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Analects

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[article] AI isn't that scary — 22 Jun 2024
AI alarmism thrives on speculative, worst-case scenarios, but our understanding of AI’s fundamentally alien nature and the complex forms of consciousness make me suspect that less stressful alternatives are equally plausible.
[marginalium] How Long Was China Communist? — 22 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Moral progress is annoying — 21 Jun 2024
[marginalium] I Will Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again — 21 Jun 2024
[marginalium] AIs are coming for social networks — 21 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Hypocrisy Is Not a Real Problem in World Politics — 21 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? — 15 Jun 2024
[article] Ideologies stack — 15 Jun 2024
Fringe theories always seem to cluster together. It seems weird, but mainstream theories also do, we just don’t often examine them. Examining why different theory stacks arise reveals much about our biases, ideologies, and the influence of community-based knowledge.
[marginalium] Only 1,280 Reproductive Human Ancestors Once Roamed Earth, Gene Study Suggests — 15 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Don't drink a drop, or the flaws in the scientific ritual — 12 Jun 2024
[marginalium] AI is Mostly Prompting — 11 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Retrospective on AI by Jack Clark (of Anthropic fame) — 10 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Do your best — 9 Jun 2024
[marginalium] Reality Has A Surprising Amount Of Detail — 7 Jun 2024
[article] Reflections on a PhD — 23 May 2024
Many aspects of my PhD were surprising to me, but in hindsight, they didn’t have to be. Here’s my reflections on how I’d go about it if I’d known.

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):

Lectures: Podcasts exploring ideologies

Neurotypica: Brain science guide for non-scientists

Black Cortex: Leadership consulting

Analects

btrmt. (text-only version)

Resources

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