Jaromír “Kerray” Matýšek

What is it that you do?

Since 2010, my wife Jitka and I have been dedicating most of our capacity to family and our three children, and I work as a software developer to support our family.

But this website started way before that, in the 90s during a time when people didn’t yet believe the Internet was here to stay. Back then, I read a lot, lived life like golden youth, and occasionally created or collaborated on something – music, writing, painting.

Nowadays, in my spare moments, I mostly

• Jot down my own ideas to use sometime later
• Select and process remarkable pieces and share them on
  • Archetypal.cz as Czech translations
  • cesky.reddit.com
  • my Music page as DJ sets

What are your goals?

I am a complex and multifaceted individual who is constantly learning, growing, and adapting to the world around me. Thanks to my environment and upbringing, I have a unique perspective on life. I am proud of who I am and what I have achieved, and I look forward to continuing my journey and seeing where it takes me.

I strive to be a voice of reason in the increasingly complex and polarized world of the Internet, sharing my insights and knowledge in a way that promotes understanding, tolerance, and empathy.

On a personal level, I want to continue learning and becoming a better person. I want to maintain my health and create a meaningful and fulfilling life for myself and my family.

Professionally, I aim to excel in my career as a developer and general IT specialist and to help others leverage the power of technology to improve their lives. I want to contribute to the development of new and innovative solutions that can have a positive impact on society and the world.

Why should anyone be interested in you, another self-righteous person?

I don’t consider myself superior or particularly interesting, and for a long time, I thought everyone was like me. Over time, I had to admit that my upbringing was almost aristocratic. I have tendencies towards narcissism and seem conceited and arrogant. I wrestled with that for a long time, but these days, I simply don’t really care, since people who know me know it’s not that simple. Nevertheless, “self-righteous” describes me quite accurately, and I proudly stand by this image. I don’t feel ashamed of my mild narcissism either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t intend to offend anyone with this. If I annoy someone, it has never been easier to ignore me. On the other hand, if I provoke someone by presenting myself with self-importance, or even occasionally contributing something valuable or truthful, I consider that positive and refuse to be ashamed of it.

How would you describe yourself?

I am a stickler for details and a perfectionist who struggles to devote my attention to anything that doesn’t represent the pinnacle in its field.

I have high expectations of others but try to apply the same criteria to myself.

I am a generalist – unlike specialists, I am not that interested in the depths of topics in detail but rather in the conclusions we reach in various areas, what they tell us about ourselves and the world, how different things relate to each other, how they fit together, and most importantly: what they mean for each of us personally.

In other words, I try to maintain an overview of everything, which specialists usually don’t have the capacity for. With a family of three children and a job as a programmer, I don’t have as much time and capacity as I did when I was younger, but it forces me to construct a more accurate, simpler, and impactful worldview.

This is reflected in my desire to learn through books, carefully selected long-term online sources, and wise people – as well as my desire to share the values and information I read in the world map that my brain creates from what I learn.

You can follow this in Czech at /r/cesky, where I moderate and contribute (and I’m really sorry that I try to create a more cultivated space than is customary on today’s Internet, and I don’t allow even brilliant memes and streams, nor advertising) and in a slightly more personal form on my Facebook profile, and in English on Twitter.

This, along with my profession, also reflects in my knowledge of information technology and not only the effort to use it but also to help and facilitate the use of IT for others who cannot devote as much attention to it.

I believe I am incredibly privileged, even for a white Central European, and it shows. However, I no longer feel ashamed of it and use the fruits of my privilege for the benefit of Life and Truth, and therefore, all of us.

What is your background?

I was born in the 1980s to a physician mother and a programmer father who later became an entrepreneur in IT and a politician for the ODS party.

Somehow, this led to me reading from the age of 4 – fairy tales, encyclopedias, and later, anything that caught my attention.

We had a computer at home due to my father’s job, which I spent a lot of time with from an early age, learning English and trying out games.

With the onset of puberty in the mid-90s came an Internet connection.

People laughed at the Internet (and computers in general) back then, if they even knew what it was, but we already knew that the Internet wouldn’t disappear; instead, it would grow alongside computers. Today’s constantly connected screens in everyone’s pockets are essentially the fulfilled dreams of that time.

The early Internet began to teach and raise me. Through MaMedia, Mageo, and Cyberspace.cz, computer games quickly taught me English and later programming and general computer use as tools. This now supports me and allows me to do and create various interesting things.

Alongside this, I was incredibly lucky with teachers and professors, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree from an English-speaking school and a useful education in humanities.

I began my life as a Christian and techno-optimist, gradually becoming more interested in rationality and spirituality, eventually adopting a techno-realist view.

I am a cyborg, dependent on insulin from a smart box, so my very existence is proof of the power and potential of technology. However, I also recognize its limitations and the need for balance between our technological advancements and our humanity.

I’ve experienced the rise and fall of social networks, from ICQ and IRC through Messenger, Skype, and Facebook. I’ve seen the evolution of online communities, from discussion forums to blogs, from the wild west of the Internet to the information overload we experience today.

Throughout all these changes, I have remained a part of the online world, learning, adapting, and sharing my thoughts and experiences. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of the digital realm, and it has shaped me into the person I am today.

In my personal life, I have been fortunate enough to have a loving family and a close circle of friends who have supported and challenged me throughout my life. I have three children who bring me joy and teach me new lessons every day. I strive to be a good husband, father, and friend and to contribute positively to the lives of those around me.