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a fragment or passage selected from a literary work;

Analects

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

[marginalium] Effect sizes for anti-depressants vanish when subjected to rigorous analysis — 14 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Thematic list of academic failings — 13 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Fukuyama as an anti-Nostradamus, or the safest kinds of predictions to make — 12 Nov 2022
[marginalium] A simple question to change how you feel — 11 Nov 2022
[marginalium] On Oligopoly And Social Norms — 10 Nov 2022
[marginalium] On the value of reading dead philosophers — 9 Nov 2022
[marginalium] A fun enough comparison of the new LoTR series and Western (US) culture — 8 Nov 2022
[marginalium] On predicting Russian appetite for nuclear escalation — 7 Nov 2022
[article] The colour of the inhuman world — 7 Nov 2022
Humans imagine that there is no other way of being than the way that we conceive of, and all experiences are ultimately relative to ours. This is a practical mistake, but one that leads to astonishing errors of judgement.
[marginalium] Words to describe the heart — 6 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Kind of disorganised, but interesting comparison between chicken and human intelligence — 5 Nov 2022
[marginalium] On the accuracy of futurist predictions (usually not very accurate) — 4 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Mostly good for the overview of fasting (see also this) — 3 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Slouching toward Utopia — 2 Nov 2022
[marginalium] Midlife crises are less spectacular and more depressing, now — 1 Nov 2022

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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