Decoding The Gurus

Dr. K and the perils of Passive Aggressive Therapy speak: Who’s the Beta Cuck?

For those of you who do not know we have a YouTube channel. This is where we host the videos we upload (though some are unlisted) but editor Andy has also been editing segments from the Supplementary Material episodes to release as standalone mini-videos.

The video above is from a Supplementary Material we released a few weeks back. I'm po...

Destiny: Right to Reply

Join Matt and Chris as they dive into the world of debates and online personas with the ever-controversial streamer, Destiny (Steven Bonnell). We discuss our coverage a little bit but mostly broader topics including the value of 'debate porn', the role of edginess & Twitter bomb-throwing, reality TV orbiter drama, and the perils of hero wors...

DTG May 2024 Live Hang Out

Dear Galaxy Brain contributors... Livestream for May!

Going down tomorrow! 9.30AM JST or just click the link and check for your local time.

Be there or be square... and remember you can check the replay anytime after.

Hopefully see some of you tomorrow!

Interview with Flint Dibble

For those who may have wanted a video version to check if Flint was still in his Rogan regalia... here you go!

Join Matt and Chris as they sit down with Flint Dibble to reflect on his recent discussion with Graham Hancock on The Joe Rogan Experience. Flint shares his thoughts on the distinction between real archaeological research and pseu...

Supplementary Materials 6: Christian Sensemaking, Hipster Race Realists, & Marijuana Pseudoscience

We shake our heads in despair at some truly terrible Guru crossovers:

• Old Man Health Routines: Jogging, Diets, and the Pursuit of 'Wellness'

• Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand offer the apotheosis of indulgent Christian-themed sensemaking

• Taylor Lorenz and activist journalism

• Twitch Strea...

  2024-05-10 13:42:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Interview with Flint Dibble on Alternative Archaeology

This is an advance release of our interview with archaeologist Flint Dibble, discussing his recent appearance on Joe Rogan to debate ancient civilizations with Graham Hancock and broader issues relating to science communication and responding to 'alternative' archaeology. If you notice any audio issues, please let us know, and we will fix them b...

Next Guru Decoding: Zizek

That's right, the next decoding episode is Slavoj Žižek!

If anyone has any recommended LONG FORM content let us know below.

Supplementary Material 5: Spiritual UFOs, Alternative Theories of Evolution, and Atlantean Grievances

We watch in awe as the guru-sphere grapples with a host of 'alternative' theories:

• Bret promotes pseudoscience on Polio and alternative theories on evolution

• The Gurusphere collides with Tucker's takes on evolution

• Rogan and Tucker praise Alex Jones' prophetic abilities

• Tucker's views on...

  2024-04-26 10:31:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Missed Shoutouts!

Hey everyone,

We are behind with shoutouts, and the Patreon software for managing them is not particularly great. So we thought it might be worth asking here, if we have missed you or you just haven't heard and would like a shout-out let us know! You can post in the comments or DM!

Gurometer: Destiny

The second time's the charm!

We put Destiny through the Gurometer and used the opportunity to make some overdue recalibrations. The gurometer is an ever-evolving high-precision instrument, so some maintenance is required from time to time. Agree with us, disagree, laugh, cry, scream, do what you must... and produce your own score if you fe...

Destiny Gurometer

The second streamer is entered into the Gurometer. Join us to find out how Destiny does. We also engage in some much-needed Gurometer tinkering and recalibration. And remember if you disagree with our scoring... provide your own!

Destiny: The Edge of Debate

In this episode, Matt and Chris dive deep into the world of online streamers, focusing on the pioneering and controversial figure Steven Bonell II, better known as Destiny (AKA Mr Borelli). As seasoned explorers of sense-making jungles, Petersonian crystalline structures, and mind-bending labyrinths in Weinstein World, they thought they were pre...

Decoding Academia: Immunity Review

We often have a lot of criticisms regarding the gurus, and sometimes people ask us for recommendations for alternative 'good' sources so on this episode of Decoding Academia we provide one suggestion. Specifically, we take a deep take into 'Immune' by Philip Detmer, the co-founder of Kurzgesagt. We discuss the complex but accessible account it o...

Guest Appearance: Thoughts on Record

We appeared on a fun show from a Canadian psychologist! (No, not that one!)

Some of you may be interested... I'll add the relevant show notes below.

"The last decade has seen the ascendency of a number of "public intellectuals" who have come under increasing scrutiny around allegations of misinformation, conspiracy-mongering, griftin...

Supplementary Material 4: Passive Aggressive Therapists, Shit-posting Monks, and Weaponised Naivety

We ponder whether, due to our naivety, we actually deserve the gurus and other topics, including:

• Is Hasan Piker even better than we said?

• The ethical quandaries of online therapy with Dr. K

• The False Halos of Status and Success

• The Rest is History Luther series and parallels with Secula...

  2024-04-13 21:48:02 +0000 UTC View Post

YouTube Mini: Hasan Piker's Merch Drop

Andy the editor, has been given the video recording of the recent supplemental material episode and is busy beavering away to make little mini-video segments that we will put out as videos and upload after to the YouTube channel. These take time to make, and various content is inappropriate for video format, but some of it will be. So we are exp...

Gurometer: Yuval Noah Harari

All gurometer ratings are fictions that we tell about the gurus but that does not mean they are not important. Join us and find out what genre Yuval Noah Harari's fiction should be categorised in.

DTG April Live Hang Out ***QUITE SOON***

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the short notice, but Matt and I found a good window to record this month's live hang out, and since you, European/Asian timezone folk were all sleepy last month, we are returning to the early morning in Japan/Australia time. This means evening time for US/UK. If you want to see exactly when in your timeone just clic...

DTG Recommends... Immune by Philipp Dettmer

We often have a lot of criticisms when it comes to the gurus and sometimes people ask us for recommendations for alternative 'good' sources.

Here is one!

This is an advance release video for Patreons, ahead of edits, so apologies for the vocal tics!

Yuval Noah Harari: Eat Bugs and Live Forever

We take a look at one of the world's most famous neoliberal historians to discover whether he is the great evil Alex Jones alleges, the uncultured philistine the philosophers describe, or an insightful historian as described by various TED introductions.

The Patreon folk are getting this slightly early while we make final checks, ...

Suggestions for next decoding: DESTINY!

So we are still in the streamer and academic season and have decided it's about time to get to one Steven Bonnell, AKA Destiny.

As with most streamers, the difficulty is going to be in covering content that is relevant and ideally representative, though it does not have to be the case.

We will cover some of the more controversial cli...

Supplementary Material 3: Sand-worms, Anti-Capitalist Merch, and High Level Idea-Jacking

We test the boundaries of the Supplementary format with a stacked third edition.

On this episode:

• Matt Reviews Dune 2 and the Three-Body Problem

• Hasan Piker's Anti-Capitalist Merch

• The Controversy Surrounding Andrew Huberman

• Differential Charity and Selective Decoupling

2024-03-31 00:41:28 +0000 UTC View Post

The Descent of Jordan Peterson (Video)

Here's a video version of the recent Decoding episode.

"We examine a recent conversation between Jordan Peterson and the streamer Destiny (Steven Bonnell) and use the opportunity to reflect on Jordan's journey as a public intellectual and guru.

We consider how his stances have changed, whether he is more extreme now than when he e...

Guest Appearance on Thales' Well Philosophy Podcast

For those interested, one-half of our dynamic duo went on the Thales' Well philosophy podcast to talk about Secular Gurus with a fellow Irishman Patrick O'Connor. We cover familiar themes but I (Chris) enjoyed it and maybe you will too!

Mini Decoding: The Descent of Jordan Peterson

We take a look at a recent conversation between Jordan Peterson and the streamer Steven Bonnell (AKA Destiny) and use the opportunity to reflect on Jordan's journey as a public intellectual and guru.

We consider how his stances have changed, whether he is more extreme now than when he emerged or if it is just his presentation style that ...

Chris and Matt have a (PREPRINT!) paper

I thought some of you might find this interesting.

Matt and I have submitted our first joint paper based on a study I designed and ran, and Matt helped to analyse.

It's about ritual intuitions and collective action problems cross-culturally. You can find the preprint available at the link if interested.

And don't worry that Gur...

Supplementary Material 2: Dissident Dialogues, Bloodbaths, & Genocidal Debates

The adventure in formatting continues with the second Supplementary Material episode.

On this episode:

• Sam Harris Devotees

• Dissident Dialogues

• Lex's important message about idolism

• Trumpian Bloodbath & Media Criticism

• Lex Fridman's Israel-Palestine Debate

  2024-03-22 00:48:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Decoding Material for Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval is our next decoding episode and this is the material we settled on. Long-form, wide-ranging, and highlights Harari's strengths and weaknesses. I've listened and have a lot of thoughts and Matt will listen soon. We will record it sometime this week so if you want to play along here's the source material to work from.

Also, if you wan...

Gurometer: Hasan Piker

What happens when you put a muscle bound tankie into a Gurometer? Join us and find out!

Gurometer: Hasan Piker

What happens when you try to put a muscle bound tankie into a Gurometer? 

Join us to find out.