As in the Streets, So in the Mind: Flânerie as a Way of Thinking and Living

Flânerie refers to the lifestyle practice of walking aimlessly (typically around a city, with Paris being the epitomical city of the flâneur – the street wanderer). I analysed this concept in a previous post, touching on its historical, philosophical, literary, and cultural dimensions. However, flânerie extends well beyond the limits of the city, or I…

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The Conflict Between SEO and Authentic Writing

It can be difficult to strike a balance between search engine optimisation (SEO) and writing authentically. On the one hand, writing with SEO in mind increases the likelihood that what you write will generate organic traffic – views that you might otherwise miss out without paying attention to SEO. But these views aren’t just validating and…

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Dark Web Virtues: What We Can Learn From White House Market

Darknet markets, where people can browse and buy illicit drugs and forged documents, are not going anywhere. They remain highly popular and involve transactions totalling over a billion dollars. Darknet markets frequently rise and fall, with their closure seeming inevitable. The way that highly popular darknet markets cease to be, however, tends to be abrupt…

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The Privacy Pitfalls of Zuckerberg’s Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg’s unveiling of his metaverse, a virtual reality (VR) environment created by Meta (previously Facebook), has garnered a lot of attention. Zuckerberg’s rebranding of Facebook as Meta signals its aim to build a new version of the internet, one based on people interacting with each other via VR headsets.  What is the Metaverse? The…

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Meshuggah, Transhumanism, and the Allure of Cults

In one of Meshuggah’s most well-known tracks, New Millennium Cyanide Christ, we find an exploration of the themes of transhumanism and cults. Drummer Tomas Haake, who writes the lyrics for the band, said of the track in an interview with Greg Prato: That’s more of a dystopian take on a sectistic or extremist kind of…

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