Note: this is an outdated introduction to my blog when it was published under a different name and theme; it is left as an archival reference in case it is of interest, but if you are new I suggest starting with the current introduction here.
I.
Welcome to actions per minute, a blog about decision making, happiness, and American culture.
In a world where it often feels like we are being optimized to death, my desire is to shed light on strategies for better decision making and self-improvement, ways to figure out which games are worth playing and which are not. Each of us has only so many actions, only so many minutes to make our mark and find meaning in this strange miracle we call life. I choose to spend some of mine here, aspiring to help other people learn and grow and become happier. And because culture shapes and molds the way we think, it seems I will have little choice but to dish up a side of hard-hitting cultural commentary as well.
It’s not a proper introduction if I don’t tell you about myself. My name is Kramer. I drink my coffee black and take cold showers. Do not mistake this for stoicism, as I take deep pleasure in these rituals. I like competing in games and sports, thinking about decisions, and most of all writing and reading. I really like cats and the moon. Music affects me deeply. Whenever I walk by a missing pet sign, I take a photo so I can call the owner right away if I see something.
I have never found a lost pet.
II.
They say that as you grow older, you become more conservative. While I have indeed grown more conservative as I have grown older, I’ve always disagreed with the implied cynicism in that saying. I have not grown more cynical as I age – rather, I’ve become more Romantic. I search for beauty in the world and in the hearts of people and find it constantly. The reward is a calmer soul and an implacable sense of peace and belonging.
Part of aging into conservative thought is the gradual realization that many problems which once seemed simple are more complex than they appear. As Thomas Sowell wrote, “The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.”
It is not a coincidence that in the world of politics, where reality is oft inconvenient, truth is the first sacrifice.
III.
Here are some anchoring statements and philosophies for actions per minute:
Order is harder to create than chaos.
Beauty is harder to create than order.
Good decisions compound over time in ways that aren’t obvious in smaller intervals.
It is possible to study decision-making to improve both your own decision making as well as your analysis of the decisions of others.
Happiness is a choice; but, sadly, far too many choose misery.
What we think of as civilization is the accumulation of individual decisions over centuries.
IV.
The truth is, I must confess that I’m a little terrified to share my writing with the world. I’ve always been a deeply private person, the sort who is more inclined to daydream about his crush instead of, you know, talking to her (occasionally I surprise myself). And to write well necessitates some exposure of one’s soul, a lowering of the guard that ordinary living trains us so well to maintain. I know that I will be exposing my wings to gremlins here.
But there is another fear, an even greater one, driving me in the opposite direction: the fear of dying, dying with all of my thoughts bottled up and never shared, like a time capsule packed with hundreds of pages of gibberish. These thoughts are prisoners in my heart, and I can feel them pounding at my rib cage, rattling the bars of their cell. They want to be let out. And writing is the only way to set them free.
The modern world is a lonely and alienating place. I know this to be true; I have felt it myself. Perhaps you have too. If so, I hope my writing helps you feel a little less lonely.
V.
It is my belief that undoing the systematic programming of people to be miserable is one of the great callings of my Millennial generation. In order to do so, we must think diligently about causes and effects, decision making, and tradeoffs. We must turn to the depreciated wisdom of the past, using ancient truths to rediscover and light the path forward. And we must use our imaginations, constrained only by the limits of human nature, to dream up better ways of living and living well.
… But there is an additional reason I am driven to publish. In American history, there is a proud tradition of dissident rags, pirate publications that catalog the lies of powerful people by printing inconvenient truths and provocative fictions. The British empire contended with revolutionary pamphlets, American slavers with underground abolitionist newspapers, and now we are in the age of successor ideology. You may not be familiar with the term, but you are surely familiar with them and their work.
I believe that the current climate, characterized by censorship and censure, is not a coincidence. Rather, it is the result of deliberate design, a way for the successors of liberalism to consolidate power as they continue their long march through the institutions. Each person canceled, fired, and defenestrated from so-called polite society is a warning - TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT. You never know who will be tried tomorrow for yesterday’s crime.
The potent elixir of good intentions and bad ideas has, historically, led to the most monstrous of atrocities. Today, nobody has better intentions and worse ideas than the successor ideologues.
If undoing the programming of people to be miserable is the great social project of my generation, I think that resisting and ultimately removing from power the successor ideologues is the great political project of our time.
Picking up the pen here is my small but sincere way of joining that project and declaring myself for the side of freedom over authoritarianism.
