How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Epictetus was born a slave around 50 ad. His owner was Epaphroditus, a rich freedman who was once a slave of Nero. Though he was a slave Epictetus was sent to study philosophy under Musonius Rufus.
Epictetus was lame and there are some stories it was caused by his master and others that it was caused by disease.
He was a freedman when all philosophers were banished from Rome in 89 by the Emperor Domitian. He then started his school in Greece, and had many students. He did not leave any writings from his lessons, but one of his students, Flavius Arrian, took notes and wrote the Discourses.
Epictetus did not marry, had no children, and lived to be around 80-85. In retirement, he adopted a child that would have been abandoned and raised him with a woman.
He died sometime around AD 135.
He is my favorite Stoic teacher. I love his bare bones and very straight forward approach.
We finally finished Epictetus.
Discourses and Selected Writings
I started on Epictetus’s lessons almost 3 years ago on July 14th 2023 with the first lesson :
Of the Things Which Are Under Our Control and Not Under Our Control.
If I only learned one thing from all of the reading and writing I have done about Stoicism, this would be the one. As long as I can delineate those two things and not let the things that are external to me bother me, then I keep control of my emotions and do not waste any time or energy on them.
How may a man preserve his proper character upon every occasion?
This one goes through the importance of maintaining your integrity and self control without letting what is popular influence you to do otherwise.
Of progress
How to make progress in your life while not doing it for show and not letting others guide you off track.
Against the Academics
How to ignore those who are so educated they have hardened their opinions against all logic. Some things never change apparently.
Of the use of equivocal premises, hypothetical arguments and the like
This one ties in with the last one I listed. It goes through arguing logically and consistently while not allowing others to argue in false equivalence and dishonest hypotheticals.
Of family affection
The importance of being there for your family when they need you and not letting cowardice from fear of a bad outcome drive you away.
Of contentment
Learning to be happy with what fortune has granted you and not be constantly grasping for more and being miserable.
What does philosophy profess?
A reminder that following Stoicism does not guarantee a trouble free life and how to deal with difficult circumstances.
That the art of reasoning is indispensable
The importance of logic and not learning philosophy just to impress others.
To those who would be admired
Understanding that true following of Stoicism is unlikely to be noticed by the crowd and discouraging those that strive for admiration.
Of our preconceptions
How we are all biased to believe that success and wealth is good and instead reminding us that self control is the true good and everything external might be preferred, but not good or evil.
How should we struggle against difficulties?
How to get stronger through challenges and not let them make you lose your self control for an external situation.
Of steadfastness
How to be stubborn and not let challenges control you when things become difficult.
What aid ought we to have ready at hand in difficulties?
How a true understanding of Stoicism can give you the strength to resist falling into despair when fortune goes against you.
There are 30 chapters in the first book and these are the ones that I liked he best. Next week I will go through section 2 so I can milk this one book as long as possible.
Any suggestions on which book I should go through next?
How to ignore those who are so educated they have hardened their opinions against all logic. Some things never change apparently.
I can no longer in good conscience follow this post as it is referencing the works of a science denier.
It’s a fair cop.
Learning to be happy with what fortune has granted you and not be constantly grasping for more and being miserable.
fortune has not granted me sufficient good whisky.
If that is your worst complaint, count yourself fortunate.
it is not.
So I need to pull out the Festivus pole?
I would think Pie should count himself Dracula.
How we are all biased – I’m not.
I will go through whichever book you wish Ron. I have thoroughly enjoyed those series and I am delighted you are continuing.
Morning Glory Milking Farm?
I hate myself and you people because I know what that is.
Hold on – there’s only ONE of us that is to blame for that.
Seconded.
Thirded
So many times I have told my wife that what she is worrying about is beyond my control. Why would we spend energy worry about it? That usually annoys her – she may not be stoic.
My wife has learned to let me worry about the bigger things, her main concern is the dinner menu ( which co-incidentally is high on my list as well).
I can spend the rest of my day wrestling with the worry that Iran may or may not have a nuke.
Just to verify, HH is the 20th, correct?
Hope so, I have that weekend booked.
UCS, another home run (bases loaded) for you. doubled checked with Kinnath and he re-reconfirmed.
That’s September though.
Oh good. I booked a room for that weekend and wanted to be sure I wasn’t making a mistake.
My wife still likes to give me a hard time when I get frustrated, she gives me her patented stare and simply says “Stoic”.
Cont’d from previous
From a process safety engineering standpoint, the reason N2 is so freaking dangerous is that dying from nitrogen hypoxia is the opposite of what they’re describing. It’s supposed to be a quiet mix of “no idea anything’s wrong” and “maybe a pleasant buzz”, depending on the actual gas mix.
-Pine Tree
That’s the part the “advocates” intentionally obfuscate. If I tell you straight out I am going to strap you down in an airtight glass booth and pump it full of an inert gas which will cause you to suffocate (while an audience observes), there is liable to be a certain amount of induced anxiety, possibly accompanied by hysteria and panic. It’s not the gas.
What if I put you in a small room in a comfy chair and and say, “Here, watch this documentary about penguins. Have some popcorn. I’ll be back later to check on you. Pay no attention to that faint hissing.”? You might sit there watching raptly as you slowly nod off.
When I’m watching TV from the recliner and I hear my wife making popcorn I should worry?
Only if you hear the hiss.
Hence, the condemned prisoner should get a dose of anti-anxiety meds before the execution.
What is the drug that they give to crazy people that just makes them stare out into space? Thorazine?
Obligatory.
Condemned prisoner should be facing the guns without a blindfold.
They should certainly have that option. What I’m trying to do here (and I know it’s probably futile) is to quiet down the whiners who *aren’t* being executed for their crimes.
C’mon, this has NOTHING to do with the prisoner.
This is all about the morality of killing a person by the state and it is simply that that offends the opponents of the death penalty. Even I’m not concerned so much about that, as I am that the state is such an unreliable player in the total process (starting with investigation and prosecution).
Credit Card Crisis Reaches $1.25 TRILLION As Delinquencies EXPLODE
Stoic Finance
Stoic Finance
205K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnrqalBZVUQ
stoic finance …
$1250 is my problem. $1.25T is the bank’s problem.
stoic finance …
Don’t worry, we have more checks.
Any suggestions on which book I should go through next?
How about The Tao of Pooh?
Is that the “No bothers given” source?
Theryn
@TherynDArnold
I don’t call myself a Marxist geographer and it’s very strange you keep pretending I do.
Phil Magness
@PhilWMagness
Is this you?
https://x.com/PhilWMagness/status/2065437686887075933
I need a ruling. Is this guy a marxist geographer or not?
He’s quite clearly advocating that Marxism should be the framework for geography so seems fairly clear cut to me for non-retards or non-academics.
Dead link.
How do you Marxist geography?
Dead link.? no?
Saw some little leftie making it a conspiracy that there’s a push to use Israeli bio-tech for food. Milk, chocolate, meats etc.
Its painted as a bit conspiratorial as if there aren’t legitimate reasons why Israel wouldn’t be all in on developing it (yea, we’ve pumped money into it as well). Regardless of whether it’s Israel or not, this path is inevitable. She paints it as some conspiracy that a tiny little nation in the Middle East surrounded by unfriendlies and with a world hostile to it would see food as a legit security concern. She has to tie it to Palestinian genocide and Zionism.
Then you get the usual attack on corporate greed which…yea, no shit they want to reduce costs and not be dependent on third parties to source them. Their motives don’t have to be altruistic for it to have a legitimate moral justification and reason for the technology’s existence. People try to paint it as this black and white thing where motives matter more than results. Same shit we see with every “policy” the left favors.
But even just the fact that you could have a future where masses of animals don’t have to be slaughtered for meat means may make it worth it. Though to be blunt there’s really no legitimate reasons for the populations of some animals to be what they are without the need humans have developed to consume them. And you have these assholes pushing for us to eat bugs, but they want to piss on the idea of lab grown meat. It’s almost as if it isn’t about the environment at all…
The only thing that’s hard to argue is that it shouldn’t be some big secret. Ideally people would be mindful consumers rather than just morons consuming slop. Knowing that wont happen because so many people have bought into the idea of government actually being there to protect them, just make it required to label the shit. If people want to try it or consume it, let them. Seems simple enough.
It’s not going to be that simple. We all know it’s not going to be that simple and that this is going to be one of those political pissing matches for the next few decades.
“She paints it as some conspiracy that a tiny little nation in the Middle East surrounded by unfriendlies and with a world hostile to it would see food as a legit security concern. She has to tie it to Palestinian genocide and Zionism.”
I always want to ask those who advocates for the Palestinians, on how would peace look like between the Israelis and Palestinians? Would Israel be allowed to live in their territories in peace if the government decides to withdraw all of their soldiers and claims to the West Bank and Gaza? Basically, the two-state solution. I honestly believe that the Palestinians don’t even know what peace looks like because so much of their identity is all wrapped in fighting the Israelis and martyrdom.
If I was Israel, I would give the Palestinians absolute control of their areas, release some of the Palestinians prisoners, and hell even give them some money for reconstruction. But I would stipulate that the moment a suicide bomber or rocket comes from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, we’re going to be merciless and seize both territories and will be given the choice to bend the knee, die, or leave.
It’s clear that most of these people haven’t thought about it that much, and the ones who have don’t want Israel to exist period. It’s stolen colonizer land yada yada.
There is no way in hell Israel would accept a two-state solution regardless. They see it as too much of a security risk to actually let the Palestinians exist on their border as a full on state. It would just escalate the situation further. Palestine is a corrupt shithole and that’s barely even discussed anymore. Hamas is a corrupt organization that has no interest in any kind peace. It’s a bunch of shitbags at the top taking foreign aid and doling out tiny portions to the public to amass wealth of their own.
When Arafat was around this was talked about more because he was a notable figurehead you could point to as a sign of the corruption. Worth billions while Palestinians starved.
The ordinary Palestinians have a victimhood mentality from birth to death that’s been ingrained into them. The Jews are the boogieman and that distracts from their own “leaders” who are fucking them on the daily.
Ed:
Pretty sure that’s what Israel has been trying for the past 30+ years. The Palestinians have turned down two state solutions several times.
Presenting proposals you know wont be accepted (like a non-militarized nation state) isn’t really negotiating in good faith. It would be madness for the Palestinians to accept that sort of deal regardless of the current situation.
Of course, it would be insane for Israel to agree to a militarized Pali state, given the history of Pali aggression against Israel.
Which is why I said it’s not going to happen either way. There’s no basis for an agreement.
JDS, like TDS, is a thing.
Strength, Balance, and Shooting in a Fine Suit: Lynx Brutality 2026, Day 1
Forgotten Weapons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRo1c218Pd0
america is so violent people need armor under their suit. or is slovenia violent. who knows.
Cool, Ian broke out the Heat cosplay again!
A 1970s rifle and a Laugo Remus? WhatisthisIcan’teven.
Cannibal island
Spencer Pratt may be out of the Los Angeles mayor’s race after progressive Nithya Raman passed him for second place behind Mayor Karen Bass. But for many Democratic operatives who had fumed over his dehumanizing depiction of the Southland — “coilers,” for example, is a term for excrement — his exit brought only brief relief.
That’s because the election pitting onetime allies Bass and Raman against each other is raising fears that a bruising, five-month campaign between the Democratic mayor and sitting City Council member could do more to fracture the Democratic Party in the nation’s second-largest city than any bludgeoning done by Pratt.
——-
Then there’s this: Pratt, whose campaign did not respond to a request for comment, hadn’t conceded as of Thursday. Nor has he sought to lower the temperature among his online followers pushing unsubstantiated claims about election integrity. Pratt supporters furious about the results have increasingly sought, without evidence, to muddy the waters — someone hired a plane on Sunday to pull a banner reading “Stop the Steal! Help us Trump!” over Santa Monica Bay. And among some Democratic operatives, there is a sense that Pratt’s coarse campaign has cheapened the discourse in and about the city. Even though he lost, in their view, Los Angeles lost something, too.
All of it left several political professionals wondering whether Pratt would honor his pledge to leave Los Angeles if he lost the race — and whether the contest could now take a more constructive turn. But, even if he did leave, they were far from certain it would.
“Maybe,” Oberstein said, “Spencer Pratt will move out of Los Angeles as he promised, but let’s move on now, and let’s figure out what this campaign can look like, and not resort to our most animalistic instincts here.”
What would Marcus Aurelius do?
There’s quite a bit of evidence, despite the attempted smears. See, two can play at this game.
Yes. Things can now take a much more constructive turn now that we can argue about the amount of Marxism rather than the Marxism itself.
Step 1: Eat the rich.
Step 2: With the rich gone, people who were not quite rich are now “the rich,” so eat them.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2.
Without evidence is there favorite way to frame the things they don’t agree with.
Probably run for mayor so he could sit his evil son as his replacement.
Well, naming the kid after a toilet was a mistake too.
/deliberately incorrect
They’re the party of science so you know that nothing they say or claim is ever done so without peer reviewed evidence. They have fact checkers fact checking their fact checkers and it’s totally all kosher and that’s how you know what they assert is legit.
If you never look for evidence, you never find any!
I rite english gud
“cheapened the discourse”
Because serious politicians display vacant grins and issue vacuous platitudes, rather than discuss conditions on the ground that are invisible to the people who matter and therefore don’t exist. That guy… SMDH…. The city will only heal when Orange Boy Bad moves away.
a bruising, five-month campaign
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving Party!
This is all about the morality of killing a person by the state
Revenge murder by proxy.
🦆🦆🦆
🦆
Almost got my ducks in a row.
Did you guys know that it’s Pride month again? I bet you didn’t. I bet no one has even shown you one rainbow colored flag yet. Let me be the first to let you know.
I’m so grateful that I work somewhere that when I log on to a computer I’m greeted with a giant rainbow pride banner letting me know what’s up.
Ha! GAAY!
Nonsense, it’s Nuclear Family Month.
I have less than full woke surroundings and did not even know it was pride month
A house three
Miles down the road from
Me sold last month and they put up a “pride progress flag.”
I’m guessing they fled Seattle for Idaho where it’s not as crazy. $800-900k house.
where it’s not as crazy
Yet.
Give them some time.
Insert “I’m doing my part!” gif.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZFvmn4lvq4/
“We finally finished Epictetus.” Oooh! Congrats to you for (and us!) for sticking with it.
With my upbringing, I feel I fairly naturally fall into stoicism. It’s also true I’ve not been ‘tested’ by children or marriage. As far as words of wisdom go, they seem ‘natural’ to me. People who don’t have a sense of stoic in ’em appear as REactors in life, only having to make up their ‘mind’ in the instant hardship strikes, at best(?) a 50/50 coin flip of internal morality.
My biggest weakness, I’d argue, is not changing (the many) things that *are* within my power to change. Looking at the calendar, I’ve again been sober for … damn, ~nine months (on this go ’round). That’s a big one to change, so I also discredit myself through omission when I tally up my positive directives. In my head, I always do that, but I think most do. Having said that, I *really* think most people don’t even think enough to keep tally of themselves and their shortcomings. (Always focused on the negatives, aren’t I? Well. I generally think the positives speak for themselves silently.)
The first of five days off, I hope to get many things done, but I feel the chance to actually rest today would be unwise to ignore. ‘Twould be best to combine the two, and I hope to do just that as the day proceeds.
I need to steer my vessel through work-search waters, this time with a bit of renewed confidence in the matter. (Undeserved confidence? Hrm. Frankly, focusing on that is negative distraction dust I don’t need. Nor can I control if others think I’m ‘deserving.’ (I can change the phrasing, however.))
I also want to finish my Test Scoring piece. Additionally, I was wise to preserve many, many answers I received. I’m thinking of putting them in short chunks to share with y’all. I think you’ll be entertained, direly (further) disappointed in US edu, and perhaps hopeful for some of the kids’ work I got to read. Seems I should set smallish goals, always easier to accomplish and vastly uplift spirits with a tally in the Done column.
With regard to small goals, just imagine you’ve got a broken leg. (Or remember when you did.) It’s fucking foolish folly to dream of climbing Everest as your Primary Goal. Fucking get down the stairs first. Then to the end of the driveway, then down the street. And so on. Keeping a glint of your True Goal in mind is helpful as long as not reaching their *today* isn’t a burden to overwhelm yourself with.
I assure you, Baby Steps are big, important ones. As your kids showed you, those first ones are the most crucial. Same with your first words, or your first day without a drink. Stewing on what you haven’t done is an easy way to further sink yourself into the unending spiral of depression and gloom.
On the other hand, ya gotta put the bat in your hand before ya put the bat on the ball. So, today I’ll gaze through the work porthole, and later put my own thoughts to page in further accomplishment of that goal. With the end of the day and the Cubs playing out west, I’ll have a late game to watch as I tidy things up, likely adding some of the kids’ essays into the submission hopper. (I speech to text those essay pics, but I have to persevere(!) to keep the grammar as it was when they submitted it to us/me. The ‘accuracy’ is important to crystallize the ‘stories’ for you.
As always, these Stoic moments (when I’m not *at* work) are good opportunities to get my thoughts down. Odd things, words. Saying or writing them, stronger when you prime both parts at once, create strong internal reward systems. So does doing my 50-pushup warmup routine in the morning, just done. (I just whip out 50 in a row. Could likely push myself to 75 if I slowed down to breathe more, and I could easily get to 100 w/o rest, esp if competition lurked.
Little neurological pathways, easily to reinforce and implement, shouldn’t be ignored. Oooh. Typed more than I thought, but that’s one part of my many pathways. Derp, Tres and I should be on a show, possibly conquering the world. UCS may be Kramer-esque (to us) neighbor and TOX is currently my draw for a female lead.
Keep calm and stoic on.
How are your hips after the unloading stint?
My body’s sore from the work, but pleased as a peach, my hips have not once been bothered by it. I thought they were supposed to last 10-15 years. (They’re 14 and 12yo, now.) I’m still fit and thin, which is my biggest advantage, but after surgeries apparently changed ~2000, and replacements after then last 25yrs -life, so I’m told.
Tripping and bumping head hazards, only the first part has nearly happened, are my only ‘worries.’ Just keep sharp and eye on the ball. Or walls or cellophane wrap on the pallets. Hard labor, exceptionally chill gig outside of that. +1
Stoic thoughts quickly become self-help ones, for me. (If one is always stoic, just like if one is always moral, things tend to work out better.)
I’m going in for a bone cyst removal and new plastic in my ankle in August.
Hopefully it dosent kill me and the recovery is short.
That’s great.
FUCK! That didn’t look *that* long, and even I knew it was a bit much. Well. Stoic posts become Big Inner Thoughts time for me. Helps me put the right pants on for the day. Pants of (some sort of) accomplishment.
Soak in the pretty scenery when you deserve it. Work to create (or afford) it until then. (Exquisite window dressing, always to enjoy.)
Calm those horses, Ev. Nobody has chastized you for a wall of text.
*joking, frumpy shrug* I know. I chastise myself *far* too frequently, and that’s fairly fine, but I always snap at myself internally. Much more than ‘necessary,’ which isn’t at all. I’m immediately harsh about it, as well. It’s something I’m actively working on.
Thought I briefly shared earlier: My brain always thinks of reasons for why or how I do what I do. When none of that is helpful or productive. Like Ev-Negativity is a standard ‘gear’ I’m in. Remembering, relearning, to just *be.* I know exactly why and how I do what I do. I don’t need to ‘justify’ it to anyone, but that nagging internal worry always bothers me.
Social primates tend to do such. I’m gearing up a short mantra to guide myself. “Ev Over Cs” is the current one. Ev oversees the C’s, even when overseas. Conquered continents, coma and a craniectomy. I can conquer (the current) warehouse and more. No need to be so internally concerned about such when far greater adversities have already been overcome.
People stuck in Complaint Gear are fucking nasty creatures. I’m proud I’m not one of them. (Them bitches.)
😑
/guy known for complaining
I gotta say, Copilot makes a VASTLY better search engine than Google search.
Google Gemini is now my go-to “search” (corp account). It’s very useful.
I don’t trust either – not to misuse my browsing data, and not to hide results I’d want to find because the AI’s owners don’t like them.
Well, I’m using it at work, for work. It’s letting me find things that I’ve known existed for literal years but failed to be findable over that time by any other number of online searches.
Without evidence is there favorite way to frame the things they don’t agree with.
“Nuh-uh shut up!” they explained.
Ironically hilarious: a Ghanian soccer player, who was admitted to the US (the Ghanian training base is in Boston) has been refused entry to Canada.
BBC: “Partey, 32, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022.”
At least they aren’t from thirty years ago.
Whoopsie.
I like these Ron.
Thanks.
Good to know, thanks.
Get out the vote
According to its website, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative facilitates statewide voter registration through grassroots, community-led programs, including its Democracy Builders initiative. The group works in Ohio’s major metropolitan areas, such as Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, to help underrepresented communities register to vote, and provides other support.
The group has also joined lawsuits challenging redistricting efforts that it argues reduce Black voters’ representation. These lawsuits also challenge “stand your ground” laws that allow a person to shoot someone if they feel threatened.
Just make sure to get the right voters.
They don’t speak English do they?
Why does that racist Drumpf hate Building Democracy?