A note in the margins
August 30, 2024
Marginalium
My commentary on something from elsewhere on the web.
The cases against free will. Good introduction to determinism. See also the practical inconsequence of the free will debate. See also AI predicting your brain activity into the future..
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Examining ideologies worth choosing. btrmt. (betterment) is created by Dorian Minors, a Cambridge-educated cognitive neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Behavioural Science at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The core philosophy: humans are animals first, with automatic patterns of thought and behaviour. These ideologies are often chosen for us, not by us. Better to examine and choose for yourself.
Core concepts. Animals First: our greatest capacity is for nurture—sharing and examining ideas together. Half Awake: we live deadened by systems that narrow rather than expand our potential. Karstica: metaphor for unexamined ideologies (like karst landscapes with hidden sinkholes beneath). Credenda: the belief systems and ideologies we live by.
The "Half Awake" manifesto. The cynosure (what to focus on): betterment (excellence within morality), gratification (positive states, self-renewal, creativity), and connection (meaning through something greater than ourselves). The architecture (what supports focus): inner (somatic, spiritual, thought) and outer (digital, collective, wealth).
About Dorian Minors. Started btrmt. over a decade ago (2013) to share the sciences of mind with people who weren't studying them, or couldn't. Background includes six years in the Australian Defence Force as Platoon Commander (Infantry); crisis counselling certification (Lifeline Australia, 2015); BPsychHons and Master of Research in Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Macquarie); Gates Cambridge Scholar with PhD in cognitive neuroscience from University of Cambridge (2018-2024), researching how the brain solves complex decisions using simple mechanisms; Methods Director at IMAGINE (Paul Polman's leadership transformation firm); and currently Associate Professor at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the Department of Communication and Applied Behavioural Science.
Research focus. The neural basis of intelligent behaviour; decision intelligence; how rituals of thought, feeling, and action are formed, improved, and break down; ethical leadership and human systems change; wellbeing in the brain.
Mission. Not to provide answers or instruction manuals, but to gather and examine ideologies so others can choose the ones right for them. Break down academic gatekeeping. Make the sciences of mind accessible. Question rather than prescribe.
Writing style. Scholarly but not gatekeeping—rigorous without jargon barriers. Philosophical yet practical—ideas grounded in neuroscience and lived experience. Reflective tone, discovery-oriented rather than achievement-oriented. Literary references and metaphor. Critical of systems that narrow rather than expand human potential.
Notes. Content blends neuroscience, philosophy, behavioural science, and lived experience. Target audience: people seeking to understand themselves and choose their own ideologies. Deeply influenced by William James, stoicism, eastern philosophy, modern neuroscience. Rejects the narrative that humans are inherently flawed—we're "half awake" not broken. 2000+ members in the btrmt. community.
Copyright. BTRMT LIMITED registered in England and Wales (no. 13755561) 2026. Dorian Minors 2026.
Some of Dorian's projects are hosted elsewhere, though relevant links can usually be found at the Analects. Those sites are: