The History of Illusions
Greetings future dwellers. I am writing to you from the year 2024. There are many new words in 2024 such as skibidi, rizz, gyatt (1) and delulu. These are among some of the things I hope have changed by the time you read this.
Everyone is currently obsessed with dopamine pathways, serotonergic routines and how on earth we got into this mess and how to reverse it. Donald Trump (2) is attempting to be elected president of the United States for the second time and many people are trying to stop him. Democratic governments across the world have undergone radical political upheaval and restructuring. There are parts of the planet that become suddenly submerged underwater or destroyed by very strong winds or destroyed because of violent movements of the earth’s surface and people are sometimes killed by prolonged exposure to excessive heat from the sun’s heat during the day. Computer programs exist that can convert text to images, images to video and realistically simulate the experience of talking to another human being.
In 2024 we had things called mobiles phones (3), which were handheld devices used to conduct a majority of our social interactions, obtain information about the world and avoid eye-contact with other humans.
Mobile phones in 2024 were also tools for capturing photos and videos of ourselves which were disseminated via ‘the internet’ widely in hopes of accruing either money or social status and/or validation from peers and strangers. Strangers could register using their mobiles phones to access photos and videos of other strangers for a fee, often a regular monthly recurring sum of money.
People would also frequently use their mobiles phones to judge a curated selection of pictures of other people as a means of selecting a prospective romantic partner or a reproductive mate. The average human in 2024 was inundated with such pictures and bids for attention - each more attractive and promising than the last. This encouraged people to be highly selective and examine other people rigorously for defects or flaws and also enabled people to reject each other remotely and with very little effort.
In 2024 we had things called communities. Communities were groups of people who often shared mutual beliefs or interests or who were simply in close regular proximity to one another. The main characteristics of a community were that members felt they were able to contribute something to other members of the group and shared a sense of belonging and purpose.
The characteristics of a community tended to reflect the nature of the phenomenon around which these groups converged. Some communities were founded on a love for a particular subject while others were based solely on hatred towards another community - and this was reflected in the behaviour and customs of the group. These collective behaviours and customs were commonly referred to as the groups ‘culture’.
By 2024, there were as many cultures as there were types of people - as people continued to be drawn to the things they admired and to people similar to themselves. There were cultures that admired social proof and material excess and sexual capital as well as cultures that admired the ability to grow and care for plants. There were cultures that pledged devotion to a religious ideal and the destruction of those who disagreed with them.
In 2024 communities existed largely on the internet as people found it increasingly difficult to form and sustain lasting communities in person. There are many supposed reasons for this but one widely accepted theory is that the average person simply did not have time or energy or inclination to invest in or contribute toward a local community - and without a desire to belong and build up these groups inevitably fell apart.
One strange outlier was the culture of rugged individualism, which was itself an offshoot of a branch of stoicism that found renewed interest in 2024. This culture was centred around the veneration of self-reliance and a belief that one should not expect to be helped or saved by any external entity. Proponents of rugged individualism believed in cultivating a set of attitudes and internal resources in order to overcome obstacles and be able to meet all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In 2024, many people seemed to subscribe to or express interest in this culture. It is unclear whether the rise in popularity of this belief contributed to the decline of local communities or if the decline of local communities caused renewed interest in this culture. This was seen by many at the time as the only form of resistance available to them in the face of increasingly oppressive and hostile conditions.
In 2024, there existed a culture of conscientious awareness and concern for another person’s wellbeing. The culture also promoted the cultivation of a healthy discipline as well as an attitude of compassion and forgiveness which was extended to the self and others in the community. Proponents of this culture believed that human connection, built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust, was a key factor in the supply of material, emotional and spiritual resources required to promote and sustain personal development and growth in others and in the self. People who subscribed to this culture were reported to have gone great lengths to meet the needs of other members within the community and also the needs of the poor within their respective societies. Anecdotally, this culture had many forms and adherents. There were reports that this culture was sometimes practised between just two people. This culture was also widespread, having been discovered in many places, across genders, across different ethnic groups and geological borders. The culture could be found in many hostile and oppressive environments, such as in prisons, in cities ravaged by war, in countries where human rights were invalidated by tyrannical leaders. Despite the putative prevalence of this culture, there were many who doubted its existence, stating they had never met anyone who subscribed to such practices or belonged to any such community. Some argued that by 2024, reports of its existence were merely apocryphal - some believed that it had perhaps once existed but fallen out of fashion a century ago, while others believed that it had persisted but over time its practices had become more subtle and discreet. Most people argued this too was a form of resistance.
Everyone is currently obsessed with dopamine pathways, serotonergic routines and how on earth we got into this mess and how to reverse it. Donald Trump (2) is attempting to be elected president of the United States for the second time and many people are trying to stop him. Democratic governments across the world have undergone radical political upheaval and restructuring. There are parts of the planet that become suddenly submerged underwater or destroyed by very strong winds or destroyed because of violent movements of the earth’s surface and people are sometimes killed by prolonged exposure to excessive heat from the sun’s heat during the day. Computer programs exist that can convert text to images, images to video and realistically simulate the experience of talking to another human being.
In 2024 we had things called mobiles phones (3), which were handheld devices used to conduct a majority of our social interactions, obtain information about the world and avoid eye-contact with other humans.
Mobile phones in 2024 were also tools for capturing photos and videos of ourselves which were disseminated via ‘the internet’ widely in hopes of accruing either money or social status and/or validation from peers and strangers. Strangers could register using their mobiles phones to access photos and videos of other strangers for a fee, often a regular monthly recurring sum of money.
People would also frequently use their mobiles phones to judge a curated selection of pictures of other people as a means of selecting a prospective romantic partner or a reproductive mate. The average human in 2024 was inundated with such pictures and bids for attention - each more attractive and promising than the last. This encouraged people to be highly selective and examine other people rigorously for defects or flaws and also enabled people to reject each other remotely and with very little effort.
In 2024 we had things called communities. Communities were groups of people who often shared mutual beliefs or interests or who were simply in close regular proximity to one another. The main characteristics of a community were that members felt they were able to contribute something to other members of the group and shared a sense of belonging and purpose.
The characteristics of a community tended to reflect the nature of the phenomenon around which these groups converged. Some communities were founded on a love for a particular subject while others were based solely on hatred towards another community - and this was reflected in the behaviour and customs of the group. These collective behaviours and customs were commonly referred to as the groups ‘culture’.
By 2024, there were as many cultures as there were types of people - as people continued to be drawn to the things they admired and to people similar to themselves. There were cultures that admired social proof and material excess and sexual capital as well as cultures that admired the ability to grow and care for plants. There were cultures that pledged devotion to a religious ideal and the destruction of those who disagreed with them.
In 2024 communities existed largely on the internet as people found it increasingly difficult to form and sustain lasting communities in person. There are many supposed reasons for this but one widely accepted theory is that the average person simply did not have time or energy or inclination to invest in or contribute toward a local community - and without a desire to belong and build up these groups inevitably fell apart.
One strange outlier was the culture of rugged individualism, which was itself an offshoot of a branch of stoicism that found renewed interest in 2024. This culture was centred around the veneration of self-reliance and a belief that one should not expect to be helped or saved by any external entity. Proponents of rugged individualism believed in cultivating a set of attitudes and internal resources in order to overcome obstacles and be able to meet all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In 2024, many people seemed to subscribe to or express interest in this culture. It is unclear whether the rise in popularity of this belief contributed to the decline of local communities or if the decline of local communities caused renewed interest in this culture. This was seen by many at the time as the only form of resistance available to them in the face of increasingly oppressive and hostile conditions.
In 2024, there existed a culture of conscientious awareness and concern for another person’s wellbeing. The culture also promoted the cultivation of a healthy discipline as well as an attitude of compassion and forgiveness which was extended to the self and others in the community. Proponents of this culture believed that human connection, built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust, was a key factor in the supply of material, emotional and spiritual resources required to promote and sustain personal development and growth in others and in the self. People who subscribed to this culture were reported to have gone great lengths to meet the needs of other members within the community and also the needs of the poor within their respective societies. Anecdotally, this culture had many forms and adherents. There were reports that this culture was sometimes practised between just two people. This culture was also widespread, having been discovered in many places, across genders, across different ethnic groups and geological borders. The culture could be found in many hostile and oppressive environments, such as in prisons, in cities ravaged by war, in countries where human rights were invalidated by tyrannical leaders. Despite the putative prevalence of this culture, there were many who doubted its existence, stating they had never met anyone who subscribed to such practices or belonged to any such community. Some argued that by 2024, reports of its existence were merely apocryphal - some believed that it had perhaps once existed but fallen out of fashion a century ago, while others believed that it had persisted but over time its practices had become more subtle and discreet. Most people argued this too was a form of resistance.