The dark connection between 3 BAFFLING things...

A few days ago, I released this righteously indignant rant about the dark connection between 3 BAFFLING things...

One morning this weekend, in that in-between-world between waking and sleeping, my mind made a connection between three things that had been weighing on it...

Baffling thing #1: I'm sure you've encountered (or perhaps even been the victim of) a brazenly abuse parent; somebody who would violently assault their children in clear view or earshot of others. I hope we can all agree that there's little in this world worse than a grown adult attacking a defenseless child. For comparison's sake, I wouldn't beat a little dog in public whose poop I stepped in, because I would be worried that some stranger would intervene and administer the justice I deserve (on top of the fact that it's just wrong to initiate violence and would have been my fault for stepping in poop!) So it's BAFFLING to me that so many parents feel entitled to beat their children in public. 

Baffling thing #2: This astoundingly sordid recent scandal with the FBI enabling this vile predator, Larry Nassar, the team doctor of the US women's national gymnastics team who sexually abused (again, astoundingly) over 330 women. Law enforcement is supposedly hyper-vigilant about protecting women and girls from abuse, yet the assigned FBI agents did their damndest to avoid prosecuting this repeat offender. The motivation of one of the investigating agents seems to be a $400k/year job with Nassar's organization, he's now enjoying his retirement. Again, I'm baffled that the FBI (an organization that's been badly in need of some positive press since I can remember) wouldn't throw this predator in jail.

Baffling thing #3: This one is personal (and not nearly as serious); I shared my recent deep-dive review article, Downloadable medicine is NO longer science fiction, in a number of subreddits relating to medicine, technology, transhumanism, futurism, etc, and to my surprise the Redditors HATED it. In the article, I make the empirical case with compelling scientific and anecdotal evidence along with my personal experience for downloadable medicine AKA infoceuticals - but these Subreddits, supposedly interested in disruptive innovation, couldn't have been less interested. Now I've been on Reddit long enough to know that it's one of the meaner places on the internet but I was still baffled by the scorn and derision heaped on me for daring to suggest that medicine can be something other than a pill, prescribed by a doctor and sold by a pharmaceutical company.

IC Pad by Infopathy

 

4.3

Category: Mind Hardware

What's the connection? Looking at these three things, I conclude that society conspires to protect its evildoers by shaming the nonconformist. There must be some vestigial evolutionary societal mechanism at play that motivates (particularly) institutions and organizations to act in encircling and aiding the most psychopathic. That's dark, isn't it? The main way this happens is with the suppression of dissent; the silencing and shaming of those that challenge the status quo or question the prevailing dogma. 

Modern Western society is being poisoned by really toxic dogma that threatens to usher in a truly hellish century for all of us. I'll ask, where in your personal or professional life do you encounter toxic dogma? 

How might you challenge it? Might you have the bravery deep inside you to stand up and ask: What evidence do you have for this thing we all believe?

Tangentially related, last night I watched the riveting new M. Night Shyamalan movie "Old" (spoilers ahead: if you haven't watched it and intend to skip these next two paragraphs). In this suspenseful horror/thriller, a group of tourists gets trapped on this beach where there their aging is accelerated drastically, adults grow old and die in just a single day. At the end of the movie, we learn that this is a medical experiment conducted wittingly in the ethical fringes of science. Scientists lure tourists onto this beach where they will age rapidly so that they can test new pharmaceutical drugs on them, Bypassing the millions of dollars and years it takes to run a proper clinical trial on new drugs or medicine. It's very interesting to me that Shyamalan chose to incorporate medical ethics in a film released at this time.

The takeaway from the movie is that it's clearly wrong and monstrous to make a small group of innocent people suffer for the benefit of society at large. In collectivist morality, it's OK to sacrifice or kill off 49% of the population so that the remaining 51% can survive or thrive. In individualist morality, it's wrong to sacrifice even a single person for the benefit of the whole. And, what we see so vividly in the movie and learn from history is that collectivist morality ends up being a horror show. So maybe recommend this movie to friends or family members who try to convince you to make very serious medical decisions using collectivist arguments and then point out to them the philosophical takeaway.

I've changed my mind on something...

Since I'm an empiricist, as opposed to a dogmatist, I've decided to sell my digital gold, I've devoted time to investigating gold-backed cryptocurrencies and have invested selectively in the one I find most credible. But, now I intend to liquidate that digital gold, cash out, and invest it in food prepping. By all indications, a dark winter beckons, food prices are going up around the world and shortages are already here in many places. So I'd rather have food stacked up in my doomsday prepping bunker than a balance on the blockchain. Also, what's becoming obvious is that gold is not the hedge against inflation that it once was, my gold investments have been totally outperformed by my crypto investments this year. Ideologically, I love the idea of gold investing, but the gold price is not reflecting the insane amount of money printing. I suspect this is because the demand for gold is offset by so much smart money fleeing the economic Absurdistan of modernity into the ruled-by-math-alone aeriform crypto realm. 

What's the solution to living and thriving in the bizarre modern world that seems so engineered for economic and social collapse? The answer is...

Fortification of Full-Spectrum Antifragility

The challenge with antifragility (health, financial, interpersonal) is that it takes discipline and focus. I'm here to help, I've got a few spots open in my Lean Life Coaching practice, here's how this works...

1. Fill out the Lean Life Coaching form, this gives me all the information I need to know if can actually help you. In the form, you'll describe what's worked for you and what hasn't.
2. Then we'll get on a 90-minute call to put together a holistic action plan
3. I'll keep you accountable to a 30, 60, or 90-day goal. I'll monitor you using a habit-tracking app so you'll know that you need to stick to the plan we put together.
4. After that period we'll touch base on another call to audit your progress and make adjustments to your action plan as needed.

Often for the 30, 60, or 90-day period, I'll keep clients accountable for abstaining from all the things that make them weak and waste their time (crappy food, porn, alcohol, weed, video games, etc - be prepared to suspend your Netflix account!) for the duration of the productivity sprint. And they surprise themselves with how much progress they make in a month (or two) towards the goals that matter to them. I call this Lean Life Coaching because we are focused on action - we're not going to spend hours and hours talking. This lean format allows me to keep this life coaching service affordable.

Apply for Lean Life Coaching

If you want to outperform the average and make your goals happen, you MUST stack multiple motivational mechanisms and tools - otherwise, you can anticipate waking up with a hangover on New Year's Day 2022 a little older, fatter, poorer, and unhappier than you are now. Seriously.

Recently embraced by the frigidity of a cold shower,

Jonathan Roseland