Truth overrides nice feelings and candor overrides nice intentions. The idea of "lying to save my feelings" is repulsive: reality comes before how I feel about reality.

I am anti-tradition, and partially if not very anti-culture. Food can be evaluated against other food by taste without taking culture into account; nutrition is culture-independent by default. Norms can be evaluated based on whether they have a justifiable purpose. Appeals to tradition are established fallacies. Values should be evaluated philosophically, and beliefs should be evaluated both philosophically and scientifically. (Richard Joyce's take on moral fictionalism is the best metaethical stance I've seen to date.) What most people think of as "culture" ends when you adopt more sound methodologies for evaluating the aspects of that culture against other cultures.

I have a degree in philosophy. I'm getting a strength training certificate. I would love being a stripper. I ultimately want to publish my written works and develop AI, preferably financial AI.

I used to have a book deal, but my publisher wanted to sell the book at textbook price ($40), which means no one would buy it. Would you have? I wouldn't.