#identity

Doug discusses Jay Springett's zine, INTERNET OPERATOR, which explores the concept of identity and how it is co-created with an audience. Jay argues that identity can be understood through the equation Figure + Operator + Audience + Apparatus = The animation of an identity, and that this applies to both human and non-human entities, such as AI personas. Doug reflects on the implications of this idea, including the relationship between our online and offline selves, and the tension between authenticity and the curated personas we present online.

Doug discusses the concept of living an NPC life, where one gives up their autonomy to become a side character in someone else's story. This idea is explored in an article by signalundefied, which Doug references. The article challenges the notion that being an NPC is necessarily a negative experience, offering an alternative perspective.

Precorporation is Mark Fisher's term for how capitalist culture pre-emptively formats and shapes our desires, aspirations, and hopes. The note argues that consumer products offer aesthetics as substitutes for genuine self-change, allowing people to signal nonconformity through purchases rather than challenge the system. It warns that buying a "new self" through objects cannot replace emotional or lifestyle changes.