Internet Psychosis

A severe dissociative condition fueled by the total absorption into the online realm, leading to the atrophy of offline social cues, the blurring of digital and physical personas, and the adoption of hypertrophic online conspiracy theories or subcultural beliefs as literal truth. It is marked by the conviction that the "real" world is the digital one—that forums, game worlds, or social media platforms are the primary plane of existence, and physical reality is either irrelevant or a deceptive interface. This can manifest as neglecting basic biological needs, believing one has a "true" self only online, or acting out online conflicts with physical violence.

Example: A person lives 18 hours a day in a niche online forum, adopting its obscure slang and extremist worldview. They start believing their physical body is a "meat prison," that their forum friends are their only real family, and that offline society is a conspiracy run by their online enemies. They may stop eating regularly, lose their job, and eventually attempt violence against someone they've only known as an avatar, believing it's a justified act in a war that only exists on their Discord server. Their psychosis is the internet swallowing the self whole. Internet Psychosis.

by Dumu The Void January 27, 2026

Internal and External Ecology Theory

The study of a community's dual ecological environments. Internal ecology refers to the dynamics of relationships, roles, niches, and resource distribution within the community—its social ecosystem. External ecology is the community's relationship with its physical environment and other surrounding communities. The theory examines how changes in one ecology (e.g., external climate change) force adaptations in the other (internal social structure).

Example: A fishing village faces an external ecological shift: fish stocks collapse. Internal and External Ecology Theory analyzes how this forces a change in the internal ecology: the social role of "fisher" shrinks, new niches like "aquaculturist" or "tourist guide" emerge, and power dynamics shift away from fishing families. The two ecologies are in constant, stressful dialogue.

by Dumuabzu February 5, 2026

Internal and External Variables

A term from research methodology referring to the factors that can influence a study's results, specifically highlighting the gap between controlled experiments and messy reality. Internal Variables are the conditions carefully managed inside the study—the specific lighting, the homogeneous participant pool, the standardized instructions. External Variables are the chaotic, real-world factors that exist outside the lab—distractions, peer pressure, lack of sleep, economic stress, and the general unpredictability of life. A study's failure often comes from perfectly controlling the Internal Variables while completely ignoring the External ones that actually drive behavior in the wild.

Internal and External Variables "That study proving people prefer classical music for focus is a joke. They controlled for every Internal Variable in a soundproof room. But they ignored the External Variables: my neighbor's barking dog, my phone buzzing, and the existential dread of my unanswered emails. The lab is not reality."

by Dumu The Void February 21, 2026

Internal and External Ecology

A framework for understanding systems by separating the environment inside a defined boundary from the environment outside it. Internal Ecology refers to the complex web of relationships, energy flows, and feedback loops within a system—like the microbiome in your gut, the culture inside a company, or the nutrient cycle in a sealed forest. External Ecology refers to the larger environment that surrounds and influences that system—the food you eat that affects your gut, the market that affects the company, or the climate that affects the forest. The health of any system depends on the balance between its internal dynamics and its external pressures.

Internal and External Ecology "The company's Internal Ecology was toxic—backstabbing and silos everywhere. But they ignored the External Ecology: a recession and a new competitor. You can't fix the fish tank's water if the whole room the tank is in is on fire."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 22, 2026

Internet Social Sciences

An emerging interdisciplinary field studying social phenomena on and through the internet—how online communities form, how identity is constructed digitally, how power operates in networked spaces. Internet Social Sciences combine sociology, anthropology, communication studies, and data science to understand human behavior in digital environments. It asks: How do social norms emerge online? What is community in the absence of co-presence? How does the internet amplify or mitigate inequality?

"They studied the TikTok community like anthropologists studying a tribe—rituals, language, hierarchies, conflicts. That's Internet Social Sciences: applying the tools of social science to digital worlds. The internet isn't separate from society; it's society transformed. Understanding it requires new methods, new theories, new questions."

by Dumu The Void March 4, 2026

Internet Human Sciences

An interdisciplinary field applying humanities perspectives to internet phenomena—studying digital culture, online identity, virtual ethics, and the human experience of networked life. Internet Human Sciences draw on philosophy, history, literary theory, and cultural studies to ask: What does it mean to be human online? How do digital technologies shape our sense of self, community, and meaning? What stories do we tell about the internet, and what stories does the internet tell about us?

"She analyzed Twitter threads as literature—narrative structure, character development, dramatic arcs. That's Internet Human Sciences: treating digital expression as human expression worthy of humanistic study. The internet isn't just data; it's culture, meaning, story. Understanding it requires the humanities as much as the sciences."

by Dumu The Void March 4, 2026

Internet Cognitive Sciences

An interdisciplinary field studying how the internet affects cognition—attention, memory, reasoning, and decision-making in digital environments. Internet Cognitive Sciences combine psychology, neuroscience, and human-computer interaction to ask: Does the internet change how we think? Is attention fragmenting? Is memory outsourcing to devices changing what we remember? How does online interaction shape social cognition?

"She couldn't remember phone numbers anymore—why remember when the phone remembers? Internet Cognitive Sciences asks: what happens to memory when it's externalized? What happens to attention when it's constantly divided? The internet isn't just a tool; it's an environment, and environments shape cognition."

by Dumu The Void March 4, 2026