Several years ago, something exciting happened in the world of Western thought. A group of thinkers and commentators became popular in various forms of media, seemingly all at once.
And, more so than I’ve otherwise seen in my adult life, it made critical thinking a mainstream phenomenon. It made philosophy a mainstream hobby.
These thinkers became loosely affiliated with each other, and people began referring to them as the Intellectual Dark Web. The group more or less consisted of Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Eric Weinstein, Bret Weinstein, Dave Rubin, and Douglas Murray. But depending on whom you ask, the group could be expanded to include others as well — both male and female authors and speakers, with very diverse educations and backgrounds.
For a few years they participated in numerous conversations with each other, and with various podcast hosts — most memorably with Joe Rogan. They discussed science, morality, religion, politics, and pretty much anything else that they felt was worth talking about. They had long, deep conversations about things that most people aren’t used to hearing long, deep conversations about.
In a world of yelling, these people actually sat down and talked. It was refreshing. It was, for a lot of audiences, new. Of course podcasts aren’t new. But extensive, thoughtful, principles-based discussion of anything is rare, in any time or place.
These people weren’t a “team” and this wasn’t a formal effort — as far as I know, they didn’t sell any jerseys. They were just people who wanted to confront bad with good, falsehood with truth, and extremism with nuance. They didn’t really embrace the term Intellectual Dark Web themselves, but they did want to keep doing what they were doing.
The term Intellectual Dark Web was a fitting name: it suggested a hidden or taboo venue for expressing and discussing things. A new back-alley commerce of ideas; an intellectual speakeasy. All of the people on this list exploded in popularity and views and book sales. It was a generational adult event.
In an age of information, it often seems the most nutritious information is the stuff that the fewest people want to eat. But that's what is so encouraging about the whole IDW phenomenon: for the first time, I (and millions of others) saw how thirsty people were for serious, clear-headed conversation. We weren’t used to that. We were famished, and now there was hope of being fed. And of feeding each other. People started forums and attended events. People carried these conversations forward among themselves on places like Reddit and Discord.
If you’re American, did you ever stop to really think about the Founding Fathers? Some of them were my age. Some of them were younger than I am. And they started a god damn country. It’s amazing what people are capable of when they spend their time seriously thinking through things.
These podcast philosophers and authors talked at length about social issues, and personal meaning, and science. They pushed back against political excess. They showed people how it felt to engage with tough ideas from first principles, and to form one’s own opinions from the basis of serious values. They got people interested in “reading the classics.” They got people interested in the history of virtue. And for a few years, it was a wonderful influence on people of all ages. I learned more per unit of time in this period than I ever have in my life.
And, despite some of our political misgivings of the whole phenomenon, it seems to have been a tremendous influence on Western thought as a whole.
And then it all kind of just… ended. The Intellectual Dark Web members stopped speaking to each other, and quietly (but noticeably) stopped respecting each other.
Why? How could that happen?
Well, first of all, because relationships change. Things intersect for a while, and then they proceed their own separate ways. That’s natural.
But I think the biggest reason is because they all became cartoon characters.
Over the last few years, almost all of these intellectuals that people had come to love and cherish began displaying ridiculous excesses of their own. Purely for the purpose of illustration, let me give a few examples.
Dave Rubin has become little more than a far-right mouthpiece for political ideas he doesn’t even seem to understand.
Bret Weinstein has shown himself to be a foil-hat conspiracy theorist — the kind of person you’d be embarrassed to be at a dinner party with.
Eric Weinstein, after receiving a platform and public praise, seems to have fallen a little too deeply in love with his own intellect (and speaks almost entirely in riddles).
Jordan Peterson is so full of rage and resentment that you can’t even take him seriously as an intellectual anymore, let alone as someone who tries to teach you how to deal with your own rage and resentment. He makes his nakedly conservative videos for his media platforms, wearing a perpetual scowl, daring somebody to disagree with him.
Sam Harris, although still quite grounded and mostly fair with ideas, is almost incapable of speaking in normal everyday language. Everything that comes out of his mouth simply must be deep and profound and carefully worded — which is a cartoonish excess of its own.
Basically, most of them doubled down on all of their strongest (not best, but strongest) ideas in an attempt to stay relevant. And by doing so, they ensured that they would not stay relevant.
In other words, even these once clear-headed thinkers succumbed to trading their integrity for clicks. Even these brilliant individuals have turned themselves into polarized capitalistic brands and grotesque caricatures of themselves. Which, if we’ll all remember, is pretty much what they were crusading against in the first place.
It’s like when you see one of those street artists who draws caricatures. They have an eye for seeing people’s key recognizable features. And then they exaggerate those features to the point of comedy.
Nobody is immune to the intellectual, emotional, and financial temptations of success. Those who avoid such temptations are the exception, not the rule.
Most everyone is selling something, or ends up selling something eventually, and sadly that includes intellectuals.
Frankly, there are very few people that I trust and respect for more than 5 years. Because there are few successful people who don’t become the cartoon versions of themselves. And that’s okay. I’m not mad at them, I’m just being honest about what’s happening. And, who knows… maybe I’d fall victim to the same traps. I’m no hero.
The point is, I took what I needed from them and moved on. As we probably all should.
Elon Musk, 5 years ago, was The Savior of Mankind. Now he’s an impulsive tech-obsessed meme-jockey who names his extramarital kids with hieroglyphs and sentence fragments. Did he make progress for humanity? Sure, maybe. But I find it pretty unlikely that he’s going to die a beloved father. And in that case, maybe he’s missing the whole point, eh?
Jordan Peterson wrote one of the best books, and gave one of the most meaningful lectures series, that I’ve ever encountered. And I’m grateful to him for that. But… we’ve both changed. That’s in the past. And I’m neither happy nor sad about it. It is what it is.
These people have two things in common: 1) they achieved worldwide success as thinkers, authors, and leaders. And 2) they then became the sharpest, most remorselessly predictable versions of themselves. They doubled down on their excesses rather than sanding away at them. They monetized their strongest positions instead of looking to change or improve them.
Like that old guy we all know who says things like:
“There are two kinds of men in this world: men who fix their own cars, and pussies.”
“Kids these days have it so easy, what the fuck is the point anymore.”
“When I was back in ‘Nam, things were different.”
And as entertaining as these personality types might be, they’re not useful.
The problem isn’t that I disagree with any of these particular thinkers about politics. In fact I really could not care less about left, right, or politics in general. I just don’t care. And it isn’t that I disagreed with them over religion, or science, or anything else.
The problem is that, once these thinkers were no longer really thinking, they were no longer useful to me. Or to any of us.
And it’s the same way with all of the media I consume. And the books I read, and the newsletters and blogs I subscribe to. I love finding a new thinker to dive into, a new author to read and learn about. Getting exposed to a new world-view feels like playing with a new toy. It feels like recreation; it’s exciting. It’s one of the few childlike joys you can encounter as an adult. And I learn what I can as long as it’s useful, and then I stop.
I don’t look at the Intellectual Dark Web as a failed experiment, or a tragedy. I look at it as a temporary phenomenon that was needed at the time and is now more or less over. It did its job — it got people thinking and talking. What more can we ask for?
If your social media feeds look the same as they did 5 years ago, you’re probably not changing your mind enough. And it may be worth asking if the people you follow are the same as they were 5 years ago. Because if they are, they’re probably not changing their minds enough either.
Everyone has their heyday. There are thousands of thinkers, authors, and intellectuals who will be popular or prominent in our lifetimes, for all kinds of different reasons. And, as long as they’re popular, we might as well take the time to learn why they’re making waves.
But it’s okay to put a book down and try something else. And it’s the same with the people you pay attention to.
Drink some water and don’t turn into a cartoon,
JDR
"Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be." - George Carlin
They did not change. They had always been cartoonish characters looking dawn on everybody else and treating stuff they were saying as the one and only "truth". That may impress teenagers, incels and other groups that think they're right and everybody else is a problem (kids-parents, incels-women, boomers-young people, etc) but not any well-read and well-educated person. You just grew up, that's why you are able to tell that they're full of bs.
And Musk is nothing more than a product of a great PR team. The moment he fired them was the moment the world saw his true face. He did not change, he was always like that - another rich kid with inflated ego.
Unfortunately, people these days think that the louder one shouts, the more right he/she is.
Great post! Agree with a lot of your points. Could it be in part that these people are really interesting to you initially because they are new and different? Once the novelty of their views wear off, they become uninteresting to you? Then you look for new perspectives that are once again new and different to you?