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Relying on Dominance Is Dangerous

November 3, 2025

Society

capitalism, injustice, politics, social masses, society

Our increasingly deteriorating societies, where we respect one another less and less while idolizing inanity and glorifying competition, come with another symptom: Relying on dominance, which is dangerous – for the dominating parties as well. Such is the nature of dominance.

In a past post on injustice, I argued the following:

There will always be people that are stronger, faster, smarter, richer, luckier, or more powerful than you. If they are malevolent (and power or success predicated on money or strength very often is), they will come together and form groups which will become so ridiculously powerful that nothing can stop them.

There are a lot of malicious people on the planet – and a lot of stupid malicious people, which is a very dangerous combination. As a result, relying on dominance is dangerous because there is always the risk of ending up on the… receiving end of the dominance exchange.

relying on dominance is dangerous. Image of riot police.
Relying on dominance is dangerous because there will always be someone who can dominate you – and they’re usually backed by a much more powerful force, whether the state or (worse) a corporation.
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How to Be a Fiction Writer in the AI Era

September 24, 2025

Fiction, Society

computer, creativity, fiction, literature, society, writing

Virtually all of my fiction writing advice focuses on art: It’s quality writing I care about, not marketing or how to make money with one’s fiction. Nonetheless, my posts still (even if indirectly) also explore marketing repercussions. Today’s topic, revolving around how to be a fiction writer in the AI era, is no exception.

At the same time, however, there is a subtle but important difference.

Whereas in other posts – see, for instance, my post on fantasy fiction – I basically argue that one should write for the art and forget about monetary concerns, when it comes to fiction writing and AI there is a different argument I will be presenting, which boils down to this:

Write well (also) because of marketing considerations.

In other words, in this brave new world where one can “write” a “narrative” (quotation marks necessary) in a matter of an hour or two, publishing an entire series in a single day, it becomes more important than ever to focus on the quality – and above all, the authenticity – of what you write.

writer in ai era. photo of street artist.
Though there is always an “intended audience” element involved in art, true art is not made for anyone but one’s self. The audience is only an accident. This ideological approach is even more important if you’re a fiction writer in the AI era, an era brimming with mediocrity and ignorance.
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Aesthetic Education: Missing in Action

September 16, 2025

Art, Experiencing, Society

creativity, experiencing, society

In a recent discussion we had, my friend Igor used the term aesthetic education to refer to being exposed to a diverse set of artistic experiences in one’s formative years. I quickly realized that was a deceptively simple term, one containing vast universes of meaning.

More importantly, I realized aesthetic education is a concept both misunderstood and (as a result) absent in modern times, where everything is about quantification and measurement.

Aesthetic education – which I will define more precisely in a moment; likely it isn’t what you think it is – has been missing in action for a long, long time.

aesthetic education. image of man with a peacock feather.
Aesthetic education today can teach about color symbolism, what tight cropping does, or what a peacock feather might allude to. Real aesthetic education is about relating everything to lived experience as well as finding connections with other, (only apparently) irrelevant concepts.
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