What's Going On, Substack?
A roundup of recent gems
It’s been a while since I’ve done a Substack roundup, these used to be included in my monthy recaps, but I’m making those shorter, and I didn’t want good writers to feel like I was deliberately burying the work I intended to highlight! So after a bit of a mini-hiatus since then, I’m finally ready to share a slice of what’s got my attention recently.
Posts & Commentary
I’ve personally underestimated to the degree our society weaponizes people’s own suffering against themselves.
has been taking a close eye at cults and where they overlap with various nominally dissident movements. In my opinion, it’s challenging to appreciate the scope of global yet individuallized mass mind control without his analysis.
This is a fascinating read by
that sadly exemplifies my own blind-spots when I previously wrote about the importance of online anonymity. I’m seriously considering re-writing those with what I’ve learned from this piece which absolutely stands on it’s own. I wholeheartedly believe it’s important not to dismiss sex-based discrimination (even other forms as well) within a broad ‘movement’. I believe that genuine meritocracy is an important goal, but it certainly requires putting various differences aside.wrote alongside Sucharit Bahakdi MD “Do Viruses Exist?" Even since 2020 there has been a steadily rising war within those opposed various elements within, or even the totality of the agenda rolled out during the covid crisis.I was no longer “sir.”
I was “bitch.”
What gets coded as valuable contribution appears to hinge partially upon the perceived gender of who said it. While individuals hold complex worldviews, patterned behaviors persist around group identity stereotypes as cultural shortcuts until actively disproven otherwise in practice.
In many online realms, male still functions as the default norm with women viewed as atypical participants. So asserting informed opinions from a female account in male-dominated communities often requires first overriding doubts around gendered credibility presumptions before ideas themselves get evaluated on merit alone. My experiences showed me directly how identity sometimes impedes open engagement with contributions themselves.
As somebody without a medical/biological background, I’ve resisted the urge to have overly strong feelings about the topic because I find the behavior of many zealots off-putting. I’m absolutely willing to work with reasonable people who believe different things than me. On the other hand, I’m not willing to prioritize time for those who demand I perfectly agree with them, even if I mostly do.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to “cancel” people for having strong opinions on issues like this, but I also want to see more public (even confrontational) discussion about this carried out by those with the bandwidth to make it less about fighting but more about bringing us non-scientists up to speed.
I really appreciate
’s “no bullshit, just the truth” attitude. Concise clarity is something I struggle with but I can recognize it when I see it elsewhere. I share this not even really to attack Trump himself, but more the idea of idolizing him to the point of overlooking serious flaws. No matter the candidate it’s very important not to become over-invested, and to seriously consider difficult questions.Of course, I’m just a Canadian, so those south of the border may have more right than I to comment! Lily focuses on a lot more than just politics, she has a wealth of historical knowledge and writes excellent “Big Picture” explanations.
Is “we can improve things without tearing it all down and starting from scratch” a controversial take these days? Maybe it’s just the bubble I’m in, but I found
‘s piece a refreshing refrain from the chorus of calls from all directions agitating for various utopias. For the record, there is absolutely a lot I believe should be rebuilt from foundations, but like anything else I believe it has to be taken seriously and not flippantly. I know that even small actions taken thoughtfully can build up into radical change.
For those who have Substack exclusive blinders, you may be missing out on
’s excellent work. As someone who’s lurked her twitter I can see that she’s been a very knowledgeable person doing a fantastic job bringing light to various aspects of vaccine injuries from the covid shots that were forced onto many during 2021 (potentially onwards).The dollar is just fine right? Does this mean that Blackrock saved the dollar with the going direct reset?
discusses the question with James Corbett on The Corbett report. I think it’s crucial for those seriously investigating the truth should absolutely check their priors and ask themselves questions about previous assumptions. It’s very valuable to see important issues getting a little more love than just the surface level, I would highly recommend the Questions for Corbett series as well as both of their work.
I don’t believe that the worldwide push for internet censorship is over. In fact I wonder if it’s even really begun in the first place. A phenomenal amount of data was collected on information suppression during the Covid Crisis, and that tyrants have only begun to put into practice lessons-learned. It’s important to be vigilant about threats to your ability to access (potentially life-saving) information as this escalates.
You can upset many Bitcoin evangelists by quoting the phrase “peer-to-peer digital cash” from the Bitcoin Whitepaper. I doubt many tools I use and enjoy could withstand the scrutiny Bitcoin faces, but I would argue the scrutiny is justified. Again, it’s always worth re-evaluating assumptions and being adaptable to new information without necessarily throwing babies out with bathwater.
At the start of this year, I claimed that I would dial-back my participation to focus on improving my health. I’m not sure if that actually happened, but I have made a great deal of progress thanks to maintaining a regular swimming routine. A side-benefit of devoting a ton of time to this journey is that I’ve kicked a non-trivial caffeine addiction. Based on the post below I feel good about the fact that I’m no longer taking in over a gram of caffeine daily. I can certainly attest to it being a challenging time, so if you’re considering it, please give yourself reasonable support and have reasonable expectations.
I started reading and got distracted by reading and signing up for The Starfire Codes, following up on others, and I'm finally back to say thanks, Gabe! Nice to have so many different perspectives.
Well I was on my home page and your stack came up as four minutes long and I had five waiting in between other events and now that I’ve read your round up, I see that I will actually be spending close to an hour following up on all these juicy morsels. 👊