What's new?
July 2024. I've done some updates to the FAQ, and for the first time in ten years, I've done a full rewrite of the books page. My interests are shifting toward metaphysics and theology. I'm still working on two fiction projects, and still making Spotify playlists. I'm currently reading An Underground Journey Through 20th Centrury Philosophy.How do you say your name?
My first name rhymes with Dan, not Don. Think of the Flock of Seagulls song, not the Kurosawa film. And I pronounce my last name like it rhymes with "free-er," but the French pronunciation is cool too.Your early writing was more exciting. What happened?
It turns out I don't like being famous. I like being influential, but not as much as I hate attention. Conveniently, actually trying to figure stuff out leads to a smaller and nicer audience than telling exciting stories.If you've just discovered this site, I recommend reading the blog archives, late to early.
What have you changed your mind about?
I used to hate comma splices, now I like them.I used to see collapse happening for physical reasons, like resources and climate. Now I see it happening for motivational reasons: the tasks necessary to keep the system going, are drifting too far from what we enjoy doing. The clunkier the system gets, the more fun it is to knock it down instead of keeping it going.
I used to think the future would be either techno-utopia, or techno-dystopia, or postapocalypse. Now I think we're getting all three at once, sometimes in the same place.
I used to think rural homesteading was a good idea. Then I noticed that many people who tried it were unhappy and did too much driving. Here's a nice essay about it by Toby Hemenway, Urban vs Rural Sustainability.
I used to love the word "civilization". Now I think it's a trick. It implies a connection between the scale of a society and its repressiveness, which following David Graeber, I no longer believe in. If Civilization is a good thing, it means building increasingly complex societies out of tasks that people find intrinsically enjoyable.
I used to want to be Gandalf, the famous wizard who saves the world. Now I want to be Radagast, the obscure wizard who hangs out with trees.
Can you condense your political ideas to under 100 words?
The most fundamental freedom is the freedom to do nothing. Anything less than a 100% volunteer workforce is immoral. It might take a thousand years to get there, but the left is correct to try to raise the minimum standard of living. Ideally, all necessities would be free at point of use, but an unconditional basic income is more realistic, and we could easily pay for it with a financial transaction tax, or through depreciating currency.How about your philosophical ideas?
Only the Universal is real, and it's so incomprehensible that reality as we know it must be a user interface, in which even atoms and galaxies are like desktop icons. This interface is active, and works with our consciousness. We are all making up reality on the fly, and "the world" is our attempt to share it.But also, our conscious minds are only a small part of the puzzle. Simulation theory is a good metaphor, for how strings are being pulled on sub-physical levels.
Who are your favorite philosophers?
Charles Fort, Thaddeus Golas, Owen Barfield, Beatrice Bruteau, and Lao Tzu. Within the canon, Heraclitus, Leibniz, and Spinoza.What is the meaning of life?
Asking a philosopher "What is the meaning of life?" is like asking a librarian "What is the meaning of book?" Not only does every book have a different meaning, every sentence has a different meaning. The only large scale meaning of life is finding meaning on the small scale.Everything we do will eventually come to nothing, but that's only a problem for an achievement-based culture, where we're always trying to accomplish something. I tell myself, "I am no one going nowhere."
No, really, what is the meaning of life?
For you, the meaning of life is to be challenged and learn. For other people, the meaning of life is to remain stupid and continue to challenge you.Where do you find all the links you post?
Mainly on Hacker News, and a handful of subreddits.How much weed do you smoke?
In spring of 2024 I switched from a Silver Surfer desktop vaporizer, to a hand-held Roffu, and never went back. The SSV is efficient and bombproof, but the Roffu is smoother and even more efficient. My normal dose is a pea-sized nug, around 4:20pm, which is early enough to not mess with my sleep. Weed gives me creative superpowers, and raises my emotional intelligence to nearly normal. Contrary to the popular cliche, when I'm high I'm a lot more motivated. Being high and not doing creative work is like being up in an airplane and not looking out the window.What about other drugs?
LSD is my favorite, but I've only done it a few times, and I no longer have a source. Mushrooms are plentiful, but I have a thick head and I've done multiple 5g trips without so much as a hallucination. Instead, I see consensus reality differently. On LSD, nature is heaven and clouds of gnats are angels. On my one great mushroom trip, nature was fairyland and trees were time-stretched aspects of superior beings. My last few shroom trips have been lame, but they still clean the cobwebs from my brain.What is your favorite long fiction?
In order of when I read them: Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano, Little, Big by John Crowley, A Splendid Conspiracy by Albert Cossery.What advice would you give your younger self?
Instead of fixating on goals, practice quickly noticing opportunities that are only there for a short time. Also, floss after every meal and rinse your mouth after eating or drinking anything sweet.Does your blog have an RSS feed?
Doing it myself would be too much work, but Patrick has written a script that creates a feed based on the way I format my entries. I've uploaded it to http://ranprieur.com/feed.php. You might also try Page2RSS.Do you plan on publishing your old writing?
In 2011, a friend went on lulu.com and cranked out a book in a day. It's called How to Drop Out and Other Essays. That link goes to the paperback, and here's the hardcover. There's also a collection of my zines: paperback and hardcover. Nobody is making money on this, not even Lulu since they take a percentage of the author's profits. Some of the texts are also available as free pdf downloads. Thanks Alex!I thought you lived on an off-grid homestead.
No, but you can read about those adventures in my old Landblog FAQ or the landblog archives from 2004-2011.What's your email address?
My name with no spaces at gmail.com.I like it when people email me to say hi. You don't have to bring gifts. You can also post on the Ran Prieur subreddit.
Newer Interviews
Jordan Mechano's documentary about me, recorded summer of 2018.Erik interviews me for Mini Truth, recorded August of 2020.
James's Hermitix podcast, recorded April 2020, and also on YouTube.
Second Hermitix interview, August 2022.
Robert's Leafbox interview, recorded September 2022, and transcribed to text.
Manuel Moreale's People and Blogs interview, written over email in December 2023.
Older Interviews
In text, the BoingBoing interview by Avi, and older interviews by by Tim Boucher and Burn the Furniture.In audio, interviews by Paul Wheaton (2011, 28 minutes), Aaron (2006? 40 minutes), Ken Rose (2011, 46 minutes), and Mark Haim at KOPN (2009, 51 minutes).
And here are four videos, around 100 minutes total, of me being interviewed in October 2005 for What A Way To Go: Life at the End of Empire: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.
Old Personal links
100 things about meFrugal Early Retirement FAQ
Winter Tour FAQ
How I bought a house
I bought land
My July 2004 bike trip