21–30 of 75 posts
https://without.boats/blog/if-you-can-keep-it/ https://graydon2.dreamwidth.org/307105.html
After reading this essay I became convinced several different government institutions realized they could tank any grassroots movement by inserting a crazy and letting it go from there. This was of course proven to be the case with the Black Panthers where most of the violent agitators turned out to be FBI agents. This fundamentally changed my view on flat organizations, realizing they were vulnerable to predators wi…
This has been noted as a failure mode of democracy — as people won’t risk their individual reputations to challenge radicals garbed in “noble” causes, until the situation is already dire.
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After reading this essay I became convinced several different government institutions realized they could tank any grassroots movement by inserting a crazy and letting it go from there. This was of course proven to be the case with the Black Panthers where most of the violent agitators turned out to be FBI agents. This fundamentally changed my view on flat organizations, realizing they were vulnerable to predators wi…
Flat and structureless are not necessarily synonymous. It's certainly possible to have a highly structured yet flat organization with clear roles and non-hierarchical decision-making.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The one that really changed how I think about the world was "A Muscular Empathy" by Ta-Nehisi Coates https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/a-muscu...
I appreciate the thought experiment of considering whether we would truly act differently in difficult circumstances, as most never engage in that level of self-reflection. However, this article seems to beg the question. Specifically, it starts by assuming that in the face of challenges like being born in poverty, the average person would not overcome them through will or effort alone. As a result, it cultivates emp…
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Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would add “Meditations on Moloch” from Slate Star Codex.
The Slate Star Codex that really spoke to me is "The Categories were made for man, not man for the categories" https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-ma...
After reading this essay I became convinced several different government institutions realized they could tank any grassroots movement by inserting a crazy and letting it go from there. This was of course proven to be the case with the Black Panthers where most of the violent agitators turned out to be FBI agents. This fundamentally changed my view on flat organizations, realizing they were vulnerable to predators wi…
| flat organizations Flat and structureless are not necessarily synonymous. It's certainly possible to have a highly structured yet flat organization with clear roles and non-hierarchical decision-making.
When there is no authority, predators become the authority.
There are relatively few things I've read that I can definitively point to as having almost instantly changed my mind on something. This is one of them. Reading often offers a broader understanding or different perspective, but seldom a sudden flash on insight. Others short reads that have changed my mind in that way include: - "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis ( https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/ ) - "On Photography…
Thanks so much for this list! I'm always on the prowl for things to read that changed how people see the world, but explicit attempts to solicit examples have proved surprisingly unsuccessful. And here you just volunteered it :)
- Erich Fromm, The Art Of Loving. It's about how love (romantic, interpersonal) is not rosy but hard, hard work. All of Fromm's writing is amazing, but this one (for me) had the most personal impact. Another great one is Fromm's The Sane Society.
- Kishimi/Koga's The Courage To Be Disliked. It's classified as self-help, but it's more a pop-psychology summary of Adlerian Psychotherapy. We can choose not to be the product of trauma, or our surroundings. We may get pushed into negative corners by our upbringing, but then we get too comfortable in those negative corners to push ourselves out. The title alludes to a person who has no friends and has a negative image of himself, maybe he's that lonely because he is afraid of being rejected/disliked. He is lonely and miserable, but he is comfortable in the loneliness. It takes courage and hard work on yourself to move out of those holes.
- Hillman/Ventura's We've had a Hundred Years Of Psychotherapy And The World's Getting Worse. In a nutshell, the problem is not always with the individual, often it's just the environment; mindfulness will only get you so far if the house is on fire.
- Becker's The Denial Of Death. We know we die but we don't realise that. How do we generate meaning in the presence of death? There are 'good' (a life project, pushing societies' boundaries) and 'bad' ways (hedonism, drugs etc.). What are the necessary illusions we should create for ourselves to keep pushing?