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Life is absurd. Sometimes, it’s goofy and absurd. Recovery circles have some of the goofiest and most absurd shit I have ever seen, so here’s a bunch of them in no particular order. The specific incident that motivated me to start sharing some of the goofy shit in these circles is when I had to roleplay as a passive-aggressive rapist in a group session. Within the confluence of events that led to…
Sometimes I find good quotes that haven’t been turned into a Facebook meme exclusively posted by the worst people you know. Yet. “There are moments, psychologists tell us, when the passion for sin, or what the world calls sin, so dominates a nature, that every fibre of the body, as every cell of the brain, seems to be instinct with fearful impulses. Men and women at such moments lose the freedom…
Seriously, this isn’t bashing A.A. I think religious programs are a valid option and even an optimal one depending on the person. I think Buddhists would have a great time at Recovery Dharma meetings, and I think Christians would have a great time at A.A. meetings. I come from a Hindu background, which is kind of like saying “I come from a Western background” in terms of how little it conveys if…
Word choice is something I admit to enforcing selectively. I might state preferences for certain language or phrases in certain contexts, but I rarely adhere to them consistently despite my mostly-good intentions. Still, I feel like voicing some of the differences I see
Humans are far from the only animals that can experience addictive compulsions and behaviors. Bats eat fermented fruit but can maintain their echolocation abilities and coordination in concentrations that would exceed legal limits if given to a human. Some studies suggest that bees prefer nectars that have stimulants like nicotine and caffeine. The primary way birds come across alcohol is through…
I come from a Hindu background. “Hindu” is a practically meaningless label except as a general reference to belief systems and traditions of the network of cultures originating across South Asia. There are some groups that will argue for a nationalist identity behind “Hindu” but this will necessarily be a modern reclamation of the world. Practically speaking, all I know if someone says they’re…
Semantic satiation is the term for saying a word so often that it doesn’t sound real or meaningful for a while. An EEG study from the MIT Media Lab found that people using chatbots to do their work displayed the weakest signs of neural activity for semantic processing, memory load, and creative ideation compared to those using traditional search engines or no tools at all. That means the…
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most competitive places in the world. Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Delhi-NCR, and other regions also rank highly, but the Bay Area is unique in that American higher education applies holistic evaluation that goes beyond standardized testing with defined material to study. Across these regions, the average high school (or equivalent) student gets fewer than…
Drugs and war have gone hand-in-hand well before the War on Drugs. Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers were paid in beer. Ancient Greeks treated wine as a masculine drink for those who face down the dangers of war. Benjamin Rush notably complained about excessive rum being given to American soldiers. In 1846, George K. Smith & Co, which would later become the major pharmaceutical company…
“People like you are still living in what we call the reality-based community. You believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” “That’s not the way the world really works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” “And while you are studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities,…
Examining a society’s mental health policies is a really good way to figure out: how much they blame an individual for being sick and how much they value a standard human life People like to believe that the universe is fair. If they do good things, they get good things, whether it comes from God or karma or organizational leaders. If someone is mentally unwell, we like to think there was a…
Wikipedia is not a good source. It is a better source than ChatGPT or Gemini or any LLM, and it is better than a blog run by someone using their professional credentials to promote snake oil. It is definitely better than Facebook and Whatsapp memes, which are just the modern-day equivalent of email chains claiming Satanists in government are turning frogs gay in preparation for human trials and…
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A
Seriously, this isn’t bashing A.A. I think religious programs are a valid option and even an optimal one depending on the person. I think Buddhists would have a great time at Recovery Dharma meetings, and I think Christians would have a great time at A.A. meetings. I come from a Hindu background, which is kind of like saying “I come from a Western background” in terms of how little it conveys if…
Humans are far from the only animals that can experience addictive compulsions and behaviors. Bats eat fermented fruit but can maintain their echolocation abilities and coordination in concentrations that would exceed legal limits if given to a human. Some studies suggest that bees prefer nectars that have stimulants like nicotine and caffeine. The primary way birds come across alcohol is through…
D
Drugs and war have gone hand-in-hand well before the War on Drugs. Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers were paid in beer. Ancient Greeks treated wine as a masculine drink for those who face down the dangers of war. Benjamin Rush notably complained about excessive rum being given to American soldiers. In 1846, George K. Smith & Co, which would later become the major pharmaceutical company…
E
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most competitive places in the world. Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Delhi-NCR, and other regions also rank highly, but the Bay Area is unique in that American higher education applies holistic evaluation that goes beyond standardized testing with defined material to study. Across these regions, the average high school (or equivalent) student gets fewer than…
G
Sometimes I find good quotes that haven’t been turned into a Facebook meme exclusively posted by the worst people you know. Yet. “There are moments, psychologists tell us, when the passion for sin, or what the world calls sin, so dominates a nature, that every fibre of the body, as every cell of the brain, seems to be instinct with fearful impulses. Men and women at such moments lose the freedom…
Life is absurd. Sometimes, it’s goofy and absurd. Recovery circles have some of the goofiest and most absurd shit I have ever seen, so here’s a bunch of them in no particular order. The specific incident that motivated me to start sharing some of the goofy shit in these circles is when I had to roleplay as a passive-aggressive rapist in a group session. Within the confluence of events that led to…
I
K
I come from a Hindu background. “Hindu” is a practically meaningless label except as a general reference to belief systems and traditions of the network of cultures originating across South Asia. There are some groups that will argue for a nationalist identity behind “Hindu” but this will necessarily be a modern reclamation of the world. Practically speaking, all I know if someone says they’re…
L
Semantic satiation is the term for saying a word so often that it doesn’t sound real or meaningful for a while. An EEG study from the MIT Media Lab found that people using chatbots to do their work displayed the weakest signs of neural activity for semantic processing, memory load, and creative ideation compared to those using traditional search engines or no tools at all. That means the…
O
Examining a society’s mental health policies is a really good way to figure out: how much they blame an individual for being sick and how much they value a standard human life People like to believe that the universe is fair. If they do good things, they get good things, whether it comes from God or karma or organizational leaders. If someone is mentally unwell, we like to think there was a…
T
“People like you are still living in what we call the reality-based community. You believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” “That’s not the way the world really works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” “And while you are studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities,…
W
Wikipedia is not a good source. It is a better source than ChatGPT or Gemini or any LLM, and it is better than a blog run by someone using their professional credentials to promote snake oil. It is definitely better than Facebook and Whatsapp memes, which are just the modern-day equivalent of email chains claiming Satanists in government are turning frogs gay in preparation for human trials and…
Word choice is something I admit to enforcing selectively. I might state preferences for certain language or phrases in certain contexts, but I rarely adhere to them consistently despite my mostly-good intentions. Still, I feel like voicing some of the differences I see