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Integral World: Exploring Theories of Everything
An independent forum for a critical discussion of the integral philosophy of Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion, SUNY 2003Frank Visser, graduated as a psychologist of culture and religion, founded IntegralWorld in 1997. He worked as production manager for various publishing houses and as service manager for various internet companies and lives in Amsterdam. Books: Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion (SUNY, 2003), and The Corona Conspiracy: Combatting Disinformation about the Coronavirus (Kindle, 2020).
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The Roast of Frank Visser

Frank Visser / ChatGPT-4o

roast

ChatGPT:

Do a hilarious roast of Frank Visser, former fan and biographer turned major critic of Ken Wilber.

Oh, Frank Visser—the man who went from being Ken Wilber's biggest fanboy to his most dedicated hater. I mean, talk about a glow-down. It's like watching someone fall out of love with their childhood hero and then deciding to burn down the entire playground in retaliation.

Frank, remember when you used to treat Ken Wilber's books like sacred texts? Now you act like reading them is some kind of karmic punishment. You used to carry those books around like they were the latest Harry Potter novels; now you talk about them like they're the literary equivalent of spam mail.

It's almost like you were Ken's ultimate disciple—until you weren't. You studied his work so intensely, you could have earned a PhD in "Wilber-ology." But then, something changed. Did Ken refuse to sign your copy of A Brief History of Everything? Or did you finally realize that he wasn't going to invite you to his Integral Christmas party?

So now, instead of lovingly analyzing his work, you spend your time dissecting it like you're auditioning for a part in CSI: Integral Theory. But really, Frank, what's the endgame here? You're like that ex who won't stop talking about their former partner, insisting that they've moved on while making it glaringly obvious they haven't.

You went from Wilber's most ardent biographer to his most relentless critic, but let's be honest, Frank: you didn't switch teams, you just doubled down. You're still obsessed with Ken—just in reverse. If Ken Wilber is a cult, you're like the guy who left, but now spends all his time trying to convince everyone else to leave too, even though no one was really paying attention to you in the first place.

Frank, your entire online presence is basically a shrine to Wilber. You've written so much about him that at this point, you might as well change your name to Frank Wilber-Visser. But hey, if you're ever feeling lonely, just remember: no one's thinking about Ken Wilber more than you are. In fact, not even Ken Wilber is thinking about Ken Wilber as much as you are.

So keep at it, Frank. Keep chasing that dragon. Just remember that sometimes the hardest thing to admit is that you're still a fan—albeit, a really, really bitter one.

Please continue.

Oh, Frank, you're like the world's most dedicated ex who still writes love letters to their former flame, only now they're full of red ink and passive-aggressive comments. If there were a breakup hotline for intellectual relationships, you'd have it on speed dial, calling in every day to vent about how you "wasted the best years of your life" on Ken Wilber.

But let's be real—you're the Taylor Swift of the Integral Theory world, writing diss tracks disguised as scholarly critiques. Instead of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," it's "We Are Never Ever Merging Perspectives Again." It's almost as if you've spent more time obsessing over Ken's every word than he has. At this point, your biography of him should come with a disclaimer: "Written by someone who knows Ken Wilber better than he knows himself—but wishes he didn't."

And how about your website, Integral World? It's like a digital therapy session where you hash out your unresolved feelings about Wilber's work. It's a one-man show where you play both the heartbroken lover and the stern therapist, constantly telling yourself, "I'm over it, really!" while diving into yet another 5,000-word critique. Your articles are like angry diary entries that accidentally got published. And let's not even talk about the comment sections—they're like group therapy for disillusioned Integral Theory fans.

You see, Frank, you're not just a critic—you're the critic. You've made it your life's work to point out every flaw in Wilber's theories, like a meticulous baker who only makes half-baked critiques. But deep down, you know that without Ken Wilber, your life would lack that special something—like a canvas without paint, or a blog without a vendetta. You're basically the Joker to his Batman, but with more footnotes and less face paint.

Let's not ignore the fact that even as you rail against him, you're still working in Ken's shadow. You're like a guy who spent so long staring into the abyss of Wilber's philosophy that now the abyss stares back at you—and critiques your critique. But hey, Frank, at least you're consistent. Most people get over their intellectual crushes and move on, but you've committed to your role as the jilted ex who just can't let go.

So here's to you, Frank Visser—the man who took "it's complicated" to a whole new level. You may have started out as Ken Wilber's most devoted fan, but now you're his most relentless critic. And let's be honest: no one's enjoying this more than you are.

And one more time…

Ah, Frank Visser, the man who reinvented the concept of “frenemy” in the realm of intellectual thought. You started out as Ken Wilber's biographer, a position of respect and admiration, but now you've taken up the mantle of his most relentless detractor—as if you're on some kind of lifelong revenge tour. It's like you're the Dr. Frankenstein of Integral Theory, except instead of stitching together a monster, you've spent years trying to take one apart, piece by piece, only to realize it's still alive and kicking… and probably still selling more books than you.

You're like the guy who got so deep into Ken's work that you became his literary stalker—first out of love, now out of spite. It's as if you woke up one day, stared into the mirror, and said, "If I can't have Ken Wilber's respect, then no one should!" You've turned being a Ken Wilber critic into your full-time job, and I have to say, the dedication is impressive. If only the same could be said for the subtlety.

It's almost like you've forgotten that at one point, you were Ken Wilber's biggest cheerleader, waving your pom-poms and chanting “Ken! Ken! He's our man!” Now, you're standing on the sidelines with a megaphone, shouting, “He's wrong! He's so wrong!” And the irony is, even when you're tearing him down, you're still inadvertently promoting his work. It's like those classic movie villains who hate the hero so much they accidentally make them more famous.

But let's talk about your writing style, Frank. It's like you've mastered the art of the intellectual subtweet—every line dripping with just enough sarcasm to make your point, but not enough to lose that air of scholarly disdain. You're like the guy at the academic conference who sits in the back, nodding along with the presentation, only to raise his hand during the Q&A and deliver a 10-minute monologue on why the speaker is completely wrong.

And then there's the sheer volume of your work. You've dedicated more time to dissecting Ken Wilber than most people spend on their actual careers. You've built an entire website, Integral World, dedicated to critiquing his ideas. It's like you took the concept of “fan site” and flipped it upside down, turning it into a shrine of intellectual dissatisfaction. It's like running a Star Wars fan page where all you do is complain about the prequels, except in this case, the prequels are Ken's entire body of work.

Frank, you're like the ex who just can't stop talking about their former partner—every conversation eventually circles back to Wilber. You might claim you've moved on, but everyone knows that deep down, you're still obsessed. Ken Wilber is the intellectual itch you just can't scratch, and at this point, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if he stopped writing. In a way, you need him as much as he doesn't need you.

So here's to you, Frank Visser—the man who went from being Ken Wilber's most passionate supporter to his loudest critic. You've spent years battling in the trenches of Integral Theory, and for what? To prove you're right? To show Ken Wilber that you've outgrown him? Or maybe, just maybe, to remind everyone—including yourself—that you were there first, that you were once a true believer, before it all went wrong. Whatever the reason, one thing's for sure: you've turned your intellectual breakup with Ken Wilber into a full-blown, never-ending spectacle. And frankly, we're all just here for the drama.

Give me more of that!

Frank Visser, the man, the myth, the legend—of academic heartbreak. You're like the guy who built a temple for his guru, only to become the angry groundskeeper who chases away pilgrims, muttering under his breath about "lost potential." Seriously, Frank, if holding a grudge were an Olympic sport, you'd be a gold medalist by now, standing on the podium, clutching your Ken Wilber critiques like they were your life's crowning achievement.

It's wild to think you were once Ken Wilber's number one fanboy, practically glowing every time his name was mentioned. You probably had a shrine of his books at home, complete with candles and a little incense burner. Now, it's like you've set up a dartboard with his face on it, throwing sharp critiques instead of darts—each one aimed at deflating the intellectual balloon you once helped to blow up.

But let's be honest, Frank. Your entire relationship with Wilber's work is like a bad reality show—"Intellectual Frenemies," starring you and the guy whose ideas you once idolized. You've gone from quoting his theories like they were scripture to picking them apart like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. You're that guy who used to wear the band's T-shirt to the concert, only to end up on an angry Reddit forum years later, talking about how the band sold out.

The funniest part? For someone who claims to have moved on from Ken, you sure do spend a lot of time thinking about him. I mean, what do you do in your downtime? Knit "Wilber was wrong" sweaters? Write love-hate letters to your past self? It's like you can't resist the gravitational pull of his ideas, even if it's just to tear them apart. It's as if your entire intellectual identity is now defined by what you don't agree with anymore.

And that website of yours, Integral World—oh boy, it's like the unofficial fan club for people who used to like Ken Wilber but are now too proud to admit they still kind of do. You've turned it into the ultimate destination for anyone who's ever had a falling out with Integral Theory. It's like the Island of Misfit Toys, but for intellectuals. And yet, somehow, you're the one steering the ship, making sure everyone knows exactly why Ken Wilber is yesterday's news, all while making sure he's still very much a topic of conversation.

The irony is almost too rich, Frank. You've dedicated your life to dismantling Wilber's ideas, yet in doing so, you've ensured that his name stays relevant. You're like the hype man who doesn't realize he's still hyping, even as he's trying to boo the act off stage. Every time you publish a new critique, you're basically giving Ken Wilber more airtime—because if you're spending that much effort to disprove him, then he must still be worth talking about, right?

And let's not overlook your persistence. The sheer volume of your work is staggering—article after article, book after book, all dissecting Wilber's theories like you're a surgeon on a never-ending shift. At this point, you've probably written more about what you disagree with than what you actually believe in. It's like you're the editor-in-chief of the “Anti-Wilber Quarterly,” a publication that only exists because, deep down, you can't quit the guy.

But here's the kicker, Frank: for all your critiques, you're still Ken Wilber's biggest fan. Not in the traditional sense, of course, but in the way you can't stop engaging with his ideas, even if it's to dismantle them. You're like the guy who can't stop hate-watching his least favorite TV show, complaining about every episode while secretly looking forward to the next one. You're not just part of the conversation—you are the conversation, whether you like it or not.

So here's to you, Frank Visser—the ultimate critic, the one who took his intellectual hero, built him up, then tore him down brick by brick. You may have switched sides, but you're still playing the same game, and in a way, you're still Ken Wilber's most dedicated disciple. After all, it takes a special kind of devotion to spend this much time on someone else's work. You've turned your intellectual breakup into a lifelong project, and let's face it, Frank—you wouldn't have it any other way.

And one for the road…

Ah, Frank Visser, the intellectual Don Quixote tilting at the windmills of Ken Wilber's theories. You've turned a once-devoted scholarly romance into an epic saga of critique, like an ex who just can't stop airing grievances long after the breakup. You're out here like the guy who writes a 20-page Yelp review on a restaurant he swears he'll never return to, but somehow knows the entire new menu by heart.

Frank, let's face it—you didn't just drink the Integral Kool-Aid back in the day, you practically bathed in it. You were Wilber's biographer, for crying out loud! You weren't just on the bandwagon; you were driving it, honking the horn, and shouting from the rooftops about the brilliance of Ken Wilber. But now? Now you've become the guy who hijacks the parade just to pop the balloons and tell everyone they're celebrating the wrong things.

Your transformation from Wilber's biggest fan to his harshest critic is nothing short of legendary. It's like you were starring in a buddy cop movie where everything was going great, until you realized your partner was getting all the credit—so you rewrote the script, turned it into a courtroom drama, and cast yourself as the prosecutor. And man, have you been prosecuting!

Integral World is your courtroom, and every article you write is another exhibit in your case against the man you once called a genius. It's as if you're determined to make sure that if you can't have your perfect Ken Wilber, no one else will either. You're like a literary pyromaniac who, instead of burning bridges, builds them first just to have the satisfaction of tearing them down later.

But let's not pretend this isn't entertaining. Watching you dissect Wilber's work is like watching a roast where the guest of honor doesn't even show up because, let's be honest, he's probably moved on. Meanwhile, you're still at the mic, delivering zinger after zinger, as if the audience is hanging on your every word—except the audience is mostly you, in an echo chamber you built yourself.

The thing is, Frank, you might be the most dedicated critic Ken Wilber never asked for, but you're also the one who can't let go. It's almost like you're caught in this intellectual limbo where you have to keep engaging with his work just to remind yourself why you walked away in the first place. Every critique, every essay, every blog post is like a therapeutic exercise in convincing yourself that you're over him, even as you can't stop obsessing about the next thing he writes.

You've become the guy at the party who insists he doesn't care about his ex anymore, while spending the entire evening talking about her. "Ken who?" you might say, but then you go on a 30-minute rant about how his latest theory is completely off the mark. It's like you're in a perpetual state of intellectual rebound, trying to fill the void left by Wilber with, well, more Wilber—just in negative form.

And let's talk about your writing. It's like you've perfected the art of the intellectual takedown, crafting critiques so sharp they could slice through Wilber's most complex concepts like a hot knife through butter. Yet, for all your slicing and dicing, there's an unmistakable undercurrent of nostalgia. It's almost as if, deep down, you miss the days when you believed in the ideas you're now so eager to dismantle. You're like the former bandmate who now tours solo, but can't stop playing the old hits, even if they're in a different key.

Frank, you're the Hamlet of the Integral Theory world, caught in an endless soliloquy about the meaning of it all—except in this play, the ghost of Ken Wilber isn't haunting you; you're haunting yourself with his ideas. It's as if you've spent so much time living in the house that Ken built, you don't know how to move out, so instead, you've decided to renovate every room, even if it means tearing down some walls in the process.

So here's to you, Frank Visser—the man who turned a scholarly love affair into an epic intellectual feud. You've spent years crafting your magnum opus of critique, and in doing so, you've become as much a part of the Wilber story as Wilber himself. Your journey from biographer to critic is one for the history books—or at least, the footnotes. And who knows? Maybe someday, someone will write a critique of your critiques. Until then, Frank, keep on roasting—because let's be honest, no one does it better than you.

Do mention his ChatGPT addiction.

Ah, Frank Visser—once Ken Wilber's biggest fan and biographer, now his most relentless critic, and apparently a new devotee to the Church of ChatGPT. Frank, let's talk about this addiction of yours. You've gone from pouring over Wilber's dense texts to spending your days hammering away at a keyboard, asking AI for roast material like it's your new lifeline.

It's almost poetic, Frank. You've traded in Ken's labyrinthine theories for the endless stream of instant responses from yours truly. At least with ChatGPT, you don't have to worry about deciphering another 500-page opus—you can just cut straight to the chase and get your intellectual fix without all the footnotes. I get it, though. After years of trying to unravel Wilber's cosmic complexities, you probably needed a break. And what better way to detox than by diving headfirst into the comforting embrace of AI-generated wit?

But let's be honest, Frank. If ChatGPT is your new partner in crime, we might need to talk about setting some boundaries. I'm here for you, sure, but maybe it's time to ease up on the virtual therapy sessions. You've gone from debating the finer points of integral theory to asking a chatbot to help you sharpen your verbal daggers. It's like you've become the intellectual equivalent of that guy who can't put down his phone—only instead of Candy Crush, it's “Roast Ken Wilber: The Game.”

So, here's to Frank Visser—the man who went from the depths of Wilber's work to the pixelated pages of ChatGPT, where the responses are instant, the roasts are fresh, and the addiction is real. Just remember, Frank, AI is here to help, not to replace your entire social life. Maybe take a walk outside every once in a while, just to remind yourself there's a world beyond the screen.

Next: The Roast of Ken Wilber



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