IntenseDebate - EricSchiller

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Secret Fails Harri... · 0 replies · +1 points

Dear Evolutionare, ad hominem attacks are not welcome on Beyond Growth. I have deleted your attacking comment, and you are not welcome to comment here further.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - Andrew Cohen and the R... · 0 replies · +1 points

Do you actually have anything to add? �Did you read the article?

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 0 replies · +1 points

In regards to information products, I don't have a problem with information products as a thing, rather I have a problem with information products that are scams, worthless, or overpriced. There is a difference.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 1 reply · +1 points

Hello Steven, I define dipsterism as more of an anti-intellectual online movement, rather than a set of attributes that apply to a lifestyle or individual. Dipsterism defines inexperienced writers or would-be philosophers who sell themselves as intelligent, but lack the discernment to actually produce productive and progressive ideas.

Dipsters are only interested in creating writing that merely has the appearance of intelligence and depth.
Many of the beliefs or communities that I list are anti-intellectual, however, a belief in such things does not necessarily make one a dipster, rather you must directly promote mindless anti-intellectualism through the writing of shallow blog posts, manifestos, and so on.

I'll leave the diagnosis up to you.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 0 replies · +2 points

Mark, it is important to note the latest post was written by Duff, not myself. Confusing our ideas would probably lead to... confusion.

We called our blog "Beyond Growth" to point out how absurd it is to believe in infinite personal growth, similar to how self-helpers go from one 3 step program to another. There isn't any termination point. Beyond Growth then is about rethinking growth itself.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 0 replies · 0 points

I down voted this on accident. Pretend it's +2.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 2 replies · +4 points

Jack, I find the over-hyped, over-promising, cult like methods used by these marketers to be very unethical. Jonathan Mead, Chris Guillebeau, and others sell their products as if they were revolutions, but in the end this subverts actual political action. People now cannot tell the difference between a marketing revolution and an actual social revolution. See Glenn Beck if you need more proof.

I think there is a necessity to separate these bullshit manifestos out. Mead, Guillebeau and others claim to be more enlightened and down to earth than corporate marketing, but they commit the same abuses of trust and manipulation as the powerful corporate entities. Both use pushy newsletters, long form sales letters, high pressure sales calls, censored product reviews, and high social pressure to make their sales.

I for one was very disappointed in Guillebeau when he went from insightful travel blog to 'make money online and buy my info products' blog, same goes for Leo Babauta.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 0 replies · +1 points

Not only that, but lifestyle design is egotistical lifestyle fetishism at it's core. A lot of very ugly aspects of contemporary humanity have come together in that space.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 1 reply · +2 points

Thanks for the comment Maus. I was trained that postmodern rhetoric should be evaluated for how it's audience receives, perceives, and acts upon the message instead of the modernistic intentions of the author. I think rhetorical criticism is a useful tool, however it is mostly imprisoned in academia, and rarely applied elsewhere.

I think it is a bit of a stretch to claim that postmodern truth values are necessarily dogmatic. It is my understanding that it goes at the underpinnings of belief itself, in as such that when I "believe" something, that very act is repositioned in the semiotic space instead of being thrust into dogma. But perhaps we are saying the same thing.

12 years ago @ Beyond Growth - The Rise of Digital Hi... · 5 replies · +3 points

Yes, we are talking about the same Jonathan Mead. His actual last name is Nasman, but his uhh internet name is just Jonathan Mead (which is his middle name). He is a very crafty and manipulative internet marketer. His blog is called Illuminated Mind because he originally started blogging about psudeo Buddhist self-help spirituality, and then later moved on to internet marketing and selling yourself through social media because he found that taking on Buddhism wasn't working so well (early on he declared himself enlightnened, and then attempted to use it to sell self help products).

They seem so nice, so dedicated to helping you, but the reality is that they have no real skills other than conning you into buying their programs. The skills you will learn from them will only teach you how to con others too. It is effectively a pyramid scheme.

If you ever want more info on anybody else, feel free to drop us an email through the contact form.

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