Written In Cantor Dust

The writings and other creations of Rudy Cantor

...I'm lost. What does any of this mean?

A dim light shines through the windows as dusk falls. You run your thumb over the raised text of the shelf labels as you wipe the dust away.

Queer Terminology

Asexuality: Lack of sexual attraction to others. If you have no idea what sexual attraction is even really supposed to be, there's a good chance this might apply to you. For good or ill, the asexual community's main advocacy group has been the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, or AVEN, for almost two decades. Not to be confused with aromanticism.
Aromanticism: Lack of romantic attraction to others. If you have no idea what romantic attraction is even really supposed to be, or you've never encountered a definition of "romance" that makes sense to you, there's a good chance this might apply to you. See the Aromantic Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy, or AUREA, for more information. Not to be confused with asexuality.
Nonbinary: Any gender identity (or lack thereof) that doesn't fall strictly and solely into one of the two binary genders of male or female. There are countless different ways this can manifest, from genderlessness to third-genderedness to neutral gender to nonhuman genders to identification bearing no resemblance to any "normal" concept of gender at all, far too many to attempt to link a source for here. Not to be confused with intersex conditions, which pertain to physical characteristics rather than internal identities, but some intersex individuals also identify as nonbinary as well.
Kenochoric: A category of genders very broadly characterized as being rooted in concepts of liminality, eerieness, mystery, and ineffably adjacent things. The definition has meant many different things to many different people over the years, and ultimately was left in this state by the original coiner.
Cantorgender: A gender identity characterized by its composition from infinitely many other, smaller micro-identities, none of which are inherently linked to each other or in any hierarchy of influence over the presentation of the whole, but rather immutable and innate components of the larger gender gestalt with which the user identifies. From a broader perspective, it can appear very similar to being agender, but don't be fooled--it is both vast and infinitesimal at once.

Alterhumanity

Alterhumanity: An umbrella term for all experiences outside the "normal" human standard concept of identity, including but not limited to therianthropy, otherkinity, otherheartedness, otherlinks, copinglinks, archetropy, nonhumanity, and plurality, depending on who you're asking. The Otherkin Wiki has outlined the etymology and history.
Archetropy: Identification as an embodiment of a narrative archetype or trope that is fundamental to one's sense of self. A further overview can be found on the Otherkin Wiki, and Allium House runs a webring of personal sites by users in the community.
Conceptkin: Identification as an embodiment of an abstract nonphysical concept. Could arguably be interpreted as a subset of objectkin, specifically referring to intangible objects. No source at the present time because the wiki page has apparently been consumed by the void.
Voidpunk: The deliberate rejection of notions of humanity as equivalent to existential worth or validity of being, a reclamation of the experience of being dehumanized and othered on the basis of traits such as race, disability, neurotype, and/or queerness. First formally described by Tumblr user arotaro.
Novashard: A term of my own invention for the specific sort of sentient exploded star fragment I appear to be. (Coining essay forthcoming, to be linked here when it exists)
Median: Also known as "midcontinuum", which is perhaps a more descriptive term, as this refers to the middle of the spectrum between existing solely as one single person in one single body and multiple completely distinct people all sharing the same brain. I've often described it as "there are several of me, but they're all still me". A somewhat less well-documented area of plurality, and all the different plurality info sites seem to be perpetually embroiled in conflicts intricate and esoteric enough to make pre-WWI Europe blush, so there's no source here as of right now. If we ever write something about it ourself, it'll go here.
Alterreality: The practice of engaging with one's own subjective experience of the world in a way that differs from consensus reality. Bears similarities to immersive daydreaming and the concept of kayfabe in professional wrestling, among other similar concepts. The coiner, Wonderlight, runs an informational page.

Spirituality & The Occult

Witchcraft: Not to be confused with Wicca. An incredibly broad umbrella term for nearly anything that could conceivably be called "magic" from a Western standpoint, including (but by no means limited to) divination, energy work, astral travel, spirit work, nature worship, spellcasting, and far more besides, though what most people think of upon hearing the term is usually categorized as traditional witchcraft (tradcraft for short) or folk magic--not necessarily equivalent categories, as tradcraft is generally taken to apply more to Western European strains of practice, while folk magic is much broader from a geographical and cultural standpoint. There are no sources listed here because it's really more of a collection of sometimes-adjacent topics that could each easily merit a section of their own.
Kemeticism: The modern reconstruction and revival of ancient Egyptian belief systems ("ancient" here meaning from the predynastic era through the end of the Ptolemies), focused on the concept of ma'at (truth, balance, and the natural order of the universe) and the worship of a plethora of deities collectively known as the Netjeru (many of whom may sound a bit familiar). Kemetic Reform is a community we've had good experiences in, and The Twisted Rope and Satsekhem have a good assortment of beginners resources if memory serves. Additional recommendations are Red Land, Black Land (Barbara Metz) for history of the common people, the History Of Egypt Podcast (Dominic Perry) for a thorough exploration of quite literally the entire historical period, Eternal Egypt (Richard Reidy) for in-depth rituals, and Temple of the Cosmos (Jeremy Nadler) for deeper dives into theology.
Wicca: Not to be confused with witchcraft. A religion based on the early/mid-20th century effort led by Gerald Gardner, Raymond Buckland, and Alex Sanders (among others) to reconstruct a predominantly Western European pre-Christian religion that may or may not have ever actually existed (evidence currently points to the latter), originally influenced heavily by the 30s-50s ceremonial magic zeitgeist typified by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and later intertwined with the New Age spiritual movements of the 60s-90s. Common criticisms include its tendency toward cultural appropriation, misrepresentation of historical and archaeological evidence, and cisheteronormative binarist essentialist views of gender, all of which have led to various splits between different sects and strains of tradition. The text I learned from was The Witches' Bible (Janet and Stewart Farrar), along with Buckland's Complete Guide To Witchcraft, but both of these are incredibly dated and I have yet to find any sources that truly address the aforementioned issues with the faith to my satisfaction. I've been planning an essay breaking down my issues with Wicca in further detail for quite some time, but have yet to tackle it.
Pop culture paganism: Religious belief in philosophies and/or worship of entities originally described in fiction--Tolkien and Lovecraft are popular sources, as are newer media like Skyrim and Warframe.
Conpantheon: Constructed pantheon, a tradition or system of divinity revolving around otherwise unrecorded or unknown entities, or nonstandard interpretations of existing ones. Can often overlap with animism, pop culture paganism, and other individualized or "niche" religious frameworks.
The Void and the Vastness: A homebrewed, conpantheon-esque, UPG-based faith of sorts, based on the shared experiences and philosophies of my dear friend Rowan and myself. We're both in the process of documenting what we have and building it into something vaguely comprehensible. When we do, the link to those pages will go here.

Allusions, Foundational Works, & Context

Subject to expansion as more become relevant.

David Bowie: An iconic and prolific musician whose half-century career brings to mind perhaps nothing so much as the nautilus--a succession of ever-compounding artistic eras, each informed by the sum total of all that came before it, spanning countless genres and aesthetics and philosophies. Commonly suspected to have been one of the forces holding this timeline together, as evidenced by his departure in 2016 immediately preceding the period of time in which it's generally agreed that the world started going well and truly to hell in the proverbial handbasket. I've contemplated for years the notion of building a religion wholecloth from the holy text of his oeuvre.
Carl Sagan: Quite possibly one of the most eloquent scientists and science communicators of the modern era. Most well-known for the book and TV documentary series Cosmos (later revisited by his former student Neil deGrasse Tyson) and his work on the Golden Record that was sent into space with the Voyager 1 probe as a record of humanity for any extraterrestrial civilizations that might find it. (It's still out there.)
HP Lovecraft: Regrettably, generally held to be the father of cosmic horror as a genre. The most relevant works of his alluded to on this site include The Dreamquest Of Unknown Kadath and Through The Gates Of The Silver Key, among others. An inordinate amount of ink has been spilled regarding the man as both a visionary author and a flaming bigot whose prejudices were deeply foundational to his works, but I've thrown my own views onto the pile anyway here.
The Magnus Archives: (Jonathan Sims, Alexander J. Newall) The Magnus Archives is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Non-Commercial 4.0 International license. It is also a horror anthology that is both directly and indirectly responsible for a probably concerning amount of my psychological development, spiritual views, personal identities, and strongest friendships.
17776: (Jon Bois) I've often described this as "one of the most comforting existential crises I've ever had", and I still stand by that assessment in the best way. Neither understanding nor appreciation of American football is necessary for enjoyment. Find the story in its original form here (do be mindful of the drastic interface change at the very beginning).
A Remembrance Of Earth's Past: (Cixin Liu) Nietzsche once said that books are "the axe for the frozen sea inside us". I'm not sure exactly what lies beneath the ice that was shattered by this beautiful, surreal, meditative, mind-bending cataclysm, but I know there's quite a lot of it, and that I'll be processing its ramifications for years and years to come. Many thanks to Hayerim for existing, and also recommending this.
Pale Fire: (Vladimir Nabokov) Certain works find their way into your life, and then sit patiently on your bookshelf for many years, waiting until just the right time to introduce themselves for real. This sumptuously baroque riddle-in-a-story-in-a-poem-in-a-story is one of them. Many thanks to Evelyn for existing, and also recommending this.

Science & Mathematics

Subject to expansion as more become relevant.

Discrete vs. analog:
The Cantor set:

Miscellaneous Reference Works, Compendia, & How-Tos

The Ashley Book of Knots: A favorite of mine ever since childhood, and finally in the public domain. Necessary if you're the sort of person with strong feelings about knot tying, which I am.
FutureLab Wiki: Run by a friend, with contributions from across a shared Discord community. Has a little bit of everything, and always adding more. Firmly rooted in the solarpunk ethos, and geared towards all the various facets thereof.
Free patterns:
- Knitting:
  - Ravelry: Arguably the biggest source of patterns on the internet. Not all of them are free, but you can filter for them easily, and the advanced search mechanics are truly formidable. If you look hard enough, some of them might even sound a bit familiar...(I'll link to my own patterns on there once I've finished transcribing them, ideally sometime between now and the heat death of the universe.)
  - Knitting Pattern Central: I've been relying on this (and its sister crochet site) for projects for going on 15 years by now. The organization leaves a bit to be desired, and there might be the odd broken or miscategorized link, but in my opinion, it's indispensable.
- Crochet:
  - Crochet Pattern Central: I've been relying on this (and its sister knitting site) for projects for going on 15 years by now. The organization leaves a bit to be desired, and there might be the odd broken or miscategorized link, but in my opinion, it's indispensable.
  - Ravelry: Arguably the biggest source of patterns on the internet. Not all of them are free, but you can filter for them easily, and the advanced search mechanics are truly formidable. If you look hard enough, some of them might even sound a bit familiar...(I'll link to my own patterns on there once I've finished transcribing them, ideally sometime between now and the heat death of the universe.)
  - Free Vintage Crochet: Excellent for patterns from bygone eras, often in the public domain. Some may take a bit of work to track down, but very worthwhile--I've gotten some beautiful doilies out of it.
- Other:
  - Free Vintage Tatting: For when you need a different method of creating absurdly intricate bits of lace to soothe your soul.

Preferred Software

Linux:
- Distributions:
  - Gentoo: Our daily driver for the better part of a decade. Not the most user-friendly distribution in the world, and the learning curve bears a striking resemblance to the Appalachians (i.e. mountainous, ancient, incredibly long, fantastically varied, and won't hesitate to devour you if you don't respect it), but it can be configured to be minimal enough to run on basically any hardware, and for good and ill, it's a large part of what made this website's brain the way it is.
  - Arch: Current personal distro of choice. It shares many of the same design and moral philosophies as Gentoo, but tends to be a bit more manageable, widely supported, and intuitive. Surprisingly, not as elitist as you've heard, they've mellowed out considerably since debuting in the mid-2010s.
  - Linux From Scratch (LFS): The goal once Arch wears out its welcome for us personally. Does what it says on the tin--compile every inch of the OS yourself, only include exactly what you want it to in exactly the way you want, a bit like Gentoo for overachievers. Couldn't quite get it to work the first time around, but someday...
- Software:
  - Fluxbox: Current window manager. Very bare-bones, but very customizable, useful if you want to make your computer look and function like the inside of your brain without having to dedicate a ton of computing power to it.
  - vim: You'll never need to move your hands while editing text again. Or doing anything else on the computer, if desired, because if there is a program with more than a few thousand users, someone has probably written something to add Vim-style navigation to it. I would know.
LaTeX: This is what makes all those physics papers and math textbooks look like they do. It also typesets any other kind of document you can dream of, and a few that you can't, or at least shouldn't for the sake of your sanity. I've used it for academic writing, personal notes, knitting patterns, astrological charts, and probably others I'm forgetting.
Joplin: Our current repository for writing, brainstorming, concept dumps, that which man does not know, and that which man dare not know. Customizable, can be synced even if you're not willing to pay (albeit through external sources), it's a bit like what Evernote used to be back in the good old days before the Great Enshittification.
Browser addons: (All of these are used by me on Firefox, but should be available for other extension-supporting browsers as well--if not the exact same thing, then a close equivalent)
- uBlock Origin: Making the internet usable again, since 2014. Other prominent adblockers have come and gone, but this is the only one I'm aware of that's been not only effective, but able to be depended upon to not cave to pressure from advertisers, unlike certain...others.
- Ghostery: "But Rudy," you say, "why would I need another adblocker when I already have uBlock Origin?" Because this one also has other functionalities, like blocking trackers, getting rid of useless social integration widgets, keeping you from being redirected to advertisers automatically, and more.
- Dark Reader: As a creature of the endless abyss of space who spends all xyr time posting from the shadows, I greatly dislike the tendency for the default web experience to be retina-searing white. I've gone through several dark mode addons over the years, and settled on this one for how reliably it avoids making everything illegible or otherwise weird-looking.
- Tridactyl: I'm sorry, did you think I was joking when I said I use Vim keybindings for everything?
Web development resources:
- Mozilla Developers Network: If anything on this humble site works, it's because of MDN. HTML, CSS, Java, all of it. I promise you, MDN is your friend.
- W3schools: Anything on this site that I didn't learn from MDN came from here. They also have more languages (PHP, etc.) and incredibly helpful tools like HTML color references.

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