157 Comments

You may need to rename yourself Tree of Optimism after this post, lol.

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Well, it could be a very short-lived age!

But I was thinking Exaltation on the Tree of Glee

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Maybe just "Tree of Glee." It's pithy. And funny.

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No. The show did poorly & the cast didn't survive... 🤔

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What's the point of suffering on the Tree of Woe if you can't go on to become King by your own hand?

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I think that we can afford some optimism now, but I'm concerned about the ultimate limits to growth. We need off-world mineral refining and frankly that technology doesn't exist and probably won't exist. Maybe could do it on mars, but the industrial base isn't going to be 3D printed into existence. I do think that finite resources will require a de-growth economy on earth at least... and that we'll need to navigate it carefully if we're to see an interstellar spring. Article for context: https://alwaysthehorizon.substack.com/p/analysisreview-the-limits-to-growth

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Do we get song and dance numbers with that?

Or will that be reserved for paid subscribers?

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NON-paying subscribers will be forced to watch me sing and dance

Premium subscribers can bypass it to get to the content

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Harsh, but fair.

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Great article, I hope it becomes the touchstone of our generation.

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Thank you, that's high praise.

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> Artificial intelligence, pursued with purely Faustian ambition, could be man’s greatest mistake; if pursued with Aenean magnanimity, it can be man’s greatest achievement.

This is really it. It's the choice between being living and dying as a sloth maintained by robot servants or venturing into the unknown for a cosmic destiny.

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Or, even worse, owning nothing and eating the bugs. But those are the choices.

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If they're gonna try to carry on with the current joke of "AI", there's little for any actual thinking person to worry about, since this form of "Artificial Intelligence" is nothing more than a more convenient way to copy someone else's homework.

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Science is working on more than just Generative AI.

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Well, please forward my best wishes to "Science".

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Also, fwiw, generative AI is conceptually amazing. In execution much depends on how it's trained.

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Intelligence's prime locator is human beings - Why transfer/extend it? Somehow this would indicate an infringement of the role God granted to intelligence. We would not be putting it in its right place.

There have been warnings in the past about AI, but we still try to pursue

objectivity and Truth definitely exist, on that matter - so what is it? Extremely precise Truths. Some "yes or no".

Those matters should be discussed appropriately, something not being done. The table talk has NOT been done. The consensus is being formatted with the multitude of people who just work 40 hours a week and pay taxes - barely slaves

All we have is "finding it great" or "cool" and an overall "let's go we'll figure things later", but I believe this is not enough of an assessment. If Musk is taking us down with his Martian dream, he is. It does not make him a "bad guy". At some point, Musk's wealth splits him from me, I cannot identify. I have other priorities. Seems AI is some stuff for people who are cozy and have a specific access - this requires some grounds. The rest, we are starving and are broken. Talking me about "AI" does not speak to me about anything useful.

The "let's go we'll find out later" seems to be the trap of the "shady unknown", outputting "goodness" - while we definitely don't know.

We currently got 90% stuck on their cellphone in the bus, and we are at the stage where AI is barely still being discussed as "valid or not". Bitcoin (cashless society) is "the greatest thing ever made - that's so cool".

I mean, sorry, but without me guys. I expressed my voice about that.

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Insufficient woe.

I will provide. Mars is not habitable without trucking in something like 60 feet deep of water ice and ammonia (for nitrogen) just to get decent air pressure and protection from cosmic rays. (Given the lack of magnetic field, it might require more. ) You'd also want to truck in enough water to have...water.

Moving all this from the rings of Saturn is going to take a while. Landing it on the surface without too much techtonic destruction is also challenging. And then you need to do the actual terraforming to turn this toxic mess into breathable atmosphere. This might take a while.

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I knew I could count on you

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America doesn't have anything close to the surplus energy necessary to do all that. It will exist in the realm of sci-fi and fantasy… meanwhile down here ‘in the real world,’ natural gas and oil will become more and more scarce and Energy Poverty, Demographic Decline and Tech stagnation will continue, per usual.

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It will require nuclear powered rockets to shove all that ice around. There's boatloads of nuclear power capability we aren't using.

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Nuclear Power does not have Margin. People figured this out circa the 1970s, which is why Nuclear Power Stagnated ages ago & is now declining worldwide.

You need (A) Mass Subsidy (impossible if you are levered with debt) & (B) Cheap Uranium (you have to loot others... not possible when most Western nations don't even have armies anymore). Case in point, France:

Once Upon a time, the Nuclear Program was a matter of national pride & everyone said 'We must emulate the French in their Nuclear Program!'...

Today, they have been kicked out of the Sahel (goodbye cheap Uranium) and their Debt to GDP ratio is massive... meaning the subsidies have run dry. When you check their per capita energy consumption (for the Nuclear component) it is thus in freefall, and this will continue in the future.

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Breeder reactors. Today's waste could be tomorrow's fuel. And then there is thorium.

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Again, old ideas which have flopped (in the case of breeder reactors), and new ideas which have little to no difference with conventional Fission.

This also reminds me of that proposal I once heard from a gentleman who went 'Hydrogen is the Future of Transport!'... to which I responded:

>> How are you going to find the Surplus money, energy, manpower, etc (worth trillions of USD) to implement all this over several decades?<<

It's good to fantasize about things, but peoples & societies are limited in what they can do based on their current 'on the ground' situation.

Take the USA for example. All of its Nuclear reactors presently are used to 'soak up' the 65% inefficiencies that are a result of the electricity generation process (which uses Natural Gas). Most American Coal & Renewables are also engaged in 'soak up duty.'

Relevant: https://decarbonization.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-flow-of-u-s-energy-consumption/

Diversion of these sources is impossible, since it will mean rolling blackouts & other related calamities to large population centres.

In other words, Big Deus Ex Machina projects will never occur.

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Breeder reactors were abandoned due to concerns of proliferation. Jimmy Carter did it.

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You trust humans who can barely keep their shit together to have stable governments that last a 100 years, to manage the nuclear weapons that will proliferate with breeder reactors and the nuclear waste as will. You can risk your own future on such dubious gambles, you do not get gamble mine, lock and load!

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If by "boatloads," you mean a few decades at current use rates, and much less with a giant space program.

https://phys.org/news/2011-05-nuclear-power-world-energy.html

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If you want some quality doom, consider that asteroid which supposedly has a density higher than any known element. Once we have decent space travel, the urge to check it out is huge. Who knows what kind of chemical toxicity superheavy metals might have. And the fission potential!

Rev 8:10  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 

Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 

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A space program based on the myth book of pre-scientific savage Jews, good one!

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Nov 9
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That is more likely, but mining an ultra toxic asteroid is an interesting option -- and very tempting.

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Hi 5 my favorite doomer. :-)

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Honoured by the Kind words! 😉

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Sounds like there are some startups hiding in that woe.

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Exactly. In chaos is opportunity. So many.

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Mars is probably rich in minerals and hydrocarbons but terraforming it is a multi decade project, maybe even centuries. In the meantime we should use it as a way station to the asteroid belt for minerals and water, Jupiter for hydrogen, and Titan for methane. At Mars we will probably have space stations and bases on its moons Phobos and Deimos. The first mission of Mars Colony will be a planet wide assessment of subsurface resources. Then mining operations that are the petrochemical industry’s wet dream.

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Wherefor art though, Podkayne?

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I am currently writing a novel set primarily in Anno Domini MMMXXV. I plan to publish it on Substack over the year of 2025 starting on Deception 31st 2024.

For said novel: do you mind if I have the characters explicitly think of themselves as part of the Aenean civilization? Symbolized by a light illuminating darkness.

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Of course! I would be honored.

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What a post! Severely lacking in his trademark woefulness.

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I allow myself one or two days a year of optimism

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TWO? I am appalled... sloth.

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Well written and thought out yet… Maybe the next 100 years is best symbolized not by the arch but by a human simultaneously projecting vommit and diarrhea. Our gullibilty and the deception of our true place on Earth is still too prominent to make wise judgements. As I see it, Musk is false in every way. Musk is Bill Gates 2.0, a Deepstate DOD funded psyop, and science gatekeeper like Einstein. He is the anti-Tesla that has appropriated the word Telsa and should be punished for that crime. Nikola Tesla’s ghost should haunt Musk.

Why such hated? Space travel is an illusion wrapped inside a psyop. Actual space travel may exist, but Man will never leave Earth orbit by rockets. Anti-gravitic ships may exist and take you elsewhere, but where? So many lies and deceptions around the planets and the Big Bang and human origins exist. We cannot move forward in a meaningful way until we purge the lies and bullshit from our culture. All we can do now is choose a fool’s errand led by another pied-piper such as Musk.

Furthermore, Musk is somehow appointed to the role of CEO and Ringmaster of a three-ring circus: transhumanism, space travel, and AI.

As for transhumanism, my metaphysical perspective is that humans are here to perfect their souls through multiple reincarnations. My ontological view is that humans have lived through numerous global resets and great forgettings. Once humans start placing computer chips in their bodies and delegating thought to computer algorithms, our soul’s growth is halted and life loses all meaning. The gods then hit the reset button. Earth is our stage and crucible to foge our souls. I doubt the gods wish for us to leap to other world’s by anti-gravitic ships and Dr. Strange portals. These leaps to other portals do happen, as seen by cryptids and oddities bleeding over to Earth for brief periods. But most people agree that visiting another dimension/plane of existence is temporary and unstable. At this point, noone of any respectability is discussing realities such as astral projection, summoning entities, and other mystery school teachings. We are provided with, usually Jewish, gatekeepers like Einstein as the anti-Tesla. Granted, Tesla’s tech could crack the Earth open with large earthquakes. So the gods and Men-in-Black are swiping from our hands the tools that would bring down the curtains on our stage.

You essay was well written and visionary, but I would recommend further exploration of the Herculean task of envisioning our next great inspiring culture.

I am guilty of world-building and not bold enough to print a proposal. I do enjoy listening to John David Ebbert distill the works of Spengler and others.

Here is Ebbert in talks with the living version of Spengler, Russian culture will likely define Eastern Civilization as fossilized Faustian Civilization spends 200 years in Hell.

https://youtu.be/OSiFaDlIeO0?si=eVSFdYyy9r1KkMqA

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You might be right, but I hope you are not. For now I will embrace cautious optimism regarding Trump and Musk, and eucatastrophic hopefulness for the future. At least until this Friday, when I will return to tax policy and woe.

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All I ask for is more arches and columns. Maybe columnades.. I want things that look grand when our future monarchs, warlords, and aristocracy do victory parades through the city, and have religious ceremonies and weddings within.

Make architecture great again!

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Yes. I envision a series of glorious arches in succession forming a glorious arcade through which our space marines will tread in victory parades.

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Beautiful. If you need someone to help design and lead the teams of such a future project, I might know a person....

One has to know how to balance the grandness of the Empire's might, giving it all the uplifting hopeful grace, strength, and hope. While also having an appropriate place to place the conquered enemies that you've drug through the city in the March and put on display afterwards for the Polity to see what not to do and be

Priorities! One must have them

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Sir, your words here have cemented your place as chief architect of the new regime.

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We can send our conquered foes on a one way trip to Mars as laborers.

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“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”

—Francois Rabelais

Excellent essay, as always. Thank you—and continued success in all of your good endeavors.

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Yup. On the Faustian phase, it seems to me to be characterised by Hubris; the true meaning of which is not "pride" - tho' overweening pride is an aspect - rather the breaching of boundaries which should not be breached, as they are there for a good reason.

And as all who have studied the Classics, sooner or later comes Nemesis, in hot pursuit. As we are witnessing.

And thanks Elon. You stood up for all freedom lovers, and put your money where your mouth is. Bless you.

Most optimistic I have felt since the crime against humanity that was Covid. Battle may only just have started but we are on the march

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Implicit in the described Aenean sensibility is a strong moral structure underpinning it. Without a moral compass and the courage to maintain it, it will revert to the Faustian.

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Agreed, agreed. Amen.

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I agree with what you are saying except for the last part: there is no going back. Rather, we will either ascend to the Aenean Age or descend into the Abaddonian. Abaddon, also known as Apollyon, is a fallen angel and one of Satan's high-ranking officials in the book of Revelation. Abaddon is described as the angel of the Abyss and the "Destroyer". Abaddon's subjects are demonic creatures that torment humans, and Abaddon himself is a menacing character who arrives on the scene during the Final Days.

We must stoke the Aenean fire for the only thing that can defeat darkness is light!

To paraphrase Thulsa Doom, “In your hand you hold my light, the gleam in the eye of Aeneas. This flame will burn away the darkness, burn you the way to PARADISE!!!”

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The Abaddonian is an awesome name for the other worldview. Awesome.

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This week I’ll give a talk to my STEM club students about the Aenean soul. Just practiced it with my protégée, and she loved it.

“Do me a favor. Die on Mars?”

I’ll let you know how it goes.

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That's amazing! I'm honored you'd use it in your club.

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The honor is mine. It's a great idea. I'll let you know the results.

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Let's go.

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In the middle of reading this I stopped. Hugged my wife. Cried. And told her our kids are going to space.

Let's fucking gooooooooooooo.

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This is a startling and novel concept, but I like it.

The new man as the chooser of fates.

What do you want?

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Now I feel hopeful! Perhaps because I was born in the same city the same year the Arch was rising. Age of Aquarius, ascendant! ; )

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Wait, hold your horses. It occured to me yesterday that there's a *slight* fly in the ointment of the recent triumphalism by "The Right". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo61oug2tEQ *You're following the script.* https://treeofwoe.substack.com/p/lets-talk-about-civil-war Recall: it wasn't the "Right" that won it's position by force, it was the "Left". https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1082058/antifa-portland.jpg And we've all speculated that the Civil War movie is just hyperstitious programming.

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Ooph.

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The Aeneans need solve the problem of the Luciferian Death Cult, like now, pronto, once and for all.

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Agreed. They have a cult. We should have one too. They are chthonic. We are The Light. Maybe we can call it something like “The Guiding Light: The cult of Militant Aeneans”? Our symbol could be a fist holding a flaming sword.

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I'm already in a cult, the scientific methodologists.

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