Becoming a self

“Silent Peaks” (2023) by Pope Bacay, acrylic on canvas

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to 2025-01-17 · On the death of David Lynch, a station on Film as philosophy.

Tangent this note links to 2025-01-29 · The battle against entropy, a station on Language and the unsayable.

It is a terribly daunting task to see the self because on the onset, it already implies that you must remove yourself from it. To be an observer and change perspective at the speed of thought. At some point, I can say that I have achieved this flexibility brought by years of self-experimentation where I subjected myself to various forms of mental isolation. I have fragmented enough parts of me for ease of…

Read the note →

Often fragile but yearns for stability. I always thought of myself as someone who is still trying to decode the meaning of humanity, its purpose and the justification of its collective existence.

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to 2025-01-22 · When a work of art speaks to you, a station on Film as philosophy.

Tangent this note links to What I Learned in Therapy, a station on Work, therapy, and recovery.

Philosophy has been the home of my thoughts ever since I married myself to the idea of the mind over everything else. In my last year of high school, I had this intuition to choose Philosophy as my second choice of degree programs in a university that I applied to. With my first choice being a literature program, having both in my college application form raised the eyebrows of almost all adults in my family…

Read the note →

Tapping into your inner oracle can only be accessed through self-knowledge. I believe that it is a kind of power that allows you to have a certain level of foresight that is uniquely consequential based on who you are as a person.

Read the note →

There are times when letting go is the key to peace. It lessens the friction inherent in social interactions, human relationships, and ultimately, life. Letting go requires us to choose to do nothing and let that inaction drive us towards a fateful encounter that is neither right nor wrong—under the blanket of idea that says, “that’s just how things are.” Letting the world dictate what is “right” for us, trusting…

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to One thought too many · Gravity, grace, and the spreadsheet, a station on Work, therapy, and recovery.

Tangent this note links to Technology and its Discontents, a station on Technology, simulation, and the machine.

I have been mulling over the ideas of humanity and what separates us from being humans. I find it to be a truly engaging topic as my mind jumps from morality and ethics, virtuousness, and similar other ideas. The cause of this is most likely due to my recent media consumption:

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to The Failure of Hedonistic Search for Happiness · Beyond default comfort and the avoidance of pain, a station on Desire and the void.

Lately, I am feeling more and more hopeless about a certain progress that humanity should have done centuries ago. That certain progress is a collective understanding of who we are as humans. Recent news about the developments in AI is saying that it is just a matter of time before our limited human understanding is surpassed by the very thing we are still grasping to understand.

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to 2025-01-04 · On machines that lie, a station on Technology, simulation, and the machine.

Tangent this note links to Technology and its Discontents, a station on Technology, simulation, and the machine.

Lately, I am becoming more compelled to align myself to my conceptual roots. With the current developments around technology, culture, and society at large (suffice it to say that I do not specifically mean "progress" in any sense here), I am becoming more and more inclined to think that it is time for me to stop riding the waves. I think this will be my stop. The revolting spirit of counterculture in me is starting…

Read the note →

Tangent this note links to Technology and its Discontents, a station on Technology, simulation, and the machine.

I am confronted by the idea that the eventual effects of artificial intelligence may result to the peak solipsism that humanity will ever experience. This solipsism feels like a looming desire above everyone's head that stems from the fueled desire for self-gratification brought by social media. The algorithm confirms only the values of the self, an interconnecting web of mirrors that traps the ego at its center. A…

Read the note →

"Hey, did you see this thing online?"

Read the note →

It is a difficult task to recognize the sleeping monster deep within us. It lies dormant that feeds on repressed memories, or trauma, guilt, and unprocessed experiences. The Shadow that remains unseen, unintegrated from the self that we want to project to the world, or sometimes the persona that we wear to express a facet or our personality to the world that is hostile to what we want to become.

Read the note →