The word Mokita is a fantastic word taken from a language called Kivila. It is spoken in Papua New Guinea. The best English translation you can get of Mokita is, “the truth we all know but agree not to talk about.” There are several concepts in the English language related to the notion of Mokita, such…
There is a new interactive quiz at The New York Times that lets you see how your speech choices match up with various geographic regions in the nation. It’s fairly quick and can provide some interesting results. Here’s a look at mine. I’m most verbally at home in Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, though, interestingly, I have a…
Following the post on the Dies Irae Principle earlier, I started thinking about the role of sound in regulating mood. Thirteen years ago, I was sitting in my undergraduate freshman music theory class, having moved thousands of miles away from home to begin university. At the time, I had enrolled in the Bachelor of Music…
One of the biggest mental model obsessions I’ve had for the past few years – so consuming that I rarely even mention it in public, and hardly ever on this site as I am still working on fully grasping the implications and mechanics – is something called signaling theory. The gist of signaling theory is that at all times, in all situations, you are broadcasting aspects of your identity, beliefs, personality, and lifestyle to the people around you, often with significant social implications. It exerts such a strong pull on civilization that I consider it second only to the social proof mental model in importance. It interacts with other mental models so efficiently, it often goes unnoticed.
With the public suddenly seeming to notice that three-parent biological children are now a scientific possibility, The Telegraph is reporting, “A group of 34 European politicians, including eight British MPs and peers, has signed a declaration attacking plans which will make the UK the first country in the world to permit the new IVF technique.” Here’s the…
In the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Carlay Company in Chicago, Illinois developed a candy coated dietary suppressant called Ayds. It sold the business to Campana Corporation. Campana was then sold to Dow Chemical. In the 1960’s, Dow sold the business to Purex and hired legendary Hollywood stars and other celebrities to endorse the product. In…
The 6 Most Common Biological Sexes in Humans Many of you have expressed an interest in more of my personal essays; the documents I use myself to study various topics and take advantage of the so-called “orangutan theory”, which states that forcing yourself to write down your ideas, or speaking them out loud, even if…
A topic I’m studying now from a mental model perspective is that of “Otherkin”. Don’t know what it is? You aren’t alone. It’s a sub-niche movement of people who believe – not pretend, but actually believe – they are partially, or entirely, non-human. Some think that they have been reincarnated with the soul of an animal, dragon, fairy, plant, alien, cartoon, demon, angel, elf, vampire, etc. Some believe they actually are partially these things biologically.
The honey bee dance, also known as the honey bee waggle dance, is one of the most amazing things found in nature. To understand why it is so important, you need to appreciate how much we depend on the honey bee, how complex its hive behavior is, the specialization of tasks, and the ways in…
Warning: This is the working essay I promised to release earlier tonight. It deals with certain common cult beliefs that arise throughout human history and civilizations. It contains mature themes, images, and concepts. It was written for myself as a way to process and understand these recurring patterns. Due to the length of the essay, I…
