Brutkey

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

We're cooking on gas

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

Now I've just got to wait two hours for it to reduce and not gnaw my own leg off out of starvation in the meantime.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

Starting a 12-portion batch of 50-50 Bolognese. Yum.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

We're cooking on gas

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

Starting a 12-portion batch of 50-50 Bolognese. Yum.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

I think this is really important. There have been many examinations of the fall of past societies that scrabble about looking for common factors such as resources, bureaucracy etc. He's added a very good and salient piece to the puzzle, which can potentially help us fight the obscurantism of the neofascist billionaires and their extreme endgame.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

Goliath's Curse blurb (taken from Amazon, sorry). Seems kinda salient:

A radical retelling of human history through collapse – from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond.

‘A brilliant, utterly convincing account of the evolution of human society and why we are probably reaching humanity's end days’ HENRY MARSH

'Absolutely essential reading for understanding why past civilisations collapsed, and how to protect our own from the same fate' LEWIS DARTNELL

For the first 200,000 years of human history, hunter-gathering Homo sapiens lived in fluid, egalitarian civilizations that thwarted any individual or group from ruling permanently. Then, around 12,000 years ago, that began to change.

As we reluctantly congregated in the first farms and cities, people began to rely on novel lootable resources like grain and fish for their daily sustenance. And when more powerful weapons became available, small groups began to seize control of these valuable commodities. This inequality in resources soon tipped over into inequality in power, and we started to adopt more primal, hierarchical forms of organization. Power was concentrated in masters, kings, pharaohs and emperors (and ideologies were born to justify their rule). Goliath-like states and empires – with vast bureaucracies and militaries – carved up and dominated the globe.

What brought them down? Whether in the early cities of Cahokia in North America or Tiwanaku in South America, or the sprawling empires of Egypt, Rome and China, it was increasing inequality and concentrations of power that hollowed these Goliaths out before an external shock brought them crashing down. These collapses were written up as apocalyptic, but in truth they were usually a blessing for most of the population.

Now we live in a single global Goliath. Growth obsessed, extractive institutions like the fossil fuel industry, big tech and military-industrial complexes rule our world and produce new ways of annihilating our species, from climate change to nuclear war. Our systems are now so fast, complex and interconnected that a future collapse will likely be global, swift and irreversible. All of us now face a choice: we must learn to democratically control Goliath, or the next collapse may be our last.

'An excellent survey of human history through the collapses of Goliath-like kings, states and empires' OBSERVER

'A comprehensive overview of societal collapse, based on the analysis of dozens of cases spanning thousands of years from the Paleolithic to today. Highly recommended' PETER TURCHIN

'A deeply sobering and strangely inspiring history of how societies collapse - and how we can still save ours. Read it now, or your descendants will find it in the ruins' JOHANN HARI

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

It's an important reframing of what society means and a useful addition to our intellectual armoury as we collectively face potential societal collapse with dead-eyed psychopaths telling us there is no alternative.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

I think this is really important. There have been many examinations of the fall of past societies that scrabble about looking for common factors such as resources, bureaucracy etc. He's added a very good and salient piece to the puzzle, which can potentially help us fight the obscurantism of the neofascist billionaires and their extreme endgame.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

What's interesting is that he mentioned how people got healthier after the fall of the Roman empire. But he recognises the risks of our globally interconnected supply chains and that this time the dénouement will be different.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

It's an important reframing of what society means and a useful addition to our intellectual armoury as we collectively face potential societal collapse with dead-eyed psychopaths telling us there is no alternative.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

This is a rather good insight into collapse of civilisation, that first reframes the meaning of civilisation. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/02/self-termination-history-and-future-of-societal-collapse

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

What's interesting is that he mentioned how people got healthier after the fall of the Roman empire. But he recognises the risks of our globally interconnected supply chains and that this time the dénouement will be different.

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

This is a rather good insight into collapse of civilisation, that first reframes the meaning of civilisation. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/02/self-termination-history-and-future-of-societal-collapse

David Penfold :verified:
@davep@infosec.exchange

I'm not going to be posting about the job any more after this, because it's kind of become serious. So I'll just leave these thoughts for any other ex-gifted children who may have burned out.

I'm quietly revelling in having managed to create a situation where I'm the head architect on a potentially huge project but I work from home 100%. It's unheard of, but has been accepted by everyone (especially the boss, who signed my contract after finding out).

Don't forget that I've drunk like a fish basically all my adult life until very recently. Peeling the therapy onion back revealed social anxiety (for which I can get means-tested benefits) and PTSD.

So having managed to do this, it's like a cloud has lifted. I can think clearly without anxiety scrambling my brain and I don't even get the desire to drink because it would be silly (and there's no anxiety to push me). Previously, I'd not be reliable enough due to the drink. I'm being treated like some sort of fucking Yoda in work, it's absolutely nuts.

Yes, I was always the smartest kid in school, but gifted child to burnt out husk of an adult is a well-worn pathway. There's very little in the way of "redemption" stories so I'm kind of stunned (and not a little exhilarated) at the moment.

Anyway, nothing is permanent. I need to ensure I don't suddenly trigger the PTSD, for example. But I'll take this win gladly right now.