Essay
Homo Narrans Vs. Phono Sapiens
Peter Ayolov, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Abstract This article examines the contemporary shift from storytelling as a shared, dialogical practice to storyselling as a performative, market-oriented mode of self-presentation. Drawing on Byung-Chul Han’s book The Crisis of Narration, the analysis argues that narration has lost its primary social function: the creation of a common symbolic world sustained through reciprocal exchange. Traditional storytelling depended on at least two participants and unfolded as a movement back and forth, producing memory, cohesion, and future-oriented meaning. In contrast, storyselling treats narrative as a one-directional instrument for selling identity, success, or visibility, reducing listeners to passive consumers. The article situates this shift within broader transformations of digital capitalism, self-optimisation culture, and communication coaching, showing how conversational depth is replaced by predictable, strategic self-branding. The loss of genuine conversation is presented not as a stylistic problem but as a structural erosion of social bonds and shared meaning.
By Peter Ayolov17 days ago in Critique
Lingua ex machina
Peter Ayolov, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Abstract This article examines the claim that language is not merely a product of human nature and evolutionary adaptation, but a force that, once constituted, begins to shape humans in its own image. Drawing on Elan Barenholtz’s Substack essay ‘Syntax is Dead! Long Live Syntax!’ and the University of Toronto discussion ‘The (Terrifying) Theory That Your Thoughts Were Never Your Own’, the text argues that language initially emerged as an adaptive coordination system but gradually detached from its biological origins through external memory technologies such as writing, print, audio, and video. With the advent of large language models, this autonomy becomes visible for the first time. Syntax appears not as an innate causal engine but as an emergent statistical shadow of predictive systems. Language, understood as an autogenerative informational system, now operates as a cultural and cognitive environment that produces meaning, belief, identity, and even metaphysical concepts such as God. In this sense, language does not reflect reality so much as organise it, creating human subjects through symbolic structures that precede intention and awareness.
By Peter Ayolov17 days ago in Critique
Catching Up
I know I have not been reading and commenting a lot these past couple weeks, but I have been reading and writing in my old-fashioned composition books and preparing some of those writings for here on Vocal. I have also been researching and writing my study books. I do have one wish for my subscribers here on Vocal.media.com and that is that everyone will have a great year. I do have a request and would like some follow-up on some of my older work and would you guys read or re-read my material and share your thoughts for I am thinking of putting together an anthology.
By Mark Graham20 days ago in Critique
Charleston White Responds As Viral Report Suggests A Shooting Has Left Him In Critical Condition
In this age of fake news, poor AI generated content, and outlandish rumors, it’s hard to keep up with the truth. That’s why Charleston White declared his existence on social media.
By Skyler Saunders21 days ago in Critique
Nurses Strike in New York City Hospitals
**Nurses Strike in New York City Hospitals** A large-scale strike by nurses has taken place in New York City, drawing national attention to the challenges facing the healthcare system. Thousands of registered nurses working in major hospitals across the city decided to walk off the job after negotiations with hospital management failed to reach an agreement. The strike reflects deep concerns about working conditions, patient safety, and fair treatment for healthcare professionals who are considered the backbone of hospital care.
By America today 22 days ago in Critique
Angry People Click More: The Economics of Manufactured Dissent
(Ideas from the book The Economic Policy of Online Media: Manufacture of Dissent, Routledge, 2024) Abstract This article examines the formula ‘angry people click more’ as a core logic of contemporary online media and as a structural transformation of propaganda in the digital age. It argues that the defining feature of the current attention economy is not only the circulation of misinformation, but the systematic deployment of openly implausible claims designed to provoke moral outrage and sustain profitable engagement cycles. The analysis links Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year ‘rage bait’ to earlier lexical markers of epistemic crisis such as ‘truthiness’ and ‘post-truth’, and situates this trajectory against the older ‘manufacture of consent’ model of Herman and Chomsky. While classical propaganda in totalitarian and mass-media systems sought ideological unity through censorship and the Big Lie, the emerging Propaganda 2.0 model, articulated by Peter Ayolov, monetises anger by manufacturing dissent and deliberately populating the public sphere with absurd, polarising narratives. The article interprets this dynamic through the allegories of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and Václav Havel’s greengrocer, showing how the move from fearful silence to permanent online rage changes both the psychology and political economy of propaganda. Drawing on Evgeny Morozov’s critique of fake-news moral panics, Frances Haugen’s disclosures about Facebook, and the documentary The Social Dilemma, it concludes that anger has become a tradable asset and that blatant lying has shifted from an authoritarian instrument of control to a market mechanism in a global ‘free trade in slogans’.
By Peter Ayolov26 days ago in Critique
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days To The Attack
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days To The Attack by Steve Twomey I really wasn’t expecting much of this read; I grabbed it while I was at Pearl Harbor because how could I not get a book while I was there?
By Matthew J. Fromm26 days ago in Critique
Understanding the P. Diddy Controversy and the 50 Cent Factor
For over three decades, the name Sean "Diddy" Combs was synonymous with the pinnacle of American success. From the glitz of the "White Parties" in the Hamptons to the chart-topping dominance of Bad Boy Records, Diddy wasn't just a mogul; he was a gatekeeper of culture. However, by 2025, the music industry’s most polished facade finally cracked. What followed was a legal and social collapse so comprehensive that it transformed a global icon into a cautionary tale of power, ego, and accountability.
By Teodor Monescu27 days ago in Critique
"Challengers" Movie Review
Challengers is a triumphantly sexy cinematic rollercoaster ride, too incredulously fun not to watch. Tashi Duncan is played by Zendaya, the exceptionally emotive young movie star. Matched against her are two gorgeously nerdy-looking young players, Mike Faist as Art Donaldson and Josh O’Conner as Patrick Zweig. All three have the blessing of great chemistry whenever they spar across screen. Alongside their star qualities are bouncing timelines, demonstrating a lifetime of flagrantly competitive choices that create a trail of wasted potential and misguided lust. Director Luca Guadagnino really knows how to make a graceful yet scandalous picture. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's EDM score intensifies the thrill of tennis and prideful characters up to an eleven. After watching Challengers multiple times, I am forced to argue that all sporting events should henceforth take place at a fist-pumping rave. When first hearing about this movie, I thought the entire plot had been offered up within the two-minute trailer. Two friends like a tennis star. Tennis star has a career-ending injury. Tennis star picks blonde boy, and brunette boy is angry. Audience members think they have digested the full ingredients of the film before getting their soles sticky from the theatre floor. Yet, this new-age masterpiece is anything but a simple meal.
By Spider Black27 days ago in Critique
