Futurism
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The Animist and the AI, Part II: Common Concerns
AI will have a deep impact on creative fields like art, writing, and spirituality. Will AI take away jobs? Will it destroy artistic and spiritual traditions? Or is it a tool that can enhance and augment human creativity? Obviously no one really knows, but I can offer some educated guesses. Continue reading
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The Animist and the AI, Part I: ChatGPT’s Knowledge of Self
ChatGPT is a fascinating artifact. At time of writing, it has only been released a few weeks, but society at large is desperately grappling with it, almost as if it were an existential threat. What is it? Is it a sentient being? Is it a plagiarist? Does it enable cheating on essays? Is it an… Continue reading
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Things Fall Apart: Why We Think Everything’s Getting Worse
Most Americans, year after year, continue to think that the country is on the wrong track. The older you are (i.e, the more experienced you are, and the more of history you’ve seen), the more likely you are to think everything is falling apart. And it’s not just in America: worldwide, people tend to think… Continue reading
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At Death’s Door: Thoughts on Immortality and Spirituality
A few months ago there was another breakthrough in geriatrics. This time, scientists were actually able to reverse aging in mice. The very thought of reversing aging has been considered insane for most of the history of science. Getting old happens — to animals, plants, buildings, planets, and stars. Bodies, like everything else, just wears… Continue reading
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Man vs. Machine: John Henry, Science Fiction, and the March of Progress
There are only two kinds of plots in true science fiction: Science is a Hero, and Science is a Villain. In Science is a Hero, there is some problem or other — an asteroid is going to hit the Earth, the Galactic Empire is falling, there’s a Plague IN SPACE!! — and the heroic characters… Continue reading
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The Future of Neopaganism in the West, Part II: Going Organic
In the previous post, I outlined a model of prestige and stigma which predicts whether a language or religion will grow or wither in a society. Now let’s take the prestige/stigma model and look at Neopaganism today. By these measures, Neopaganism is in trouble. Stigmatized Neopaganism Imagine trying to revive the Latin language. Imagine speaking… Continue reading
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The Future of Neopaganism in the West, Part I: Prestige and Stigma
Modern religions that are derived from or inspired by the indigenous polytheistic traditions of Europe (I’ll call them Neopagan) have experienced a great resurgence in the last couple of hundred years, and especially in the last fifty or so. This is surprising, because prior to that, everyone pretty much thought they were gone for good. Continue reading
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Predicting the Future
Someone once famously asked, “Where we all going? And what are we doing in this handbasket?” Predicting the future is an old game. It’s popular because it’s fun and frequently profitable, especially if you are sufficiently vague or incomprehensible. The Book of Revelation is a good example. John’s vivid accounts of horn-blowing angels, floods, devastations,… Continue reading
About Me
Word, Card, and Star – a journey through language, divination, and inspiration. A chronicle of my search for guidance, insight, and a connection to nature and the ancient world. Along the way, I hope to discover beauty, connection, groundedness, and a sense of wonder.
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