Early Retirement Extreme Forums

ERE Journals • Re: Giskard's Journal - slingin code to reach FI

2025-07-16T07:10:05-05:00

I stopped posting here because I felt I wrote something indirectly political and only included politics as it applied to my own trading, however it was impossible to avoid talking about it with the trades I was doing.

Well, anyway, the fact is that I was heavily allocated to the outcome of the US election but that's over with now and I don't think it will be relevant again for a while.

I continue to find obscure places to place bets. There is a lot going on now, I am splitting my focus between a project where I am doing AI market sentiment analysis + my new main startup which I have raised money from investors to fund.

I guess I am still FIRE or something but I find myself running a company again like a moth to the flame.

NW: 3.6 million.

Statistics: Posted by giskard — Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:10 am

ERE Journals • Re: Smelly Swiss Dilettante

2025-07-16T07:05:13-05:00

I lose the flexibility of the bike, and i still have to be in the weather.
I'm more likely to alternate beetween biking to bern and taking the train to bern depanding on weather and time.
It would make more sense if the train wasn't going directly beetween my place and the station where work is.

Statistics: Posted by Jean — Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:05 am

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-16T06:54:19-05:00

@suo - You hit on why the CSA was so appealing to me. The fields and green houses are 20 minutes away, centered in one of the most affluent suburbs in the country, protected by a conservation grant. Most of the labor is interns and volunteers. They use organic methods, even growing "not food" in some fields to improve long term soil quality. It's not industrial scale. The market will bear whatever they charge for a share.

It's best case scenario for what an individual could hope to grow locally. Given the 3-5x multiplier on food costs, they don't exist as a national answer.

@ego - I quite enjoy the eating part. I was happy to portion out prepared kale with my dinner. I'm a sucker for novelty and choose the vegetables I haven't tried. Nuance in the food quality is lost on me though. Is the elephant kale better? Not how I make it, anyways.

I grew up on hot pockets and baby carrots. I learned the basics of food in my first apartment. I was a full time student, working half time to cover expenses. Time poor and counting quarters for taco bell. I spent hours reading New Laurel's Kitchen, romanticizing the cook every meal from scratch lifestyle. I went vegetarian. Living around the corner from whole foods, I'd aspirationally shop. My wife had a short stint as cashier, and we made the most of her discount. I even attended a vegan conference with John McDougall as the keynote speaker.

On paper, I'm an ideal target for a CSA model.

Now that I've attained space for the lifestyle, I don't think I ever wanted it. What I coveted was the freedom. It felt so removed from my own personal constraints, that it surely must be superior. The reality is tedious. It raises the curtain on substantial amounts of labor and waste, hidden behind beautiful grocery store produce. Once novelty wears off, you're left with more work. I don't want to pick bugs out of my lettuce or figure out how to eat beet stems.

Statistics: Posted by Scott 2 — Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:54 am

ERE Journals • Re: Smelly Swiss Dilettante

2025-07-16T06:40:31-05:00

I ran some spreasdheet to decide what train pass would be optimal. Even in the scenario where i go to bern 5 day a week, the national pass isn't the best option. Local pass aren't much cheaper. I'm waiting august for a decision. I want to know if i'm accepted in the uni, and also know if the job makes me imagine ways to kill myself. I'll also see how enjoyable the ride is by bike, and how long i need for it. Then i'll know enough to decide what transport scheme to buy.

You can combine biking and train, trains from Lyss to Bern look about 30% cheaper compared to from your place and it is much less of a cycle than all the way to Bern.

Statistics: Posted by guitarplayer — Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:40 am

ERE Journals • Re: Mousse's journal

2025-07-16T02:50:12-05:00

Bikes are the best!! Thanks for the tips and advice, all

If your knees start hurting, try going down one speed on your derailleur. It's better for your joints to pedal at a higher easier cadence. More cardio, less strain on your joints.

It didn't hurt while cycling or I would have turned back (assuming I wasn't already on my way back ). I'm not really in team "if you're not hurting you're not growing" fitness-wise The knees started hurting a few hours after coming home once I had properly cooled down, I guess.

The saddle height comments are probably on point... It looks like I can stretch my legs maybe 95%, not fully-fully. However I'm now vaguely recalling when my local bike shop helped me adjust the saddle and handlebar, back when I first brought the bike to them. The saddle can go higher but the handlebar cannot, and so with the saddle at "correct" height I ended up leaning forward too much and hurting my wrists. I think regular people have this thing called "abs" in their lower torso while I have an absolute void there and no signs of any muscle, so I end up putting a lot of my weight onto my wrists. I don't have a fancy sportsy bike where you have to half-lie down and I don't want to cycle in that position. I don't mind if that means the wind slows me down more. I just want to sit comfortably, hit my stride (whatever that might be) and never stop. It's a flat handlebar. I wonder if getting a new, longer stem might help? Then I can raise both the saddle and the handlebar, and sit at a comfortable angle while getting myself wherever I want to be.

Statistics: Posted by Mousse — Wed Jul 16, 2025 2:50 am

ERE Journals • Re: Smelly Swiss Dilettante

2025-07-15T23:55:34-05:00

I'm spending 69.- chf for a day travel card to go do a day hike ine the alps. I could have paid less by buying more in advance, and by taking advantage of a "prepaid" discount (you pay 2100, but you get 3000), but i didn't.
I'm looking forward to the hike. I rarely do day hikes, so i took my smallest backpack, put bread and water in it, and stuffed it with cloth This is a part of my continental divide hike. I decided to try to fill the gaps before expanding too much beyond what i already hiked.
I have 2 gaps and a half left in switzerland (hopefully soon 1 and a half),1 and a half in western austria, 3 in germany (with part on the czech border), and one big gap beetween the austria, german czech tripoint, an somewhere on the slovak polish border.
I ran some spreasdheet to decide what train pass would be optimal. Even in the scenario where i go to bern 5 day a week, the national pass isn't the best option. Local pass aren't much cheaper. I'm waiting august for a decision. I want to know if i'm accepted in the uni, and also know if the job makes me imagine ways to kill myself. I'll also see how enjoyable the ride is by bike, and how long i need for it. Then i'll know enough to decide what transport scheme to buy. The new prepaid scheme are really interesting. It can only be better than no scheme, but sometines, a lower schene can be more efficient than a higher scheme.
I'll see.
Also, i'm looking forward for the climbing meetup. I'm trying to imagine backup plans in case weather doesnt collaborate.

Statistics: Posted by Jean — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:55 pm

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-15T21:55:11-05:00

Not sure whether it's "worth it" to retain the skills of being mildly discomfited on the chance those skills may be called upon in the (dystopian?) future or to give in and go with ease and convenience (or "efficiency" if you prefer) and suffer along with everyone else if the day comes. This comment is perhaps broader than efficient industrialized monoculture farms vs localized varietal CSA-type farms.

One of the vendors at the weekend swap meet made a connection with a nearby farms to sell the boxes the CSA was unable to unload during the week. He charges $10 a box. At the end of the weekend he unpacks the leftovers and sells the more valuable delicacies, the berries, asparagus, artichokes, melons and avocados, individually. Pushed to the back corner of the stall behind the tarp, he piles a half dozen boxes full the droopy parsley, wilting kale, furry strawberries and soft tomatoes that remain. Last week he gave me a pile of greens for pittance so that he would not have to find a place to dispose of them.

Leaving the swap meet with my box full of future green smoothies, I ran into one of my friends, a seventy-something socialite who retired in her twenties on generational wealth just after getting a masters in something arty. Her antique hunting, done exclusively for the fun of the hunt, takes her on a two hundred mile loop of the markets of Southern California each weekend. She looked at my box of droopy vegetables and said, "You know, when I serve a meal made with the wilted vegetables I get from (our vendor friend), it just tastes better than when I make it with those plump, perfect things they have at Whole Foods."

In a world that often prizes convenience and flawless presentation above all else, there's a subversive joy in finding beauty and utility in the discards. Embracing imperfection and creating something wonderful from what's less than pristine is a small affirmation of resilience, both of the vegetable and the cook. Vibrant lives are not necessarily built from flawless components and are often woven from what's at hand.

Statistics: Posted by Ego — Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:55 pm

ERE Journals • Re: Error's never ending errings

2025-07-15T21:31:45-05:00

Almost forgot biweekly post.

Have not put any effort into following up further on "do I want?" since the spare time over the past few weeks has been re-starting my search for a house.

It took me much longer than I want to admit before I bothered actually considering how many years some of the houses I was considering would add to my career. With taxes, current interest rates, etc etc one of the houses I considered might have added 15 working years which makes me question if something is wrong with me.

Buying a home certainly should fit into ERE lifestyle, get a cheaper house and fix it yourself, move to a much cheaper area, or an RV/camper/vanlife. Couple of problems. First, living in apartments my entire adult life means I have not built up ANY skills to fixing a house so do not even know if a house would need $500 repairs or $50k repairs. Next, a HARD requirement is "quiet" (most noises bother me and I also have very good hearing, I wear passive earplugs/ear protection all day and night when at home currently) so I need distance between me and neighbors which rules out a lot of options. For location I have tried living out of state for a few years and it went terribly for my mental health before I moved back so not trying that again. Combined with other stuff and right now it looks like I will be adding years of working for a salary and the only question is "how many years?"

The only other option I have not fully ruled out yet is find a plot of land either empty or abandoned house and then either buy a tiny home or camper live there. I have not immediately found local/state rules regarding that and the few times I checked for land prices it looked like land + tiny home would not be much cheaper than some of the cheaper houses I have found for sale without holding value over time so probably a worse financial choice.

Statistics: Posted by OffBy2Error — Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:31 pm

Inspiration • Re: ERE songs

2025-07-15T16:12:42-05:00

Not necessarily a song, but rather a recruitment piece for another cult — ahem, a group of people who happen to be opposed to American hegemony.

Nevertheless, time for the text:

Where are you right now? What life are you living?
Every day, you wake up in the same place, doing the exact same things, living the same life you lived yesterday.

When you were young, you weren’t afraid to live each day differently. You lived as a free man.
But now, you are chained.

They say you are free — but are you really?

I say it’s time to break free.
Break free from what you’ve been programmed to be, and become what you were born to be.

Exercise for the reader, in case you were about to search for the original source:
If you invade people who live thousands of kilometers away, and they respond with anger — perhaps even with something resembling an inside job — then who is the real terrorist?

Statistics: Posted by DefinitelyNotBot — Tue Jul 15, 2025 4:12 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-15T12:50:25-05:00

I wish I could take my kids out of school and hire you as their private tutor.

No longer necessary. Simply purchase an open source interactive AI-ready robot kit for $299 and integrate it with a voice agent that has access to a vector database loaded with copy/paste of all of my writings available on the forum.

To grok this viscerally is empowering—and ultimately, liberating.

To the limited extent I have had transcendent experiences, I have found them more liberating in terms of dealing with death than with dealing with life. Or more accurately, because they expand to that is beyond the boundary, they do provide freedom of perspective within life itself, but still there is life itself. Also, it's now interesting to consider how easy it is to create an AI system in which some agents have more or different "consciousness" than other agents.

Statistics: Posted by 7Wannabe5 — Tue Jul 15, 2025 12:50 pm

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-15T11:48:44-05:00

I'm beginning to recognize the lack of product variety at Aldi as a feature. They are stocking what's enjoyable to eat and prepare. I'm perfectly content with homogenous food, so the CSA variety feels more like a burden. Gassed tomatoes are fine with me.

Hence monoculture farms, notwithstanding the vulnerabilities associated therewith. Convenience is such a powerful driver of consumption (and production), I'm learning as I get older. But at what cost? Maybe none, practically, until shtf. Not sure whether it's "worth it" to retain the skills of being mildly discomfited on the chance those skills may be called upon in the (dystopian?) future or to give in and go with ease and convenience (or "efficiency" if you prefer) and suffer along with everyone else if the day comes. This comment is perhaps broader than efficient industrialized monoculture farms vs localized varietal CSA-type farms.

Statistics: Posted by suomalainen — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:48 am

ERE Journals • Re: ERE is Path to Meaningful Life - MMM style FI year 8

2025-07-15T11:47:23-05:00

Cheers Birding, I'm doing my absolute best to skew those numbers in my favour

Updated the Minimalist ERE Challenge, at week 27 I can't believe how much stuff has been cleared out from my inconspictuous accumulation. If you have been doing the challenge from the first week this year you would be at 378 items like me.
Next week might be tough, I have zero items left to carry forward to get next week started, yikes

For Week 27 on July 7 - July 14 the following 27 items were collected
3 - old dirtbike goggles (gave to son)
2 - steel toe work boots (returned to son)
1 - patio sofa cushion set (gave to son)
1 - patio sofa (put curbside for free)
1 - baby floor mobile (thrift store)
1 - body pillow (thrift store)
2 - boxes paint supplies (gave to daughter)
5 - blank art canvases (gave to daughter)
2 - hockey sticks (gave to daughter)
2 - throw cushions (gave to daughter)
1 - clay plant pot (put curbside for free)
1 - hiking hat (thrift store)
2 - label pins (thrift store)
1 - ziploc of old batteries (recycled)

Finances 100% on autopilot and spending remains low other than gas to get to outdoor destinations and good food to fuel our daily needs. So basically an unremarkable week other than the markets continuing to reach all time highs with breaking a new total savings ceiling amount for our accounts that eases my mind for a strong ERE future. Go index funds go.

My garden which is limited is growing well, basically some tomatoes and a fair bit of potatoes. That being said my raspberry bushes continue to be bountiful and I walk outside to get fresh fruit every morning for my oatmeal this time of year.

Statistics: Posted by Stasher — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:47 am

ERE Community • Re: Forum challenge: Lets play the minimalists' game

2025-07-15T11:37:29-05:00

Next week might be tough, I have zero items left to carry forward to get next weeks started, yikes !

For Week 27 on July 7 - July 14 the following 27 items were collected
3 - old dirtbike goggles (gave to son)
2 - steel toe work boots (returned to son)
1 - patio sofa cushion set (gave to son)
1 - patio sofa (put curbside for free)
1 - baby floor mobile (thrift store)
1 - body pillow (thrift store)
2 - boxes paint supplies (gave to daughter)
5 - blank art canvases (gave to daughter)
2 - hockey sticks (gave to daughter)
2 - throw cushions (gave to daughter)
1 - clay plant pot (put curbside for free)
1 - hiking hat (thrift store)
2 - label pins (thrift store)
1 - ziploc of old batteries (recycled)

Statistics: Posted by Stasher — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:37 am

Introduce Yourself • Re: Gwen aka Sharky introducing himself

2025-07-15T11:01:23-05:00

Individualistic people tend not to steal, because they assume others to be like them

it's people thinking in groups or ethnicity, extended families, who tend to still from people outside their group, because it will profit their own group

Dutch are individualistic and law abiding for exemple

Statistics: Posted by Sharky — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:01 am

ERE Journals • Re: Mousse's journal

2025-07-15T11:00:32-05:00

Also check saddle height. Knee pain can arise if too low. Easy starting point is to put your heel on one pedal and leg should be straight (but not reaching for that pedal, so if you switch sides, your hips don’t tilt back and forth).

You beat me to it Suoma
Well done on the long ride, I love bikes !

Statistics: Posted by Stasher — Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:00 am

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-15T10:55:29-05:00

I don't know if it applies to collard greens, but supposedly cooking things like spinach and kale greatly cuts down on the oxalates.

Yes, I'm planning to saute the Swiss Chard. The CSA pickup also included beet greens, elephant kale, and amaranth. Everything needs saute,. It's a lot of cooked greens.

Fortunately they are staying fresh in the fridge. A perk of farm to table. It's all annoying to cook though. The elephant kale took twice as long to reach tender, compared to my typical store bought kale. Amaranth is called Chinese spinach. I can eat ordinary spinach raw

I'm beginning to recognize the lack of product variety at Aldi as a feature. They are stocking what's enjoyable to eat and prepare. I'm perfectly content with homogenous food, so the CSA variety feels more like a burden. Gassed tomatoes are fine with me.

Dunno about a cut secret. Supposedly lifting is more fun when your individual muscles pop out. I want to try it, before deciding I like extra food more. I'm gonna look malnourished in normal clothes though.

It's clear holding an athletic body fat level means ongoing sacrifice of at least one daily treat. And almost all of them getting there. The promise of easy a1c management was a false idol. Of course it's good when the fun foods don't fit.

I'd quite enjoy picking up a half dozen donuts, taking a gummy, and making the day of it. The macros don't work, not even remotely.

Statistics: Posted by Scott 2 — Tue Jul 15, 2025 10:55 am

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-15T08:42:48-05:00

To be sure, useful fictions are… useful, efficient. Maybe good enough for our various interactions.

But when it comes to an existential, metaphysical position? To truth? At least for me, fiction won’t cut it.

For a philosopher I won’t name, free will exists when our choices are determined by processes that belong to what we identify as ourselves. Determinism doesn’t negate freedom if the determinants are within us.

So the core question is who we identify as.

Saying “we have no free will” only makes sense if we identify solely with surface-level impulses or biology.

But if we identify with consciousness itself—the aware presence behind thoughts and actions—freedom takes on a different meaning. In this view, consciousness is not a thing among other things. It’s not an object or merely a kind of intelligence. It doesn’t depend on anything; on the contrary, everything depends on it. Consciousness isn’t simply aware; it’s inherently self-aware, knowing its own existence and the movements within it. That reflexive knowing is what opens real space for freedom, even amid causality.

From that perspective, necessity and freedom are not opposites. What we experience as the laws of cause and effect is simply the way consciousness expresses itself in a lawful, coherent way. Necessity becomes another word for freedom when you recognize yourself as the totality rather than merely a part.

And whether we know it or not, we already participate in that freedom.

So for me, freedom isn’t about being outside all causes—it’s about recognizing ourselves as the source of them.

To grok this viscerally is empowering—and ultimately, liberating.

Statistics: Posted by OutOfTheBlue — Tue Jul 15, 2025 8:42 am

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-15T07:45:04-05:00

Half a sentence in, I imagined you calmly delivering this exposition to a classroom of rapt kindergartners, 7. Probably not unrelated, I wish I could take my kids out of school and hire you as their private tutor.

Statistics: Posted by Biscuits and Gravy — Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:45 am

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-15T06:16:18-05:00

Broccoli and tomatoes are great daily choices. I've actually taken to using tomato paste as a supplement. Growing up we never had tomatoes that didn't come from a can (be it a literal can from the store or home canned in Mason jars) except during the last half of the summer when they ripened in the garden, so I've never really warmed to the picked green force-ripened "fresh" tomatoes from a grocery store. The tomato paste being cooked has a more bioavailable form of lycopene at the cost of losing some other nutrients.

I don't know if it applies to collard greens, but supposedly cooking things like spinach and kale greatly cuts down on the oxalates. Recently I've developed a thing for bok choy, "baby" bok choy if I can get it, as a fresh "green", as it is very low in oxalates and actually to my palate, quite tasty.

If you find a secret to successful cutting, I'd love to hear it. I'm up almost 10 lbs since hitting the hideout, despite (per Oura's estimate) burning a little more than twice the "active calories" compared to my Illinois baseline. Because of that I've allowed a few more carbs into my regimen but as soon as I do I quickly add more weight and I don't think it's all good weight. Good luck!

Statistics: Posted by IlliniDave — Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:16 am

ERE Book/Blog/Forum • Re: Bot Traffic

2025-07-15T06:13:03-05:00

When I checked, the website was down too, so it was not forum specific.

Statistics: Posted by delay — Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:13 am

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-15T06:11:49-05:00

I think the interesting thing about the deterministic (not to be confused with clockwork)argument against Free Will, is that once encountered we are "free" to place the center of "moral power or spontaneity" where we will, because any such placement amounts to a useful fiction or an efficient shorthand. We can assign God/gods (the unknown or unknowable) some agency, society some agency, and individual humans, other creatures, and even AIs some agency. Evidence that we already do this would be the tendency to cast moral judgment on those two rungs below us on any Wheaton scale and consider those two rungs above us on any Wheaton scale to be "crazy." IOW, we see those not functioning as well as us as possessing agency they are not making use of and we describe those functioning more "extremely" than us with an adjective also used to describe those who clearly lack moral/rational agency.

Also, the reason why we assign some agency (in fact use AI to create "agents') to AI. but not to clearly programmed automatons is that we do not know exactly how it functions at all levels. OTOH, we understand the "free will" that AIs possess to the extent that we do have dials with which we can adjust the "spontaneity" it exhibits. Actually, we also know how to adjust these dials on humans to some extent. For example, humans who are manic behave much more "spontaneously" than humans who are depressed. And we can also adjust the dials on our societies in such a way that they are more or less likely to produce criminal or other unwanted behavior.

Statistics: Posted by 7Wannabe5 — Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:11 am

ERE Journals • Re: NewBlood's journal

2025-07-15T04:58:00-05:00

2025 update 28/52

It's weird, I've been feeling a bit lonely this week. It's summer vacation time here, no more climbing classes, a lot of my friends are gone or about to leave the city and will be gone for at least a few weeks. But when I look back, I actually spent a lot of time with people this week...

I had dinners at two sets of friends', and a lunch on Saturday for a big-ish friend reunion.

I also spent some time at my first in-person meetings in over TWO years... needless to say, I'm not used to it anymore, and I don't like it. I logged into the meeting from my house in the mornings and only went there in the afternoons, even though it's only a 30min bike ride from my house. It was about the project I'm about to start working on but the contract is still not signed, we might need to change some deliverables if no suitable solution is found to get me compute time on an HPC. Still waiting for an answer on that. The project uses climate projections and I find it very depressing. Both the projections themselves and the amount of uncertainty we're dealing with. (nothing new, it's just even more depressing when you spend hours parsing through all the details...). One of the guys was really annoying, monopolizing people's time to get answers to his questions to his full satisfaction, completely oblivious that people were fed up and had places to go.
This group is also a bit weird, not very social. There was one dinner, to which only a subgroup participated, no hanging out after the meetings for a beer or to chat. The project is interesting, something I know how to do, and good enough money for the amount of work it'll take, I'll have a ton of freedom, but I still miss my old job and colleagues. This is less exciting, even if it's a great opportunity.

I'm also waiting for a document to arrive from the govt before I can finally close down my old business... everything takes forever.

I went bouldering twice by myself, high volume, low intensity. I did all the yellow problems (V0), all the greens (V1-2) except 2, and some blues (V2). I managed to do my first big (it felt big) dyno (V2) after about 15 tries! pretty proud.

I also went sports climbing once with people from my club, tried some of the new routes on the steep overhang, but I haven't done steep overhangs in a long while and don't have the endurance anymore, I need to try these routes more often.

Finally I also went back to the swimming pool (twice) for the first time in two years! (I think). Still very boring, but I feel good afterwards. I'm "training" for a mini triathlon in October, just an XS I'm trying to convince a burnt-out friend of mine to do with me. Mostly an excuse to gather a bunch of friends in a cool place where some of them live. Unfortunately, they'll only have an XS and an M. I was almost mentally ready to try an S. The XS should be easy, except the biking route is all hills, no flat part. Which I'll do with my beat-up hybrid. Should be fun.

Goals for next week:
- climbing
- swimming
- try running again?
- contract?
- old business?

Statistics: Posted by NewBlood — Tue Jul 15, 2025 4:58 am

Resources & Recommended Reading • Re: Resources and recommended listening

2025-07-15T04:28:47-05:00

Am interesting discussion between Sam Harris and Swami Sarvapriyananda:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuDyqPxAllU

Statistics: Posted by chenda — Tue Jul 15, 2025 4:28 am

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-14T22:37:47-05:00

If you agree that the universe is governed by consistent, predictable physical laws (even if they are not fully understood and may involve an element of randomness/probability to them), then I think that it follows that we don’t have free will (although we feel like we are making decisions).

Think of a bunch of pre-programmed vacuum cleaners that are navigating and cleaning a room. They are seemingly making decisions all the time about where to go, based on their internal programming, and the environment (walls) that they experience, but they are just following a script (and it might be programmed in that script that it can modify itself to improve over time).

By thus admitting pure spontaneity or life as a character of the universe, acting always and everywhere though restrained within narrow bounds by law, producing infinitesimal departures from law continually, and great ones with infinite infrequency, I account for all the variety and diversity of the universe, in the only sense in which the really sui generis and new can be said to be accounted for. The ordinary view has to admit the inexhaustible mulitudinous variety of the world, has to admit that its mechanical law cannot account for this in the least, that variety can spring only from spontaneity, and yet denies without any evidence or reason the existence of this spontaneity, or else shoves it back to the beginning of time and supposes it dead ever since. The superior logic of my view appears to me not easily controverted.

c.f. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27896963

Statistics: Posted by Conrad — Mon Jul 14, 2025 10:37 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-14T19:52:01-05:00

I know, right? This place is great.

Statistics: Posted by suomalainen — Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:52 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-14T19:30:57-05:00

I’m still scratching my head how we went from discussing the potential pitfalls of using divination tools to what feels like an equally disempowering stance of strict determinism.

Statistics: Posted by OutOfTheBlue — Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:30 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-14T17:39:09-05:00

Yes if there's no free will then the justice system would collapse, as anyone could plead a version of an insanity defence.

If there’s no free will, society can’t help but punish those who can’t help but crime.

Statistics: Posted by suomalainen — Mon Jul 14, 2025 5:39 pm

ERE Journals • Re: bostonimproper's journal

2025-07-14T16:28:07-05:00

I am really enjoying this stage-- 2.5 years old, so in the late-toddler, early-preschool transition.

I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but listen to me, listen to me, DublinImproper. Crudités. Goddamn crudités. Get yourself a designated crudités Tupperware and whenever your kid needs a snack, bust out the crudités. It’s a miracle worker. Things they would never touch on their plate are devoured. My sister upped the game by imbuing the different fruits and veg with powers, e.g. carrots give you laser eyes, snap peas give you super speed, etc. Cuz I know you’re over there fretting about your kid eating enough kiwi.

Statistics: Posted by Biscuits and Gravy — Mon Jul 14, 2025 4:28 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-14T16:00:37-05:00

If you agree that the universe is governed by consistent, predictable physical laws (even if they are not fully understood and may involve an element of randomness/probability to them), then I think that it follows that we don’t have free will (although we feel like we are making decisions).

Think of a bunch of pre-programmed vacuum cleaners that are navigating and cleaning a room. They are seemingly making decisions all the time about where to go, based on their internal programming, and the environment (walls) that they experience, but they are just following a script (and it might be programmed in that script that it can modify itself to improve over time).

Statistics: Posted by Crusader — Mon Jul 14, 2025 4:00 pm

ERE Journals • Re: Mousse's journal

2025-07-14T15:59:05-05:00

Also check saddle height. Knee pain can arise if too low. Easy starting point is to put your heel on one pedal and leg should be straight (but not reaching for that pedal, so if you switch sides, your hips don’t tilt back and forth).

Statistics: Posted by suomalainen — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:59 pm

Inspiration • Re: ERE songs

2025-07-14T15:58:29-05:00

Amarillo by Morning by George Straight also has hints of ERE if you see it as a story of living light and doing what you love.

Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone
Everything that I got is just what I've got on
When that sun is high in that Texas sky
I'll be buckin' at the county fair
Amarillo by morning
Amarillo, I'll be there

Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone
Everything that I got is just what I've got on
I ain't got a dime, but what I got is mine
I ain't rich, but Lord, I'm free
Amarillo by morning
Amarillo is where I'll be

Statistics: Posted by robertfromtx — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:58 pm

ERE Book/Blog/Forum • Re: Bot Traffic

2025-07-14T15:50:07-05:00

Forum down for hours today

Statistics: Posted by suomalainen — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:50 pm

ERE Journals • Re: Mousse's journal

2025-07-14T17:14:22-05:00

And so I recently cycled 70km! The ride itself didn't feel difficult, perfect weather and breeze to cool me down. Not too many hills. Afterwards though, it's my knees that started crying out. I suspect I'll be trying to get more comfortable with that kind of distance before trying to go further again.

Took it easy after as planned, and read a book a day for a few days! I don't think I've done that since I was a teenager?

Great job on the long bike ride and your one book a day streak! That sounds amazing!

If your knees start hurting, try going down one speed on your derailleur. It's better for your joints to pedal at a higher easier cadence. More cardio, less strain on your joints.

Statistics: Posted by NewBlood — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:41 pm

ERE Journals • Re: Singvestor’s retirement lifestyle test run

2025-07-14T15:28:48-05:00

Long term US stock market growth has been 10% per year, minus 3% to compensate for inflation, is 7% per year... I'd say 6% annually is a reasonably safe estimate, but... it isn't guaranteed, of course, and yes, the stock market is volatile, therefore I used the word "probably".

I'm not sure what taxes on capital and/or on capital gains and/or on dividends would be in Switzerland nor Germany. That can indeed reduce the net return for you.

And by the way: the idea of coasting to FI ... would be to earn just enough income for a few years to pay your living expenses from your earned income and then maybe even contribute just a little bit to the portfolio, maybe nothing. But at least cover your expenses so that you don't have to sell any investments. You're leaving your portfolio alone, to give it time to grow some more. So you don't touch your investments for a few years because you cover your living expenses with your paychecks.

Some people also use geoarbitrage combined with coasting, but I don't think Singvestor will want to do this at this moment. But you could imagine that if you want to live on $60k in retirement in the US, but can also live happily on $24k/year somewhere in Asia or Eastern Europe, living in the cheaper country for say 15 years and taking "only" $24k from a $1 million portfolio annually might very well allow that portfolio to keep growing until it's $1.5 million and thus big enough to support that $60k/year lifestyle in the US.

Strategies can also be combined... and some people can be really creative.

Statistics: Posted by DutchGirl — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:28 pm

Inspiration • Re: ERE songs

2025-07-14T09:49:03-05:00

“Carrying Your Love With Me,” by George Strait

Baby all I got's this beat up leather bag
And everything I own don't fill up half
But don't you worry 'bout the way I pack
…
I'll have everything I'll ever need
I'm carryin' your love with me

Realizing that the country music I grew up on primed me for ERE. It also primed me for drinking away my problems, but that’s neither here nor there.

Statistics: Posted by Biscuits and Gravy — Mon Jul 14, 2025 9:49 am

Inspiration • Re: ERE songs

2025-07-14T09:29:50-05:00

“Alright,” by Darius Rucker

Don't need no five star reservations
I got spaghetti and a cheap bottle of wine
Don't need no concert in the city
I got a stereo and the best of Patsy Cline
Ain't got no caviar, no Dom Perignon
But as far as I can see, I got everything I want
…
Maybe later on, we'll walk down to the river
Lay on a blanket and stare up at the moon
It may not be no French Riviera
But it's all the same to me as long as I'm with you

Statistics: Posted by Biscuits and Gravy — Mon Jul 14, 2025 9:29 am

ERE Journals • Re: What I Spend

2025-07-14T07:44:11-05:00

When I was contracting, I setup a desk in my bedroom. They let me keep a monitor, so that persisted as the big computer dock for my phone. Yesterday I tore it down. The desk is going in the trash. The monitor might upgrade our Linux PC.

Docking the phone and having a secondary workstation is cool. But minimizing electronics in the bedroom might be cooler. I also put the wireless phone charger in the basement. My phone is going to live down there, with messages relayed through my watch

I've been losing my eternal struggle with screens. Maybe these changes help. It's not even that I'm trying to eliminate my screen time. But I'd much rather have played video games than scrolled the Internet. I get sucked into the infinite information feed, with nothing to show when I'm done. Meanwhile my Switch 2 is languishing.

The weekly day of restoration has hit a snag. A few hours after I take the cannabis gummy, eating is the most fun thing to do. While I framed it as a refeed, my cut has stalled. I'm undoing most of my weekly deficit in that one day. Add the other odd exception in, *poof* deficit gone.

So I gotta figure that out. I already have high volume foods. I don't think I'm going to substitute my way into an effective pattern. Either I do the gummy without eating as entertainment, skip it, or stop the cut. Those are my options.

Maybe premaking the day's food will work.

CSA continues to drag on. Recently learned about the oxolates in rainbow Swiss Chard, after eating a large bowl of raw leaves. Prepared raw beets for the first time. So messy. Everything's purple. Neither veg felt particularly worth it.

We're skipping a pickup due to my wife traveling. I'm honestly looking forward to my basic, boring Aldi vegetables. Turns out I like eating broccoli and tomatoes every day.

Statistics: Posted by Scott 2 — Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:44 am

Inspiration • Re: Emerson's Self-Reliance: Very ERE-Related Essay

2025-07-14T07:42:44-05:00

I found this audio format of the Self Reliance, Translated article from the author on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouj79WAXH4M

Statistics: Posted by robertfromtx — Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:42 am

ERE Journals • Re: gradus' journal

2025-07-14T05:59:45-05:00

I'd say my biggest problem with cost of living is that I have not wanted to decrease food costs too low.

The first step to decreasing food costs is not spending outside of grocery shopping. If that is not an issue for you, then I think it's unwise to start using grocery shopping as a barometer of progress because it will be a source of constant frustration unless (a) your shopping cart is currently overflowing with Cheetos and soft drinks or (b) you are willing to go the lentil/trapping rabbits route. If your grocery shopping is currently within the bounds of normal and it's your comfort zone, you might be better off cutting back the psychological burden of feeling you need to cut back the food bill rather than cutting the food bill itself. Of course I'm speaking as someone who gave up on this specific cost cutting category upon power booting my first bowl of lentils.

Statistics: Posted by Henry — Mon Jul 14, 2025 5:59 am

Introduce Yourself • Re: Gwen aka Sharky introducing himself

2025-07-14T04:38:28-05:00

I don't think not cheating is indivualistic per se. Cheating is often made at the expense of something, and there are then a cascade of negative effect. The destruction of the said something is one, harsher rule and enforcement are an other one.

Statistics: Posted by Jean — Mon Jul 14, 2025 4:38 am

Introduce Yourself • Re: Gwen aka Sharky introducing himself

2025-07-14T03:49:13-05:00

I'm currently reading The WEIRDest People in the World — great book so far. It explains how the brains of Western people are shaped differently compared to those from other cultures. You can even track economic development and literacy levels based on how far a German town is from Wittenberg, where Luther posted his 95 Theses.

From that point on, people needed to read to understand what was expected of them. Learning to read from an early age shapes the brain. Living in individualistic societies also makes people more open, because others are isolated individuals too — you don’t rely on a tight-knit tribe, so you have to be more open-minded, and society builds institutions that let you interact safely with strangers. This allow you to bound with like minded people you have no close ties with, butt share a commun interest, being lifestyle, economic, or whatever.

If you're interested , here a test :
Participant is in a room, nor surveillance, he/she throw a dice, 1 give you 1$, 2 give you 2$... except 6, which give you 0$.

Who cheat ?

Everybody — except Germans, Swedes, British, and Dutch — cheat far more than others, like in Tanzania.

Why? The experiment isn’t fair — it’s random. Why should rolling a 6 earn you $0?

Some people will see it as irresponsible not to cheat, because the money would go to them and their families. WEIRD participants tend to cheat less, even if it’s for their own personal benefit, because "I", as an individual, am not that kind of person. It’s an individualist morality — the same kind that makes Western people feel ashamed for skipping the gym, but also prone to clash with others in public if they believe they’re right.

Good stuff, highly recommend

Statistics: Posted by Sharky — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:49 am

ERE Journals • Re: Mousse's journal

2025-07-14T03:12:08-05:00

Quietness -

I've been feeling pretty good lately. Of course, the weather has also been particularly lovely so I'm trying to stay conscious of that. (Definitely noticing the influence of it over my mood more, now that I'm spending much more time outdoor!)

I reread a few posts in my journal here and noticed when I was wincing or tensing because I expected mockery or sneer from shadows of the past still living in my head. Especially around enjoying simple things like a rainbow (cuff over the head, "and what do you think you're doing, young one?"). I journaled a bit about it and realised that, at least for the next while, what I want is Quietness. Around me and mentally. I've been saying for years that "I want to have the time to take my time" and I do, now. And I love it.

And I think I found a way to make it happen for the next couple of decades or so. It's not resilient nor Financial Independence, but it would allow me to not have to throw myself back into the world of work if I don't want to, and stay in the quiet. Even when I could work from home, not being able to think about what I want for 8-10h + the lingering worries or anger around work felt like having a noisy manacle around my brain.

I already used to rent out the guest room for a couple of months a year, ever since I bought the house. If I continue to do that but aim for 6 months per year, I could earn about €5k a year and make my savings and investments last a lot longer.

I enjoy hosting as part of those temporary programs (students, secondments, etc). The framework is clear, folks are out most of the day, understand that they are guests, and usually appreciate having a local guide. This would also give me a good excuse not to travel for half the year, both to give others and myself an excuse. Sometimes, I get stuck in a mental loop of "I'm the one who went away to live far, I should be visiting everyone all the time." (Watching the "shoulds" )

It's not resilient because if I lose the house, I lose cheap housing, free electricity, and a source of income I rely on.

But in the meantime, it buys me a ton of time and peace. And I can't imagine I won't find other occasional sources of income over time. I want to do more casual, temporary work. Already spotted some opportunities, even if I'm not going to apply this year. I also applied to a part-time graduate course for the autumn term. I'm feeling extremely free. I give my all to anything I apply to, for sure, but if something doesn't pan out I'm aware it simply leaves wide open space for other potential opportunities. (I'm aware this might change if I really want or "need" to find something, but at this point in time, this is how I feel.)

Since this revelation about wanting quietness, my "dead hours" in the afternoon seem gone. Certainly, it's more low energy compared to morning, but that's fine. I can't expect to spend all of my awake hours in Full Exuberance mode, and/or constantly doing cognitively intense tasks. Contentment is also very nice. And I'm never bored. My mind fully belongs to me and I'm free to think about whatever I want, whenever I want.

Thanks again for the Permission to Feel book rec, B&G. The energy/pleasantness quadrant clarified a bunch of things for me. I suspect I'll re-read it in the future and probably get more or different perspectives out of it.

Freeing mental space -

It's not like work ever prevented me from going to medical appointments, always benevolently allowing me to take a day off whenever I needed it. But ever since getting a (sort of) diagnosis, I've been finding it very hard to jump through the hoops of the medical system. My current diagnosis is like, "well, since it's not anything else, it's probably X. Sorry, don't know anything about that." and then I have to start from scratch elsewhere. It's just pretty overwhelming. I learnt that when busy medical professionals remember you, it's usually a bad sign ("your case is so weird").

Anyway, I cajoled a few secretaries and managed to get an appointment with what should be experts in X, even though I didn't get the condition in the "usual" way. I'm nervous and excited, hoping to get proper answers and better understanding. It's still not curable, but having the diagnosis confirmed and understanding the timeline better among other things would be great.

I also realised the library system has two books about the condition. It had never even come to my mind to check. I'd try to do a google search, then close the tab because the searches always come up with pictures of the final stages… Kept thinking I should install an extension not to load pictures before searching in more depth, then didn't do either. I imagine the books will have pictures, but I'm feeling in a better place to deal with it. Getting well organised information should be really good. Set up the first interlibrary loan for the most recent of the books.

Another reason I'm keen to enjoy a lot of what I can "now" is because I might not be as comfortable enjoying it later, when the mobility issues become more complex to manage.

Cycling and reading -

And so I recently cycled 70km! The ride itself didn't feel difficult, perfect weather and breeze to cool me down. Not too many hills. Afterwards though, it's my knees that started crying out. I suspect I'll be trying to get more comfortable with that kind of distance before trying to go further again.

Took it easy after as planned, and read a book a day for a few days! I don't think I've done that since I was a teenager? The library is my main source of consumerism I add books to my wishlist, and organise the limited number of reservations, feverishly updating the website to see if what I requested is available for me yet… By now, I know exactly when the interlibrary deliveries arrive because I came across the delivery van a few times while cycling there. A walk a day to the library during that period was probably a nice cooldown after the long cycle, too.

Expenses -

Trailing 12 months expenses dropped under €11k. The health insurance renewal turned out not to have an annual option so that's staying monthly. Feeling pretty peaceful overall. Happy to continue with the low-buy year and seeing what I learn, even if I have a couple of thoughts on what I might want to shake up next year.

Statistics: Posted by Mousse — Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:12 am

ERE Journals • Re: Singvestor’s retirement lifestyle test run

2025-07-14T01:19:16-05:00

Say you're at 750k now and want to get to 1 million dollars, then "just" leaving the portfolio alone for about four to five years would probably do it.

That's 6% growth a year, which can only be expected if ignoring inflation and taxes, not to mention living expenses, which would now come from the stash. Also, 6% is a semi-reasonable long term growth expectation, and who knows what the next 5 years will be exactly.

Statistics: Posted by zbigi — Mon Jul 14, 2025 1:19 am

Technical Skills & Tools Questions • Re: Issue Removing Watch Screws – Advice Requested

2025-07-13T21:14:47-05:00

@Sclass - Okay, now I'm confused. How would drilling away the head leave a stud to grab? I probably have the wrong geometric image but to me the drill bit would leave pretty much the opposite in the stud?

It’s just how clamped assemblies are designed I guess. If you drill the head and remove the top of the clamped assembly you’re left with a little stud. Very often it comes out easily because it’s no longer under tension when the head is removed. If it’s rusted in that’s another story. You drill all the heads and remove the top plate. Then the studs are sticking up.

https://www.gdandtbasics.com/position-t ... -fastener/

These are the tools watchmakers use to remove broken screws. I made small diameter ones for broken screws in watches bridges using pogo pin tips welded to steel rods. They’re a hardened steel pin with a little crown machined in the top.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/precisi ... gLlLvD_BwE

There’s a certain type of pogo pin tip that can be used for this purpose. I think these are used for probing uneven surfaces on circuit boards.

Statistics: Posted by Sclass — Sun Jul 13, 2025 9:14 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-13T17:27:15-05:00

Robert Sapolsky in "Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will"

And when people claim that there are causeless causes of your behavior that they call "free will", they have (a) failed to recognize or not learned about the determinism lurking beneath the surface and/or (b) erroneously concluded that the rarefied aspects of the universe that do work in-deterministically can explain your character, morals, and behavior.

It is that [delayed] will that is effectively free.

Sapolsky would likely argue that you still have to explain where any intention come from whether conscious or unconscious, and whether you consider the neuronal situation milliseconds before taking action, the prenatal environment in which you were formed, or the environment in which your ancestors evolved, there is nothing that can not, and only that which must, be either be deterministically explainable or at a level of chaotic randomness that is irrelevant. There were no different decisions that any of us could have made whatever time length is considered. The "tiny homunculus" residing within you that possesses the freedom to make a different decision or produce a different outcome is as mythological a notion as an externally placed god possessing such control over all outcomes.

Statistics: Posted by 7Wannabe5 — Sun Jul 13, 2025 5:27 pm

ERE Journals • Re: gradus' journal

2025-07-13T16:03:07-05:00

Quick update, since I missed last week:

Since last post, I have only spent money on utilities and at the grocery store and doctor's office. It does not feel much different - if anything I feel some pride that so far I do not need money that much. (I did buy super glue, which isn't food, but I bought it at the grocery store...) There are a lot of free things to do, biking is enjoyable in this weather at least, and today I found someone to trade with me- I exchanged some parchment paper I never use for some tin foil to work on my guitar.

Having fewer possessions is making life easier, since at this point, almost everything which I "have to look at" when I am in my apartment has an actual purpose and I want it to be there- so putting it in the right place i.e. cleaning is simple. (It was a mess before.) I see it as a mashup of Carl Sagan's "in order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe" with Marie Kondo: "in order to clean your apartment, it must have a purpose and unifying ethos" ("it must spark joy"?).

Statistics: Posted by gradus — Sun Jul 13, 2025 4:03 pm

Technical Skills & Tools Questions • Re: Issue Removing Watch Screws – Advice Requested

2025-07-13T15:47:58-05:00

Before the OP possibly creates a bigger problem, I just wanted to clarify that the drill bit needs to be small enough to (absolutely) not remove the "thread" part but only the "core" of the screw, thus allow it to collapse/disintegrate and be picked out in pieces with a pair of tweezers.

BTW, love the watch! I'm a huge fan of one hand watches and this is a 24hr watch to boot. What brand/model is it? There are only a few making these and I've never seen this one before.

https://kaminskyblog.com/2017/05/12/slo ... slow-o-02/

They don't make those anymore. Today, I called a watch repair shop. For 26 euros, they can take a look at it. If everything goes well, they'll proceed with the repair, and we'll see how it turns out. I don't have the proper tools to handle it myself.

Worst case scenario, they send it back, and using the knowledge you all shared with me, I can try to fix it myself.

Thanks to everyone who offered tips!

Statistics: Posted by RogueCipher — Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:47 pm

ERE Journals • Re: Lightfruit55's Journal

2025-07-13T15:26:12-05:00

@delay - Has that worked for you? I am sceptical about deprivation. I find that what helps is to 'elevate' my tastebuds. For example, I should only eat freshly baked goods or artisanal chocolates, and this naturally restricts my options and intake. Of course, the best way is to develop an identity or mindset that makes me averse to the thing. Something like "my body is my temple" and I should not sully it with caffeine and sugar of any kind... But is a life without pain au chocolat worth living?

Thanks for your reply! My idea is to try "depravation", and often also excess, and see how I like it. These learning experiences work very well for me. For example, I did a month of half normal spending, and one on double normal spending. Turns out I liked the half spending month better!

So the idea is to find the right amount of "pain au chocolat". For me that's zero, but it is very likely different for you!

Statistics: Posted by delay — Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:26 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-13T15:19:45-05:00

Yes if there's no free will then the justice system would collapse, as anyone could plead a version of an insanity defence.

Statistics: Posted by chenda — Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:19 pm

ERE Journals • Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

2025-07-13T15:14:38-05:00

I used to fall into the no free will camp but I didn't find that sort of thinking pratically useful for anything. Other then maybe forgiving one's self for mistakes of the past due to using the logical conclusion that no one is responsible for their actions. Which kinda doesn't make sense if you can see the implications of this. When someone pleads the insanity defense, what they're effectively saying is that they had no free will of their actions and that is why their punishment should be less. The crime was often quick and reactionary with not much thought put into it. But other crimes are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum where they were premeditated with multi-step plans. This suggest a lot of agency on the perpetrator.

So lately I have begun to believe that one's agency/ free will is on a spectrum and the notion that free will exists or not is a false dichotomy. To the extent that someone is self-aware, does a lot of introspection, and can actually use there operating system (brain) to effectively use their introspections to alter their behaviors...these people have a lot of free will. Those who aren't self-aware, go through motions, just do things because don't have a lot of free will.

If I imagine myself as a outside party observing the human that is Lemur, I surprisingly can see someone who is pretty damn predictable. Not that consistency is a bad thing, but this does suggest that some behaviors are ingrained to be more non-free will and automatic (the system 1s) and even some of the system 2 is this way as well. But other behaviors are more unpredictable due to randomness of choice. The more someone becomes aware of their automatic tendencies and actively works to create space between brain stimulus and actionable response will reflect the more degrees of freedom they have. It's likely not unlimited freedom, but it is meaningful enough. One practical implication I have used for this is to try to to accomplish my tasks/goals in ways that don't drain my own willpower which is a limited reserve. This is where system thinking can be real useful.

Perhaps even just believing that free will exists gives someone more degrees of freedom. I was taught that "metacognition" is the ability to think about your own thinking. And this ability is pretty much a giant step-up in gaining a lot more agency. A lot of people don't have this I think or don't do it at all.

Statistics: Posted by Lemur — Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:14 pm