Important to understand is that caffeine does not remove sleepiness, instead it offsets the time at which you become sleepy. You "borrow" the energy. You don't create more energy. So after the caffeine effects wear off you are MORE tired than you would be without caffeine, or at least you FEEL more tired.

( ~36:32)

caffeine is an adenosine antagonist which reduces fatigue and lethargy (verbatim copy of Muhammed's annotation)

It will temporarily park receptors for the sleep inducing neurochemical of adenosine. Kind of making those receptors sleep themselves. Which reduces if not eliminated the influence of that chemical for a while.

Caffeine has the reinforcing effects (dopamine and others) not just for activities consumed during and after the intake, but also for a period before (about 30 minutes). Good to take into account.

Caffeine not only produces dopamine but it also exponentially increases the effects of dopamine (by increasing dopamine receptors).

So definitely avoid caffeine when doing pleasurable activities you don't want to do anymore (such as porn).

( ~26:00)

What if you drink caffeine during tasks you don't like, will you then come to like said task because of the associated dopamine? Just like caffeine can make you like a mug...

(~21:00)

Apparently caffeine can help to enjoy experience more, including the person who is with us. So, in a way, a caffeine drink can act as a sort of love potion (although it's not that potent)--but it can certainly enhance a person's enjoyment of that experience with you.

(~19:20)

According to Huberman, there is a positive causal relationship between caffeine and reduced reaction time, increasing both speed and accuracy of recall. Thus useful to take in a certain amount of caffeine 30-60 minutes before an important exam or test.

Recommended to take caffeine about 30 minutes before you want peak performance (effects start 5 minutes beforehand). Peak performance ends after roughly 60 minutes, but effects stay in the system for far longer.

Conditions are not high blood glucose levels and not a very full stomach. Also assumes to drink an entire caffeinated drink in a short period of time.

(~18:00)

Because of effects related to caffeine and sleep, maybe recommended to do the most mentally or physically intensive tasks earlier in the day depending on sleep schedule.

Recommended to drink a cup or two of Yerba Maté early in the morning if you do drink it.

Yerba Maté tea (non-smoked) as a tool for fasting to reduce the feeling of hunger?

Also useful for weight loss as it converts white fat (adipose) cells into brown and beige adipose cells which are useful fat cells used for heat generation, stored around the neck and clavicle. This is done through a process of thermogenesis.

GLP-1 as idea for the Wolf/Bear cross in my Fiction Worldbuilding...

Makes creatures more resilient to food scarcity (might even be useful for the scarcity in summer due to fire rains).

( ~4:55)

Caffeine is good for performance, both physical and mental. It's good for awareness and neuroprotection. It's good also for antidepression.

( ~2:00)

Caffeine is kind of addicting (~1:10)

It's a reinforcer. It's the dopamine of food.

His library contains more than 30k books for sure.

He said: "When I arrived 25 years ago, they were 30,000... I have no more time to count them."

Seems logical that his library contained more than 30k books for this reason.

( ~9:25)

Lol Umberto Eco was evicted from one of his houses because the engineers thought the floors would collapse because of his books.

( ~9:00)

Apparently, Eco was interested in occultism, or at least in understanding it.

( ~7:10)

Umberto Eco was apparently so famous and conceptualized as a master, and great person that hundreds (if not thousands) of people came to his funeral in a castle.

( ~4:16)

At the beginning of this video, Umberto Eco is seen walking in his library (0:48)

This reviewer misinteprets "can you read signs?" as "can you read psalms?"

I like how this guy says "Ok" or "Ok, let's go" each time he goes back from commentary on the lines to the show.

VId

Vid

For true deep processing and learning, intellectualism, one must think beyond the single source they are consuming and think about everything they know. Although keep in mind selective attention for true learning and thinking.

This process is habitualized by means of Zettelkasten and further aided in tool like hypothes.is

Love this guy's facial expressions while reacting.

VId

Losing to evil intentions is indeed a big problem in the world. Thanks for your comment, Import Reaction Video.

Philosophy & religion should inherently be taught in education, which would partially solve this problem. Ethics. Morality.

Patience reaction video

Interesting perspective as interpretation where Jack says at the moment the song says "Who made up words, who made up numbers? Who wrote the Bible, who wrote the Q'uran" it might not even be a call to reflect and think for yourself (although this is absolutely a recurring theme in the song) but maybe they are implying all the science traces back not to the West (Europe) but to the East (Egypt, Africa). This interpretation aligns with the album this song was produced in, which is about Africa.

Patience reaction video

All true knowledge remains with God. There are certain ideas & pieces of knowledge that men just cannot learn. It remains out of reach, out of touch.

Also an interpreted theme in the song.

Apparently the mali chorus means: "Patience patience patience, is worth everything."

Reaction vid on patience

Damn this intro is superb.

Reaction vid of pateinec

The song's criticism on mass media is mainly related to sensationalism.

"Good" things are usually not sensational. They do not demand attention, hence why the code of known/unknown based on selectors for attention filters it out.

Reference Hans-Georg Moeller's explanations of Luhmann's mass media theory based on functionally differentiated systems theory.

Can also compare to Simone Weil's thoughts on collectives and opinion; organizations (thus most part of mass media) should not be allowed to form opinions as this is an act of the intellect, only residing in the individual. Opinion of any form meant to spread lies or parts of the truth rather than the whole truth should be disallowed according to her because truth is a foundational, even the most sacred, need for the soul.

People must be protected against misinformation.

Patience reaction vid

Reaction vid on patience

On a general level, the song is not just about criticizing society, but also about stimulating independence... and not just in thought and identity, but in everything.

Don't be dependent on external factors.

Unrelated to the song itself. It is interesting that different people interpret the song's meaning differently. Likely due to individual differences in perspective, history, culture, etc.

Makes me reflect. Is knowledge/wisdom contained solely in content and words? Or is knowledge/wisdom rather contained in the RELATIONSHIP, the INTERACTION, between past experience, previous knowledge (identity) and substance?

Currently I am inclined to go for the latter.

The idea of growing wiser vs. growing tall is likely not meant for the individual but for society as a whole or the world at large. The full context of the song. But it might have double meaning and refer to both individual and society.

Reminds me of Taleb's concept of Epistemic Arrogance (overvaluing that which we know)

Songwriters don't criticize keeping zoo animals. They criticize prioritizing the zoo animals over the youth/humans (take in the full context bro)... Prioritize money over humanity.

Reaction vid to patience

Lmao, love how this guy is casually smoking a cigar.

Patience reaction vid

Must not just have patience in general, but also patience with people.

Patience reaction vid

Reaction vid to pateince

Off-topic, this guy looks really good for his age.

Patience reaction vid

Reaction video on "Patience"

When switching, do this only at the end of a chapter, not in media res (in the middle of action).

Also summarize the last thing that happened/got explained for an easy refresher the next time you get back.

Bib-Card? Potentially Marginaelia? Feeling more like a dedicated notebook for this. Need to work out.

Vashik does this summary of a chapter on index cards... Useful to do in a Zettelkasten, or too much effort?

Vashik recommends to keep a list of books to read. I can do this on Obsidian, but I also keep a reading log like Parker Settecase recommends.

For parallel reading, read multiple different genres/topics to prevent confusion and boredom.

Due to this time/mood conundrum, you can read books that you do feel like reading.

Interesting, when we say "I don't have time", you can in some, if not most, cases replace it with "I am not in the mood for this", because you prioritize other things you feel more like doing.

Nice focus on learning strategies, this is rare in formal education.

Interesting thread about Elon Musk & Naval Ravikant. Need to read more in-depth later

Reply to Kathleen Spracklen's video

Useful line of thought about the use of Folgezettel in Zettelkasten.

Very interesting Twitter thread

About the originality of thought.

Reply to me:

Kathleen Spracklen An example would be useful there. Future video?

I am grappling the difficult concept of what constitutes an "original thought". I think it is easy to grasp conceptually, but once you start thinking about it formally and try to put it to words, it becomes very confusing.

Although this might be my own experience and not that of others.

The reason I am trying to think about it is for my current research project on intellectualism.

KS keeps a bibliography section for her own works... Interesting, very useful.

Kathleen Spracklen keeps an index specific to the bibliography, detailing all the works in the bib-box. This is quite useful, and an index card is not too big to need alphabetical sorting, which would be cumbersome on paper.

I will adopt this practice most likely.

The additional benefit is that you can see which bib-card IDs you have already used, preventing duplicate entries.

The people box is used to: - Keep collections of authors and their works located within the bib-box - Keep cards on other people than sources in the book Such as friends and contacts.

Useful to see at a glance how many sources you have read from an author and what the author writes a lot about.

Also useful to find the bib-card codes for any particular work by an author.

He recommends to read in the following order, because of thematic significance, I have to determine if I'll do the same.

Books: - A Defence of Classical Education, R. W. Livingstone - Weapons of Mass Instruction, John Taylor Gatto - The Republic, Plato - The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis - Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, Étienne de La Boétie - The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek - The Political Theory of the American Founding, Thomas G. West

(~2:10)

Fascinating. Rob Pierri mentions that there had been a shift in education from the development of the soul to the development of monetizable skills... Keep society manageable.

The question that remains for me is, what will ultimately leave society better and advance it? In the end, what matters more, the material or the immaterial? Why?

(~3:50)

Rob argues that a decline of consensus on morality makes liberty vanish. A society is not a society if they do not adhere to moral law.

What role does formal education play in the development of morality?

Rob Pirie argues that if one doesn't understand the foundational principles of their society, in the case of the American Republic, the ancient Greek and Roman history, with a consensus on the foundational virtues for society, the society cannot sustain itself.

Thus, he argues, there is a need for classical (self-)education

Interesting series which I'll be following along by Rob Pierie. Might even read the books myself as part of my intellectualism project.

He'll dive into how the demise of education and morality affects society and ultimately leads to serfdom

One of the greatest Christian songs I know.

Great song by a beautiful woman. Full of energy. Love the speech by the guy also.

Beautiful performance. Still to this day.

Favorite song of mine by For King and Country.

Great song.

Doing commonplace books using index cards (Zettelkasten) also bypasses a page limit, no need to think about amount of pages to leave free.

Of course if you write the quotes/sayings in your Zettelkasten you can have both the treasury & manuscript style commonplace book at the same time. For treasury you just look through the sayings, but for manuscripting, you reference the notes and then write about it. Ideal situation.

Useful tip to collect wise sayings; mark them in the book and write "Proverb" next to them, or a symbol...

Can also then write the page number on your bib card, or perhaps a dedicated index card to proverbs per book.

Those different types of commonplace books can be integrated into a notebox as well instead of a notebook... Give them all a unique ID and integrate them into a ZK.

Especially the wise sayings "Pocket Proverbs" one this would be cool.

Aspects of commonplace books by Parker Settecase: - Scope: General or topic-bound; specific? - Purpose: Treasury or Manuscript

A treasury is used whenever you like, simply a collection. A manuscript you add your own context, thoughts, observations, etc.

According to Vashik Armenikus, reading and book collecting becomes an obsession/addiction when you do it indiscriminately, without thought, without taking into account the bigger picture.

Fascinating and troublesome is the idea that older books are being edited to be less "offensive" in modern times. This alters the meaning of the past. Do not do this.

Keep it original.

This person argues that one should cultivate a personal library, the tangibleness of the physical, to safeguard knowledge and prevent information control from falling to a single institution or person, so that they may never control the past.

I think he should go deeper into his argument, I do not fully understand what he means.

Interesting thought. This guy relates the upcome of AI (non-fiction) writing to the lack of willingness people have to find out what is true and what is false.

Similar to Nas & Damian Marley's line in the Patience song -- "The average man can't prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of. And still won't research and find the root of the truth that you seek of."

If you want to form an opinion about something, do this educated, not based on a single source--fact-check, do thorough research.

Charlie Munger's principle. "I never allow myself to have [express] an opinion about anything that I don't know the opponent side's argument better than they do."

It all boils down to a critical self-thinking society.

Reply to LibraryLin

Interesting. LibraryLin is a Scheperian as well.

( ~19:15 )

Johannes Schmidt calls Luhmann: "Without a doubt the most important German sociologist of the 20th century."

(~1:20)

Apparently Markus Krajewski is the one with "perhaps the most intimate knowledge of the Zettelkasten process alive"...

Why?

( ~8:00 )

This explanation of why to read books in a certain order in dependency of each other is analogous to why a Zettelkasten (in Luhmannian sense) cannot be used collaboratively.

In order for someone else to understand your notes (not meant to be published), they would have to understand both the source text you are referencing and the implicit references you make. Things you understand instinctively and do not need to write down.

Because others do not have your experiences and worldview, it is more difficult for them, perhaps impossible, to completely comprehend your Zettels, your notes.

( ~5:00 ) Reading Aids should be used after initial interpretation. This is to prevent framing bias.

( ~1:40)

Suggested to train analytical reading in high school.

One of the most beautiful versions of the Internationale Song I have ever heard/seen

Really useful video about the generation of story beats.

He misses the point of wisdom. Wisdom is about mindset and uplifting each other, to care and empathize... It's not about objective correctness; truth or false, this is science... Nor is it about the correctness of living life, that is ethics and morality...

Wisdom is thus about mindset and empathy.

A critique on the Mass Media... The problem is that they want the Mass Media system to operate on the code of "True/False" rather than "Known/Unknown"... But if it were to be so, it would not be Mass Media anymore, but rather the Science System.

For Mass Media to be Mass Media it needs to be concerned with selection and filtering, to condense and make known, not to present "all the facts". Sure, they need to be concerned with truth to a certain degree, but it's not the primary priority.

This is a reflection based on my knowledge of Luhmann's theory of society as functionally differentiated systems; as explained by Hans-Georg Moeller (Carefree Wandering) on YouTube.

Today while listening to the song I am reminded, through reflection, upon the fact that it takes quite some self-awareness and intellectual humility to prevent the rigorous defense of uneducated opinion, especially in online intellectual communities.

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." -- Confucius

Something that intellectuals must be aware of. We must be flexible in opinion and not defend that which we actually have no knowledge of.

We can debate for Socratic sakes; to deepen our understanding, but not to persuade... Pitfall is one might come to believe beyond doubts that which one debates for.

Key is to becoming more aware of our debate behavior and stop ourselves when we realize we can't actually prove that which we think.

This is especially critical for someone in position of teacher or great advisor; he who is looken up to. People are easier to take their opinion for granted based on "authority". As an ethical intellectual we must not abuse this, either on purpose or by accident. With great power comes great responsibility.

For more meaning on the song: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858830191/

(2:03) "The average man can't prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of. And still won't research and find the root of the truth that you seek of."

So true this quote. Dunning-Krueger. Ignorance. Stupidity.

Men should listen to Charlie Munger's advice: "I never allow myself to have [express] an opinion about anything that I don't know the opponent side's argument better than they do."

One of the greatest songs ever.

Much meaning. Depth.

Patience.

Interesting thread about Paris Hilton.

Main takeaway: Don't be quick to judge. Only form an opinion based on education; thorough research, evidence-based. If you don't want to invest the effort, then don't form an opinion. Simple as that.

Similar to "Patience" by Nas & Damian Marley.

Also Charlie Munger: "I never allow myself to have [express] an opinion about anything that I don't know the opponent side's argument better than they do."

Note to self: - Transient = Fading - Non-Transient = Permanent

( ~ 9:36)

Luhmann got his doctoral and habilitation thesis in one year, in 1966; but the books he used for this had been written in 1964, according to Dr. Schmidt.

( ~9:15 )

I am quite similar to Luhmann in the sense that we both prefer theoretical research over practical research. However, I think Schmidt here refers to the overall conception of a Grand Theory, seeming to be descriptive rather than prescriptive. This is where I depart with Luhmann as my whole goal rests on the practicality of optimizing education.

So while I prefer theoretical research, the end is to improve something in a practical sense.

( ~ 6:25-end )

Steps for designing a reading plan/list: 1. Pick a topic/goal (or question you want to answer) & how long you want to take to achieve this. 2. Do research into the books necessary to achieve this goal. Meta-learning, scope out the subject. The number of books is relative to the goal and length of the goal. 3. Find the books using different tools such as Google & GoodReads & YouTube Recommendations (ChatGPT & Gemini are also useful). 4. Refine the book list (go through reviews, etc., in Adlerian steps, do an Inspectional Read of everything... Find out if it's truly useful). Also order them into a useful sequence for the syntopical reading project. Highlight the topics covered, how difficult they are, relevancy, etc. 5. Order the books (or download them)

Reminds me a bit of Scott Young's Metalearning step, and doing a skill decomposition in van Merriënboer et al.'s 10 Steps to Complex Learning

Off-topic, I also like this guy's voice/accent

( ~0:30 )

Good point; formal education should build up the skill of lifelong learning and not keep "spoon feeding"

At the end of formal education (preferably at the end of HS already) you should be able to learn independently the most complex of skills using evidence based/informed learning techniques.

Scaffold. Build up complexity over time.

( ~11:00 )

Another misconception, for sure because of Ahrens, namely that a Zettel should be able to stand on its own, Atomic thought... Explain without context.

This is not what Luhmann did at all.

In fact, it is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.

Luhmann quite literally said that the value of a note is ONLY with regards to the other notes in the system. He wrote in thought sequences, and more often than not, a single note was not intelligible without the context of the other notes.

PLEASE PEOPLE, LEARN FROM MULTIPLE PRIMARY SOURCES, NOT JUST AHRENS :(

( ~4:40)

Where the peep did he get the idea of writing dates as part of the alphanumeric ID? Ahrens?

It's a bad habit, it has nearly no value and when writing a lot of cards in a day this quickly becomes cumbersome.

Stick to the normal alphanumeric IDs.

( ~ 2:57)

False overview of how a ZK would look visually. A ZK is more interlinked, and at the same time more "linear". It's trains of thought.

This is closer to the Bubblegraphboiz

I have always misinterpreted this idea.

I thought it referred to the rumination of ideas... Don't put notes you just made in it (from any source, like reading a book), instead let it ruminate.

I was wrong. I realized this when chatting with Gemini Advanced.

But either way, the DeepL translation of this paragraph: "Slip box as a clarification pit - don't just put clarified notes in it. Postponing reviewing and deciding - also a question of speed."

It is moreso related to the idea of fleeting notes and unprocessed ideas. Have to think a bit more about what Luhmann meant. Maybe @chrisaldrich knows something.

( ~ 10:20)

Kathleen recommends as part of an inspectional reading to find out who the author is. This is valuable and I believe not something Adler & van Doren mentioned in their book.

Knowing who the author is gives more context to the book and potentially some information about credibility.

Will implement this.

(~5:40)

It appears she put some sticky notes at important points/structure references while reading inspectionally...

Does this not take too much effort/time for an inspectional read a la Adler?

( ~ 10:45)

This is basically layered learning and making use of the creation of prior knowledge.

(~10:00)

It's not just about your domain knowledge on a subject, it's also about your reading skill in general and how difficult a book is written.

This video tells me I need to spend more time actually reflecting on the table of contents and title. As well as with the pigeonholing; classify in the mind in what categories this book falls.

( ~1:55)

Interesting sentiment. Library Lin supposes that most people who do not like reading don't like it because of bad reading habits and that when they improve on their reading habits, they will start liking it.

Off-topic, I love this woman's accent.

Excellent song

Great song by Joshua Aaron.

Great song by Joshua Aaron.

Great song. Might want to have it performed live on my own wedding.

( ~15:00)

You cannot know God except for on His terms. This knowing of God is not accessible to those who have not been humble enough to try it out and accept Him.

It is why I say that I lie when I say God does not exist, even though I cannot prove that He exists; He has proven it to me.

( ~12:50 )

The difference being faith and atheism is one of ultimate hope & justice. Hope for life after "the end".

( ~ 9:00 )

You cannot say why something was created, its purpose, without knowing its maker. No matter how smart you are. You cannot infer this from the matter.

( ~ 8:20 )

Not sure what Lennox is trying to say here...

He quotes a Russian scientist who said they though they could retain a value for human beings while abolishing God and found that they could not.

I do not understand, nor get the significance of, this argument. But it sounds interesting. Worth looking into in the future perhaps?

Lennox argues that both rationality and morality cannot be explained without the Bible & God... Humans are naturally rational and moral beings because "Man are created in God's image" or "The Holy Spirit remains in men"

The Holy Ghost is the reason we can tell right from wrong (spiritual anti-virus)... However, the more we sin, the more we silence this voice in our head until ultimately we cannot hear it anymore.

No person is born a criminal. A killer.

When we get baptized, we effectively restore our connection to God, and thus reenact the Holy Ghost within us; restoring our innocence. Our soul's integrity has been restored and we can hear the Spirit speaking to us loud and clear once again.

As Simone Weil argued, the purpose of a punishment, an adequate one, that is, is to cleanse the taint of our behavior from ourselves... Allowing ourselves to get back into humanity without judgement. Baptism serves the same purpose on a Spiritual level... With the key difference being that it was Christ who endured the ultimate punishment, and by being baptized (willingly), we enjoy that same punishment, can reap its benefits.

( ~ 6:00)

Lennox argues that the reason science works is because both the universe out there and the insane complex minds that humans have are both designs of the same divine being/architect; God.

What is easier to believe (~3:00)?

That God created everything... The existence of an architect?

Or: Nothing turned itself into everything? Oxymoron

Why is one more believable over the other?

Initially, people became scientists because they expected to find law in the universe, because they believed in the lawgiver.

God created the laws that govern existence. Scientists unravel and observe those laws.

Lennox argues it is his Faith that gives him his job.

God is a different explanation than science (~1:50)

Choosing between science and God is the same as choosing between Ford and Engineering for an explanation of the motor car.

They are not mutually exclusive.

Dr. Steve Boyd keeps to the traditional translation of everything coming into existence from God. He mentions the original Hebrew has no word for "universe" and therefore the creation of the heavens and the earth means eveyrthing.

James Tabor makes the same argument as Dr. Michael S. Heiser.

That Genesis 1:1-3 is a mistranslation, and implies that genesis was not about the creation of the universe.

According to this translation, the earth existed before God started creating in Genesis????

Very fascinating. Substance meaning can change depending on linguistics. For ancient thought, it's best to know the true original language.

A habit of the top 1% people is to make simple decisions fast, and think more carefully about the important ones.

It optimizes energy.

Lifelong is to keep the habit and refine as needed.

TBR: Skill Decay

( ~ 13:00 )

Stage 3, iteration, is about increasing fluency of mastery. Cognitive schema automation. Building up the habit.

Consistency -> Accuracy -> Speed

Varied practice is necessary, and fine-tune the technique based on experiment in application.

( ~10:00 )

After relevance comes the awareness stage (you become aware of your mistakes)...

Making mistakes raises your awareness about how you do the skill and ensures you improve on it. By just doing theory you can't learn from mistakes and you can't possibly read up on EVERYTHING.

Reflective process is necessary. Kolb's. Experiment.

After relevance comes the "plateau period" where a lot of practice is being done with a lot of mistakes; there seems to be little progress. Most people give up here.

You need a growth mindset and just continue.

( ~ 5:00 )

The first stage of learning a complex skill is creating relevance, not in the sense of making knowledge relevant to your life; but rather in seeing what is relevant to learn at this point in the learning career.

Building a map...

The actions are exploration and challenge. Exploration = getting diverse opinions from others and learning the theory & variables. Challenge = open-mindedness for other beliefs and assumptions.

Reminds me of 10 Steps to Complex Learning for curriculum design, where doing a skill decomposition is one of the first steps in designing the curriculum, and either being an expert or having access to experts is paramount.

( ~ 3:25)

Learning how to learn has latent learning for most people. There is no immediate feedback and therefore you do not know how good your learning techniques are until you get to the point of exam.

One way to mitigate this is by having your own test... Past papers, hard recall techniques like Whole-Part-Whole, etc.

I need to find a way to effectively measure learning efficiency in terms of several components (how well is encoding, how well is recall, etc.)

Kolb's as well.

( ~ 2:20)

Add to the TBR (to be research) list... "Latent Learning"

RAIL stands for:

• Relevance
• Awareness
• Iteration
• Lifelong

Best article on Deep POV I have ever read.

( ~ 11:00 )

Armies need to have an efficient supply system in order to survive. Not only for food and stuff, but also medical kits, materials to fix machinery when it breaks down, ammunition, etc.

These are also fantastic ways to add strategic elements to warfare. Taking over enemy supply lines or points can hurt them tremendously while giving yourself a great edge.

( ~8:50 )

Defense in depth over static defense usually. They both have value, but it depends on usecase.

( ~ 7:30 )

In any world where technology on the level of atomic weaponry exists (nuclear bombs), there must either be a reason for why they are not used (such as in Dune), or they should just be used.

A reason could be through universally recognized and obeyed law, or that counters against such weaponry exist, making them useless.

( ~3:55 )

In futuristic scenarios, armies marching together closely (i.e. massing) is dumb because this makes them an easy target for area damage focused weaponry such as artillery, tanks, etc.

Better to have more spread out formations.

That is, if no technology or magic exists to counter such vehicles, such as mobile shield generators, then it does make sense to walk in a tight formation as centralized command is easier.

( ~2:50)

The larger the size of an army, the more autonomy lower-ranking officials need. A centralized command becomes much more difficult when the area over which to fight is enormous.

Futuristic Armies are in need of efficiency, needing clerks, communication networks, etc. To keep themselves supplied and directed.

( ~2:10)