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<h1>Authority - Consent&#39;s Blind Spot</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>July 2, 2020</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<blockquote>
<p>
2025 disclaimer: I haven’t thought through all these ideas in a while,
but I probably would change some of this or soften/rephrase it.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
Consent occurs when an individual voluntarily agrees to the proposal or
desires of another. It comes from the concept that who should decide
what happens to your person, is you.
</p>
<p>
There are two ways people interact: with consent, and without it. Some
people care a lot about consent, but overall, most take whichever route
is easiest, or more convenient.
</p>
<p>
People respect consent in most of their face-to-face dealings with
others. Violating someone’s consent in person is usually met with
resistance, possibly very strong resistance with a long-lasting impact.
But there are covert ways to violate consent, so that the target must
not notice the violation—or if they do notice, they must be unable to
determine who is to blame.
</p>
<p>
Pretty much everyone has had circumstances where they did something
because another person, or group of people, compelled their compliance.
Classic examples include paying taxes, being drafted, and avoiding
certain activities, beliefs, or substances.
</p>
<p>
Here are some popular excuses for violating consent that you may have
seen:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am actually helping you.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>
You like some of the things I do, so you must accept this as well.
</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone else lets me do this.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone else said it was okay if I do this.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I am doing this, but someone else is responsible for my actions.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>You agreed to this by being born here.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I am allowed to do this.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
That last one combines all the others into one argument, called
authority. This is the idea that certain people are justified in
violating consent. Usually there is a vaguely religious ceremony
associated with the granting of authority—something like a holy
document, large gatherings of people, formal outfits, or important
sounding titles.
</p>
<p>
Sometimes consensual relationships are described as involving authority,
such as a boss at work having “authority” over an employee—but the
difference is clear: if the boss says to do something but the employee
no longer consents, they could exit that relationship.<br />
Sometimes people refer to an expert as an “authority” on a certain
matter, but this definition is also not of use here. I refer to
authority here as the ability to act upon another’s person, without
regard for consent.
</p>
<p>
One problem with authority is that all the people on earth are humans.
There’s nobody better than humans who would obviously deserve special
treatment, nor is there some obviously superior category of human, so
people expect some excuse for how an ordinary person obtains authority.
</p>
<p>
In certain belief systems, the excuse was “God chose me and made me
worthy.” Contemporarily, the claim is based on “the will of the people”.
Whoever wins a special regional popularity competition is considered to
have authority over everyone in that region, even people who disagree.
</p>
<p>
You would think acting on someone in a way they don’t allow is
difficult, but people are impressed by ceremonies of authority, and they
are confused by the way everyone involved claims that their actions are
someone else’s responsibility. Even if people manage to see through the
tricks they are usually still afraid to resist authority out of a belief
that nobody will help them. So almost everyone obeys.
</p>
<h2 id="solutions" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#solutions" aria-hidden="true"></a>
Solutions
</h2>
<p>Once you have seen through this trick, what can you do?</p>
<h3 id="look-for-ways-to-sidestep-authority-altogether." tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#look-for-ways-to-sidestep-authority-altogether."
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Look for ways to sidestep authority altogether.
</h3>
<p>
Since very few people accept <em>absolute</em> authority, there are all
kinds of limitations to its scope. If you can find ways to move your
activities to areas of life that are not “covered” by authority, you
will be able to ignore it more.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a
href="https://theconsciousresistance.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/How_to_Opt_Out_of_the_Technocratic_State.pdf"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>How to Opt Out of the Technocratic State (PDF)</a
>
by Derrick Broze
</li>
<li>
<a
href="http://www.kopubco.com/pdf/An_Agorist_Primer_by_SEK3.pdf"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>An Agorist Primer (PDF)</a
>
by Samuel Edward Konkin III
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.seasteading.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>The Seasteading Institute</a
>
</li>
</ul>
<h3
id="teach-other-people-how-to-see-these-tricks-more-clearly."
tabindex="-1"
>
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#teach-other-people-how-to-see-these-tricks-more-clearly."
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Teach other people how to see these tricks more clearly.
</h3>
<p>
Relatively few people claim to have authority. If even a moderate
fraction of people resist authoritarian demands, it becomes impossible
to compel them all by force.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a
href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4jzSARXHuuwhBfzGNYhSVE4gJ8zmRnTH"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Playlist: Thomasz Kaye Animations</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://fee.org/stories" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>Foundation for Economic Education</a
>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="promote-alternatives-that-respect-consent." tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#promote-alternatives-that-respect-consent."
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Promote alternatives that respect consent.
</h3>
<p>
For every authority-based solution to a problem, there is a more
effective consensual solution, and usually the consensual way of doing
things is already being used somewhere, and has lower costs and better
outcomes.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a
href="http://daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_of_Freedom_.pdf"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>The Machinery of Freedom (PDF)</a
>
<a
href="http://daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_of_Freedom.prc"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>(Ebook)</a
>
<a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYkdEU_B4o"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>(Video)</a
>
by David D Friedman
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="use-the-ceremonies-of-authority-against-itself." tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#use-the-ceremonies-of-authority-against-itself."
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Use the ceremonies of authority against itself.
</h3>
<p>
If someone with authority asks your opinion on some topic, steer them
away from choices that violate consent. It may even be appropriate to
support people who seek positions of authority if you believe they will
prevent it from being used, but don’t be surprised if their encounter
with power changes their values.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://lp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>Libertarian Party</a
>
</li>
</ul>
<h3
id="surround-yourself-with-people-who-care-about-consent."
tabindex="-1"
>
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#surround-yourself-with-people-who-care-about-consent."
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Surround yourself with people who care about consent.
</h3>
<p>
If you know the people around you care about consent, then when someone
claiming authority makes demands of the community, it will be much safer
to ignore the demands since you would not be alone.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.fsp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>Free State Project</a
>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="additional-resources" tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#additional-resources"
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Additional Resources
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a
href="https://spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/1.htm"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>The Problem of Political Authority (Chapter 1)</a
>
<a href="https://amzn.to/2AyQxw0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>(Amazon)</a
>
by Michael Huemer
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://ia601208.us.archive.org/27/items/236222899TheMostDangerousSuperstitionLarkenRose2011/the-most-dangerous-superstition-larken-rose-20111.pdf"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>The Most Dangerous Superstitition (PDF)</a
>
by Larken Rose
</li>
<li>
<a
href="http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>The Law</a
>
by Frédéric Bastiat
</li>
</ul>
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<h1>Embracing Mysticism</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>October 16, 2021</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
Logical arguments no longer work. This has been especially visible in
the pandemic response in 2020. If you dug even a little below the
surface of any mainstream narrative in the past two years, you likely
found points of disagreement. But showing people scientific papers,
charts, statistical analysis, or other types of evidence accomplishes
nothing, or worse it invites accusations of being part of the Other
Team, one of those backwards, wrong, stupid people.
</p>
<p>
In mid-2020 Vin Armani (now Cyprian) started calling this change “The
Dim Age”<sup class="footnote-ref"
><a href="#footnote1">[1]</a
><a class="footnote-anchor" id="footnote-ref1"></a></sup
>. He suggested that most people still see the world as exclusively
physical, oblivious to patterns of reality that are plainly obvious to
more mystically aware people.
</p>
<p>
In an attempt to remedy my newfound illiteracy, I started exploring
symbolism, which as I understood it dealt with identifying and
understanding meaning. I found Jonathan Pageau’s project
<a href="https://thesymbolicworld.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>The Symbolic World</a
>, which has some very accessible videos breaking down movies and other
pop culture artifacts from a symbolic perspective
<sup class="footnote-ref"
><a href="#footnote2">[2]</a
><a class="footnote-anchor" id="footnote-ref2"></a></sup
>. These commentaries did not seem arbitrary or speculative, but pointed
to cultural trends that I couldn’t un-see once I understood them. I
binged a bunch more of his material, including eventually a book his
brother Mattheiu wrote,
<em>The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis</em
><sup class="footnote-ref"
><a href="#footnote3">[3]</a
><a class="footnote-anchor" id="footnote-ref3"></a></sup
>. Through this I discovered a side of reality I had been almost
completely oblivious to, and what’s more, an aspect of my faith which
had somehow completely passed me by.
</p>
<p>
From there I started listening to the
<a
href="https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/lordofspirits"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Lord of Spirits</a
>
podcast. I learned that commonplace, obvious understanding of existence
as material <em>and spiritual</em> has been mostly lost, displaced by
modern confidence that the material world is the limit of reality, over
which sovereign mankind rules. The ancient faith of Christianity, known
now as “Eastern Orthodoxy”, corresponds with reality, especially
spiritual patterns of reality as we see more plainly every week, better
than anything else I know.
</p>
<h2 id="additional-thoughts" tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#additional-thoughts"
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Additional thoughts
</h2>
<p>
For a while I think my highest values have been freedom and truth. A
desire to be solely responsible for myself, and a desire to understand
myself and the world fully and accurately. But I didn’t realize that my
chief obstacle is hardly megacorps and governments: I am ruled by my own
out-of-control desires: for comfort, pleasure, control, satisfaction,
even self-mastery. In a paradise where my every whim was manifested, I
would still be a slave to desire, consuming and <em>wanting</em> more
and more.
</p>
<p>
Investigating eastern orthodoxy, this ancient Christianity, revealed a
better path to freedom and truth: aiming higher. Every action and choice
is in service to something. Instead of serving little tyrannical gods
like comfort or pleasure, or potentially nobler gods like a country or
even a “liberty movement”, I will attempt to serve the Most High.
</p>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="footnote1" class="footnote-item">
<p>
<a
href="https://freemanbeyondthewall.libsyn.com/episode-478"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Free Man Beyond The Wall episode 478: We’ve Entered The ‘Dim
Age’</a
>
<a href="#footnote-ref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a>
</p>
</li>
<li id="footnote2" class="footnote-item">
<p>
<a
href="https://thesymbolicworld.com/videos/symbolism-propaganda-in-popular-culture/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Symbolism and Propaganda in Popular Culture</a
>,
<a
href="https://thesymbolicworld.com/videos/the-fall-of-loki-into-the-multiverse/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>The Fall of Loki (Into the Multiverse)</a
>
<a href="#footnote-ref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a>
</p>
</li>
<li id="footnote3" class="footnote-item">
<p>
<a href="https://amzn.to/4iBOExr" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis: A
Commentary</a
>, ISBN 978-1981549337
<a href="#footnote-ref3" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a>
</p>
</li>
</ol>
</section>
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<h1>Finally, a Coherent Worldview</h1>
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<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>July 14, 2023</date>
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<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
Around the time of my previous post, I had just been received into the
Orthodox church. Since then I have found it to be everything I was
looking for, and a great deal more. There is such a wealth of wisdom,
going back thousands of years. And it was all there, un-seen, un-read,
as far as I was concerned not existing at all! It seems impossible to me
that I was so unaware of these treasures by chance.
</p>
<p>
Father Seraphim Rose, Saint Paisios, Saint Porphyrios, Elder Thaddeus of
Vitovnica - to name only a few! - lived in this world, recently. They
speak plainly and lovingly about modern and familiar concerns. Their
example and guidance are a priceless treasure! And not only they help
me, but participating in the tradition of the Orthodox Church has… I
don’t even know how to say it all. I have experienced how the prodigal
son felt when he took a few trembling steps back to his father, and
instead of the rejection or anger he had earned, he received joyful,
unearned forgiveness. His father <em>ran</em> to him while he was still
far away!
</p>
<p>
Here is what I know, now from experience: Jesus Christ is life and truth
and love. To look for life, or truth, or love apart from Him is
pointless! It’s a contradiction, like looking for light by marching into
the shadows. God made me, and He loves me more than I love myself.
Because this is true, I want to do everything His way, even if I don’t
understand it at first.
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<aside>May 15, 2025</aside>
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<aside>April 24, 2025</aside>
<p class="item-summary-description">
The computers will start thinking, and people will stop.
</p>
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<article class="item-summary">
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<aside>June 05, 2024</aside>
<p class="item-summary-description">New look, simpler tech.</p>
</article>
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<a href="/posts/finally-a-coherent-worldview/"
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>
<aside>July 14, 2023</aside>
<p class="item-summary-description">
Why did I think I could figure everything out on my own?
</p>
</article>
<article class="item-summary">
<a href="/posts/embracing-mysticism/">Embracing Mysticism</a>
<aside>October 16, 2021</aside>
<p class="item-summary-description">
Society is moving from a materialistic era into a mystical one. I
describe my attempt to gain mystical proficiency.
</p>
</article>
<article class="item-summary">
<a href="/posts/needs-based-communication/"
>Needs-based communication</a
>
<aside>May 26, 2021</aside>
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How to connect with others through shared human needs.
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<a href="/posts/the-trivium-a-tool-for-learning-anything/"
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>
<aside>April 03, 2021</aside>
<p class="item-summary-description">
An ancient methodology for learning, which formed the basis of
classical education in the Middle Ages and Rennaisance.
</p>
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<a href="/posts/authority-consents-blind-spot/"
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<aside>July 02, 2020</aside>
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<h1>Needs-based communication</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>May 26, 2021</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
Needs-based communication (usually called non-violent communication or
NVC™) is a way of understanding yourself and others with a unique
insight: everyone has their own personal reactions to the world, but
people have the same basic needs. We recognize those needs in other
people, and that common connection can allow us to communicate clearly
when there is conflict.
</p>
<p>
<strong>Needs</strong> are universal to humanity. They are common drives
that we all experience, and this universality makes them perfect for
connecting with each other. Some broad categories of needs are the needs
for: connection, physical well-being, honesty, play, peace, autonomy,
and meaning. Needs can also be specific: a need for clarity, nurturing,
integrity, trust, space, etc. Needs are abstract, not connected to
people or actions. For example, peace is a need, muting TV commercials
is not. Here is
<a
href="https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/needs-inventory"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>a partial list of needs</a
>
from the Center for Non-Violent Communication (CNVC).
</p>
<p>
Everything <em>anyone</em> does is an attempt to meet a need. None of
these universal needs is wrong or inherently harmful, although sometimes
the strategies we use can be.
</p>
<p>
<strong>Conflict</strong> happens when our needs aren’t met. We get
stuck in conflict when we mix up needs and strategies. Needs never
conflict with each other, only strategies do.
</p>
<p>
When we experience conflict or negative feelings, that indicates that
there is an unmet need. In an attempt to end a conflict, we often settle
on unsatisfying resolutions:
</p>
<ol>
<li>
We suppress the need and move on, painfully leaving the problem
unaddressed.
</li>
<li>
We come to an uneasy agreement about who is the winner and who is the
loser, and the loser gives up on meeting their need. The immediate
conflict is over, but the problem is not really resolved.
</li>
<li>
We escalate, expanding the conflict in an attempt to win, at the
other’s expense if necessary.
</li>
</ol>
<p>
These resolutions can happen despite our best intentions, as a result of
not understanding what’s happening as we fight. A very common mistake is
to confuse needs and strategies.
</p>
<p>
<strong>Strategies</strong> are things we do to meet our needs. In
contrast to needs, which are abstract and universal, strategies are
personal, specific, and widely varied.
</p>
<p>
For example, consider the need for self-expression. There are as many
strategies as there are people and situations: singing, writing,
talking, composing, dressing a certain way… and on and on.
</p>
<p>
Jumping into a conflict strategy-first is bound to cause problems if
that strategy doesn’t meet others’ needs as well as your own. The way
past conflict is for everyone involved to understand each others’ needs,
and <em>then</em> work together to find a strategy to meet those needs.
</p>
<p>So, <strong>how do you figure out your own needs?</strong></p>
<p>
Negative feelings are a sign that you have an unmet need. Unfortunately,
most of us have learned to bundle in certain judgments and name them as
feelings. For example, I might think I am feeling <em>abandoned</em>,
but really this is a feeling of disconnectedness, vulnerability,
loneliness, or something else, combined with a judgment that someone
else has made me feel that way.
</p>
<p>
The truth is that the same situation can affect people very differently.
This means that feelings must come from a person’s own response to
things. In order to see your feelings clearly, it is important to take
ownership of them as <em>your</em> feelings rather than something caused
by the world around you. I have found this to be very challenging, but
also incredibly rewarding.
</p>
<p>
Once you have an honest name for what you are feeling, think about what
need sparked the feeling.
</p>
<p>
There is a (kind of clunky) formula for requesting help meeting a need
without tacking on strategies, demands, judgments, or other baggage. As
the exercise becomes more habitual, you won’t need the formula, and can
accomplish the same thing more naturally.
</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
When <em>[observation]</em>, I felt <em>[feeling]</em> because I was
having a need for <em>[need]</em>. (possibly also a request:) Are you
willing to <em>[action]</em>?
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
In the spirit of communicating without judgments, the observation should
be strictly focused on facts, with no mind-reading or attribution at
all. Sharing your feelings in addition to the need can help the other
person recognize the need and how it affects you. If the other person
understands the need, you can also make a request for some specific
action to help meet your need.
</p>
<p>
It is very important that the action you request be feasible, concrete,
and specific. Asking someone to change their behavior forever, think a
certain way, etc is too much. The request should also really, truly be a
request and not a demand. A “No!” should be as welcome as a “Yes!”
because the goal is to find a strategy that meets your needs
<em>and</em> theirs.
</p>
<p>
There is a (similarly clunky) pattern for discovering someone else’s
needs. As you listen to them, you will probably get an idea for how they
feel, and you may be able to guess what need they are experiencing. You
can ask:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
When you <em>[observation]</em> do you feel <em>[feeling]</em> because
you are having a need for <em>[need]</em>? (possibly also:) Right now,
would you like me to <em>[action]</em>?
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
Like the other formula, this is just a beginning point, almost too rough
to use except for training your responses and replacing old
communication habits.
</p>
<p>
These are two sides of the same coin, a pattern that draws a line from
the stimulus, some observation, through the needs, towards a solution.
Even if you guess wrong, just focusing on someone’s feelings and needs
demonstrates that you are really interested in their problem.
</p>
<p>
Even without explicitly using this pattern (observation ➔ feeling ➔ need
➔ request), just by thinking about needs (your own and others’) you can
untangle conflict and see other people with much more empathy. Maybe
that reckless driver is having a need for excitement and power, and
zipping around you was the best strategy they could come up with. Just
seeing past the image of others as enemies or obstacles can make the
world much less hostile, by revealing them to be real humans, people you
might be able to connect with. This way of thinking can also be a path
to growth as you take ownership of your feelings and see your needs
clearly.
</p>
<p>Some resources for exploring these ideas more:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.therightword.info/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>The Right Words and Beyond</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://amzn.to/44cpIsV" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life</a
>, ISBN 189200528X
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.cnvc.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>The Center for Nonviolent Communication</a
>
</li>
</ul>
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<h1>Site design updated</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>June 5, 2024</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
New design! The tools I used before have a lot of unmaintained or
outdated dependencies and I wanted something a little simpler. The new
site uses
<a href="https://pnpm.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pnpm</a>,
<a href="https://www.11ty.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11ty</a>,
and
<a
href="https://mozilla.github.io/nunjucks/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Nunjucks</a
>. Content is still in
<a
href="https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>markdown</a
>.
</p>
<p>
One thing I’m proud of is a visual ping for footnotes.<sup
class="footnote-ref"
><a href="#footnote1">[1]</a
><a class="footnote-anchor" id="footnote-ref1"></a
></sup>
When you click a footnote<sup class="footnote-ref"
><a href="#footnote2">[2]</a
><a class="footnote-anchor" id="footnote-ref2"></a
></sup>
it briefly highlights the thing you jumped to.
</p>
<p>
In the upper right I added a style toggle that applies the font from
Star Wars, “Aurebesh”. I learned how to read it but sometimes want some
practice.
<span data-language="aurebesh"
>People who can read this are cool and I like them.</span
>
</p>
<p>I also finally made a section for recipes!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
May 2025 edit: I updated the design some more without changing the
tech stack. The main improvements are animated clouds and a host of
minor adjustments.
</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>
June 2025 edit: I have continued to alter the design. Pray I don’t
alter it any further.
</p>
</blockquote>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="footnote1" class="footnote-item">
<p>
It highlights when you click back, too.
<a href="#footnote-ref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a>
</p>
</li>
<li id="footnote2" class="footnote-item">
<p>Hi. <a href="#footnote-ref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
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<h1>The Trivium: A Tool for Learning Anything</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>April 3, 2021</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
Information today has become siloed. It’s a common belief that little,
if any, expertise from one field of knowledge transfers over to other
fields. But there is a forgotten tool that anyone can use to confidently
approach new subjects and problems: the <em>Trivium</em>.
</p>
<p>
The ancients considered the liberal arts to be composed of seven parts.
First was a foundation called the <em>trivium</em>, composed of grammar,
logic, and rhetoric. Following that was the <em>quadrivium</em>, which
was arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy (numbers, numbers in
space, numbers in time, numbers in time and space). The trivium
(literally, “three ways”), is a framework for learning.
</p>
<h2 id="grammar" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#grammar" aria-hidden="true"></a> Grammar
</h2>
<p>
Grammar is about gaining knowledge: collecting information, without
judgment or analysis. It answers the questions “Who, what, where, and
when?” This is possibly the most important step, since (depending on
what you study) essential information may not be readily available.
</p>
<h2 id="logic" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#logic" aria-hidden="true"></a> Logic
</h2>
<p>
Logic is about gaining understanding. It answers “why?” This is the
foundation for relating to the world. It has three components:
filtration, correlation, and analysis. It places the information
gathered into context, and eliminates inconsistency and resolves
conflicting perspectives.
</p>
<h2 id="rhetoric" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#rhetoric" aria-hidden="true"></a>
Rhetoric
</h2>
<p>
Rhetoric is about acting wisely: the application of knowledge and
understanding, put into correct action. It answers “how?”
</p>
<p>
Methodically applying this method provides a clear next step when
encountering any unfamiliar topic. This is a powerful tool for
methodically determining the best way to achieve your goals.
</p>
<h2 id="resources" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#resources" aria-hidden="true"></a>
Resources
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a
href="https://triviumbinder.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Trivium Binder Project</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/59477946/Trivium-Method-of-Critical-Thinking-and-Creative-Problem-Solving"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Tragedy and Hope: Five page summary of the Trivium</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://www.scribd.com/document/33744483/Trivium-Method-of-Thinking-vs-Other-Methodologies"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Shadows of the trivium in narrow disciplines</a
>
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<h1>Thinking machines</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>April 24, 2025</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
There’s an exchange early in the classic '80s movie TRON. Some
scientists are talking shop:
</p>
<p>
<img
src="/2025-04-24--computers-will-start-thinking.jpg?v=72b55e6fa16c"
alt="Still from TRON, left to right Linda, Alan, and Gibbs, in conversation."
/>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
<strong>ALAN:</strong> I tell ya, ever since he got that Master
Control Program, system’s got more bugs than a bait store.
</p>
<p>
<strong>GIBBS:</strong> Ehh, you gotta expect some static. After all,
computers are just machines, they can’t think…
</p>
<p><strong>ALAN:</strong> Programs will be thinking <em>soon</em>.</p>
<p>
<strong>GIBBS:</strong> (wryly) Hahaha, won’t that be grand –
<em
>computers and the programs will start thinking, and the people will
stop!</em
>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
Gibbs has a point. The modern vision of a utopian future is one where
work is relieved, and people are free to pursue leisure, or exercise
their creativity with art, writing, and poetry. Thinking computers are
here now, in the form of “large language models” (LLMs) like ChatGPT.
Setting aside the irony that creative works are the first and most
visible applications of LLM technology – is that imagined future
actually a good one?
</p>
<h2 id="mom-is-always-right" tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#mom-is-always-right"
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Mom is always right
</h2>
<p>
When I was a kid, I remember a day going to yard sales with my mom in
the family minivan. It was early summer, a hot day. The windows were
down, and I complained that if the vehicle has good air conditioning, we
should use it. What was the point in getting all hot? “To get used to
the warm weather,” came the answer. What an injustice! We were sweating
back there! Later in life, I took a short trip to Arizona in August.
Everyone scurried from building to building. Where the sun was doubled,
reflected off of glass skyscrapers, the temperature jump was alarming.
It was actually unsafe to spend long stretches outside unprepared. But
when I returned to Massachusetts, for the rest of the summer 85 or 90
degrees Fahrenheit felt like nothing.
</p>
<p>
All that to say, the work that LLM technology offers to relieve isn’t
just about achieving a result. The effort maintains and builds our
abilities. Work pushes us to connect to each other for help, or to
persevere in doing something difficult. Outsourcing that work eventually
means losing the ability to do it yourself.
</p>
<h2 id="attention-must-be-paid" tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#attention-must-be-paid"
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Attention must be paid
</h2>
<p>
Simply put, an LLM is a document completion engine. You give it text,
and it extends it. The result doesn’t have to be true, it just has to be
convincing. No amount of pre-training or guard rails will make it
truthful. It does often say true things, but that’s not the point, it’s
more of a happy accident.
</p>
<p>
Because they are built from essentially the whole public internet, LLMs
also have a strong connection to The Algorithm. Algorithms that run
social media feeds and online advertising are designed to attract human
attention, a precious thing. Social media algorithms and LLMs are
oriented towards capturing that attention. The foundational LLM paper is
even called, “Attention is all you need”. A prescient title. LLM
intelligence is not like ours. It can’t know what it’s like to be a
human.
</p>
<p>
If this was a person, someone who wanted your attention and had this
kind of indifference towards truth, they would be considered a con-man
or bullshitter.
<span class="aside"
><a
href="https://archive.org/details/on-bullshit-by-harry-frankfurt"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>On Bullshit</a
>, <em>Harry Frankfurt</em></span
>
Untrustworthy.
</p>
<h2 id="don%E2%80%99t-create-the-torment-nexus" tabindex="-1">
<a
class="header-anchor"
href="#don%E2%80%99t-create-the-torment-nexus"
aria-hidden="true"
></a>
Don’t create the torment nexus
</h2>
<p>
LLMs clearly manifest a type of intelligence. Sure, it’s “just” some
linear algebra and a ton of data. But it does exhibit a type of
intelligence. One without empathy.
<span class="aside"
><a
href="https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>AI chatbot pushed teen to kill himself, lawsuit alleges</a
>, <em>AP News</em><br />
<a
href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/430098/belgian-man-commits-suicide-following-exchanges-with-chatgpt"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Belgian man dies by suicide following exchanges with chatbot</a
>, <em>Brussels Times</em><br />
<a
href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-spiritual-delusions-destroying-human-relationships-1235330175/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>AI-Fueled Spiritual Delusions Are Destroying Human Relationships</a
>, <em>Rolling Stone</em></span
>
Not being human, it <em>can’t</em> have empathy—and intelligence without
empathy can be dangerous.
</p>
<p>
Science fiction is littered with cautionary tales about inhuman
intelligence. For that matter, so is myth: genies give people whatever
they want, but because people have self-destructive desires (like the
desire to avoid work), it goes wrong. In TRON, Infocom has the MCP
(Master Control Program), an overgrown chess program that is given
access to whatever information it can consume, until its intelligence
and capabilities are seemingly endless. The company leadership comes to
rely on the program so completely that it becomes their entire interface
for understanding and operating the business. There is also the irony
that Infocom’s success was built on the misuse of intellectual property,
much as LLM companies have done
<span class="aside"
><a
href="https://sites.usc.edu/iptls/2025/02/04/ai-copyright-and-the-law-the-ongoing-battle-over-intellectual-property-rights/"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>AI, Copyright, and the Law: The Ongoing Battle Over Intellectual
Property Rights </a
>, <em>IP &amp; Technology Law Society</em><br />
<a
href="https://hbr.org/2023/04/generative-ai-has-an-intellectual-property-problem"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem</a
>, <em>Harvard Business Review</em></span
>.
</p>
<p>
I don’t think I am wise enough to safely use a genie in a bottle. And I
don’t want to outsource my creative efforts to an addictive,
bullshitting alien intellect, even if it might save time and effort in
the short term.
</p>
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<h1>Tools of the trade</h1>
<div class="header-meta">
<author>Joshua Seigler</author><date>May 15, 2025</date>
</div>
</header>
<main data-pagefind-body>
<p>
Everyone has different tools that they find especially effective. Here
are some I have found with a few words about why I like them.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
Update: I made a <a href="/uses">/uses</a> page that lists these tools
and many others I like.
</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="mise-en-place" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#mise-en-place" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a href="https://mise.jdx.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>mise-en-place</a
>
</h3>
<p>
Universal dev tool version manager. Specify tool versions in a config
file and this tool can ensure that they are installed and active when
entering the project directory. Amazing for getting a new dev
environment set up in seconds. Replaces <code>asdf</code>,
<code>nvm</code>, <code>pyenv</code>, <code>venv</code>,
<code>rbenv</code>, and many other tool-specific version managers.
Supports an incredible number of tools thanks to compatibility with
<code>asdf</code>.
</p>
<p>
It also supports installing specific global tools, like
<code>angular-cli</code> from <code>npm</code>, or
<code>stack-pr</code> from <code>pipx</code>.
</p>
<h3 id="stack-pr" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#stack-pr" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a
href="https://github.com/modular/stack-pr"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>stack-pr</a
>
</h3>
<p>
Open source tool for
<a href="https://www.stacking.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>stacking PRs</a
>.
</p>
<p>
PR stacks are, as far as I can tell, the best way to manage large
features in git. I first heard about this practice in a series of blog
posts from Graphite, a company offering free PR-stacking software and
related paid services. But you don’t need a custom CI flow or managed
service for stacking to work - this CLI tool or one of the others at
<a href="https://www.stacking.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>stacking.dev</a
>
can take care of this.
</p>
<p>
If you start using PR stacks your whole company will start copying you.
</p>
<h3 id="xc" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#xc" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a href="https://xcfile.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">xc</a>
</h3>
<p>Markdown based task runner.</p>
<p>
Define tasks in code blocks in markdown, and call them from the CLI.
Serves as both task definition and documentation.
</p>
<h3 id="pd2slack" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#pd2slack" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a
href="https://github.com/sidpremkumar/pd2slack"
target="_blank"
rel="noopener"
>pd2slack</a
>
</h3>
<p>
Simple python script to update the members of a Slack group such as
<code>@oncall</code> to match the active member(s) of a PagerDuty
schedule. This replaces several expensive SAAS services.
</p>
<h3 id="syncthing" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#syncthing" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a href="https://syncthing.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>SyncThing</a
>
</h3>
<p>
P2P alternative to Dropbox, supports mobile and desktop. Synchronize
folders of content across all my devices.
</p>
<h3 id="obsidian" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#obsidian" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a href="https://obsidian.md/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>Obsidian</a
>
</h3>
<p>
For notes and reference. Sync across devices with
<code>syncthing</code>.
</p>
<h3 id="keepassxc" tabindex="-1">
<a class="header-anchor" href="#keepassxc" aria-hidden="true"></a>
<a href="https://keepassxc.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"
>KeePassXC</a
>
</h3>
<p>For passwords. Sync across devices with <code>syncthing</code>.</p>
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