alexanderthe-

I'm not complaining (I haven't bought a house yet).

At the risk of being "that other guy", psychedelic experiences come in many different categories of experience: ranging from mere distortions of our normal, subjective state of perceiving reality, to emotional processing, ego death, out of body and spiritual experiences. There is no formula for a spiritual experience, but there have been enough accounts of mystical experiences throughout human history that point to them being quite literally "spiritual" - ephemeral, outside of or interacting with this three dimensional space we inhabit in ways difficult to comprehend, a true mystery to this physical instrument through which we filter the universe.

I think it's a mistake to think we have it all figured out just because we've had an experience that either reinforces or contradicts our per-conceived notions of what constitutes reality.

This tale of this siege encapsulates the unwavering determination of Alexander to overcome and conquer. Anyone interested should read the accounts in Arrian and Quintus Curtius Rufus' biographies.

Given that everything we experience in this life is through our consciousness, equating depression to a shift in consciousness isn't heavy lifting. This is an association where I would like to see some hard science backing the link between our conscious experience and the underlying function of our wetware, the brain.

As far as subjective experience, I've witnessed myself slowly slip into a depression toward the end of a relationship I knew wasn't going to pan out. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but I slowly remembered sex becoming less enjoyable with my ex, the pull of my hobbies less exciting and rewarding, my global outlook on life and the vibrancy of my future becoming more dim and... depressing. This was anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure. I felt like I was wading through a dark cloud. The ability to smile organically through enjoyable interactions and activities all but disappeared, or at the very least, felt forced and somewhat "empty", like I was a poor actor. I had to give a best man's speech around this time and was shocked to hear how monotone my voice had been while delivering the speech.

Throughout all of this, I more or less kept the same routines. I was spending more time alone but still managed to schedule time with friends, I kept working out, and never slipped into a dark hole.. but I'm not ashamed to say I wasn't able to solve it alone, in fact the shift was so subtle that by the time I had become aware of what conscious state had become, I was dismayed to find that I was already doing what most people recommend to get out of a depression - stay active, spend time with friends and family, spend time in nature, exercise, etc. Which leads me to what ended up working... therapy.

I can't say I've had any major trauma's in my life aside from losing my father as a teenager, but talking over my life with a therapist helped me come across some events that triggered me emotionally to revisit, and over several weeks I started to feel the cloud of anhedonia lifting and started to enjoy life as it appeared to me again. The major conclusion being the functioning of the subconscious mind on our conscious experience plays more of a role than I expected.

YMMV, but if you are experiencing depression, consider therapy.. this is coming from someone who was already experienced in the trendiest news grabbing headlines for treating depression before I realized I had become depressed, including meditation and psychedelics.

I'm not retired, but I am shift worker in Healthcare, which means I have 3-4 days off per week. A question I often get from people when they hear that is "Wow! What do you do with all your time off?" The answer is always, "I live my life."

On my days off I catch up on chores. I take care of my body by going to the gym, yoga studio, boxing gym, or ride my bike. I spend time with friends if they are available, which is tricky because I'm only off every other weekend. I bake sourdough bread and seek perfection in extracting the perfect cup of espresso. I read HN.

I often think what I would be doing if I met your criteria for answering this questions and didn't have to work the other 3-4 days of my week, and I think the answer would be to look for meaningful work. There is a fulfillment or sense of purpose in work that doesn't come to me in the prolonged absence of it, I don't define myself by it, but as Marcus Aurelius said in his Meditations:

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”

So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?

You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.”

Psychedelics have the ability to bring, through subjective experience, evidence of the mystery that has been passed down through the worlds spiritual traditions; mankinds' relation to that mystery is ubiquitous throughout the worlds civilizations.

I give due respect to anything that stands the test of time, irrespective of our ability to measure it with modern instruments or understand it with our primate mind.

I started seeing the association between caffeine, jitters and anxiety now that I am in my early thirties. Like you, I enjoyed many years of symptom free caffeine "indulgence". I've switched to enjoying decaf brewed at home with beans that have been decaffeinated using the Swiss Water Method, which removes 99.9% of the caffeine by soaking the green coffee beans in an extract of green coffee + water minus the caffeine - the caffeine diffuses out without the use of solvents! I do agree that most decaf tends to not taste the same at most cafes, because decaf beans tend to sit around longer that regular beans.. sometimes even pre-ground (the horror). I've fell in love in coffee again, and I'm looking into getting a Kafatek Monolith and a linea mini for the home, but if you are getting rid of any espresso equipment at fire sale prices, let me know ;)

I also live with family. There are many cultures where living with your family is the norm until, or even after marriage.

Maybe I’m an outlier, or just got lucky, but the first woman I started dating after a failed 5 year relationship ended up being conditionally ok with it - the conditions being that living in my family’s home wasn’t my “end game”, and that I was able to take care of myself. This was coming from an extremely independent woman who lived on her own, in a country outside of where she was born since coming to the US for college. Since then, she’s come to understand that living with, and helping to take care of family shows a degree of maturity and responsibility that transcends merely taking care of n=1 (yourself).

If anyone is in a similar situation, don’t be afraid to enter the dating pool just because you live with family, don’t be ashamed of it, and respect the ignorance of those who haven’t had the burden of having to support loved ones on their shoulders.

*edit (typo)

Also, by “end game”, she meant that I was planning on moving out at some point, which I am.

I believe innovation would be encouraged by the incentive to capture a market for a specific use case with an innovation in either process, material, or diminished environmental impacts.

Corporations (and citizens) need to be accountable for making decisions that go against societies best interests - the current infatuation with profit at all costs is eerily similar to the proliferation of cells at all costs in cancer.

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't see a good reason why government can't introduce legislation to enforce standardized packaging across product "classes" to streamline reuse and recycling - for example, all soda bottles of size x, must come in shape y, made out of polymer z. The obvious financial impact would be companies having to potentially retool their factories to facilitate that, but there can also be sensible tax rebates to prevent the corporations from crying.

The bottom line is, the cost of doing business has to take into account the environmental impacts on our planet and the consequences for our progeny.

I recommend Plutarch's Lives, I own the Oxford World's Classics translations of 'Roman Lives' and 'Greek lives' and the stories told between the two alone allow to you build a mental model of the nature of mankind, the rise and fall of empires, and the "vicissitudes of fortune".

I'm just starting to get a handle on this now that I hit 30. We look to successful people to see how they manage their time, thinking that by copying their routines and habits as inputs, we will be also be able to yield some of their success as outputs; however, we will never be able to copy the procedure that returns that output (consciousness, mindset, motivations, neurology, purpose, talents, traumas, upbringing, values).

Ultimately, I think the answer comes from ridding yourself of distractions, and asking yourself the question - "What do I want out of life?"

If you can answer that question, you will also be able to manage your time efficiently, because you will always be directed toward that purpose.

Without knowing your individual purpose in life, you will go through life checking the boxes that biology and society put before you.

With that said, it can be hard to settle with realization that you aren't personally driven to do anything that will make you an idol among your peers; you can finally stop trivializing everything in your life and just enjoy it, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey.

Lex’s podcast is my new favorite. I’m not a Computer Scientist, so I thoroughly enjoy hearing him ask Philosophical questions to these great minds and having them answer with the humble nature of mere mortals... which of course, they are. Keep up the good work Lex, I first heard you on Rogan’s podcast, you are bringing something really unique to the world and I am sure we will all be better for it.

I would start meditating, it will help you on being able to identify and intervene on repetitive, negative thought patterns (rumination).

Give yourself 10 minutes everyday to train your mind. I use the app Waking up.

Release anxiety through some physical exercise several days per week, ideally something you enjoy.

Every day, build some grit by doing something difficult - the fact that you’ve done it, and continue to do it, will become a foundation for overcoming resistance. I like to take a cold shower every morning, which seems silly until you step up to the faucet and have to pony up and actually do it.

Read books, so few people read anymore, those who do are able to absorb the distilled wisdom of many lifetimes.

Lastly, you are not alone, I don’t know how to create a bullet list here either. You are also not alone in your struggles, we are all human and suffer in our ways. Good luck.

What is the difference between luminiferous aether and the electro-magnetic field?

Edit: Context

Who's to say that waking consciousness isn't just a hallucination or dream that can't be integrated into their actual, transcendent, spiritual life?

I don't recall that being mentioned in Bernal Diaz del Castillo's "The Conquest of New Spain". I've also read "The Broken Spears", an Aztec account of the conquest which was recorded once surviving members of the Conquest or their descendants had learned written language. In both accounts, it appeared that there had been forewarning of "Gods" from the east who would conquer the Aztecs from the priestly / ruling caste of the Aztecs. The whole story is really quite interesting, but wearisome on ones soul, I would highly recommend both books if you have the constitution for it. Werner Herzog recommends reading "The Conquest of New Spain" to "... understand the hearts of men."

IME, this.. however, not everyone who experiments with psychedelics is fortunate enough to experience them. I know it's cliché, but integration is key. Our work is here, so you have to make use of those lessons as best you can.

Joe is popular because he is essentially fearless. He brought Podcasting and the longform interview to the mainstream and is a modern day renaissance man. He has friends and acquaintances from many different worlds and social classes, from the humble to the avante-garde, and he treats them all equally with the respect they are due as human beings. He is responsible for the launching of countless podcasts, for the listening of billions of intelligent, and some not so intelligent but hilarious conversations, and force of nature in the change of global consciousness.

From Tim Ferris' Tao of Seneca:

“Epicurus,” you reply, “uttered these words; what are you doing with another’s property?” Any truth, I maintain, is my own property. And I shall continue to heap quotations from Epicurus upon you, so that all persons who swear by the words of another, and put a value upon the speaker and not upon the thing spoken, may understand that the best ideas are common property. Farewell.

-Seneca the Younger

For some context on the ancient greek definition of the "Gorgon Stare", read:

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/fear/dread-gorgon

You could call it hostility to Asian capital, but it shouldn't be confused with hostility to Asian people. Some Western governments have done a pretty poor job of preventing their real estate stock from being exploited by foreign investors. Rising real estate prices due to capital flight goes hand in hand with rising property tax revenue available to local government, so it's not necessarily a problem they were in a rush to solve...

I like to think of this view as jailbreaking your biological operating system. We are an aggregate of trillions of cells with one fundamental purpose, to propagate our DNA and ensure the survival of our species. Of course we grow into thinking that almost everything we do is under the influence of our own free will, but it is our DNA and the corresponding influence it has over us that dictates the propensity to choose one thing or another in the first place. Yuval Noah Harrari touches on this in his book, 'Sapiens'.

In a sense, our DNA is a biological form of a general artificial intelligence, but distributed over billions of lives and over the spans of time. The collective progress of humanity being handed down generation by generation. With each generation, unique mutations in the collective DNA of humanity gives birth unique individuals with their own talents, interests, and potential to move our species forward. As a collective whole, we will either survive and evolve, or perish.

Thinking about such things doesn't do much to make it more likely that your unique DNA will propagate... and so maybe by the reproductive success of these traits within humanity we are, as a species, quite comfortable being a meatbag who hallucinates that they are thinking thoughts without delving any deeper.

The book is great, I've been working through HTDP and it's generous amount of programming exercises casually over the past year as a self learner. I had been dabbling in programming over the past several years (as a true dilettante) and have utilized several resources on my journey (CS50, Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, a touch of SICP), but it wasn't until progressing through HTDP that I really felt confident I was learning HOW to program. The pedagogy the book uses instruct a beginner on how to program is sound and uses many of the concepts touched upon by the popular "Learning How to Learn" edX course. The natural progression of the exercises as well as the evolution of the language used throughout the book(BSL or Basic Student Language) pair nicely and you slowly feel yourself becoming "wizardly" as the training wheels are slowly being stripped away.

The authors do a good great job in promoting good software craftsmanship from the very beginning of the text. Like any good teachers they reinforce the importance of developing good habits that as a beginner you sometimes take for granted, such as writing unit tests for newly defined functions. Thinking through programming exercises is done methodically with HTDPs Design Recipe, which enforces the use a function signature, purpose statement (comments), a header, and functional examples - followed by a template to flesh out the basic structure of the code you will be using to define your function.

I've watched most of the SICP lectures by Sussman and Abelson and while brilliant, it becomes quite clear that even the professional programmers in the room have trouble keeping up with the pace of the lectures. As a beginner, I was acutely aware that I had bitten off more than I could chew and I will revisit them and SICP after completion of HTDP.

As a side note, I discovered small typo in one of the examples and emailed the lead author (Matthias Felleisen) and he responded to me same day very appreciative that I took the time to do so. If he or any of the other authors read this, thank you! I'm still diligently making my way through and enjoying your text!