I got an email from my old friend Dick not too long ago, who is maybe the smartest guy I ever met, and I’ve known a lot of smart guys. He was coming through town and we decided to meet at our old hangout, Jay’s Bar.
Dick was from California, but he came through Chicago every now and then back in the 90s, and he often joined our cypherpunk hangout in the back room at Jay’s. Continue reading “You’re Already Rich”
When I say homeschooling is easier than you think, I really mean it: it’s easier and better. (And yes, I’ve done it myself.) That said, there are complications and difficulties involved.
Given the current reign of madness in so many schools these difficulties hardly matter, but I’d still like to begin by describing the hard parts of homeschooling: I want you to know what you’re getting into. Continue reading “Homeschooling Is Easier Than You Think”
Nearly every creature upon this planet has one or more natural predators: creatures that prey upon them. Humans seem to be a striking exception; even though we’re bereft of natural weapons – claws, ripping teeth and so on – we easily protect ourselves from even large predators. There are the occasional “bear in the woods” stories, but those come when we leave our constructed environments. Continue reading “Our Natural Predators”
Have you ever noticed that pessimistic and depressed people avoid babies?
I’m sure there are exceptions to this statement, but on the whole, I think it’s accurate. Dark, gloomy minds shy away from babies. I think there’s something to learn from this. Continue reading “When Was the Last Time You Held a Baby?”
Jews know how to suffer. Most Christians don’t, although they once did. Bitcoiners and homeschoolers know how to suffer. “Vote harder” types seldom do.
There’s no virtue in suffering itself, but suffering is required if you want to be more than mundane. If you can’t accept suffering, anyone with a pin and a threat owns you. So, let’s be clear on this: Living in any way except the one prescribed by authority requires suffering. Continue reading “Suffering Is Required”
There are a large number of people waiting for a full-spectrum, apocalyptic crash of the Western system. What I maintain is that it won’t happen. And I hope to convince you that I’m right.
The risk of this moment is a long, steady decline in quality of life, not an apocalypse.
Not that an apocalypse doesn’t have great dramatic appeal, of course…
Continue reading “Why You Shouldn’t Believe In A Full-Spectrum Crash”
Sadly, there are fairly few people left who understand what the Hippies were really about. Mostly people remember the Hollywood version: pot-smoking, political protesting and clumsy dancing. The actual Hippies, especially the early Hippies, were a much different group. They were interesting and brave people: people very much worth remembering. Continue reading “The Wisdom Of The Hippies”
There is a simple fact that people are unable to ingest. You can explain it carefully, with charts, graphs and solid documentation… and they may even like the sound of it… but after the explanation, it fades away and is forgotten.
The problem is simply that this truth is too foreign. It just doesn’t fit within our mental universe. Most of us don’t directly fight against it, but even so, we aren’t able to integrate it. Continue reading “The Truth We Can’t Accept”
Christianity, as people in their 60s and 70s have observed, was pushed off the public stages of the West over the past two generations. At this point, whoever speaks well of it in such places must be prepared to absorb blows.
Nonetheless, nature abhors a vacuum and just about everyone, including the most strident atheist, requires something to believe in. And so the exit of Christianity drew in new faiths, and one in particular, to replace it. Continue reading “The West’s New Faith”
We can call this one an experiment..