Go to most any website, especially the likes of Reddit, and ask what are the best and most lucrative fields for a starry-eyed youth just starting out to get into. Chances are they’ll recommend “skilled trades”: “my father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate is a … Continue reading“STEM”, Skilled Trades, and Hype
“Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing? So small a thing!” Boromir said when lamenting the great import of the One Ring. I might say the same about an artifact far less … Continue readingSo Much Fear and Doubt For So Small A Paper
My dark academia story, weighing in at 14,230 words, is finally out for both ebook and paperback readers! I’ve thought of it ever since last fall, but only in the past week or so have I gotten enough gumption to go write it! As the … Continue readingTen Weeks at Onigaminsing: New Novella Out!
We’ve all heard the mantra “Build Back Better” so beloved by our political leaders, including President Joe Biden, but what does it mean? At last we have an answer on the White House website, as encapsulated in “The Life of Linda”. Here I will go … Continue readingUpgrading the Life of Linda
Go onto Google and search for “I never went to college” or some such, and what do you find? You don’t find stories of people like me, someone who was a gifted kid, is a sophisticate, and a performing-artist type with intellectual curiosities but who … Continue readingI Never Went to College…or High School
Why do employers generally require college degrees or high school diplomas to get a job? On one hand, it makes sense: a more knowledgeable man who has demonstrated he can stick with a long-term project is a better employee. On the other hand, it makes … Continue readingThe Puzzle of Credentialism
I feel a bit behind the curve, since only like yesterday did I discover I have a great affinity with that social-media aesthetic called “dark academia”. Maybe the fact I follow and love the @_DarkAcademia Twitter account and have for a long time should have … Continue readingAcademia, Dark and Otherwise
Financial independence is often thought of as a pathway where you get a good job with the usual methods, work and save diligently well beyond the median percentage, and have the ability to retire early and safely. Although still unknown in many quarters and somewhat … Continue readingThinking Outside the “FIRE” Box
Why aren’t our elites more interesting? It might sound like an odd question to ask, but consider that throughout history aristocrats, elites of old, captains of industry, and those who have “already made it” pursued eccentric and visionary personal projects and passions. The universe of … Continue readingThe Long Night of Elite Imagination
In recent years the “financial independence/retire early” (“FIRE”) movement has risen and gained popularity, starting with a few blogs and spreading outward from there throughout the online world. 813,000 Reddit users subscribe to the main financial independence subreddit (r/financialindependence). Before we get to anything else, … Continue readingPensioners, Aristocrats, and Financial Independence