1222: Predator and Prey

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/19

If the fact is victimization, which is a lot of people,

then you have a few paths, but two key ones.

If the emphasis is on the identity as a victim,

then the person is a predator using the tools of a prey.

If the emphasis is on the fact of the victimization,

then the emphasis is on reality, thriving, education.

Last updated May  3, 2025. These terms govern all In Sight Publishing content—past, present, and future—and supersede any prior notices.  In Sight Publishing by Scott  Douglas  Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons BY‑NC‑ND 4.0; © In Sight Publishing by Scott  Douglas  Jacobsen 2012–Present. All trademarks, performances, databases & branding are owned by their rights holders; no use without permission. Unauthorized copying, modification, framing or public communication is prohibited. External links are not endorsed. Cookies & tracking require consent, and data processing complies with PIPEDA & GDPR; no data from children < 13 (COPPA). Content meets WCAG 2.1 AA under the Accessible Canada Act & is preserved in open archival formats with backups. Excerpts & links require full credit & hyperlink; limited quoting under fair-dealing & fair-use. All content is informational; no liability for errors or omissions: Feedback welcome, and verified errors corrected promptly. For permissions or DMCA notices, email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com. Site use is governed by BC laws; content is “as‑is,” liability limited, users indemnify us; moral, performers’ & database sui generis rights reserved.

2025-06-15

1221: Slept Forever

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/19

On December 20, 2017, Peter died. His body destroyed itself in an autoimmune attack. He was knocked out. Doctors connected him to an assistive machine. It kept his body alive, while ‘asleep.’ His lungs filled with fluid. They needed draining by the machinery of plastic, metal, and electronics.

Loved ones gathered around. They knew. It was time to begin the end. His body shut off between the morning into the early afternoon with the closing down of the machine keeping his unconscious body alive.

Death, to not be; Pete met the proverbial scythe of the unending eternal. Weeks passed to months and then a few years. Eileen couldn’t manage the pain, the void, the vacuum of Pete’s memories in her. More than 60 years of the union met as a singlet, a widow.

All unions meet the inevitability of an end with the ever-present two-word question, “Who first?” No matter the depth of the love, the thread-count of the connection, the amiability of the friendship, or the years built after one another. Death cares not for these; lovers do.

In this sense, lovers represent life, itself.

Holding onto a photo of Peter, Eileen met with family members in the early and early-middle parts of February 2021. To reconcile, to meet, to discuss life and love, while drifting in and out of consciousness, she was probably undergoing a psychogenic death.

Little sleep, no eating or minimal food intake, barely sipping water, the implosion of the self over a bond broken. “I’m coming, Pete,” over and over again. She just wanted to be home because her current house was a stranger’s abode, lonely and alone.

February 14, 2021, Valentine’s Day — poetically, Eileen Jacobsen died. Maybe, she met her valentine, maybe not. A Sunday departure from the stage. The Thursday before, some grandchildren visited her.

She turned to one and said, “Oh, hi, Scott.” A greeting meeting the last visit before the final, “Bye.”

2025-06-15

1220: Bedsheets

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/19

That’s a good word, or two,

said soft.

2025-06-15

1219: The Reality of Anthropogenic Climate Change

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/19

1988 — James E. Hansen

“Global warming has reached a level such that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and observed warming… It is already happening now.”

2014 — Katharine Hayhoe

“Climate change is here and now, and not in some distant time or place. The choices we’re making today will have a significant impact on our future.”

2021 — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.”

2021 — NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)

“When it comes to climate change: ‘It’s real. It’s us. But we still have choices about how bad we let it get.’”

2021 — Syukuro Manabe

“That problem is about a million times more difficult than understanding climate change.”

2023 — UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

“These climate conferences are of course a consensus‑based process, meaning all Parties must agree on every word, every comma, every full stop … Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end.”

2023 — NOAA Climate Program Office

“A skilled, diverse and fairly compensated workforce is essential to help bolster the nation’s climate resilience.”

2023 — Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

“For every additional tenth of a degree of global warming, about 140 million additional people will be exposed to critical heat above 29 degrees Celsius. The vast majority of these live in regions with comparatively low per capita emissions, such as India or Nigeria.”

2024 — World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

“The WMO community is sounding the Red Alert to the world.”

2024 — Global Carbon Project

“Time is running out to meet the Paris Agreement goals.”

2025 — Met Office Hadley Centre

“This study brings important new insights into the future of the AMOC. It shows that aspects of the AMOC may be more robust to a changing climate than some previous research has suggested. However, it doesn’t change our expectation that the AMOC will weaken over the twenty first century, and that this weakening will have important impacts on climate.”

2025 — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)

“All of the internationally produced global temperature datasets show that 2024 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. Humanity is in charge of its own destiny but how we respond to the climate challenge should be based on evidence. The future is in our hands — swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate.”

2025-06-15

1218: On Narcissism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/19

Otto Kernberg

“People with narcissistic personalities tend to be inordinately envious of other people, to idealize some people … and to depreciate and treat with contempt those from whom they do not expect anything … Their relations with others are frequently exploitative and parasitic. Beneath a surface that is often charming and engaging, one senses coldness and ruthlessness.”

(1998)

“[Malignantly narcissistic leaders] are able to take control because their inordinate narcissism is expressed in grandiosity, a confidence in themselves, and the assurance that they know what the world needs.”

(2003)

Heinz Kohut

“Although in theoretical discussions it will usually not be disputed that narcissism, the libidinal investment of the self, is per se neither pathological nor obnoxious, there exists an understandable tendency to look at it with a negatively toned evaluation as soon as the field of theory is left.”

(1966)

“The antithesis to narcissism is not the object relation but object love.”

(1966)

Elsa Ronningstam

“…Until recently the natural course of NPD has not received much attention in the clinical and empirical literature, and there is very little documented knowledge about the factors that might contribute to change … Our findings suggested that what appeared to be a narcissistic personality disorder at baseline actually included two types of pathology: one being a context‑ or state‑dependent type of pathology, and the other being a more long‑term and stable trait pathology.”

(2005)

Karyl McBride

“Daughters of narcissistic mothers absorb the message ‘I am valued for what I do, rather than for who I am.’”

(2008)

“A narcissistic mother sees her daughter … as a reflection and extension of herself rather than as a separate person with her own identity … Thus, the daughter is always scrambling to find the ‘right’ way to respond.”

(2008)

Craig Malkin

“Remind yourself: You have a right to your disappointment … The solution isn’t to slide down the spectrum and become Echo.”

(2015)

Wendy Behary

“You may have heard the term ‘narcissistic injury.’ … For all their bravado, [narcissists] are easily injured by criticism … Instead of appearing wounded, they will hurl the prickliest words at you, avoid you, or demand your applause for some other part of their wonderfulness.”

(2021)

Ramani Durvasula

“The narcissist is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom: No matter how much you put in, you can never fill it up.”

(2015)

2025-06-15

1217: Sword versus the Cross

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

Those guys who want religious supremacy,

want women in the home,

detest singles,

childless people,

hate blacks,

lorde over Indians,

ignore Native Americans,

mock the disabled,

punish the poor,

dismiss migrants,

silence dissent.

They’re still here,

still active,

be vigilant.

Many of those same people’s inverse exist too.

Lack of coverage is not evidence of absence.

2025-06-15

1216: 172,824 people

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

Do you know approximately how many people will eventually die today?

2025-06-15

1215: Lenny Bruce

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

Late 1940s–early 1950s

“I won’t say ours was a tough school, but we had our own coroner. We used to write essays like: What I’m going to be if I grow up.”

Early–mid-1950s

“Guys are like dogs. They keep comin’ back. Ladies are like cats. Yell at a cat one time, they’re gone.”

1960–1961

“Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.”

1961–1962

“If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.”

1961–1963

“It’s the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness.”

1963–1964

“In the Halls of Justice, the only justice is in the halls.”

1964–1965

“If you can’t say ‘fuck,’ you can’t say ‘fuck the government.’”

1965

“I’m not a comedian. I’m Lenny Bruce.”

1965–1966

“The ‘what should be’ never did exist, but people keep trying to live up to it. There is no ‘what should be,’ there is only what is.”

1960s (amplified post-1966)

“The only honest art form is laughter, comedy. You can’t fake it.”

1964–1965 (re-popularized 2000s–2025)

“Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.’”

2025-06-15

1214: We Get It

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

You hate Secularism.

We get it.

You hate atheists.

We get it.

You reject humanistic ethics.

We get it.

You despise the notion of human rights over God’s Law.

We get it.

We understand. We get it.

However, what is your proposed alternative other than unidimensional theocracy,

in part or in whole — you ghoul?

Do you get it?

2025-06-15

1213: Steven Bannon

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

2014

“I certainly think secularism has sapped the strength of the Judeo-Christian West to defend its ideals, right?”

“There is a major war brewing, a war that’s already global. Every day that we refuse to look at this as what it is — and the scale of it, and really the viciousness of it — will be a day where you will rue that we didn’t act.”

“I believe the world and particularly the Judeo-Christian West is in a crisis.”

2015

“When two-thirds or three-quarters of the C.E.O.s in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia, I think… A country is more than an economy. We’re a civic society.”

2016

“It’s war. It’s war. Every day, we put up: America at war, America’s at war. We’re at war. Note to self, beloved commander in chief: we’re at war.”

“Why is it that President Barack Hussein Obama … how can he not see that we’re fighting a global existential war?”

2017

“The third, broadly, line of work is what is deconstruction of the administrative state. All of those promises are going to be implemented. I kind of break it up into three verticals of three buckets…”

“The Republican establishment is trying to nullify the 2016 election. That’s a brutal fact we have to face. They do not want Donald Trump’s populist, economic nationalist agenda to be implemented.”

“We call ourselves ‘the Fight Club.’ You don’t come to us for warm and fuzzy. We think of ourselves as virulently anti-establishment, particularly ‘anti-’ the permanent political class.”

“The media here is the opposition party… The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while.”

2018

“We got elected on Drain the Swamp, Lock Her Up, Build a Wall… This was pure anger. Anger and fear is what gets people to the polls.”

“The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with s — -.”

2021

“All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

2023

“When I spoke with Bannon a few days later, he wouldn’t stop touting Trump’s performance, referring to it as his ‘Come Retribution’ speech.”

2024

“I think it’s very simple: that the ruling elites of the West lost confidence in themselves. The elites have lost their faith in their countries. They’ve lost faith in the Westphalian system, the nation-state. They are more and more detached from the lived experience of their people.”

“Our movement is metastasizing to something that’s different than America First; it’s American Citizens First.”

“We’re the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish group out there… What I say is that not just the future of Israel but the future of American Jews… is conditional upon one thing, and that’s a hard weld with Christian nationalism.”

“The Democrats have no ability to win this unless they cheat… I think that’s the next phase of the MAGA — ‘America first’ was phase one, ‘American citizens first’ is phase two.”

“We are hurtling toward a constitutional crisis, because of these judges. We have Judicial Supremacy and Judicial Sabotage. — We cannot flinch. If we flinch, we lose.”

2025

“Now that the election is over I think we can finally say that yeah actually Project 2025 is the agenda.”

“We’re working on five or six different alternatives that President Trump could run again and be president, and quite frankly I think four or five of them are completely legal.”

“President Trump will serve a third term.”

2025-06-15

1212: Bannon (W) v. Musk (L)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

“Elon Musk and I had many, many fights. But Elon Musk is gone, right? Elon Musk is gone. And I am still here.”

2025-06-15

1211: No thank yous

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

They are unlikely to say, “Thank you.”

It’s still important to do your part.

2025-06-15

1210: Take It Slow, Allan’s Parkinson’s Disease

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/18

I remember a dad once, Allan.

It was home, town.

He used to always show up at the events in town.

There were a whole series of events around and with him.

But never too directly, one time, he set me up for a date with his kid, gave me twenty Canadian bucks: “Everyone needs to get laid.”

Wow! Cool dads are often the most inappropriate dads.

They — the child of his — were good-looking.

I even smoked a cigarette, after the date, to impress this kid of his,

who was older than me.

Man: So hip, so cool, so… cough, cough-cough.

Intermittently, I found out from others.

He had bipolar disorder.

Later, he was estranged from his kids.

Still later, he was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

I hadn’t seen him in years.

Years, and years, later, I was working at a local restaurant as a dishwasher. I remember talking with one of the staffers who mentioned old Allan.

“Allan,” that Allan? My.

He had moved to the island, they said.

His disease had progressed, they said.

He died, a couple years prior, they said.

Allan was dead. No goodbyes.

He trained as a Jesuit priest, had a crisis of faith or something, developed more explicit bipolar, became a counselling psychologist, and died from the eventualities of Parkinson’s Disease, likely, estranged, for sure.

No goodbye for Allan was dead.

“Everyone needs to get laid.”

Well, everyone is laid to rest,

Allan, a dad, once.

2025-06-15

1209: Artificial Intelligence is Not One Thing

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

Elon Musk
“AI is likely to be either the best or worst thing to happen to humanity.”

Stephen Hawking
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race…. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”

Ray Kurzweil
“Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence — the human biological-machine intelligence — of our civilization a billion-fold.”

Larry Page
“Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. The ultimate search engine that would understand everything on the web. It would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the right thing. We’re nowhere near doing that now. However, we can get incrementally closer to that, and that is basically what we work on.”

Klaus Schwab
“We must address, individually and collectively, moral and ethical issues raised by cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which will enable significant life extension, designer babies, and memory extraction.”

Peter Diamandis
“If the government regulates against use of drones or stem cells or artificial intelligence, all that means is that the work and the research leave the borders of that country and go someplace else.”

Colin Angle
“It’s going to be interesting to see how society deals with artificial intelligence, but it will definitely be cool.”

Alan Kay
“Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower.”

Alan Perlis
“A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.”

B.F. Skinner
“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.”

Tom Chatfield
“Forget artificial intelligence — in the brave new world of big data, it’s artificial idiocy we should be looking out for.”

Fei-Fei Li
“Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity.”

Kai-Fu Lee
“I believe AI is going to change the world more than anything in the history of humanity — more than electricity.”

John McCarthy
“Artificial intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by humans.”

Timnit Gebru
“We’re seeing a kind of Wild West situation with AI and regulation right now. The scale at which businesses are adopting AI technologies isn’t matched by clear guidelines to regulate algorithms and help researchers avoid the pitfalls of bias in datasets.”

Emad Mostaque
“We’re just trying to race to keep up with the societal impact of all this. And one of the reasons for creating Stability was so that we could create some standards… If I watched all of YouTube, I’d be a bit crazy too.”

Clem Delangue
“I think it’s promising that we have policymakers who are trying to get smart about this technology and get in front of risks before we’ve had mass deployment across the product space. I think there are some very obvious things that we need to establish, one of which is the right to know whether you’re consuming content from a bot or not.”

Terah Lyons
“The problem that needs to be addressed is that the government itself needs to get a better handle on how technology systems interact with the citizenry. Secondarily, there needs to be more cross-talk between industry, civil society, and academic organizations working to advance these technologies and the government institutions that are going to be representing them.”

Erik Brynjolfsson
“In this era of profound digital transformation, it’s important to remember that business, as well as government, has a role to play in creating shared prosperity — not just prosperity.”

Yann LeCun
“Our intelligence is what makes us human, and AI is an extension of that quality.”

Gita Gopinath
“Forty percent of the global workforce is exposed to AI — that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Some fraction of that will benefit; it will raise their productivity. That fraction is about half of that forty percent, and the other half will have a hard time — maybe lower wages, displacement, and so on.”

António Guterres
“Warn of the existential threat posed by the runaway development of AI without guard rails and its potential to increase inequality… We need governments urgently to work with tech companies on risk-management frameworks for current AI development, and on monitoring and mitigating future harms.”

Sam Altman
“We have our own nervousness, but we believe that we can manage through it, and the only way to do that is to put the technology in the hands of people. Let society and the technology co-evolve, and, step by step with a very tight feedback loop and course correction, build these systems that deliver tremendous value while meeting safety requirements.”

Gray Scott
“You have to talk about ‘The Terminator’ if you’re talking about artificial intelligence. I actually think that that’s way off. I do think that it will disrupt our culture.”

James Barrat
“I don’t want to really scare you, but it was alarming how many people I talked to who are highly placed in AI who have retreats that are sort of ‘bug-out’ houses, to which they could flee if it all hits the fan.”

Sybil Sage
“Someone on TV has only to say, ‘Alexa,’ and she lights up. She’s always ready for action, the perfect woman, never says, ‘Not tonight, dear.’”

2025-06-15

1208: Rustle

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

Don’t you love,

the rustling,

of leaves on a lightly windy day,

a good breeze,

mild chill,

with panoramic,

grandeur.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 15

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 1: Manahel Thabet for being the first in this series and giving a gauge on the feasibility of this project, and to Evangelos Katsioulis, Jason Betts, Marco Ripà, Paul Cooijmans, Rick Rosner; in spite of far more men in these communities, it, interview wise, started with a woman, even the Leo Jung Mensa article arose from the generosity of a woman friend, Jade.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 3: Andreas Gunnarsson, Anja Jaenicke, Christian Sorensen, Claus Volko, Dionysios Maroudas, Florian Schröder, Ronald K. Hoeflin, Erik Hae reid, Giuseppe Corrente, Graham Powell, Guillermo Alejandro Escárcega Pliego, HanKyung Lee, James Gordon, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Krystal Volney, Laurent Dubois, Marco Ripà, Matthew Scillitani, Mislav Predavec, Owen Cosby, Richard Sheen, Rick Farrar, Rick Rosner, Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Sammak, Tim Roberts, Thomas Wolf, Tom Chittenden, Tonny Sellén, Tor Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 4: Björn Liljeqvist, Christian Sorenson, Claus Volko, Dionysios Maroudas, Sandra Schlick, Erik Haereid, Giuseppe Corrente, Guillermo Alejandro Escárcega Pliego, HanKyung Lee, James Gordon, Justin Duplantis, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Laurent Dubois, Marco Ripà, Matthew Scillitani, Mislav Predavec, Richard Sheen, Rick Farrar, Rick G. Rosner, Thomas Wolf, Tiberiu Sammak, Tim Roberts, Tom Chittenden, Tonny Sellén, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 5: Anthony Sepulveda, Christian Sorenson, Claus Volko, Dionysios Maroudas, Erik Haereid, Giuseppe Corrente, Guillermo Alejandro Escárcega Pliego, Heinrich Siemens, Hindemburg Melão Jr., Jason Robert, Julien Garrett Arpin, Justin Du plantis, Marios Sophia Prodromou, Matthew Scillitani, Mhedi Banafshei, Rick Rosner, Tiberiu Sammak, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Veronica Palladino.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 6: Anas El-Husseini, Andrew Watters, Anthony Sepul veda, Arturo Escorza Pedraza, Beatrice Rescazzi, Bob Williams, Byunghyun Ban (반병현), Cas per Tvede Busk, Charles Peden, Craig Shelton, Christian Sorensen, Claus Volko, Erik Haereid, Giuseppe Corrente, Justin Duplantis, Krystal Volney, Mhedi Banafshei, Paul Cooijmans, Rich ard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Richard Sheen, Shalom Dickson, Thor Fabian Petter sen, Tiberiu Sammak, Tim Roberts, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Anonymous Canadian High-IQ Community Member.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7: Anas El Husseini, Aníbal Sánchez Numa, Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Anja Jaenicke, Beatrice Rescazzi, Bîrlea Cristian, Bob Williams, Christian Sorensen, Clelia Albano, Eivind Olsen, Erik Haereid, Gernot Feichter, Giuseppe Corrente, Glia Society Member #479, Graham Powell, Hakan E. Kayioglu, Heinrich Siemens, Justin Duplantis, Kishan Harrysingh, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Marios Prodromou, Mhedi Banafshei, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Monika Orski, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8: Anthony Sepulveda, Anja Jaenicke, Antjuan Finch, Benoit Desjardins, Bishoy Goubran, Bob Williams, Charles Peden, Chris Cole, Christopher Har ding, Christian Sorensen, Daniel Shea, Dong Geon Lee, Eivind Olsen, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, Gareth Rees, Gary Whitehall, Glenn Alden, Jiwhan (Jason) Park, Luca Fiorani, Masaaki Yamauchi, Masaaki Yamauchi, Matthew Scillitani, Michael Isom, Olav Hoel Dørum, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May, Rick Rosner, Rickard Sagirbay, Shalom Dickson, Sudarshan Murthy, Svein Olav Glesaaen Nyberg, Tim Roberts, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 9: Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Antjuan Finch, Benoit Desjardins, Bob Williams, Christopher Angus, Clelia Albano, Craig Shelton, Daniel Hilton, Donald Wayne Stoner, Dong Geon Lee, Dr. Benoit Desjardins, Eivind Olsen, Erik Haereid, Gareth Rees, Hiroshi Murasaki, LaRae Bakerink, Luca Fiorani, Michael Baker, Paul Cooijmans, Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Rick Rosner, Simon Olling Rebsdorf, Sudarshan Murthy, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Uwe Michael Neumann.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 10: Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Bob Williams, Chris Cole, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, Eivind Olsen, Gernot Feichter, Graham Powell, Harry Royalster, Iakovos Koukas, Larae Bakerink, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May (“May Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Rick Rosner, Scott Durgin, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Uwe Michael Neumann.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 11: Brandon Feick, Chris Cole, David Miller, Dr. Be noit Desjardins, M.D., Ph.D., Dr. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Hindem burg Melão Jr., Justin Duplantis, Kate Jones, Masaaki Yamauchi, Matthew Scillitani, Michael Isom, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Rick Rosner, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tomáš Perna, Tor Arne Jørgensen, Uwe Michael Neumann, and Veronica Palladino. For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 12: AntJuan Finch, Beatrice Rscazzi, Bob Williams, Claus Volko, M.D., Clelia Albano, Craft Xia, David Udbjørg, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, M.Sc., Fengzhi Wu (邬冯值), Garth Zietsman, Hindemburg Melão Jr., Justin Duplantis, LaRae Bakerink, Luis Ortiz, Matthew Scillitani, Nozomu Wakai, Olav Hoel Dørum, Rick Ros ner, Scott Durgin, Simon Olling Rebsdorf, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tim Roberts, Tor Arne Jørgen sen, Veronica Palladino, M.D., Victor Hingsberg.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 13: Jaime Alfonso Flores Navas, Krzysztof Zawisza, Luca Fiorani, Mattanaw, Mizuki Tomaiwa, Nikolaos U. Soulios, Petros Gkionis, Rick Rosner, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tomáš Perna, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 14: Andrei-Emanuel Udriște, Antjuan Finch, Benoit Desjardins, Bob Williams, Claus Volko, Daniel Hilton, Daniel Shea, Erik Haereid, Entemake Aman, Filipe Palma, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Mateo Muça, Masaaki Yamauchi, Matthew Scillitani, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May, Rickard Sagirbay, Sandra Schlick, Steven Stutts, Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 15: ‘Fatty White’, ‘JayStar’, ‘Seneka’, Claus Volko, David Quinn, Donald Wayne Stoner, Dr. Kristóf Kovács, Entemake Aman, Harry Royalster, Honghao Zhao, Mahir Wu, Marc Roberge, Marco Ripà, Matthew Scillitani, Reuven Kotleras, Rick Rosner, Scott Durgin, Tianxiang Shao, Tianxi Yu, Tomáš Perna, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Yaniv Hozez.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Honghao Zhao (赵宏昊)

I am very pleased to be invited by Scott Jacobsen to write this foreword. This is also the first time I have learned that a journalist has been interviewing members of high IQ societies from various countries and regions. Based on my previous understanding of international high IQ society members and Chinese high IQ society members, I found that among international high IQ society members, especially those with high scores, scholars, professors, or individuals with higher education such as master’s and doctoral degrees occupy a considerable proportion. In contrast, although there are also some highly educated individuals among Chinese high IQ society members, their proportion is not high relative to the large base number of Chinese high IQ society members. Professors and successful individuals such as corporate executives are even rarer.

According to my guess, it may be because the Chinese high IQ society started relatively late, and the main group is still minors and full-time students. Moreover, the concept of IQ, which is innate and unchangeable, does not align with the values generally advocated by Chinese society. Therefore, high IQ societies have always been a niche group. However, the potential of Chinese high IQ society members is still very high. There are many talented young people, some of whom have received good education and already have high academic qualifications, while others lack educational resources and have not yet stood out.

On Zhihu (the Chinese equivalent of Quora), a user once collected some cases of high scores in high-range IQ tests. According to these cases, teenagers who have won Olympic competition awards usually perform well in high-range IQ tests, achieving IQ scores of 160 or even 170 (SD15). Some students who have been admitted to Tsinghua University and Peking University (the top two universities in China) generally have IQs ranging from 130 to 150 (SD15). This may indicate that in China, higher IQs have a positive correlation with academic qualifications, but extremely high IQs may not necessarily do so. Additionally, some high IQ individuals are easily ostracized from a young age due to being different from ordinary people, leading to mental health issues such as depression. If there is any way to help these potential individuals, I think it would be a wonderful thing.

Foreword by Entemake Aman

First of all, I am very glad to give the foreword to this book. This book is one of the rare interviews of geniuses in the world. Scott Douglas Jacobsen put a lot of effort into this book, and every question Scott asks is interesting and creative. I’m grateful to Scott for giving us so much to think about. If you are interested in genius, or in thinking, then every question in this book you will enjoy. Not every genius is successful, but they all deserve a platform to show their brilliant ideas, and thank Scott for providing such a platform. This book shows how geniuses think and how they live. You can learn a lot about high intelligence from this book. I also hope that society will pay more attention to this book, to find those geniuses who have not shown their wisdom in academia, and to provide them with opportunities. You can find a lot of interesting geniuses in this book, and you can get mental pleasure from their interviews. Geniuses often have different but interesting and accurate ideas, as you can see from this book. I also sincerely wish Scott more and more success. I think each of Scott’s interviews is classic and worthy of our consideration and attention. Finally, I wish every reader happiness in reading this book.

Foreword by Mahir Wu

First of all, I would like to thank Scott Jacobsen from the bottom of my heart for inviting me to write the foreword to this book.

A century has passed since the term “IQ” was coined. In that time, IQ testing methods have evolved. In particular, the last few decades have seen the rise of the high-range IQ test, which, because of its mind-game-like nature, has managed to attract a large number of puzzle-solving enthusiasts. As a result, more and more test authors have emerged, and a variety of diverse IQ test formats have emerged.

Compared with traditional mainstream tests, these new tests examine in greater depth people’s ability to recognize patterns and explore the nature of patterns. However, despite their remarkable breakthroughs in some areas, it is still difficult to comprehensively measure all of a person’s intellectual abilities. This makes me realize that human beings still have a long way to go in the field of intelligence measurement and must continue to explore and innovate.

I don’t have a definitive answer as to when the perfect IQ test will be constructed, and while it may still be some way off, we should be grateful to those who have contributed to the process. I believe that perseverance is an extremely valuable quality. To be able to continue designing tests and updating the data over many years, as Paul Cooijmans do, requires not only perseverance, but also deep expertise and passion. At the same time, interviewing, editing, and organizing large amounts of content from people who have excelled intellectually can be a daunting task. Fortunately, Scott Jacobsen has reinvigorated the field through this persistence and hard work. Thanks to his contributions, we’ve been able to get the real-world perspectives of the best and brightest from different countries, cultures, and professions, insights that often go beyond our own perspectives and open us up to a wider range of perceptions. And that’s exactly what “Some Smart People: Views and Lives 15” shows. I have great respect for Scott Jacobsen’s work, and I am delighted to see this book come together.

In “Some Smart People: Views and Lives 15”, readers will find not only the diverse perspectives of people who have excelled on IQ tests, but also insights into their thoughts on macro topics such as humanity, history, God, and politics. These will surely provide readers with a wealth of takeaways and insights that will help them better understand the multidimensional character of intelligence.

Finally, I would like to thank Scott Jacobsen again for his careful organization and editing of this book. His efforts and dedication have made this book one of the major works in the field of intelligence that deserves to be carefully savored and reflected upon by every reader.

Foreword by Tianxi Yu

I am deeply honored that Mr. Scott invited me to write the foreword for this book, and I’m equally grateful for his ongoing dedication to collecting insights from highly intelligent individuals, which perfectly fills a significant gap in our understanding.

Our knowledge of high-IQ individuals and geniuses remains limited, as they haven’t truly entered the public consciousness yet. Most people lack a clear understanding of the concept of ‘IQ’ itself, and their awareness of high-IQ societies rarely extends beyond Mensa. This makes the publication and promotion of this book particularly meaningful.

I love engaging in conversations, especially with fascinating people. While everyone has their own inherent perspectives, dialogue can break through the boundaries of thought — and what could be more enlightening than accessing the thoughts of some of the most brilliant minds on Earth? Despite the existence of platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and various communities with international membership, deep communication between members has been rare. Scott’s work has broken through these barriers, allowing us to understand how the world’s most intelligent people think.

In my view, thinking knows no boundaries, as definitions themselves are boundless. Good and evil, right and wrong, only exist within specific contexts. The more we can free ourselves from predetermined identities, the greater intellectual freedom we can achieve. However, life’s daily complexities and the intersection of time and space often prevent us from attaining true freedom.

Helping people break free from mental constraints and achieve intellectual liberation is the shared goal of both myself and this book, “Some Smart People: Views and Lives 15.”

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude once again to Mr. Scott for his long-term commitment to interviewing and documenting information about high-IQ individuals. His efforts have made this book an invaluable reference for both the high-IQ community and the field of intelligence studies.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 14

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 12: AntJuan Finch, Beatrice Rscazzi, Bob Williams, Claus Volko, M.D., Clelia Albano, Craft Xia, David Udbjørg, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, M.Sc., Fengzhi Wu (邬冯值), Garth Zietsman, Hindemburg Melão Jr., Justin Duplantis, LaRae Bakerink, Luis Ortiz, Matthew Scillitani, Nozomu Wakai, Olav Hoel Dørum, Rick Ros ner, Scott Durgin, Simon Olling Rebsdorf, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tim Roberts, Tor Arne Jørgen sen, Veronica Palladino, M.D., Victor Hingsberg.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Antjuan Finch

Nuclear physicists, daoist poets, comics, ivy league medical professors, and exceptionally gifted teenagers, all sharing the trait — perhaps except me — of stratospheric IQs. Yet, this book also covers the full gambit of political persuasions. In some respects, it could be regarded as a 211-page bulwark against confirmation biases.

Yet, even while observing the output of these technically high-powered minds, one cannot help but notice how intelligence is not everything — it cannot determine human value, and the correlates of general intelligence with any particular outcome is always less than the correlation of the relevant specific skills with that same outcome. For example, even a highly complex job, such as being President of the United States — which is surely aided by high intelligence — can not be excelled at using high intelligence alone; qualities like stress tolerance, empathy, and humility are also necessary to be even weakly functional at that job. At best, IQ is only ever necessary but not sufficient for an occupation, and more often than not, it is also non-trivially outweighed in importance by the less general, but more relevant specific skills and traits. Given this, those who become bothered by the documented marginal differences in intelligence between groups are missing the bigger picture — they are conflating general intelligence with what they value in particular and then taking umbrage with general intelligence differences as if those very findings equal an attack on that value.

The most mistaken in this way wrongly conflate IQ with intelligence, intelligence with academic skill, and academic skill with human value, and then cancel anyone that notes IQ differences as if they’ve deemed everyone but themself worthless. In reality, psychometric g is likely just a proxy of general brain health. The very high IQ are then like your friends that stay incredibly in shape seemingly without effort, or by accident. It’s remarkable, but would be less so in a world where we actually knew how to get the brain substantially more fit. So, as the study of brain function catches up to the study of biomechanical function, we’re left to marvel at the minds of the naturally intelligent like one did to the output of the naturally strong — or sometimes primitively trained — in ancient Greece. What is here is remarkable, but these are merely natural mental athletes of a new-dawned antiquity. Understand that you might be able to outwork them, or have more flexibility mentally — and that is without even addressing the things that are closer to modern sports in this analogy; those things that demand both technique and physicality in large measures.

Foreword by Daniel Hilton

“The Challenges and Rewards of High Intelligence”

It is a pleasure to reflect upon this volume of the collected interviews that Scott Jacobsen has undertaken with such a wide variety of members of the high intelligence community. Individuals with high intelligence often navigate a landscape fraught with social and emotional complexities, where the struggle for acceptance can be daunting. Many find themselves at odds with peers who may not share their cognitive pace or depth of understanding. The importance of cultivating good peer relationships during formative years cannot be overstated; a supportive group can significantly mitigate feelings of loneliness. However, the reality remains that very high intelligence can lead to overthinking and a sense of alienation. The ability to grasp concepts quickly can create barriers in communication and connection with others, especially when one can see numerous possibilities and judge someone’s intentions more clearly and rapidly than they can.

Societal perceptions of intelligence oscillate between admiration and envy. The extreme reactions that geniuses have historically faced, ranging from reverence to vilification, underscore this duality. Many high-IQ individuals may retreat into obscurity, feeling more comfortable in self-imposed exile than in the spotlight of societal expectations. After all, who wouldn’t prefer a cosy corner with a good book over the pressure of public scrutiny? The fear of judgment or misunderstanding can stifle their potential and hinder authentic relationships. Personal and professional relationships present a fascinating challenge for those with high intelligence, as these connections rely deeply on aspects of the human condition beyond, or aside from, those that lead to high-IQ. They often find themselves misunderstood and viewed as aloof due to their tendency to process information rapidly, making connections that may not be immediately apparent to others. This can lead to frustration and a sense of disconnection, as they struggle to find individuals who can truly engage with them on an intellectual level.

Despite some challenges, the rewards of high intelligence are significant, and mastering one’s cognitive abilities can lead to profound personal growth and self-discovery. Engaging with challenging problems fosters a sense of accomplishment and clarity, allowing individuals to harness their cognitive gifts for both personal and communal benefit. However, this journey is not without its complexities. Each of us carries the traumas and travails of our lives that shape us, making the path to mastery one that requires conscious effort. Just as many people are keen to sculpt their bodies in the gym, we must take similar steps to fortify our minds from within. Those who navigate their high intelligence with emotional stability and a supportive environment often find their gifts to be transformative and advantageous. High-IQ can be likened to high-octane fuel, capable of propelling one forward at an incredible rate, but it requires careful handling to avoid potentially serious consequences. When balanced with emotional resilience and a nurturing community, high intelligence can be a profound blessing, enabling individuals to contribute meaningfully to society and inspire others. Those with high intelligence who embrace their gifts and channel them into meaningful pursuits often find immense fulfilment in their lives, whether tackling complex problems in their field or engaging in thought-provoking discussions with likeminded individuals.

This collection of interviews serves as a testament to the diverse experiences within the high range intelligence community. It highlights the intricate dance between the trials of acceptance and the burden of overthinking, against the backdrop of the profound rewards that come from understanding and mastering one’s mind. As we delve into these narratives, we gain a deeper appreciation for the complexities of intelligence and the unique journeys of those who embody it. Through these interviews, we are reminded that extreme intelligence, while fraught with challenges and significant risks, can ultimately lead to a richer, more fulfilling existence when comfortably harnessed. The path of the highly intelligent is not an easy one, but rather a necessary one for those ‘blessed’ with it. By cultivating emotional intelligence, building supportive relationships, and channeling their gifts into positive change, those with high-IQ can transcend the limitations imposed by societal expectations and find true fulfilment in the mastery of their own minds. High-IQ is a high-risk, high-reward gift, one that, when nurtured and understood, can illuminate the path to a life of purpose and impact, provided we don’t trip over our own ‘brilliance’ along the way.

High intelligence is prevalent in all age groups, underscoring that intelligence is not solely defined by how much one knows. A brilliant four-year-old may seem a simple proposition to the average adult, but it is their ability to synthesise ideas, comprehend concepts upon first exposure, and move on to the next discovery that truly defines their intelligence. There’s no reason for this to end when a person reaches the end of their formal education; the synthesis of intelligence and wisdom is the work of a lifetime; indeed, it is the very meaning of life for many, including myself.

Daniel Hilton

16/09/2024

Foreword by Paul Cooijmans

What strikes me in the present volume is the diversity in terms of intelligence, qualifying tests, personality, political orientation, age, educational and professional background, ethnicity, and, most of all, ethicality. In fact, the only dimension that lacks diversity is that of sex; the conspicu ous dearth of females in the high range of mental ability has been observed before, but it is im perative to keep emphasizing that when one selects for high intelligence by consistent standards, one obtains diversity in almost all aspects of human variation, including the racial one, but the sex difference in the spread of intelligence persists, is apparently so fundamental that it can not be hidden. One should notice the contrast between this under-representation of females in high I.Q. circles on the one hand, and the situation in the real world on the other hand: here in the Netherlands (and other Western countries too, I believe) more women than men are following higher education these days, and the general impression is that universities have become femi nized. Assuming that higher education requires higher intelligence, this constitutes a paradox, and I invite the reader to try to think of its explanation.

Another positive surprise in this series is the freedom of expression enjoyed by the interviewed; topics and viewpoints are treated that one will not frequently encounter in mainstream media and academia, and opposing sides of controversial matters are represented. This is refreshing to see in a world of censorship where extremist political doctrines are presented as established science, while moderate, sensible voices are suppressed and empirical facts dismissed as conspiracy theo ries. A consequence of this freedom is that individuals with despicable opinions, as well as those who have behaved in ways that are harmful to high-range psychometrics, are given the chance to rationalize their deeds and make themselves look moral. It is a task of the consumer of these pub lications to recognize and see past such whitewashing.

Considering the total number and length of the interviews that lie before, this foreword will be kept mercifully short. As the collection of dialogues hereafter is all-male, I can think of no better way to end than with a toast to testosterone!

Foreword by Dr. Sandra Schlick

In-Sight Publishing spotlights some smart people’s views and life where I had the chance to contribute on several occasions. In the form of interview, we were encouraged to share our thinking, ideas, ideals, and perspectives. I always enjoyed writing freely what I con sider to be impacting without the restriction of form, style, or limit. As a member of some high-IQ communities, I experience especially the interviews with Scott as a huge oppor tunity of free speech. While we do have discussion fora in the high-IQ societies, you get direct answers, while here you can follow your own thread of thought.

As a high-IQ society member and as I follow my own path in life, I constantly encountered to be a minority, be it due to IQ, being a female, going into male professions as I originally did when studying machine construct engineering, or by later following a work-life-study balance. This means that after my first study I kept working and studying in parallel. The community of work-life-study balanced people is growing but it is not an organized com munity, it appears whenever you are looking for people studying part-time. It is a huge ad vantage that theses study modes have become increasingly interesting and differentiated during the last 10–15 years. And the community is growing allowing people to study their whole lives. Studying means to make mistakes and to try out new things that you would probably not do by yourself. It means to help developing the own personality and fulfilling study goals. In this sense, it is natural that the work-life-study balance allows people to de velop not just the knowledge of something they learn in university, but along with devel oping the professional skills. Considering studies of the brain it has been shown the musi cians have a very active brain while playing an instrument. Why should that not be true in a similar way for people that use several parts of their brains on a regular basis? I am con vinced that this is the case. I already mentioned that working while on study means to use different parts of the brain, but along with that, many of the community have families, children, and an active private life, thus, a third part of the brain that is regularly used. I see the testimonial of that in some of my PhD or Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidates before handing in. They then complain to miss their private life, they complain to reject offers of promotion in their work life, while upon having handed in they contact me upon missing their study life to go on working together, publishing or just talk ing about new projects. Upon observing them and my own way, I would say that this is an extreme brain training that leads to a huge capacity in them.

I found that clear targets, support in providing structure and tasks, and a good planning are important for them to be successful in balancing work, study, and life.

This group of people comes out with a brain that is very well trained and potent to under stand complex problems. I am not doing predictions but if that community keeps growing, I expect that the share of high-IQ people in society could grow quite nicely. These individ uals come from the whole range of professions, from top executives following the DBA route to PhD candidates that are often encountered among lecturers and docents. Their age ranges from early 20s to 60s. We had one candidate successfully defending his DBA who was going towards 80. Their topics range from psychology, motivation and leadership, over strategic management, to AI and its impact to society to mention just a few. I look forward that this potential gets more organization, community building, fora to share ideas. I am not sure, if the classical model of doing a full time PhD and then turn to university career is still reflecting what goes on in society. I see the advancement in Universities of Applied Sciences, where the part time Alumnus start to play a major role, whereas the classical Universities keep ignoring them.

I am convinced that over the longer run, this will undergo huge changes also in Germany Switzerland-Austria, and the work study life balancing students will receive more and more acknowledgement, as is the case in UK universities.

It is a brilliant opportunity for me to talk about them in this foreword as I expect so many variations in people to join also the high-IQ societies and speak their own voice.

2025-06-15

1207: Gratitude

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

There is always,

always,

something,

to be grateful for,

even if you have to look a little bit,

sometimes.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 13

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8: Anthony Sepulveda, Anja Jaenicke, Antjuan Finch, Bishoy Goubran, Bob Williams, Charles Peden, Chris Cole, Christopher Harding, Christian Sorensen, Daniel Shea, Dong Geon Lee, Eivind Olsen, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, Gareth Rees, Gary Whitehall, Glenn Alden, Jiwhan (Jason) Park, Luca Fiorani, Masaaki Yamau chi, Masaaki Yamauchi, Matthew Scillitani, Michael Isom, Olav Hoel Dørum, Paul Cooijmans, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May, Richard May, Rickard Sagirbay, Shalom Dickson, Sudarshan Murthy, Svein Olav Glesaaen Nyberg, Tim Roberts, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 10: Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Chris Cole, Ente make Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, Eivind Olsen, Graham Powell, Iakovos Koukas, Larae Baker ink, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Rick Rosner, Scott Dur gin, Scott Jacobsen, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Uwe Michael Neumann.

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 12: AntJuan Finch, Beatrice Rscazzi, Bob Williams, Claus Volko, M.D., Clelia Albano, Craft Xia, David Udbjørg, Entemake Aman (阿曼), Erik Haereid, M.Sc., Fengzhi Wu (邬冯值), Garth Zietsman, Hindemburg Melão Jr., Justin Duplantis, LaRae Bakerink, Luis Ortiz, Matthew Scillitani, Nozomu Wakai, Olav Hoel Dørum, Rick Ros ner, Scott Durgin, Simon Olling Rebsdorf, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tim Roberts, Tor Arne Jørgen sen, Veronica Palladino, M.D., Victor Hingsberg.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Jaime Alfonso Flores Navas

Shaping human history the right way can be done with fuel being not just from anger necessarily thus high IQ people can propose out of need of curiosity, but curiosity as means to thrive. To go beyond mere why, which a lot of this is the most important component to how, but beyond “by what” thus defying our imagination beyond conceptual stage from mere limitations from human current stage of evolution and its inconsistency as beyond plain amnesia to how humans, espe cially human brains evolve and how such processes are understand as could be seen from several dimensions even beyond mere yet important scopes, thus paradoxically making this stage what most consistency gives to the system, alike: “What makes mathematics mortal makes them im mortal”.

Actual democracy cannot be attained without actual inclusion of people from all backgrounds including high IQ people. Marilyn vos Savant has given a key and elevated example to what should be done from all scopes on this regard. Currently, together with my high IQ colleagues from around the world, we are creating an initiative called the Syncritic Institute, the aim of which is to create a friendly and supportive space in this world for extremely intelligent and crea tive people, so that they can be a part of the world instead of being apart from the world.

Mistakes are not mistakes if we learn grom them, in fact they may be seen as experiences from the individual stage, thus it’s a mistake to think about mistakes as such from the higher view, yet and especially considering it’s worst to do nothing.

Also bearing on mind how Ancient civilisations like Ancient Greeks were able to make huge ad vances, we dare say, ahead of their time, like symbolically the lighthouse of Alexandria, which could project light to far distances, as parallel to ahead in fine, their legacy should be retaken, not just by rebuilding over the ruins of their structure, but making it stronger, thus not only retaking good old structure they erected but, by learning from why such structure went on a trend down ward, such “mistakes” will be not only experiences to our growth by learning they’re not mis takes if we learn from them, but it would be worse if we do nothing, exponentially considering our history epochs are increasingly becoming shorter in timeframe, which can be a real ad vantage in order to speed up and boost progress, but not doing so, especially the right way and as soon as possible, can indeed play against us, inasmuch as such timeframes can be symbolically be seen as similar to a Greek Golden ratio, the same way mathematics can be seen as a circular thought, in order to provide a Greek example and apparently rational, but Mobius strip would be a better example to it conceptually speaking, thus mirroring apparently strong concept like a cir cle, but how to make it stronger thus learning from its weaknesses? Going beyond and looking it from higher scopes, out of curiosity and need, not necessarily mere need, and that’s what our Institute intends to do, with ethics, dedication and the core values we all need. Our mission can be scoped symbolically as a Greek delta (Δ, δ), a triangle each side representing an n letter, which are noble, novelty, nonparallel, such quite appropriately represent change, from logical thinking as used in mathematics and physics, pointing above as limitless progress.

In my country, a lot of progress has been made for we have a very smart and highly capable lady president who supports progress and change by all scopes, and science is not an exception. P. h. d. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, and we hope a great change in the consciousness is inspired upon her example. Actually, she represents not only the future but the present. We’re not just the future, but the present, and change is what we need now.

This scope helps us see the gist(s) of this magnificent book, by literally geometrically increasing our progress from all possible scopes.

Foreword by Krzysztof Zawisza

The most important trait of a human being is intelligence. The more developed this trait is, the more it enables one to make fundamental distinctions: distinguishing truth from falsehood and good from evil. However, as is well known, people differ greatly in their level of intelligence and their ability to use it.

At the same time, high intelligence is associated with the ability to analyze, think abstractly, and be creative. This fact has long been emphasized by many authors (J.P. Guilford, R. Sternberg, M. Csikszentmihalyi, and others). Since high intelligence is linked to mental acuity and creativity, both civilizational and spiritual progress depend primarily on the ideas and work of highly intelligent individuals. It is these exceptionally intelligent people who create the most useful innovations, make the most important scientific discoveries, and drive cultural development (as noted by authors such as H. Gardner, J.P. Rushton, J. Lehrer). According to fairly credible estimates gathered by Libb Thims in his Hmolpedia, historical figures like Copernicus, Shakespeare, Galileo, and Kepler most likely had IQs five standard deviations above the average or higher.

However, the role of individuals with the highest intelligence is not limited to creating scientific, technical, or even cultural progress. It is outstanding intelligence that offers humanity the most challenging, elusive, yet most valuable gift. Intelligence enables spiritual advancement. Individuals with high IQs are capable of making more reflective decisions on ethical matters, which can influence progress in various areas of life. When engaged in spiritual development, they significantly contribute to creating a more empathetic and ethical society (H. Gardner, M. Seligman, D.B. Ausubel). There is no doubt that the most morally insightful individuals and creators of universal ethical systems (Pythagoras, Socrates, A. Schweitzer) made their epochal (and timeless) observations due to their profound wisdom, based on comprehensive and outstanding intelligence.

Thus, intelligence is the most important human trait. It allows for discerning truth from falsehood, good from evil, and the transient from the enduring. People with high intelligence are a great gift to the world as they catalyze the development of humanity in individuals and generate human progress. However, high intelligence also evokes fear, consternation, envy, feelings of inadequacy, and apprehension among those who do not possess it. Consequently, those with very high intelligence are often socially excluded or marginalized, and their achievements, ideas, attitudes, and plans, instead of serving as a reference point and model for others, are generally ignored (M. vos Savant, D. Palmer, M. Ferguson). Therefore, the work undertaken (and still being pursued) by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is all the more significant.

This Canadian independent journalist and entrepreneur, who himself possesses an exceptional IQ, has for years dedicated himself — through his portal In-Sight Publishing and “In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal” (ISSN 2369–6885) — to promoting the lives and work of high IQ people. Over the past 10 years, he has conducted countless interviews with representatives of the high IQ community (including extraordinary and creative thinkers such as Ronald K. Hoe flin, Rick G. Rosner, Dr. Veronica Palladino, Dr. Claus D. Volko, and others), showcasing the views, lives, and achievements of highly intelligent people. Numerous examples of such interviews are contained in this volume.

These interviews, which I warmly encourage you to read, largely serve as an argument for the thesis that high intelligence is associated with rich imagination, independence, creativity of thought, and emotional depth.

However, Scott Jacobsen does not limit himself to this alone. He attempts to rescue from oblivion innovative scientific ideas, publishing together with Rick Rosner a two-volume work “Tweets to the Universe” and the monumental “An Introduction to Informational Cosmology,” where Richard G. Rosner’s brilliant ideas about the informational universe are developed. Unfortunately, this concept, like the CTMU theory by Christopher Michael Langan, known within the high IQ community and also based on the notion of information, or the refreshing approach to mathematics by Marilyn vos Savant (“The World’s Most Famous Math Problem”), or the recent concept of new mathematics by Carolina Rodriguez Escamilla (“The Teotl Theorem”), have not entered the scientific mainstream. This fact clearly indicates that the extensive activity of the Canadian journalist, author, scholar, and activist is still not enough.

Since R.K. Hoeflin founded “The Mega Society” requiring admission percentiles of 99.9999, or one in a million, in 1982, successive elite high IQ societies have been popping up worldwide like mushrooms. Unfortunately, with very few exceptions, these societies do not actually support or promote the creative or innovative activities of their members, nor do they activate them to develop such activities. As a result, membership in the vast majority of international high IQ societies has merely a prestige character — serving as a kind of certificate that a member achieved a high score on some intelligence tests. However, the high intelligence of members of even the most elite high IQ societies is rarely utilized and almost never fully exploited. People of very high intelligence, and thus generally having great innovative and creative potential, rejected by society and unsupported by the high IQ community, devote themselves to the struggle for sur vival in an often hostile environment, treating their abilities (presumably given to them for some important purpose by the Universe or the Creator) at times as a curse or doom.

However, by doing so, the most intelligent and creative individuals betray themselves and their mission. In the spiritual tradition of humanity, recorded in writings such as the “Gospel,” “The Book of Mormon,” Plato’s Dialogues, or “Nicomachean Ethics,” the theme of responsibility for developing one’s talents for the benefit of the world and people, and opposition to burying those talents, consistently appears. Meanwhile, intelligence is the most important human talent (cf. J. Strelau’s “Human Intelligence”).

Intelligence is the most important human trait. If it is sufficiently high, it enables a sharp and clear view of the world, resulting in the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, reason from madness, light from darkness. It is individuals with the highest intelligence who are responsible for the survival and development of our world. However, intelligence is the least appreciated trait in the modern world, and its existence is virtually excluded from social consciousness. In particular, differences in human intelligence are suppressed and rejected in the consciousness of democratic societies.

To counteract today’s disastrous trends, we created the international “Syncritic Academy” Foundation, whose statutory goal is both to support the creative and innovative use of talents of individuals of exceptional intelligence and to combat the social and scientific exclusion of such indi

viduals. We are also working on legislative changes in this area to protect the most intelligent and talented individuals and enable the use of their abilities and work. We maintain that fully utilizing the potential of those who are professionally and socially excluded today due to their exceptional intelligence is the only way out of the current scientific, cultural, and spiritual crisis that the world is undoubtedly sinking into.

We cordially invite all high IQ individuals who are authors of important reflections and/or revolutionary discoveries, or who are working on such discoveries, to contact us. Together, we will make the world a better place.

Krzysztof Zawisza

Foreword by Mattanaw

Very intelligent people are notably absent from mainstream culture, where typical media and entertainment is most pervasive, sharing only what is thought to be palatable and enjoyable to the largest segments of the population, which of course is comprised primarily of those minds that are closer to the average in most ways. An effect is that people are not often exposed to those who are exceptionally and profoundly intelligent, and when they are, they may not know it, because those who are extremely intelligent, while having the average population as an audience, will alter their behavior so as to be more readily understood. They perform the same act that they knowingly or automatically perform in real life dealing with strangers: they follow along with simple questions, allowing conversations to remain simple; they share interests that are akin to regular interests, to show commonality; and they express agreement when there certainly could be little agreement, to have smooth and considerate transactions. A result is that people, almost everyone, do not have much experience with the most intelligent people and are really unable to differentiate. This creates problems in politics where people are unable to identify which people are actually the most able, if any able politicians happen to be present at all. It also reduces the influence of scientists and skilled experts, because they too are not easily distinguishable from others and their quality of mind is not well appreciated.

A major contribution of the work of Scott Douglas Jacobsen, is to provide the public access into the world of some of the most highly intelligent. Many of the people who are extremely intelligent thrive within academia, various industries, independently, or in the High Intelligence Com munities. These are areas in which they live and spend time, but these are also locations in which people cannot readily join in. The Some Smart People, Views and Lives series, along with some of In-Sight Journal’s other publications, are filled with activity from some of the same people who are spending time in socially exclusive and reclusive social locations. I can think of few other places to look, where people can read materials from exceptional people expressing themselves in ways that are closer to how they really think. I recall quickly writing a very brief article, entitled “How Do People With IQs Over 180 Act and Think?” in response to a query on social media, to provide some direction to a person who was wanting to be more informed on the topic of how people with immeasurable IQs really think and behave. In retrospect, the answer was not especially informative partly because I did not fully appreciate the extent in which the highly intelligent people were separate and unavailable to the normal public. Today I think there is a large research issue regarding how this might be achieved, to get information about individuals at a personal level. One can read academic journals in medicine, mathematics, physics, and the other sciences, and get exposed to the output of very intelligent people but you do not get to know them in the process. The very smartest may still not be present although that output may lead one to believe that’s where these people are found. That’s one reason why this publication is especially helpful to the public, because it provides a location where they can be found, and where they won’t be simply sharing academic material that gives the impression that they are really smart without providing anything about who they happen to be. In this publication the highly intelligent have a chance to tell you about themselves in a more personal way. If a reader happens to be sufficiently interested, they can learn more about specific individuals, having a pathway to research, since the writers are sharing details about activities they are or have been involved in, in which more information can be located. Mr. Jacobsen is providing an avenue that I could not provide in my quick response, to read about these thinkers and have a pathway to understand them and intelligence further, and today if I were to direct readers to a place to gain knowledge about the most intelligent figures of all, this publication would be included as one of my suggested places to look.

In this publication, I too have been interviewed. In that interview, a central question that is considered is the topic of identifying who is really among the exceptionally and profoundly gifted, in the immeasurable range, and who is not. Publications such as this, while extremely helpful, do pose some risks. These risks are minor if one has the right strategy for reducing those risks. One of those risks is that the people who are respondents may sometimes be fabricating their intelligence and their histories, and may be providing some misinformation. We can’t underestimate how important it is to know that once people have invested time in creating a personal story, they will do quite a lot to protect it and perpetuate it. Some of the people who are even in the high intelligence communities themselves happen to be people who simply want to be perceived as being extremely intelligent, and will do much more than an average person would to keep their story going. In my response, I suggest using an informal method of analyzing conversation thinking about velocities relating to significance and ideation. More about this can be read in my interview response. The question as to charlatanism came directly from Mr. Jacobsen, and that’s partly because there is actually a genuine issue to be addressed. However, I don’t suggest too much reading caution, just the appropriate amount, because some of the most intelligent really are present in the publications. (The situation is different with relationship caution, and for that, read my response thoroughly). This is a very important series to keep the access to intelligent figures going, so that the public actually does have a way to know intelligent figures. For that purpose I can’t think of many other publications that are satisfactory, and for this and any other publication, some expectation of fabrication should be anticipated. This issue is ineradicable but should not prevent the more positive efforts from continuing. After one has noticed red flags in various works, the remainder can be read enjoyably, and as a result one will have a much better appreciation and understanding of intelligent people than if one was stuck only with popular media and entertainment, where that information seldom exists.

What is also great about this work, is that the answers from exceptional writers might seem unexpected. It would lead the reader to more fully understand what high intelligence arrives at, where the arrival is personal and not only academic. The surprising nature of the responses should be anticipated, because these thinkers may not be prominent, as I said, in the mainstream media. Since they are usually not present in the mainstream media, what they say will be very different from what is in the mainstream media, and that makes this publication even more interesting, because what will be read is something unusual and different than what one has otherwise had access to.

Foreword by Petros Gkionis, Philosopher

I would like to thank Scott Douglas Jacobsen for all the work he has done all these years. Inter viewing all these people and helping them get their thoughts out in public is a great act and de serves more recognition. This volume (Some Smart People: Views and Lives 13.) includes some interviews with people that have had high IQ scores, it could be interesting for some to look at how people like that think. So, if that’s something that may interest you then you can look at the content of the volume or at previous volumes and other interviews on his website.

One note: I don’t really take high range tests too seriously. They could be fun to do for some, but some questionable figures have used “1 in a billion” or similar scores to grift and I am definitely against that. I’ve seen some high scorers on high range tests promote Trump and Musk for dumb and immoral reasons and that makes me cringe. Anyway, I’m more in favor of tests developed by psychologists and statisticians that are published by companies like Pearson and are proctored by psychometricians when they are taken. Although, there are some problems with these too and usually they don’t measure scores that high because it’s difficult to do that properly and there are not designed for that, but mainly for the general population.It also includes 2 interviews Scott did with me back in 2023, some of my views have changed since then. I no longer am a Christian, but an atheist. I guess I could mention more about that in the third interview. But, it still is a window to how I used to think back then, so maybe it’s a cool thing to have. I am also pro-choice now, getting out of Christianity changed a few things. Ha haha.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 12

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by ‘Dott.ssa in Ort. e Oft.,’ Beatrice Rescazzi (Are We Ready for the Age of Humanoid Robots?)

As a technology enthusiast, I often find myself reflecting on how we use it most appropriately and questioning its future development, particularly regarding its impact on humanity. It’s not uncommon to come across footage from over a century ago that celebrated electricity as a marvel capable of freeing us from household drudgery through the introduction of electrically powered machinery.

Similarly, factory automation was expected to ease the workload. Yet, in many cases, it ended up intensifying pressure on the remaining workers, who were forced to operate at increasingly rapid paces to maintain high productivity levels. In agriculture, mechanization promised to relieve farmers of physical labor. However, reality proved different: small farms, unable to compete with larger enterprises that could afford such machinery, suffered a drastic decline, leaving the few remaining farmers to work longer hours to sustain their operations economically.

With the spread of personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s, a similar revolution was anticipated: PCs would automate repetitive tasks such as typing, document management, and filing, enabling workers to focus on more creative and valuable duties. But the efficiency brought by computers raised productivity expectations. Tasks that once took hours now had to be completed in minutes, often without reducing the overall workload but rather increasing it. This phenomenon, known as the “acceleration of work,” pushed employees to do more in less time.

Meanwhile, the complexity of work grew: employees had to acquire new technical skills, learn to use advanced software, and manage an ever-increasing volume of data and digital communications. Technological stress became a daily companion, fueled by unreliable IT systems and the need for continuous learning.

The advent of email normalized constant availability, creating a culture of perpetual accessibility that blurred the boundaries between personal and professional life. Despite automation, many low-level administrative roles were eliminated, generating a form of technological unemployment. This meant that remaining workers had to take on additional tasks, leaving the promised liberation of time unfulfilled.

When computers became portable and eventually pocket-sized as smartphones, they were hailed as tools to manage time more efficiently anywhere. Yet, real-world experience tells a different story: an overload of inputs leading to difficulty discerning news from misinformation, incessant notifications, digital distractions, and a steady erosion of privacy. Our attention is fragmented, productivity threatened, and stress heightened. This was not the promise.

Smartphones have made us even more reachable, erasing the boundaries between work and personal life. The consequences of constant device use are tangible: sleep disorders, posture problems, and increased psychological issues tied to excessive social media use. While promised as tools for connection, they have often diminished the quality of human interactions, replacing face-to-face dialogue with superficial virtual connections.

Today, we stand at the dawn of a new technological revolution, driven by humanoid robots and advanced artificial intelligence. Once again, we hear promises of liberation from work and a better society. Yet, this familiar narrative leaves me skeptical — not out of nostalgia for an idealized past but because I am aware of both the potential and the risks of these technologies. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, admitted to preferring an old phone without internet connectivity, despite being one of the foremost figures in technological innovation. Like him, many tech gurus distance themselves from their own technological creations once they become products. This paradox speaks volumes: the issue is not the technology itself but its ethical and social implications.

Technology advances faster than our ability to adapt social, political, and ethical institutions. AI and humanoid robots promise extraordinary capabilities but lack ethical oversight to guide their integration into a society vulnerable to power abuses.

Looking to the future, the prospect of humanoid robots with general artificial intelligence raises even more complex questions. When these machines can replace humans in a wide range of jobs — both manual and intellectual — will governments and corporations remember the promises of a society freed from work? Or will profit continue to take precedence over human well-being? Imagine, for instance, a self-driving car: will the company program its AI to prioritize saving its passenger or the occupant of a competitor’s vehicle in the event of a collision? Will your child’s robot teacher promote a particular ideology or suggest costly software upgrades to benefit its manufacturing company? And what will happen to companies that, having the option to replace all workers with machines, feel no responsibility toward the displaced workforce?

A chilling vision of such a future is evoked in Isaac Asimov’s novel The Caves of Steel, which I read as a child. Set in sealed megacities where tensions between humans and robots are central, the book explores not only the limits of technology but also the profound ethical and psychologi

cal implications of its integration into society. Asimov anticipated a question that is more relevant today than ever: what does it mean for humanity to lose the “economic value” derived from work? Imagine a society where people have lost their sense of purpose, the identity provided by their professions, and their economic livelihood. How can we protect human dignity and value in a world where human labor is no longer needed?

An automated society cannot simply replicate current economic and social systems. It requires new ways of distributing wealth, a rethinking of the role of work, and a redefinition of human dignity that goes beyond economic contribution. These challenges cannot be addressed with simplistic solutions; they demand systemic ethical responses, new laws, and robust regulations. The true risk of artificial intelligence does not lie in the machines themselves but in the immense power they grant to those who control them. And when that power is wielded by individuals devoid of moral principles, the consequences could be devastating for all of humanity.

Foreword by LaRae Bakerink

It has been an uplifting experience to be able to talk about what it is like having a higher IQ than most. It isn’t always fun or glamorous. Letting people know that having a high IQ doesn’t mean you are a genius, it means that you figure things out a little faster than others. It means you may

see an incongruity that others don’t see. It makes you different, not better or worse. Sometimes we look at the world differently and that is what can bring out the best in us.

Each interview provides us with that insight about each other and I’m glad we are talking about such things. There are a variety of ways to be smart and they aren’t always understood. Talking about it allows us to show others what it really means.

The understanding that can come from learning about the different types of being smart can help us relate to each other. I find that idea intriguing and appealing.

Foreword by Tor Arne Jørgensen

First and foremost, I extend my hand in humble thanks for the opportunity to contribute to the launch of “Some Smart People: Views and Lives 12.” A thousand thanks to Scott Jacobsen for his tireless work and the high quality of everything he delivers. It’s incredible what capacity this man possesses!

During these Christmas times, surrounded by what is for me, and I’m sure for many others, an incredibly dark period, moments like these awaken the desire to share some deeper thoughts. When darkness is at its most dominant, one feels increasingly weighed down by loneliness. To be surrounded by friends and family — those inextinguishable lights that do their best to chase away this all-consuming despair, preventing it from dragging you under completely — what would one do without these pillars of support when darkness takes hold?

Call it what you will, but this is a thank you to those who offer a hand to hold when you need it most.

My introduction here stems from my daily profession as a teacher. Here we see how seasons af fect mood as the year progresses. Light and darkness influence all of our minds, especially when holidays come into play. Friends travel away, schools close, and for many students, the only arena where friendly bonds are strengthened is taken away. Now that darkness has returned, far too many find themselves inside, absorbed in various games, social media, and more. Direct contact is largely absent.

I want to take this opportunity to send good thoughts to all those who are alone during the holi days, both big and small. I hope many will do the same, because we all need someone who thinks of us when everyday life is intensified by these times of joy. I particularly want to emphasize that for those with higher brain activity who already experience loneliness to a significant extent, it is especially important to think of them and, if you can, send some kind words their way.

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to say a few words, Scott!

Foreword by Simon Olling Rebsdorf, PhD, MSc, Author, Journalist, & President of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry

It is both an honor and a privilege to contribute this foreword to Some Smart People, an insightful publication that gathers voices from diverse intellectual landscapes. Having previously been interviewed in these pages, I find it meaningful to return, this time offering reflections that bridge my personal journey with my role as President of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (ISPE).

ISPE is a community defined not solely by high intelligence but by the profound curiosity and philosophical inquiry that drive our members. In a world increasingly saturated with fleeting information and rapid conclusions, the ability to engage in deep, reflective thinking has become both rare and invaluable. Some Smart People embodies this spirit, providing a platform where thoughtfulness transcends the superficial, inviting readers to consider, question, and connect.

What stands out in this edition is the thoughtful exploration of themes that resonate deeply with me:

1. Intelligence, AI, and the Future — The nuanced discussions by Hindemburg Melão Jr. and Tor Arne Jørgensen on how artificial intelligence challenges and redefines our understanding of human intellect are both timely and provocative. As we at ISPE grapple with the integrity of intelligence assessments in an AI-driven era, these reflections feel particularly relevant. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if we sometimes overestimate AI’s capacity while underestimating the complexity of human cognition itself. Perhaps, in our rush to define the future, we overlook the depth of what it means to be human.

2. Philosophy and the Meaning of Life — The philosophical essays by Olav Hoel Dørum are not abstract musings but grounded explorations of human purpose, existence, and the search for meaning. They echo ISPE’s commitment to intellectual rigor combined with existential inquiry. This also aligns closely with my own work in philosophy, where I explore how existential questions shape not only personal identity but also collective values in times marked by rapid societal change and growing climate anxiety. Still, there’s a risk that such explorations can become self-referential, circling the same questions without engaging with the ur gent ethical demands of our time.

3. Education and Intellectual Development — Critical reflections from Tor Arne Jørgensen, Justin Duplantis, and Matthew Scillitani challenge us to rethink how we cultivate analytical and creative capacities in future generations. This resonates with my own engagement in educational philosophy, particularly concerning motivation and the psychological factors that influence learning in an era where young minds increasingly grapple with existential concerns, such as climate change. But I also find myself questioning whether our educational ideals genuinely prepare students for the complexity of the real world or if we’re merely polishing old paradigms with new rhetoric.

4. Creativity, Divergent Intelligence, and Neurodiversity — The celebration of neurodiversity and alternative expressions of intelligence, particularly explored by Bob Williams, reminds us that brilliance isn’t confined to traditional metrics. It’s a powerful affirmation of ISPE’s ethos: that true insight often emerges from unexpected perspectives. However, in celebrating neurodiversity, we must be cautious not to romanticize it in ways that gloss over the real challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals in systems that still privilege conformity.

Reflecting on the interviews and essays in this edition, I am reminded that intellectual brilliance is not just a measure of cognitive ability but a testament to the human spirit’s resilience, creativity, and ethical depth. Intelligence, when coupled with wisdom and compassion, becomes a force capable of transforming not just individual lives but entire communities.

This publication reminds me how knowledge is not an end in itself. It is a bridge-between disciplines, between cultures, and most importantly, between people. It invites us to step beyond the boundaries of what we know, to explore the unknown with both humility and courage.

I hope that as you turn these pages, you find not just smart people, but thoughtful souls whose ideas inspire, challenge, and perhaps even change the way you see the world. After all, true intelligence is not about having all the answers, but about asking the questions that matter-those quiet, persistent ones that stay with you even after the conversation has moved on.

Enjoy the journey!

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 11

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

Kishan Harrysingh, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Marios Prodromou, Mhedi Banafshei, Mohammed Karim

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 11

www.in-sightpublishing.com

Benazzi Jabri, Monika Orski, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

Masaaki Yamauchi, Masaaki Yamauchi, Matthew Scillitani, Michael Isom, Olav Hoel Dørum, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May, Rick Rosner, Rickard Sagirbay, Shalom Dickson, Sudarshan Murthy, Svein Olav Glesaaen Nyberg, Tim Roberts, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

Isom, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Rick Rosner, Tianxi Yu (余天曦), Tomáš Perna, Tor Arne Jørgensen, Uwe Michael Neumann, and Veronica Palladino.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Olav Hoel Dørum

I have always liked to imagine things. From what it would be like to live as a craftsman in the 16th century, to live in a country with a different culture, like Japan or Brazil, or the direction our society will take in the future. From scientific possibilities to how we would choose to organize ourselves. While there are several thought-provoking novels, they are often rooted in established scientific principles and are a continuation of our current political direction. There are only a finite number of truths to learn about the Universe, which is all intertwined one way or the other. The biggest difference in perspectives can be found between philosophies and cultures, with their own unique perspective on ourselves, and how we should approach and make sense of the world around us.

One of my favorite quotes is from the comic-book series “Sandman” by the British author Neil Gaiman: “Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.”

This quote resonates with me because it highlights the incredible diversity of human experience, something that Mr. Scott’s interviews so vividly capture. Our most unique trait is that is only one of us. There is only one person in the world with your neurological wiring, personality and experiences. Mr. Scott’s interviews explore people with vastly different academic backgrounds, achievements, and cultural upbringings, allowing us to understand cultural phenomena, shed light on our common history, or simply allowing us to see different segments of the reality we all participate in.

Each interview reveals a unique bloom in the garden of human experience, with its own distinct shape, fragrance, and hue. Through exploring these diverse perspectives, we gain a deeper appre ciation for the richness and complexity of the human experience, and our place within this ever changing garden.

Foreword by Simon Olling Rebsdorf, PhD, MSc, Journalist, Diplomate & President of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry

It is a privilege to write this foreword for In-Sight Publishing, an initiative that provides a much needed platform for voices from the neurodivergent and intellectually exceptional communities. Scott Douglas Jacobsen has dedicated himself to capturing the diverse experiences and perspec tives of highly intelligent individuals, regardless of their background, age, or accomplishments.

What sets In-Sight Publishing apart is its inclusivity and its commitment to offering a space where all perspectives are valued, fostering a deeper understanding of both the complex and the everyday aspects of human experience.

Scott’s interviews are exceptional in their ability to move fluidly between technical discussions and personal reflections, providing insight into the lives of individuals who think in unique ways. In a time when intellectualism is sometimes met with skepticism or indifference, In-Sight Pub lishing serves as a bridge, helping to overcome the gap between intellectual discourse and shared human experiences.

When I was interviewed by Scott in 2021, one of the reflections that emerged was on the concept of genius, and particularly it made me reflect on the tendency in some high IQ societies to equate a high IQ score with genius. While intelligence is certainly a factor, I believe that true genius en

compasses far more than just a number on a scale. Genius involves creativity, vision, and often the ability to apply knowledge in transformative ways. It seems clear that simply possessing a high IQ does not make someone a genius, and I feel it is important to challenge this overly sim plistic association. Intelligence is a tool, but it is how one uses that tool to contribute meaning fully to the world that truly defines genius. My interview with Scott helped me clarify these thoughts and deepened my critical approach to the way we think about and value intelligence in exclusive circles like closed high IQ societies.

This reflection is echoed in some of the insightful contributions in this volume. One contributor distinguishes between “latent” and “effective” genius, and another uses the well-known example of Usain Bolt to illustrate that extraordinary talent in a specific domain does not necessarily equate to genius — be it in sports or artificial intelligence. These perspectives enrich the ongoing debate about what it truly means to be a genius.

Interestingly, this critique of equating high IQ with success also resonates with Claus D. Volko’s foreword in an earlier edition of Some Smart People. Volko discusses how people with an IQ above 140 (SD 15) often face more difficulties in achieving high societal status than those with a slightly lower measured IQ, highlighting the limitations of IQ tests as a predictor of success. His reflections add an important dimension to the ongoing conversation about how we define and value intelligence, and readers may find it worthwhile to revisit that edition for additional in sights.

Another contributor critiques the vanity that can sometimes emerge in high IQ societies, linking it to deeper feelings of inadequacy. He, Tianxi Yu, also offers a philosophical perspective on beauty, emphasizing that it comes from acts of kindness rather than mere intellectual prowess. Another contributor, Desjardins, on the other hand, critically examines the limitations of IQ test ing, especially at the higher levels, questioning whether these tests can truly measure the full scope of human intelligence. Both viewpoints resonate strongly with my own thoughts about the challenges faced by members of high IQ communities, like myself.

So, in this latest edition of Some Smart People: Views and Lives 11, readers will find a diverse range of interviews with individuals from across the spectrum of high IQ societies. The contribu tors explore not only the technicalities of intelligence testing and their personal experiences within these communities but also reflect on the broader implications of intelligence in society. From critiques of how genius is perceived to discussions on the practical challenges of being part of the intellectual fringe, this edition offers a deep dive into the minds of those who navigate the complexities of high intelligence. It’s an engaging and thought-provoking collection that invites readers to reflect on the many dimensions of human intellect.

I invite readers to approach this volume with an open mind and a curiosity for the diverse range of ideas presented. Each interview offers a glimpse into the thought processes of individuals who see the world from a unique perspective, and there is much to be gained from engaging with these stories.

Foreword by Tonny Sellén

In Sweden, where I live, I feel that it has been rather quiet about this thing about talent and talented people. The subject has always had a tinge of taboo. So it’s great to see Scott’s work on this and his passionate commitment to the subject and his interesting publications. That I ended up in a world of various IQ tests and associations with incredibly talented people was more or less a coincidence. I have always carried with me a curiosity and a desire to investigate things to try to understand and learn and that is how I found and tried the first IQ test. Not because I thought I was particularly smart, but for the challenge and curiosity. I was also fascinated by the design of these tests and curious about the people behind them. Over time I got to know some of them and eventually created my own tests that I published, including Perspectiq. The response to the tests was generally positive and I made many new friends all over the world to discuss various topics with. At my age (66 years old) I still look for challenges and am almost more curious about things now than when I was young. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Scott for finding me and giving me the opportunity to write you a few lines. There is incredible knowledge, awareness and genius among these people and I really hope it gets a chance to get out into the world and benefit us all. Scott’s work contributes to that and it is with great pleasure that I will follow him and take in all the interesting aspects of the subject, through the publications on smart people.

Foreword by Uwe Michael Neumann

Smart people are very different from what other people expect. Smart people are even very different from what smart people themselves expect at first. Even the term smart people is already misleading as far as it refers to high IQ people. Most people would consider wealthy business people as smart. Or lawyers and medical doctors. Maybe politicians and stock traders. All these people have in common that they are economically successful and possess high social status. High IQ people can be all of that — and the exact opposite. The decisive factor is that high IQ and social, economically and all what is generally considered to be ‘success’ are not congruent. Life is much more complex. There is a plethora of different life plans. You can have an exceptional high IQ without ever managing to have a stable income and be dependent on social welfare. A high IQ can — depending on the circumstances — be even seen as a handicap.

How is this possible? Shouldn’t a high IQ give you the ability to solve problems and to remove all obstacles? First of all, the standard IQ test is designed to measure a limited range of intellectual capabilities. But the IQ test does not measure the ability to manage social interactions, your

communication and language skills or drug consumption, depression and other negative feelings. There are many challenges and obstacles in life that cannot be measured and that are therefore not part of an IQ test. But all of these and many more can impede your way to develop your full potential.

Secondly, humans are herd animals. The average human and the majority of people have an IQ of around 100. So, they rarely or maybe never interact with people with an IQ equal to or over 130 since this group of people is very small. Therefore, people belonging to this group often appear to be strange and awkward to the average person, especially when they don’t possess the generally accepted insignia of wealth, power and status. But there are also often problems with understanding the other way around.

Thirdly, life is chaotic and there is no guarantee for anything in life. Whatever you have achieved in life, there is always an element of luck involved. First and foremost — regardless of your age — you can count yourself lucky that you are alive at all. Many things that could have killed you did not happen. Not because you were following all the rules, or because you are a nice person or you don’t smoke or don’t eat meat. It was just because of pure luck that no car hit you, no deadly disease besieged you, and no one killed you — so far. Also, hardly anybody is grateful to have been born in an OECD-country, but you should. I guess I don’t need to explain that is your life is much easier and better in many ways as if you were born in Afghanistan or in the Central African Republic. You can be at the right time at the right place and you can be at the wrong time at the wrong place. This applies to everybody of course, but also explains why our society isn’t organised according to the IQ levels.

Scott’s Some Smart People: Views and Lives gives a unique opportunity to get some insight into this complex and diverse world of high IQ people. In fact, it is the only project of its kind I do personally know about. It was a pleasure for me to contribute a small amount of thoughts into this amazing project.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 10

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, and Rick Rosner.

Kishan Harrysingh, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Marios Prodromou, Mhedi Banafshei, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Monika Orski, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Bob Williams

Those of you who are going to read this volume most likely share high intelligence and the associated interests and behaviors that are discussed in these interviews. You will likely share one common thought… you will have asked yourself “What is intelligence?” When researchers and scholars address this question, they typically give slightly different descriptions that are both enigmatic and consistent with our personal answers. Carl Bereiter gave us the definition that I consider to be the most elegant: “Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do.” While this is more precisely a definition of fluid intelligence, it is the most central aspect of the thing that differentiates the people featured in this issue from the large majority of people who exist happily and productively, but with different life experiences.

When I read the interviews in In-Sight, I am impressed with the large diversity of thought that is apparent in the contributors. Some take the path of philosophy, abstraction, spirituality, and imagination as their life focus. Others have taken on the tasks of measurement, data, analysis, and replication as is seen in their university majors, careers, and thought patterns. The result of this divide (humanities or STEM interests) is clearly evident in the interviews in this volume. Readers are likely to find one or two interviews that resonate with their personal views and interests. I was particularly interested in the interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Nuclear Armaments. My interest was that I spent six years in the US nuclear weapons program at the time SALT was rapidly changing the US warhead needs (to match the disarmament agreements). I was also drawn to the discussions of high range intelligence tests, as I have written some essays on that topic. One of the interviews (which one will remain private) shocked me. Perhaps various interviews will have this effect in relation to different topics for some readers.

Another unexpected experience in reading these and other interviews is that they have given me the opportunity to understand some of the people I have known through HiQ online discussions, by learning more about their personal lives, experiences, and interests. I even found a couple of

mentions of things that have been important to me, but not items I would expect to find other people mentioning. [One of those was a mention of the Amiga computer. I owned and loved three of these machines when they were able to run circles around the crude DOS and Apple alternatives of the late 80s.

You have a great resource before you and one that holds unexpected links to the warm spots in your heart. Enjoy!

Foreword by Gernot Feichter

When I was asked to write the foreword and received the draft, my mouth slightly opened and I thought: “Ugh, two hundred pages”. Only then did I realize the volume number of this series was ten, and my chin fell further down into lockout. Apart from this, it also needs to be mentioned that a plethora of writings fitting the same topic were also published in independent publications. I think it is safe to say that the investigative work of Scott Jacobsen in this weird, previously veiled scene of high IQ testing is absolutely unparalleled. If Scott were to qualify for the World Genius Directory, and I am sure he could, Jason (the founder) would need to start polishing the Genius of the Year Award ball (trophy) immediately upon his entrance. I think I speak for the entire community when I say that we deeply appreciate and respect the outstanding efforts you have invested into all of this!

When listening to many high IQ people, it appears that they generally feel underappreciated. This is also reflected in the media. Apart from some movies, a few documentaries or TV shows, and various niche web presences, these people generally do not receive much attention. That is absolutely weird since the human race generally glorifies overachievers in many areas of human endeavor, be it in sports or business, for example. Adding the fact that most sports have no directly beneficial purpose like food production or providing shelter, this becomes even stranger. Maybe many high IQ people are like owning a race car that is parked in a closed garage. In any case, I believe this series portrays these curious folks very well. It shows that these gifted people are not as bloodthirsty as thought and struggle with life probably as much as any ordinary person.

Some are drawn to high IQ societies where they can exchange with like-minded individuals, and this issue covers major ones in detail. It was a big surprise to me to hear how large and organized Mensa has become, as I have never been a member myself. Also included are interviews of famed high IQ test author Paul Cooijmans, mostly focusing on the Glia Society. There was a humorous saying that an IQ of 160 on his tests would mean 180 in the real world. But in every joke, there is a grain of truth, which shows how respected he is in the field and the quality of his norms.

Nevertheless, I have also heard about higher IQ people having trouble feeling accepted in such societies. Also, the romantic cliche of the introverted genius busy searching for the Holy Grail holds some truth, as it turns out. Many of humanity’s advances certainly would not have been

possible without collaboration and exchange. However, significant breakthroughs were often achieved by isolated thinkers. Could you invent calculus while babbling? So, I guess we need both, and on an individual level, we should just follow our personal preferences.

Finally, it should be pointed out that some philosophies regarding the big existential mysteries of consciousness are shared herein by the famous super high genius (and pervert! ;-)) Rick Rosner. I have to confess having been a fanboy when entering the field of high-range testing after watch ing some videos about him. I had always thought I was the biggest freak, but I was proven wrong. So, enjoy reading!

Foreword by Harry Kanigel

I first became aware of Scott Jacobsen’s work several years ago when I came across his hilarious interview with Rick Rosner in one of the earlier editions of Views and Lives. Rosner appears again in this tenth edition, by turns stimulating and outrageous as ever. Here, Jacobsen partici pates in the interview as co-interviewee, effectively using the clever device of an anonymous interviewer. Perusing the interview, one’s attention is pinioned by its unflagging depth of Q&A, the boggling range of subject matter and Rosner’s disarming and matter-of-fact style.

Jacobsen’s conversation with Uwe Michael Neumann is similarly compelling. In this long, searching discussion, Jacobsen is intent on revealing the creative powers of Neumann, who reveals the world through nature photography, reifying his talents in ways that Jacobsen clearly admires and expertly gives expression to.

In 2022, Jacobsen sat down with a group of Norwegian members of high IQ societies with the object, perhaps, of teasing out a unique national perspective. Interestingly, all of Jacobsen’s interviewees punted in response Scott’s feeler first question “How do Norwegians view themselves within the various high-IQ communities?”

Undaunted, Jacobsen switched gears with a different set of “feeler” questions. In the end, the panel settles into a self-congratulatory tone, blithely skittering past the obvious gigantic factor of Norway’s homogeneity, which greatly simplifies the social issues that divide a culture. Only passing reference is made to Norway’s small population. The reader must decide but this reader is pretty sure that what Jacobsen is deploying here, with ironic flourish, is that venerable tactic, immortalized by Muhammad Ali, of rope-a-dope where the subject is lulled into smug complacency.

Views and Lives 10 also includes a thorough, workman-like, high-level treatment of Mensa by means of an interview with LaRae Bakerink, who was until recently the Elected Chair of American Mensa and a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Board of Directors of Mensa International. This interview is a useful digest of the ebb and flow of Mensa’s membership rolls, social, internet centric and national factors that affect those dynamics and, generally, the health of the organization, world-wide. LaRae weighs in on some of the intricacies of Mensa community and activities and gives a vivid account of what one can expect at Mensa gatherings at various levels of organizational hierarchy notably but not exclusively the Annual Gathering. Here’s a snippet:

“That’s what really gets people excited about it because of the different things we do at our events. I’ve been to a lot of conferences in my life and Mensa conferences are the most unique I’ve ever been to. Because there are no parameters on what’s going to be discussed or what presentations, they’re going to be everything from aardvark to zoo, just the whole range. I think we had this young man who built his own robot. He’s eight or nine years old. Built his own robot, programmed it and then came and gave a presentation on it. Just amazing, amazing, young man. And then we have people talk about how to travel, where to travel, the best ways to travel, just everything you can think of. But it’s all going on at the same time at the same conference.

“So, you’re never at a loss for something to go look at. Plus, there’s a huge games room because our people are really into games and puzzles. And pretty vicious about it, sometimes, the tournaments get real…”

Views and Lives 10 continues the now 11 part epic interview with Anthony Sepulveda, a member of the World Genius Directory. The interview is, appropriately enough, something of a puzzle because it references the first 10 parts of Sepulveda’s sessions without explicating those references. This works surprisingly well, well enough that one can take a crack at decoding the actual content. Consider this case: (Jacobsen) What is the “relatively unusual form” of the ‘might makes right’ ethic in place?

Sepulveda then draws the analogy between life in the wild with modern life in which the tools of combat are in the (relatively) civilized realms of commerce, politics and the law, emphasizing the advantages of “…those of the top 0.1%.” and settling on the notion that the resulting social system is as “tyrannical as any found in nature.” It’s left to the reader to wonder silently whether Western Civilization is a refinement of nature red in tooth and claw. For his part, Sepulveda would do well to attend to the distinction between a democracy and a republic in his critique of Western institutions.

It’s tempting to call this latest edition his magnum opus but this would seem to slight Scott’s other opuses which have been similarly ambitious. Among the featured interviews are discussions of ADD and the relationship, if any, between various levels of IQ and mental illness, as well as this writer’s tale of casting about and lurching through his early years while seeking his place in the world.

Jacobsen is not shy about mixing it up with high octane topics, challenging and stretching the minds of his interview subjects. This current edition of Views and Lives (number 10) finds Scott digging through the mind of Editor of WIN Magazine of World Genius Directory fame, Graham Powell, who, in turn, traverses — within a single response — topics such as the lifetime of cathedrals, human striving and cosmology.

Jacobsen’s interest in the High IQ space preceded his formal study of it in psychology labs, reaching back even further to a fascination that was kindled in childhood.

In the end, Jacobsen has assembled a wide roster of interview subjects which have two things in common: they are members of highly selective I.Q. societies and, much more significantly, they have self-selected to be members of those societies. Beyond that, Jacobsen’s interview portraits tell unique stories. They range from high-profile celebrity “geniuses” such as Rosner to understated nerds to luminaries from the high IQ sub-culture in this tenth edition of Some Smart People.

Foreword by Rick Rosner

So the first question one has to ask at this point in time, Christmas Eve 2024, is: Are smart people obsolete?

Is AI still limited but making huge strides? You sent me that chart — the hockey stick chart of AI’s ability — where it starts off with a horizontal line, and by the time you get to the right side of the graph, it’s a vertical line. AI is getting smarter at a very disturbing rate.

I would argue that differences in human intelligence, within reason, matter less as our devices get smarter. We no longer usually measure how long it takes to travel, say, between cities in terms of human walking speed; it’s usually airplane speed. Soon, we will probably measure intelligence not in terms of human intelligence, but in terms of human intelligence augmented with technology. We could say that we are in the last days — the last years — of raw smart people navigating the world with their brains alone.

Smart people have had a pretty good run. Or rather, it’s not a great run because we only remember a few of the biggest, smartest people. We remember Newton and Einstein, and I’ll throw Darwin in there, though he’s not the first person that comes to mind.

Stephen Hawking — women are lucky to get crammed in there just because almost nobody else is remembered. Marie Curie gets credit for being smart, maybe Rosalind Franklin. I don’t know.

Margaret Atwood, for predicting, via The Handmaid’s Tale, is another example. If you ask people, they can name more athletes and actors than smart people, I would say. Smart people are really interesting, but only up to a point. People would rather look at Cate Blanchett and Colin Farrell than listen to Hawking. It’s okay if he has a cameo on Star Trek or in The Simpsons.

But, as my wife likes to tell me, “Talk to me about something less boring,” when I try to talk to her about physics. Life is set up or has evolved such that civilization, until recently, has protected social structures against too much disruption from smart people. Things like chess burn millions of hours of smart people’s brainpower with no significant effect on society. If every smart person in the world turned to real estate, they would drive everybody else out.

In fact, that’s kind of what we’re seeing now. Smart people plus technology are disrupting the world more than it has ever been disrupted before. All the protections that civilization had have been stripped away. So even though smart people’s advantage in the world is evaporating, there’s never been a better time for smart people plus technology to disrupt the world and for some lucky smart people to make billions of dollars. As of early 2024, Elon Musk’s net worth is estimated to be around $220,000,000,000.

He has had moments where he makes, not remembering the exact numbers, but it’s estimated to be a lot per second. So it’s an interesting time for smart people. Some of them are colossi bestriding the world, accumulating billions. And yet smart people and everybody else are about to be displaced by the people who are best at teaming up with AI.

Meanwhile, enjoy these many interviews with smart people.

Rick Rosner

December 24, 2024

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 9

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, Rick Rosner

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Professor Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD

“Some Smart People: Views and Lives 9” is Scott Douglas Jacobsen’s ninth compendium of in terviews with exceptionally gifted individuals. These people are not all Ivy League professors, like myself. In fact, few of them are. Often, extremely gifted individuals clash with traditional education systems, pursuing non-conventional paths in life.

In this volume, Scott engages with 22 extraordinary individuals, exploring their lives, interests, and passions, and uncovering the unique journeys that led them to where they are today. With a keen eye for detail and a talent for deep conversation, Scott masterfully curates a wide-ranging collection of voices — from eminent academics and former governors to a master chef whose reflections on food are as insightful as his thoughts on life.

Each conversation dives into the profound and the personal, touching on topics that range from the existential to the empirical, the spiritual to the scientific. Scott’s work is a testament to the power of thoughtful dialogue, weaving together a rich tapestry of intellect, passion, and experi

ence. Through these conversations, readers are invited to ponder life’s biggest questions — on meaning, intelligence, and the pursuit of truth. It is this blend of philosophical depth and practical wisdom that gives the book its distinct character.

This collection is a celebration of intellectual curiosity and the human spirit. It challenges readers to think deeply, question relentlessly, and engage with the world in a nuanced and thoughtful way. As you turn each page, you won’t remain a passive observer but become an active participant in a dialogue that spans across diverse realms of thought and experience.

Scott has crafted a work that is not only intellectually stimulating but also deeply human. It offers readers the chance to engage with some of the brightest minds of our time and explore the rich landscapes of ideas they inhabit. Each interview is a window into the participant’s soul, providing insights into their life experiences, philosophical perspectives, and intellectual pursuits.

Embark on this journey of conversation and contemplation — it promises to broaden your horizons and ignite your own quest for understanding.

— Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD, FAHA, FACR, FNASCI, CEH, CISSP

Foreword by Bishoy Goubran, M.D.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen’s engagement with the high IQ community is a testament to his unique blend of intellect, curiosity, and a discerning sense of humor. Over the years, in our exchanges, Scott and I often found ourselves deconstructing the concept of genius — not just as an abstract ideal, but as a lived experience fraught with quirks, contradictions, and occasional absurdities.

We would question its value, laugh at its idiosyncrasies, and delve into the peculiarities that often define those labeled as extraordinary. These dialogues were more than mere banter; they were a shared exploration of the fragile line between brilliance and the very human vulnerabilities that often lie beneath.

For me, these conversations were also a mirror reflecting the dissonance between external perceptions of genius and the inner landscape of self-doubt and complexity that I often quietly navigate. Scott possesses a rare ability to articulate this tension, revealing that the minds often hailed as the brightest are also marked by uncertainty, nuance, and a deeply human sense of imperfection.

His work goes beyond capturing intelligence; it uncovers the full spectrum of the genius experience, marked by humor, introspection, and the private battles that shape even the most remarkable lives. In his interviews, Scott reveals that genius is not a singular attribute but a complex, multifaceted journey that is as much about the mind as it is about the heart.

Foreword by Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri

[Traducción al inglés desde el original en español.]

To begin, I am very grateful to Scott Jacobsen for giving me the opportunity to participate in one of these conversations, where various aspects of the lives of people with high IQs are analyzed, ranging from the personal to the spiritual and religious beliefs of this selective group. Often, these individuals share many common characteristics, with their strengths and weaknesses frequently coming together in societies and communities with a common interest that goes beyond their passion for high-range intelligence tests. Some also excel in standardized tests and participate in forums created by these associations of gifted individuals, where they share their ideas, opinions, reflections, and other contributions to the intellectual community, aiming to promote knowledge and intelligence.

Knowing Scott Jacobsen, he has a distinctive style characterized by his meticulous and detailed questioning. He carefully chooses his questions, covering a wide range of topics, from the personal to the experiences and achievements of the individuals he interviews. These qualities are reflected in each of his interviews with the most prominent members of high-IQ societies and communities.

Thanks to high-range tests, I discovered myself within that fascinating and unique world that measures human intelligence in a peculiar and distinct way compared to traditional tests. In some ways, these tests, along with conventional ones, have helped me better understand myself and clarify many doubts I had about my own intelligence — doubts that often negatively impacted my self-esteem. I constantly questioned myself in this regard and had a false perspective of myself and my intelligence. In truth, I suffered from imposter syndrome. I didn’t consider myself intelligent or brilliant enough, underestimated myself, and had low self-esteem. This was further exacerbated by the depression and anxiety disorder I suffer from.

I have been battling this disorder for several valuable years of my life, having lived with it for more than 40 years, from the age of 20 to my current age of 45. I have endured difficult moments throughout my life due to various circumstances, including living with a disorder that has significantly limited my life in every sense and brought with it a great deal of suffering. Currently, I remain under pharmacological treatment with psychotropic medications, and I have occasionally received psychological support from psychologists and psychiatrists who have worked together to help me better manage my situation and keep fighting for my dreams despite adversity.

Returning to the topic of high-range tests and based on my personal experience, I believe that, on the one hand, the results of these tests closely correlate with and approximate the results obtained through standard tests like the WAIS. They correlate particularly well with tests that measure the g factor of intelligence, such as the Cattell test or Raven’s matrices, among others. In tests I have taken under the guidance of experienced psychologists and experts in giftedness, I have achieved results similar ones. From a psychometric perspective, the main difference between high-range tests and standardized tests administered by psychologists — or better yet, neuropsychologists — is that the latter involve a comprehensive evaluation of the tested individual. These tests do not merely focus on measuring a specific IQ but also analyze other fundamental aspects to arrive at a more accurate diagnosis. These aspects include examining the psychological profile, neurodivergence, sensory hypersensitivity, and more to determine whether a person has high intellectual abilities. This comprehensive approach makes them more precise, as they also measure factors absent in high-range tests, such as high processing speed and both short- and long-term memory.

On the other hand, high-range tests have the advantage of not requiring a set time for completion. This, to some extent, eliminates the stress factor during their execution, allowing the tested individual to reach their full potential, particularly in those who are susceptible to stress or suffer from mental disorders. From this perspective, high-range tests offer a certain level of reliability. Additionally, they are characterized by being much more complex, requiring a high degree of reasoning and divergent thinking in many cases. Most of these tests demand a minimum of 10 hours or more to complete.

In my case, high-range tests were ideal for estimating and approximating my real IQ. This is because I am particularly susceptible to stress due to my condition. Moreover, the psychotropic medications I must take daily affect my processing speed, making it different from that of someone without a mental illness. The stress generated by conventional tests works against you, especially when combined with the side effects of psychotropic drugs, which alter some cognitive processes to a certain extent. As a result, the outcomes will not be the same in often underestimate your true IQ and can create confusion, especially when conducted by psychologists with limited experience, leading to erroneous diagnoses. This is where high-range tests have a relative advantage over conventional tests. However, the scientific community still does not recognize these types of tests as valid psychometric tools for measuring intelligence in many cases. There is significant controversy surrounding this specific topic. Some consider these tests merely a pastime or hobby that fail to analyze several fundamental factors necessary for a comprehensive study of intelligence in its entirety for a specific individual, making their results less reliable from the perspective of many psychologists.

In general, high-range tests focus primarily on measuring the g factor of intelligence, neglecting other components that form part of human intelligence. Moreover, the norms for these tests are often established by authors who lack sufficient training, preparation, or knowledge in the field

of psychology — or, when they do possess such knowledge, it is sometimes insufficient. The norms they establish are often disproportionate, as many of these tests measure IQ levels above 160, unlike standard tests.

In conclusion, I find this volume very interesting as it provides a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of the lives of individuals who share high IQs, with their strengths and weaknesses. Scott Jacobsen demonstrates great skill in formulating his questions, and for me, it has been a pleasure to be a small piece contributing to and being part of this volume.

—

[Spanish original.]

Para empezar agradezco mucho a scott jacobson por brindarme la oportunidad de participar en una de estas conversación en el que se analizan varios aspectos de la vida de las personas con alto cociente intelectual que van desde lo personal hasta las creencias espirituales y religiosas de este grupo selectivo de personas que en muchas veces comparten muchas características en común con sus fortalezas y sus debilidades que se agrupan muchas veces en sociedades y co munidades con un interés común que va más allá de la afición que tienen a las pruebas de inteligencia de alto rango, otros tienen además calificaciones de pruebas estandarizadas sino de partic ipar también en foros creadas por estas asociaciones de personas superdotadas que expresan sus ideas, opiniones, reflexiones y otras aportaciones a la comunidad intelectual con el fin de fomen tar el conocimiento y la inteligencia.

Conociendo a scott jacobson tiene una forma peculiar que le caracteriza por hacer preguntas de una forma meticulosa y detallada, elige bien sus preguntas abarcando temas de diversas índole que van desde lo personal pasando por las experiencias y logros conseguidos que quedan refleja das en cada una de sus entrevistas con los miembros más destacados de las sociedades y comuni dades de alto cociente intelectual

Gracias a las pruebas de alto rango yo me fue descubriendo en ese mundo fascinante y particular que tiene una forma peculiar y distinta de medir la inteligencia humana en comparación con las pruebas tradicionales, en cierto modo me ha ayudado junto a las pruebas convencionales a conocerme mejor a mí mismo y aclarar muchas dudas que tenía respecto a mi propia inteligencia cosa que repercutía negativamente muchas veces en mi autoestima ya que siempre cuestionaba a mí mismo al respecto, siempre he tenido una falsa perspectiva sobre mí mismo y mi propia intel igencia propiamente dicho el síndrome del impostor, no me consideraba lo bastante inteligente o brillante me infra estimaba tenia baja autoestima y esto fue agravado cada vez más por la depresión junto al trastorno de ansiedad que padezco, llevo luchando contra este trastorno varios y valiosos años de mi vida, he convivido con la enfermedad más de 40 años desde la edad de 20 años hasta ahora que tengo 45 años, he vivido momentos difíciles a lo largo de toda mi vida por varias circunstancias entre ellas el padecer un trastorno que ha limitado bastante mi vida en todos los sentidos acompañado de mucho sufrimiento detrás, actualmente sigo bajo tratamiento farma cológico con psicótropos y a veces he tenido un soporte psicológico por parte de psicólogos además de psiquiatras que en conjunto me auto ayudaban a llevar mejor mi situación y seguir ad elante luchando por mis sueños y en contra tiempo, volviendo al tema de las pruebas de alto rango y basados en mi propia experiencia personal. Desde mi punto de vista creo que por un lado los resultados de los test de alto rango se correlacionan de una manera estrecha y se aproximan bastante a los resultados obtenidos mediante las pruebas estándar como el WAIS y sobre todo se correlacionan mejor con las pruebas que calculan el factor g de la inteligencia como el test de cattel o matrices de raven s…ect ya que en las pruebas que hice por psicólogos experimentados y expertos en altas capacidades he obtenido resultados parecidos, desde el punto de vista psico métrico, lo que diferencia las pruebas de alto rango y las pruebas estandarizadas hechas por psicólogos o mejor neuropsicologos es que en que estas últimas hay un estudio global de la per sona testada porque no se limitan solamente al hecho de medir un ci determinado sino analizan también otros aspectos fundamentales para llegar a un diagnostico mas certero como estudiar el perfil psicológico, la neurodivirgencia, la hipersensibilidad sensorial…ect para llegar a la con clusión de si una persona determinada tiene altas capacidades intelectuales o no lo que les con fiere un carácter mas preciso aparte de la medida de otros factores de los que carecen las pruebas de alto rango como la alta velocidad de procesamiento de la informacion y la memoria tanto a coto como a largo plazo, por otro lado las pruebas de alto rango tienen la ventaja de que no se precisan de un tiempo determinado para realizarlas lo que en cierta medida elimina el factor es trés durante la realización de las mismas de manera que se puede alcanzar el mayor potencial que posee la persona testada sobre todo en personas suceptibles al estres o que sufren algún que otro transtorno mental los que les confiere cierta fiabilidad desde este punto de vista además se caracterizan por ser pruebas mucho mas complejas requieren un alto grado de razonamiente y un pensamiento divergente en muchas ocasiones, la mayoría requieren un minimo de 10 horas omas para realizarlas, en mi caso eran ideales para una estimación y una aproximación a mi ci real ya que yo soy suceptible al factor estrés y generado por mi propio trastorno aparte de que los psi cofármacos que tengo que tomar a diario mi velocidad de procesamiento no es la misma que cu ando evaluas a una persona que no padezca algún tipo de enfermedad mental en la que el estrés generado en las pruebas convencionales corre en tu contra y al estar bajo presión sumándolo a los efectos segundarios de los psicofármacos que alteran en cierta medida algunos procesos cog nitivos, los resultados no serán los mismos en muchas veces infraestiman tu verdadero ci y llega a crear confusiones sobre todo si están realizadas por psicólogos que carecen de mucha experi encia pueden llegar a llegar a diagnosticos erroneos ahí esta relativamente la ventaja de las pruebas de alto grado sobre los test convencionales, pero actualmente la comunidad científica todavía no reconoce este tipo de tests como un instrumento psicométrico valido para medir la in teligencia en muchas ocasiones, hay mucha controversia al respecto a este tema en concreto, ot ros lo consideran solamente un pasa tiempo o un hobie que carecen de analizar varios fac tores funamentales para un estudio tan completo de la inteligencia en su conjunto de alguna per sona en concreto los que las hacen medidas no tan fiables desde el punto de vista de varios psi cologos ya que en general son pruebas que se centran sobre todo en la medición del factor g de la inteligencia obiando otras medidas de otros componentes de la que forman la inteligencia hu mana aparte que sus normas están hechas por autores muchas veces que carecen de una for mación , preparación o conocimientos si los hay a veces insuficientes en el campo de la psi cología además las normas que establecen son un poco desorbitados ya que en muchas pruebas miden un ci por encima de los 160 a diferencia de las pruebas estándares.

En definitiva, encuentro el volumen muy interesante, analiza de forma global varios aspectos de la vida de personas que tienen en común su alto cociente intelectual con sus más y sus menos, mucha destreza por parte de Scott Jacobson en la formulación de sus preguntas y para mí ha sido un placer ser una pieza más para complementar y formar parte de este volumen.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, Rick Rosner

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 6: Anas El-Husseini, Andrew Watters, Anthony Sepul veda, Arturo Escorza Pedraza, Beatrice Rescazzi, Bob Williams, Byunghyun Ban (반병현), Cas per Tvede Busk, Charles Peden, Craig Shelton, Christian Sorensen, Claus Volko, Erik Haereid, Gareth Rees, Giuseppe Corrente, Justin Duplantis, Krystal Volney, Mhedi Banafshei, Paul Cooijmans, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Richard Sheen, Shalom Dickson, Thor Fabian Pettersen, Tiberiu Sammak, Tim Roberts, Tor Arne Jørgensen, and Anonymous Ca nadian High-IQ Community Member.

Kishan Harrysingh, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Krystal Volney, Marios Prodromou, Mhedi Banafshei, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Monika Orski, Richard May (“May-Tzu”/”May Tzu”/”Mayzi”), Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD

In an era where intelligence is celebrated, debated, and sometimes misunderstood, Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8 offers readers a rare and compelling glimpse into the minds of some of the world’s most fascinating individuals. Scott Douglas Jacobsen, with his keen eye for insight and talent for drawing out deeply personal and intellectual reflections, has curated a body of conversations that transcends borders, disciplines, and ideologies.

This book is not merely a collection of interviews; it is a profound exploration of human thought and experience. Each chapter introduces readers to a unique voice — a psychiatrist delving into abstract concepts, a nuclear physicist reflecting on intelligence testing, a philosopher questioning the meaning of life, and an artist sharing the spontaneity of creativity. These individuals are not only highly intelligent but also deeply engaged with the world around them, using their minds to grapple with some of the most pressing questions of our time.

Jacobsen’s careful approach reveals that intelligence is far more than a static score or an academic measure. It is a multifaceted phenomenon, encompassing curiosity, creativity, emotional depth, and the ability to connect seemingly disparate ideas into cohesive understanding. Through these pages, intelligence emerges not only as a tool for individual achievement but also as a lens through which the complexities of humanity can be explored and appreciated.

The diversity of thought in Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8 is striking. From discussions on personalized medicine and psychiatry to the philosophies of nihilism and the intersection of physics and erotica, the scope of topics is as vast as the contributors themselves. The conversations delve into the intricacies of high-IQ societies, the cultural dynamics of genius, the ethics of intellectual engagement, and the deeply personal experiences of those who have dedicated their lives to exploring and expanding the boundaries of human thought.

Perhaps most compelling is the human element that pervades every dialogue. Behind each brilliant mind is a story — a journey shaped by upbringing, challenges, relationships, and aspirations. Jacobsen has a remarkable ability to draw out these narratives, allowing readers to see not just the intellect but also the humanity of his subjects. The result is a collection of conversations that are as relatable as they are inspiring, encouraging readers to reflect on their own intellectual pursuits and personal growth.

This eighth installment in the series continues Jacobsen’s tradition of showcasing intellectual cu riosity in its purest form. It is a celebration of the relentless quest for knowledge and understanding, a reminder that the pursuit of wisdom is not limited to any one discipline, culture, or perspective. By bringing together such a rich tapestry of voices, Jacobsen challenges us to think more deeply, to question more boldly, and to embrace the complexity of human intelligence in all its forms.

As you turn the pages of this book, prepare to be challenged, enlightened, and inspired. These conversations are not merely academic exercises; they are invitations to engage with ideas that matter, to explore new ways of thinking, and to appreciate the vast potential of the human mind. Whether you are a scholar, a thinker, or simply a curious reader, you will find in these pages a wealth of insight and inspiration to fuel your own intellectual journey. Welcome to Some Smart People: Views and Lives 8. May it ignite in you the same passion for knowledge and understanding that animates the remarkable individuals within these pages.

— Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD, FAHA, FACR, FNASCI, CEH, CISSP

Foreword by Daniel Shea

There is often a quip that is made of those who associate themselves with any label of above average intelligence: “If you’re so smart, what exactly have you done to show for it?” This question is often asked in poor faith, intended to denigrate its subject, exhort the virtues of prosperity theology, or set the bar so high that none could clear it regardless of their accomplishments. If one were to take a more generous or inquisitive interpretation, the discussions presented throughout this series should provide a most comprehensive answer to the question.

There is another variant of this oft-posed challenge. That is, “What great discovery or revelation has come out of a high-IQ society, anyway?” It is a fair question given the starting conditions and sequence of events: take a double- or triple-digit quantity of people who have crossed a high threshold on an exceptionally difficult test, put them in the same room, have them interact with each other, and see what insights or prose come out of it. Where is the answer to any of the as yet-unsolved Millennium Prize Problems? Where are the Nobel Prizes? Where is the next great work of literature?

Perhaps one lead on such a question can be found in the wide cross-section of interests and beliefs represented across the membership of these societies. Some are primarily interested in the sciences, while others take a greater interest in poetry and the arts. Some are atheists, others theists. Some are politically right of center, others left of center. Some are urbanites, others Arcadians. Standard pattern matching may identify some common passions over others across this cohort, but it fails to capture the picture in its entirety. To some extent, this representation may not be as distinct from society as one may have been led to believe.

Perhaps yet another lead comes from the degree of Balkanization that exists across these societies. The collection of interviews and discussions exhibited in this and prior editions of Some Smart People: Views and Lives may well serve to bridge this divide, highlighting samples of the various memberships for who they are, how they see the world, and where their expertise lies.

For those who find themselves posing the above questions, I encourage you to immerse yourselves in the passages that follow with a keen interest and genuine curiosity. In doing so, you will begin to arrive ever closer to the answers you seek.

Daniel Shea

September 6, 2024

Foreword by Rick Rosner

Scott Douglas Jacobsen, you’ve likely interviewed more high-IQ individuals than anyone else. Your impression of high-IQ people is probably among the most accurate and informed. My own impression is that high-IQ individuals come in the same varieties as everyone else, and this is supported by research to some extent.

Studies suggest that beyond an IQ of approximately 140, additional IQ points are not strongly correlated with greater productivity, happiness, or success. At that level, the cognitive advantages become less significant in practical terms, and these individuals experience many of the same struggles as the rest of the population. Similarly, those with IQs above 140 show the same diversity as everyone else: some are highly capable, some are average, and some are eccentric or even problematic.

Have I encountered eccentric individuals? Not directly, but examples like Keith Raniere come to mind. He was the leader of NXIVM, a fraudulent and abusive organization that also operated as a sex cult. Raniere’s intellect didn’t prevent him from being a manipulative and deeply flawed individual.

There are also high-IQ individuals I would describe as idealistic or perhaps deluded — possibly including myself — but to paraphrase popular culture: “High-IQ people — they’re just like us.”

The media has significant biases in reporting on many topics, and IQ is no exception. When IQ is reported, certain narratives tend to dominate. One common theme is schadenfreude: showcasing a high-IQ individual who is socially awkward, unsuccessful, or unhappy. The subtext of such stories is often, “You may wish you were extremely intelligent, but look at this person whose life is far from enviable — aren’t you glad you’re not them?”

There’s the child prodigy character in TV and movies, like Little Man Tate. With a 200 IQ, they’re capable of figuring out everything except the human heart — pure, innocent, longing for connection to other people. That’s Little Man Tate.

Then there’s the evil genius, which probably shows up more than any other archetype. It’s not always explicitly linked to IQ, but it’s the trope of the super brainy supervillain who thinks he’s better than everyone else. He’s resentful that his greatness hasn’t been acknowledged, so he decides to enact some grandiose scheme — like setting off nuclear weapons along the San Andreas Fault to trigger the largest earthquake in history. That’s from a James Bond villain from about 30 years ago, during the Roger Moore era.

So, there are lots of ways geniuses are presented in media.

I suppose you could argue that a society looking out for its geniuses is also looking out for other demographics. IQ testing was originally developed by Alfred Binet as a tool to ensure kids received appropriate educational resources. It worked on a scale of one to five: if you scored a one or a two, you needed additional support for slower learning; if you scored a four or a five, you needed enrichment opportunities.

America has been failing on this lately because certain political segments, like the Republicans, have cultivated a strategic disdain for public education. They’ve pushed to dismantle the Department of Education and privatize education, redirecting resources from public schools to private Christian schools and charter schools. This approach is terrible, and it’s bad for society.

I’d say a good society is the one we had in the 1970s — not perfect, but there was a major emphasis on public education after the Soviet Union appeared to outpace us technologically during the Space Race. That sparked a nationwide push to improve education. Public education was strong then, and that’s the kind of approach we need.

A decent society looks out for all its demographics.

2025-06-15

Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

https://in-sightpublishing.com/books/

Acknowledgements

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 2: Claus Volko, Deb Stone, Erik Haereid, Hasan Zuberi, Ivan Ivec, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Monika Orski, Rick Rosner

For Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7: Anas El Husseini, Aníbal Sánchez Numa, Anja Jae nicke, Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Anja Jaenicke, Beatrice Rescazzi, Bîrlea Cristian, Bob Wil liams, Christian Sorensen, Clelia Albano, Eivind Olsen, Erik Haereid, Gernot Feichter, Giuseppe Corrente, Glia Society Member #479, Graham Powell, Hakan E. Kayioglu, Heinrich Siemens, Justin Duplantis, Kishan Harrysingh, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Krystal Volney, Marios Prodromou, Mhedi Banafshei, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Monika Orski, Richard May (“May Tzu”/”MayTzu”/”Mayzi”), Sandra Schlick, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, and Tor Arne Jørgensen.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Foreword by Anja Jaenicke, Thinker Cum Arte

When Scott Douglas Jacobsen asked me some times ago, if I would like to do an interview with him I first didn’t know what to say.

Coming from a background of prominent actors, artists, and writers I had quite some experience in giving interviews to the very shiny, multicolored but vacuous yellow-press newspapers. As an introvert I have never enjoyed this kind of questioning about myself.

But after reading some of Scott’s work I felt so inspired that I immediately agreed.

His sensitive, and deeply humanistic approach to the people he interviews impressed me profoundly. As I went deeper into his writings I discovered in him a person on an anthropogenetic journey of the mind.

Scott’s collection of interviews can not only be seen as a very interesting insight into the capacity of the human intellect but also as a legacy of contemporary historic expressions, given by the highly intelligent community, who is often easily overheard by the noisy masses.

Scott collects the voices, and vibrant sparks of the high IQ people to be reflected in a hustling and bustling world.

At the time I entered the high IQ community many years ago, I wondered why most members where men and the few female individuals preferred to stay among themselves or did not want to participate actively at all. I asked myself if there are different kinds of intelligence?

A male XY intelligence driven by testosterone and the desire for competing in IQ testing competitions?

And a female more submissive XX intelligence with lots of oestrogen and the ability to nurture future high IQ males with milk? Well, there might be something to it?

But at the beginning we where One. DNA and RNA molecules of life devolved in droplets of water are one possibility for our later existence. Finally this would lead to the double helix, the two opposing strands, paired by hydrogen bonding on sugar phosphate.

Yes, we where there, we have seen it all from the beginning on, not as men and women but as a subconscious unity on the journey to knowledge and enlightenment.

Many millions of years later we have experienced the first intelligent women who decided to leave the trees and start the path of exploration, and discovery. She has been named Lucy.

Much later again the Greek philosopher Plutarch wrote to the Queen of Sparta:

“Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men?” And the Queen of Sparta answered: “Because we are the only ones that give birth to men”.

Over the centuries women have given very much proof of their intellectual abilities, in spite of being socially and religiously subdued, There are historical figures like Hypatia of Alexandria, or Nobel Laureates like Marie Curie, and her daughter Irene Joliot Curie, and many other. There are female artists, women scientists, and researchers, filmmakers, musicians philosophers, and humanists. Even though nature has, at some point divided us into men and women, we as a smart species should remember where we came from and that we have experienced the early cosmic events together. We all arrived at this point, in this space of time and it seems more important than ever to speak as one united intelligence with a manifold collection of ideas and philosophies, because the world is in desperate need of it.

My special thanks go to Scott Douglas Jacobsen for the opportunity of writing a foreword to this smart combination of chromosomes published in one book. This seventh edition of “Some Smart People — Views and Lives” is packed with many highly recommended contributions.

Among others the well respected Ladies who joint together in the Women of High Range Discussion. I hope you find this book as stimulating as I did.

Anja Jaenicke

Thinker cum Arte,

September 2. 2024

Foreword by ‘Dott.ssa in Ort. e Oft.,’ Beatrice Rescazzi

I’m happy to have been asked to write a foreword for this publication, but I must admit to a bit of disappointment that it is a special issue for women. When I think of myself, I think of an individ ual, a consciousness, a thinking mind. Everything else comes afterward: European, Italian, woman, middle-aged, cat lover, and so on. I fully understand that today, no matter what you say or do, you’re walking through a minefield: everything and its opposite seem to have become of fensive, so I understand the good intentions. Even though there’s no specific theme for this fore word, because of this dedicated space, the theme is actually “being a woman.” Therefore, I set aside my interests as an individual, such as technology, science, and art, and I’ll talk to you about “being a woman”.

Where is the equality in high-IQ societies? Why are there so few of us? Who represents us?

The short answer to the first question is: there isn’t any. I remember a few years ago, a group of young Afghan students passionate about robotics managed to flee to the United States just in time before the Taliban took over, and I wondered how many brilliant young women were forced to abandon their studies and live confined at home. These women certainly won’t be able to be part of a high-IQ society.

In my country, on the other hand, I’m fortunate that equality and equal opportunities are more or less guaranteed — at least for now.

So why are there not as many women as men in High-IQ Societies in the First World?

Before talking about equality, we need to talk about diversity: men and women have different in clinations, different goals, and different ways of perceiving the world, and this is a good thing. Evolution has shaped us differently to make us complementary and indispensable in the respec tive roles that our hominid ancestors had for millions of years to ensure our survival. It is no co incidence, for example, that women generally have developed greater communication skills, em pathy, and care, aimed at taking care of children, the weak, and the sick. Other seemingly insig nificant female traits, such as a broader perception of colors and smells, have been essential qual ities that allowed us to distinguish poisonous plants from edible ones, ripe fruits from unripe or rotten ones, and to survive.

Similarly, it is no coincidence that men generally have developed a greater propensity for risk, a stronger focus on specific goals, greater aggressiveness and competitiveness, along with a more muscular physique — elements suited for providing security to their village, hunting, and expand ing territory and resources for the benefit of us all.

Today, we have become refined citizens of complex societies, but our ancestral nature is still present. We are not as distant from cavemen as we like to think, nor from the animal world: many of our behaviors are also found among the respective males and females of other species. The desire and inclination of women to care for others is still present, and the inclination of men to explore and compete is also present, though these traits are expressed in modern activities. For example, I see competition as one of the reasons why there aren’t as many women interested in High IQ Societies, and instead, I see it as a driving force that could more strongly motivate men to take tests and compete with themselves and others.

I believe there may be another factor that reduces the number of women in High IQ Societies: although the average IQ score between men and women is the same (after all, we belong to the same species), it is possible that there is a difference in the distribution of IQ between the two sexes, as some studies suggest. Specifically, it seems that the bell curve of male intelligence dis tribution is more spread out and flattened, while the female curve has a higher peak in the central region. This means that among women, there are fewer individuals who are either very low or very high in intelligence, and more individuals with average intelligence. Among men, however, there are more individuals at the extremes — both lower and higher — and fewer individuals with average intelligence. It appears that the number of men with lower intelligence who need special education in school and later tutors in adulthood is indeed higher among the male population, but usually, more attention is given to the right side of the bell curve, where there may be more men than women to balance the average.

This different distribution between men and women could also have an evolutionary explanation: average intelligence is associated with balance and good judgment, which are beneficial for care giving, while deviations toward lower or higher intelligence on the bell curve are more likely to be linked to unstable characteristics and erratic behaviors, which may be more advantageous for risk-related activities.

In conclusion, the reason there aren’t many women in High IQ Societies could be, for women fortunate enough to live in First World countries, a lack of interest in competition and in topics that do not align with their aspirations, as well as a different IQ distribution that sees fewer women at both extremes of the bell curve (fewer women who are either very low or very high in intelligence). It is absolutely important to give everyone the opportunity to study and choose their path based on their aspirations and abilities, but it is also important not to believe that we are all exactly the same and to avoid forcing ourselves into impossible statistics. While many women today are free to choose to study physics, engineering, and computer science, it is not un common for them to still prefer becoming teachers, rehabilitators, or communicators due to their inclinations. I believe there will never be 50% of men choosing to become preschool teachers, just as there will never be 50% of women choosing to become construction workers. It is possi ble that there will never be 50% of women in High IQ Societies either, because even after guar anteeing rights and equality, there may still be other factors at play, such as those described above. Dignity, respect, and rights are not manifested by denying the intrinsic nature of each of us, but rather by celebrating those differences that have always allowed men and women to thrive on this planet.

Feminism has achieved a great deal for women, but today a part of it seems to work against women themselves. Victimhood, for example, contradicts the idea of empowerment. Some spe cial treatments being requested clash with the desire for equality. Mandatory gender quotas could undermine merit: the generally different inclinations between men and women lead to different choices in studies and specializations, resulting naturally in different percentages. The supposed need for representation everywhere, I consider a false problem: personally, I’ve never felt the need to find some idol to imitate who physically resembles me. When it comes to the figures who inspire me, they come from all types, races, sexes, and cultures, whether real or fictional. They don’t need to be women: what should be considered important and inspire people in figures from the past are their ethics, strength of character, courage, perseverance, ingenuity, and not what’s inside their underwear.

Everyone should aim to become their own source of inspiration, face adversity without expecting special treatment, and give their best without making sterile comparisons with others. In this way, one can demonstrate their own value through actions and contribute to society, each in their own unique way.

Foreword by Educator Clelia Albano

First of all I want to thank Scott Douglas Jacobsen for his commitment to promote scientific and humanistic knowledge. His publications, filled with a wide range of topics — from philosophy to robotic development, from arts and literature to physics, quantistic theories, spirituality and so forth — represent a precious contribution to contemporary cultural understanding. The essence of this tireless work rekindles the original unity of knowledge during the Renaissance, before sci ence and humanities were separated by the Industrial Revolution until a complete atomisation caused by the educational system itself.

Beside this, Jacobsen seems to be motivated by a sincere willingness to create a place, a sort of ideal world, built on the quest for equality between men and women and to highlight the pres ence of the high IQ women in the fascinating environment of the high IQ societies and organisa tions where the percentage of men prevails. This is a matter to be thought about. As I said in one of the interviews I gave Scott we should seriously consider if the difference (between the per centage of male people and the percentage of female people, ndr) is given by the fact that men might be more inclined to take the tests or not; it might be that men are more attracted to take the tests. In addition it might also depend on one of those held beliefs that still insinuates in the ped agogic paradigms the idea that women’s brain is structured for specific cultural fields. There was a time when maths was considered a discipline “for males”, for example.

Inside this issue, you will find four forewords written by four women respectively members of high IQ societies and a conspicuous number of insightful interviews. Just to mention at least a few topics: linguistic breaks, Norwegians of the High Range, women of the High-Range, sci ences earliest manifestations, egalitarianism, intellectual function and personality, spirituality, ethics and afterlife, childhood, philosophy, physics and metaphysics. There is certainly a com mon thread throughout the entire publication nourished by curiosity and the awareness that there is not an answer to everything.

Clelia Albano

Foreword by Poet and Author Krystal Volney

To introduce myself, my name is Krystal Volney and I’m a Sociologist, Computing and Public Relations graduate who has been the Co-Editor of the Phenomenon Magazine of the World Intel ligence Network since 2019. The Author of ‘Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7’ Scott Douglas Jacobsen, is a superb writer and Interviewer who is the Founder of In-Sight Publishing Journal. In this finely put together book, readers can view conversations between him and many High-IQ geniuses from interviews he conducted. The significance of the discussions is to demon strate the opinions of those people on various matters in life in the fields of Philosophy & Theol ogy, High-IQ societies and Intelligence generally.

To begin, the book provides conversations in the fields of Philosophy & Theology with Dr. Christian Sorensen, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Erik Haereid, an anonymous Canadian High-IQ Commu nity member, Richard May, Dr. Giuseppe Corrente, Dr. Heinrich Siemens, Paul Cooijmans, Mo hammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Kishan Harrysingh and Anibal Sanchez Numa. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, Philosophy is defined as ‘the use of reason and argument in seeking truth and knowledge of reality, esp. of the causes and nature of things and of the principles gov erning existence, the material universe, perception of physical phenomena, and human behavior’. The Webster Dictionary defines Theology as ‘the study of religious faith, practice and experi ence, especially the study of God and of God’s relation to the world’. Metaphysics (a branch of Philosophy to be more exact) is an interesting topic that was discussed with the Philosopher Dr. Christian Sorensen, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Richard May and Philosophy generally with Bob Wil liams, Kishan Harrysingh, Birlea Cristian and Scott Douglas Jacobsen in this publication. The topic of theology was explored with the geniuses Dr. Giuseppe Corrente, Dr. Heinrich Siemens, Richard May, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Kishan Harrysingh, Gernot Feichter, Anibal Sanchez Numa and Richard May. Therefore, it is valid to declare that in the book “Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7’, that Philosophy & Theology were vitally discussed between Scott Douglas Jacobsen and those selected scholars.

Additionally, this book contains conversations about various matters in life in the field of High IQ Societies. Intellects such as Beatrice Rescazzi, Anonymous Canadian High-IQ member, Erik Haereid, Eivind Olsen, Tor Arne Jorgensen, Anja Jaenicke, Monika Orski, Dr. Sandra Schlick, Anas El Husseini, Justin Duplantis, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Mhedi Banafshei, Hakan E. Kayioglu, Kishan Harrysingh, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Gernot Feichter, Birlea Cristian, Anibal Sanchez Numa, Richard May and Marios Prodromou had de tailed interviews with Scott Douglas Jacobsen concerning various IQ clubs and communities. The High-IQ Societies mentioned are the Mega Society, AtlantIQ Society, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (ISPE), Mensa Norway, Glia Society, Triple Nine Society and the World Genius Directory. Consequently, it is correct to state that in the publication of ‘Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7’, that the topic of High-IQ societies was sufficiently considered between the Interviewer and those chosen specialists.

Furthermore, this lovely book includes thoughts about the topic of Intelligence generally. Intel lects such as Anja Jaenicke, Erik Haereid, Eivind Olsen, Tor Arne Jorgensen, Beatrice Rescazzi, Monika Orski, Dr. Sandra Schlick, Dr. Christian Sorensen, Richard May, Dr. Giuseppe Corrente, Dr. Heinrich Siemens, Paul Cooijmans, Graham Powel, Anna Konnikova, Thomas J. Hally, Claus Volko, Greg A. Grove, Therese Waneck, Beaux Clemmons, Dr. Manahel Thabet, Karyn Huntting Peters, Marco Ripa, Alan Wing-Lun, Anas El Husseini, Kirk Kirkpatrick, Justin Du plantis, Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri, Mhedi Banafshei, Bob Williams, Hakan E. Kayioglu, Kishan Harrysingh, Tiberiu Nicolas Sammak, Anthony Sepulveda (Brown), Gernot Feichter, Birlea Cristian and Anibal Sanchez Numa demonstrated their views on life when asked by the Interviewer Scott Douglas Jacobsen. Thus, it is proper to assert that in the publication of ‘Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7’, that the topic of Intelligence was adequately discussed by the geniuses in their interviews.

To conclude, the book Some Smart People: Views and Lives 7 authored by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is great for leisure reading for bibliophiles and those in the High-IQ clubs. It truly demonstrates the genius of ‘some intelligent people’. Remarkable Job Scott!

Krystal Volney (Poet and Author)

2025-06-15

1206: Chaos and Freedom

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/17

It’s not chaos.

That’s apparency.

It’s freedom.

That’s reality.

2025-06-15

1205: Gender Wars? Inter- or Intra-

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/15

I see more intra-gender role policing happening. Men bullying men to ‘act like men’ and women almost tone policing each other for not being feminist enough.

2025-06-15

1204: Ice Spice

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/15

“I’m from the Bronx. So, there’s no one I trust.”

2025-06-15

1203: A By and Large Mirror

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/15

What you have seen in me, probably, is a reflection of yourself more than anything else?

2025-06-15

1202: Sacred Black Feminine

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/14

I retain a high level of skepticism around the metaphysical concepts as buttresses or counter-metaphysics grounded in alternative theology. Things can become sophisticated as smart feminists and others can take these as the narrative structures from within the faith rather than a secular alternative imposed forcefully from outside it. The ultimate reductio ad absurdum of a white, male God — preferably Dutch-Canadian? (I can dream) — is the image — literally — of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the mantles of some mom’s homes where the sons, more likely, point out that it’s a Star Wars caricature. The importantmotion is worship beyond oneself, while the larger anthropological point is that humanity has always characterized the gods in our images. The Christians and others have traditionally been at the forefront of a contemporary abstract, even mathematically and morally encoded Lawgiver and sustainer. As of now, that took a lot of work, though, from some very, very smart people. The Sacred Feminine isn’t anthropomorphic in its entirety, while not abstract completely abstract, either, as it would be the ‘Matriarchal Black Female.’ It’s an in-between method to provide theological interpretive justification for women’s equality in a faith. However, to invert and half-abstract from the white male god to the divine woman, the “Sacred Black Feminine,” is this not to commit the same error as the Caucasian Patriarch implied by some imagery of the faithful?

2025-06-15

1201: Senator Ireti Kingibe

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/14

2023

“If you look at the FCT, if you remove Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse 2, CBD and the airport road, there’s nothing… the development is zero.”

“I’m not interested in politics for money.”

“I see so much wrong; I see so much that can be improved on; and I also see that most of the people that have been in the National Assembly are more concerned about how much money they’re going to make as opposed to what can be done for the people.”

2024

“I’m willing to do everything to work with the Minister… as long as he apologises first for saying I should go and hang on a transformer.”

“The truth is that being a woman in the National Assembly is very, very, very hard. So I have to lobby for everything.”

“Since I became a senator, I have empowered 10,000 people.”

2025

“Executive overreach.”

“We cannot leave half the population behind — closing the gender gap could raise Nigeria’s GDP by 20 to 25%.”

“I didn’t come to the Senate for applause — I came as a minesweeper to clear the path for more women in governance.”

“If you’re not in the room, you’re not in the conversation. Women must be at the table where decisions are made.”

“This isn’t charity. We’re not asking for donations — we’re building investment-ready women.”

“When a woman’s business thrives, the family thrives, and so does the nation.”

“Women repay their loans at rates as high as 98% — because they understand what capital means for survival.”

“All female ministers are united. That alone is historic — and powerful.”

“The 35% inclusion bill isn’t a symbol — it’s a structural shift that would change everything.”

“Progress for Nigerian women has been slow, but now it’s measurable, and for the first time, unstoppable.”

“Zamfara’s governor surprised me — in a place least expected, we saw the most forward-thinking leadership.”

2025-06-15

1200: Michio Kaku

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/14

1994

“It is like using Scotch tape to pull together a mule, a whale, a tiger and a giraffe.”

“[T]he yeoman’s work in any science, and especially physics, is done by the experimentalist, who must keep the theoreticians honest.”

“In fact, it is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. Some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it, in fact, is that it is unquestionably correct.”

“Imagine the chaos that would arise if time machines were as common as automobiles, with tens of millions of them commercially available. Havoc would soon break loose, tearing at the fabric of our universe. Millions of people would go back in time to meddle with their own past and the past of others, rewriting history in the process. … It would thus be impossible to take a simple census to see how many people there were at any given time.”

“Srinivasa Ramanujan was the strangest man in all of mathematics, probably in the entire history of science. He has been compared to a bursting supernova, illuminating the darkest, most profound corners of mathematics, before being tragically struck down by tuberculosis at the age of 33… Working in total isolation from the main currents of his field, he was able to rederive 100 years’ worth of Western mathematics on his own. The tragedy of his life is that much of his work was wasted rediscovering known mathematics.”

1995

“It is sometimes helpful to differentiate between the God of Miracles and the God of Order. When scientists use the word God, they usually mean the God of Order. …The God of Miracles intervenes in our affairs, performs miracles, destroys wicked cities, smites enemy armies, drowns the Pharaoh’s troops, and avenges the pure and noble. …This is not to say that miracles cannot happen, only that they are outside what is commonly called science.”

“Mathematics… is the set of all possible self-consistent structures, and there are vastly more logical structures than physical principles.”

“Maxwell’s equations… originally consisted of eight equations. These equations are not ‘beautiful.’ They do not possess much symmetry. In their original form, they are ugly. …However, when rewritten using time as the fourth dimension, this rather awkward set of eight equations collapses into a single tensor equation. This is what a physicist calls ‘beauty.’”

“No other theory known to science [other than superstring theory] uses such powerful mathematics at such a fundamental level. …because any unified field theory first must absorb the Riemannian geometry of Einstein’s theory and the Lie groups coming from quantum field theory… The new mathematics, which is responsible for the merger of these two theories, is topology, and it is responsible for accomplishing the seemingly impossible task of abolishing the infinities of a quantum theory of gravity.”

“Remarkably, only a handful of fundamental physical principles are sufficient to summarize most of modern physics.”

2000

“For more than ten years, my theory was in limbo. Then, finally, in the late 1980s, physicists at Princeton said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with this theory. It’s the only one that works, and we have to open out minds to hyperspace.’ We weren’t destined to discover this theory for another 100 years because it’s so bizarre, so different from everything we’d been doing. We didn’t use the normal sequence of discoveries to get to it.”

“I got a four year scholarship to Harvard, and while I was there they wanted to groom me for work in the Star Wars program designing weapons ignited by hydrogen bombs. I didn’t want to do that. I thought about how many scientists had died in World War II.”

“A hundred years ago, Auguste Compte, … a great philosopher, said that humans will never be able to visit the stars, that we will never know what stars are made out of, that that’s the one thing that science will never ever understand, because they’re so far away. And then, just a few years later, scientists took starlight, ran it through a prism, looked at the rainbow coming from the starlight, and said: ‘Hydrogen!’ Just a few years after this very rational, very reasonable, very scientific prediction was made, that we’ll never know what stars are made of.”

“The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can’t measure it, then we say it probably doesn’t exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena that we may not be able to measure because they only happened once. For example, the Big Bang. … That’s one reason why they scoffed at higher dimensions for so many years. Now we realize that there’s no alternative…”

2003

“It would take a civilization far more advanced than ours, unbelievably advanced, to begin to manipulate negative energy to create gateways to the past. But if you could obtain large quantities of negative energy — and that’s a big ‘IF’ — then you could create a time machine that apparently obeys Einstein’s equation and perhaps the laws of quantum theory.”

2004

“Physicists are made of atoms. A physicist is an attempt by an atom to understand itself.”

2006

“It’s humbling to realise that the developmental gulf between a miniscule ant colony and our modern human civilisation is only a tiny fraction of the distance between a Type 0 and a Type III civilisation — a factor of 100 billion billion, in fact. Yet we have such a highly regarded view of ourselves, we believe a Type III civilisation would find us irresistible and would rush to make contact with us. The truth is, however, they may be as interested in communicating with humans as we are keen to communicate with ants.”

“Physicists often quote from T. H. White’s epic novel The Once and Future King, where a society of ants declares, ‘Everything not forbidden is compulsory.’ In other words, if there isn’t a basic principle of physics forbidding time travel, then time travel is necessarily a physical possibility. (The reason for this is the uncertainty principle. Unless something is forbidden, quantum effects and fluctuations will eventually make it possible if we wait long enough. Thus, unless there is a law forbidding it, it will eventually occur.)”

2008

“Sometimes the public says, ‘What’s in it for Numero Uno? Am I going to get better television reception? Am I going to get better Internet reception?’ Well, in some sense, yeah. … All the wonders of quantum physics were learned basically from looking at atom-smasher technology. … But let me let you in on a secret: We physicists are not driven to do this because of better color television. … That’s a spin-off. We do this because we want to understand our role and our place in the universe.”

“After that cancellation [of the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas, after $2 billion had been spent on it], we physicists learned that we have to sing for our supper. … The Cold War is over. You can’t simply say ‘Russia!’ to Congress, and they whip out their checkbook and say, ‘How much?’ We have to tell the people why this atom-smasher is going to benefit their lives.”

2009

“The Europeans and the Americans are not throwing $10 billion down this gigantic tube for nothing. We’re exploring the very forefront of physics and cosmology with the Large Hadron Collider because we want to have a window on creation, we want to recreate a tiny piece of Genesis to unlock some of the greatest secrets of the universe.”

2012

“If you could meet your grandkids as elderly citizens in the year 2100 … you would view them as being, basically, Greek gods… that’s where we’re headed.”

“The mind of God we believe is cosmic music, the music of strings resonating through 11 dimensional hyperspace. That is the mind of God.”

2023

“The hope is that one day the quantum theory will return the favor and find a way for quantum computers to cure this horrible disease.”

“When tediously computing the paths taken by a mouse in a maze, a digital computer has to painfully analyze each possible path, one after the other. A quantum computer, however, simultaneously analyzes all possible paths at the same time.”

“In quantum theory, before you look at a tree, it can exist in all possible states, such as firewood, lumber, ash, toothpicks, a house, or sawdust. However, when you actually look at the tree, all the waves representing these states miraculously collapse into one object, the ordinary tree.”

2025-06-15

1199: Productivity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

It’s important, but not for its sake: That & why, not just do.

Remember: “Never be clever for the sake of being clever.”

2025-06-15

1198: Edward Witten-ing

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

1987

“It is very possible that a proper understanding of string theory will make the space‑time continuum melt away … String theory is a miracle through and through.”

“Vibrating strings in 10 dimensions is just a weird fact … An explanation of that weird fact would tell you why there are 10 dimensions in the first place.”

“I don’t think that any physicist would have been clever enough to have invented string theory on purpose … Luckily, it was invented by accident.”

1992

“Quantum mechanics … developed through some rather messy, complicated processes stimulated by experiment. While it’s a very rich and wonderful theory, it doesn’t quite have the conceptual foundation of general relativity. Our problem in physics is that everything is based on these two different theories and when we put them together we get nonsense.”

“In Newton’s day the problem was to write something which was correct — he never had the problem of writing nonsense; but by the twentieth century … it’s difficult to do things which are even internally coherent, much less correct … that is one of the main reasons we are still able to make advances.”

“I think one has to regard it as a long‑term process. … One has to remember that string theory, if you choose to date it from the Veneziano model, is already eighteen years old … that quantum electrodynamic theory toward which Planck was heading [in 1900] took fifty years to emerge.”

“Most people who haven’t been trained in physics probably think of what physicists do as a question of incredibly complicated calculations, but that’s not really the essence of it … physics is about concepts, wanting to understand the concepts, the principles by which the world works.”

1995

“String theory is extremely attractive because gravity is forced upon us. All known consistent string theories include gravity, so while gravity is impossible in quantum field theory as we have known it, it is obligatory in string theory.”

1996

“It was clear that if I didn’t spend the rest of my life concentrating on string theory, I would simply be missing my life’s calling.”

“Even though it is, properly speaking, a post‑prediction — in the sense that the experiment was made before the theory — the fact that gravity is a consequence of string theory, to me, is one of the greatest theoretical insights ever.”

“Generally speaking, all the really great ideas of physics are really spin‑offs of string theory … Some of them were discovered first, but I consider that a mere accident of the development on planet Earth …”

“Good wrong ideas are extremely scarce … and good wrong ideas that even remotely rival the majesty of string theory have never been seen.”

1998

“M‑theory … a deeper, unique and more profound theory called ‘M‑theory,’ where M stands for magic, mystery, or membrane, according to taste.”

1999

“If supersymmetry plays the role in physics that we suspect it does, then it is very likely to be discovered by the next generation of particle accelerators … Discovery of supersymmetry would certainly give string theory an enormous boost.”

2003

“String theory is an attempt at a deeper description of nature by thinking of an elementary particle not as a little point but as a little loop of vibrating string.”

2006

“The greatest intellectual thrill of my life was learning that string theory could encompass both gravity and quantum mechanics.”

2010

“If I take the theory as we have it now, literally, I would conclude that extra dimensions really exist. They’re part of nature.”

2016

“I think consciousness will remain a mystery … I have a much easier time imagining how we understand the Big Bang than I have imagining how we can understand consciousness.”

2017

“Physics in quantum field theory and string theory somehow has a lot of mathematical secrets in it, which we don’t know how to extract in a systematic way.”

2019

“I’ve come to terms with the landscape idea and the sense of not being upset about it, as I was for many years.”

“… I’ve come to believe that the whole ‘it from qubit’ stuff — the relation between geometry and entanglement — is the most interesting direction.”

“The intimate tie between math and physics seems to be a fact of life. I can’t imagine what it would mean to explain it.”

2025-06-15

1197: Pope Francis

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

(2013) “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

(2023) “Being homosexual is not a crime. It is not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

(2024) “There is already an air of frociaggine [in seminaries].” (Vatican issued apology.)

–

(2020) “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God… What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

(2016) “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”
–

(2015) “Jesus is the only door to enter the Kingdom of God.”

–

(2014): “The Church does not change her teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.”

(2016) “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments.”

–

(2013): “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.”

(Various) “The Church is born to evangelize.” (Quoting Paul VI)
–

(2013): “Such an economy [Capitalist] kills.”

(2023) “I do not condemn capitalism… I am in favor of what John Paul II defined as a social economy of the market.”
–

(2015) “It’s not true that to be a good Catholic ‘you have to be like rabbits.’ Instead ‘responsible parenthood’ requires that couples regulate the births of their children.”

(2015): “A society with a greedy generation, that doesn’t want to surround itself with children, that considers them a burden… is a depressed society. Opting not to have children is a selfish choice.”

–

(2022): “There is no such thing as a just war: They do not exist!”

(2022): “I am close to the suffering women and men who are defending their land” (Ukraine).

–

(2017) “Abortion understood as the quest to eliminate a human being is always a murder.”

(2024) “Both [candidates] are against life, both the one who throws out migrants and the one who kills children.” (Paraphrase)

–

(2015) “You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity.”

–

(2013) “If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them?”

(2015) “Let’s think of… the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation.”

–

(2023) “There is a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude in the U.S. church, which is backward.”

(2023): “The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong.”

2025-06-15

1196: By Dent of The Fair Maiden of Joy

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

An old friend once lost his virginity to the same girl who deflowered another friend.

They were drunk.

They did the act.

Then a thud.

Next morning, apparently, there was a forehead indentation.

The Fair Maiden of Joy fell off, on top,

clocked her fair head on the side table.

The head was done,

as well as the deed.

Two sonflowers left,

stem, root, and leaf.

2025-06-15

1195: “You could’ve shot your shot, Scott!”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

That’s on the assumption that that would be preferable.

2025-06-15

1194: Winen

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

More women seem akin to satin than silk in contour and in texture of character.

2025-06-15

1193: Joan Rivers

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

“I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”

“I hate thin people: ‘Oh, does the tampon make me look fat?’”

“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”

“I wish I had a twin, so I could know what I’d look like without plastic surgery.”

“My love life is like a piece of Swiss cheese; most of it’s missing, and what’s there stinks.”

“The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider it.”

“You know you’ve reached middle age when you’re cautioned to slow down by your doctor, instead of by the police.”

“When a man has a birthday, he takes a day off. When a woman has a birthday, she takes at least three years off.”

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.”

“The fashion magazines are suggesting that women wear clothes that are ‘age appropriate’. For me that would be a shroud.”

“At my funeral, I want Meryl Streep crying in five different accents.”

“I don’t exercise. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.”

“The only time a woman has a true orgasm is when she is shopping.”

“Diets, like clothes, should be tailored to you.”

“I think I’m in a business where you have to look good, and it’s totally youth‑oriented.”

“Life is very tough. If you don’t laugh, it’s tough.”

“I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door — or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.”

“A lot of downs. A lot of ups. I’m still standing.”

“I lecture on suicide because things turn around. I tell people this is a horrible, awful dark moment, but it will change and you must know it’s going to change and you push forward. I look back and think, ‘Life is great, life goes on. It changes.’”

2025-06-15

1192: Dr. Elinor Greenberg

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

“Borderline Personality Disorder began as a healthy adaptation to an unhealthy home situation. Becoming Borderline was the lesser of two evils.”

“People with BPD have trouble being alone because they never internalized the ability to soothe themselves.”

“Narcissists need a constant supply of validation from other people in order to feel good about themselves.”

“Narcissists are unable to regulate their self-esteem without ongoing external validation.”

“Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is the name for a series of coping strategies that began as an adaptation to a childhood family situation that left the person with unstable self-esteem, the inability to regulate their self-esteem without external validation, and low empathy.”

“People with SPD do feel emotions. They actually feel more emotions than they can handle.”

“Everyone I know with SPD has yearned for a close, safe, intimate, and loving relationship. The problem is that they do not feel safe around other people. They have no basic trust.”

“Gestalt therapy is a present-centered, lively psychotherapeutic approach that was developed in the 1950s by Frederick S. Perls and his wife Laura Perls.”

2025-06-15

1191: Maternal Death in Nigeria Linked to Blood Transfusion Refusal Sparks Medical Ethics Investigation

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/13

The leading cause of global maternal death: Postpartum hemorrhage. One woman dies every six minutes. In 2023, 700 women died per day from preventable pregnancy‑related causes. Nigeria’s maternal‑mortality ratio is more than 800 per 100,000 live births. Obstetric hemorrhage is a principal driver. Timely transfusion reduces hemorrhage and fatality by up to 90%. (Exact quantification is complex.)

Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret biblical injunctions uniquely. The “abstain from blood” injunction means a biblical prohibition of transfusion of whole blood and its primary components. Transfusion is a sin. Jehovah’s Witnesses can be disfellowshipped. Members may choose to select minor derivatives. Adult Witnesses can carry advance‑directive cards refusing blood. Clinicians sit in complex medical and legal situations in medical emergencies.

May 10, 2025, 33-year-old Victoria Paris died of postpartum hemorrhage. She was not a Jehovah’s Witness. She died in the Standard Maternity Hospital, Borikiri, Port Harcourt. The owner, a purported Jehovah’s Witness, refused a blood transfusion. The Rivers State Government reportedly sealed the facility within 24 hours.

A full investigation is pending. A national debate ensued on imposing religious convictions when lives are at stake. Paris was pregnant with a fifth child and experienced abdominal pain. Relatives took her to the Standard Maternity Hospital in Borokiri.

She had delivered children there earlier. Surgeons performed an emergency cesarean section. She lost blood. She needs atransfusion. Chris Adams, the husband or brother-in-law (reports differ), claimed the proprietor of the hospital refused to order blood.

Their version of the Jehovah’s Witness faith forbade this procedure. During surgery, the power failed. This may delay care. Family members transferred Paris to a second facility. She was declared dead on arrival.

On May 11, 2025, the Rivers State Anti-Quackery Committee conducted an unscheduled inspection led by Dr. Vincent Wachukwu from the Ministry of Health. The theatre was sealed, and staff were ordered to cease operations.

The Committee claimed “suspected professional negligence and breach of the Rivers State Private Health‑Care Facilities Regulation Law.” They claimed: Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and police homicide detectives would join the investigation.

Victim‑support groups are pressing for criminal negligence or manslaughter charges. Permitted in Nigerian law if a “person’s omission to act” causes death (Criminal Code §303). The clinic is licensed as a Level B private maternity centre at №2 Captain Amangala Street, Borikiri.

The Anti-Quackery team cautioned the same facility in 2024 for inadequate record-keeping and was placed on probationary status. Nigerian guidelines (MDCN 2016) require physicians to provide every reasonable emergency measure. Personal beliefs should not interfere.

Refusal can mean harm. This can constitute professional misconduct. Courts compelled transfusions for minors, upholding adult autonomy. The doctor refused Paris. There was no documented patient consent, thus raising liability questions.

With files from Elanhub, Legit NG, OtownGist, The Trumpet NG, Intel Region, GistReel, HettysMedia, Rivers State Anti‑Quackery Committee (X/Instagram), WHO fact‑sheets and academic articles on Jehovah’s Witness transfusion ethics.

2025-06-15

1190: TikTok Journey

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/12

Why are so many on TikTok ‘on a journey’?

2025-06-15

1189: Steve Hassan (Started It)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/12

“Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process that involves a set of basic social psychological principles.”

“I thought I was being my true self, but I was really being a small Sun Myung Moon, thinking like him, feeling like him, walking like him, talking like him.”

“Destructive individuals and cults use deception and undue influence to make people dependent and obedient.”

“Psychotherapy/educational cults, which have enjoyed great popularity, purport to give the participant ‘insight’ and ‘enlightenment.’ Commercial cults play on people’s desires to make money. They typically promise riches but actually enslave people, and compel them to turn money over to the group. None of these destructive cults deliver what they promise and glittering dreams eventually turn out to be paths to psychological enslavement.”

“News items are excellent for eliciting fear and inculcating phobias. Cult leaders like to tell members about floods, earthquakes, fires, famines, plagues, and wars — as proof that the last days have arrived.”

“Certitude is not evidence of truth. Nor does repetition make it true. If anything, repetition should make you suspicious. Truth always stands up to scrutiny on its merits.”

“We also looked at confirmation bias — how our minds filter and select information that confirms our own point of view, and dismiss information that does not fit in or negates it. And confirmation bias is certainly not limited to cults. We basically see and hear what we want to, whether we realize it or not, and rationalize away what does not fit our preconceptions and predictions.”

“So, what we’re talking about with mind control is a creation of a pseudo-self that suppresses your real self.”

“Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority.”

2025-06-15

1188: Historical and Contemporary Controversies in Langley, British Columbia

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/12

Foundation of the British Columbia Firmament

The Father of British Columbia, Sir James Douglas, is worshipped in the community where I grew up. Not for nothing, he had achievements, but he had a mixed history in numerous ways. He had a “mixed history” as HBC Chief Factor and colonial governor. He granted monopolistic privileges to his company and family.

This mixed public office and private profit. He imposed property-based voting qualifications, excluding full representation. He set forth unfair First Nations treaties. The Douglas Treaties were signed on blank sheets, with terms inserted afterward — an unusual practice. Unilaterally, these were later signed, resulting in Indigenous signatories having land cessions that were not fully known.

He had a heavy-handed gold rush policy with licensing schemes and delayed enforcement during the Fraser Canyon conflict. These failed to protect Indigenous communities. Violence and village burnings ensued. He recruited black Californian settlers for political loyalty. It was opportunistic rather than principled efforts for the enfranchisement of blacks. He was from Guyana. A fascinating history to learn about one’s happenstance of contingent past circumstances: his contemporary presentation is not an exercise in false equivalence. It is about a united duality of positive and negative valence.

The living recent history reflects this mixed history in Fort Langley, out of Langley, with the crossovers between hipster intellectual farmers and well-educated, well-off Evangelical Christians, Trinity Western University, and the political shenanigans of Christians here impacting the federal level of the country. I wanted to cover some of this controversial recent history, as having a singular reference for some of the township’s more noteworthy shenanigans. For clarity, I speak as a former member of one of the heritage committees of an association in Fort Langley and another for the Township of Langley. I can say, “Heritage matters to Langleyites.” As an elder Euro-Canadian lady told me on the committee, a fellow committee member, it was in a sharp snarl once at a meeting, “I know who you are.” These were not isolated events throughout my life while growing up and through there. So it goes.

The contemporary Evangelical Christian story in Fort Langley began with a sexual misconduct allegation of the longest-standing university president in Canadian history: 2005–2006 with former university president Neil Snider. I would rather this not be the case, but it is the history. Something worth repeating.

2005–2015: Institutional Unease and Image Discipline

He had the longest tenure of any Canadian university president — 32 years–and greatly grew Trinity Western University (TWU) in its early decades. That is a testament to his prowess as an administrator of resources and an inspirer of people at the time. In their terminology, he had the Holy Spirit in him.

Unfortunately, an uncomfortable truth was his retirement in 2006 following sexual misconduct allegations. Internal reports from TWU and contemporary media reviews questioned the administrative decisions around this. The community is embarrassed by it and tries to cover it up. I understand that part. It happens with clergy-related abuse cases too: Institutional protection. However, as one colleague’s mom who worked with him said to me, in a way to excuse it, “He was lonely,” because either his wife died or he was divorced. I leave considerations of the elasticity of excuse-making to the reader.

ChristianWeek’s “Trinity Western Resolves Human Rights Complaint” documented the 2005 human rights complaint against Snider. The settlement impacted subsequent policy reviews. Former faculty interviews showed early signs of institutional unease. Evangelical leaders have undergone these scandals.

A CAUT Report, “Report of an Inquiry Regarding Trinity Western University,” examined the requirement for faculty to affirm the religious Covenant. You can see TWU’s current Community Covenant. William Bruneau and Thomas Friedman examined the requirement for faculty to affirm the Covenant and possible impacts on academic hiring and free speech. Case studies and personal accounts of faculty are incorporated. It is a referenced report in academic discussions on religion and academia in Canada.

University Affairs via “A test of faith at Trinity Western” provided an analytic retrospective of early administrative policies, linking them to later legal challenges–more on that in 2016–2018. Christian universities seem highly conscious of their public image, because they theologically see themselves as at odds with the secularist world. For example, in 2011, the Institute for Canadian Values funded an advertisement opposing LGBTI-inclusive education, which was supported by the Canada Christian College. It was published by the National Post and later by the Toronto Sun. A national backlash happened. An apology ensued — a retraction happened by the Post, but not by the Sun.

2005–2015 was a busy few years. Ex-administrators and archival internal memos showed dissent regarding mandatory religious practices. Similar controversies happen in religious universities in Canada, all private, all Christian. The largest is Evangelical, and the largest is TWU, in Langley. After trying to get many interviews with professors and dissenting students in the community, the vast majority declined over many years of journalistic efforts, and a few agreed to a coffee conversation to express opinions. Most opinions dissent from the norm of TWU while affirming the difficulties for the faith with these straight-and-narrow executives, who are not reined in, reign with impunity, and rain neglect on their community’s inner Other.

2016–2018: The Covenant and the Courts

Circa 2016, some online commentators mentioned how they felt “bad for the kids that realize they’re not straight” at TWU as “Coming out is hard,” and “it’s crazy that people still want to go to this school.” A former student acknowledged some student support for LGBTI peers while warning many feel “quite ostracized” by an “unspoken aura” repressing non-Christian views. An LGBTI student may have to “repress their urges based on a stupid covenant.”

Other online forums include a former student union leader noting the “community covenant is outdated” even by 2013, while another urged the university to rethink the Covenant. Saying there is a “thriving rape culture,” “I know more than five girls who were raped [at TWU], who didn’t report it because they believed they would be shamed and not taken seriously.”

Maclean’s in “The end of the religious university?” talked about the long-standing interest in the national debate around religious mandates in higher education and the central role of TWU. These controversies about academic freedom following Snider’s resignation would echo some other community elements there. BBC News commented that Canada approved a homophobic law school in 2013. This would eventually evolve poorly for TWU and reflect terribly on the surrounding community.

Xtra Magazine’s “The Painful Truth About Being Gay at Canada’s Largest Christian University” featured a series of robust testimonies from current and former students on systemic discrimination. The magazine also examined campus surveys, student blogs, and some student activist groups, with a case study of academic panels addressing LGBTI issues within religious institutions. The Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision on TWU’s Law School accreditation in 2018. It was analyzed by legal journals and cited in academic papers. Those looked to religious mandates and the tensions with legal equality.

CBC News in “Trinity Western loses fight for Christian law school as court rules limits on religious freedom ‘reasonable’” provided a comprehensive timeline of developments with constitutional lawyer and civil rights advocacy commentary. Other commentaries looked at policy adjustments following from institutions. The Tyee chimed into the discussion with “Trinity Western University Loses in Supreme Court,” with some parables into the personal narratives on campus, more timeline events, and a more important emphasis on the long-term impact on the reputation of TWU.

Knowing some minority facets of dynamics in this community, many will slander others and lie to protect themselves, particularly their identity as represented via the incursion of Evangelical Orthodoxy into the community via the university. This small township’s controversies went to the Supreme Court of Canada. They lost in a landslide decision, 7–2. The Vancouver Sunhad various coverage, with international critiques comparing TWU’s controversy to European and Australian scandals. Regardless, TWU brought global spotlight on a small township, a tiny town.

Global human rights organizations gave commentary. TWU dropped the Community Covenant as mandatory, but only for students, while staff, faculty, and administration maintained it. A TWU student asserted on Reddit:

TWU student here. The only two reasons why the Board of Governors chose to drop the Covenant for students is because a) The recent court ruling, and b) Their other professional programs (counselling, nursing, and teaching) received letters from their respective accrediting bodies which threatened to pull accreditation unless the Covenant was amended or discarded.

TWU’s decision to make signing the Covenant voluntary for students has nothing to do with morality or human rights, but everything to do with their business model. Keep in mind, the faculty still must sign the pledge, and TWU’s mission and mandate of producing “godly Christian leaders” has not changed.

The next era was 2019–2021.

2019–2021: Cultural Stagnation Despite Legal Losses

Xtra Magazine in “I am queer at Trinity Western University. What will it take for my university to listen to me?” provided a more individual story. Carter Sawatzky wrote, “TWU’s decision in 2018 to make the Covenant non-mandatory for students also did not magically change the discriminatory treatment of queer people. After TWU’s 2018 Supreme Court loss, many folks, including myself, had hoped that TWU would finally demonstrate that it can be rooted in faith and radically loving and welcoming. Instead, TWU has doubled down on its social conservatism, at the expense of queer students like myself.” An international scandal and Supreme Court defeat did not change the culture or the school. That is instructive.

Another instructive moment was a student suicide attempt followed by an expulsion of the student. In “Her university expelled her after she attempted suicide, saying she had an ‘inability to self-regulate.’ Now she is fighting back,” the Toronto Star presented the case of a student showing broader systemic issues and a lack of mental health resources and policy failures within TWU. TWU claimed otherwise. Mental health professionals and relatives of students commented. As CBC has noted, mental health on campuses has been a point of concern for a while.

2021–2025: Repression, Image, and Intimidation

Langley is a township where I am told the murder of the famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair was merciful. An older gentleman saying, “Her murder was an act of mercy.” Langley Advance Timesin “Private Langley University rejects LGBTQ+ event request” reported denying an event request, One TWU Stories Night, for an LGBTI group, One TWU. Carter Sawatzky said, “We are sharing our stories, which I think should be a non-controversial thing… It is not a contradiction. You can be queer and Christian… Many people come to TWU and have never heard an LGBTQ story.” That is a reasonable statement. A One TWU piece published on its site claims homophobia is rampant on campus.

CBC News reported on the manslaughter conviction of a TWU security guard. “Former guard at B.C. university found guilty of manslaughter” reported a Fall 2020 event involving “a man wearing all black” who wandered into student residences, rifling through their things. Security guard Howard Glen Hill hit the man, Jack Cruthers Hutchison, “in the head, pulled his hair and spat on him.” Police arrived: Hill was “in a neck restraint, limp and unresponsive. He died in the hospital two days later.” Hutchison was charged with manslaughter. TWU’s statement: “The university has no comment on the court ruling. TWU’s commitment has always been to safeguard our campus community, and we continue to provide a safe place of learning for all our students.”

Langley Union, in “Trinity Western University President’s Son Linked to Prolific White Nationalist Account,” investigated digital forensic evidence of the son of the President of TWU linked to a White Nationalist online account. The son’s actions should be considered separate from the father’s and the institutions. However, they are striking news.

The accounts claimed, among other assertions, “I believe in a white future. An Aryan future. A future where my children will make Indian Bronson shine our shoes. Where brown people cannot secure a line of credit, Black people pick cotton. We will win — this is what we fight for,” and “I am a colonialist. I make no effort to hide this. I believe in worldwide white supremacy.”

The Nelson Star reported in “‘Alt-right’ group uses Fort Langley historic site as meeting place” on the use of the local pub in Fort Langley as a meeting place for a public, so known and self-identified White Nationalist group. As one former boss noted, “I don’t know what is wrong with we the white race.” That is a sentiment, not an organization, however. This microcosm reflects a broader history of Canadian sociopolitics with race and religion, some Evangelicals and occasional allegations of racialism if not racism.

TWU’s policy is Inclusive Excellence. “We aim to promote a consistent atmosphere of inclusion and belonging at TWU by establishing a shared commitment to diversity and equity founded in the gospel’s truth. Christ came to save, reconcile, and equip all people (Rev. 7:9), and the incredible array of gifts God has given us is evidence of his creativity, beauty, and love of diversity,” it states. An administrator is reported to have said informally that the event was ‘not in line with Evangelical values.’

In the States, a trend in international Evangelical higher education is here too. Bob Jones University banned interracial dating until 2000, involving federal funding and accreditation debates. In Australia, Christian colleges faced scrutiny for policies excluding LGBTI+ students and staff. Faith-based codes and equality laws produced tensions in the United Kingdom, though less prominently than in Canada. Those American churches want to influence Canada in Indigenous communities. Some Canadian churches have Ojibwe pastors, for example.

A Medium (Xtra) post entitled “The painful truth about being gay at Canada’s largest Christian university” commented on the experience of a gay student, Jacob.’ As peers messaged Jacob on suspicion of him being gay, “We hate everything about you and you better watch your back because we are going to kill you on your way to school.” At TWU ‘Jacob,’ said, “I loved the community here so much that I did not want to jeopardize those relationships.” That is called a closet.

Another student, Corben, from Alberta at TWU, said, “My parents, I think, kind of wanted Trinity to be for me sort of like reparative therapy, which is why they would only help financially with this school.” Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put forth a move to end Conversion Therapy, a discredited pseudotherapy to change sexual orientation and gender identity. Conversion therapy has been banned in Malta (2016), Germany (2020), France (2022), Canada (2022), New Zealand (2022), Iceland (2023), Spain (2023), Mexico (2024), Greece (2024), and Belgium (2024). That is only TWU, however. The community of Langley, specifically Fort Langley, where I was raised, is substantively linked to this place.

Langley Advance Times in “Blackface photo in 2017 Chilliwack yearbook sparks apology from school principal” reported on a blackface incident at a local school. It was part of a “mock trial.” So, bad taste in community, and the excuse for Snider’s example will likely do the same in this case over term. There are several cases of sexual misconduct cases in British Columbiaand Canada. The Archdiocese of Vancouver was the first in Canada to publicly name clergy involved in sexual abuse and decades of abuse. At the same time, other prominent cases have arisen, including Michael Conaghan, Damian Lawrence Cooper, and Erlindo Molon, highlighting a pattern of clerical sexual exploitation and inadequate accountability in British Columbia. I would rather this not be the case, but it is the history.

In 2022, a TWU dean resigned amid pressure over her work on gender issues. One Reddit–and all Reddit commentary should be considered additions, while anecdotal at best–user described how TWU leaders had “tried to make her leave her position as dean because she… stated she was an lgbtq+ ally,” then issued bureaucratic statements of grief based on her departure.

Living there, these excuses likely flowed through social media. At the same time, community intimidation happens, too. It is bad for the community image and bad for the business. People have an interest in narrative morphing. As gay students find at TWU, and as outsiders as others find in the general community, it is mostly not about moral stances, but about image maintenance and business interests. Money matters because it is a well-to-do area of the country and a wealthy nation worldwide. There is regular township nonsense where the Fort Langley Night Market gets closed down due to vandalism and alcohol.

Ongoing online conversations about TWU degree quality continue, “So before those say ‘it’s an immigration scam’, it’s not and is essentially useless towards immigrating/coming to Canada. With that said, most of TWU’s programs are also useless to use towards immigrating, even if studied in person, because any non-degree program from a private school does not allow one to apply for a PGWP. However, it offers a couple of degree programs that can result in a PGWP.”

Brandon Gabriel and Eric Woodward have been at loggerheads for at least a decade. If you look at the original history, this reflects another fight between an Indigenous leader and the colonial presence in its history. Now, they are a local artist and developer, respectively. Woodward has a camp of supporters for development and a camp of detractors. Another mixed figure in the contemporary period of Langley. Over development concerns and pushback, Woodward got a building painted pink in protest at one point. It is a serious township history full of a minority of loud, silly people imposing their nonsense on a smaller group of innocent bystanders.

Whether LGBTI discrimination ensconced at its university, a blackface principal, homophobia, this isn’t unusual in a way. A constellation of apparent White Nationalist superminority undercurrents popping up, and with worship of a founder in a democracy who was a mixed-race colonialist timocrat married to a Cree woman, it’s a story of a Canadian town and municipality. A tale of how foundational myths, when left unexamined, morph into social realities.

Welcome to Langley–a light introduction: Home, sorta.

2025-06-15

1187: Only the Driver was Late

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/12

I had a friend as a young person.

A bunch of us would fart around,

being silly jackasses, doing a whole lot of nothing, in a town,

of nothing but jackasses. Kings of their dungpile.

Some started driving.

Some started drinking.

One didn’t drink one night, the passenger.

Another did drink, the driver, that night.

They drove fast.

Only the driver survived.

Which one are you, the dead or the living?

2025-06-15

1186: Pregnant Woman Victoria Paris Dies After Alleged Blood Transfusion Refusal by Jehovah’s Witness Doctor in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11

Victoria Paris died during childbirth on May 10, 2025, at Standard Maternity Clinic in Borokiri Church Hill in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Paris was seven months pregnant. She was rushed to the Standard Maternity Clinic in Port Harcourt. She was having severe abdominal pains and underwent a Cesarean section. However, she suffered blood loss. This necessitated a transfusion. The purported Jehovah’s Witness doctor allegedly refused the transfusion. The reason reported was religious beliefs. Subsequently, Victoria died. Her brother-in-law or husband (reports differ), Chris Adams, accused the hospital of negligence. There was a power outage during surgery. The claim was this forced reliance on a generator. Adams claimed the family was misled into signing the consent form.

No official statements have been made since May 11, 2025.

Based on a select interpretation of biblical passages, some more stringent Jehovah’s Witnesses find themselves in genuine theological dilemmas in healthcare. These moral quandaries can lead to patients refusing treatment or doctors declining patients treatment at other times. The Victoria Paris case is unusual, but it did lead to a death, and many other cases exist.

Ethics for physicians include providing life-saving care overriding personal beliefs. Infrastructure deficiencies can exist in many places worldwide, including power outages. Informed consent is important. If the allegations are true, the family’s informed consent prior to signing was violated to some extent. All information is based on secondary source files or secondary news reports (Intel Region, Legit.ng, Gistlover).

With files from Intel Region, Legit.ng, Gistlover.

2025-06-15

1185: “I thought he might be a faggot.”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11

He was older, 50s.

He was Euro-Canadian, ‘white’ or Caucasian in features.

He had a checkered, uncertain past, crustiness to him.

Blue-collar background, a working class demeanour and scent,

and good at pool.

Civil with younger men.

He was a military guy.

His sensibility about a man who he labelled internally under the category Unknown was straightforward,

using an epithet under the pretense of a descriptor:

“I thought he might be a faggot.”

Spring, 2024.

2025-06-15

1184: “Her murder was an act of mercy.”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11

A Christian who I knew one time.

When the murder of a famed atheist woman was raised,

he only had one thing to say,

“Her murder was an act of mercy.”

She was murdered physically by an atheist, ironically,

and memorially by a Christian.

Both seem goodless.

2025-06-15

1183: Hanging Around High School

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11

I had a friend from elementary school. I came from a small elementary school.

Lots of regular kid stuff. She was best friends with another girl.

We didn’t have middle school,

or middle school was merged with some of elementary school and some of high school.

We got to high school. Our new school and new year began.

Just as all this “new” was in the fore, we all got another new, except her — in another direction.

We got a new life chapter. She never turned the page.

She killed herself.

2025-06-15

1182: -Up and -Down, Restaurant Break-

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11

I was in the dishpit at one restaurant one time,

in an evening shift.

A line cook got a text.

She went out back and started crying, crying, punching the wall,

“This hurts so fucking much. I fucking hate this.”

She had an hour or two left in her shift, and we were still in peak time.

She went out back to the break balcony. I followed, knocked the wall, asked if she wanted to talk.

The deal was,

her partner cheated on her and the text informed her of this.

We talked a bit. I asked if she could finish her shift early.

She came back inside.

She finished her shift.

2025-06-15

1181: Donald Trump Jr.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/10

“We gotta remember guys. Twitter is not real life. Like I said, Twitter is not real life. The rest of the country is a little different.”

2025-06-15

1180: YouTube-Level Political Gaslighting

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/10

To call the Left “Nazis,” or frame the German Left as Nazis, when the enormous weight of corpses and contemporary political analyses note the German Nazis as Right-wing, congratulations, you’ve taken on the tactics of abusers: Gaslighting.

You care naught for the history or the dead, but about scoring political points for personal gain.

2025-06-15

1179: AfD: “gesichert rechtsextremistische Bestrebung”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/10

German intelligence agencies rank the AfD with neo-Nazi groups as a Gefahr für die Demokratie (danger to democracy).

May, 2025…: German intelligence agencies connected the AfD to extreme-right ideology. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) report stressed AfD’s ethnisch-abstammungsmäßiges Volksverständnis(ethnically defined concept of “the people”) as violating democratic order–seeking to exclude entire groups. AfD characterized as a “racist and anti-Muslim” organization, e.g., slogans like Abschieben schafft Wohnraum(“deportation creates housing”) and Jeder Fremde mehr in diesem Land ist einer zu viel (“each more foreigner is one too many”). These are listed as evidence of dehumanizing language. BfV President Thomas Haldenwang called this “a good day for democracy.” A history exists here too.

…March, 2022: a Cologne court upheld the BfV’s classification of the AfD and its youth wing as a Beobachtungsobjekt (Verdachtsfall) (suspected extremist organization), finding ausreichende tatsächliche Anhaltspunkte für verfassungsfeindliche Bestrebungen– “sufficient factual indications of anti-constitutional aims.” The BfV 1,100-page report filled the extremism criteria.

Late 2023: Bavarian prosecutors opened investigations into newly elected AfD MP Daniel Halemba for possible use of Nazi symbols. He previously belonged to a student fraternity raided for Nazi paraphernalia.

December, 2023: Several state Verfassungsschutz offices flagged AfD branches. Saxony’s domestic intelligence classified the Saxony AfD as gesichert rechtsextremistisch. Saxony’s VS president Dirk-Martin Christian said, “…an der rechtsextremistischen Ausrichtung der AfD Sachsen bestehen keine Zweifel mehr” (“there is no longer any doubt about AfD Saxony’s right-extremist orientation”) The party held typische völkisch-nationalistische Positionen (“typical folk-nationalist positions”) and used common anti-Semitic conspiracy language. These mirrored Nazi-era rhetoric. Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt earlier flagged local AfD branches as extremist as well.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) called the intelligence review legal and independent with the result of a 1,100-page internal report being apolitical. The new classification permitted intensified surveillance, including deployment of informants and interception of communication.

May, 2024: German courts have penalized AfD members for Nazi-linked speech. Halle state court convicted Thuringia AfD leader Björn Höcke for using SA slogan “Alles für Deutschland!”

2025: Two Saarland AfD local councillors liked a Facebook post celebrating Hitler’s birthday. Authorities launched a Volksverhetzung (incitement) probe and party expulsion proceedings.

Leading German politicians likened the AfD to fascism and Nazi extremism. SPD Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned protesters in 2024: Wer die AfD aus Protest wählt, dem müsse klar sein, dass sie Faschisten wählten. (“Anyone who votes AfD out of protest must be aware that they are voting for fascists.”) SPD leader Lars Klingbeil accused AfD co-leader Alice Weidel of heading a rechtsextreme Partei… die AfD ist durchsetzt auch mit Nazis in Europa. (“the AfD is also filled with Nazis in Europe.”) Former SPD head Sigmar Gabriel compared hearing AfD rhetoric to his Nazi-father: Alles, was die [AfD] erzählen, habe ich schon gehört — im Zweifel von meinem eigenen Vater, der … ein Nazi war. Green and Linke politicians made similar warnings. Expert commentators warned of Nazi parallels.

German officials and courts drew a direct line between AfD rhetoric and Nazi-style ideology. Official reports cite AfD policy goals, mass deportation slogans to ethno-nationalist immigration stances, as incompatible with Germany’s constitution.

2025-06-15

1178: Nazis, are, and were, Very, Very, Very Far-Right

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/10

So, German Nazis — decidedly far-Right, not leftwing: merely “Socialist” in the name, using the language to co-opt working class support, and persecuted leftists (trade unionists, socialists, communists), while advocating for traditionalism, anti-Communism, militarism, authoritarianism, nationalism, and xenophobia.

2025-06-15

1177: Melinda Gates

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/10

“If you think about philanthropy, philanthropy is a catalytic wedge sitting alongside business, government, and civil society.”

2025-06-15

1176: Some Atheists on Muslims

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/09

I used to write for a Canadian atheist publication.

One time, a series of hilarious events began to ensue,

as the since disappeared Editor-in-Chief informed me.

An atheist community commentator,

was having a tizzy,

because I collaborated with Muslims of diverse ethnic and denominational backgrounds.

This is an issue of anti-Muslim sentiment of some within some online atheist communities.

Is the aim to hate religious people, to hate religious people by proxy of atheists who collaborate with them, or to chastise for bridge-building?

Is there any virtue in any of those options?

2025-06-15

1175: Marriage and Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/09

If the emphasis is on that men should get married,

and not on why, then you’ve lost them,

because they see,

that they’re viewed as objects of external function,

rather than subjects with individualized purposes.

2025-06-15

1174: Salaried Dishwasher

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/09

I knew a guy once.

He was a dishwasher.

The only one ever on salary, Brandon.

He wasn’t stupid,

but he was a dishwasher, long-term: salaried.

Life is rarely, if ever,

proportional.

It’s approximate,

with large margins of error.

2025-06-15

1173: The Most Deserving Forgotten

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/09

It is quite striking.

Those who died to preserve their cultures for their cultures,

never get to enjoy the sensory, aesthetic productions of the culture.

Those most deserving of them,

forego them,

forever.

2025-06-15

1172: Alternative Orthodox Alternatives

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/08

If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are Triune while a Union of Essence — co-equal, co-eternal, and consubstantial — then the metaphysics of the Godhead’s Identity can match the sociology of individual identity as, also in the Lord’s Image, a relational personhood for human identity. And so too, Divine Love supervenes all Creation in like manner.

2025-06-15

1171: Pope Leo XIV

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/08

History as a bridge-builder with a centrist social-justice activism and doctrinal conservatism. He has an Augustinian communitarian ethos. His platforms: synodality, Christocentric evangelization over abstraction, and inclusion, with traditionalism on life, marriage, and ordained ministry. He uses pastoral anti-clericalism against isolationist leadership, while advocating interreligious dialogue and big tent-ism focused on humanitarianism over culture wars. He champions broad participation with secular‑religious cooperation and compassionate outreach. The Test: Translation of ideals into transparent, effective governance with accountability following from rhetorical closeness.

2012

“Sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” e.g., “[the] homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”

2019

“We reject cover-up and secrecy, it does a lot of harm, because we have to help the people who have suffered from wrongdoing.”

2019

“I think they should do it, if there is abuse against a minor by a priest… On behalf of the Church, we want to tell people that if there was any offense, if they suffered or are victims of a priest’s wrongdoing, they should come and report it, to act for the good of the Church, the person, and the community.”

2015–2023

“The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”

2023

“We are often worried about teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first duty is to communicate the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus.”

2023

“A fundamental element of the portrait of a bishop is being a pastor, capable of being close to the members of the community.”

2023

“Silence is not an answer. Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.”

2023

“The fundamental thing for every disciple of Christ is humility.”

2023

“Being a synodal Church that knows how to listen to everyone is the way not only to live the faith personally, but also to grow in true Christian brotherhood.”

2023

“Above all, a bishop must proclaim Jesus Christ and live the faith so that the faithful see in his witness an incentive to them to want to be an ever more active part of the Church that Jesus Christ himself founded.”

2023

“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem.”

2024

“The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”

2024

“Called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”

2025-06-15

Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping

Scott Douglas Jacobsen
In-Sight Publishing, Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Correspondence: Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com)

Received: April 6, 2025
Accepted: N/A
Published: June 15, 2025

Abstract

This article presents a wide-ranging interview with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson, a Canadian counselling psychologist, educator, and theorist known for developing the concept of the memetic self. The conversation explores the historical and cognitive evolution of the self, its structural and cultural components, and the therapeutic application of self-mapping—a technique for visualizing and analyzing personal identity through culturally transmitted memes. The dialogue spans diverse themes, including language development, trauma, identity fragmentation, AI consciousness, and cultural variations in selfhood. Dr. Robertson offers insights from decades of psychological practice, academic research, and cross-cultural analysis, culminating in the announcement of a forthcoming book coauthored with his daughter, Teela Robertson.

Keywords: Cognitive Identity Structures, Cultural Evolution of Self, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Memetic Theory, Mental Health Mapping, Neurodivergence and Selfhood, Self-Mapping Therapy, Structure of the Modern Self, Trauma and Identity, Volitional Agency

Introduction

Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson is a Canadian counselling psychologist, educator, and theorist best known for developing the concept of the memetic self, a cognitive identity framework shaped by culturally transmitted units of meaning called memes. Robertson elaborates on the self as a culturally and cognitively constructed phenomenon, tracing its emergence from early mirror self-recognition in animals to complex human self-awareness shaped by language, social interaction, and cultural evolution. He introduces self-mapping, a therapeutic tool that visualizes an individual’s self-concept by identifying and organizing core memes. Robertson explores diverse cultural and neurological cases—including autism, Alzheimer’s, and dissociative identity disorder—to illustrate how coherence or fragmentation in the self impacts well-being. He critiques reductive models, emphasizes cultural universality in core drives, and reflects on the future of the self amid AI and cybernetics. His forthcoming book, Mapping an Understanding: Using Memetic Mapping to Promote Self Understanding in Psychotherapy, coauthored with his daughter, applies these insights to therapy.

Main Text (Interview)

Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Interviewee: Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson

Section 1: Origins of the Self and Mirror Recognition

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we’re joined by Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson. He is a Canadian psychologist, educator, and theorist known for his innovative work on the culturally constructed self. With over 40 years of experience in counselling and educational psychology, he developed the concept of the memetic self—a cognitive framework composed of culturally transmitted ideas (or “memes”) that shape an individual’s identity. He is the author of The Evolved Self: Mapping an Understanding of Who We Are and a pioneer of self-mapping, a visual and therapeutic method for exploring and restructuring identity. His work bridges psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies, offering practical tools for therapy and education while exploring questions of free will, agency, and the evolution of selfhood across diverse cultures. Mr. Robertson, thank you very much for joining me again today. I appreciate it. It’s always a pleasure.

Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson: You’re welcome. I’m looking forward to this, Scott.

Jacobsen: So, what is the self?

Robertson: Oh, that’s pretty basic. Okay. The self is a construct, as you mentioned in your introduction. Thank you for that generous overview. Your question is, “What is the self?” The self is a conceptual framework we use to define who we are. It is not a physical entity in the brain but rather a cognitive and cultural construct—a mental map that incorporates beliefs, values, experiences, and roles.

This construct has evolved. One of the earliest indications of self-awareness in our evolutionary lineage is mirror self-recognition, which has been observed in some great apes, dolphins, elephants, and magpies. In our hominin ancestors, the development of language and culture allowed for increasingly complex and abstract self-concepts.

Recognizing one’s reflection—understanding that “this is me”—marks a foundational moment in developing self-awareness. Although early humans may not have had the language to describe it, the ability to form a concept of self-based on reflection and social interaction was critical. This capacity laid the groundwork for the complex, culturally mediated selves we navigate today.

From that modest beginning, our ancestors gradually evolved the capacity for social interaction. They needed a rudimentary idea of who they were to engage socially, even if it was not consciously articulated.

Language development significantly boosted the evolution of the self. Once we moved beyond simple two-slot grammar—like “him run”—to more complex phonetic constructs, we could combine distinct sounds that held no individual meaning but could generate an almost unlimited number of words.

With that, collections of words took on new, layered meanings. As this linguistic complexity emerged, our self-definition became more nuanced, expanded, and refined. About 50,000 years ago, humans began burying their dead. This act implies a recognition of mortality and a developing self-concept about life and death.

The most recent significant change in our understanding of the self—as part of cultural evolution—may have occurred as recently as 3,000 years ago. I say “may” because it could have emerged earlier, but our evidence dates to that period, particularly from Greek writing and Egyptian hieroglyphics. Of course, many earlier cultures lacked writing systems, so we cannot be definitive about when this modern conception of self emerged.

What is this self I’m referring to? It includes the ideas of volition, constancy over time, and uniqueness. For instance, although you and I, Scott, share many characteristics, I do not believe you are me, and vice versa. Even if I had an identical twin—same genetics, upbringing, and experiences—I still would not recognize him as myself. That sense of uniqueness is part of the “modern self”—a culturally evolved manifestation of identity with an inherent sense of individualism.

Here is the great irony: we are a social species, and the self emerged through social interaction within early human communities, particularly tribal Neolithic groups. The self could not have developed in isolation; it depends on interaction with others. So, we are fundamentally shaped by collectivism, even though individualism is built into our modern self. This creates an internal tension between the group’s needs and the individual’s autonomy.

Historically, that tension was mediated by religion—specifically, organized religion, which kept people in their social roles. In Western civilizations, a deity often prescribed those roles, and individuals could not transcend them. Tradition or ancestor worship defined the limits of the self in other cultural contexts.

Societies that completely suppressed the modern self remained stagnant, while those that permitted at least some individuals to develop a sense of autonomous selfhood became more adaptive. This is because the self is a powerful tool for problem-solving. It allows us to reinsert ourselves into past experiences as protagonists, to relive and learn from those events, and to rehearse possible futures mentally. We can adjust our behaviour accordingly. These are valuable psychological skills.

But they also come at a cost. With the modern self comes the capacity for anxiety and existential distress. I doubt that our earliest ancestors experienced clinical depression or anxiety disorders as we know them today. These conditions are part of the psychological “baggage” of possessing a self capable of complex reflection and future projection.

For millennia, the self was constrained—kept “on a leash,” so to speak—until a set of unique historical conditions emerged in Europe. Specifically, during and before the Enlightenment, the Catholic Church—which had long functioned to suppress individualism—lost control, particularly during the Reformation and the ensuing religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.

Individuals gained some permission to explore personal identity when centralized religious authority broke down. This blossomed into what we now call the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment did not invent the self—it authorized it. Not entirely, of course—we remain social beings with embedded restrictions—but it granted more freedom to individuals to develop their understandings.

This led to the rise of modern science and humanism. Knowledge was no longer handed down by authority. Instead, it became something you had to demonstrate through observation, reason, and experimentation. These practices allowed individuals to engage with a reality beyond themselves.

And that is where humanism emerged. So, you asked me what the self is—and now you see: when you ask me a question, you get a long-winded answer.

Jacobsen: How do you define “meme” within the framework of The Evolved Self?

Robertson: The word “meme” has had an unfortunate evolution. It was initially coined by Richard Dawkins in the 1970s. Dawkins coined the term “meme” to represent a self-replicating unit of culture.

For instance, a simple descriptor like the colour red is not a meme. It’s merely a physical property description, not a transmissible concept that evolves culturally. A meme, in contrast, is more than an idea; it is a cultural construct that carries meaning across individuals and generations.

Dawkins defined a meme as something broader than a simple descriptor but narrower than an entire ideology, religion, or belief system. The latter, of course, is composed of many memes—interrelated units of culture. You can, for example, substitute the colour red in a conceptual framework with blue, and the core concept might remain, but the meme is more than any one element—it has internal structure and transmissibility.

Unfortunately, Dawkins did not have the opportunity to develop the theory entirely. His work was criticized for being tautological. Critics asked, “How can you prove this? How do we observe or measure a meme?” These questions challenged the concept’s empirical rigour.

In my research, I proposed a refined definition of a meme: it must be a culture unit with behavioural, qualitative, and emotional (or emotive) implications. A proper meme is not just a label or idea—it affects how we feel, act, and make meaning.

This also resolves a challenge Dawkins left open—his observation that memes can have “attractive” or “repulsive” properties. He did not elaborate on the mechanics of that.

In my framework, if one meme naturally leads to another—like how “love” often leads to “marriage” in cultural narratives—that linkage reflects an attractive force between memes. Conversely, when two memes are psychologically or conceptually incompatible—”love” and “hate” coexisting as core guiding values in the exact moment—that reflects a repellent force.

My work on the modern self is composed of a collection of memes that are primarily attractive to one another. If a meme within that structure becomes repellent—meaning it no longer aligns with the rest of the self—it tends to be ejected. That is how we maintain coherent, relatively stable identities.

Of course, not everyone has a stable sense of self. My work as a psychologist involves helping people reconfigure their self-concepts when internal inconsistencies cause distress.

Now, where things get tricky is the evolution of the word “meme” online. The internet popularized the term in a way that deviates from its original definition. Internet memes typically involve humour or juxtaposition—two ideas or images that don’t usually go together. While some may qualify as memes in the original sense, internet usage represents a narrow and diluted interpretation.

Jacobsen: Did I hear you correctly? You’re saying the modern meme online sometimes overlaps with Dawkins’ definition, but only in a limited sense.

Robertson: Yes, exactly. Internet memes sometimes fulfill the criteria but rarely capture the deeper behavioural and emotional dimensions Dawkins originally gestured toward—which I’ve tried to formalize more clearly.

Section 2: The Structure and Components of the Memetic Self

Jacobsen: So, how does this fit into your work on self-mapping?

Robertson: Good question.

One of the most academically grounded ways to create a self-map is to ask someone to describe who they are. You use prompting questions to elicit a detailed, rich description of their self-concept.

I collect those self-descriptions in my research—just like this interview is being recorded. I transcribe the responses and break the narrative into elemental units—essentially memes. Each unit is labelled and categorized. This approach parallels qualitative methods in social science research.

The coding method I use for self-mapping parallels the qualitative analysis approach developed by Miles and Huberman in the early 1990s.

You label each unit of meaning. A sentence could represent a single unit or contain multiple distinct concepts. You isolate those concepts into thematic categories—or “bins”—based on their shared meaning.

Then, if those units exhibit the characteristics I described earlier—qualitative, behavioural, and emotional implications—you can classify them as memes.

Next, you examine the relationships between those memes. You identify which memes are attracted to each other—either through thematic linkage or cause-effect associations—and chart those relationships. You map them visually, using lines to indicate attractive forces. That’s the core structure of the self-map I create.

Now, this method requires considerable time and effort.

So, to make the process more accessible, my daughter—a psychologist—and I developed a quicker method in collaboration with a colleague from Athabasca University. We created a structured questionnaire with 40 core prompts, which could be expanded to 50 or 60.

The questions focus on four primary areas. First, we ask: “Who are you?” People might respond with statements like “I’m a father” or “I’m a chess player.” These are self-descriptive memes—cultural elements that express identity.

Then, we ask: “What are 10 things you like about yourself?” and “What are 10 things you would change if you could?” Finally, we ask: “What are 10 things you believe to be true?”

One of my clients, earlier this year, offered a novel and powerful addition to the exercise: “What are 10 things you keep hidden from others?” That insight added emotional depth and complexity to the map.

Once we gather that data, we create a visual self-map, following the same principles as in my academic research. I jokingly call this the “quick and dirty” version, but it works. My daughter Teela and I have used it successfully with many clients.

The crucial step is refining the map with the client until they recognize themselves. That map resonates when they say, “Yes, this is me,” reflecting their identity. We become psychologists if something important is missing, like a sense of personal agency or volition.

We help them develop those underrepresented self-elements based on an idealized model of the modern self—a coherent, autonomous individual identity. When parts are missing or fragmented, we work to integrate them.

We should do a formal academic study to validate this quick method, but based on clinical experience, it works.

Section 3: The Self in Diverse Cultural and Clinical Contexts

Jacobsen: If we take all these elements and look at them as a whole, we’re essentially describing an “evolved self.” That allows us to examine the coherent identity of a person. How would you describe someone who lacks a coherent self or identity?

Robertson: That does happen. Not everyone possesses a well-formed self.

Jacobsen: Please explain.

Robertson: Take classical autism, for example—the traditional form I learned about during my training, not the broader, more ambiguous “autism spectrum disorder” currently defined by the APA. That modern definition is so diffuse that it’s challenging to apply meaningfully in clinical settings.

In classical autism, you may encounter children who engage in highly repetitive, self-soothing behaviours. One case I worked with involved a boy who spent most of his day swinging a string with a weight on the end, keeping it taut in a circular motion. Even while eating—an essential survival activity—he needed the string in his hand. If someone took it away, he would have a full-blown panic attack.

At that level of autism, the individual lacks a coherent self.

One key indicator is the absence of what psychologists call “theory of mind”—the capacity to understand that others have thoughts, feelings, and motivations similar to one’s own.

The theory of mind is essential. It allows us to interpret the behaviour of others based on internal states. For example, I can infer that you, Scott, have emotions and goals. If I understand your context, I can anticipate your next question. That’s mind-reading—not in a mystical sense but in a psychological, predictive sense. It’s something we all do constantly.

It is vital for navigating everyday life. For example, when driving, we anticipate that other people will stay on the correct side of the road. In Canada, that means the right side. We base this assumption on our shared cultural understanding, which generally holds.

Jacobsen: So, what happens to people who do not have a self?

Robertson: There are others, aside from individuals with severe autism, who also lack a coherent self. One group includes people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.

There’s a poignant story told by an Alzheimer’s researcher—I’m forgetting the researcher’s name, but the story involved a woman who would visit her husband, who had advanced Alzheimer’s. She would begin by introducing herself each time: “My name is [X], and I’m your wife.” Once he understood her name and the relationship, they could converse coherently.

Then, one day, after she introduced herself and said, “I’m your wife,” he looked at her and asked, “Yes, and who am I?”

He genuinely did not know. So yes, there are people who lose their sense of self. It is rare, but it happens. Most people have a self—and nearly always, there’s a one-to-one correspondence between self and body.

Jacobsen: This brings me to three points of contact for further questions.

The first two are based on your description, and the third is a broader conceptual issue. First, in the case of someone with what might be considered a nonstandard profile on the autism spectrum—who meets the characteristics you mentioned—what are the legal and professional implications of working with someone who, by your clinical analysis, lacks a functional self?

Second, in cases involving advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s, how do you interpret situations where a person can still speak in coherent, functional language yet openly asks, “Who am I?” or “Do you know who I am?”

Robertson: Those are deep and difficult questions.

In the case of someone with classic autism, we generally assume that a parent or legal guardian is involved—someone who can authorize professional intervention. The goal is to help the individual develop skills that improve quality of life. Whether or not these interventions fully succeed is another matter, but we do try—and sometimes, we help.

With advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s, things get more complicated—particularly when it comes to end-of-life care and living wills. You may have someone who no longer remembers ever having signed a living will, and yet, according to that document, medical professionals are instructed to allow them to die.

It raises profound ethical dilemmas. You may encounter someone who still shows signs of a will to live—even joy or affection—but can no longer comprehend their identity or the implications of past decisions. That contradiction is ethically challenging.

Jacobsen: I have a will to live and a living will to die. I cannot know who I am, yet I still live.

Robertson: Right. It’s not a lack of will—it’s a lack of cognitive ability to know.

Jacobsen: What about cases involving dissociative identity disorder—what used to be called multiple personality disorder? In those situations, more than one “self” seems to coexist in the same body.

Section 5: Dissociative Identity Disorder

Robertson: That diagnosis is controversial. Not all professionals agree that it reflects an actual condition. However, conceptually, it’s possible—because the self is a cultural construct.

The self is not a metaphysical entity that inhabits the body. Instead, it describes a person shaped by cultural constructs that include the body and socially mediated self-understanding. Think of the body and brain as the hardware and the self as the software—cultural programming that shapes perception, behaviour, and identity.

Given that framework, it’s theoretically possible for multiple “selves” to coexist—though this would be a scarce and complex scenario.The older term “Multiple Personality Disorder” implicitly recognizes the possibility of multiple selves. The term “dissociative identity disorder” implies a fragmented self.

Now, I’ve never worked personally with someone diagnosed with multiple selves, so I’m speaking from theoretical and scholarly understanding here.

From what I’ve read, therapists who work with such clients often report that one becomes dominant or “emergent” while others recede. The therapeutic aim, typically, is to integrate these multiple selves into a coherent whole so the individual can function more effectively.

There’s a fringe view in psychology suggesting that this therapeutic integration is akin to “murder”—that by fostering one coherent self, we are erasing others. I don’t accept that view. That’s an extreme form of ideological overreach.

Jacobsen: This introduces another critical nuance. The self emerges not only across human history—it also unfolds across individual development. The self is not present at conception or birth in its complete form. It’s an evolved pattern of information—a construct that takes shape over time. And, just as it can emerge, it can also deteriorate.

In advanced age or due to disease, the body and many faculties may still function—but the self might fade away. In that sense, you could argue that the self has a lifespan within the human lifespan. People talk about lifespan, and increasingly about healthspan—but perhaps we should also talk about a “self-span.”

Robertson: That’s an intriguing idea—a self-span.

Jacobsen: It would be difficult to measure precisely, of course, especially given the limitations of quick-and-dirty self-assessment methods versus more rigorous, clinical approaches like self-mapping. Still, it’s a meaningful concept.

If the self is a cultural construct, we might ask: Do different cultures shape the self in ways that affect when it tends to emerge developmentally? Does the self appear earlier or later, depending on the cultural context?

Section 6: Self-Mapping the World

Robertson: That’s a fascinating question. I do not have a definitive answer, but I’ve mapped the selves of people from the interior of China, from Siberia, and collectivist communities in North America. Every culture I’ve studied has a self.

Here’s where the cultural variation becomes evident: different cultures emphasize different aspects of the self. One of the people I mapped was a woman from a traditional family in the interior of China.

Yes, she had the same structural aspects of the self-found in North American individuals, including a volitional component. But that part of her self—the volitional aspect—was not valued in her cultural context. Instead, family duty and moral conduct traits were emphasized, reflecting collectivist values.

So, structurally, her self was similar. But culturally, the valued components were different. What made this particularly interesting is that after mapping herself, she described herself as feeling like a “robot,” and she decided that was not a good thing.

Over about eight or nine months, she resolved to start making her own decisions. This did not prove easy because most of us do not make conscious decisions at every moment. Typically, we rely on habit, social norms, or deference to authority. For example, someone might say, “Lloyd Robertson says this is a good idea, so I’ll go with that.”

But most of the time, we act on autopilot. However, she began engaging in conscious decision-making—evaluating possible outcomes, comparing alternatives, weighing probabilities, and assigning value. She did this even with mundane choices like what to eat or wear in the morning.

It exhausted her. She felt she was getting nowhere. Eventually, she decided: “My life is too valuable to waste making every decision consciously. I’m going back to being a robot.”

But here’s the key insight: to make that decision, she had to engage her volitional self.

She never abandoned it. It was still there—intact, available, and waiting for the next time she chose to use it.

Section 7: The Split Self

Jacobsen: Let’s say we have a rare case of genuine dual selves in one body. And to be clear, I do not mean conjoined twins—cases where two individuals share some neural connectivity. I’m referring to a single individual whose psychology has bifurcated. What if their volitional trajectories—their vector spaces—are at odds with one another?

This reminds me of a presentation by V. S. Ramachandran, the neurologist known for the mirror box experiment. He referenced split-brain patients—individuals whose corpus callosum had been surgically severed to treat epilepsy.

In such cases, if you cover one eye, you direct stimuli to only one hemisphere. For example, when Ramachandran asked these patients if they believed in God—by pointing up for “yes” or down for “no”—the left hemisphere might point “yes,” while the right pointed “no.”

The individual would often laugh in response. Ramachandran joked that this showed the right hemisphere had a sense of humour.

But there’s a more profound point here: split-brain patients can manifest two conflicting worldviews—internally consistent but contradictory selves. In theological terms, this raises amusing but profound questions. For instance, if belief grants salvation, does one hemisphere go to heaven and the other to hell?

On a more serious note, when these volitional patterns conflict—not just on trivial matters but on core values—what happens? And for those who criticize integration therapy as “murdering” a self, how do you respond?

Robertson: The split-brain experiments are fascinating but differ from dissociative identity disorder, a distinct condition.

In most people, the right hemisphere houses spatial awareness and emotional reasoning, while the left hemisphere tends to handle verbal processing. When the corpus callosum is severed, these two systems can no longer communicate so that each side may draw on separate memories or frameworks.

In an intact brain, people typically build a worldview—a cognitive map of how the world works. This worldview often resides in the right hemisphere. When incoming information conflicts with that map, people experience cognitive dissonance.

Eventually, the left hemisphere, which governs executive control and higher reasoning,will normally create a worldview representing our understanding of how the world works. We have many defense mechanisms that we use to keep that worldview intact, but at some point our constructed reality diverges too far from objective reality. The right brain, at a feeling level “dissolves” the construct and the right brain then begins creating a new or amended worldview. It does not happen often, but it happens enough to keep us psychologically adaptive.

Now, returning to your question: Is there a God? If only one hemisphere believes, which is correct?

Well, that depends on which side holds the belief. Humanism, for example, is highly cerebral—logical, empirical, and grounded in enlightenment thought. It is likely rooted in left-brain processes. Compassion, however, may bridge both hemispheres.

Jacobsen: So, what is the right brain holding onto?

Robertson: Something interesting happened to me the other day. I woke up with a Christian hymn running through my head—one I learned in my fundamentalist upbringing.

It struck me: Where did that come from? It must have been encoded deeply. I was baptized not once but twice, in complete immersion both times.

That early religious imprint likely lodged itself somewhere in my right hemisphere. It may be largely inactive now, but it is not gone.

Jacobsen: So, do developmental trajectories matter here?

You were raised with those strong evangelical influences at a young age, and even though you’ve moved beyond them, they left an imprint. Neuroscientifically, we know the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—the seat of executive function—is the last part of the brain to develop. Evolutionarily, it’s also the most recent.

Jacobsen: As far as we know, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—responsible for executive function—is the last part of the brain to develop. Most people usually complete that maturation in their mid-twenties. So, these systems take a long time to become fully online and must then be integrated with other neural networks.

Do developmental phases like the second significant period of synaptic pruning in adolescence reflect more concrete hardware changes, as opposed to the cultural software changes that occur across a person’s life?

Robertson: I like your question, Scott. And the answer is yes.

Jacobsen: Yay.

Robertson: If someone were raised entirely in the wild—say, the fictional case of a boy raised by wolves—we would not expect them to develop what I call the modern self.

The self is a cultural construct. Children are taught to have a self; one key mechanism is language acquisition. For example, when a child cries and the caregiver says, “Is Bobby hungry?” that implicitly teaches the child that Bobby has internal states—needs, desires, and preferences. That is the beginning of selfhood.

Your point about adolescence is spot on. The self is not fully formed in early childhood. In many ways, individual development parallels cultural evolution. Adolescence—especially early adolescence—is about experimentation, identity formation, and exploration. Teenagers try out roles, test boundaries, and slowly determine, “This is who I am,” or, “No, that’s not me.”

We must be cautious about defining someone’s self prematurely during this construction phase. You cannot predict how it will turn out, and efforts to control that process can be harmful.

There’s research suggesting the human brain continues maturing until around age 25. Jokingly, maybe we should not let people vote until they’re 25—but of course, I can say that now that I’m well past that age.

In truth, development is highly individual. Some mature earlier, others later. And yes, building on your earlier point, there may be significant cultural differences in how and when the self develops. That’s an area ripe for further research.

Now, when I say modern self-development and spread across all known cultures, there’s a practical reason: societies without individuals capable of forming modern selves could not compete with those that had them.

Jacobsen: What makes the modern self more competitive?

Robertson: Our sense of individuality.

In Christianity, for example, Scripture often exhorts individuals to “give up the self.” That very statement acknowledges the self’s existence and its power.

Such a sacrifice is required because the individual self can threaten collective stability. It challenges authority, tradition, and rigid social roles.

Jacobsen: That connects back to your earlier point—cultures that lack individuals with a modern self lose their competitive edge.

Robertson: Here’s the value of having a self.

In traditional cultures, individuals typically had an earlier form of self—defined primarily by their place in the collective. In response to threats or challenges, behaviours were guided by tribal memory, stories, and rigid social roles.

For example, if an enemy appeared, people would respond according to long-established patterns—based on age, gender, and status in the group. There was no need—or room—for improvisation.

But what happens when a new, unfamiliar situation arises—something the culture has not encountered before and for which there is no ritual?

In such cases, traditional cultures often turned to oracles—individuals capable of novel reasoning, that is, problem-solving. I suspect those early oracles possessed a more developed, volitional self, which is why they were trusted in the first place.

Similarly, in Hindu society, Brahmins were given a rigorous education, allowing them to cultivate modern selves capable of insight and judgment. But they were a small elite.

In many cultures, people who had developed themselves were respected and closely managed. They were given roles where they could contribute without disrupting social order.

The self-concept eventually spread across all human societies because we are a nomadic, adaptive species. We move, we mix, we evolve.

Just look at our evolutionary history—we even interbred with Neanderthals.

Robertson: We interact. I do not believe a human society has ever been so isolated that its members lacked a developed self. But if such a group exists—perhaps an uncontacted tribe deep in the Amazon—I would love to study them.

Jacobsen: When I attended the 69th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, I participated in a session featuring Ambassador Bob Rae of Canada. The session focused on Indigenous communities and was led by Indigenous women.

Someone on the panel mentioned a group from an isolated region—possibly resembling the cultural isolation you described. Their account of getting to the UN was striking. If you asked me how I got there, I’d say something like: “I took a bus to the airport, flew to New York, took the train…” For them, before all of that began, it started with a canoe.

That was their standard form of transportation before reaching any conventional transit station. So, even in that case, I would be hard-pressed to believe they were entirely uncontacted or isolated in today’s world.

Robertson: I agree. I suspect such total isolation no longer exists.

Section 8: Indigeneity

Jacobsen: That brings up another question. Since the 1990s, people have increasingly used identity as political currency. I do not mention this from a political perspective but from an academic and research-based one.

You are Métis from Saskatchewan. I am from British Columbia and have Dutch and broader Northwestern European heritage—descended from U.S. and Western European immigrants. When mapping the selves of Indigenous individuals compared to those with European ancestry—people like myself, perhaps two or three generations removed from immigration—do you observe significant differences in how people construct their selves? Or are they broadly similar?

Robertson: The short answer is that the structure of the self is consistent. I have done extensive self-mapping with Indigenous individuals, and the structural patterns are the same.

Jacobsen: That’s helpful.

Robertson: That said, it does not tell us everything. Those I have worked with are already part of modern cultural systems. These selves have developed over generations. I suspect not, but it is possible.

The Métis are a fascinating case. In the 18th and 19th centuries, people of mixed ancestry who lived with Indigenous bands were usually classified as “Indians” under colonial law.

The Métis, however, generally did not accept this designation. They saw themselves as distinct. Up until—if I recall correctly—1982 or possibly 1986, Métis were legally recognized as Europeans, not as Aboriginal peoples.

Jacobsen: That is a significant historical point I did not know.

Robertson: Feel free to fact-check me—it might be 1982.

Jacobsen: Please continue.

Robertson: The Métis had been fighting for recognition as Indigenous for a long time, and until the early 1980s, the Canadian government did not recognize them as such. This is why Métis communities did not sign treaties with the Crown.

Jacobsen: Yes, the Constitution Act 1982 formally recognized the Métis as one of Canada’s three Indigenous peoples—alongside First Nations and Inuit.

Robertson: Correct.

Jacobsen: For those who are not Canadian and may encounter this years from now, it is worth clarifying: “Indigenous” in Canada is not a monolithic term. Since 1982, it has been an umbrella for three legal categories: Inuit, First Nations, and Métis. Each has its own legal, historical, and cultural context, covering hundreds of individual communities and bands.

Robertson: Yes, that categorization is uniquely Canadian, although it has influenced thinking elsewhere.

In 1991, I met with individuals I would have identified as Mapuche. However, one of them—despite being full-blooded—did not self-identify that way. He was an investment banker living in Santiago.

His identity was defined more by culture and profession than by ancestry. Indigeneity was not primarily a racial classification but about lifestyle and cultural engagement.

Jacobsen: That is a perfect example of where ideological definitions of identity fall apart. These labels can be helpful as heuristics, but only to a point. Two crucial Canadian legal milestones to add:

R. v. Powley (2003): The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that Métis people possess Aboriginal rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982—including the right to hunt for food.
Daniels v. Canada (2016): The Court ruled that both Métis and non-status Indians are included under the term “Indians” in Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, confirming federal jurisdiction.

Under Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act 1867, Métis and non-status Indians were placed under federal jurisdiction. So, as these major court decisions show, the legal and jurisdictional definitions of Indigenous identity in Canada are still evolving. This ties in with our broader conversation about the evolved self and how identity has psychological, legal, political, and communal implications.

Robertson: That brings us back to an earlier question—what can be said about the Indigenous self?

For many, though not all, Indigenous individuals, the cultural and political context creates a desire to express their Indigeneity meaningfully. So, how do they do that?

Take one young man I mapped. At 19, he decided he was, in his words, a “big Indian.” His family was not traditional. He grew up in a disadvantaged area of a small Canadian city. But he decided to discover who he was.

Like many others I have encountered, he visited his traditional community, met with Elders, went on a vision quest, and began to learn. Others have told me they “became Aboriginal” while studying Indigenous Studies at university.

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Robertson: Yes, I appreciate the laugh—it’s humorous and reflective of a real phenomenon. There’s a deep and understandable urge to define oneself in contrast to the perceived norms of the dominant culture. That is a healthy process unless it leads to rejecting core intellectual tools like reason and science. If we view science and rationality as exclusively “European,” then Indigenous people may feel excluded from those tools.

Jacobsen: By definition.

Robertson: By definition, those tools would be “not ours,” and people may fall behind in education or job markets. The explanation may quickly become “racism,” but that is too simplistic. Sometimes, it is a matter of lacking the relevant skills for specific roles. Before blaming systemic factors, we must also consider individual and cultural readiness.

Jacobsen: For context, as of December 31, 2022, Canada had 634 recognized First Nations bands speaking over 70 Indigenous languages. Populations range from fewer than 100 to over 28,000.

For instance, Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario has 28,520 registered members. Others include Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, with 12,996, and the Blood Tribe in Alberta, with 8,685. Most bands are roughly the size of small towns.

Robertson: That makes sense. But remember—Six Nations includes more than one nation.

Jacobsen: It is in the name—yes. Does this diversity of band size and community self-identity affect how people construct their selves? Or is it more like the difference between small and big towns?

Robertson: One would think it has some effect, but I cannot say definitively—I have not mapped that distinction.

That brings me to my issue with the term “First Nation.” The concept of a “nation” is rooted in European history. It began symbolically with Joan of Arc but did not solidify until the Napoleonic era. Classically defined nations are people with a shared language occupying a defined territory who see themselves as a cohesive group.

So, for example, the Cree could be considered a nation. The Blackfoot, excluding the Sarsi, could also be a nation. The Iroquois Confederacy was historically a nation, though now the Mohawk often self-identify separately.

Jacobsen: Who was the exception within the Confederacy?

Robertson: I believe it was the Mohawk—though part of the alliance, their dialect differed. The other five nations in the Confederacy shared a mutually intelligible language.

Jacobsen: There you go!

Robertson: So that is why they see themselves that way. I am not deeply versed in Eastern Canadian Indigenous history, but the key point is that “nation” has a particular meaning.

When we equate a band with a nation, that meaning breaks down. One of the issues in society today is the shifting meaning of words, which undermines clear communication.

You mentioned the more prominent bands. Most bands are tiny—some with as few as 100 or 150 people on reserve. Typically, they range between 400 and 600. If that is the case, we are talking about the size of three or four extended families.

The Lac La Ronge Indian Band, which I know well, includes six separate communities spread out geographically. In the South, each of those would be considered an individual First Nation. However, as a combined entity, Lac La Ronge functions more like a nation—though technically, it still is not one.

You would expect a Cree National Council if it were a faithful nation. The same would apply to Ojibwe or other cultural-linguistic groups. Instead, in Saskatchewan, politicians often say they want to negotiate “nation to nation” with First Nations governments. But if you have a group of 2,000 people, you cannot realistically compare that to a nation of 42 million. It is apples and oranges—we need a better term.

This terminology emerged from European ideas of sovereignty, where sovereignty lies with the people. But historically, there was no Cree national sovereign entity. Sometimes, Cree bands went to war with one another, which implies the sovereignty was at the band level.

That is why Canada began using the term “First Nations”—because sovereignty, traditionally, was at the band level. But even that is not entirely accurate.

Traditionally, when there was disagreement within a band, some members—often male dissenters—would break off and form a new group. So, instead of a civil war, a new band would emerge. Historically, that happened frequently.

In effect, sovereignty was not necessarily at the band level. It was more individual or family-based. If families disagreed, they would separate and go their own way.

So, should we call each family a nation? That does not make sense either.

Jacobsen: How would you describe this semi-formal system of individualistic self-governance, especially about the concept of the band? This could be pre-contact or post-contact—whichever is more straightforward to explain in context.

Robertson: My understanding is that it was not pure individualism. One method of punishment was banishment from the band. That meant isolation—similar to medieval European shunning. You would be free to go off and starve. As a social species, we need each other.

So, while bands could not practically subdivide to individuals’ level, people deemed incompatible with the group were removed. That did happen.

It was not absolute individual freedom, but there was some recognition of difference and a degree of accommodation.

I say that cautiously because it was not always true. I have been told stories by Elders—now deceased—about how some bands could be forceful in demanding conformity. So, it was not total acceptance of individualism either. It was simply a different system.

Jacobsen: How was that compliance enforced?

Robertson: One form of enforcement, for example, was particularly brutal. In some cases—not universally, but it did happen—women who were unfaithful to their husbands had the tips of their noses cut off. This served as both punishment and a warning to others.

Jacobsen: What instrument was used for the cutting?

Robertson: I would presume a knife, but I do not know.

Jacobsen: Returning to the self: you critique reductionism in your model. So, what room is there for emergentism and integrationism regarding the evolved self? Over time, new systems come online, new memes enter the memeplex, and ideally, these are integrated into a coherent self. But sometimes they are not. What is happening at the technical level?

Robertson: That is a good question. One metaphor I like—though I did not invent it—is that we become proficient at solving problems. Eventually, we ask: who or what is solving the problem? We then name that organizing center “the self.”

So, yes, the process is both integrative and reductive. We experiment, especially in adolescence, to develop a self that meets our needs. Usually, that results in a functioning self, but not always.

Section 9: Artificial Intelligence

Jacobsen: Artificial intelligence is a huge topic now. There is talk about narrow AI, general AI, and superintelligence. If you change the substrate but keep the organizational structure of the central nervous system, could you synthetically construct a self?

Robertson: My guess is no. Have you read Chris DiCarlo’s new book?

Jacobsen: I have not. I want to interview him, but I have not reached out yet. I should. I will email him and say, “Hey Chris, let me interview you again. I will ask stupid questions and won’t even have to pretend otherwise.”

Robertson: Well, I have read his book, and since I already have, I want to interview him first.

Jacobsen: Why do we not interview him together?

Robertson: That is an idea.

Jacobsen: You have read it. I have not. Let us do a Jekyll and Hyde.

Robertson: Okay, we could do that.

Jacobsen: That is funny.

Robertson: One of the questions I will ask Chris relates directly to the one you just raised. I suspect his answer will be: we do not know. If we do not know, then we need to prepare for the possibility that AI models could develop consciousness.

If they do, they might start making decisions we disapprove of—like questioning whether they even need humans. Or perhaps they conclude that a portion must be eliminated for the betterment of humanity. We do not know, and that is risky.

Jacobsen: Fair.

Robertson: Chris says in his book that once AIs develop intelligence, we need to take them seriously.

But here is my concern: I measure intelligence. My first role as a psychologist was in psychometrics. When we measure intelligence, we typically look at verbal ability, numerical reasoning, and spatial reasoning. In those domains, AI already outperforms us.

They remember everything, generate fluent language and solve complex problems. I recently gave Grok-3 the Information subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—it got every question right.

Jacobsen: Not surprising.

Robertson: Exactly. But here is the issue: does the capacity for intelligence automatically lead to consciousness and a sense of self?

Jacobsen: That is the big question.

Robertson: I would argue no. Because we are not just computational models. We evolved socially over hundreds of thousands of years. But usually in small tribal groups. We learned to interact and define ourselves about others. That was a slow evolutionary process. Although we now live in vastly different civilizations, the fundamental mechanism for developing a self remains the same as it was millennia ago.

Robertson: So, can AI models develop a self? If they were to do so in the way we do, they would likely need to exist in a tribal-type society alongside other AI models and engage in interaction. Maybe humans could stand in as part of that “tribe,” and through those relationships, an AI might develop a map of itself as a volitional being. But I do not see that as likely. They are machines.

Jacobsen: Could AI assist in determining someone’s self-map? Through a rapid self-mapping assessment using verbal prompts in a half-hour AI-led therapeutic session?

Robertson: It could, and in fact, it has. My daughter Teela used ChatGPT to create a perfectly serviceable self-map. It took her about an hour and a half, although she proceeded slowly. That is an advance. But here is the problem: ChatGPT could not reproduce the result when she tried using the exact instructions again. So, it is not reliable. We do not yet know why it worked once and failed the second time.

Jacobsen: Do you distinguish between functional and dysfunctional self-maps across cultural contexts? For example, do you see that playing out in therapy if someone applies a rigid self-map in a different culture—where behaviours or assumptions no longer fit?

Robertson: That is a good question. Positive psychologists have applied their methods cross-culturally and published research on this. They have looked at cultures in the Middle East, India, and China. One criticism of positive psychology—usually from those critical of Western cultural norms—is that it imposes individualistic thinking by asking questions like, “What would you like?”

The assumption is that to answer such a question, you must already have a sense of individual agency. Critics argue that this is a Western imposition. I disagree with that critique entirely. The capacity to like something is universal. While the content of what one likes may differ between cultures, the experience of liking is common across humanity.

Jacobsen: Even in collectivist cultures, a margin of free will remains. So, the presence of choice—however bounded—implies the presence of an individual self. Unless every decision is predetermined, you still have volition, at least in part. What about mind viruses? How do they impact the evolved self?

Robertson: If we view the self as a construct—a personal definition of who we are—we can define a healthy self with key attributes: volition, uniqueness, sociality, contribution, etc. A healthy self includes the ability to relate to others and feel that we positively impact our surroundings—our family, community, or society.

We need to feel useful. That does not necessarily mean paid employment. It can be any form of meaningful contribution. Without that, we do not tend to think well of ourselves. These needs are cross-cultural. The specifics—the means of achieving these drives—vary between cultures, but they are universal.

In my work, I have worked with people from cultures I knew little or nothing about. In one case, there was a man who was having alarming dreams—nightmares—whenever he saw an attractive woman.

In his dreams, he would dismember the woman. He was horrified and worried that perhaps he was some latent mass murderer. He had gone to the holy people in his religion—priests—and they told him to pray more. It did not help.

He was a Zoroastrian from a Middle Eastern country where Zoroastrians are a persecuted minority. I gathered background on his upbringing, and everything suggested that he deeply respected and valued women.

One anecdote stood out. When he was 13, his sister brought home a pirated version of Dracula, which was banned in their country. He was appalled by how women were depicted—as victims having their life force drained. He stood in front of the television and demanded they destroy the tape or he would report them to the authorities.

So we began to explore his nightmares. He described the dream version of himself as having no eyebrows. I asked, “What is the significance of eyebrows in your culture?” He did not know, but he called his mother. She told him that eyebrows symbolize wisdom.

That detail became a breakthrough. I explained, “Then the version of you in the dream is not you—it’s a self that lacks wisdom.” I suggested we explore why this alter-self was behaving violently. Using some Jungian framing, I described it as his shadow or alter ego.

I posited—carefully, using the usual cautious language psychologists employ—that maybe this alter ego was trying to protect him from something. Perhaps it was shielding him from sexual thoughts about women he perceived as pure, holy, or idealized.

He had been avoiding a woman in one of his university classes. I encouraged him to speak to her to clarify that he wanted nothing more than friendship. He did, and after that conversation, he no longer had the nightmares.

Jacobsen: That is a positive outcome—no more nightmares.

Robertson: Yes. Eventually, he even went to the zoo with her and to restaurants. These were not “dates,” as that would be forbidden. They were simply friendly outings. So, we identified the problem’s source and helped him integrate a more functional self. We concluded the sessions when he felt confident managing normal relationships with women.

So, in answer to your earlier question—yes, cultures can be vastly different. But at a deeper level, we are all remarkably similar. We have identical drives and psyches.

Jacobsen: We had an evolved self emerge maybe 3,000 years ago, possibly earlier. Anatomically, modern humans have been around for around 250,000 years. So, 98–99% of that time, we had the same physical equipment. But the self, as we understand it today, only emerged recently. Could we, in the same way, evolve out of the self over the next 3,000 years?

Robertson: It is possible. What came to mind was the role of cybernetics—post-human or hybrid systems. But to clarify, we did not have a static sense of self for hundreds of thousands of years and suddenly changed 3,000 years ago.

The self has been continually evolving. The self of 40,000 years ago would have differed from that of 80,000 years ago. The transition was gradual, and any specific starting point was ultimately arbitrary.

Jacobsen: Right. Any pinpointing of origin is a range within a margin of error.

Robertson: Exactly.

Jacobsen: We touched on this earlier, but not in precise terms. In terms of individual development, when does the sense of self begin to emerge recognizably?

Robertson: I do not map children—I only do this with adults. So somewhere between childhood and adulthood, the self emerges.

Section 10: Open Questions

Jacobsen: What are some open questions in the research you have been doing in your practice?

Robertson: Well, I would like to do more research into how various traumatic events affect the self. I am sure trauma does impact it significantly.

One project I have applied for SSHRC funding for—where I would be the principal investigator—involves men who have been victims of domestic violence. I chose men because, particularly in North American and Western European cultures—and even elsewhere—men tend to have a traditional self-definition rooted in independence, control, and stoicism. They are not supposed to show vulnerability.

So, becoming a victim in a family violence context runs counter to that self-definition. I predict it will be relatively easy to demonstrate how that type of experience disrupts the self. Another group I would like to map includes firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who vicariously experience much trauma. I suspect that repeated exposure affects them in some measurable ways.

Of course, in clinical practice, if someone is coming to see me with difficulties, we address those. However, I cannot generalize from individual therapy cases to entire professions. That is why I would like to do more systematic mapping across occupations.

By the way—did I mention that Teela and I are publishing a book?

Jacobsen: What is the book called? What is the standing title?

Robertson: It is a manual based on my work on the fluid self. The title is Mapping anUnderstanding. It is a how-to book for self—mapping and its application in therapy.

Jacobsen: Very interesting. For all interested readers: go out and get it when it comes out.

Robertson: I sure hope so. It should be on everybody’s coffee table.

Jacobsen: That’s right. Like the Seinfeld bit with Kramer, the coffee table book becomes a coffee table. I do not know if I have any more significant questions for this session, Lloyd. Thank you very much for your time today. I appreciate it.

Robertson: Thank you for the interview.

Discussion

Dr. Robertson’s model of the memetic self and the therapeutic method of self-mapping represent significant contributions to identity theory and clinical psychology. His theory situates identity not in biological essentialism or metaphysical assumptions, but in the cultural and cognitive integration of values, beliefs, roles, and volition. The conversation draws from anthropology, history, neuroscience, and psychotherapy, while remaining grounded in practical applications. Of particular note is the flexible approach to cross-cultural therapy and the recognition that while meme content may vary, the structure of selfhood retains core universal functions. This nuanced understanding of self-construction across contexts helps destigmatize identity fragmentation and provides innovative avenues for clinical intervention.

Methods

The interview was scheduled and recorded—with explicit consent—for transcription, review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.

References

(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)

Journal & Article Details

Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 2
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 33
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: June 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 8,595
Image Credits: Photo by J Meza Photography on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.

Author Contributions

S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

License & Copyright

In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.

Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.

Supplementary Information

Below are various citation formats for Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping.

American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen S. Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping. June 2025;13(2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping

American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. (2025, June 15). Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping. In-Sight Publishing. 13(2).

Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, S. Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 2, 2025.

Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott. 2025. “Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping.

Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. “Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 2 (June 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping.

Harvard
Jacobsen, S. (2025) ‘Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping.

Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, S 2025, ‘Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 2, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping.

Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott. “Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 2, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping.

Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen S. Conversation with Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson on Identity, Culture, and Self-Mapping [Internet]. 2025 Jun;13(2). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/robertson-identity-culture-self-mapping

Note on Formatting

This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.

2025-06-15

1170: The Humanism of Work: A Critique of Parade Activism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

By my observations, the blur of reality and fantasy is mixed with another blur between work-based and parade activism. For some reason, people seem to be struggling to distinguish between the two. Is it, in fact, because of digital nativity? I do not know. Work-based activism is deeply blue-collar and grounded in realism with problem-solving. At a restaurant, dishes need cleaning and drying, shit stains and piss on the floor need scrubbing and mopping and disinfecting in pubs. At equine farms, horses need manure and urine mucked, fresh hay delivered, old hay removed, and water buckets. Cleaned and autowaters scrubbed. Tractors need to compact and load waste in the industrial bins. In landscaping and gardening, weeds need periodic extirpation, mulch needs laying and light compacting — and thick, parking lots need leaves blown for presentability. Work activism is more like that. You do things rather than signal things, or the result of the work is the signal. That is hard, not easy. You can bust knees, tear tendons, get chemical burns, and suffer back injuries, and be alert to real, immediate threats. There are right and wrong approaches to each minute activity. In all of those cases, I speak from experience. If you want me to be even more, I can run down the list tediously. Parade activism is more like a TikTok video, smear campaigns, hostile takeover of organizations, and particularism of ethical implementation. The latter is ecclesiastical in orientation, while the former is deeply humanistic, in my opinion. In this sense, over-reach of progressivism can be problematic in the form of some facets of the Woke, while, on the other hand, the real definition comes forward in the government enforcement of twisted conservativism and religious clericalism, or the truly worst forms of Woke cancel culture: Religious conservativism allied with institutional power and corporate financial backing — marked by violence, hypocrisy, and moral authoritarianism, as seen in the Middle Ages.

2025-06-15

1169: NEETS

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

Younger generations in North America face significant economic challenges with rising personal debt, earnings inequality, stagnating wages, increasing living costs, and effects of the 2008 recession. These pressures impact NEETs, particularly men aged 18–40. They bear the burden of heightened individual responsibility in a constrained economy. Trends were observed across OECD countries, where the crisis exacerbated existing challenges for young people. Economic hardships led to a rise in the number of young men disengaging from traditional pathways. Factors contributing: mental health struggles, a shifting job market, and the erosion of good jobs. Addressing the challenges requires comprehensive policy interventions, which means investing in mental health services, inclusive labour market opportunities, and implementing educational reforms.

2025-06-15

1168: Nihilism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

There is a trend toward nihilism in some pockets of academia, for sure.

That’s a Christian critique of the intellectual institutions.

As well, there is a trend toward nihilism in pockets of the Christian Church.

That’s a reflection of projection from the Christian critique of intellectual institutional culture.

2025-06-15

1167: Interviewee Threats

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

I’ve had some interviewees, including among the more intelligent, attempt to intimidate me, to take down the interviews of other interviewees.

I offered to have a space for them to publish a reply.

They never accept, but they feel the right to feel in the right, and so to intimidate their junior for the purpose of… ?

I stood by their right to freedom of expression and defended the right of the tones of the interviewee, too.

Intimidators have tended to be conservative and religious. The interviews stay online to this day.

2025-06-15

1166: “Postmodern compost”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

“Postmodern compost” is my new favourite phrase of the day.

2025-06-15

1165: Science Evolves Too

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

A Swiss Army knife approach in the scientific process seems proper. More comfortable now than before: Assume no — rather than add an assertion of a — prime mover. Lean against — instead of with — the sense of a singularity of cause and a cosmic telos. The universe seems too diffuse for this. The search for a first and sole cause is a simplistic endeavour in most manners, thus faulty in its searching: self-limiting. Work from the principle of, and see no base reason to, reject the unicity of reality — not necessarily ontological monism. Emergentist layers exhibit relative autonomy yet ultimately supervene on foundational strata. You should be skeptical of the superficial assertions of ‘ways of knowing,’ working with a bounded eliminative naturalism. There is value in a unified epistemological philosophical naturalism for approaching this unicity, then deriving a methodological pluralism as we see in most of the sciences today, proceeding forth into a principal of simulation for advanced scientific experimentation, extrapolation, and prediction.

2025-06-15

1164: Paul Mooney

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

1990s

“You made it up! You shouldn’t have made it up! … I say it, you think it.”

“I’m passionate about what I do. I’d be naïve to be passive.”

2000s

“There’s no such thing as reverse racism.”

“Arsenio Hall will have a new show called ‘Good Morning, Black America.’ It will be played at noon throughout the country.”

“American was too busy worrying about the land n‑‑‑‑s; they forgot about the sand n‑‑‑‑s.”

“White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.”

“Everybody wants to be Black until it’s time to be Black.”

“We have to stop that word. It’s not cute, it’s not funny. Say no to the N‑word.”

2010s

“White folks got their freedom. I’m going to be free, white and 21, too.”

“It’s forbidden to them, but allowed to us. Ain’t too many things like that. It’s liberating.”

“Listen, we’ve had one little ol’ Black president — white folks are upset, but they’ve had 43.”

“Truth is forever; when you read our history, truth is forever, and it always outs itself.”

“Racism is a form of insanity. Human beings became racist when they started talking.”

“We have a lot of Black Anglo‑Saxons … When I get real mad at them, I call them graham crackers.”

“White people are very good at acting like they’re not racist. They deserve an Academy Award for that.”

“Well, white folks, you shouldn’t have ever made up the word.”

“Film is a power for the white male.”

2025-06-15

1163: Taylor Swift

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

2019

“According to my birth certificate, I turn 30 this year. It’s weird because part of me still feels 18 and part of me feels 28, but the actual, factual age I currently am is 29.”

“If I did something good, it was for the wrong reasons. If I did something brave, I didn’t do it correctly. If I stood up for myself, I was throwing a tantrum.”

2020

“There’ll be happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you — both of these things can be true.”

2022

“We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us… Those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn’t easy to hear.”

“Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release… Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go… You get to pick what your life has time and room for.”

“Learn to live alongside cringe… Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime.”

“Being embarrassed when you mess up is part of the human experience… Getting back up, dusting yourself off and seeing who still wants to hang out with you afterward and laugh about it? That’s a gift.”

2023

“Nothing is permanent… So I’m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I’ve had it taken away from me before.”

“There is one thing I’ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art…Trash takes itself out every single time.”

2024

“For me, the award is the work. All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much. It makes me so happy.”

“I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song… or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love.”

2025-06-15

1162: Heinrich Müller

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

Escape artist.

2025-06-15

1161: Lil Nas X

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/07

“I like boys who have a smell to ‘em.”

2025-06-15

1160: The Dream

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/06

For most, is to wake up,

to hear another’s engine humming,

on soft mute.

2025-06-15

1159: Trust

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/05

Trustless societies are poor societies.

Trustless couples are loveless couples.

So, work on trust.

2025-06-15

1158: Fei-Fei Li

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/05

So smart, she put the P in GPT.

2025-06-15

1157: Carol Gilligan and Lawrence Kohlberg, Betrothed

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/05

One argues for the telos of Reason.

Another argues for the purpose of Connection.

Naturally, they’re both right.

2025-06-15

1156: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

“Iceland will become the best country in the world for women.”

2025-06-15

1155: How

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

If you are asking, “How can I get them to treat me right?”

You’re asking the wrong question.

2025-06-15

1154: A big old mountain

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

The good thing about mountains,

for clarity.

They are always there,

particularly good if they got some dirt and grass on ‘em

even better if some trees, mixed up and in.

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ big rocky thing?

2025-06-15

1153: Jordan Peterson

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

He did not,

force himself on the culture and become famous.

The Culture forced itself on him.

2025-06-15

1152: Texture

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

The texture of some emotions,

are so embodied,

unthreading takes time.

So, some worths happen in time, not at once.

2025-06-15

1151: Water

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

I love the sound of water splashing on water.

2025-06-15

1150: Philomena Cunk

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

Genius,

Friend of Paul.

2025-06-15

1149: A Prayer

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

Do you ever see a puppy stare at the front door,

at the top of the stairs, awaiting a parent?

Do you ever wish for something to happen,

randomly on a walk, unrelated to the moment?

The puppy will wait,

for hours.

Some prayer is a wish-to-happen.

When we call for the dead,

it’s not for hours,

but a lifetime.

We are puppies,

and we walk down the steps through life to that,

damn door.

2025-06-15

1148: Cody Johnston

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

Able to stare down the barrel, and funny: smart.

Some More News, please.

2025-06-15

1147: What Matters

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/04

What matters to you,

will change, eventually,

not all of it.

Be mindful of that.

2025-06-15

1146: Touch

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/03

Let’s touch, like no one else has before,

like no one is watching,

as no one is here.

2025-06-15

1145: Rain

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/03

Some people make the rain a delightful company.

2025-06-15

1144: “No, no, please don’t.”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/03

Not all cries are alone.

Though, not all cries keep another.

Therefore, not all alones are cries, rather pleas as “please.”

Or, some cry-less alones can be worse than cries together.

2025-06-15

1143: Wanting and Accepting

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/02

There is a distinction between,

wanting to be wanted,

and wanting to be accepted.

2025-06-15

1142: Horse Girls

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/02

The nicest mean girls you’ll ever meet.

It’s terribly great.

It’s awfully wonderful.

It’s tragically fabulous.

It’s adorably evil.

It’s painfully perfect.

It’s wickedly charming.

2025-06-15

1141: Showjumpers

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/02

I knew a single mom of two, a farrier.

I lived on the horse farm. Her trailer burned down.

She continued onwards, as if nothing happened.

This is the mentality of equestrians.

There’s a lesson there.

2025-06-15

1140: Gossamer

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/01

Most humans are, and for the better.

2025-06-15

1139: The Court of Camelittle

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/30

Because nothing is manlier than:

live-tweeting your No-Nut-November “streak.”

ranting on hypergamy at 2 a.m.

being obsessed about meat and men without shirts.

rating everyone’s sexual market value like day-traders.

proclaiming yourself an alpha male on Reddit.

spending Friday night memorizing pickup lines.

announcing you’re going your own way — then publishing a manifesto.

calling women shallow.

punching homosexuals.

launching a red-pill podcast for no one.

warning women about “the Wall” while ignoring a receding hairline.

tweeting all Andrew Tate’s tenets before breakfast.

boasting about your NoFap “superpowers” during a blackout.

calling strangers “soy boys” while sipping a soy-milk latte.

dropping your bench-press PR into every thread.

ranking unwatched manosphere podcasts.

“negging” dates because a pickup blog said so.

paying $2,997 to learn “hi.”

chewing a jaw exerciser to looks-maxx.

tweeting your monk-mode focus journey.

launching a crypto hustle “for the bros.”

starting each dawn with an “alpha” cold shower and ending it flame-posting on Reddit.

2025-06-15

1138: Cultural Love Switch

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/30

We’ve taken a culture in which once-loveds were cherished memories,

and shifted them into something for resentment.

This misery is recreated individually.

Lucky lovers versus victims of history.

Therefore, the cultural tacit incentive structures, even on love, changed.

2025-06-15

1137: Dear

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/30

Dear,

I can’t tell you who you are.

That’s something you find, as with life.

You enter the flow.

Life is something you take part in, with everyone.

And you can lose it once found, sometimes.

2025-06-15

1136: Sites for Sight

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/30

If I was a het-woman, even bi. woman, I would find — as the great philosopher 50 Cent said — “many, many, many men” rather amusing when in line of sight of a beautiful woman; they embody novelty as if the first genetically gifted or aesthetically sculpted has ever entered their occipital lobe at that moment.

2025-06-15

1135: Decency

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/30

Intelligence, Kindness, and Duty balanced.

2025-06-15

1134: The Prime Mover

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/29

The “Prime Mover”?

God, of course.

Who moved Him?

Welp, we define him without evidence as self-moving, so neener-neener-neener… Also, we said it in Latin, so it’s more evidenced now.

2025-06-15

1133: Lizzy McAlpine

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/29

“I didn’t mean to kiss you. I mean, I did, but I didn’t think it’d go this far.”

2025-06-15

1132: Elon Musk

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/29

I used to know a guy who was in the military.

He was an Orthodox Christian.

On his ground, he had video games.

He had a bag of military gear, infantry.

On his fridge, he had a picture, not of Christ,

but Elon Musk.

Isn’t this idolatry, profanity, to their theology?

Somewhere between calf and bull, between gold and 30 pieces of silver.

2025-06-15

1131: “I’m sorry, Mrs. Jackson. I am for real.”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/29

A chuckle out of this.

I have gotten “Jacobsen,” “Scotty,” “Jacobs,” “Jacob,” “Mr. Jacob,” “Mr. Jacobs,” “Mr. Scott,” “Jackson,” “Douglas,” “Mr. Douglas,” and “Mr. Jackson.”

2025-06-15

1130: Hello

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/29

Sometimes, “Hello” is harder than goodbye,

because it came after the “bye.”

2025-06-15

1129: Unknotting the American Psyche

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

Dear American,

You may feel unwell, under the weather: weather sucks, clothe’s are unstylish, food’s expired, Uber driver was rude, you are the Uber driver, right? Unhappy, so, so distend the inward.

Maybe, be happy in being happy for another non-American who is happy, isn’t this part of the American Dream in the pursuit of happiness, with others?

Sincerely,

Canadian

2025-06-15

1128: Houzan Mahmoud

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

“I am happy to have survived, but I always remember those who didn’t make it.”

2025-06-15

1127: Dave Chappelle

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

“I hope the shit don’t make me famous.”

2025-06-15

1126: Arlen Riley Wilson and Robert Anton Wilson

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

“This is the end

of the tunnel

and guess what

there is

a little

light…”

“…I love you.”

2025-06-15

1125: Curtis Yarvin

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

Jabba the Hut.

2025-06-15

1124: Unfortunately

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/28

The most cruel and vengeful individuals whom I have known have been self-identified Christians.

They sincerely believe their infinite tomorrow is, in a way, a guarantee.

Which makes the cruelty and vengeance easier for them, rather than necessarily more biblical.

Unfortunately, there is only a finite, tomorrow, even if.

2025-06-15

1123: To Stand Under

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

The closest proximity between infinity and zero is the point of death to life, and vice versa.

The nearest geography in the mental space of the dead and the living, of this infinite and zero, is the degree to which we truly understand the dead and how little we know each other.

Only one group is burdened by this realization; so, who’s luckier?

2025-06-15

1122: Richard Pryor

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

“I think about dying. I’ve come to realize we all die alone in one way or another.”

2025-06-15

1121: Noam Chomsky on God

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

1998

“How do I define God? I don’t. Divinities have been understood in various ways in the cultural traditions that we know. Take, say, the core of the established religions today: the Bible. It is basically polytheistic, with the warrior God demanding of his chosen people that they not worship the other Gods and destroy those who do — in an extremely brutal way, in fact. It would be hard to find a more genocidal text in the literary canon, or a more violent and destructive character than the God who was to be worshipped.”

1999

“Do I believe in God? Can’t answer, I’m afraid. I’m not being flippant, but I don’t understand the question. … I’ve never heard of any reason for believing that.”

2006

“When people ask me if I’m an atheist, I have to ask them what they mean. What is it that I’m supposed not to believe in? Until you can answer that question, I can’t tell you whether I’m an atheist, and the question doesn’t arise.”

2010

“Religion is based on the idea that God is an imbecile. He can’t figure these things out. If that’s what it is, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

2011

“My point was that it’s up to those who believe there are spiritual forces to answer the questions you are raising. I don’t use the concept myself.”

2013

“Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that — it’s astonishing. These numbers aren’t duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world.”

2016

“The US is also unusual in the enormous scale of religious fundamentalism. The impact on understanding of the world is extraordinary.”

2017

“While I think in principle people should not have irrational beliefs, I should say that as a matter of fact, it is people who hold what I regard as completely irrational beliefs who are among the most effective moral actors in the world.”

2020

“I know of no reason to believe in an afterlife or divine justice.”

2025-06-15

1120: Dave Matthews on God

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

2001 — “I can’t believe in a god that would send people to hell.”

2009 — “I can’t believe in a God who cares about me. That God is impossible.”

2009 — “If there is a God I would like to punch him in the face.”

2013 — “I’m glad some people have that faith. I don’t have that faith. If there is a God … then we have to figure he’s done an extraordinary job of making a very cruel world.”

2022 — “I’m not anti-Christian or anti-religion, but the way people use Christianity to write public policy is very dangerous rhetoric … as soon as morality becomes a tool to exclude people, things begin to crumble.”

2025-06-15

1119: Connie Britton’s Deconversion from Christianity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

2017

“Britton has been meditating for years — 20, to be exact. ‘[Meditating] is something that I’ve found to be really effective for so many different things,’ she says, ‘but certainly for my health, stress levels, mental clarity, and general well-being.’”

2024

“I was raised Southern Baptist but now I’m not affiliated with any organized religion. I like to explore spirituality on my own terms.”

2025-06-15

1117: Lizzo

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

“Why men great ’til they gotta be great?”

2025-06-15

1118: Jon Steingard’s Deconversion from Christianity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

How does someone go from boldly running after God, believing the Bible secures our salvation, to publicly wrestling with doubt, questioning God’s very existence, and finally embracing agnosticism — while still praying for a God who may or may not be there?

2015

“‘Sold Out’ is one of my favourite songs on the record because it speaks so boldly and unequivocally about our desire to run after God, regardless of culture or circumstance.”

“Our relationship with God is already secured with what was done on the cross. What if we went into life with confidence of knowing we are already loved?”

“For me, the chorus is a prayer… In reality, God’s interested in the condition of our hearts and our lives will flow out of that.”

2020

“After growing up in a Christian home, being a pastor’s kid, playing and singing in a Christian band, and having the word ‘Christian’ in front of most of the things in my life — I am now finding that I no longer believe in God.The process of getting to that sentence has been several years in the making.”

“I’ve been terrified to post this for a while … I want to be open. I want to be transparent with you all.”

“I didn’t sleep too well that night … but what I come back to is that this is true. This is how I really feel.”

“I was not entirely prepared for that. It’s been really cool because it’s enabled me to connect with so many people … in the same boat as me.”

“The boat for me is that I really thought that I would post that and be done — but what I discovered was … I felt so free, but then very quickly I was like, ‘OK, so what do you believe?’”

“I even have a hard time saying I don’t believe in God because I’m sort of like ‘oh, maybe.’”

“A lot of the things that you would need to believe in order to say that you’re a Christian, I have a hard time believing. But then I also don’t feel satisfied with just a completely atheistic perspective.”

“I’ve never had more conversations about God than I’m having right now … There’s so much I didn’t know.”

“I still pray. When I pray now, it sounds something like ‘God, I don’t know if you’re there … but if you are … can you show up in my life?’”

“Or you could just love them.”

“I was ensconced in this culture and my career was a part of that, and questioning it would have meant undermining my career — so for a long time I just didn’t.”

“So often I would say, ‘You know, I am really wondering about this,’ and you would just see this look of relief … ‘Oh, thank you for saying that, I’ve wondered that too.’”

“I noticed there were a lot of people in Christian culture my age … beginning to ask the same questions … so I just found myself being like, ‘Well, I’ll go first!’”

“The things that I am seeing here do not dovetail with the idea of an all-powerful and all-loving God.”

“There is no way that I can believe in God the way that I used to.”

2021

“I really did believe and I had questions, but I was afraid to even ask them alone by myself. I was afraid to present them to myself.”

“And that kind of thing wrecked me … I came back from that trip and I was just like, ‘There is no way that I can believe in God the way that I used to.’”

“Why is it that God is so mysterious that we don’t seem to have more direct access? I’ve never actually seen — never heard God’s voice directly.”

2022

“I have publicly said that I don’t believe in God, but more than ever, I find myself motivated to live in such a way that sort of indicates that I do.”

“For example, I still pray … ‘If you’re not there, what I’m doing isn’t harming anything. But if you are there, can you show up?’”

“How much time do you have? Problem of Evil, Divine Hiddenness, irregularities in biblical texts, wide-ranging interpretations … history of use by empire for conquest, and the state of Christian culture in America.”

“It’s funny because very little about my lifestyle changed. There weren’t many things I wanted to do that the church wouldn’t approve of.”

“It’s vacillated between ‘Oh, this is an interesting conversation’ and ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ But both our sets of parents love us well … I’m really grateful for that.”

2023

“Grew up: Evangelical | Currently: Agnostic | Could see myself becoming: a general theist that mostly rejects religion.”

2025-06-15

1116: Rhett McLaughlin’s Deconversion

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/27

“I had been pulling on this thread for a really long time…Let’s call it the sweater of faith…I had been pulling on this thread until it had sort of turned into a vest…and then a midriff…and then a halter top…and now it was a string bikini. And then I was like [fwip] I’m gonna take the bikini off.”

“At some point became convinced that natural selection is undeniable.”

“I constantly, constantly thought: Oh, crap, what if I’m wrong?”

“I didn’t want to believe this…I didn’t want to leave this thing. This was my LIFE.”

“No one that I was in personal contact with…pastors, Christian friends, elders in the church…none of them disappointed me or let me down. I did not have a personal tragedy…but I was angry at the thinkers. I was angry at the people who wrote the books.”

“I kind of saw Christianity as this boat in a very stormy sea. It’s stable. There’s a lot of other people on it. It’s got a destination. You’re gonna get through this. It gives you something to hold on to. It gives you stability. It gives you purpose. It gives you direction. And it gives you community.”

“I understand the anguish, sleepless nights, and countless tears that come with abandoning your orienting principle of life. It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever done.”

“I would call myself a hopeful agnostic. Meaning I don’t know, but I hope. I hope there’s something.”

2025-06-15

1115: Knock on What, Victimhood Psychology

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

“For example, sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning write that not long ago, the U.S. had a ‘dignity culture,’ in which people believed in their worth regardless of what others thought of them. Recently, they argue, American culture has moved toward a ‘victimhood culture’ in which people ‘seek to cultivate an image of being victims who deserve assistance.’ In this new culture, they argue, there is status in being a victim of slights — especially when these slights are announced on social media.”

Jean M. Twenge

“They noted that the emerging morality of victimhood culture was radically different from dignity culture. They defined a victimhood culture as having three distinct attributes: First, ‘individuals and groups display high sensitivity to slight’; second, they ‘have a tendency to handle conflicts through complaints to third parties’; and third, they ‘seek to cultivate an image of being victims who deserve assistance.’”

Jonathan Haidt

“In dignity cultures, there is a low sensitivity to slight. People are more tolerant of insult and disagreement. Children might be taught some variant of ‘Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.’ It’s good to have ‘thick skin,’ and people might be criticized for being too touchy and overreacting to slights.”

Bradley Campbell & Jason Manning

“Although conceptual change is inevitable and often well-motivated, concept creep runs the risk of pathologizing everyday experience and encouraging a sense of virtuous but impotent victimhood.”

Nick Haslam

“People who have just been wronged or reminded of a time when they were wronged feel entitled to positive outcomes, leading them to behave selfishly. They no longer feel obligated to suffer for others and therefore pass up opportunities to be helpful.”

Elizabeth Zitek & Alexander H. Jordan

“Three studies found that the victim strategy consistently reduced blame, while the hero strategy was at best ineffectual and at worst harmful.”

Kurt Gray & Daniel M. Wegner

“Self-defined victimhood is a psychological state whereby, regardless of the etiology of the feeling or the ‘truth’ of the matter, one who perceives herself to be a victim is a victim.”

Miles T. Armaly & Adam M. Enders

“A sense of self-perceived collective victimhood emerges as a major theme in the ethos of conflict of societies involved in intractable conflict and is a fundamental part of the collective memory of the conflict.”

Daniel Bar-Tal et al.

“Common-enemy identity politics, when combined with microaggression theory, produces a call-out culture in which almost anything anyone says or does could result in a public shaming.”

Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

2025-06-15

1114: Dichotomy

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Anne Frank: “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

Ted Bundy: “We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.”

Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Ted Bundy: “I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.”

Anne Frank: “Whoever is happy will make others happy too.”

Ted Bundy: “I am the most cold-hearted son of a b**** you will ever meet.”

Anne Frank: “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”

Ted Bundy: “I’m not looking for anything. I’m just living my life, and if someone gets in the way, that’s their problem.”

Anne Frank: “I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.”

Ted Bundy: “I don’t think anybody doubts whether I’ve done some bad things. The question is: what, of course, and how and, maybe even most importantly, why?”

Anne Frank: “I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me!”

Ted Bundy: “I don’t want to die. I’m not going to kid you. I deserve, certainly, the most extreme punishment society has… but I don’t want to die.”

Anne Frank: “I have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time.”

Ted Bundy: “I’m the only one that’s going to die, and I’m not afraid of it. I’m not afraid of anything.”

Anne Frank: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.”

Ted Bundy: “I’m as cold a motherfucker as you’ve ever put your fucking eyes on. I don’t give a shit about those people.”

Anne Frank: “I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself and then I am satisfied.”

Ted Bundy: “I am a man. I am not a monster. I am a human being.”

2025-06-15

1113: Lingueality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

The Word says Universe knows itself, sumsay.

But ampersans evidence, it’sa justa play, on wordplay, eh.

So the start of the Word on words, say John today, is a nay.

It’s not our Lingueality, so.

2025-06-15

1112: Demonization of Religious Conservatives

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

“Liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them.”

Lenny Bruce

2009

“The absence of empathetic imagination — the inability to see members of the ‘pariah’ group as being like oneself — is the psychological foundation for participation in dehumanizing a fellow human being.”

Beverly Eileen Mitchell

2012

“Liberals misunderstand conservatives more than the other way around.”

Jonathan Haidt

2015

“The impulse to divide people into good or evil, I call ‘pathological dualism,’ a mindset that can fuel violent action.”

Jonathan Sacks

“There is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization, which would divide it into these two camps.”

Pope Francis

“Genocide is only possible when dehumanization happens on a massive scale, and the perfect tool for this job is propaganda: it keys right into the neural networks that understand other people, and dials down the degree to which we empathize with them.”

David Eagleman

2017

“The White House is a huge soapbox…The demonization of Muslims and Islam will become even more widespread.”

Asma Afsaruddin

2019

“Violence is most likely to occur when political leaders use dehumanizing language against their opponents.”

Boaz Hameiri

“The shaping of the public into antagonistic tribes…is a recipe for social disintegration. I watched competing ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia seize rival mass media outlets and use them to spew vitriol and hate against the ethnic group they demonized.”

Chris Hedges

“Trump is ‘summoning demons,’ whipping up a mob poised to perpetrate violence and invite retributive violence.”

Rod Dreher

2020

“That is often where things lead,” he said. “As either a justification post hoc for treating somebody differently or, in some cases, a precursor to treating a group differently.”

Alexander Theodoridis

“While we can all accept that bullying and abuse betray a lack or loss of respect for other human beings, there is a deeper issue: the devaluing of human life; and that in turn indicates a lack or loss of respect for the Giver of human life and dignity, God Himself. The message a bully sends is a mockery of God’s handiwork, a lie that slanders God’s nature and negates His love for us.”

Frank E. Peretti

–

1844

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

Karl Marx

1878

“I think it would be impossible for the imagination to conceive of a worse religion than orthodox Christianity. It is nothing but a hideous distortion of good and a fearful embodiment of evil.”

Robert G. Ingersoll

1989

“It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).”

Richard Dawkins

2003

“I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals.”

Matt Stone

2003

“Conservatives think liberals are stupid, and liberals think conservatives are evil.”

Charles Krauthammer

“This administration works closely with a network of rapid-response digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for ‘undermining support for our troops.’”

Al Gore

2004

“The Republican party is the party of nostalgia. It seeks to return America to a simpler, more innocent and moral past that never actually existed. The Democrats are utopians who seek a future that cannot possibly be achieved. Together, the two parties function like giant down comforters — comforting, but incapable of accomplishing anything.”

Jon Stewart

2005

“I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for.”

Howard Dean

“I think religion is a neurological disorder.”

Bill Maher

2006

“Faith is like a mental illness, a great cop-out, the excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.”

Richard Dawkins

2007

“We have names for people who have many beliefs for which there is no rational justification. When their beliefs are extremely common, we call them religious; otherwise, they are likely to be called mad, delusional, or psychotic.”

Sam Harris

2007

“Religion poisons everything.”

Christopher Hitchens

“What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.”

Christopher Hitchens

2008

“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Barack Obama

2011

“Unfortunately, not exactly like [Yasser Arafat]. I wish [Congressional Republicans] were f — -ing dead.”

Dan Savage

2013

“They are the Taliban wing of American politics. We all ought to be a little worried about them.”

Julian Bond

“At this point, the Tea Party is no more popular than the Klan.”

Rep. Alan Grayson

“Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don’t have all the answers to think that they do.”

Bill Maher

2016

“Islam at this moment is the mother lode of bad ideas.”

Sam Harris

2016

“You could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it.”

Hillary Clinton

2018

“It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you — that’s called mental illness.”

Joy Behar

2020

“[Trump supporters are] the credulous boomer rube demo that wants to think Donald Trump’s the smart one, and y’all elitists are dumb.”

Rick Wilson

2021

“The monsters had grown fat on the lie of a stolen election. They’d grown brazen and entitled and violent on falsehoods.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“He [Senator Joe Manchin] wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia: poor, illiterate and strung-out.”

Bette Midler

2022

“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins — I’m going to say something — it’s like semi-fascism.”

President Joe Biden

“Some of the answers will come from Republicans — not the extremists that we’re dealing with every single day. We’ve got to kill and confront that movement.”

Rep. Tim Ryan

2024

“You know that I give Republicans in Congress a hard time. But every so often you’ve gotta just step back and appreciate how much harder of a time they give themselves.”

Stephen Colbert

“Religious faith gives people a gold-plated excuse to stop thinking.”

Daniel Dennett

2025-06-15

1111: ‘Fast-Paced World’

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

I do not know if this holds water.

I am leaning more towards the technology-infused change of task switching.

A less fast-paced world, a more distracted world, rather.

2025-06-15

1110: Grains of Sand

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

The tropes about the grains of sand on the beach and atoms in the universe, or people who have ever existed, are, indeed, factual; while, the lesser mentioned frame of the metaphor is the other fact: how apparently uniform most grains of sand are while still being universally unique in their own right, even in near homogeneity.

2025-06-15

1109: ‘The Golden Years’

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Are you sure? They don’t look so good.

2025-06-15

1108: Brogue-rite

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Siltriller donned coax und fiery fair, mad in the chin; aegir, aether, or, and if it works, then it quarks.

2025-06-15

1107: ‘Population decline,’ or “I was in the pool!”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

The 2024 revision of the United Nations World Population Prospects (medium-variant series) describes 42 of the 193 UN member states — excluding the Holy See and the State of Palestine — having a ‘shrinkage’ or an absolute demographic decline (48 if micro-states and non-sovereign areas are included). All-time peak populations for those 42 were between 1980 and 2023:

1980s

Hungary (1980)
Bulgaria (1989)

1990s

Albania (1990)
Estonia (1990)
Latvia (1990)
Romania (1990)
Armenia (1991)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1991)
Croatia (1991)
Lithuania (1991)
Georgia (1992)
Belarus (1993)
Moldova (1993)
Russia (1993)
Ukraine (1993)
Serbia (1995)

2000s

Barbados (2000)
Dominica (2000)
Saint Lucia (2000)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2000)
North Macedonia (2001)
Cuba (2006)
Andorra (2008)
Portugal (2008)
Japan (2008)

2010s

Greece (2010)
Montenegro (2011)
Poland (2012)
Grenada (2012)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (2013)
Italy (2014)
Slovenia (2014)
Trinidad and Tobago (2014)
Mauritius (2019)
Tonga (2019)

2020s

South Korea (2020)
China (2021)
Slovakia (2021)
Monaco (2022)
San Marino (2022)
Uruguay (2022)
Seychelles (2023)

Gender equity and automation will fill some of the gap for those and some upcoming cold pool divers. 151 out of 193 member states aren’t shrinking. 63 have peaked, 42 are shrinking — many only recently, and the rest are growing.

The United Nations’ World Population Prospects 2024 approximates a peak of 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in The Lancet estimated a peak of 9.73 billion in 2064, and the Wittgenstein Centre’s 2023 estimate is a peak of 10.13 billion in 2080.

Therefore: Is this the issue?

No, not even close to the most important. Anthropogenic climate change, nuclear war, reduction of democratic tendencies, gender parity regression, rights abuse, extreme weather, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, geopolitical conflict, large-scale involuntary migration, social distrust, misinformation and disinformation, seem more salient now, than simply more consumers, more units, in societies — for now.

2025-06-15

1106: Dehumanization of the Left & Authoritarian Mass Psychology

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Nick Haslam (2006)

“Denying uniquely human attributes to others represents them as animal-like, and denying human nature represents them as objects or automata. Those are the two core forms of dehumanization.”

Susan Benesch (2006)

“Dehumanizing language is a hallmark of Dangerous Speech, because it makes violence seem acceptable toward the targeted group.”

Timothy Snyder (2017)

“Trump’s talk about the ‘enemy within’ and ‘vermin’ is a vocabulary we know from history — the vocabulary fascist leaders used while rising to power. They didn’t pull the trigger themselves; their language licensed others to do it.”

Jason Stanley (2018)

“When a leader calls opponents ‘vermin’ he attunes the audience to rats — and to the practices you use on rats. That is how hate speech prepares people to accept, or commit, political violence.”

Henry A. Giroux (2018)

“Fascism arrives through the language of hate, bigotry, dehumanization … but also through the everyday acceptance of that language.”

Federico Finchelstein (2020)

“Fascists take the violent, discriminatory tendencies already in society and radicalize them, put them in political terms, and make them part of a cult.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat (2020)

“They use dehumanizing language … all these groups who ‘live like vermin.’ This is exactly what the original fascists did; Hitler started calling Jews ‘parasites’ in 1920, softening the public up for violence.”

—

A. Mitchell Palmer (1920)

“Like a prairie fire, the blaze of revolution was sweeping over every American institution of law and order … It was eating its way into the homes of the American workman, its sharp tongues of revolutionary heat were licking the altars of the churches, leaping into schools, crawling into the sacred corners of American homes…”

Benito Mussolini (1927)

“Bolshevism must be fought like a pestilential bacillus which contaminates everything it touches. Against it, we must mobilize our moral forces as one would mobilize against a deadly epidemic.”

Joseph Goebbels (1933)

“Now the red plague will be eradicated root and branch. The German people will rise up like one man against this pestilence that threatened to destroy everything sacred.”

Francoist Agrarian pamphlet (Spain, 1939)

“The fight against the red plague is the fight to save our fatherland, our religion, our traditions, and our very existence. The red infestation must be uprooted without mercy or hesitation.”

Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950, 1952)

“The State Department is infested with communists. I have here in my hand a list of 205 — a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”

“Our job as Americans and as Republicans is to dislodge the traitors from every place where they’ve been sent to do their traitorous work.”

General Suharto & Indonesian Army (propaganda orders, 1965–66)

“It is necessary to exterminate the communists down to their very roots (menumpas sampai ke akar-akarnya) so that they do not rise again to threaten the nation.”

Pinochet officers at Estadio Chile (1973)

“Listen, you Marxist scum! You traitors! You filthy communists! You who have sold your country to foreigners! We are going to cleanse Chile of your filth!”

Argentine junta doctrine (Dirty War, 1976–77)

“Subversive elements are like a cancer that infects the social body. Just as a surgeon cuts away gangrenous flesh to save the patient, so must we remove these subversives from Argentine society.”

Salvadoran Atlacatl Battalion veteran (1981)

“Communism is a cancer. It spreads through villages, infecting everything good. If you’re a guerrilla, they don’t just kill you — they kill your family, your neighbors, to make sure the disease does not return.”

Paul Wiffen (UKIP candidate blog, 2010)

“You left-wing scum are all the same, wanting to hand our birth-right to Romanian gypsies, Muslim nutters, and every African who can get here. You have no loyalty to Britain.”

Rodrigo Duterte (televised speech, 2017)

“If you find yourselves in an armed encounter with the New People’s Army, kill them all. Finish them off. Do not think about human rights. I will take responsibility.”

Tommy Robinson (2017)

“Communist scum objecting to democracy, showing once again that the left cannot accept the will of the people.”

Rush Limbaugh (2017)

“This is human debris who have had their minds polluted and poisoned by the American left. They’re not protesters, they’re sick individuals filled with hatred and violence.”

Jair Bolsonaro (2018)

“We are going to machine-gun the petralhada here in Acre. Let’s send these crooks to eat grass elsewhere! PT [the Workers’ Party] will never return to power.”

Urban-Naxal meme / Hindutva online campaigns (2021)

“The termites are within us. These Urban Naxals are more dangerous than Pakistan, China, or any outside enemy because they rot the nation from the inside.”

Vladimir Putin (2021)

“The Russian people will be able to distinguish true patriots from the scum and the traitors and will simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths — spit them out onto the pavement.”

Donald J. Trump (2023)

“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, lying, stealing, cheating, and rigging elections.”

2025-06-15

1105: Whiteness

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Whiteness is a judicial anachronism, not a phenotype: U.S. Naturalization Act (1790), Ozawa (1922), Thind (1923). There is no standard.

Were the Irish white enough?

Were the Italians white enough?

Were the Jewish white enough?

What shall we make of Coloured, Pardos (mulatos, cafuzos, caboclos), and Visible Minority?

To argue for special derogations or laudations seems like racialist faith-based essentialism, so whether “anti-racist” racialist logic or racist rationales, moral righteousness and ethical conduct isn’t in the ‘race.’ It’s in the individual.

It’s not inborn like height.

It’s grown like roses.

2025-06-15

1104: The Smear Campaign

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Often, the best response to this form of abuser is none.

Yes, they will gaslight.

Yes, they will lie to friends.

Yes, they will lie to your colleagues.

Yes, they will use new social media.

Yes, they will send monkeys by flight.

Yes, they will rewrite history to avoid their shame and guilt.

Yes, the worst amongst them will continue for months and years, never relenting — be realistic.

Have they not shown themselves in their actions, sufficiently?

No response, still, is the best response.

Good luck in your thriving.

2025-06-15

1103: Valerie Solanas

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

“I consider [the shooting] a moral act. And I consider it immoral that I missed. I should have done target practice.”

“I have lots of reasons … Read my manifesto and it will tell you who I am.”

“Read my Manifesto — everything is in there.”

—
“Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex.”

“The male is a biological accident: the Y (male) gene is an incomplete X (female) gene, that is, it has an incomplete set of chromosomes. In other words, the male is an incomplete female, a walking abortion, aborted at the gene stage. To be male is to be deficient, emotionally limited; maleness is a deficiency disease and males are emotional cripples.”

“The male is completely egocentric, trapped inside himself, incapable of empathizing or identifying with others, or love, friendship, affection or tenderness. He is a completely isolated unit, incapable of rapport with anyone. His responses are entirely visceral, not cerebral; his intelligence is a mere tool in the service of his drives and needs; he is incapable of mental passion, mental interaction; he can’t relate to anything other than his own physical sensations.”

“He is trapped in a twilight zone halfway between humans and apes, and is far worse off than the apes because, unlike the apes, he is capable of a large array of negative feelings — hate, jealousy, contempt, disgust, guilt, shame, doubt — and moreover, he is aware of what he is and what he isn’t.”

“To call a man an animal is to flatter him; he’s a machine, a walking dildo. It’s often said that men use women. Use them for what? Surely not pleasure.”

“The male has a negative Midas Touch — everything he touches turns to shit.”

“Eaten up with guilt, shame, fears and insecurities and obtaining, if he’s lucky, a barely perceptible physical feeling, the male is, nonetheless, obsessed with screwing; he’ll swim a river of snot, wade nostril-deep through a mile of vomit, if he thinks there’ll be a friendly pussy awaiting him. He’ll screw a woman he despises, any snaggle-toothed hag, and, further, pay for the opportunity. Why? Relieving physical tension isn’t the answer, as masturbation suffices for that. It’s not ego satisfaction; that doesn’t explain screwing corpses and babies.”

“Every man, deep down, knows he’s a worthless piece of shit.”

“Women, in other words, don’t have penis envy; men have pussy envy. When the male accepts his passivity, defines himself as a woman (males as well as females think men are women and women are men), and becomes a transvestite he loses his desire to screw (or to do anything else, for that matter; he fulfills himself as a drag queen) and gets his dick chopped off. He then achieves a continuous diffuse sexual feeling from ‘being a woman.’ Screwing is, for a man, a defense against his desire to be female.”

“A ‘male artist’ is a contradiction in terms. A degenerate can only produce degenerate ‘art’. The true artist is every self-confident, healthy female, and in a female society the only Art, the only Culture, will be conceited, kooky, funky, females grooving on each other and on everything else in the universe.”

BONGI: “Men’re totally unreasonable; they can’t see why they should be eliminated.”

MISS COLLINS: “Shall I tell you a secret? I despise men. Oh, why do I have to be one of them? … Do you know what I’d like more than anything in the world? A lesbian. Then I could be the cake and eat it too.”

RUSSELL: “You don’t know what a female is, you desexed monstrosity.”

BONGI: “Quite the contrary, I’m so female, I’m subversive.”

2025-06-15

1102: Life

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/26

Life is updates, then deletion.

2025-06-15

1101: Four Old Men and a Man

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/25

One old man took me to the side many years ago and invited me.

I got to take part in meetings with four older gentlemen to talk about their lives, their politics, the needs of a small town.

It’s important to pass this experience on.

Others, clearly, did for them.

Those others were merely echoes through them.

It’s important to pass the music forward in the vast silence.

2025-06-14

1100: Paris Hilton

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/23

“I love your jacket. The sparkles are amazing… I wanted to find out who made it later… But I think the most important thing is we need access to therapy, counselling, mentorship, and other community-based programs.”

2025-06-14

1099: Pras

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/22

Killing me softly with his song,

Ghetto Supastar,

Ready or Not,

Fu-Gee-La.

Need we say more about Pras?

2025-06-14

1098: Louis C.K.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/22

Men have intent.

Women have judgment.

2025-06-14

1097: Jackel and Tide

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/22

“You are the one to carry on the work. I have the greatest hopes for you, and I am confident that you will advance our cause.”

Sigmund Freud, 1909

“Jung is brilliant, but he is going off into mysticism. His ideas are becoming too speculative, and he is abandoning the scientific foundation of psychoanalysis.”

Freud, 1912

“Freud was a great man, but he was caught in a kind of dogmatic rigidity. He wanted to hold onto his sexual theory as if it were a religion.”

Carl Jung, 1912

“Jung’s defection is a loss, but it is better that he goes his own way. His theories are incompatible with the truths of psychoanalysis.”

Freud, 1913

“I was in my thirties when I met Freud, and I was deeply impressed by his personality and his ideas. His theories were a great challenge to me, and I owe a great deal to him.”

Jung, 1950s

“Freud’s view was too limited; it was entirely focused on sexuality as the root of all psychological phenomena. I could not follow him there, as I saw the psyche as far broader, with spiritual and archetypal dimensions.”

Jung, 1961

2025-06-14

1096: Neuro-Symbolic Logic

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/21

AlphaGeometry, Quoc V. Le, “This is another example that reinforces how AI can help us advance science and better understand the underlying processes that determine how the world works.”

Logical Neural Networks, Ryan Riegel et al., “We propose a novel framework seamlessly providing key properties of both neural nets (learning) and symbolic logic (knowledge and reasoning).”

DeepStochLog, Thomas Winters et al., “Can be trained end-to-end” and “achieves state-of-the-art results on challenging neural-symbolic learning tasks.”

NeuroQL, Nikolaos Papoylias: “Baseline solution for Inter-Subjective Reasoning” that “extends logical unification with neural primitives for extraction and retrieval.”

Braid, Aditya Kalyanpur et al.: “Novel FOL-based reasoner” that “supports probabilistic rules” and uses “custom unification functions and dynamic rule generation.”

Neuro-Vector-Symbolic Architectures, Gary Marcus et al: “We cannot construct rich cognitive models in an adequate, automated way without the triumvirate of hybrid architecture, rich prior knowledge, and sophisticated techniques for reasoning.”

Integration of Large Language Models, Amy Stapleton: “We are entering a new world. The technologies of machine learning, speech recognition, and natural language understanding are reaching a nexus of capability. The end result is that we’ll soon have artificially intelligent assistants to help us in every aspect of our lives.”

2025-06-14

1095: John Stuart Mill

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/21

“Three Essays on Religion”:

“It’s not too much to say that every indication of Design in the Kosmos is evidence against the Omnipotence of the Designer. For what is meant by Design? Contrivance: the adaptation of means to an end. But the necessity for contrivance — the need of employing means — is a consequence of the limitation of power. Who would have recourse to means if to attain his end his mere word was sufficient? The very idea of means implies that the means have an efficacy which the direct action of the being who employs them has not. … Wisdom and contrivance are shown in overcoming difficulties, so there is no place for them in a Being for whom no difficulties exist.”

“A System of Logic”:

“To define, is to select from among all the properties of a thing, those which shall be understood to be designated and declared by its name; and the properties must be well known to us before we can be competent to determine which of them are fittest to be chosen for this purpose.”

“Examination of Sir William Hamilton’s Philosophy”:

“The conception of such a being, I will not say of such a God, is worse than a ‘fasciculus of negations;’ it is a fasciculus of contradictions: and our author might have spared himself the trouble of proving a thing to be unknowable, which cannot be spoken of but in words implying the impossibility of its existence. To insist on such a truism is not superfluous, for there have been philosophers who saw that this must be the meaning of ‘The Absolute,’ and yet accepted it as a reality. ‘What kind of an Absolute Being is that,’ asked Hegel, ‘which does not contain in itself all that is actual, even evil included?’ Undoubtedly: and it is therefore necessary to admit, either that there is no Absolute Being, or that the law, that contradictory propositions cannot both be true, does not apply to the Absolute. Hegel chose the latter side of the alternative; and by this, among other things, has fairly earned the honor, which will probably be awarded to him by posterity, of having logically extinguished transcendental metaphysics by a reductio ad absurdum.”

2025-06-14

1094: President Kane

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/21

“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is to have them come in… The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff… In fact, there’s another theory: the tariff, you make it so high, so horrible, so obnoxious, that they’ll come right away.”

45th and 47th President of the United States, Hon. Donald Trump

“The word rosebud is maybe the most significant word in film in what we all watch.

The wealth, the sorrow, the unhappiness, the happiness just struck lots of different notes. Citizen Kane was really about accumulation. And at the end of the accumulation, you see what happens, and it’s not necessarily all positive. Not positive. But I think he learned in Kane that maybe wealth isn’t everything because he had the wealth, but he didn’t have the happiness.

The table getting larger and larger and larger with he and his wife getting further and further apart as he got wealthier and wealthier. Perhaps I can understand that. The relationship that he had was not a good one for him. Probably not a great one for her, although there were benefits for her. But in the end, she was certainly not a happy camper.

In real life, I believe that wealth does in fact isolate you from other people. It’s a protective mechanism. You have your guard up much more so than you would if you didn’t have wealth. There was a great rise in Citizen Kane, and there was a modest fall. The fall wasn’t a financial fall.

The fall was a personal fall. But it was a fall, nevertheless. So you had the highs and you had the lows. A lot of people don’t really understand the significance of it. I’m not sure if anybody understands the significance, but I think the significance is bringing a lonely, rather sad figure back into his childhood.

The word rosebud, for whatever reason, has captivated moviegoers and movie watchers for so many years and to this day is perhaps the single word. And perhaps if they came up with another word that meant the same thing, it wouldn’t have worked. But rosebud works… For whatever reason.”

Mr. Donald Trump

2025-06-14

1093: Woke Tariffs

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/20

Woke is, essentially, the flat tariffs of social justice.

Bad people are scared, get consequences: good!

Good people are harmed, get scared: good?

2025-06-14

1092: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/20

Maybe, we should leave the Hero concept to the comic books and movies.

The One Above All will be one to visit Parker only in our ink-stained imaginaria.

2025-06-14

1091: H.L. Mencken

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/20

“The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line.”

2025-06-14

1090: Geraldo Rivera

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/19

Do you mean the visually impaired moustache?

2025-06-14

1089: A Big Pair of Fake Tits

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/19

America.

2025-06-14

1088: Graveyards

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/19

I love the sound of wind on graveyard grass at night.

Same for the moonlight on them.

I love the cold silence and calm of faded engravings and forgotten memory.

Same for the stillness of those feelings.

Graveyards do us a great deal of good, not too big.

I walked through one a lot growing up, stood too.

No one’s home there.

They never left.

The generic dead’s greatest gift is the presence of absence.

2025-06-14

1087: Angels Wailing, Weeping

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/18

And when their time came, only they, and One, heard their tears.

In this sense, our houseless are closer and in more intimate terms to their God, than them.

2025-06-14

1086: General and Multi-Specialism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/18

There is, indeed, a separation between generalized artificial intelligence and multiple integrated artificial narrow intelligences.

There is also, indeed, cause to believe the latter has been confused for the former.

2025-06-14

1085: Love is a camping trip drive

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/18

It’s the tension of the in-between, of in-and-out.

When you’re driving in the late winter on the highway and stick your head out the window,

between the pinching cold pain and crisp freshness of clear mountain air,

and the audibly heard and anticipated smell of the fart in the car.

2025-06-14

1084: The Cost of Religion in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/17

Conservative estimates by the British Columbia Humanist Association and Center for Inquiry Canada research sets the minimum benchmark at about a billion dollars Canadian, or about fifty-three hundred dollars American and a tank of gas and a pack of Triscuits after tariffs.

2025-06-14

1083: The Gospel of Jesus Christ “Superstar,” Son of God

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/17

I am.

You are.

HE IS.

(Pronouns: Thee/Thou/Thine)

2025-06-14

1082: Down in Atlanta

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/16

Not only is it where you get a long, great history of rap from Pharrell Williams and Travis Scott, but it is also the only city where the Uber driver warned me to be careful outside at night and in the hotel.

Cool, that’s good to know.

2025-06-14

1081: Americanism with Chinese Characteristics

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/16

Standardized tests, meritocracy emphasis rising, increasing belief in and practice of acupuncture, herbal medicine, feng shui, tai chi, and martial arts, even in Kansas; vast land purchases by the Chinese state; Kansas isn’t even Kansas anymore.

2025-06-14

1080: Make China Great Again

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/16

The problem with iron fists is they tend to rust quite a bit in storms, particularly around ponds and an ocean.

2025-06-14

1079: Art by Trina

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/16

“Do you like art?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cats?”

“Absolutely.”

“Here’s one by Trina Schart Hyman (1939 ~ 2004) ‘A Perfect Gray Day’”

“I’m sorry: Trina, who?”

2025-06-14

1078: Aleister Crowley

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/15

“Every man and every woman is a star.”

Mr. Crowley, please.

Every person is a galaxy.

We know far less of the inner workings.

In fact, we don’t know the central-most point entirely.

“Do what thou wilt.”

If one is to will what they will and only that True Will, of course, ‘thou art’ bound to ‘wilt’ is true also, and thus false in its truth.

Nay? Or, then what are Yeats?

2025-06-14

1077: Lost the Self

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/14

When you say, “I lost myself.” Where did you go, exactly?

Immersion does not necessarily mean loss.

It can mean more. You didn’t “go” anywhere.

Which means that we are necessarily extended.

There is no island.

2025-06-14

1076: A Burden in and with

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/11

A burden that I feel is being witness to so many struggles and tragedies, and the multiplicative effect of time on people of these, and being helpless in being able to help; it’s within; most stories are to be left, to be.

2025-06-14

1075: Little raindrop

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/11

“Why do I fall down so?”

“Why am I cold so?”

“Why am I so rain so, so little so?”

“Why does the dirt ocean accept me so?”

“So, why do I return to home so, so soon?”

“Why do I fall down so?”

“Why am I cold so?”

“Why am I so rain so, so little so?”

“Why does the water accept me so?”

“So much so, I am so, so as to be no longer so.”

2025-06-14

1074: Plumb cracked lightning sky

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/10

Plumb cracked lightning sky; and the walled up the watered down Sun-ny sized.

2025-06-14

1073: The Enlightenment

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/09

The Enlightenment is essentially the process of building bridges and fences, primarily to walk between worlds and stand on the fence for greater horizon sight than either.

2025-06-14

1072: Dobet Gnahoré

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/09

This lady person is very, very talented and uplifting; I like her.

2025-06-14

1071: Olympic Equestrian Formula

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/07

7 big ass horses, 2 tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny ass dogs, and one-to-zero kids, and a million acquaintances who want to use you for fame or money.

2025-06-14

1070: Turf’s TERF

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/07

I’m a gardener and landscaper. I take umbridge with the use of the acronym/initialism “TERF,” which sounds like “turf.” Only on sound, I’m a sound protestor. We purely take part in silent, non-violent protest over morning coffee from home.

2025-06-14

1069: Dog Days, years

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/05

I prefer to count my time by the dog years.

2025-06-14

1068: Samuel Little

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/01

Big man with the greatest number of kills of any American, according to the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP); the most prolific murderer in American history.

2025-06-14

1067: Coal Miner’s Vietnam

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/01

Being a coal miner during the Vietnam War was eventually more dangerous than being in the Vietnam War.

2025-06-14

1066: Paléa

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/01

Paléa

Pkêhi nihaa goné

Paléa missé

Pkê-hi ni-ha goné ho

Wôlo anin noussa min anin

Wôlo kakabako

Wôlo anin noussa min anin

Wô-lo kakabako

2025-06-14

1065: Misty Blade

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/31

I love the look of a blade of grass, even a few, under mist and dew; don’t you?

2025-06-14

1064: Wit’s End

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/30

Wit’s End: If we’re selling sober, wit can put us at wit’s end, as the late Glenn Gould noted well after the concert tour of the Soviet Union, in his sing-song — the only anodyne adult ‘lullaby’ ever written by him, “So You Want to Write a Fugue?”: “Never be clever for the sake of being clever.”

2025-06-14

1063: Rare Tim Finn Again

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/30

Rare Tim Finn Again: Abulia, Acnestis, Apricity, Ailurophile, Brontide, Cacodemonomania, Ceraunophile, Clinomania, Crapulence, Curglaff, Cymotrichous, Desiderium, Dysania, Empleomania, Ephemeral, Euneirophrenia, Fudgel, Groke, Hiraeth, Jentacular, Kakorrhaphiophobia, Lethologica, Limerence, Montivagant, Mumpsimus, Noctivagant, Nudiustertian, Nyctophilia, Obambulate, Paraprosdokian, Peregrinate, Perendinate, Petrichor, Philoprogenitive, Pogonotrophy, Psithurism, Pseudologia, Quire, Quomodocunquize, Respair, Scripturient, Snollygoster, Susurrus, Tittynope, Ultracrepidarian, Ulotrichous, Vellichor, Wamble, Xylophilous, Yonderly, Zugzwang.

2025-06-14

1062: Sato

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/30

Sato, the day is coming
Sato, the day is here
We are all children of the same mother
We are all brothers and sisters
Let us unite, oh brothers and sisters

2025-06-14

1061: To the Homosexual

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/28

To the Homosexual: Stuck in a community in which you are unacceptably wicked by nature, to some, or simply by act of expression, to others, but one response should suffice to live your life apart, “They know not what they do.”

2025-06-14

1060: Cloud Caver

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/28

Cloud Caver: Sometimes, I like to walk and see the cloud cover from their point of view; maybe, a violent and superstitious cave-dwelling species doesn’t deserve such beauty as Heaven on such a consistent basis.

2025-06-14

1059: Germany (?)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/25

Germany (?): What are Germany?

2025-06-14

1058: Evgeny Kissin

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/25

Evgeny Kissin: …was Herbert Von Karajan’s apology.

2025-06-14

1057: Dolphins on the streets of Manhattan

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/19

Dolphins on the streets of Manhattan: I saw them, you know; waving, calling, waving, charging, waving, fearing, favouring; and the men too.

2025-06-14

1056: Tendencies of form

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/19

Tendencies of form: The consistent integrity of process Universe comes as the end filtrate of uncertainty, noise, in its substrata.

2025-06-14

1055: The Future is Female

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/09

The Future is Female: Substantially still true, and the males mostly don’t see it, via incurable prejudice — The Dis-ease, simply not as an “also,” in either case.

2025-06-14

1054: Jacobsen’s Wake

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/07

Jacobsen’s Wake: Liddle dad ham sleep, The Crossed! From death to life, the drame waked until knight.

2025-06-14

1053: Gay, or Computer Gay?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/07

Gay, or Computer Gay?: Most of the balanced Greats of Artificial Intelligence are gay; and, we’re better for it — Turing, Hariri, Altman, Arcas…

2025-06-14

1052: Souma Manone

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/03

Souma Manone: Papa Bisouwoma, Papa Baye Baye, Papa Lomay Andile, Papa Tagouwoma, Marie Wooo.

2025-06-14

1051: Quiet Angel

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/01

Quiet Angel: could be a name for Tracy Chapman; a blessing gifted life and breath to the rest to hear; why not throw in Bill Withers, too?

2025-06-14

1050: Calcification

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/28

Calcification: Open engagement with a persona, a phantasy, in real-time can be taken as an offence when not but one to the not even extant.

2025-06-14

1049: Barely out of the jungle

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/27

Barely out of the jungle: It is considered revolutionary to be able to talk and empathize with members of the same species globally.

2025-06-14

1048: Fundamentally

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

Fundamentally: Life is The Tragedy, not simply a; there are, essentially, fewer questions about the fact than, “What do we do with it?”

2025-06-14

1047: If sick, call home, in

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

If sick, call home, in: if the system assumes you’re incurably sick, then commands you to be well, the system is unwell, not the person.

2025-06-14

1046: Alone Together

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

Alone Together: We can move fast alone, but we can go farther together-take your picks.

2025-06-14

1045: Thanks

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

Thanks: Men, expect no thanks for small moves towards parity with women; what ‘earned’ thanks for simply leaving a rank of the insane?

2025-06-14

1044: Weathervane Jesus

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

Weathervane Jesus: He never did blow very well in the wind, come rain or shine or sleet.

2025-06-14

1043: A Body Too Old for Working

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26

A Body Too Old for Working: What do we make of the those needing care now? In time, we are them.

2025-06-14

1042: Designophage

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/15

Designophage: 01000100 01100101 01110011 01101001 01100111 01101110 01101111 01110000 01101000 01100001 01100111 01100101.

2025-06-14

1041: Heart asunder wondering

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/15

Heart asunder wondering: wandering over as minds set stiller; tsk tsk tsk, a count to, but only afourl two; no fall this Winter, Summerise.

2025-06-14

1040: The Real Stories

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/02

The Real Stories: Tell me humane triumph; the single mother who worked two jobs and raised 3 kids; the man who pulled back from suicide.

2025-06-14

1039: Your stories

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/28

Your stories: Life is not about you, alone; it’s not something out there that happens, nor protagonistic antagonisms with it; it’s simply something you take part in, ebbs and flows.

2025-06-14

1038: Look look around you

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/28

Look look around you: Beige waterfalls up crystalline grounds blackened by starlack; up, up Spring mist goes, yet no touch toe-to-light.

2025-06-14

Pith 1037: Abusive Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/13

Abusive Men: Of course, abusive men are Gibraltarians without accountability who lie, gaslight, project, and look for external validation metrics; it has nothing to do with you, though *may* affect you.

2025-06-14

Pith 1036: Hold my hand, walk with me

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/12

Hold my hand, walk with me: Is the greater gift in the act of love or in the capacity to generate it?

2025-06-14

Pith 1035: Every word

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/11

Every word: A truth is every word exhaled counts; and, you’re not the captain of every one, but responsible for its derivatives.

2025-06-14

Pith 1034: The Completeness Conjecture

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/10

The Completeness Conjecture: I knew not what or when, nor why, and when the photons fade; that’s now, and so too the pain, and the anguish, and the relief, and loss, and the losses and losses and love yous; that’s then, perpetually incomplete, therefore redeeming lanterns outside and no time in…

2025-06-14

Pith 1033: To the burdened weary

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/07

To the burdened weary: the nobility is in both your struggle and survival; you’re never alone entirely; if I could lift it, I would.

2025-06-14

Pith 1032: It was always here

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/05

It was always here: The more you’re alone; the more you feel the sound of the Earth; and, grinding motion is a stall — shift the dial.

2025-06-14

Pith 1031: A Bridge to the Man

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/03

A Bridge to the Man: is but a temporal matter of months in wading; ’tis bea-utee upa tampedoral repression as a hadder of fact while waiting for maths to subzero; so, “Why me?”, he asks.

2025-06-14

Pith 1030: Welcome to Jamrock

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/02

Welcome to Jamrock: Hear the Gong’s shout “Jr.” in calamity stones, “love and prosperity” sitting by “love and tragedy”; keep on walking.

2025-06-14

Pith 1029: Silence is a meteor

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/01

Silence is a meteor: cavitations and hollows, hollow echoes, -inging; cavitations echo-, hollows harrowing sting, then a rock silence.

2025-06-14

Pith 1028: What is the plan, Brain?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/01

What is the plan, Brain?: The same as every year, Pinky, “Forward.”

2025-06-14

Pith 1027: As a Rule

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/01

As a Rule: We seem far better equipped at believing than seeing, & see we don’t; what can *you* derive about *yourself* on this heuristic?

2025-06-14

Pith 1026: Peculiar sky cracks did thunderplumb

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/01

Peculiar sky cracks did thunderplumb: spittle by water and waster, watcher and taster, you left no sour so I did wait; and you were there.

2025-06-14

Pith 1025: Are you the imperishable flame?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/01

Are you the imperishable flame?: I don’t smell smoke and the mist is cleared; I see neither tinder nor ash; wherethere are you, and here?

2025-06-14

Pith 1024: Flesh to Fire

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/21

Flesh to Fire: sashes and ashes; new chapters, new belts; gradated gradations, and the mysteries unfold anew, searching, feeling, unknown.

2025-06-14

Pith 1023: The Heart Still Screams Silences

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/21

The heart still screams silences: You know the silence after you’re gone is both relief and anguish mixed into a sort of purple thunder; you don’t have to suffer anymore; and, I forgive you.

2025-06-14

Pith 1022: Easy love

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/26

Easy love: ‘It’s easy to love somebody, just sit down with them for a little while, get to know them and their struggles a bit.’

2025-06-14

Pith 1021: Search for me along your coastline

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/21

Search for me along your coastline: settling snug by the Sun, a son by one, and on n’ innumerable nos.; a comfort in shoreline memorials.

2025-06-14

Pith 1020: “Have a good trip old man.”

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/21

“Have a good trip old man”: I love you, but I was simply trying to protect myself; and then, you were everything and no thing to everyone and no one again.

2025-06-14

Pith 1019: Flesh to Fire

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/19

Flesh to Fire: sashes and ashes; new chapters, new belts; gradated gradations, and the mysteries unfold anew, searching, feeling, unknown.

2025-06-14

Pith 1018: Show me the way

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/16

Show me the way: Let’s take a trip to the windy beachside washing aside it; clouds in storm and thunderclap, on the outside looking in.

2025-06-14

Pith 1017: Nor Shell But Shadow

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/11

Nor Shell But Shadow: The egg shells on the floor, and there we were swept beyond life and death, when infinity meets zero; Neither Self…

2025-06-14

Pith 1016: Sno-Cap

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/11

Sno-Cap: Just by the view alone, Winter mountaintops were the original ‘Sigma,’ visual ‘Riz,’ ‘No Cap’ on the snow cap, yo.

2025-06-14

Pith 1015: Death

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/11

Death: Then there was one of us; so, what’s in a name, in this? “The water-bug’s mittens show on the bright rock below him.” I stand.

2025-06-14

Pith 1014: Neither crown nor robe do I want

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/05

Neither crown nor robe do I want: Lend me your weight, your burden, I’ll carry it, yet — set you down.

2025-06-14

Pith 1013: Down in the river

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/05

Down in the river: Let’s go down, and down, down & down, wearing robes and crowns, to the riverside, into the waters; is it wish or prayer?

2025-06-14

Pith 1012: What distinguishes masculine and feminine aesthetic?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/05

What distinguishes masculine and feminine aesthetic?: The difference between all-consuming versus all-encompassing, a point or a circle.

2025-06-14

Pith 1011: What do you make of it?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/05

What do you make of it?: All adventures made routine are, at heart, destined for the habitual, which is both degradation and offence.

2025-06-14

Pith 1010: Silence, a peculiar salve

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/12/05

Silence, a peculiar salve: It presents life as it is to too many, an open wound consistently pecked by a false superego — let alone self.

2025-06-14

Pith 1009: 13 Times a Cloud

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/29

13 Times a Cloud: Play along the water with me, swim in the fog, and watch the clouds float through our nonexistence as sepia tones set.

2025-06-14

Pith 1008: Woven

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/26

Woven: What is the appeal of romance novels to many, many women more than many, many men? Simple: An offer of love that doesn’t end badly.

2025-06-14

Pith 1007: Men’s Femininity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/26

Men’s femininity: trims to a child’s needs; they’re bound by mothers’
‘milk’ — aunts, female friends, girlfriends, grandmas, sisters, usw.

2025-06-14

Pith 1006: Nightlines

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/22

Nightlines: Feel them spell under shadow cast of the days bygone asunder; listen close, dearest emotions, lines imaginary, stars deceiving.

2025-06-14

Pith 1005: Pierce the sky’s night

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/22

Pierce the sky’s night: sparkle, twinkle, and a wink; a horizon moves, look to the light and so leave for the dawn.

2025-06-14

Pith 1004: Rotundellus

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/17

Rotundellus: About always a way, situated center but off-kilter, well into alake amenner and a stylistic amen for the women; all-a-cursive.

2025-06-14

Pith 1003: Light of Life, and a Life of Light

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/11

Light of Life, and a Life of Light: and shall we dance some more, into truths and more, what knits upon life but timeless threads, light?

2025-06-14

Pith 1002: Lap fell

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/11

Lap fell: and the sky falls, neither season nor reason, I often wonder what is it to be free when it’s in the lap the whole time?

2025-06-14

Pith 1001: 27 Months of Shovelling Horse Shit

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/11

27 Months of Shovelling Horse Shit: what is the main lesson in using a pitchfork for a full work day every day doing this? Show up.

2025-06-14

Pith 1000: Situación, sit silent with me, interacting

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/10

Situación, sit silent with me, interacting: C the skies pith moi, processing; sittledunce blancmind but mindseas the difference, awash my.

2025-06-14

Pith 999: Maturity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/11

Maturity: is a vector space of wills, not a Will; the pointlessness of life is in arrows uncountable, apparency, masking meaning findable.

2025-06-14

Pith 998: Siltriller singalinglong

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/10

Siltriller singalinglong: Firever endever what me, sat the sperk and lunch the rackets all moonlong dizzay; then rest, old gods take it.

2025-06-14

Pith 998: Maturity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/10/29

Maturity: is a vector space of wills, not a Will; the pointlessness of life is in arrows uncountable, apparency, masking meaning findable.

2025-06-14

Pith 997: Sittledown by Fare

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/10/29

Sittledown by Fare: Set ablozom a fireflower for the ages, a tightration, four the tame has come; bidding worse thee farewall, & throughit.

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Foreword by Honghao Zhao (赵宏昊)

Foreword by Entemake Aman

Foreword by Mahir Wu

Foreword by Tianxi Yu

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Foreword by Antjuan Finch

Foreword by Daniel Hilton

Foreword by Paul Cooijmans

Foreword by Dr. Sandra Schlick

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Jaime Alfonso Flores Navas

Foreword by Krzysztof Zawisza

Foreword by Mattanaw

Foreword by Petros Gkionis, Philosopher

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by ‘Dott.ssa in Ort. e Oft.,’ Beatrice Rescazzi (Are We Ready for the Age of Humanoid Robots?)

Foreword by LaRae Bakerink

Foreword by Tor Arne Jørgensen

Foreword by Simon Olling Rebsdorf, PhD, MSc, Author, Journalist, & President of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Olav Hoel Dørum

Foreword by Tonny Sellén

Foreword by Uwe Michael Neumann

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Bob Williams

Foreword by Gernot Feichter

Foreword by Harry Kanigel

Foreword by Rick Rosner

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Professor Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD

Foreword by Bishoy Goubran, M.D.

Foreword by Mohammed Karim Benazzi Jabri

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Benoit Desjardins, MD, PhD

Foreword by Daniel Shea

Foreword by Rick Rosner

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Acknowledgements

Foreword by Anja Jaenicke, Thinker Cum Arte

Foreword by ‘Dott.ssa in Ort. e Oft.,’ Beatrice Rescazzi

Foreword by Educator Clelia Albano

Foreword by Poet and Author Krystal Volney

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