and women of history have done precisely this, it’s time to re-evaluate, no matter how it makes you feel.
Compliance is how we shrivel and ultimately die to ourselves. Acting on your own decisions – with all the risk that implies – is the path of life and liberation.
(Originally published June 22, 2020.)
I hadn’t planned on this post, but the ongoing mania compels me to contribute something toward the preservation of sanity and civilization. And so, here are some things to remember: Continue reading “The Preservation of Sanity And Civilization”
What I’m calling “monkey masculinity” is a deep and old problem, and one that I will shortly explain. And unfortunately it will not vanish in any short period of time.
The “surge” part of our title, however, refers to a recent phenomenon, and it will vanish. In fact, I think its process of decline is beginning right now. Continue reading “The Surge And Fall Of Monkey Masculinity”
I am no fan of violent revolution, yet I have to admit that John Kennedy had a point when he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” The forces that drive revolutions push themselves to the surface one way or another. If they can find a peaceful path, they have a chance to transform the world slowly and beneficially. If they are repressed, violence occurs sooner or later. Continue reading “How Cryptography Revolutionized Revolution”
Almost no one in the broader world knows about the crypto apostles. (My term, not one they apply to themselves.) Even rather few in the larger crypto community know much about them. So I’m not talking about famous names, but quiet people. I’ve decided to tell you about them with some hesitation. Continue reading “The Crypto Apostles”
This is a set of passages from my files: The thoughts of notable geniuses on the subject of education. I hope that parents, especially, will find them informative. Continue reading “Geniuses on Education”
People very often expect authorities to possess superior information. After all, the assumptions of the 20th century were that those at the top of large systems have information the rest of us don’t, and that they make better decisions because of it. This was the lesson of the factory, the military and government. In all cases, those at the top were believed to have the best information. Continue reading “The Quality of Information Within A Hierarchy”
If you could go back in time a thousand years, you’d find people who were eerily similar to your present companions. The same is true for people who will live a thousand years from now. Some of them will be nearly identical to the people you now love, and you would care deeply about those people, the same as you do their present-day counterparts. Continue reading “The Immortal Hymn of Mankind”
The thought that something like “the right to a secure retirement” could destroy us seems a little crazy at first. Who, after all, opposes old people living comfortably? Nonetheless, many rights do destroy, and it recently struck me that I had never seen a clear and dispassionate explanation of why. And so I’ll rectify that. Continue reading “How Rights Destroy Us”
Rules and obedience have never elevated anyone to heroism and greatness, but I know what does, and I discovered it in the rubble of 9/11. Continue reading “A Recipe For Heroes And Saints”
