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

[marginalium] Why Is Everything So Ugly — 27 Mar 2023
[marginalium] The greatness of Maria Montessori — 26 Mar 2023
[marginalium] How to be a happy nihilist Let me demonstrate with a game, ‘spot the meaningless meaning’ — 25 Mar 2023
[marginalium] Exercise is habit, not genetics — 24 Mar 2023
[marginalium] Human intelligence is converging — 23 Mar 2023
[marginalium] A typology of the ‘new right’ — 22 Mar 2023
[marginalium] Is ‘feeling fat’ really a manifestation of underlying sadness — 21 Mar 2023
[marginalium] The honesty of pornography — 20 Mar 2023
[marginalium] Cows are more resilient than you think — 19 Mar 2023
[marginalium] How Physics Can Improve the Urinal — 18 Mar 2023
[marginalium] Generalized tendency to make extreme trait judgements from faces — 17 Mar 2023
[article] The value of ritual — 17 Mar 2023
Rituals are often dismissed, but they’re just procedures with a purpose. We all engage in ritualistic behavior—many habits and routines meet this criteria. Redefining them through the uncomfortable lens of ritual prompts us to question our own practices and beliefs.
[marginalium] A response to MacAskill’s What We Owe the Future — 16 Mar 2023
[marginalium] A personalised alternative to antidepressants is on the way — 15 Mar 2023
[marginalium] The “je ne sais quoi” of TikTok — 14 Mar 2023

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