The segment discusses a humorous and somewhat exasperated blog post titled "The Indexing Abyss: A Cautionary Tale in Eight Chapters" from a site called Philosophics. The author recounts the challenges of self-publishing a non-fiction book, particularly the arduous and creatively hindering task of creating an index. Amidst this struggle, they reveal they have instead published two shorter fiction works that emerged as diversions from the indexing process, reflecting on the practicalities of book design, layout, cover creation, and the various technical hurdles presented by publishing platforms for both print and digital formats. The post broadly touches upon the multifaceted nature of author life beyond just writing.

This segment describes the book Sustenance, a work of speculative fiction published under the pseudonym Ridley Park, which uses aliens as a lens to examine human behaviour and assumptions. The book critiques anthropocentrism and the ways humans impose their own frameworks onto others, particularly in areas like language, which is presented as a tool for projection rather than mutual understanding. It challenges established human concepts of culture, sex/gender, and consent by showcasing what happens when these ideas are not shared or even comprehensible to other beings. Ultimately, the text argues that Sustenance is less about the alien characters and more about the human inability to perceive what is fundamentally different from themselves, highlighting the self-deceptive nature of memory and the limitations of human categories.https://philosophics.blog/2025/05/21/sustenance-a-book-about-aliens-language-and-everything-youre-getting-wrong/

This segment details a writer's exploration of the works of Kazuo Ishiguro and Emil Cioran after an AI suggested stylistic similarities to their own recent novella. The author, Bry Willis, found parallels with Ishiguro in narrative tone and atmospheric quality, particularly in Never Let Me Go. They discovered a kinship with Cioran's pessimistic spirit and acidic wit, identifying with the philosophical outlook expressed in History and Utopia. Ultimately, Bry concludes that both authors succeed in conveying an emotional atmosphere rather than simply telling a story.

This segment critiques Yuval Noah Harari's claim that democracy relies on trust and dictatorship on terror, arguing this is an overly simplistic and inaccurate portrayal of political systems. The author contends that democratic trust was historically based on exclusion and manipulation, not genuine earned confidence, and that dictatorships often function through bureaucracy, passive acceptance, and misplaced trust rather than just fear. Ultimately, the article asserts that both democratic and authoritarian systems are experiencing a crisis of credibility, suggesting that the only viable path forward is fundamental structural change rather than attempting to restore or revert to previous models.https://philosophics.blog/2025/05/15/the-trust-myth-hararis-binary-and-the-collapse-of-political-credibility/

This philosophical piece argues that the public's trust in science is often misplaced due to significant issues within research practices. The author contends that fields like nutritional science, psychology, and even medical science are prone to flawed methodology, including mistaking correlation for causation and relying on non-replicable studies. A central concern is the "reproducibility crisis," highlighting that many research findings, from economics to biology, cannot be consistently replicated, undermining the idea of a reliable scientific method. The article suggests that knowledge presented as scientific truth may instead be temporary fictions that expire rather than being disproven. Ultimately, it advocates for a more critical perspective, urging readers to question the blanket statement "trust the science" and recognise the limitations and biases inherent in various scientific disciplines.https://philosophics.blog/2025/05/09/trust-the-science-they-said-its-reproducible-they-lied/

This philosophical piece, written from the perspective of someone who has lived in both Los Angeles and New York City, satirically examines the perceived cultural narcissism and rivalry between these two major American cities. The author suggests that both L.A. and NYC suffer from a "Centre of the Universe Complex," believing themselves to be paramount and dismissing other parts of the country. L.A. is depicted as prioritising physical beauty and superficiality, even having a skewed rating system for attractiveness, while NYC is characterised by a focus on "hustle" and intellectual importance. The piece uses humour and hyperbole to highlight the self-importance and mutual disdain that define the relationship between the two cities.https://philosophics.blog/2024/11/27/the-narcissists-playbook/

This source documents an individual's renewed effort to relearn the French language after a 30-year hiatus. The author describes their previous exposure to French and their current estimated skill level, which they assess as significantly lower than before. The article details their chosen method for improving their French, focusing primarily on reading basic texts and utilising online resources. They mention their experiences with specific reading materials and their attempts to address their weakest language skill, speaking, with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Docs voice typing. The post serves as an initial update on their language learning journey.https://philosophics.blog/2025/04/28/redemarrer-avec-le-francais-un-voyage-apres-30-ans/

This Goodreads review, attributed to Bry Willis, offers a scathing critique of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. The reviewer uses harsh and hyperbolic language to describe the book as an unpleasant and difficult reading experience, akin to torture. The characters are deemed wooden and preachy, serving only as mouthpieces for Rand's ideology, while the prose is criticised for being overblown and tedious. The review concludes with a single star rating, lamenting the inability to give a lower score and sarcastically suggesting the book's only appeal is to those seeking ideological extremes.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/577226462

This excerpt from "Beyond Causa Sui – Philosophics" presents a critical philosophical perspective, primarily challenging the notion of free will as an extravagant and illogical human construct. It argues against the idea of being solely responsible for one's actions, viewing it as a desire to be "Causa Sui," or self-caused. The text also contends that the concepts of cause and effect are merely conventional fictions for communication rather than fundamental truths about "being-in-itself." Ultimately, it posits that the perceived "non-freedom of the will" is a personal interpretation, often stemming from underlying insecurities or desires to avoid responsibility.https://philosophics.blog/2022/06/09/beyond-causa-sui/

This source explores the concept of free will and its relationship to determinism, arguing that the prominence given to free will in philosophical debates reflects a bias. It critiques the idea of Causa Sui, or a self-caused cause, as necessary for true responsibility and thus free will. The author suggests that our actions stem from the way we are, a state for which we cannot be fundamentally responsible, drawing on arguments from philosophers like Galen Strawson. The piece concludes by examining quarantine justification theory as an alternative to punishment, proposing that actions, like those of a programmed robot, might be better understood as requiring containment rather than blame or retribution, highlighting the difficulty in justifying traditional incarceration models when individuals are not seen as ultimately responsible for their behaviour.https://philosophics.blog/2022/05/17/cows-are-suey/