14 Comments
User's avatar
Dave Ray's avatar

Please finish, Matt. We're all here for you! This is 'the thinking man's Twitter!"

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Maximilian Hart's avatar

Good on Gareth. Yes, do finish!

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Emily Hess's avatar

I mean, I enjoyed reading it...does that count as "something nice"?

I once got convinced that key people in my life were replaced by clones and annoyed my poor mom to no end by asking her random questions about her friends to verify her identity. I was in middle school at the time.

If that makes you feel any better. Or maybe it makes you feel worse because you're attracting weirdos in your comment section now.

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George's avatar

Love that you're writing here! I've seen enough of the Internet to know how many demons exist on Twitter to never join, so I appreciate it when redeeming people move to other platforms!

Also this is a tall ask from a rando, but any chance you could post a reading list? It definitely doesn't have to be comprehensive, but I am always in the hunt for truly good books, and with the amount of info out there, I try to seek recommendations from people I trust. I found great fruits in working through Jordan Peterson's "Books to read before you die" list, so something like that would be very, very appreciated. Bless!

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David Kennedy's avatar

I second George’s suggestion for a Reading List.

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George G's avatar

What you’ve written here is quite good; would go so far as to say this is on par with the work of a truly literary person who wears turtlenecks.

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The Threshold Project's avatar

If this world is a simulation, it is not mine. Our simulations cannot account for the boundless intricacy and unyielding grace woven into this reality.

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Andrew Flattery's avatar

Matt - I'm writing this note to you on substack, the blogging/email platform where you published this nice little yarn. And for the zoomers in the room, yes, there was a time when 'intelligent' people thought American Beauty was a profound movie.

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Chantal LaFortune's avatar

If you’re indeed the real Matt Fradd, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, fellow HACS graduate. Glad to see you’ve joined perhaps the best secular social media platform around!

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Vincent Lam's avatar

Invite Donald Hoffman to your podcast please!

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Emily Hess's avatar

Dude...no...it's so much more fun if we all don't know who this guy is and just look at his writing.

Seriously. Let's just let him be Matt here.

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Matt Fradd's avatar

Thank you Emily, seriously.

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The Catholic Behavior Analyst's avatar

It seems determining whether or not what we sense and perceive (including friends trying to tell us they are real) correspond to “what actually is” hinges on the core value of trust.

Do you trust your own senses, perception, and reason?

Do you trust others?

Do you trust God?

Distrust goes along fear — fear of being duped or misled. Trust goes along with warmth, belongingness, and love.

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Matt Fradd's avatar

100% the question is, are our senses and reasoning faculties basically reliable.

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