LATEST BLOG POSTS

Yesterday I posted a passage from Steven Pressfield’s new book The Arcadian about how being induced to act against our values—being corrupted from our values—affects us, in Wounded Warriors, by Steven Pressfield, and Ourselves. Yesterday I quoted a scene from Steven’s book where three warriors share the effects on their minds of their heroism. It began with what happened to their bodies, which seems the visible counterpart of what happens[…] Keep reading →

I finished The Arcadian by podcast guest Steven Pressfield yesterday. I found the whole book gripping, but one passage stood out as relevant to my work and upcoming book. A big part of my upcoming book is what happens to us when we are induced to act against our values—that is, when we are corrupted from our values. We didn’t ask to be born into a culture that makes it[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Arcadian, by podcast guest Steven Pressfield: The book’s cover describes it as genre-bending and it is. I’m scheduled to record a second episode with Steven this week, so look for the recording soon. I found it hard to put down. Steven makes the details vivid—of one character’s toes gripping the grass or the size of the splinters of a piece of wood being broken. I[…] Keep reading →

I rated Eger’s book The Choice as one of My favorite books and movies of 2025 as well as my life, comparable to Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. I listened to The Choice and I don’t remember another book that led me to tears so much. I was outright bawling. I can’t recommend it enough. I found her through Philip Zimbardo’s work. They were friends and colleagues. She knew[…] Keep reading →

It’s been a while since I wrote about how economist Julian Simon’s theories don’t work. I last wrote about him in Some thoughts and responses to Julian Simon about six months ago. I heard him mentioned in a video, which prompted me to share a thought I had on my list of blog post ideas. Consider homelessness, a perpetual problem, as far as I know, in every society. One of[…] Keep reading →

Most speculation I see about what might happen with artificial intelligence anticipates some stable situation where humans and AI reach an equilibrium. Do people not understand exponential growth? Do they not understand that AI drives the development of AI? Even if you don’t know differential equations or calculus, which predicts exponential growth, you have to see that that situation means that the faster AI develops, the faster AI develops more[…] Keep reading →

[Note: I wrote the post below before last week’s post Artificial Intelligence and atrophy of mental ability like intelligence, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and expression, which it overlaps. I held back on posting it because of the question in the last paragraph. I’m finishing the third volume of The Gulag Archipelago and studying the effects of dominance hierarchy, which artificial intelligence is forming. People who criticized Stalin didn’t fare well. Should[…] Keep reading →

Learning about the US founders leads to finding great insight. I came across words from John Adams as President of the United States. I copy the whole letter below (it’s out of copyright), but call attention to a few notes. The words some people know: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He’s saying we have[…] Keep reading →

People call my attempt to pollute and deplete less “extreme.” Let’s consider the view behind this defense that to me feels like an attack. It comes from people living in a culture that induces us to act against our values. Most of us can’t eat breakfast without hurting others, for example by funding production that funds fossil fuel extraction for the plastic and transport if you eat packaged food. I[…] Keep reading →