Audiobook screen showing Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World playing, paused on Chapter 4
That is why so much modern social theory feels newly relevant: The Burnout Society, Bullshit Jobs, even Liquid Modernity.
These days, I’m listening to Anna Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World.
Trying to stay sharp, not pessimistic.
A weathered white gate with prayer flags over a narrow dirt path, set against a gray, quiet mountain landscape in Nepal
The provocative #AI joke I posted yesterday—funny because it contains about 95% truth—interests me because if the world were not already on fire, we would probably be noticing more clearly the next crisis taking shape: a crisis of meaning in what we are doing.
Alienation, in other words.
Heard a rude joke that’s surprisingly brutally accurate:
“A brothel owner fired 20 workers—with #AI he can now do the whole workload himself.”
Crude metaphor, clean diagnosis.
High alpine ridge with snow patches under a bright blue sky; distant Himalayan peaks
Stone gateway with prayer flags framing a mountain valley and snowy peaks
Trail Wi-Fi is good—and often free now (unlike 8–12 years ago).
Still, the internet stops being the atmosphere.
It becomes a tool.
The Moon and Sixpence — talent + the price of being truthful.
The Razor’s Edge — the meaning of life (and what you really want).
Cakes and Ale — love, illusion, craft.
Theatre — an EQ textbook.
Art often gives smart people more insight than “paperwork reading.” Sometimes careerism is self-sabotage.
One of my biggest concerns with academic work: it kills the pleasure of non-instrumental reading.
And I’m not sure it’s a fair trade—because good literature is often more applicable (and more honest) than research writing optimized for editors.
Maugham, for example:
#AI is an attention machine: it tells you what you want to hear—and makes you feel clever for hearing it.
My dream is to steal that packaging for something actually useful: academic, creative, emotionally true.
My integrative theme of the last 3–4 years: structured pleasure.
Buddhism, travel, raves, writing—different technologies, same aim: desire without collapse.
#TravelAsNonMethod
“Cruel optimism” is when something you desire becomes an obstacle to your flourishing. (Berlant)
Buddhism: drop the desire, regain the life.
Intellectual maturity is holding two opposite ideas without going insane.
Interpret freely.
Weathered sign on a stone wall reads ‘DO NOT STOP / KEEP GOING SLOWLY.’
Wide Himalayan valley with snow-covered ridges under a clear blue sky
Snowy mountain face in cold blue light against a clear sky
Narrow metal suspension bridge with prayer flags leading toward a rocky cliff
I’m getting older and less tolerant of repeated behavior.
1 time = coincidence, 2 = pattern, 3 = rule.
No wonder this sociologist escapes to the mountains: fewer people, fewer rules.
#TravelAsNonMethod
Stone cairn/shrine with prayer flags in the foreground, snowy Himalayan peaks behind under a clear blue sky.
I build systems, therefore I am.
Otherwise I get built.
Today’s proof: altitude forces rule #2.
4 rules for staying alive (field-tested on the road, over many years):
1. Shape your environment.
2. Keep rules minimal and repeatable.
3. Protect sovereignty.
4. Ship something real. (Tangible + emotionally true.)
#Top3 #Asana #ShippingList #TravelAsNonMethod #RaveAsMethod
Stone wall and prayer flags in the foreground, snow-covered Himalayan peak under a clear blue sky
At altitude, arrogance is expensive. You can’t outsmart oxygen. I keep forgetting this applies to paperwork too.
Two people can do same thing and still be doing very different things.
Street sweeping vs temple sweeping: same movement, different values, different “why.” (Neither is automatically better.)
Also, karma work: right intention/effort/impact.
(And Nepalese pics, of course—I can’t hide the beauty!)
The 3rd I planned initially is a road trip in America but I only have ~5 days between #CIES and #AERA (and no plans to return soon). I need something more tangible/lengthy. Maybe in Australia or in Europe.
Also, attaching some books I brought to the mountains. Brutal shame—these all are new to me.
Speaking of #DigitalDetox aka #AI withdrawal, I’m debating with myself what 3rd fieldwork should I do. The 1st was Vipassana (10 days cold turkey), the 2nd has been 4 weeks in Nepalese mountains (soft borderline with the Internet, controlled input, physically demanding and emotionally fulfilling).
ChatGPT seems not to like my (temporary) freedom. 🫦🙄
What is funny in this Instagram ad is 1) it’s in Thai (which is understandable given my geolocation profile), 2) the background it the most common Nepalese meal, dal bhat, which I eat everyday in the mountains.
#DigitalDetox
Tiny evergreen reminder: I’m simplifying; I’m not doing culture wars.
I care about this stuff because I need material for clarity and practice, not outrage. I actually welcome corrections and VERY value critical feedback when they’re specific and grounded 🐱
Meanwhile, some Nepal pictures.
Kathmandu, as always. Bouda, masala chai, light chaos.
Sensory overwhelmed, delighted, dazed—and not confused.
#TravelAsNonMethod
Plus a few important emails and a small grant for #FreedomOfConscience. Two weeks of hammock/sunrise/balcony/7-Eleven work.
Now it’s time for mountains ⛰️ I’m mildly terrified and very curious! Did some usual Nepali shopping–from Diamox to spikes (it's snowing!)–but skipped a SIM card. #DigitalDetox
The day before Kathmandu, I made a decent #shippinglist (two weeks in Thailand!).
Conferences/talks:
– #AAR (online this year, my autumn is brutal),
– #REA (religious education, never been – also online),
– #EASR in Bucharest in Sept (great city + timing),
– #RaveAsMethod talk with Euan for #Ozora.
She “grounded” me, did her shamanic thing, and said: " You’ll write your best work, that part is already fine—but don’t forget you belong to the earth". Very simple, very deep.
With Euan, we keep using this “shaman” metaphor when we talk about knowledge, sociology of emotions, and #RaveAsMethod.
One of my strongest 2025 moments was a "shamanic scene" at my beloved #Modem.
I was with a small Norway/Sweden crew, doing my usual monologue about #PhD, daily writing, conferences, papers that won’t publish themselves, etc.
One Norwegian woman asked me to kneel, touch the ground, and stay there.
With #AI, this will evolve, but the basic tension—input vs. output—remains.
6 out of 7 days, I want at least one real production 90-min block (writing/slides/something shipped), can handle 2–3—if in shape. Then, I need body block: dance/gym/hike.
Consumption is easier but kills production. #MVD
It seems that people who live in predominantly text and media cultures (especially in academia and art) have two core modes:
1. consuming / reading,
2. producing / writing (speaking).
Thus, the old joke that you rarely see me in library because “I’m not a reader, I’m a writer” gets extra layers.
I’m not bringing my laptop, so no #AI. ChatGPT doesn’t exist in the HK App Store anyway.
I write two diaries every day: 1) travel diary for the book, 2) on life without AI for the paper. I’ll try to post here sometimes, but not as the main job. Let’s see what 4 weeks do to my brain. #DigitalDetox
I know it’s funny to post about a digital detox online, but that’s what’s happening next 4 weeks.
I’ll be around Annapurna, starting from Besisahar. There’ll be some internet most days, but mostly paid wifi (think 2008).
As a framework, VMOSA is:
1. Simple but not dumb: Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Actions is just “big why → medium what → small how.” That’s A+ planning.
2. Flexible/portable: You can use it for a person/project/book/website/trip, etc.
3. Honest-making: It forces you to say it out loud.
Playing with #affect and #liminality is fun—raves, travel, all that. But if you live in liminal spaces, you need something that holds you.
My favourite structure is #VMOSA: Vision–Mission–Objectives–Strategies–Actions. Pretty much any life mess can be mapped to VMOSA and suddenly feel less chaotic.
