'A shared waking dream' struck me as a very arm's-length way of describing history. But don't we always experience history at arm's length?
But the idea of hallucinatory realism allowing us to treat today's 'chaotic unreality' as a 'waking dream' has real (scary) merit. It makes me want to wake people the hell up.
How we tell stories -- an art form in itself -- changes all the time. But stealing from others is and will always remain an immoral act. This is stealing.
I'm not a huge fan of 20th-century French philosophers, but the writing of Baudrillard and Derrida on this subject seem very solid to me. We have a feedback loop between 'the real' and the culturally synthetic, and the cycle keeps looping faster and its outputs continue to become more self-referential and unnatural.
One possible avenue to address this is to ground yourself firmly in the real. Who gives a shit what cartoons some AI is making? By participating in the hubbub you're just feeding the cycle. So, I guess, am I.
Friends, family, hometown, sunshine, the beach, meals, pets, cars, jobs. At some point we'll need to collectively return to reality. We can do it on our own terms or not.
'A shared waking dream' struck me as a very arm's-length way of describing history. But don't we always experience history at arm's length?
But the idea of hallucinatory realism allowing us to treat today's 'chaotic unreality' as a 'waking dream' has real (scary) merit. It makes me want to wake people the hell up.
Thanks for reading Heather. We definitely need to find ways to wake from this dreamstate.
Fascinating & insightful, as always David.
Thanks for reading John; appreciated!
super interesting idea - i like this theme and would be interested in seeing how far you can take the analysis
Thanks v much Andy!
Worth re-upping this highly relevant 2010 article by Chris Hedges - "Retribution for a World Lost in Screens" https://truthout.org/articles/chris-hedges-retribution-for-a-world-lost-in-screens/
Thanks Luc; that was fascinating and definitely playing with the same kinds of ideas.
How we tell stories -- an art form in itself -- changes all the time. But stealing from others is and will always remain an immoral act. This is stealing.
Hello David,
I hope this communique finds you in a moment of stillness.
Have huge respect for your work and reflective pieces.
We’ve just opened the first door of something we’ve been quietly crafting for years—
A work not meant for markets, but for reflection and memory.
Not designed to perform, but to endure.
It’s called The Silent Treasury.
A place where judgment is kept like firewood: dry, sacred, and meant for long winters.
Where trust, patience, and self-stewardship are treated as capital—more rare, perhaps, than liquidity itself.
This first piece speaks to a quiet truth we’ve long sat with:
Why many modern PE, VC, Hedge, Alt funds, SPAC, and rollups fracture before they truly root.
And what it means to build something meant to be left, not merely exited.
It’s not short. Or viral. But it’s built to last.
And if it speaks to something you’ve always known but rarely seen expressed,
then perhaps this work belongs in your world.
The publication link is enclosed, should you wish to experience it.
https://helloin.substack.com/p/built-to-be-left?r=5i8pez
Warmly,
The Silent Treasury
A vault where wisdom echoes in stillness, and eternity breathes.
It's clear "reality" is becoming more and more psychotic and it's difficult to see what's capable of halting let alone reversing this...
It’s cheesy and crappy. You’re overthinking.
I'm not a huge fan of 20th-century French philosophers, but the writing of Baudrillard and Derrida on this subject seem very solid to me. We have a feedback loop between 'the real' and the culturally synthetic, and the cycle keeps looping faster and its outputs continue to become more self-referential and unnatural.
One possible avenue to address this is to ground yourself firmly in the real. Who gives a shit what cartoons some AI is making? By participating in the hubbub you're just feeding the cycle. So, I guess, am I.
Friends, family, hometown, sunshine, the beach, meals, pets, cars, jobs. At some point we'll need to collectively return to reality. We can do it on our own terms or not.
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/the-euphemism-treadmill
Thanks James; Baudrillard and Derrida have both shaped my thinking on all this, for sure.