@Darkademic
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About Darkademic

Introduction

Ahoy, I'm Darkademic.

The name is an amalgamation of dark, academic and epidemic.

"Dark" for my sense of humour and aesthetic predilection.

"Academic" for my interest in fields such as philosophy, politics, economics, anthropology and science.

"Epidemic" for my attempts to spread and develop ideas via debate and discussion.

Interests/Skills

I'm a programmer by trade. I primarily develop large-scale web applications but have also dabbled in game development. Over the years I've become very experienced with C#, PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS and SQL and specialise in these languages, while also being familiar with Java, C++, Python and Lua. I also have plenty of experience with graphic/interface design and server/database adminstration.

I've always been interested in philosophy, politics and economics and over the years I've read the works of many prominent thinkers from each of those fields. I've also written a bunch of essays and articles and have spent a disgustingly large amount of time arguing on forums and on Twitter.

Embarrassingly I was a communist from my late teens until my early-mid twenties, and read most (all?) of the works of Marx, Lenin and other Marxist intellectuals. I subsequently spent several years in the early 2000s debating against supporters of capitalism, and after a while I started to realise how horribly wrong I'd been. Eventually, after a lot of reading, debate and reflection, I abandoned my communist beliefs entirely and have since become an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism.

I later found myself arguing against ethno-nationalists and neo-Nazis, so I researched anthropology and human genetics for several years, however my desire to continue these debates largely disappeared by around 2010 due to the near-irrelevance of the type of racism I was challenging (e.g. the belief that racial groups are fundamentally incompatible and should be segregated). Since then, a new and insidious form of racism has emerged which masquerades as anti-racism, whereby white people are declared to be inherently racist due to their alleged position of privilege. But there are so many infuriatingly stupid or evil ideas in the world today, and so many people espousing them, that it's difficult to find the motivation to engage with it anymore.

Finally, gaming has always been a big part of my life, partly due to having a PC from a very young age. I've led an online gaming clan/community called the Dark Reavers since 1999 which has participated in online leagues for C&C: Tiberian Sun, Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2, and has played many other games since, including Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Diablo II, Neverwinter Nights, Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Wildstar, Archeage and Black Desert Online.

On the gaming front I also love modding. I'm a contributor to OpenRA, an open source engine for Command & Conquer games, and more specifically I've spent a lot of time helping out with the Combined Arms mod. I also created a mod for Sins of a Solar empire (the Dark Reavers mod) which adds an entirely new faction, based on my eponymous gaming clan, to the game. I've modded other games to varying lesser degress; if a game I like can be modded, usually I'll try to mod it.

Other Info

Location United Kingdom
Fav. Colour #4C119D
Political Stance Minarchist / laissez-faire capitalist
Fav. Films DuneGhostbustersGhostbusters IIGroundhog DayRing 0The Ring (Japanese and American)Ring 2 (Japanese)Star Wars (the original trilogy)The GooniesAmerican BeautyHome AloneHome Alone 2RobocopRobocop 2The MistEvent HorizonV for VendettaTerminatorTerminator 2Dark Water (Japanese)Twelve MonkeysSpaceballsThe Grudge (Japanese)The DescentThe Truman ShowVanilla SkyBack to the Future TrilogyMementoIndiana Jones TrilogyRobin Hood Men In TightsTotal RecallAmerican History XDemolition ManRed HeatThe Running ManTwelve MonkeysStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VIII: First ContactStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek II: The Wrath of KhanTrue LiesNapoleon DynamiteDogmaThe Butterfly EffectMississippi BurningThe GameThe Blair Witch ProjectThe DepartedMonty Python's Life of BrianDie Hard with a VengeanceThe ThingSnatchPulp FictionKill BillOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestFight ClubOne Missed Call (Japanese)StargateBrazilA Clockwork OrangeWatchmenThe Shawshank RedemptionChildren of MenThe Manchurian CandidateLeonAustin Powers TrilogyEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindCongoEquilibriumHookLabyrinthMrs DoubtfireLiar LiarFalling DownJohn Wick Trilogy
Fav. TV Shows Brass EyeStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: Deep Space 9Star Trek: VoyagerThe X-FilesPenn & Teller's Bullshit!DexterStargate SG-1Stargate AtlantisStargate: UniverseThe ExpanseHouse of CardsWire in the BloodGame of ThronesThe Day TodayThat Mitchell and Webb LookBattlestar GalacticaFargoFuturamaThe I.T. CrowdChernobylGarth Marenghi's Dark PlaceBig TrainThe Peter Serafinowicz ShowPeep ShowJamHustleFlight of the ConchordsQIThe OfficeBrooklyn 99ScrubsKnightmareLook Around YouSouth ParkBoy Meets WorldSpacedTwo Guys and a GirlFriendsDinosaursOnly Fools and HorsesDarkwing DuckSlidersSaved by the BellDexter's LabThe SimpsonsWould I Lie To You?The SopranosBreaking BadBlack MirrorStranger ThingsWestworldHotel BabylonThe OrvilleSherlockThe StrainDesignated SurvivorMy Wife and KidsSpongebob SquarepantsThe Haunting of Hill HouseThe Haunting of Bly ManorCriminal MindsNCISParks and Recreation
Fav. Bands/Artists Cypress HillPsycho RealmMetallicaThe Wu-Tang ClanSiaBraintaxXZibitНТЛQueenGravediggazDilated PeoplesZero 7RöyksoppMassive AttackSneaker PimpsGorillazMobb DeepEminemLinkin ParkDelinquent HabitsOttBoards of CanadaTrickyTech N9nePortisheadJurassic 5David BowiePink FloydThe WhoThe Chemical BrothersCyndi LauperMichael JacksonJohnny CashGrimesSantigoldGarbage
Fav. Philosophers Ayn Rand, Aristotle, Sun Tzu
Fav. Drink Yorkshire Tea with milk and half a sugar
Fav. Comedians Chris MorrisPeter SerafinowiczDavid MitchellStewart LeeRobert WebbRicky GervaisBill BaileyThe Two RonniesMark HeapSteve CooganPaul MertonGeorge CarlinBill BurrJim CarreyNatalie Tran
Fav. Actors Brad DourifBill MurrayPatrick StewartDavid WarnerJeff GoldblumJoe PesciBruce WillisSean ConneryKevin SpaceyRobin WrightNatalie MendozaEdward NortonBrad PittAnthony HopkinsHugh LaurieTim CurryBrian CoxJim CarreyJohn Rhys-DaviesHarrison FordSigourney WeaverChristopher LeeDustin HoffmanMichael CaineArnold SchwarzeneggerMichael J FoxChristopher WalkenMax von SydowLinda Hamilton
Fav. PC Games C&C Tiberian DawnC&C Red AlertC&C 3: Tiberium WarsBaldur's Gate IIWorld of WarcraftDiablo IIGuild Wars 2Guild WarsSins of a Solar EmpireDuneDune IIStarcraftLeague of LegendsStarcraft IINeverwinter NightsTeam Fortress 2Counter-Strike: SourceTeam Fortress ClassicHalf-LifeHalf-Life 2Civilization IVOne Must FallMortal Kombat IIX-WingCivilizationTraffic Department 2192FreespaceFreespace 2DoomQuake IIUltima Underworld IISettlers IIPrince of PersiaSeven KingdomsHeroes of Might & Magic IIIAge of EmpiresLords of the RealmC-DogsCommander KeenBattlefield: Bad Company 2PlanetSide 2ZMagic CarpetTheme ParkRollerCoaster TycoonSpace Quest IIPath of ExileCenturion Defender of RomeQuake III ArenaTerminator 2029Premier Manager 3Desert StrikeWing CommanderWargasmWarGamesRise of Nations
Fav. Books DuneObjectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn RandAtlas ShruggedSun Tzu: The Art of WarCapitalism: The Unknown IdealThe Virtue of SelfishnessHuman ActionSocialism: An Economic and Sociological AnalysisRace and CultureAtheism: The Case Against GodThe God DelusionGod is not GreatRevisiting Race in a Genomic AgeSocialism: The Failed Idea That Never DiesFree Market Revolution
Religion Atheist
Biggest Dislikes Socialism, racism, religion, nationalism, liars, pretentiousness, mouth ulcers, headaches
Fav. Languages Russian, English, Mandarin, Cantonese
Fav. Composers TchaikovskyDvorakShostakovichBrahmsBeethovenHandelJohn WilliamsFrank KlepackiJeremy SouleRussell BrowerJason Hayes
Programming Ability C#, PHP, SQL, HTML/CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, C++, Python, Lua, ActionScript, ColdFusion