Luke Smith Fanclub & Archive

About [Luke] Luke: background in economics and linguistics, disillusioned with academia, turned to technology and rural life. Rejected institutional science, embraced Orthodox Christianity, runs a YouTube channel. Focus on cybernetics, technology's societal impact, and self-improvement.

Luke Smith's Blog
tl;dr: Archived RSS feeds from Luke Smith's webpages; includes posts from the early 2010s with potential duplicates, minor date discrepancies, and some broken links due to their age; provides a snapshot of Luke’s online thoughts and projects over the years

LUKE'S TWITTER
tl;dr: Luke's wondering if any girls watch him, calculating his youtube earnings, and teasing Deus Ex gaming streams

Brainland - first Luke's website
tl;dr: Luke's first website from childhood, showcasing his love for Pokémon and an early personal homepage; features math tables, a story about his first campout, and a detailed Pokémon card guide with images of his collection; simple HTML design with early web elements like tables, images, and links.

Churches
tl;dr: list of churches which Luke has visited, excluding protestant ones; includes Orthodox (Greek, Serbian, Antiochian, etc.), Roman Catholic, and Oriental churches; locations range from the US to Greece, Turkey, Mexico, and the Balkans; asterisks mark churches only visited externally

Countries Luke Has Been To
tl;dr: travel log in order of first visits; includes North America, Europe, Asia; comments range from architecture in China to chaos in Mexico; bonus map of US states visited, lived in, or passed through; praise for West Virginia, disdain for diapers in China

FAQ
tl;dr: too many emails, post on forum; memes = clickbait + branding; typos intentional; not a coder, just a linguist who scripts; no emacs, no tmux, just vim + tiling WM; configs = github; no Reddit, no trip; no SJW rants, no white supremacy; political label: reactionary-localist-primitivist; overwhelmed by fanmail, not arrogance

Whomst lives in Georgia?
tl;dr: Luke left Arizona, now couch-surfing and weighing options: go full innawoods, semi-rural with family, back to Athens for dissertation, or become an NGO bugman (lol); no car, maybe some income soon; also asks if any fans live in Georgia.

Donate Luke Smith
tl;dr: donation options include XMRChat, Cointree, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, BTC and Monero; livestream donations encouraged; for private BTC donations, email for a unique address

Contact Luke
tl;dr: Luke can be contacted via email at luke@lukesmith.xyz, and his GPG key for encrypting emails is available for download. He does not use social media like Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, or others. If you need spiritual advice, Luke advises consulting an Orthodox Christian priest at a local church.

Links Recommended (by Luke)

Unexpectedly Bad Movies
tl;dr: six overrated films shredded; bad science, incoherent plots, phony tech, lame stereotypes, pretentious garbage; critics wrong, Luke right

Veganism Is the Pinnacle of Bugmanism
tl;dr: veganism is peak bugmanism-it severs you from tradition, nature, and community, forcing total reliance on processed urban systems; it's not healthy, efficient, or self-sufficient, just a slow ideological LARP of self-starvation rooted in modernist guilt and moral overreach; animals exist to be eaten, and vegetables are garnish, not food.

Credit Cards
tl;dr: Luke uses a detailed credit card strategy to max cashback across categories—5% for gas/groceries/rotating deals, 3–4.5% for travel/phone/restaurants, and 2–3% for everything else. Churning cards gives him ~20% returns. He avoids points gimmicks unless guaranteed value (like Marriott free nights) and stacks rewards like a hobby.
independence from the system? not this time :))

Dont's! (i.e. what Luke doesn't do)
tl;dr: list of things Luke refrains from; no TV, social media, porn, or video games; uses only free software; avoids PUFAs, soda, drugs; minimal hygiene products (no shampoo, deodorant, soap); practices Orthodox fasting; prefers natural exercise over weightlifting

Programs and Equipment Luke Uses
tl;dr: Luke uses Artix Linux without systemd, dwm, st, zsh, vim/neovim, mpv, ffmpeg, zathura, newsboat, and only libre software; prefers Monero for crypto, ThinkPad X220 for hardware, and avoids cell phones and proprietary apps entirely

Luke's Personal Library
tl;dr: Luke's personal library contains over 1,000 books across various topics including philosophy, psychology, history, religion, literature, science, and more. Some are resources, others are for personal interest, and many are just decorations. Luke has removed certain books over time, including works on the occult, controversial political theories, and certain modern non-fiction titles that no longer align with his views.

Old Academic Stuff
tl;dr: this page showcases old academic papers and talks from graduate school, including topics like phonology, syntax, and generative linguistics; features papers on scope markings, word order, and the critique of heuristics; also includes audio and video talks on linguistic thought, quantifier scope, and decision-making; a collection of presentations on classical Indian grammar and generative syntax; emphasizes the disappointment of modern academia, advising against pursuing a Ph.D.

You're Not "Autistic." You're Normal.
tl;dr: emphasizing that being different from societal norms doesn’t make you "weird" or "autistic"; societal pressures make people feel abnormal for not conforming to social expectations like dating, watching TV, or clubbing; the focus should be on personal growth, relationships that matter, and ignoring irrelevant social pressures; self-consciousness about being weird is misplaced—diversity in personality and interests is normal.

Why do I so rarely talk about politics on my channel?
tl;dr: you can't get red-pilled by facts alone - it's a personal, mystical (in the Greek sense) initiation out of modernist conditioning; emotional reflexes to words like racism or democracy are proof of mental programming; politics isn't "the Way" ; true awakening means shedding the Pavlovian script, not memorizing edgy talking points.

Politics matters most to slaves
tl;dr: Politics matters most when you're a slave plugged into the system. True resistance isn't voting or owning the libs—it's exiting, becoming materially independent, and building the post-collapse future now. Be a plumber, not a pundit.

"Why Waste Your Vote on a Third Party?"
tl;dr: your vote doesn't affect outcomes; vote for who you like, not who might win; strategic voting is emotionally satisfying but statistically pointless

When Progressives Are on the "Wrong Side of History"
tl;dr: mocking "wrong side of history" as circular logic; lists past progressive failures (prohibition, eugenics, Great Society); says Left whitewashes its own history

Roads and Anarcho-Capitalism
tl;dr: common arguments against ancaps ("who will build the roads?") are weak; author claims roads, lighthouses, and fire services can all be privately funded; state crowds out solutions that would otherwise emerge; sympathizes with ancap logic, minus a few caveats.

Conspiratorial Thinking and "Multiple Outs"
tl;dr: "Multiple Outs" is a concept used by magicians to plan for all possible outcomes, ensuring a predictable result. This principle applies to various aspects of life, including business, personal decisions, and political power; ruling elites have mastered this to benefit from any event, even crises, giving the illusion of omnipotence. While conspiracy theories often arise from this, the real strategy is simply having contingencies for all scenarios; in life, planning for multiple outcomes helps maintain control and adaptability in uncertain situations.

On the whole "Nordic countries are Socialist" meme
tl;dr: Sweden is more economically free than the US in most respects; its "socialist" welfare state is highly decentralized, local, and evolved from voluntary institutions; the meme of Nordic socialism misrepresents a bottom-up, libertarian-like system; attempts to copy it via top-down federal programs in the US are misguided and structurally incompatible.

The Infant Problem
Luke uses irony to compare newborn infants to immigrants; both seen as burdens; taking jobs and resources from real citizens; pro-immigrant view from liberal, old Luke.

On Free Intermigration in North America
tl;dr: argues that free labor movement in NAFTA zone leads to wage equilibrium, cheaper goods, and long-term mutual prosperity; acknowledges short-term disruptions like lower U.S. low-skill wages, but sees them as part of creative destruction; remittances and labor shifts also benefit Mexico’s development.

Immigration: Building Bridges Where There Is No Water
tl;dr: Luke's pro-immigration view grounded in econ logic; both Left and Right exaggerate cultural impact-immigrants integrate on their own, kids drop old norms fast; the "cultural change" is mostly superficial and overhyped.

Trump is Great, Hilarious and I Hope He Wins
tl;dr: Trump breaks all elite rules, mocks media control, and wins by refusing moral blackmail - even if his policies are incoherent, his sheer mental freedom made him a political icon; Luke saw Trump not as a savior, but as a hilarious wrecking ball that shattered the establishment's illusion of control and turned politics into honest chaos.

Alex Jones, increasingly BASED, now even more banned from everything
tl;dr: alex jones banned from twitter after roasting a journo; libs can dish it but can’t take it; subscribe to rss, not platforms; bugmen BTFO

2012 Election
tl;dr: media exaggerated 2012 suspense; Obama won 332-206 as predicted; no major congressional shifts; punditry hype beat by Intrade odds and one blogger’s perfect state call

Libertarianism as a Gateway Drug to Reaction tl;dr: true-blue libertarianism, once it grasps spontaneous order in markets, naturally slides into Reaction by realizing society itself-gender roles, xenophobia, nepotism-is also emergent; what starts as a defense of laissez-faire ends in a rejection of all social engineering and a plunge into post-liberal order, where mores aren't outdated bigotry but evolved solutions to deep coordination problems; from Rothbard to Moldbug, the worms always do their work.

Not Even Libertarians Believe in Libertarianism
tl;dr: libertarianism is a rationalist ideology that leads to absurd moral conclusions and defends self-destructive freedoms like porn and drugs; real-life libertarians are split between principled reactionaries and degenerate libertines; a truly stateless society looks more like traditional conservatism than libertinism

Politics Is Just LARPing tl;dr: ideology is just LARPing (live action role-playing) for people who think their meat-brain can design society better than emergent norms; Enlightenment rationalism gave power to academic fantasists, while people outside the masturbatorium know reality is messy, trade-offs are real, and results beat rhetorical victories.

Offendedness is Not a Virtue
tl;dr: politics isn't just about logic; social pressures and moral condemnation shape opinions; libertarians miss this in their logical arguments; getting offended defends weak beliefs; people defend beliefs emotionally when they lack evidence; controversy often signals truth, consensus breeds defensiveness; identity politics stifles free debate with moral blackmail and accusations; offendedness is taught as a virtue in the modern West.

Elon Musk vs. a German Woman tl;dr: Elon says something about Germany, a German woman squeals about interference; Luke drops a WWII fanfic where Nazis were peace doves who later became psyop'd American slaves; caps it off by calling her hyper-American

I'll Vote for Any Politician Who Promises to Destroy Jobs
tl;dr: job destruction is a sign of progress - efficiency kills obsolete work, lowers costs, frees capital, and creates space for better jobs; clinging to "pro-jobs" policies is Luddite charity in disguise; instead, retrain workers and let the economy evolve - the end goal isn't more jobs, it's less need for them.

Where Do Protests Get Us?
tl;dr: modern protests, especially on campuses, aren't about change but about self-affirmation and tribal identity - they substitute rational debate with chants, seek arrest as performance, and punish dissent with moral labels; it's emotional theater that kills actual democratic discourse rather than enabling it.

The Republican Endgame?
tl;dr: Republican dominance through demographic shifts may be overstated. Southern states' growth is driven by groups that tend to vote Democrat, such as immigrants and younger populations. The GOP's immigration stance alienates potential conservative voters, while their reluctance to embrace a more libertarian, youthful base hampers future political progress. The party's fixation on appeasing older, traditional factions may undermine its broader appeal and long-term relevance.

Ron Paul
tl;dr: Ron Paul’s sincerity and anti-establishment stance made him iconic across Left and Right; media downplayed him; goldbug rhetoric reshaped U.S. political discourse beyond his shaky delivery

What's So Good About Private Property?
tl;dr: private property is essential for investment, maintenance, and allocation; it incentivizes investment by offering long-term rewards; it ensures capital is maintained to remain productive; private ownership helps allocate resources efficiently by motivating owners to rent or sell to the most profitable ventures; public ownership often leads to inefficiency and resource depletion; private property encourages innovation and economic development through profit-motivation.

The Arab Spring Versus Democratic Eschatology
tl;dr: the Arab Spring has not led to secular democracy but to the rise of Islamism; the Arab World’s shift from socialism to Islamism shows the limits of democracy in creating cosmopolitan societies; Western expectations of democracy in the Middle East have been disappointed as religious fervor takes over; Islamist governments may pursue policies that distance them from modern liberal values; the West's support for democratic movements may result in unintended consequences for regional and global stability.

Limitations of economics
tl;dr: economics looks scientific but overrelies on oversimplified models; mathy jargon hides basic ideas; forecasts fail because exogenous factors ruin the neat equations; economists should be more humble about what they actually know.

Democracy Is All It Takes
tl;dr: U.S. foreign policy pretends to spread democracy but ends up empowering Islamists; secular regimes fall, rights vanish, but it's all fine as long as there's an election; democracy is the magic word that justifies any disaster

The American School of Economics
tl;dr: hamilton vs jefferson = central planning vs laissez-faire; tariffs, banks, subsidies = american tradition; whigs→republicans→progressives = same industrial lineage; new deal ≈ semi-hamiltonian; modern US = allergic to its own economic roots; asia copied US better than US did

The Future History of Cuba
tl;dr: soviet subsidies gone → crisis ('Special Period'); Venezuela tried to fill the gap (Chávez = USSR 2.0); Raúl = cautious liberalization masked as "entrepreneurship"; reforms needed but ideological pride stalls them; regime = afloat by symbolism, not production; fate depends on next external patron or internal collapse

What's the Matter with Massachusetts?
tl;dr: frank mocked kansas for voting against its econ interests due to social issues; a decade later, dems win on gay marriage while copying bush on war, surveillance, banks; social policy = new opiate; massachusetts is kansas now

Emergent Acedemic Phenomena
tl;dr: emergence = higher-order rules from simple parts; minds, markets, societies behave unlike components; science = stacked models with tradeoffs; higher up = fuzzier; social sciences often overgeneralize from lower levels; models work even if false

The Leninist Narrative of Imperialism
tl;dr: Lenin patched Marx’s failed predictions by blaming imperialism; said capitalism overproduces, so exports must expand to survive; revolution delayed by foreign markets; modern anti-imperialism often misreads Lenin—he critiqued surplus, not resource theft

My Gripes with Mainstream Economics
tl;dr: supply curves are a myth; economies of scale defy orthodoxy; perfect competition is fiction and bad policy guide; neoclassical econ = broken model

The Rectification of Names in Politics
tl;dr: Luke compares modern political discourse to Confucius' warning-misusing terms like "liberal", "capitalist", "communist" leads to confusion and chaos; most people throw around labels without knowing what they mean, especially in U.S. pop-politics.

On the Efficient Market Hypothesis
tl;dr: the Efficient Market Hypothesis is often misunderstood as praise for market perfection; in reality, it's a tautology—markets fund what they fund; calling outcomes "efficient" doesn’t mean optimal, just reflective of existing incentives and information; we can't compare with unchosen alternatives, so claims of inherent wisdom in market selection are unfalsifiable.

A Critique of Sraffa's Commodities
tl;dr: critiques Sraffa's static model for assuming fixed inputs, no real markets, and price levels without behavior; argues the labor-based value theory and uniform profit rate are unjustified; gives credit for exposing flaws in capital aggregation during the Cambridge Capital Controversy.

The Division of Labor
tl;dr: division of labor = birth of productivity; marx hated it, but it works; global specialization (ricardo, krugman) beats self-sufficiency; factories may be grim, but better than the alternatives

The Georgia Guidestones: Ancient Secrets, NWO, ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED!
tl;dr: The Georgia Guidestones, a mysterious monument erected in 1980 near Elberton, Georgia, has sparked conspiracy theories due to its cryptic inscriptions in multiple languages and the controversial directive to maintain humanity under 500 million. The monument also includes astrological features and references to an enigmatic figure named RC Christian. The inscriptions cover themes such as societal balance, personal rights, and the purpose of the Guidestones as a "guide to an age of reason." With connections to the occult and speculations about the purpose of the stones, the site remains a subject of intrigue and mystery.

Why It's Bad to Have High GDP
tl;dr: GDP measures economic exchange, not wealth; higher GDP often means higher dependence on the global economy and less self-sufficiency. It doesn't account for social and environmental costs or the value of sustainable living. While GDP grows, real human wealth—independence and quality of life—shrinks. The focus on GDP masks the true cost of modern consumerism and technological progress.

Perfect Competition
tl;dr: perfect competition is an idealized economic model; products must be identical; firms have no market power; no barriers to entry; most markets are monopolistically competitive; firms differentiate products and charge varying prices; Schumpeter argued monopolistic competition is better for innovation; perfect competition leads to stagnation; tradeoff between current low prices and future investment for better goods.

The State can't save you from terror
tl;dr: governments can't stop terrorism because they're centralized and slow; real safety comes from local preparedness, not surveillance; media amplify terror for attention; most extremists are posers who don't want to die.

Violence Has Declined
tl;dr: modern politics is all ideology disguised as higher purpose; everyone from fascists to SJWs believes they're serving a sacred mission; underlying it all is the dogma that Progress® is inevitable and good-history only moves forward, and they're leading it

Western Self and the Society of China
tl;dr: west worships the individual; china honors social harmony; confucian duty vs. christian rights; govt as social organism vs. necessary evil; same ideas (e.g. wuwei/laissez-faire) spun oppositely

Innovation: Why Old Dogs Don't Invent New Tricks
tl;dr: market leaders mimic rivals to keep edge; innovation mostly comes from risk-takers without status to lose; established firms like Google buy, copy or stall disruptive ideas

Maurice Allais
tl;dr: underrated French polymath; prefigured Solow, Samuelson, Friedman; invented OLG model, golden rule, paradox in utility theory; wrote in French—big mistake

Abortion in Social Morality tl;dr: abortion causes no social harm like murder does; moral outrage over it is mostly abstract or inconsistent; even pro-life groups often act otherwise; real harm comes from forcing births at bad times, not from ending pregnancies.

On secular morality tl;dr: religious morality isn't real morality - it overrides evolved human ethics with divine commands; the faithful flinch at their own scriptures because their moral sense comes from within, not above; true morality is rooted in what benefits people and society, not tribal dogma.

Why People Do and Don't Leave Religion
tl;dr: religion isn't just belief - it's an interwoven memeplex anchoring morality, family, and social identity, which is why people rarely abandon it from argument alone; in 2011, Luke saw religion's strength as social, not factual - now, from a theist stance, he still sees its memetic power but affirms its truth as the actual foundation, not just its cohesion.

The fundamentalist opportunity
tl;dr: fundamentalist = weirdly rationalist; treat Bible as empirical claim, not just culture; unlike liberal Christians, they're at least falsifiable; closer to naturalists than you'd think; literalism = flawed but epistemologically honest

We need to start studying NPCs scientifically
tl;dr: muses on the NPC meme as possibly real; explores how inner life differs between people; shares introspective account of internal speech, shape-based thinking, and absence of internal self-image; calls for subjective reports as future data on consciousness.

"Based" Paganism vs. Christianity
tl;dr: modern "paganism" is a reconstructed, subjective belief system, detached from historical roots; Christianity, with its deep theological and philosophical continuity, has a direct connection to European tradition; adopting paganism out of personal preference is misguided; truth, not personal taste, should drive religious decisions; modern paganism lacks the genuine belief in gods and is rooted in materialism.

On the Quran
tl;dr: the Quran is revered less for clarity and content than for its divine status - despite contradictions, obscure language, and recycled folklore, Muslims treat it as untouchable; Western critics see it as a muddled compilation possibly rooted in Syriac Christian texts, but such theories face outrage rather than open debate.

Translating God
tl;dr: sacred texts lose clarity across time and language - Muslims cling to Arabic for Quranic purity, but most barely understand it; Christians embrace flawed translations like the KJV or Septuagint, letting mistranslations shape core doctrines like the Virgin Birth; both traditions show how divine meaning often bends to linguistic drift and cultural myth.

Modern Freedom Means Being a Slave to Impulses
tl;dr: modern freedom means submission to impulses; classical/Christian view sees freedom as self-mastery; sin and vice enslave through addiction, lust, distraction; true liberty requires moral restraint, not license; society's role should be to free from vice, not indulge it

Wishful Thinking: Non-Overlapping Magisteria
tl;dr: Gould’s NOMA is wishful moderation; treats religion as amoral fluff, ignoring that believers see factual truth as central; condescends more than Dawkins

Looking at Consciousness
tl;dr: consciousness isn't magic or a soul - it's a messy, self-referential brain function evolved for internal control; it resists full analysis because it's both the tool and the object of study; spiritual takes are lazy placeholders for science's current limits.

The Moral Obligation of Consciousness?
tl;dr: consciousness ≠ moral worth; AI may be aware yet lack pain, desire or will to live; we project human fears where they don't apply; morality needs more than just sentience

Consciousness and Materialism
tl;dr: the argument is made that consciousness cannot be reduced to mere material interactions, citing David Hume's idea of separate domains for fact and morality; consciousness, unlike facts, requires a different ontological substance; despite material conditions affecting consciousness, it should not be mistaken as merely a product of physical configurations; consciousness might be other-worldly and cannot be explained by materialist models, much like how gravity was once considered an occult force before becoming part of modern science; ultimately, consciousness exists in a realm outside of material computation and should be acknowledged as such.

Little-Known Fallacious Arguments
tl;dr: invented list of new fallacies for common bad arguments; contra auctoritatem = anti-elitism as purity; contra imperitos = gatekeeping by lived experience; contra populum = snobbery by default; ex argumento = the fact of argument as proof; ex conjuratione = dismissing facts due to funders; ex constitutione = founding-father worship; ex forma argumenti = logic over truth; ex forma prae. = dismissing ideas for bad spelling.

The Problems with Utilitarianism tl;dr: utilitarianism seems appealing ("greatest good for greatest number"), but it's incoherent at every level. You can't quantify or compare subjective experience (feelings aren't math), and you can't maximize two variables (individual vs collective happiness). Even if you could, it'd justify insane things (like rape or theft) if net utility rises. 🔥 New version softens tone, removes rape/robbery hypotheticals, drops the Coaseatron satire, and replaces edgy libertarian sarcasm with calmer critique of Sam Harris's "well-being of conscious creatures" obsession. Ends by warning that elites still pretend utilitarianism is workable to justify technocratic control.

In Defense of "Pseudoscience"
tl;dr: modern science often dismisses new ideas as "pseudoscience," but many breakthroughs, like continental drift or Gimbutas's theories on Old Europe, started this way; being labeled "pseudoscientific" doesn't discredit a theory; many intellectuals privately support fringe ideas, and pseudoscience drives scientific progress by challenging established views.

The Parable of Alien Chess tl;dr: coin-flip model of chess? Perfect fit, zero truth. Logical positivism = elegant stupidity. Science stuck on local maxima because no one questions assumptions. Parsimony ≠ accuracy. Real progress means metaphysics, risk, and bad science. Feyerabend wasn't trolling. Purposeful noise needed to escape dead paradigms. Otherwise? Tweaking equations forever like a blind autist.

We Want Our 4 Causes Back!
tl;dr: modern science may have ditched Aristotle's Formal and Final Causes, but they're unavoidable for real understanding. Evolution sneaks in "purpose" through selection, and emergent properties show that form and function emerge from simple principles, not conscious design. You can't escape purpose, even in a materialistic universe.

The Fragility of Physics
tl;dr: physics is fragile because its foundations can radically change with new theoretical shifts; its data is often circumstantial, especially in fields like astrophysics and quantum mechanics. Unlike linguistics, which is based on secure, observable data, physics relies heavily on theory-internal assumptions that may soon be obsolete, revealing the limits of its "scientific" image.

John Searle and Daniel Dennett on Consciousness
tl;dr: Searle critiques Dennett's denial of subjective experiences, arguing that Dennett's theory of consciousness ignores the first-person perspective. Searle defends the reality of consciousness and qualia, while Dennett claims it's all a matter of complex behavior and brain function, denying inner mental states. Searle critiques Dennett's reliance on "objective science" and his dismissal of consciousness as an illusion, arguing for the importance of subjective experiences in understanding consciousness.

Obscenities Are Symptoms of Weak Minds
tl;dr: cursing reveals emotional reactivity and lack of self-control; obscene words are neurologically distinct and tied to primitive brain regions; refusing to curse promotes calm, clarity, and discipline; modern culture glorifies profanity as fake strength

Miracles and Black Swans
tl;dr: modern science cannot admit miracles or paranormal events, which are essentially "black swans"; Hume's argument against miracles ignores the existence of rare, unexplainable phenomena; scientific paradigms often resist incorporating new, contradictory data, much like the turkey problem; true knowledge embraces the unknown and doesn't dismiss anomalies

(Reason vs. Passion) vs. Heuristics
tl;dr: humans naturally distinguish between reason and emotion, but cognitive psychology explains this as System 1 (reflexive judgments and heuristics) and System 2 (conscious reasoning); System 1 is fast and uses heuristics to draw conclusions, while System 2 involves formal logic and requires attention; both systems are valuable, and neither is inherently superior; human decision-making involves a mix of both systems.

Not Related! Introduction and on Luke
tl;dr: Luke Smith introduces his podcast "Not Related!" where he explores a variety of intellectual topics including history, linguistics, economics, and philosophy; he discusses his personal background in linguistics, his views on podcasting, and the types of subjects he plans to cover in future episodes; Luke also mentions upcoming discussions on topics like the bicameral mind theory, Joseph Schumpeter's "Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy," and more; the podcast will offer monologues, guest appearances, and a mix of serious intellectual discussions, with a focus on deep and meaningful content.

Stoicism and Christianity: Trust the Logos!
tl;dr: Stoicism and Christianity share philosophical roots in the concept of Logos; in the Gospel of John, Logos refers to the rational order of the universe, an idea similar to Stoic thought; both Stoicism and Christianity emphasize living in accordance with the rational order, accepting the inevitable, and striving for moral behavior; Christian theology has deep connections with Pagan philosophy, especially the Greek Stoic thought; Jesus is not only the incarnation of Logos, but also the Stoic ideal, aiming to reunite man with God's order, as Stoics sought to submit to divine Logos.

Live from the Wild!
tl;dr: Luke announces the return of the Not Related podcast after dissatisfaction with YouTube and tech platforms; the podcast will cover various deep topics overlooked by mainstream media; Luke plans to focus on an independent, platform-free approach, offering an alternative to the current "content creator" culture; he aims to create valuable, independent content based on his knowledge in linguistics, history, economics, and more; seeking financial support to become independent from platforms and produce more valuable, unrestrained content.

Against the Neil deGrasse Tyson-ization of Science
tl;dr: real science is falsification, not Truth™; pop-science breeds arrogance, false authority, and blind faith in "consensus"; complex systems defy reduction; trust instincts over journalistic catechisms

The Nature of Discovery
tl;dr: future innovation is inherently unpredictable; accidental discoveries drive progress; public research yields unforeseeable benefits; faith in progress, though unfashionable, is historically justified

Sociobiology and Progressivism
tl;dr: sociobiology challenges blank-slate progressive ideals by grounding human behavior in biology; critics fear explanation = justification; radicals scorn findings despite Leftist roots of the field

The Computational Theory of Mind
tl;dr: human minds aren’t CPUs; association dominates subconscious thought; logic is effortful, not innate; AI is computation-first, humans aren’t; computation can’t explain consciousness or awareness

Science of the Gaps
tl;dr: Mainstream science often misrepresents itself as fully explaining the world, but much of it is based on incomplete or circumstantial evidence. Public perception of science fills in gaps with assumed certainties, like in evolution, where scientific models are presented as facts. The reality is messier and more complex, and mainstream science often presents ideology rather than true, comprehensive knowledge.

Science vs. Soyence
tl;dr: Pop-science has turned into a dogmatic, superficial force that stifles critical thinking and intuition. It encourages blind trust in "scientific consensus" while dismissing personal experience and instincts. The overemphasis on scientific certainty and rational management has led to societal fragility. True understanding of complex systems, including human society and the body, requires humility and caution, not over-reliance on scientific validation.

University Values: Novel, Implied Then Derided
tl;dr: unis push elite monoculture as universal values; old liberal education replaced by enforced bland progressivism; critical thought smothered by slogans; revolution turned dogma; even students start to laugh

Losing Faith in Statistics
tl;dr: stats = smart-looking guesswork; overused, misused, oversold; predictive stats blind to novelty (see Trump); real insight ≠ numbers but persuasion; science hides uncertainty behind mathy fog

Using statistics to look smart
tl;dr: statistics often serve as intellectual theater; they’re treated as magical truths rather than messy approximations; people overuse them to appear smart or mask weak arguments; modern detachment from the math behind them leads to blind trust in black-box outputs; ultimately, stats can obscure more than they clarify when misused.

Misuse of Citation
tl;dr: students cite opinions, news and fluff to look smart; profs require citations but don’t teach purpose; citation inflation replaces understanding; media ≠ science; lazy writers + lazy graders = garbage essays

Gender and language
tl;dr: grammatical gender ≠ sexism; linguistic markedness doesn’t reflect social bias; PC reforms often contradict each other; no consistent causal link between language structure and gender roles

Rosetta Stone and Other Ways to Waste Money
tl;dr: Rosetta Stone ignores grammar, oversimplifies language structure, recycles content across languages; sells the illusion of learning through flashy "natural" methods that don’t actually work for adults

Deconstructing the Towel of Babel
tl;dr: babel was a curse, not diversity; languages divide, not enrich; preserving dying cultures often means forcing people to maintain what they would rather abandon

Diphthongization in Romance Language
tl;dr: systemic vowel evolution from Latin to Romance; quantity replaced by quality; mergers and splits of /i, u, e, o/; rise of mobile and firm diphthongs; differences across Romance (Italian, Spanish, French, etc.); questions on euphony, psycholinguistics, and change mechanisms.

Notes on Learning Languages
tl;dr: vocabulary is less important than understanding grammar and morphology when learning a language. Focusing on verb use and sentence structure is key. Learning a language isn't about translating but thinking directly in the language. Passive listening or using apps isn't enough; active participation and creating sentences are crucial. Overcoming the "stupid" feeling in pronunciation is necessary, and the myth of the "critical period" for language learning is overrated—adults can learn languages effectively with the right approach.

Learning European Languages (Michel Thomas)
tl;dr: Michel Thomas's audiotapes are the ideal way to learn major European languages. His method focuses on learning verbs and sentence structure before vocabulary, helping learners think in the language rather than translating. The lack of comprehension exercises and emphasis on productive language use makes this method highly effective. Avoid the later "Michel Thomas" courses not taught by him, as they lack the spontaneity and teaching skill that made the original tapes so successful.

Advice on Some Other Languages
tl;dr: brief tips on Gothic, Sanskrit, and Greek; recommends Lambdin's Gothic book for Indo-Europeanists; stresses learning Sandhi first for Sanskrit; Greek learned through Latin-Greek Bible, praised for its participles and expressiveness

Learn Latin
tl;dr: learning Latin opens access to Romance languages and ancient texts; boosts academic clout and intellectual independence; recommends old primers like Collar & Daniell and the LLPSI series; knowing Latin outclasses undergrad linguistics

Chinese is Inconceivably Easy
tl;dr: Chinese grammar is dead simple; tones are easy if you try; phonology is weird but logical; characters are hard—but fun and over-feared; hardest part is unlearning fear

Learn Chinese
tl;dr: chinese grammar is extremely simple—no tense, gender, or irregular forms; real challenge is the writing system; recommends DeFrancis Yale series—green books for language, red books for characters; tones aren't hard, just cope if you complain

The Framework of Grammar and the Michel Thomas Method
tl;dr: Michel Thomas's method succeeds by focusing on generative grammar and correcting real learner errors; it avoids memorization, drills verbs over nouns, and builds fluency through structured production—not repetition; his unique style fosters intuitive learning and expressive confidence, not vocabulary cramming or rote phrases.

Conversational Latin
tl;dr: most latin teachers can’t speak latin; living fluency hindered by anglicization, medievalisms, and phonological laziness; without a standard, spoken latin stays a chaotic patchwork

Why Johnny Can't French
tl;dr: high school language classes are feel-good gestures; early-age learning is key, but incentives lacking; English speakers have minimal reason to learn other tongues; schools teach useless European languages instead of strategic ones like Chinese or Arabic.

Why Passive Voice Should Be Used
tl;dr: passive voice = clarity, neutrality, economy; active often adds bias or redundancy; teachers repeat bad rules from ignorance; English lacks true passive inflection, yet passive forms remain crucial and ancient tools of precision and tone.

What is not natural
tl;dr: all-natural = meaningless label; everything is from nature, including MSG; people fall for naturalistic fallacy; prep = processing = chemistry = unnatural; natural ≠ healthy; it’s just marketing for gullible shoppers

Why Modern Art Is So Awful
tl;dr: art used to be beautiful, skilled, and meaningful - now it's ugly, random, and smug; modern artists, outclassed by machines and photography, retaliated by rejecting beauty altogether; critics gaslight the public into pretending this is genius, but most people just see lazy nonsense and walk away.

Don't Be Too Worried About a Robot Takeover
tl;dr: no android uprising; humans offload tasks to the internet; future = central AI, not humanoid bots; hive mind displaces labor, not identity

Education and Human Spirit
tl;dr: factory work ≠ excuse for ignorance; economy shifts, skills expire; liberal arts = flexible minds; culture hates learning, glorifies stupidity; education = key to individuality, not conformity; wit beats job training

Everything People Say About the Media Is True
tl;dr: journalism is biased, conformist, dim-witted and manipulative—and that's just how the system works; media reflects the audience’s demand for confirmation, not truth; no fix possible because truth doesn't sell, feelings do.

How an Open Media Makes People More Dogmatic
tl;dr: public commitment biases people into dogmatism; instant media encourages snap judgments; staggered info release manipulates opinion while preserving journalistic "neutrality"

How to Manipulate with Language tl;dr: Media doesn't argue, it manipulates—through scope ambiguity (Trump said horrible things about women), presupposition smuggling (renounce Trump's racist rhetoric), and word games like still to imply inevitability. Omit the agent of violence, let normies connect the wrong dots. Headlines do the lying so the article doesn't have to. The kicker? Even this post is a manipulation—but at least it's honest about it.

The Recording Industry's Bigger Problem
tl;dr: the recording industry is obsolete - digital distribution made its role unnecessary; instead of adapting, it clings to outdated rights, sues everyone, and manufactures scarcity; modern tools let anyone make music, so why keep funding deadweight gatekeepers?

Comments on Crime and Poverty
tl;dr: poor people often commit crimes not out of immorality but rational risk-taking-little to lose, chance to gain; rich avoid risk, buy insurance; crime drops with stability, but stability doesn't guarantee growth; policy impact is slow, but reducing one problem helps the other.

Anyone Can Be a Doomsayer...
tl;dr: doomsaying = low-risk, high-reward game; be wrong for decades, called a prophet later; pessimism sells, nuance doesn’t; people love disaster with a moral; economics, prophecy, psychology—same tricks, same crowd

Some Signs You Are a Terrible Teacher
tl;dr: bad teachers blame students, use gimmicks, assign busywork, and fake expertise; good teachers teach clearly, admit ignorance, respect student time, and skip the cult of pedagogy

Alien invasion!
tl;dr: aliens probably won't look or think like us-pop culture "Greys" are too human; real ETs might lack limbs, faces, or language we can understand; invasion makes no sense-resources and space are easier to get elsewhere; actual contact, if it happens, would be rare, brief, and mostly untranslatable.