Dick’s behavior indicated knowledge, but his explanation for it was, frankly, not something one would expect from a sane person, and there were other delusional beliefs, amounting to the continuation of the Roman Empire and a fabricated world history. For all people talk about, the content of his delusions was not new.
Read MoreIn my thinking, this hinges upon the “black pill”, which I’m explaining as a coincidence of despair and conspiratorial thinking (there may be other aspects, but I think this is the formation.) The mutant epistemology of conspiratorial thinking provides an explanation for the despair and a supposed pathway out of it, but this is a snare. It only leads deeper into the mire.
Read MoreThat flat space, that lies beyond the fractal canyons of anxiety, is the country of depression, and the only saving grace we can really offer is that, despite how alone it might make you feel, it’s a well-mapped country. There are roads that lead through it, and they may seem flippant to suggest, but I’m part of the generation that was told that if we eschew avocado toast (which I’m...look, I’m still unclear what avocado toast is,) we could one day soon afford a house, and now we’re living through our third recession.
Read MoreThe system, which supposedly generates prosperity for everyone to an unprecedented degree, doesn’t. We’re told that it works, we’re told that doing all of these things should help, and we internalize this narrative. It becomes a subconscious mantra, the way that an Orthodox monk is encouraged to say the Jesus Prayer in time with his heartbeat. You see: we’ve been sold a fantasy that does not map on to reality. Human beings are smart enough that you don’t have to actually give us the reward. You just have to convince us that the reward is there.
Read More
