Something I didn't touch on here, which I probably should have, is my concern that most of what is currently being published on these topics is entirely digital and will leave no record. That what *is* published, is the sterilized and narrative-controlled view of events, often with little true relation to the on-the-ground reality of matters compared to online discussion between those living it.
That kind of underscores the sense of futility which prompted this article: at least those formally publishing have some hope of their documentation efforts popping up again somewhere - for us in the digital sphere all of this time and effort is 100% going straight into the void as soon as the lights go out on our respective societies, or even as soon as our publishing platform of choice runs out of VC money for their datacenter bill.
Ummmm... I'm going to have to think about this. Right off the top of my head is something Stephen King once said about why he continues to write. He stated that, "I don't write because I want to, I write because I HAVE to." Your piece reminds me of his story about a writer and inspiration, "Madness is a Flexible Bullet".
I write because I WILL go mad and become a "danger to others" if I do not. I am angry enough that "direct action" becomes more appealing all the time.
Then I consider my three elderly cats and my responsibility to them. So, I write.
I'm sorry you deleted your piece. I thought it was raw, honest, and intelligent. Despite your misgivings it RESONATED with me and I referenced it in my latest article.
I felt that piece just didn't meet the (admittedly, very minimal) standard of quality for my writing, the kind of purely reactionary work which if I'd turned it in would have netted a solid F in highschool. I'm flattered so many people enjoyed it, but it just didn't sit right to leave something where I wasn't proud of the content out in the open to collect more views. It's gone back to sitting in my drafts, not completely deleted, as a reminder to do better in the future.
I get what you're saying, the "interpretation of reality for the void" definitely serves as a cathartic outlet to keep me sane, perhaps I'm thinking too hard in trying to find meaning in this - in an era when the meaning of any human pursuit seems to be increasingly slipping away.
I arrived too late to read the deleted article. But maybe it's true, maybe I am also a doomer that wishes the end of the world to end my little shitty life. Who knows? But I've been seeing the end of times since I was a teenager, so maybe it's as my therapist says, I am a millennialist because I believe in purity. I agree with you about the writing, but I also agree with Richard. If I didn't let out my Nasty Woman and her thoughts, I will feel completely isolated and alone, my friends being all good citizens not sharing my apocalyptic views. This platform and these exchanges at least confirm that I am not crazy, that others feel the same way than I do. Cathartic maybe. And so what? But yes, I also question myself. Why give more food to the algorithm? But you see, I keep going... trying to make sense to the nonsense. Thank you for writing.
I think we write about it cos it's frightening and we want to ferret out those who understand the import of what is going on out there and are feeling as we are. Cos we're a social species and we'd rather not face/process this stuff alone. But make no mistake, writing about it is important only from this angle. "Educating people" about where we're headed on the other hand is pointless, unless you want to drum up more folks to commiserate, or perhaps give folks a slightly higher chance of survival knowing what's coming, though that's probably too lofty a goal as well. Our culture is addicted to this idea that knowledge will change all outcomes, but it will do nothing to change the larger outcome in this case. Also make no mistake that writing about it - or anything - is a luxury. Doing is what is going to count when this luxury goes away, and when we're not doing, communicating vis-a-vis it is to be hoped. Writing as a pursuit has been vastly overrated in modern times, in my opinion. Unless you're a genius at it, there's always been the question of "why bother?" regardless of the subject. If you like it and can make a buck at it in favor or making a buck doing something you don't like, there's always that. But not many do. Or if it helps you process life. Otherwise, why indeed? How about to help folks laugh, sometimes. That would be something. I read a literary journal editor the other day asking "Does anyone have a sense of humour anymore?" There's an almost woeful degree of sincerity in so much of the writing now. A black sense of humor, afterall, has been indicated as a predictor of who survives tough times and events.
I find that my sense of humor is one of my coping methods. As an old friend used to say, "We can either laugh or sit our wrists." No profit in the latter, IMHO.
You may be interested in the book “Deep Survival” by author Gonzales. He made a study of who in mixed groups is apt to survive in dire wilderness type situations, and the data could be surprising. “Black sense of humor” was a predictor of survival. (I suppose this is why so many women rate “sense of humor” as a key trait in a potential spouse, it’s for more than just entertainment reasons.) Being a super-fit, uber-confident macho type? Skews your odds towards the losing end of the stick in such a situation.
Arlan, you are allowed to Edit your own works. It's not plagiarism to do so. :-)
In the olden days you would have been held back by the publishers demanding their Editor go over your work and suggest redactions. Clicking a button is too quick and easy these days. Yes. I am questioning your judgment here. You're too close to the object of your desires.
Thank you for this, Arlan. Endeavoring to share our truths with each other attempts to preserve our humanity as long as we can. I wish you well, and I hope that you will keep writing. You too, Richard.
I am very grateful for your writing which has been one facet on the diamond shining thru Substack, educating me about collapse, and offering efficacious suggestions & inspirations, to respond sanely. By necessity, getting off all other social media, and being physically totally isolated with no IRL friends, you are one among several dozen people on Substack who ground me in reality … and writing is the way we connect. Keep writing please.
I feel ya. I think about these things too. I’ve been writing and rewriting my next contribution for five months and counting now, incl. necessary breaks to retain my sanity when every other day proves further acceleration of collapse.
You raise some deep philosophical questions. Personally, I find solace in the fact that collapse has been lived through so many times before, and our thoughts and feelings are common throughout the ages (among those few who see & predict it). How to approach life in such times is a tricky question, but when you come down to it, isn’t it always? That’s why we have absurdism, existentialism, stoicism and buddhism. For me, more than anything else, it’s the sheer insanity of people that drives me mad. As a rationalist, I’ve always felt that way, ut collapse-awareness took it up an order of magnitude notch.
Write because you feel like it. Don’t be ashamed to have some of that be lethargic, bitter ranting. I’ve noticed I do my most engaging writing when I’m pissed off. Some of it spills outside the overton window and I sadly cannot publish it. But it’s not everything about me. It’s not who I want to be (pissed off). I can be kind and gentle, too.
Write whatever you feel like, polished or not. Do it for yourself and don’t concern yourself with the reception. You could turn the Like counter off so you don’t even know.
Apart from that, please be careful not to catastrophise too much. The future is a probability distribution and I’m pretty sure you’re on the pessimistic end. It might not be as bad as it looks, nazi coup playout notwithstanding.
PS. I read your reddit and your ex sounds like a very lost, confused person with, sorry to say, serious character defects. I hope you’re well and good over them by now, better you’re clearly better off without them. But I’m sorry you had to go through that.
Thanks for the insightful response, Jan. I confess that I'm starting to realize I've deeply neglected anything beyond a cursory wikipedia read into philosophy for far too long, and that perhaps I need to spend some time properly educating myself on a few branches of it. Even if it only causes further and deeper questions on these matters, it might improve my writing skills.
I agree, I do most of my best writing when I'm fired up about something as well. I think the challenge moving forwards in this new paradigm we've entered is going to be *not* letting that emotional fuel overpower us and have the piece lose grounding in the process - as definitely happened with my last one. I am deep in the pessimistic end, I've traveled too much and observed too much through the lens of systemic analysis to be optimistic for the biosphere - and when it goes so does everything else.
Thanks for the PS. It's a work in progress, with a long road ahead, but that I can write again is a sign that there's been some positive steps forward from that personal collapse. :)
Glad you are making progress on the betrayal and heartbreak. It's huge stuff and takes ages to recover from. I've had my own heart put through the blender and flushed down the toilet a few times and can relate. It gets easier each time, as one recognizes the process.
Apart from philosophy, I also like studying the sciences, which also explains a lot. Neuroscience, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, History etc. It helps me retain a bird's view and not react so emotionally. I wish I had better emotional intelligence. I should look more seriously into meditation and mindfulness (the Waking Up app seems good for that, and is free if one just emails and asks).
The final outcome is undeniable; you're not pessimistic about that. It's only the details that matter, including how rapidly it happens. These will depend a lot on our reactions to events and circumstances, and these are impossible to predict. It doesn't have to descend into chaotic civil war. We might institute a new Marshall Plan.
Seems like a shame to spend the rest of our lives wailing and gnashing our teeth if it takes 50 years to fully go to shit. Especially when one can always practice gratitude and find reasons to live. But it's not easy, because it's not just about our own little lives. Coming to terms with the destruction of the natural world and our lost future is hard to reconcile oneself with. I'm not at radical acceptance yet myself. And we may have children to worry about.
May I suggest starting with a good, annotated edition of The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius? You'll need the annotations because of the referents are not well known to the average 21st century reader.
Addendum:
Something I didn't touch on here, which I probably should have, is my concern that most of what is currently being published on these topics is entirely digital and will leave no record. That what *is* published, is the sterilized and narrative-controlled view of events, often with little true relation to the on-the-ground reality of matters compared to online discussion between those living it.
That kind of underscores the sense of futility which prompted this article: at least those formally publishing have some hope of their documentation efforts popping up again somewhere - for us in the digital sphere all of this time and effort is 100% going straight into the void as soon as the lights go out on our respective societies, or even as soon as our publishing platform of choice runs out of VC money for their datacenter bill.
Ummmm... I'm going to have to think about this. Right off the top of my head is something Stephen King once said about why he continues to write. He stated that, "I don't write because I want to, I write because I HAVE to." Your piece reminds me of his story about a writer and inspiration, "Madness is a Flexible Bullet".
I write because I WILL go mad and become a "danger to others" if I do not. I am angry enough that "direct action" becomes more appealing all the time.
Then I consider my three elderly cats and my responsibility to them. So, I write.
I'm sorry you deleted your piece. I thought it was raw, honest, and intelligent. Despite your misgivings it RESONATED with me and I referenced it in my latest article.
Thanks Richard.
I felt that piece just didn't meet the (admittedly, very minimal) standard of quality for my writing, the kind of purely reactionary work which if I'd turned it in would have netted a solid F in highschool. I'm flattered so many people enjoyed it, but it just didn't sit right to leave something where I wasn't proud of the content out in the open to collect more views. It's gone back to sitting in my drafts, not completely deleted, as a reminder to do better in the future.
I get what you're saying, the "interpretation of reality for the void" definitely serves as a cathartic outlet to keep me sane, perhaps I'm thinking too hard in trying to find meaning in this - in an era when the meaning of any human pursuit seems to be increasingly slipping away.
I arrived too late to read the deleted article. But maybe it's true, maybe I am also a doomer that wishes the end of the world to end my little shitty life. Who knows? But I've been seeing the end of times since I was a teenager, so maybe it's as my therapist says, I am a millennialist because I believe in purity. I agree with you about the writing, but I also agree with Richard. If I didn't let out my Nasty Woman and her thoughts, I will feel completely isolated and alone, my friends being all good citizens not sharing my apocalyptic views. This platform and these exchanges at least confirm that I am not crazy, that others feel the same way than I do. Cathartic maybe. And so what? But yes, I also question myself. Why give more food to the algorithm? But you see, I keep going... trying to make sense to the nonsense. Thank you for writing.
I think we write about it cos it's frightening and we want to ferret out those who understand the import of what is going on out there and are feeling as we are. Cos we're a social species and we'd rather not face/process this stuff alone. But make no mistake, writing about it is important only from this angle. "Educating people" about where we're headed on the other hand is pointless, unless you want to drum up more folks to commiserate, or perhaps give folks a slightly higher chance of survival knowing what's coming, though that's probably too lofty a goal as well. Our culture is addicted to this idea that knowledge will change all outcomes, but it will do nothing to change the larger outcome in this case. Also make no mistake that writing about it - or anything - is a luxury. Doing is what is going to count when this luxury goes away, and when we're not doing, communicating vis-a-vis it is to be hoped. Writing as a pursuit has been vastly overrated in modern times, in my opinion. Unless you're a genius at it, there's always been the question of "why bother?" regardless of the subject. If you like it and can make a buck at it in favor or making a buck doing something you don't like, there's always that. But not many do. Or if it helps you process life. Otherwise, why indeed? How about to help folks laugh, sometimes. That would be something. I read a literary journal editor the other day asking "Does anyone have a sense of humour anymore?" There's an almost woeful degree of sincerity in so much of the writing now. A black sense of humor, afterall, has been indicated as a predictor of who survives tough times and events.
I find that my sense of humor is one of my coping methods. As an old friend used to say, "We can either laugh or sit our wrists." No profit in the latter, IMHO.
You may be interested in the book “Deep Survival” by author Gonzales. He made a study of who in mixed groups is apt to survive in dire wilderness type situations, and the data could be surprising. “Black sense of humor” was a predictor of survival. (I suppose this is why so many women rate “sense of humor” as a key trait in a potential spouse, it’s for more than just entertainment reasons.) Being a super-fit, uber-confident macho type? Skews your odds towards the losing end of the stick in such a situation.
Arlan, you are allowed to Edit your own works. It's not plagiarism to do so. :-)
In the olden days you would have been held back by the publishers demanding their Editor go over your work and suggest redactions. Clicking a button is too quick and easy these days. Yes. I am questioning your judgment here. You're too close to the object of your desires.
Thank you for this, Arlan. Endeavoring to share our truths with each other attempts to preserve our humanity as long as we can. I wish you well, and I hope that you will keep writing. You too, Richard.
I am very grateful for your writing which has been one facet on the diamond shining thru Substack, educating me about collapse, and offering efficacious suggestions & inspirations, to respond sanely. By necessity, getting off all other social media, and being physically totally isolated with no IRL friends, you are one among several dozen people on Substack who ground me in reality … and writing is the way we connect. Keep writing please.
Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.
I feel ya. I think about these things too. I’ve been writing and rewriting my next contribution for five months and counting now, incl. necessary breaks to retain my sanity when every other day proves further acceleration of collapse.
You raise some deep philosophical questions. Personally, I find solace in the fact that collapse has been lived through so many times before, and our thoughts and feelings are common throughout the ages (among those few who see & predict it). How to approach life in such times is a tricky question, but when you come down to it, isn’t it always? That’s why we have absurdism, existentialism, stoicism and buddhism. For me, more than anything else, it’s the sheer insanity of people that drives me mad. As a rationalist, I’ve always felt that way, ut collapse-awareness took it up an order of magnitude notch.
Write because you feel like it. Don’t be ashamed to have some of that be lethargic, bitter ranting. I’ve noticed I do my most engaging writing when I’m pissed off. Some of it spills outside the overton window and I sadly cannot publish it. But it’s not everything about me. It’s not who I want to be (pissed off). I can be kind and gentle, too.
Write whatever you feel like, polished or not. Do it for yourself and don’t concern yourself with the reception. You could turn the Like counter off so you don’t even know.
Apart from that, please be careful not to catastrophise too much. The future is a probability distribution and I’m pretty sure you’re on the pessimistic end. It might not be as bad as it looks, nazi coup playout notwithstanding.
PS. I read your reddit and your ex sounds like a very lost, confused person with, sorry to say, serious character defects. I hope you’re well and good over them by now, better you’re clearly better off without them. But I’m sorry you had to go through that.
Thanks for the insightful response, Jan. I confess that I'm starting to realize I've deeply neglected anything beyond a cursory wikipedia read into philosophy for far too long, and that perhaps I need to spend some time properly educating myself on a few branches of it. Even if it only causes further and deeper questions on these matters, it might improve my writing skills.
I agree, I do most of my best writing when I'm fired up about something as well. I think the challenge moving forwards in this new paradigm we've entered is going to be *not* letting that emotional fuel overpower us and have the piece lose grounding in the process - as definitely happened with my last one. I am deep in the pessimistic end, I've traveled too much and observed too much through the lens of systemic analysis to be optimistic for the biosphere - and when it goes so does everything else.
Thanks for the PS. It's a work in progress, with a long road ahead, but that I can write again is a sign that there's been some positive steps forward from that personal collapse. :)
Glad you are making progress on the betrayal and heartbreak. It's huge stuff and takes ages to recover from. I've had my own heart put through the blender and flushed down the toilet a few times and can relate. It gets easier each time, as one recognizes the process.
Apart from philosophy, I also like studying the sciences, which also explains a lot. Neuroscience, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, History etc. It helps me retain a bird's view and not react so emotionally. I wish I had better emotional intelligence. I should look more seriously into meditation and mindfulness (the Waking Up app seems good for that, and is free if one just emails and asks).
The final outcome is undeniable; you're not pessimistic about that. It's only the details that matter, including how rapidly it happens. These will depend a lot on our reactions to events and circumstances, and these are impossible to predict. It doesn't have to descend into chaotic civil war. We might institute a new Marshall Plan.
Seems like a shame to spend the rest of our lives wailing and gnashing our teeth if it takes 50 years to fully go to shit. Especially when one can always practice gratitude and find reasons to live. But it's not easy, because it's not just about our own little lives. Coming to terms with the destruction of the natural world and our lost future is hard to reconcile oneself with. I'm not at radical acceptance yet myself. And we may have children to worry about.
Hang in there. And I hope you write some more.
May I suggest starting with a good, annotated edition of The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius? You'll need the annotations because of the referents are not well known to the average 21st century reader.
Well said.
You think you could send me a private link to your post that was removed? I didn't get a chance to read it before it was taken down. :(
Hey, sorry, I hit the "unpublish" option so it's only available if I were to republish it, my apologies. :)