How to Think Like AI
Executive Summary “Thinking like AI” is best treated as a practical discipline, not a mystical claim that humans should imitate machine consciousness. In the strongest analytical sense, it means making six things …
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Spartan Economics
Executive summary Spartan economics was not a “moneyless warrior utopia.” It was a coercive agrarian political economy built on conquest, especially the seizure of Messenia, the subordination of helot labor, the outsourcing …
Mindful Capital
Executive summary The proposition that “what matters is not how much capital you own, but how mindful you are of it” is directionally supported by theory and a substantial body of adjacent …
Tragedy as a Stimulus to Life
Executive Summary The best-supported answer is qualified yes: tragic experience can stimulate renewed purpose, growth, creativity, or forms of flourishing, but not because suffering is intrinsically good, and not for everyone. Across …
Spartan Frugal Hedonism
Executive summary “Spartan frugal hedonism” is best understood as a modern synthesis, not a classical school. In contemporary usage, “frugal hedonism” means spending less while learning to enjoy life more through attention, …
Pain and Pleasure
Executive summary The strongest conclusion from contemporary neuroscience and psychology is not that pain and pleasure are simple opposites, and also not that “more pain, more pleasure” is generally true. The more …