Faustian Culture

A brief look at Spengler’s culture names. Same sources as in the previous post, I really ought to do better at linking my sources again. Uncited quotes are all from Decline of the West.   “A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.” -Goethe   Spengler’s sense of the essences of different cultures is more »

Spengler’s Meaning of Numbers

I have sometimes talked about numbers as rhetorical devices. I’ve also talked about different concepts and isomorphs (representations of the same “thing”) affording different actions. Simulation Gap: Discrete (hidden) models in games/software attempt to communicate nuanced experiential feedback to players/users. Reducing to Numbers: Numbers are rhetorical devices that can take subtle interactions and make them explicit more »

Spengler’s Winter

  The next few posts are on the work and ideas of Oswald Spengler. He’s not a very warm or optimistic guy. Some of this may be written awkwardly- if so, sorry. I wanted to let this post go early and get moving on this topic. A summary of this post: Social reality is as more »

Tribe Dismantling: Confusion vs. Closure

I’m writing this sentence as I started outlining the notes that will become this post, on the 9th of October. I expect that when it automatically publishes, at noon of the 15th of October, the government is still shut down. Unrelated, I swear: Soon I’m switching focus to Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West for several more »

Tribe Building: Narratives and Social Graphs

I wanted to air two different ideas I’ve been thinking about. One is a set of archetypes for a recurring kind of story, and another is about representation and rhetorical affordances in a more pragmatic sense.

Apologetics II

 To understand something is to link it up with a concept or story; to communicate it is to link it up to a concept or story that is shared (and includes the process of building these shared concepts). –Sister Y Earlier this year I read From Jesus to Christ: Origins of the New Testament Images of more »

Apologetics I

– Reflections on First Encountering Ethnomethodology effectively covers a few points I would’ve loved to make (and also re-articulates some ideas I already did mention). It’s a short read that I recommend. I wanted to pay particular attention to how she describes the sculpting of religious/political beliefs. Concepts are socially created and maintained, but they are more »

A (Very Short) Pragmatic Primer

Next week, I’m going back to the topic of rhetoric, writing about apologetics. Today, more quick notes. A simple paragraph on Pragmatism that I hope to return to later. Pragmatism: Philosophical position that replaces Truth and Being with comedy and cold hard cash. -R. Scott Bakker (@theDevilsChirp on Twitter)    I was introduced to Pragmatism more »

Peaces

I’m also posting tomorrow. But it’s a small one, then I’m done for the week. For whatever it’s worth I am still thinking aloud at this point and I’m not selling anything. I’m not so sure I’ve sold it to myself. Just had to keep writing. I should clarify, again, that in these matters I’m more »

Notes on Historiography

I’m going to dump a lot of text this week. I’m not sorry at all about that. I *am* a bit concerned that this week’s writing is further from my comfort zone. Next week I’ll scoot back into familiar territory (for me, anyway). I started IDing (eye deeing, c’mon folks) my section headings so that more »