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The book that fully crystalized this for me were the books by Nassim Taleb (his Incerto series). These books completely and utterly changed my life. If you rea

The book that fully crystalized this for me were the books by Nassim Taleb (his Incerto series). These books completely and utterly changed my life. If you read the descriptions it may not seem directly related to what I'm talking about but he gives you a complete and fully articulated intellectual framework for understanding the pitfalls of modernity and also as importantly in explaining his ideas he references ancient authors, bits of history and mythology. Those references will give you a good idea of the depth and breadth of what's there and you can choose from among those where you want to dive deeper.

mistermann 6y ago
I'm curious your thoughts on this: In Praise of the Gods - What the Rationalistic World Forgot https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-the-gods https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-the-gods
- googthrowaway42 6y ago
  Wow thank you for sharing. This is such beautiful prose and such a wonderful articulation of my beliefs. I fully identify with every word of this. I will be sharing this with a bunch of my like-minded friends.
  - mistermann 6y ago
    He has quite a few other articles, perhaps not quite as good as that one but the same style - I'd say this guy has a very special skill that you don't see too often. https://simonsarris.substack.com/archive https://simonsarris.substack.com/archive I'd go so far as to say that the ideas in that post, and the manner in which they're presented, is getting pretty deep into subversive propaganda territory, but in a good way.
    - googthrowaway42 6y ago
      Absolutely, this is basically neo-reactionary kind of stuff but from a deep metaphysical perspective. Another author worth checking out is Curtis Yarvin who is much more focused on material/realpolitik concerns. This is a good one to start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQO3VbJsMw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQO3VbJsMw He also has a substack but the focus is much more narrow than what you get in these interviews. It's intended to be a modern version of The Prince: https://graymirror.substack.com/ https://graymirror.substack.com/
      - mistermann 6y ago
        I've done almost no reading on him, even though I've known of his significance for years, maybe I should. Do you have an opinion on Peter Thiel? Like, in the big scheme / long run...do you think he's good, evil, chaotic neutral, other? Googling, this came up: https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-moldbug-variations-pein https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-moldbug-variations-pein Leaving aside the hyperbole, propaganda and delusion, there's some interesting tidbits... > Yarvin told Yiannopoulos that he had been “coaching Thiel.” > “Peter needs guidance on politics for sure,” Yiannopoulos responded. > “Less than you might think!” Yarvin wrote back. “I watched the election at his house, I think my hangover lasted into Tuesday. He’s fully enlightened, just plays it very carefully.” If true, that's quite interesting. > Yarvin believes there is no such thing as democracy—and Thiel has said as much, as well. Yarvin’s stunted political imagination prizes strict hierarchies—despotisms, monarchies, and experimental new feudalism via a “patchwork” of corporate fiefdoms managed by absolute dictators who might be appointed by a vote of property-owning “shareholders.” Unlike some advocates of Silicon Valley secessionism, Yarvin has never been shy in acknowledging that this amounts to a revolution and would require the forcible overthrow of the established order. He advised, for instance, that the new dictator of California should throw the old elected governor in Alcatraz, and then briskly proceed to pack the government with Google guys. > It’s worth considering that Thiel is not just another wealthy Trump adviser. He is a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon, and the Homeland Security Department, through his Big Data surveillance startup, Palantir. (The name is a Lord of the Rings reference; like many big race theorists in Silicon Valley Thiel and Yarvin adore J.R.R. Tolkien, which can be read as an epic glorification of a winner-take-all race war. Tolkien’s trilogy also conveniently doubles as a regressive fantasy universe where heroic Nordic souls either gain power by force or come into it via birthright—in both scenarios, a lineage that leaves them untroubled by the irksome niceties of democratic procedure.) This seems like quite a counter-intuitive situation - very strange bedfellows. I'd think they'd all be aware of it, and also aware that each other are aware of it. And then there's also Nick Land. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Land I think it's worth watching if the media machine ever goes after these relatively obscure people.
- mistermann 6y ago
  Hahaha, why would someone downvote the posting of a link, and the asking of someone's opinion on it? Nothing wrong with that though (childish downvoting). Or outright lying. These are both completely acceptable actions here on HN. But one better not comment on any of this behavior...oh no, that would be violating the HN Guidelines, and we shan't have that.

mistermann 6y ago

I'm curious your thoughts on this: In Praise of the Gods - What the Rationalistic World Forgot https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-the-gods https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-the-gods

googthrowaway42 6y ago
Wow thank you for sharing. This is such beautiful prose and such a wonderful articulation of my beliefs. I fully identify with every word of this. I will be sharing this with a bunch of my like-minded friends.
- mistermann 6y ago
  He has quite a few other articles, perhaps not quite as good as that one but the same style - I'd say this guy has a very special skill that you don't see too often. https://simonsarris.substack.com/archive https://simonsarris.substack.com/archive I'd go so far as to say that the ideas in that post, and the manner in which they're presented, is getting pretty deep into subversive propaganda territory, but in a good way.
  - googthrowaway42 6y ago
    Absolutely, this is basically neo-reactionary kind of stuff but from a deep metaphysical perspective. Another author worth checking out is Curtis Yarvin who is much more focused on material/realpolitik concerns. This is a good one to start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQO3VbJsMw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQO3VbJsMw He also has a substack but the focus is much more narrow than what you get in these interviews. It's intended to be a modern version of The Prince: https://graymirror.substack.com/ https://graymirror.substack.com/
    - mistermann 6y ago
      I've done almost no reading on him, even though I've known of his significance for years, maybe I should. Do you have an opinion on Peter Thiel? Like, in the big scheme / long run...do you think he's good, evil, chaotic neutral, other? Googling, this came up: https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-moldbug-variations-pein https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-moldbug-variations-pein Leaving aside the hyperbole, propaganda and delusion, there's some interesting tidbits... > Yarvin told Yiannopoulos that he had been “coaching Thiel.” > “Peter needs guidance on politics for sure,” Yiannopoulos responded. > “Less than you might think!” Yarvin wrote back. “I watched the election at his house, I think my hangover lasted into Tuesday. He’s fully enlightened, just plays it very carefully.” If true, that's quite interesting. > Yarvin believes there is no such thing as democracy—and Thiel has said as much, as well. Yarvin’s stunted political imagination prizes strict hierarchies—despotisms, monarchies, and experimental new feudalism via a “patchwork” of corporate fiefdoms managed by absolute dictators who might be appointed by a vote of property-owning “shareholders.” Unlike some advocates of Silicon Valley secessionism, Yarvin has never been shy in acknowledging that this amounts to a revolution and would require the forcible overthrow of the established order. He advised, for instance, that the new dictator of California should throw the old elected governor in Alcatraz, and then briskly proceed to pack the government with Google guys. > It’s worth considering that Thiel is not just another wealthy Trump adviser. He is a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon, and the Homeland Security Department, through his Big Data surveillance startup, Palantir. (The name is a Lord of the Rings reference; like many big race theorists in Silicon Valley Thiel and Yarvin adore J.R.R. Tolkien, which can be read as an epic glorification of a winner-take-all race war. Tolkien’s trilogy also conveniently doubles as a regressive fantasy universe where heroic Nordic souls either gain power by force or come into it via birthright—in both scenarios, a lineage that leaves them untroubled by the irksome niceties of democratic procedure.) This seems like quite a counter-intuitive situation - very strange bedfellows. I'd think they'd all be aware of it, and also aware that each other are aware of it. And then there's also Nick Land. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Land I think it's worth watching if the media machine ever goes after these relatively obscure people.
mistermann 6y ago
Hahaha, why would someone downvote the posting of a link, and the asking of someone's opinion on it? Nothing wrong with that though (childish downvoting). Or outright lying. These are both completely acceptable actions here on HN. But one better not comment on any of this behavior...oh no, that would be violating the HN Guidelines, and we shan't have that.