In the summer of 1492, when Christopher Columbus’s meager fleet sailed out from the unremarkable port of Palos de la Frontera for its pioneering transatlantic voyage, China sat uncontested on the throne of global civilizational achievement. By most estimates, the Celestial Empire at the time produced double the economic output of the entire European continent combined—let alone … [Read more...]
Why Time Feels Faster As We Age: The Perceptional Relativity Of Time
The feeling that time goes faster as we grow older is universal among humanity. “Every day is getting shorter”… “Last year flew by”… “Ten years ago feels like yesterday”… “Life seems to slip away”… Who hasn’t used such and countless similar clichés to express one’s despondency before the excruciating inevitability of a seemingly ever-accelerating journey toward self-expiry?So … [Read more...]
The 4 Reasons Why Some Westerners Support Russia
Ranging from the outright abettors to the lukewarm appeasers, people in the West promote favorable to Russia narratives for any one—but usually a combination—of the four following reasons…1️⃣ Genuine concern over the prospect of global war and recession, combined with gross ignorance of history and geopoliticsSomehow, despite even Putin himself openly and vocally touting … [Read more...]
Russian Mobilization: A Genuine Effort to Win the War or a Masked Domestic Genocide?
Putin may be delusional enough to really believe he can command a horde of under-trained, under-armed, under-dressed, and under-motivated boozers to storm Ukraine through the winter.But if not, his plan could be entirely different than it seems at first. If he’s also understood—like most—that win is impossible, he’d go for the next best thing: survival; if necessary, handcuffed … [Read more...]
The Origins (and Essence) of Racism
Racism in the 21st century is as pressing a topic as ever. In order to understand its essence, discussions on racism often attempt to pinpoint its origins. They commonly trace these to the era of European expansionism and the slave trade in particular. Although this may seem a forthright conviction, it is in my opinion shallow, taking into account superficial history and … [Read more...]
Russia and the Heritage of the Steppe
Russian warmongers have heavily adduced history in justification for their invasion of Ukraine. Not only have they constructed such a fantasy as a historic mission, but they even believe in its righteousness with unfaltering piety.Here I also intend to view the Russo-Ukrainian War through the glass of history — definitely not to justify it, but nor even to condemn it, simply to … [Read more...]
Could Russia Collapse?
Putin and his disciples have set about to accomplish their life mission of restoring Russia as a great world power. Unlike most modern nations, they still gauge national greatness not by economic success and human progress, but by land area controlled. They make no secret of aspiring for nothing less than the Soviet Union's historic borders. Half a year into conquering, … [Read more...]
Terraform Mars? Or Martiform Us?
The idea of terraforming—i.e. artificially revamping an entire alien planet to recreate on it the optimal conditions for human habitation—isn't exactly new. The term was coined by science-fiction writer Jack Williamson in his 1942 short story Collision Orbit. The first scientific account of the concept was written by astronomer Carl Sagan in a 1961 article published in Science … [Read more...]
Le Pen and the Merging Extremes
If you are like me—a non-French citizen who only attends French politics on sporadic occasions—you probably know Marine Le Pen as what she’s notorious for: a Far-right extremist thinly disguising her nationalistic zealotry in a bid to occupy France’s presidential chair.You’d think she’s the kind of aspiring policymaker with ulterior motives such as banning Muslim women from … [Read more...]
YouTube Must Block War Games Ads Now
While watching the Ukraine news on the world’s major video-streaming platform earlier today, I refrained from skipping an ad for possibly the first time in my life. I saw the familiar, distressed face of Kyiv’s mayor pleading the world for help. I couldn’t just press the arrow. The dude might have been speaking for the last time.Having read earlier that YouTube barred RT and … [Read more...]
