Prathyush
@prathyvsh.bsky.social
Map maker @patternatlas.bsky.social ∩ Interface Engineer @prabros.bsky.social
It is embedded in an ambient way in today’s instrumental world, where the idea is to optimize systems for their best throughput, and reveals itself aesthetically in the slick and clean interfaces/surfaces of the machines that are polished to shiny perfection.
January 25, 2026 at 5:16 AM
It is embedded in an ambient way in today’s instrumental world, where the idea is to optimize systems for their best throughput, and reveals itself aesthetically in the slick and clean interfaces/surfaces of the machines that are polished to shiny perfection.
While it is easy to brush these aside as mental disorders and afflictions of OCDers, I think the same undercurrent of attempting to obsessively bring life under control manifests in subtler ways in everyday life.
January 25, 2026 at 5:15 AM
While it is easy to brush these aside as mental disorders and afflictions of OCDers, I think the same undercurrent of attempting to obsessively bring life under control manifests in subtler ways in everyday life.
100% of the idealized creations in our minds that we didn’t make are polished, perfect successes. This contrasts starkly with crafting something real that inevitably entails dealing with the imperfections and messiness of reality. It presents the looming possibility of failure.
January 25, 2026 at 5:15 AM
100% of the idealized creations in our minds that we didn’t make are polished, perfect successes. This contrasts starkly with crafting something real that inevitably entails dealing with the imperfections and messiness of reality. It presents the looming possibility of failure.
A close cousin of OCD is perfectionism. While aspiring to a lofty ideal is a propelling factor behind many great human achievements, it can also degenerate as a coping mechanism to avoid the anxiety of building something real.
January 25, 2026 at 5:15 AM
A close cousin of OCD is perfectionism. While aspiring to a lofty ideal is a propelling factor behind many great human achievements, it can also degenerate as a coping mechanism to avoid the anxiety of building something real.
A normal individual can rationalize their overly optimized productivity system whereas OCDers lack grounding in reality for their nonsensical rituals. Though OCDers rarely lose touch with reality and turn psychotic. We do these rituals fully knowing they are senseless!
January 25, 2026 at 5:14 AM
A normal individual can rationalize their overly optimized productivity system whereas OCDers lack grounding in reality for their nonsensical rituals. Though OCDers rarely lose touch with reality and turn psychotic. We do these rituals fully knowing they are senseless!
It is similar to the rationally scheming individual attempting to foster the illusion of control. The difference is that one attempts to thwart intrusive thoughts about imaginary dangers termed “obsessions” through nonsensical rituals termed “compulsions.”
January 25, 2026 at 5:14 AM
It is similar to the rationally scheming individual attempting to foster the illusion of control. The difference is that one attempts to thwart intrusive thoughts about imaginary dangers termed “obsessions” through nonsensical rituals termed “compulsions.”
It was helpful to understand that the same patterns/experiences recur in the minds of people in different parts of the world. OCD is a defective way of maintaining control over one's life through irrational compulsions.
January 25, 2026 at 5:14 AM
It was helpful to understand that the same patterns/experiences recur in the minds of people in different parts of the world. OCD is a defective way of maintaining control over one's life through irrational compulsions.
Now on to something personal. In one of its degenerate forms, exerting extreme control over the world manifests as a psychological disorder called OCD. I read Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals to understand its nature, as I started showing signs of OCD from a young age.
January 25, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Now on to something personal. In one of its degenerate forms, exerting extreme control over the world manifests as a psychological disorder called OCD. I read Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals to understand its nature, as I started showing signs of OCD from a young age.
As we will see in a bit, an antidote, paradoxically, is to invert and align your perspective so that you start from a position of acknowledging this lack of control and surrender to the rhythm of the universe.
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 PM
As we will see in a bit, an antidote, paradoxically, is to invert and align your perspective so that you start from a position of acknowledging this lack of control and surrender to the rhythm of the universe.
It takes courage and mettle to face up to the authentic texture of the life in all its messiness and flaws. A real tragedy here is that post-traumatic rational schemes generate reinforcement loops that indefinitely extend this illusion of control.
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 PM
It takes courage and mettle to face up to the authentic texture of the life in all its messiness and flaws. A real tragedy here is that post-traumatic rational schemes generate reinforcement loops that indefinitely extend this illusion of control.
The unpredictable outcomes of endeavours in our lives and the looming possibility of their failure cause us to withdraw from living fully in the moment. Instead we build maps/systems that offer a possibility of living a predictable life of illusory control and success.
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The unpredictable outcomes of endeavours in our lives and the looming possibility of their failure cause us to withdraw from living fully in the moment. Instead we build maps/systems that offer a possibility of living a predictable life of illusory control and success.
Certain others turn so perfectionist that they end up not creating what they intend to and instead live in their heads with idealisations. These are among the many tactics of evading the messy, unpredictable reality and facing up to the finitude of our lives.
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Certain others turn so perfectionist that they end up not creating what they intend to and instead live in their heads with idealisations. These are among the many tactics of evading the messy, unpredictable reality and facing up to the finitude of our lives.
The same idea can be seen to recur in the 1927 movie Metropolis with the construction of a robot (a rationalist creation) to deal with the emotional trauma.
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The same idea can be seen to recur in the 1927 movie Metropolis with the construction of a robot (a rationalist creation) to deal with the emotional trauma.
Certain others turn so perfectionist that they end up not creating what they intend to and instead live in their heads with idealisations. These are among the many tactics of evading the messy, unpredictable reality and facing up to the finitude of our lives.
January 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Certain others turn so perfectionist that they end up not creating what they intend to and instead live in their heads with idealisations. These are among the many tactics of evading the messy, unpredictable reality and facing up to the finitude of our lives.
A response is to evade this fact by attempting to construct systems as façades to mask the unpredictability and messiness of reality. These include creating ever more elaborate productivity systems that attempt to absolutely control various minutiae.
January 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM
A response is to evade this fact by attempting to construct systems as façades to mask the unpredictability and messiness of reality. These include creating ever more elaborate productivity systems that attempt to absolutely control various minutiae.
Certain traumatic events trigger this trait of rationally scheming our lives in an ultimately futile attempt to control the world. It is our response to the terror of having to face the fact that we don’t have much control over the universe and our lives in it.
January 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Certain traumatic events trigger this trait of rationally scheming our lives in an ultimately futile attempt to control the world. It is our response to the terror of having to face the fact that we don’t have much control over the universe and our lives in it.
Perhaps the best angle to broach this topic is this tweet interpreting Nolan’s protagonists: x.com/Darren_Moone...
January 24, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Perhaps the best angle to broach this topic is this tweet interpreting Nolan’s protagonists: x.com/Darren_Moone...
Here’s a synopsis of the key themes that are going to be addressed in this thread.
January 24, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Here’s a synopsis of the key themes that are going to be addressed in this thread.
This paradigm of exerting absolute control and perfectionism over our lives gets erected as an attempt to eradicate its errors and flaws. It’s our response to the imperfect, impermanent, and unpredictable nature of life. Let us begin by examining this attitude closer.
January 24, 2026 at 6:13 PM
This paradigm of exerting absolute control and perfectionism over our lives gets erected as an attempt to eradicate its errors and flaws. It’s our response to the imperfect, impermanent, and unpredictable nature of life. Let us begin by examining this attitude closer.
This paradigm of exerting absolute control and perfectionism over our lives gets erected as an attempt to eradicate its errors and flaws. It’s our response to the imperfect, impermanent, and unpredictable nature of life. Let us begin by examining this attitude closer.
January 24, 2026 at 6:08 PM
This paradigm of exerting absolute control and perfectionism over our lives gets erected as an attempt to eradicate its errors and flaws. It’s our response to the imperfect, impermanent, and unpredictable nature of life. Let us begin by examining this attitude closer.
If we zoom back, we can see the outline of a solution for some of our mental/physical (di)stress deriving from a projectional paradigm of illusionary control and perfectionism. We get enmeshed in this as a result of our attempts to evade the messiness of reality.
January 24, 2026 at 6:07 PM
If we zoom back, we can see the outline of a solution for some of our mental/physical (di)stress deriving from a projectional paradigm of illusionary control and perfectionism. We get enmeshed in this as a result of our attempts to evade the messiness of reality.