Layer III; Playing an instrument and Consumerism - Gear Acquisition Syndrome

I play an electric bass, and lately I have been experiencing what the internet seem to call "GAS", or "Gear Acquisition Syndrome". What I mean is that, lately, I've been very tempted to buy more and more equipment for my bass playing.

This experience is shared among many internet users, and I've come to accept that I'm not immune to it. During last summer I upgraded my bass (now I've got an Ibanez SR300E) and my amp (which is a Peavey TKO115-S). Also bought an EQD Hizumitas fuzz pedal, which is kinda overkill but also really fun (I love Boris, so it was a no-brainer for me). For now at least, this should be my endgame, because I live in an apartment and can´t play any louder. Yet I feel this need of buying more equipment.

So there is this need of buying more and more gear even though is completely unnecessary. I love how my rig sounds, yet I feel there is something missing. Seems like the tone chasing will never end.

Anyways, maybe I should stop watching those demos of boutique Doom Metal pedals, they probably are the source of the problem. I mean, most of them just end up being ads in disguise lmao.

 

  

Layer II; Potlatch, Non-wealth and the AI bubble

Human economy is not based around accumulating wealth, but instead its actual nature is to be wasted. The act of expenditure is what brings purpose to wealth. This aspect of general economy has been developed by Bataille in his own philosophical and economic essays (The Accursed Share vol. 1 being one of my favorites).

AI has been a thing for decades now, but in the last few years it has become an object of investment. Why? Certainly not for revenue. In fact, it is due to the exact opposite. Along with other internet based economic fiascos (like NFTs and the metaverse), AI and LLMs have become the most favorable way of wasting wealth.

As a species, we are enacting the potlatch (in Bataille’s terms) once again, not through war but through the expenditure of massive amounts of wealth that go right down the drain. But I don't think billionaires are spending massive amounts of money as an alternative to war. After all, war still exists around the globe. Rather, thanks to the value of money being a complete simulacra, completely disconnected to any sort of physical phenomena that holds that value down to earth, we have accumulated so much wealth that we had to find new ways of expenditure.

This wasted wealth was a non-existent wealth in the first place, so it’s no surprise that it is being burned in front of our eyes. Humans, and their economic nature, revolve around sacrifice.

 

Layer I; Introduction

First of all, welcome to my blog, hope you have a great time. I've wanted for years now to have my own little piece of territory on the internet, and now I've got it!

This space will usually work as a place for me to talk about different things that I  find interesting. My posts will usually talk about philosophy, the media that i like, etc. I don't want to make it about just the current event that everyone has talked about already. I want this to be a place for self-expression and thought on topics that I find interesting.

So yeah, here I will try my best to portray my thoughts on a foreign language. Hope I make myself understandable enough, and that you enjoy the posts.

Also, I will usually attach to my posts different images or gifs that probably don't even relate to the content of the entry (although I will try to make them related xd), as a way to share images that I found amusing. Hope you enjoy them too.