In what seems like a completely different lifetime, I used to tryhard as a gaming creator for a game called “Paladins” or the cheaper/free version of the original overwatch as many of the OW fanbois used to call it. The intent for the channel was simple, talk about things I found interesting through the vocabulary of games (or more specifically paladins). For example, how does real-life economics work I used ingame cosmetics for paladins to explain it. Talk about game design from a lens of philosophical works (Ship of Theseus) and so on. Of course, I made some scuffed shitposting videos and tryhard with some guides as well but the idea was to teach people something new while they watched it in a gameplay video.

7 years ago or so, I made a video titled “Do Sexualized Champion Designs Provide Any Benefits?” which talked about how having characters with a lot of jiggle physics is a net benefit to humanity because it was based on the idea of Diotimas Ladde (Or ladders of Love) as it’s also known. It became my 2nd most video on the channel but I suspect that probably because I used the word “Sex” in the main title with a pair of gaming boobs in the thumbnail. If you decide to watch the video (Please don't) you can hear a younger and what sounds like a constipated younger Boffin but aside from that, the video turned into this “Evergreen concept” that still gets views to this day.

The "ladder of love" occurs in the text Symposium (c. 385-370 BC) by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It's about a contest at a men's banquet, involving impromptu philosophical speeches in praise of Eros, the Greek god of love and sexual desire. 

Socrates summarized the speeches of five of the guests and then recounted the teachings of a priestess, Diotima. The ladder is a metaphor for the ascent a lover might make from purely physical attraction to something beautiful, as a beautiful body, the lowest rung, to actual contemplation of the Form of Beauty itself.

Here is how the progression goes:

1. Diotima maps out the stages in this ascent in terms of what sort of beautiful thing the lover desires and is drawn toward.

2. A particular beautiful body. This is the starting point, when love, which by definition is a desire for something we don’t have, is first aroused by the sight of individual beauty.

3. All beautiful bodies. According to standard Platonic doctrine, all beautiful bodies share something in common, something the lover eventually comes to recognize. When he does recognize this, he moves beyond a passion for any particular body.

4. Beautiful souls. Next, the lover comes to realize that spiritual and moral beauty matters much more than physical beauty. So he will now yearn for the sort of interaction with noble characters that will help him become a better person.

5. Beautiful laws and institutions. These are created by good people (beautiful souls) and are the conditions which foster moral beauty.

6. The beauty of knowledge. The lover turns his attention to all kinds of knowledge, but particularly, in the end to philosophical understanding. (Although the reason for this turn isn’t stated, it is presumably because philosophical wisdom is what underpins good laws and institutions.)

7. Beauty itself – that is, the Form of the Beautiful. This is described as "an everlasting loveliness which neither comes nor goes, which neither flowers nor fades." It is the very essence of beauty, "subsisting of itself and by itself in an eternal oneness." And every particular beautiful thing is beautiful because of its connection to this Form.  The lover who has ascended the ladder apprehends the Form of Beauty in a kind of vision or revelation, not through words or in the way that other sorts of more ordinary knowledge are known.

Since I published the video lot has happened. I’ve got my finished both my undergrad & master's, went on to have a run a the esports side of things in Paladins (as a coach and travelled the world from games), worked with HiRez on Paladins game balance, had not one but two “proper adult” relationships (with one of them I actually liked), had a short yet productive stunt as a FED for the UK Government, founded & sold a crypto startup and went fulltime in crypto where I’ve roundtripped and been rugged for multiple 7-8 figure bags. You can read all about that here.

You know, the least interesting crypto lore.

However, one thing never changed and that was the pure appreciation for the idea of beauty since I learned about the ladder all those years back it's been a while since I brushed on the topic, and it’s interesting to see how this idea has evolved for me. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I don’t find women hot anymore (Far from it if you follow me on Twitter or look at /observing here on Farcaster). 

I’m reminded of this quote whenever I look at something beautiful. 

“Beautiful things comfort; they bring a real clarity and ease. We have to continue to make our environments beautiful - it's sort of like a prayer. If you surround yourself with beautiful things, you have a better life - one with more oxygen.” (Morticia Addams) 

While I had to google the entire quote (and who it was by), I’ve always remembered: “Surround yourself with beautiful things”. As the kids will say “It hits different” and I would argue that there is a case to be made for adopting this philosophy into your own life.

It’s not just simply this person or this thing is “beautiful”, but the definition of beauty expands as much as you let it. First with songs & different mediums like songs, movies, paintings, and games to the not-so-tangible like emotions or “a particular vibe”. Bonding with kindred spirits who have lost generational wealth & not quitting is beautiful just as much as the fascinating field of nature-inspired engineering to women who dress well and knows what angles, colours and shapes of the garment suit them.

The core idea of /observing is a little tongue-in-cheek in that regard. I post beauty in its simplest concept; Women. Beautiful women to be precise. It doesn’t require any deep thought to know or analyse why they look good, they simply do and our monkey brains like that.

That’s simply the first rung. As everyone's journey through this ladder will be unique, I will keep on casting the first rung to lay out this metaphorical net. The rest of the journey and the effort it requires (Which I will say is 100% worth it) needs to be something that needs to be sought out for beauty's sake is something which you need to explore for yourself. Ideally, We go from observing in the memetic sense of “look at these posts of hot women” to observing things for the sake of beauty itself

I humbly welcome you all to the way of /observing and hopefully, we’ll make an observer out of you