Laird
@lairdlynch.bsky.social
Author, Philosopher & Coach | Founder of Moral Bandwidth Theory | Exploring Psychology & Resilience
The video shows the ICE agent
sidestepping the vehicle.
The President of the United States
said the agent was “violently run over.”
A demonstrably false claim
used to justify lethal state force —
after the video is public.
This seems like impeachable conduct.
sidestepping the vehicle.
The President of the United States
said the agent was “violently run over.”
A demonstrably false claim
used to justify lethal state force —
after the video is public.
This seems like impeachable conduct.
January 8, 2026 at 5:50 AM
The video shows the ICE agent
sidestepping the vehicle.
The President of the United States
said the agent was “violently run over.”
A demonstrably false claim
used to justify lethal state force —
after the video is public.
This seems like impeachable conduct.
sidestepping the vehicle.
The President of the United States
said the agent was “violently run over.”
A demonstrably false claim
used to justify lethal state force —
after the video is public.
This seems like impeachable conduct.
Seneca advised us to “count each day as a separate life.”
That works—if time stays connected.
ADHD reveals what philosophy often takes for granted: continuity across yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/how-adhd-r...
That works—if time stays connected.
ADHD reveals what philosophy often takes for granted: continuity across yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/how-adhd-r...
How ADHD Reveals What Seneca Took for Granted
Time Blindness, Stoic Regulation, and the Problem of Continuity
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Seneca advised us to “count each day as a separate life.”
That works—if time stays connected.
ADHD reveals what philosophy often takes for granted: continuity across yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/how-adhd-r...
That works—if time stays connected.
ADHD reveals what philosophy often takes for granted: continuity across yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/how-adhd-r...
The U.S. military action in Venezuela crossed a threshold.
Sovereignty is no longer treated as absolute under strategic pressure.
What followed wasn’t outrage.
It is recalibration.
Preparation isn’t pessimism.
It’s responsibility under uncertainty.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/the-world-...
Sovereignty is no longer treated as absolute under strategic pressure.
What followed wasn’t outrage.
It is recalibration.
Preparation isn’t pessimism.
It’s responsibility under uncertainty.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/the-world-...
The World Is on Notice — Quietly
On Venezuela, Sovereignty, and Strategic Preparation
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:50 PM
The U.S. military action in Venezuela crossed a threshold.
Sovereignty is no longer treated as absolute under strategic pressure.
What followed wasn’t outrage.
It is recalibration.
Preparation isn’t pessimism.
It’s responsibility under uncertainty.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/the-world-...
Sovereignty is no longer treated as absolute under strategic pressure.
What followed wasn’t outrage.
It is recalibration.
Preparation isn’t pessimism.
It’s responsibility under uncertainty.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/the-world-...
Games can do philosophy surprisingly well — because you don’t just observe moral conflict, you inhabit it.
This piece looks at atonement and responsibility through the story of Baldur’s Gate 3:
Not forgiveness. Not absolution.
A threshold.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
This piece looks at atonement and responsibility through the story of Baldur’s Gate 3:
Not forgiveness. Not absolution.
A threshold.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
Modern Virtues: Atonement After Constraint
Baldur's Gate 3
substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Games can do philosophy surprisingly well — because you don’t just observe moral conflict, you inhabit it.
This piece looks at atonement and responsibility through the story of Baldur’s Gate 3:
Not forgiveness. Not absolution.
A threshold.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
This piece looks at atonement and responsibility through the story of Baldur’s Gate 3:
Not forgiveness. Not absolution.
A threshold.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
“Knowing better” isn’t the same as “being able to do better.”
ADHD makes that gap impossible to ignore.
It’s not about intelligence. It’s about access.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
ADHD makes that gap impossible to ignore.
It’s not about intelligence. It’s about access.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
Knowing Better Isn’t the Same as Being Able to Do Better
Why intelligence and executive function diverge in ADHD
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
“Knowing better” isn’t the same as “being able to do better.”
ADHD makes that gap impossible to ignore.
It’s not about intelligence. It’s about access.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
ADHD makes that gap impossible to ignore.
It’s not about intelligence. It’s about access.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
When your bandwidth widens to include animals, the moral terrain shifts.
Neutrality stops being neutral.
If survival no longer requires taking animal life, what principle lets us ignore their suffering?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Neutrality stops being neutral.
If survival no longer requires taking animal life, what principle lets us ignore their suffering?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Let’s Have a Debate: What Happens When Your Bandwidth Expands to Include Animals?
Two things collided for me recently, and together they forced a question I can’t ignore.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
When your bandwidth widens to include animals, the moral terrain shifts.
Neutrality stops being neutral.
If survival no longer requires taking animal life, what principle lets us ignore their suffering?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Neutrality stops being neutral.
If survival no longer requires taking animal life, what principle lets us ignore their suffering?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Comparison is unavoidable. It’s built into how humans understand themselves.
When bandwidth collapses, comparison becomes self-judgment.
When bandwidth is wide, comparison becomes information: direction, clarity, and a map of what’s possible.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/comparison...
When bandwidth collapses, comparison becomes self-judgment.
When bandwidth is wide, comparison becomes information: direction, clarity, and a map of what’s possible.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/comparison...
Comparison Is Not the Enemy — Losing Proportion Is
There’s a well-intentioned idea you hear everywhere:
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Comparison is unavoidable. It’s built into how humans understand themselves.
When bandwidth collapses, comparison becomes self-judgment.
When bandwidth is wide, comparison becomes information: direction, clarity, and a map of what’s possible.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/comparison...
When bandwidth collapses, comparison becomes self-judgment.
When bandwidth is wide, comparison becomes information: direction, clarity, and a map of what’s possible.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/comparison...
Joe Rogan’s legacy may end up being the acceleration of global misinformation — a consequence that now overshadows the format he popularized.
December 7, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Joe Rogan’s legacy may end up being the acceleration of global misinformation — a consequence that now overshadows the format he popularized.
Canada’s entry into the EU’s €150B SAFE defence initiative is more than a procurement story.
It reflects a deeper shift in how democracies are clustering around stability, legality, and long-horizon governance.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/coherence-...
It reflects a deeper shift in how democracies are clustering around stability, legality, and long-horizon governance.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/coherence-...
Coherence Is Reorganizing Globally
Why Canada Just Quietly Became More Important Than Anyone Noticed
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Canada’s entry into the EU’s €150B SAFE defence initiative is more than a procurement story.
It reflects a deeper shift in how democracies are clustering around stability, legality, and long-horizon governance.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/coherence-...
It reflects a deeper shift in how democracies are clustering around stability, legality, and long-horizon governance.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/coherence-...
Why do some people hold uncertainty with curiosity,
while others rush to shut the box?
Turns out the cat isn’t the experiment — we are.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
while others rush to shut the box?
Turns out the cat isn’t the experiment — we are.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
Schrödinger’s Cat and the Bandwidth of Uncertainty
What a quantum cat can teach us about moral and cognitive collapse
substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Why do some people hold uncertainty with curiosity,
while others rush to shut the box?
Turns out the cat isn’t the experiment — we are.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
while others rush to shut the box?
Turns out the cat isn’t the experiment — we are.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
The Evolution of Consciousness — From Fragility to Coherence.
This one’s meant to be read slowly. It reframes evolution, consciousness, awe, AI, and responsibility into one continuous arc.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
This one’s meant to be read slowly. It reframes evolution, consciousness, awe, AI, and responsibility into one continuous arc.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
The Evolution of Consciousness
From Fragility to Coherence — The Universe Awakening to Itself
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The Evolution of Consciousness — From Fragility to Coherence.
This one’s meant to be read slowly. It reframes evolution, consciousness, awe, AI, and responsibility into one continuous arc.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
This one’s meant to be read slowly. It reframes evolution, consciousness, awe, AI, and responsibility into one continuous arc.
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
Star Trek wasn’t utopian because conflict disappeared.
It was utopian because people stayed coherent inside the conflict.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
It was utopian because people stayed coherent inside the conflict.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
Modern Virtues: To Boldly Go Where No Stoic Has Gone Before
How Star Trek’s ideals map onto Moral Bandwidth Theory
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Star Trek wasn’t utopian because conflict disappeared.
It was utopian because people stayed coherent inside the conflict.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
It was utopian because people stayed coherent inside the conflict.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
“Every human being is capable of value-creation
once their bandwidth is scaffolded back into coherence.
Creation is not the monopoly of the few.
It is the inheritance of the regulated.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
once their bandwidth is scaffolded back into coherence.
Creation is not the monopoly of the few.
It is the inheritance of the regulated.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
Nietzsche vs. Moral Bandwidth Theory (Part II): Building the Bridge
From Myth to Mechanism — Reconstructing Strength, Meaning, and Freedom
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 AM
“Every human being is capable of value-creation
once their bandwidth is scaffolded back into coherence.
Creation is not the monopoly of the few.
It is the inheritance of the regulated.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
once their bandwidth is scaffolded back into coherence.
Creation is not the monopoly of the few.
It is the inheritance of the regulated.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
Part II of Nietzsche vs. MBT is out today.
It opens with a simple truth:
“Strength is never solitary. It is always scaffolded.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
It opens with a simple truth:
“Strength is never solitary. It is always scaffolded.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
Nietzsche vs. Moral Bandwidth Theory (Part II): Building the Bridge
From Myth to Mechanism — Reconstructing Strength, Meaning, and Freedom
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Part II of Nietzsche vs. MBT is out today.
It opens with a simple truth:
“Strength is never solitary. It is always scaffolded.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
It opens with a simple truth:
“Strength is never solitary. It is always scaffolded.”
open.substack.com/pub/moralban...
“What It’s Worth” captured that moment in the 60s — and the pattern is showing up again now.
New Modern Virtues piece: how communities see together, move together, and recalibrate institutions.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
New Modern Virtues piece: how communities see together, move together, and recalibrate institutions.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
Modern Virtues: Stop. What’s That Sound?
Buffalo Springfield: For What It’s Worth
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“What It’s Worth” captured that moment in the 60s — and the pattern is showing up again now.
New Modern Virtues piece: how communities see together, move together, and recalibrate institutions.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
New Modern Virtues piece: how communities see together, move together, and recalibrate institutions.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-vir...
Porosity to reality is a virtue.
We don’t reject truth — we filter it.
We let in what confirms us and armour against what doesn’t.
But clarity only emerges when we allow reality to pass through without distortion.
Not to overwhelm us, not to defeat us — but to widen our understanding.
We don’t reject truth — we filter it.
We let in what confirms us and armour against what doesn’t.
But clarity only emerges when we allow reality to pass through without distortion.
Not to overwhelm us, not to defeat us — but to widen our understanding.
November 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Porosity to reality is a virtue.
We don’t reject truth — we filter it.
We let in what confirms us and armour against what doesn’t.
But clarity only emerges when we allow reality to pass through without distortion.
Not to overwhelm us, not to defeat us — but to widen our understanding.
We don’t reject truth — we filter it.
We let in what confirms us and armour against what doesn’t.
But clarity only emerges when we allow reality to pass through without distortion.
Not to overwhelm us, not to defeat us — but to widen our understanding.
Nietzsche exposed the fracture — the gap between belief and lived life.
What he didn’t give us was recovery.
That’s where MBT begins: physiology, bandwidth, coherence.
If he opened the abyss, MBT asks: how do we build a bridge inside it?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/nietzsche-...
What he didn’t give us was recovery.
That’s where MBT begins: physiology, bandwidth, coherence.
If he opened the abyss, MBT asks: how do we build a bridge inside it?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/nietzsche-...
Nietzsche vs. Moral Bandwidth Theory (Part I): Clearing the Ground
From Collapse to Connection — Nietzsche’s Demolition and MBT’s Foundations
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Nietzsche exposed the fracture — the gap between belief and lived life.
What he didn’t give us was recovery.
That’s where MBT begins: physiology, bandwidth, coherence.
If he opened the abyss, MBT asks: how do we build a bridge inside it?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/nietzsche-...
What he didn’t give us was recovery.
That’s where MBT begins: physiology, bandwidth, coherence.
If he opened the abyss, MBT asks: how do we build a bridge inside it?
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/nietzsche-...
Most poor decisions aren’t born of intent — they’re born of collapse.
When pressure rises, bandwidth narrows.
Reasoning fractures, empathy fades.
Coherence is what lets us choose well — even when the pressure mounts.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/knowing-yo...
When pressure rises, bandwidth narrows.
Reasoning fractures, empathy fades.
Coherence is what lets us choose well — even when the pressure mounts.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/knowing-yo...
Knowing Your Own Collapse: How Self-Awareness Helps You Handle Emotional Triggers
Bandwidth doesn’t break at random — it narrows in predictable ways. Map yours, and you’ll see others with new clarity.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Most poor decisions aren’t born of intent — they’re born of collapse.
When pressure rises, bandwidth narrows.
Reasoning fractures, empathy fades.
Coherence is what lets us choose well — even when the pressure mounts.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/knowing-yo...
When pressure rises, bandwidth narrows.
Reasoning fractures, empathy fades.
Coherence is what lets us choose well — even when the pressure mounts.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/knowing-yo...
The same forces that steady a person also steady civilizations.
When they fracture, the pattern repeats:
defensiveness → ideology
fatigue → apathy
clarity → noise
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part 6 how coherence rises, calcifies, collapses, and renews.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part 6 how coherence rises, calcifies, collapses, and renews.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part VI: Civilizational Bandwidth
How Empires Rise, Calcify, and Collapse
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:23 PM
The same forces that steady a person also steady civilizations.
When they fracture, the pattern repeats:
defensiveness → ideology
fatigue → apathy
clarity → noise
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part 6 how coherence rises, calcifies, collapses, and renews.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part 6 how coherence rises, calcifies, collapses, and renews.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Every profession reveals what a civilization values most.
Few reveal it more clearly than law.
If justice is blind, why is your defence proportional to income?
Law was meant to metabolize conflict into fairness — not wealth.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Few reveal it more clearly than law.
If justice is blind, why is your defence proportional to income?
Law was meant to metabolize conflict into fairness — not wealth.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Let’s Have a Debate
(A question from a non-academic philosopher)
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Every profession reveals what a civilization values most.
Few reveal it more clearly than law.
If justice is blind, why is your defence proportional to income?
Law was meant to metabolize conflict into fairness — not wealth.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Few reveal it more clearly than law.
If justice is blind, why is your defence proportional to income?
Law was meant to metabolize conflict into fairness — not wealth.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/lets-have-...
Every civilization is a nervous system system learning to stay coherent
Perception lives in data, media, science, and art — how we see.
Emotion flows through culture, outrage, and empathy — how we feel.
Reason shapes law and policy — how we decide.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Perception lives in data, media, science, and art — how we see.
Emotion flows through culture, outrage, and empathy — how we feel.
Reason shapes law and policy — how we decide.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Bandwidth Across Scales (Part V): Societal Bandwidth
Institutions, Trust, and the Risk of Calcification
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Every civilization is a nervous system system learning to stay coherent
Perception lives in data, media, science, and art — how we see.
Emotion flows through culture, outrage, and empathy — how we feel.
Reason shapes law and policy — how we decide.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
Perception lives in data, media, science, and art — how we see.
Emotion flows through culture, outrage, and empathy — how we feel.
Reason shapes law and policy — how we decide.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/bandwidth-...
What can a single movie scene teach us about human nature?
Sometimes it shows how peace isn’t submission, but clarity under threat.
True Romance’s “Sicilian Eggplant Scene” does exactly that.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-virtues-peace?r=6a4d0h
Sometimes it shows how peace isn’t submission, but clarity under threat.
True Romance’s “Sicilian Eggplant Scene” does exactly that.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-virtues-peace?r=6a4d0h
Modern Virtues: Peace
The Sicilian Eggplant Scene — True Romance
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:04 PM
What can a single movie scene teach us about human nature?
Sometimes it shows how peace isn’t submission, but clarity under threat.
True Romance’s “Sicilian Eggplant Scene” does exactly that.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-virtues-peace?r=6a4d0h
Sometimes it shows how peace isn’t submission, but clarity under threat.
True Romance’s “Sicilian Eggplant Scene” does exactly that.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/modern-virtues-peace?r=6a4d0h
Most people don’t fear being wrong — they fear what being wrong means about them.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
Moral Bandwidth Theory (@moralbandwidththeory)
Porosity to Reality
Porosity to reality is our openness to what’s true — even when it challenges who we think we are. When we’re in a state with the capacity to stay open, reality passes through clea...
substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Most people don’t fear being wrong — they fear what being wrong means about them.
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
substack.com/@moralbandwi...
Emotion isn’t weakness.
It’s data from the system.
Anger marks a boundary crossed. Guilt shows a value out of alignment. Shame warns when identity and reality collide.
Interpret emotion before it hardens into judgment — that’s how clarity returns.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/when-emoti...
Anger marks a boundary crossed. Guilt shows a value out of alignment. Shame warns when identity and reality collide.
Interpret emotion before it hardens into judgment — that’s how clarity returns.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/when-emoti...
When Emotion Becomes a Teacher
How MBT Turns Emotion into Clarity
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Emotion isn’t weakness.
It’s data from the system.
Anger marks a boundary crossed. Guilt shows a value out of alignment. Shame warns when identity and reality collide.
Interpret emotion before it hardens into judgment — that’s how clarity returns.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/when-emoti...
Anger marks a boundary crossed. Guilt shows a value out of alignment. Shame warns when identity and reality collide.
Interpret emotion before it hardens into judgment — that’s how clarity returns.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/when-emoti...
Every generation thinks it’s fixing the world — until the next one calls those repairs the problem.
The real question isn’t who’s right — it’s how we keep understanding alive when each generation speaks a different moral language.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/generation...
The real question isn’t who’s right — it’s how we keep understanding alive when each generation speaks a different moral language.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/generation...
Generational Bandwidth: When Old Scaffolds No Longer Fit New Realities.
Bandwidth Across Scales — Part 4 : Generational Bandwidth
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Every generation thinks it’s fixing the world — until the next one calls those repairs the problem.
The real question isn’t who’s right — it’s how we keep understanding alive when each generation speaks a different moral language.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/generation...
The real question isn’t who’s right — it’s how we keep understanding alive when each generation speaks a different moral language.
moralbandwidththeory.substack.com/p/generation...