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Mailvox: SSH and Non-Solipsism

Prompted by your post today on seeing your neologisms in common usage, I thought it might interest you to know that middle schoolers at a Methodist church in Orlando, FL are using your expanded SSH terms casually in conversation with each other. I’m a parent and small group leader, so I’ve been able to have some interesting conversations. Without giving away that I was aware of the terms, I asked what they meant (as if they were any inscrutable zoomer slang), and they were using them more or less correctly.

The ideas, they disseminate. It’s encouraging that the younger generations will have the opportunity to understand and utilize their behavioral patterns in a way that their predecessors did not. Like most information, it can be used for good or for ill, but making informed decisions tends to lead to better consequences than uninformed ones. And before one can surmount one’s flaws and weaknesses, one must be aware of them.

Speaking of surmounting one’s flaws, a woman on SG seeks to understand what not being solipsistic is like.

Does male non-solipsism mean that when a man gains any information, he does not by default consider its relevance to himself? Sincere question from a mystified woman. #womanposting

That’s correct. It should be readily apparent, in fact, by the way men have a habit of turning themselves into subject matter experts in their particular areas of interest which have nothing whatsoever to do with the man involved. When I was working out the details concerning whether Lionel Messi was the greatest soccer player of all time – and he quite clearly is – the thought of comparing myself to him, or to Ronaldo, or to Pele, never crossed my mind. I simply wasn’t relevant to the topic. It never occurred to me to work out my own career goals-pens+assists per-game average.

Men tend to be more interested in the idea, the subject, or the event for itself than in its potential relationship to himself. This, by the way, is why so many men find women to be tedious and seldom enjoy talking with them, because the female tendency to turn every conversation toward herself is readily apparent, mildly annoying, and generally uninteresting.

For example, let’s say that you took in a family of Ukrainian refugees after the start of the special military operation. Do you mention that every time the topic of the Ukraine war comes up? It might be relevant if the discussion is about refugees or the depopulation of Ukraine, but most of the time, it won’t be. There is a lot to discuss about the war that doesn’t have anything to do with you or your past actions. Every mention of a subject that has something tangentially to do with you is not an invitation to start talking about yourself, and should not be taken as one. In most cases, you would do well to resist that solipsistic urge.

One thing I would encourage women to do, if they want to be held in higher regard by men, is a) to be aware of the conversational context, and b) to never talk about themselves or to mention people that the men don’t know. To better understand the desirability of this try silently counting the number of “I” and “me” used by your interlocutors when they engage in a conversational soliloquy. It can be very enlightening.

A good conversation is not two or more people waiting to talk and exchanging unrelated monologues. Try actually listening to people, no matter how tedious or stupid they are. You really can learn a lot from them, even when what they’re talking about is of zero interest to you.

Gammas and Lambdas are the most solipsistic men, which is why they are also the men who most enjoy talking with women and who are most likely to be a woman’s best male friend. Show me a man who is a woman’s best friend, and if he isn’t gay, nine times out of ten he’ll be a gamma who secretly pines after her.

DISCUSS ON SG

The Midwit Range

It’s interesting to observe that another of my neologisms has gradually spread into common usage. It’s always fascinating to see what previously unarticulated concepts are found to be useful by others, and which are not, because the only reason I create them is for my own private reference in the absence of any existing term. There doesn’t appear to be much rhyme or reason to it; I personally think the distinction between the three aspects of science is considerably more useful than identifying the Sigma behavioral pattern, for example.

I created the term midwit to explain the phenomenon I was observing of individuals who, while not stupid by any conventional intellectual measure, nevertheless behaved like angry, retarded chimpanzees whenever presented with any concept or abstract thought beyond their ability to follow. They also exhibited what struck me as the bizarre tendency to attempt to lecture those who were not only their intellectual superiors, but also those whose knowledge, credentials, and experience considerably exceeded their own on the matter at hand.

As the midwit is more intelligent than the norm, albeit not significantly more intelligent, his IQ will generally fall somewhere in the 105 to 120 range. The midwit is therefore someone who, in his formative youthful years, is accustomed to thinking of himself as one of the smartest kids in his junior high school class, even though that is only statistically true of the upper end of the midwit range. But even at the low end, the midwit tends to be smarter than two out of every three people he encounters.

However, unlike the high school athlete who discovers he is unable to compete at the college level, let alone the professional level, the midwit never quite relinquishes the idea that he is, fundamentally, a Smart Boy who Knows Better than everyone else. It is the midwit, more than anyone else, who dictated the need to articulate Vox’s 1st Law.

Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from insanity.

However, the midwit is even more inclined to claim that anything he cannot understand, and anyone who is observably more intelligent than him, is “stupid”. This is because the midwit relies upon a tautological syllogism.

  • Major premise: the midwit is the smartest boy in the room
  • Minor premise: the midwit does not understand something said by someone else in the room.
  • Conclusion: what was said doesn’t make sense because it is stupid and so is the person who said it.

Those who understand the socio-sexual hierarchy will see that there is a strong correlation between the midwit and the gamma, although the two concepts are not identical. There are no shortage of Delta midwits, and the midwit illogic is not based on psychological issues or insecurity, but rather, ignorance and intellectual immaturity.

The midwit’s fundamental problem is that he is insufficiently intelligent to communicate with the most intelligent. The difference between the midwit and both VHIQ and UHIQ intellects exceeds the 30-point IQ communications gap, and the midwit’s pride in his intelligence prevents him from accepting his relative retardery enough to listen to the simplistic explanations he is able to follow.

Which is why midwits, like the poor, will always be with us.

DISCUSS ON SG

Never Ask a Natural

Haruki Murakami explains how to become a better writer:

“Hello, Mr Murakami. I’ve always enjoyed reading your books. Currently I’m a graduate student, so I’ve got to deal with reports, presentation planning, and emails and letters to professors, and anyway I have to write a lot of compositions. But the fact is, I’m really not good at writing composition. But be that as it may, if I can’t write I can’t graduate and I’m in a tough position, so since it can’t be helped I do my writing while struggling and groaning. Is there nothing I can do to make writing easier? If you have any advice, like what you’d find in a composition primer, I would be most grateful for it.”

Considering that getting into graduate school in the first place is no mean feat, we’re going to give Ms Sakurai the benefit of the doubt and assume she has a decent head on her shoulders, problems with the pen notwithstanding. Also, having shown the wherewithal to recognize her own academic shortcomings, plus the initiative in reaching out to someone who appears to be a more-than-qualified mentor, we’d also say she’s got the commitment and work ethic necessary to overcome her difficulties.

So how did the famous author respond?

“The act of writing is the same as sweet-talking a woman, in that you can get better, to an extent, with practice. Fundamentally, though, your abilities are determined by the talents you’ve been born with. Well, anyway, do your best.”

Haruki Murakami’s advice, Japan Today, 23 Jan 2015

A lot of people ask a lot of writers about how to become a better writer, seeking to learn the secret about making writing less painful, completing a book, writing something that a lot of people want to read, or writing a bestseller. And while Murakami’s answer is effectively the only practical one, I would provide a little more detail on the basis of my experience.

  • Practice and experience makes writing less painful. Eventually, it becomes almost automatic. When a writer is in the groove, he is barely aware of his own thought processes at all. John C. Wright describes the inspiration that substitutes for them as “the muse”, one might not unreasonably call the experience “dancing with the muse”. This is something I have very rarely experienced and never with fiction, but I have occasionally observed it in writers I’ve edited.
  • Completing a book requires nothing more than focus and determination. I wrote A THRONE OF BONES in one year. It took nearly seven years to complete A SEA OF SKULLS, mostly because I had other priorities interrupting my focus. It won’t take that long to complete the trilogy.
  • Writing something that people want to read requires getting out of your own head and actually paying attention to what other people think and do. It requires empathy, and if one is inclined toward solipsism, putting a firm restraint on the tendency. I can’t tell you how many authors have told me “I think a lot of people would like to read a book about [insert obviously stupid idea that is of interest to virtually no one besides the author]!” And it’s almost impossible to get a good author to write what will actually sell instead of whatever he feels like writing. I do this much more with my non-fiction than my fiction; on average, non-fiction sells better anyhow.
  • Get lucky or take the ticket. Be aware that most “bestsellers” are manufactured and fake; do you really believe Hillary Clinton and Katie Price are two of the most successful post-2000 authors in the world? If so, Ron Desantis has a mountain of his #1 New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestselling book, THE COURAGE TO BE FREE, for you to take off his hands. Published just seven months ago, the current sales rank of the paperback is #1,073,496 on Amazon.

DISCUSS ON SG

Israel Caught Lying

The US Foreign Affairs Committee confirms that Egyptian intelligence warned Israel about the Hamas attacks three days prior, and in doing so, proves that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly lied about the Israeli government not being warned by Egypt.

Israel was warned by Egypt of potential violence three days before Hamas’ deadly cross-border raid, a US congressional panel chairman has said. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee head Michael McCaul told reporters of the alleged warning.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu described the reports as “absolutely false”.

“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” Mr McCaul told reporters following a closed-door intelligence briefing on Wednesday for lawmakers about the Middle East crisis, according to AFP news agency. “I don’t want to get too much into classified, but a warning was given,” the Texas Republican added. “I think the question was at what level.”

Egypt warned Israel days before Hamas struck, US committee chairman says, 11 October 2023

Translation: the US intelligence services knew about it too.

Green Flag confirmed. At least some of the attacks were real, and were committed by Hamas, and were allowed to take place as planned by the IDF. But there’s still some question about how some of those attacks appear to have been either a) a false flag or b) crisis theater, especially given the way some of the “murdered victims” have been found to be alive.

Not only is the Israeli government lying about having been caught totally unaware by the attack, but it’s now come out that the venue for the targeted rave was moved just days before it was scheduled to begin, much to the surprise of the organizers. An honest investigation would be focused on discovering who moved the rave and how Hamas got word of where it was. And a failure to investigate those things would serve as a practical confession that there were some false flag elements to the attacks.

To be fair to the Israelis, they practically admitted to the green flag when they declared the attacks were a “Pearl Harbor” and a “9/11”. It would really have been making it too easy had they thrown in a “Lusitania” and a “Maine” as well. And they haven’t claimed that Hamas was hiding yellowcake in the Gaza Strip either.

DISCUSS ON SG

Thus Spake Spacebunny

An SG reader reads Gab:

This comment is the written equivalent of watching someone get thrown off a roof onto concrete. You can almost hear the crunch.

MILO: For all the times I had to read “YOUR JUST JEALUOS” and sit baffled wondering what exactly I was supposed to be envying. It has been so immensely satisfying to see the same mediocre midwit screen names sulkily and silently reappear on Telegram trying to forget Jordan Peterson ever happened

WILLIAM: I suspect it’s not so much that you cannot grasp the wisdom that Peterson brings to the table as it is being contrarian simply for the sake of eliciting a response. Perhaps not textbook trolling, but certainly in the same ballpark.

SB: Imagine still falling for Peterson’s drug-induced prattle this far in.

WILLIAM: So, I’ve got two “he’s a drug addict” and one “he’s a paid-for shill” responses. I’ve been reading Dostoevsky and Solzhenitsyn recently – one of which warned his people against what we’re entering into now, and the other who lived through it and fought back against it. Peterson frequently references them, and the way he talks demonstrates a deep understanding of the evil they were fighting against – something he is committed to fighting himself. So what’s the real problem? Is he just not snide and mean enough? Is it that he’s not telling you who to hate?

SB: Wanda: To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. I’ve known sheep who could outwit you. I’ve worn dresses with higher IQs, but you think you’re an intellectual, don’t you, ape?

Otto: Apes don’t read philosophy.

Wanda: Yes they do, Otto, they just don’t understand it.

Congratulations – you’re Otto.

Go here https://voxday.net/?s=peterson and start reading – there are pages of posts dedicated to explaining to idiots like you why Peterson is an evil fraud.

I just can’t imagine how she managed to get herself kicked off Elon’s bastion of free speech… again.

DISCUSS ON SG

Too Soon?

I think we can safely conclude that the USA will be abandoning Ukraine to its fate now that the media is reporting the horrific news that six million Israeli infants have been holocausted in their incubators by Hamas. The only real question is if it will be a false flag or a green flag that will be utilized in justifying a US attack on Iran.

DISCUSS ON SG

The Chickenhawk Contemplates

The Littlest Chickenhawk wouldn’t serve in the US military while he was calling for the US to invade the Middle East and establish an empire there. It’s fascinating to see that despite all his endless squawking about Israel over the years, he won’t even lift a finger to personally defend it either. 

Of course, it’s possible that Ben Shapiro doesn’t see any need to defend Israel at this juncture, since he has never been troubled by civilian casualties.

“I am getting really sick of people who whine about “civilian casualties.” Maybe I’m a hard-hearted guy, but when I see in the newspapers that civilians in the settlements or the Golan Heights were killed by Hamas or Hezbollah militants, I don’t really care. One Palestinian life is worth far more than an Israeli civilian.”

Ben Shapiro, Enemy ‘civilian casualties’ ok by me, 25 July 2002

DISCUSS ON SG

Green Flag or Neoclown Bait?

At this point, it’s looking fairly conclusive that the Hamas attacks were a Green Flag, which is to say that the Israeli intelligence and defence forces knew they were coming, but permitted them to happen, in order to justify an attack on Gaza that would trigger Hezbollah involvement and/or the sinking of the USS Ford that would serve as a justification for the US-Israeli war on Iran that has long been sought by the neoclowns.

This guy’s chronicle of known events, both historical and recent, have led him to conclude that the Hamas incursion was a Green Flag, and that the IDF spokesman was quite literally correct when he described it as Israel’s Pearl Harbor.

If the events of the past three years have taught me anything, it’s that when people get whipped into an emotional frenzy, critical thinking completely goes out the window.

People become highly suggestible and will rush to extremely dangerous conclusions without thinking about the consequences.

I think this is what we’re all witnessing with this situation in Israel.

I’m reminded of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

In both scenarios, the American government received intelligence in advance of the attacks, but chose not to prevent the attacks.

Why?

The American government was willing to sacrifice the lives of American citizens in order to advance its geopolitical goals.

Pearl Harbor gave the justification to enter WWII.

9/11 gave justification to invade the Middle East & drastically expand the American military industrial complex & our surveillance apparatus.

They were brutal & extremely traumatic events for the American public to witness. The emotional trauma caused people to get whipped into an emotional frenzy.

America wanted ONE THING in response to these attacks:

The blood of our enemies.

I see the same psyop playing out now.

However, given the fact that all of this is readily apparent to outsiders and amateurs like us, what are the chances that it was not obvious to the point of being predictable to the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian strategists as well? After all, I even suggested the possibility of the Sino-Russian+ alliance opening up a Middle Eastern front in order to further strain US military resources several months ago.

I thought that Iran or Syria would be the Second Front of World War III, prior to China opening Taiwan, Korea, or even the Philippines as the Third Front. But it appears Niger may have already claimed that honor. Still, the Middle East is already drawing more US troops and ships away from the Ukrainian Front.

One Russian observer believes there are wheels within wheels here, which is to say that the neoclown plan was not only anticipated, but is being utilized by its enemies:

The current conflict in Palestine is geopolitical, and reflects the consolidation of one of the world’s major Poles. It marks the second stage of the formation of the mutli-polar world, after Russia’s SMO in February 2022.

Many people tend to focus exclusively on Hamas, and the unfolding news of the situation – as if this is if this reflects the same temporal plane as the strategy being employed. Make no mistake. This is an unprecedented combined arms operation and nothing in the 21st century comes close to it in the history of the conflict… This was not some random lashing out by Hamas. All of this was planned, in full coordination with the Axis of Resistance – and we are not even close to witnessing its full scope and scale.

Every possible outcome was taken into consideration. Remember that everytime you hear Zionists talk about the ‘big plans’ the entity has in store to level Gaza.

They have done that many times, it never worked. Hamas has come out stronger than it ever has. And they also expect whatever the Zionist entity has in store.

Because this isn’t just Hamas. This is the entire Axis of Resistance, centered in Iran.

Iran is one of the world’s oldest, greatest, and most sophisticated civilizations. It is and has always been an organic civilizational Pole in the region. Before the modern era, the sole two powers of the region were the Ottomans and the Persian Safavids, who competed over it.

Behind this operation is the cunning, strategic genius, and eschatological materialism of the IRGC. And by the latter, I mean to say that they have combined what is a profound universal-regional spiritual vision with the pragmatism, realism, and earthiness of both modern technology and hyper-Clausewitzean irregular warfare techniques.

This war does not have a single location or even a single timeline. The scale at which it is occurring, is not immediately perceptible both in space AND time.

These are the tremors felt by the resurrection of some of the world’s most ancient, splendorous, and sublime empires. This is the special military operation of the Middle East civilizations.

Likewise this is not just about Israel. It is the New World Order’s last outpost in the region. Israel was the Ukraine of the Middle East – a vain, artificial fortress of Western modernity created to suppress the real (and long dormant) powers indigenous to the region.

This is a regional revolution that has the potential to culminate into a global war.

Russia has awakened ancient powers across the world. This is the end of Western ‘rules based order.’

Now, there is a little too much grandiose rhetoric there for me to take the guy very seriously. It’s just a little too close to predicting “the mother of all battles” or assuring everyone that the Ukrainian summer offensive would be “quite successful”. But there are certainly a few anomalies, a few subtle hints, that Hamas stuck its nose in the grinder in the full knowledge of the hellstorm doing so would likely inspire.

And it may be telling that Israel’s military response, although significant, has been on the distinctly circumspect side in comparison with the foam-flecked response of the mainstream media and the even more unhinged neoclowns openly calling for genocide and ethnic cleansing on social media.

Do you really want to go there, gentlemen? I mean, you’re not seriously that completely unself-conscious, are you?

The most effective response to the calls to “flatten Gaza” is a simple question: “with what?” With the artillery shells that were sent to Ukraine? Anyhow, as always, we can speculate until the cows come home, but only the unfolding of future events can potentially tell us what actually happened, why it happened, and who was responsible for it.

Simplicius fundamentally gets it.

Could this in fact be a coordinated and carefully timed three-pronged attack—the first leg of which would be Russia taking out Ukraine, then Iran taking out Israel, finishing off with the coup de grace of China taking out Taiwan? We’ll have to see how this conflict unfolds over the next week or two in order to truly judge if it’s some 5D Iranian master plan, or just a cheap ploy for Netanyahu to consolidate power and ink his legacy as the historic Israeli leader who crushed Hamas once and for all, clearing all his rotten misdeeds and corruption in one fell swoop.

UPDATE: It’s not official until it is denied and criminalized. Straight-up inversion from Israel’s Channel 13:

“There are Israelis who believe that members of the Shin Bet and the IDF helped Hamas to murder, kidnap and abuse our sons and daughters. Whoever publishes these slanderous words is collaborating with the enemy.”

UPDATE: Egypt confirms it warned Netanyahu about an attack coming out of Gaza.

Egyptian Intelligence Minister called Netanyahu ten days before Hamas attack and warned him of “something unusual, a terrible operation” that was about to take place from Gaza. Egyptians were “surprised by the indifference shown by Netanyahu”.

DISCUSS ON SG