analectnoun
a fragment or passage selected from a literary work;

Analects

Filter by type: All · Articles · Audio · Marginalia

Filter by anthology: All · Betterment · Gratification · Connection · Somatic Architecture · Spiritual Architecture · Thought Architecture · Wealth Architecture · Digital Architecture · Collective Architecture

[article] The value of violence — 9 Aug 2024
The utility of violence isn’t in the violence itself, but only in the threat of it. It creates immediate behaviour change, but only for so long as the threat is active.
[marginalium] On the 'empathy economy' as jobs are automated — 8 Aug 2024
[marginalium] The virtues of propaganda — 7 Aug 2024
[marginalium] A new distraction: dialectical behaviour therapy — 6 Aug 2024
[marginalium] A Mind That Can’t “See” Mental Images — 5 Aug 2024
[marginalium] Why Do People Believe True Things? — 4 Aug 2024
[marginalium] More evidence against the marshmallow test — 2 Aug 2024
[article] It's not social media, life is just worse — 2 Aug 2024
Social media use probably isn’t the problem. Social media use is probably just the most obvious manifestation of lots of problems. And in fact, social media could probably be a solution. It’s up to you.
[marginalium] Online churches — 29 Jul 2024
[marginalium] Updates on AI language models — 28 Jul 2024
[marginalium] War deepens gender-stereotypes — 27 Jul 2024
[marginalium] The biology of erogenous zones — 27 Jul 2024
[article] How does the brain 'think'? Pt. III — 26 Jul 2024
The brain almost certainly has many processes that contribute to any decision. Here we have one that cares about what it sees, and maybe another process that decides what to do about what it sees.
[marginalium] Babies learn to talk in the womb — 24 Jul 2024
[marginalium] Giant rat penis redux - AI-generated diagram leads to journal article retraction — 23 Jul 2024

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.

Optional

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):

Lectures: Podcasts exploring ideologies

Neurotypica: Brain science guide for non-scientists

Black Cortex: Leadership consulting

Analects

btrmt. (text-only version)

Resources

Optional