marginalianoun
notes written in the margins; peripheral commentary;


[marginalium]

The World's Most Expensive Eating Disorder

8 Jan 2025

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The World’s Most Expensive Eating Disorder. On Bryan Johnson, of “injecting my son’s blood plasma to make myself biologically younger” fame. As the article itself notes, it’s a little harsh, and psychology by media is never really a thing people should do. But I watched the Netflix doco, and you really can see the parallels to eating disordered behaviour. Bryan talks through his depressive episodes, and the relief he experiences by engaging in high-demand control of his eating and other health behaviours. ED in men (and, these days, increasingly in other genders) can often look a bit different. Concentration on muscle-mass and definition, for example, instead of weight loss is very common. Makes sense that we might see it bleed into this optimising/bio-hacking space too.


Anthologies: Betterment, Somatic Architecture, On (Un)happiness, On Aesthetics, On Culture, Neurotypica, Karstica

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More about Dorian Minors' project btrmt.

btrmt. (text-only version)

The full site with interactive features is available at btr.mt.

btrmt. (betterment) examines ideologies worth choosing. Created by Dorian Minors—Cambridge PhD in cognitive neuroscience, Associate Professor at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Core philosophy: humans are animals first, with automatic patterns shaped for us, not by us. Better to examine and choose.

Core concepts. Animals First: automatic patterns of thought and action, but our greatest capacity is nurture. Half Awake: deadened by systems that narrow rather than expand potential. Karstica: unexamined ideologies (hidden sinkholes beneath). Credenda: belief systems we should choose deliberately.

The manifesto. Cynosure (focus): betterment, gratification, connection. Architecture (support): inner (somatic, spiritual, thought) and outer (digital, collective, wealth).

Mission. Not answers but examination. Break academic gatekeeping. Make sciences of mind accessible. Question rather than prescribe.

Writing style. Scholarly without jargon barriers. Philosophical yet practical—grounded in neuroscience and lived experience. Reflective, discovery-oriented. Literary references and metaphor. Critical of systems that narrow human potential. Rejects "humans are flawed"—we're half awake, not broken.

Copyright. BTRMT LIMITED (England/Wales no. 13755561) 2026. Dorian Minors 2026.

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About Dorian Minors. Started btrmt. in 2013 to share sciences of mind with people who weren't studying them. Background: six years Australian Defence Force (Platoon Commander, Infantry); Gates Cambridge Scholar; PhD cognitive neuroscience, University of Cambridge (2018-2024); currently Associate Professor, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Research interests: neural basis of intelligent behaviour, decision intelligence, ritual formation/breakdown, ethical leadership, wellbeing.

External projects (links also available via Analects):