What is this place?
Update: 2023-11-24 0634 PM
Last Update: 2023-01-05 0628 PM
https://www.patreon.com/posts/76847404?pr=true
Updated: 2017-02-06 0317 PM
This place is somewhere between a book, and a kid, and a Muk Yan Jong.
It’s where I work out intellectually, emotionally, ethically.
Thank you very much. 🙂
“They could be shown the mastery of their minds and bodies, so that they could achieve the full expression of their powers, not spend their lives like ineffectual ghosts trapped in a marvelous machine beyond their skill to operate. They could break the domination of pain, so that it became a sentinel and not a tyrant, sending messages which the rational mind could accept or ignore as it pleased. Above all, they could choose to die only when they wished; they would be shown the many paths that led beyond the grave, and the price that must be paid for immortality in all its forms. A vista of infinite time would open up before them, with all its terror and promise. Some minds could face this, some could not; here was the dividing line between those who would inherit the universe, and those who were only quick-witted animals.” ~Arthur C Clarke (Via character.)
A collection of essays and posts pertaining to macroscopic areas of interest with regard to human society and its place in reality. Comments deeply appreciated.
Primary Author’s Psychological Profile
INTJ, Enneagram type 1 with a 2 wing (The Advocate), Rule Utilitarian, My book preferences, My sparse and rarely updated music preferences, Hidden variable believer.
Background
I was born in 1979 and I am a writer. Underlore.com is the primary home of my work. I have lived all of my life in Kentucky. I have been active on the Internet since 1996 at the latest where I began by debating religion and other large scale social policy and philosophy issues in IRC chat rooms for several hours per day.
Frustratingly I soon found myself saying the same things over and over, and also found many flaws in my own thinking thanks to these debates. Memetic evolution forced me to learn to convert my responses into essay and other semi-permanent, reusable forms as well as learn to error check my work and be aware of cognitive and rhetorical fallacies which made error detection more difficult. To improve my kind of writing entailed improving myself and my parity with reality, though I didn’t see that explicitly at the time.
This general work in amateur information theory influenced my thinking and exposed me to concepts that in turn changed everything else about my worldview. (GEB, ISBN:9780465026562 for example.)
Trying to error check this kind of work, is akin to trying to perfect it, and leads literally everywhere. It mushroomed into an impossible task to do on my own. Thus, my desire to write for as wide an audience as possible meshed with my desire to write as accurately as possible, and my web presence was born. Initially not to help people but to leverage their minds as a sort of passive fact checking staff.
This worked splendidly I believe. The quality of my work and of my world view in general has changed radically, and continues to change. Indeed updating all my old work has grown very difficult.
I am a happier and more ethically responsible individual now, as well as far more adaptable intellectually speaking, above and beyond the natural consequences of aging. I am leveraging culture for personal growth. I see being proven wrong now as evidence of that growth. I am comfortable being a permanent work in progress. Though having now recognized the impotence of facts to change opinion has gutted much of my motivation to write, hence my relative inactivity.
I believe that my exposure to so many diverse minds, while both exposing my core values, and retaining an open mind, indeed hoping to be proven wrong as a general principle, has allowed me to evolve as a person far more than I would have without exposure to the Internet and people like yourself. I encourage commentary and debate wherever I speak my mind. But I have also grown weary of having the same debates repeatedly with people who refuse to read links, or indeed even read previous paragraphs.
I just can’t handle it anymore. It’s like debating with an NPC in a video game.
So, as I said, thank you.
I soon realized this is a life’s work, and in dealing with so many minds, many of them holding contrary opinions, I had to answer the question of why am I doing what I do. This is part of that answer.
But passive evolution, memetic or genetic, can only go so far, and more importantly can only go in certain directions. We must now turn erosion into sculpture. We must take the wheel, now that we can. It is our responsibility.
And that is why I am strongly sympathetic to transhumanism (as defined simply as the practice of augmenting humanity with technology) and strongly in favor of hastening the singularity and the development and deployment of open source friendly artificial intelligence.
I feel that our future niche in the cosmos is to be symbiotic with a life form we create for the purpose.
Philosophically the highlights are that I am against revenge, and believe that less rules are the general answer, a broad spectrum cure for our social ills. But I’m no anarchist/libertarian. Increased functional freedom (technology) is preferable to decreased social freedom (laws) when it comes to shaping the behavior of the populace for the good of the species.
Goals
My goals are absurdly lofty, but fortunately I am far from alone. Ultimately I wish to free myself and humanity from pain and death via ethical means. All other goals are fluid and subordinate to that core principal. I feel a personal responsibility to improve the fate of others, without requiring them to become like me. Because diversity is strength and a homogeneous population is one that is begging for extinction.
http://underlore.com/the-apex/
Contact
I can best be contacted via commenting on this blog as I personally moderate every one of them. Simply state in your comment that you wish to speak and give me a means of contacting you and I will do so and never publish the comment.
May I have your Stumble Upon account information if you have one?
Innomen.stumbleupon.com
In the 3 hours I’ve spent here I’ve become a huge fan. Thank you for your tremendous contributions.
I have a request, Whenever you do get around to finishing the blog outlay, could you start with site navigation? I have to blindly click through each post individually instead of being able to scroll through them all or be able to pick one out from a list. I know its petty inconvenience but we stumbling net-surfers have grown accustomed to a certain standard of blog skimming.
It’s not petty at all, what good is wisdom if you can’t find it?
Lay out what you want to see done and I’ll do my best to do it. My blog sucks because I’m a newb because I don’t practice because I don’t have goals heh.
Pick something specific like “here’s what sucks and here’s how it should be” and maybe if you want to be super helpful find a relevant wordpress tutorial or theme which clears up the problem and I’ll apply it.
Constructive criticism for the win.
P.S. My blog posts have no tags because I go insane trying to tag them. The subjects overlap. Sexism monogamy masculism feminism family government society sociology psychology economics etc etc etc. Some posts would end up with more tags than words of content if I “finished.” So I just deleted them all. let history sort them out, unless you want to sign up for the job 😛
Email me with tags for any given article like tag, tag, tag, and I’ll paste them in, if it get on your nerves or again you feel like helping.
Brandon dot Sergent at Gmail dot com
It’s not petty at all, what good is wisdom if you can’t find it?
Lay out what you want to see done and I’ll do my best to do it. My blog sucks because I’m a newb because I don’t practice because I don’t have goals heh.
Pick something specific like “here’s what sucks and here’s how it should be” and maybe if you want to be super helpful find a relevant wordpress tutorial or theme which clears up the problem and I’ll apply it.
Constructive criticism for the win.
P.S. My blog posts have no tags because I go insane trying to tag them. The subjects overlap. Sexism monogamy masculism feminism family government society sociology psychology economics etc etc etc. Some posts would end up with more tags than words of content if I “finished.” So I just deleted them all. let history sort them out, unless you want to sign up for the job 😛
Email me with tags for any given article like tag, tag, tag, and I’ll paste them in, if it get on your nerves or again you feel like helping.
Brandon dot Sergent at Gmail dot com
bleh, I remember trying to use wordpress when I was on student council; its pretty and I guess it has potential but its a royal pain trying to get it all figured out. I just use blogspot now, but even with that I’m too lazy to actually customize anything. I have a detrimental aversion to organization.
Anyway, I’ve never really payed much attention to tags myself, but what would be nice for me is when I click one of the month archives, to get all the posts of the month presented on one page that I can scroll down through (presented either in their entirety or abbreviated form). As it is the archives only present one post at a time and require one to repeatedly click “previous post” until the end of the month arrives.
Arg that’s a huge PITA, I’ll look into that right away.
Edit: I changed it to display 10 posts at a time and display the full text of the posts instead of summaries. If you have an opinion on either of those for further improvement, please share.
I don’t read my own archives so I rely on feedback.
Arg that’s a huge PITA, I’ll look into that right away.
Edit: I changed it to display 10 posts at a time and display the full text of the posts instead of summaries. If you have an opinion on either of those for further improvement, please share.
I don’t read my own archives so I rely on feedback.
Updated 4/6/2010 3:34 PM So, some of the earlier comments won’t make sense. Sorry.
Your site is certainly a very good issue for me. I have to come slowly for now: I have a big task with my own files and works.
“I like to ride my bike depending on the time of day, not so much to avoid adverse weather but to avoid my (probably) irrational perception or people staring at me.” ha! Me too.
Well, the hosting is paid for my entire lifetime. So assuming a continued lack of popularity my blog should be here for a long while. So take your time. 🙂
I love my bike but I don’t have a lot of area to ride in it. This place isn’t very pedestrian friendly.
Well, the hosting is paid for my entire lifetime. So assuming a continued lack of popularity my blog should be here for a long while. So take your time. 🙂
I love my bike but I don’t have a lot of area to ride in it. This place isn’t very pedestrian friendly.
I stumbled onto your review of an Alex Jones DVD, which resonated. Liked it so much I started reading and now I see that I have spent over an hour taking in your stuff. My initial response is positive (as this is, for lack of a better term, from “gut instinct”, it is likely to stay positive. The heart and head can self deceive, but the gut is usually spot on). I think your solutions to be mostly correct, but would caution against the unintended consequence. We are blessed and cursed to be in a time of monumental transition.
Surviving that transition, and influencing it’s outcome is a priority. I think you are correct about how we can get there. Thanks for being brave enough to share your ideas. I’ll be paying attention, and will help you when possible.
Godspeed – dl
Thank you for your support and kind words. I am currently in the final stages of working on a book. I plan to sell hard copies and give away digital copies with a link to donate just in case people are feeling generous. Comments like your motivate the shit out of me.
Alex Jones is a tool. I mean that literally.
And yes this phase shift is going to be very dangerous. Mostly to the oblivious. I hope to make it less so for people. Strength through diversity. Comment on what ever you think needs commenting on. I’ll approve them eventually. Damn disqus spam :((
i kind of thought your subjects were pretty cool. after setting up wordpress, i thought more general subjects: science, religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, math, etc. were pretty cool. it probably helps to organize the information, if you don’t do it, then who will? google?
the issue with interdisciplinary posts could be solved by categorizing a post in multiple subjects. a lofty goal might even be to write interdisciplinary posts that include all subjects?
besides, considering some people are only interested in particular subjects, it might be a way to attract traffic initially…
incidentally, playing legos i think is really cool. i have some legos in my backpack (apocalypse?), that i tried playing with, but failed. just couldn’t do it, don’t know why. i’ll probably try a few more times. considering the happiest moments i’ve ever had in my life probably was playing with toys, i am envious.
I plan to do it more but I need to make a special desk for it, something like a semi circle that is very wide and very shallow. Something that maximizes surface area exposed to light so I can do less digging and more building.
Stumbled upon a video and as I often do wherever there are comments, I read them and found yours. Just wanted to say that it is very refreshing to read well thought out replies and sound rebuttals in this ocean of ignorance that permeates society. Well done sir.
Let me see if my detective skills are up to snuff, you found me via the
NASA debate didn’t you 🙂
Clues.
1. I recently replied to that exhausting thread for the first time in a
month a few days ago.
2. The recent final shuttle mission has increased net traffic about
space across the board.
3. You explicitly mention a video 🙂
In any case, thank you very much! I hope you find something of value in
my content.
And as much as I love comments of any type I Really love the nice ones
that makes me feel like I’m not talking to the wall 🙂
It was a video about a ranting lunatic (over a store being closed). I’m sure you’ve probably written volumes on numerous sites (as have I, though perhaps not as much, nor as eloquently), so deducing which of your writings brought me here is no small task 🙂
You’re quite welcome, there are so few intelligent, critical thinkers out there (at least relative to the opposite), that I like to acknowledge people like yourself, if for no other reasons than the feeling that I’m not alone in my thought process and the fear that our ‘types’ will become extinct if we always think we are talking to the wall (as I do on a daily basis).
I’ll be perusing your blog as time permits, thanks for putting it out there.
Arg, looks like I have to turn in my pipe and magnifying glass. 😛
I actually was blending the two in my mind, that is the one I had responded to recently, not the NASA debate. I guess I’m the one with space on the brain, not the Internet, at least not enough to dredge up that old thread.
I know the one you mean. I really dug in on that one for some reason.
You want to know what’s funny? I have yet to watch the video. I know what it is, but I haven’t watched it ever.
Yes, I have written huge amounts all over the Internet. I’m one of only two or three Innomens out there. (Ignore the less savory types with my name lol)
I’ve often thought about the extinction of my archetype since virtually all my friends have bred and I have not. I think like all males I’m a bit of a long odds gamble as far as reproduction and evolution goes. The goal is to obviate reproduction by surviving as an individual for an appreciable amount of time, adapting directly, willfully, and intelligently, technology permitted, as opposed to simply hitting shuffle every 75 years and hoping for the best. Also, I would very much like a clone of myself to raise as a son. I’m probably one of a very small number of humans with aspiration of parthenogenesis lol.
I do very much appreciate your effort, and it makes me wonder if you have a blog somewhere?
Did I link to my disruptive technology post? If you only read one thing I’ve ever written, read that. ( http://underlore.com/TBA/?p=663 )
The video was not particularly interesting, the comments are where my real interests lie also; what are people thinking?How do their minds work? etc. Reading your comments made me smile as though recognizing a fellow being of the same minority race stuck on an alien planet 😉
The reproductive aspect is always a sad and ironic commentary on society, I’m always reminded of the movie ‘Idiocracy’ which is a perfect illustration of the type of people that commonly post useless drivel all over the net. I’ve never wanted a child, for many reasons, not the least of which is my feeling that it’s too cruel a world to bring someone into without being able to give them the choice to decline first. However my fiance has two daughters with malleable minds, so I have that to work with;)
I no longer have the same tenacity I once had to debate with people that are incapable of discerning between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’, much less argue a point, so alas no blogging for me. I’ve written short stories and the odd bit of poetry along with some long-winded rebuttals and semi-diatribes on various forums over the years. I tend to get worn down by the straw man arguments and constant ad hominem attacks, so my online presence is more often lurking than participating the older I become:)
Thanks for the link, I will definitely give it a read.
By the way, can you tell me the process by which my desktop became my avatar? I did not upload the picture, so I’m a little concerned at how the picture was captured?
Thanks
I’m not sure, but at a guess it’s some sort of default within disqus or one of the other communications systems it links to. I have too many to keep track hehe.
Google? Email disqus?
I like the expression you have here, Inno!
Your obvious sharp intellect, tending towards a side glance, not sure what you think about us (the viewers) or if you should trust us/our views, and there’s that slightly worried trace added together with the determined mouth. I hope not disappointment?
With your looks on top of your intellect you can do anything, Inno!
(But you know that! Haha.) …’^L^,
What does it mean to be under review at StumbleUpon?
I just clicked your link, hoping to find a registration link. I wanted to register for an account there because I know many of my readers have found Psychopathic Writings via StumbleUpon, and I would like to refer good websites to good directories. But I found an almost blank page with your name and the words ‘The account is under review’.
Search this page for “banned” and look at the next two links.
Updated: 2015-05-05 0803 AM
Updated: 2016-12-12 0224 PM
I’m Innomen’s mother, I think. At least he was the one they handed me after an emergency C-section. At 6 months he was obviously smarter than me and his father, and we’re pretty smart. He thinks like noone I’ve ever known and doesn’t hesitate to tell anyone his opinion, especially me. :). He’s our only child and the love of my life, but I admit I do have to throw him out of my house frequently, to prevent a cerebral or cardiovascular event. I can’t comment on his writing because I, being a mere mortal, have no idea what he is talking about. I’m also not “techy” and have no desire to be and that drives him crazy. I enjoy that actually, ;).
Hello.
I’ve read your articles about “hardcore” gamers and devknights. On one hand I am truly relieved that there is someone out there advocating for casuals like me, but on the other hand I feel that I need to make a confession. I couldn’t find a way to send a private message, so I’m taking bold risk here with this confession.
The confession I need to make is that I myself may be a devknight. Please allow me to explain. There is a certain developer out there that gets so much unwarranted venom BECAUSE their games are fun or at least trying to be fun. I’m going to spit it out and say that it’s Sonic Team. I find Sonic the Hedgehog to be one of THE MOST underappreciated mascots next to Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, and Pac-Man. I have strove the defend these people from whatever vitriol comes their way in terms that they need to quit listening to overdemanding fans AND haters alike and just go with their gut. However, you will also find that I have criticized them bluntly myself for giving into meme culture and relying on self-deprecation to stay relevant, and hiring their greatest detractor who basically is there to keep them from realizing their full potential.
To tell you the truth, writing this confession hurts because it brings back painful memories of when I used to hang out with a gang of tryhards.
Hehehe You sound like a forgiving fan to me more than a devknight or tryhard X) If this is a confession then I absolve you of your sins my son 😛 X) Thank you very much for taking the time to read my work and leave this comment. There are devs I do like both as a class and as individuals. They just are rare, and I set the bar high. If you’d like this comment hidden or moved, just say the word. 🙂 PMing me on twitter is easiest for strangers I’d imagine. I’m @innomen.