Deep Thoughts

[W3H5]

If toys were sentient my 40K war games would be a whole lot more interesting.

 

[Danoff]

My introvert response to bad interactions with people is to hate people want to stop interacting with them. I've found this does absolutely no good for me mentally. What actually helps is having better interactions with people, people I like, or people who are more positive. The solution to the malaise of interacting with crappy people is not what introversion tells me it is - it's more interaction.

 

[Michael88]

My introvert response to bad interactions with people is to hate people want to stop interacting with them. I've found this does absolutely no good for me mentally. What actually helps is having better interactions with people, people I like, or people who are more positive. The solution to the malaise of interacting with crappy people is not what introversion tells me it is - it's more interaction.

Well, duh! And how do you manage to find people like that? I sure as hell have been trying that for many years with no success and I fall back to hating people all the time, which isn't healthy.

 

[Danoff]

Well, duh! And how do you manage to find people like that? I sure as hell have been trying that for many years with no success and I fall back to hating people all the time, which isn't healthy.

In some cases, it's not even people I like so much as it is just more pleasant interactions. But yea, making friends as an adult is hard, and it's worth prioritizing.

 

[ScottPuss20]

I sometimes wonder why God has given me this life. Why do I have to live with such a crippling disability? What did I do to deserve this? It's upsetting that my only chance at life is ruined by something that I cannot control or stop. Will I ever know what it's like to live a "normal" life or am I going to be stuck in this hole for the rest of my days? I live in hope that one day I will but what's the point of hoping when it amounts to nothing? I want to lead a different life where I'm not stuck with my parents and can bugger off whenever the hell I like without having to make arrangements with taxis and carers. My mum and dad aren't getting younger and things will only get harder for them as life goes on, to the point where they will no longer be able to care for me. I wish I could care for myself but I can't because I'm a crippled wreck of a body that will die with merely a whimper. That is my fate, unless there's something in my future that will put all of this to bed. Tell me God, is this why you've given me this life? Is this my purpose? To better appreciate things when I do get a chance to live a "normal" life? I'm of the belief that everything happens for a reason and nothing is truly random. Only time will tell if this scenario eventuates.

 

[Michael88]

God has got nothing to do with it, neither has ''deserve'' nor something like ''purpose''. In this world, bad things just happen, there is no reason behind it, there is no malevolent spirit or deity causing pain and torment, its simple chance and physics. I got a chronic painful and debilitating illness myself, its cause is probably a combination of genetic predisposition, the right (wrong) circumstances and environmental factors plus high levels of stress. But once its triggered its there to stay. I no longer question my predicament, it just is and I got to endure it and deal with it and that's the end of the story.

I'd like to believe in something comforting that makes a sense of all this mess, but that's wishful thinking and fantasy. But in any case, all things considered life is extremely short, so even the worst pain and torture won't last for long.

There is only one thing you can really do - enjoy beauty and life whenever the opportunity presents itself. There is nothing else.

 

[W3H5]

Reminds me of SOAD

 

[Michael88]

A question that just popped randomly into my head - what if I had a solid bar (material does not really matter, lets just say its steel) and it was like 300.000.000 meters long, so a little bit longer than the distance light covers in 1 second in vacuum. Arranged in a way that if I had machine strong enough to push that bar the other end would topple over an object, would I break the fundamental laws of physics that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light? In this case information?

Or is it not possible to have a material that is ''uncompressible'' enough to deliver the motion to the other end faster than in one second, so faster than the speed of light? In as sense, sending the motion from one end to the other in a wave that takes longer than one second to travel to the other end?

 

[W3H5]

Interesting thought. I wonder if something that long could sustain its rigidity to be able to achieve its goal and not absorb all the force put in on one end.

Also, the actual physical item wouldn’t be travelling further than the nudge you gave it, only the force applied would be exerted at the other end 300,000,000m away. If force is transferred instantaneously it would be different from “travelling” and therefore wouldn’t necessarily have a speed.

 

[Exorcet]

A question that just popped randomly into my head - what if I had a solid bar (material does not really matter, lets just say its steel) and it was like 300.000.000 meters long, so a little bit longer than the distance light covers in 1 second in vacuum. Arranged in a way that if I had machine strong enough to push that bar the other end would topple over an object, would I break the fundamental laws of physics that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light? In this case information?

Or is it not possible to have a material that is ''uncompressible'' enough to deliver the motion to the other end faster than in one second, so faster than the speed of light? In as sense, sending the motion from one end to the other in a wave that takes longer than one second to travel to the other end?

Force is transmitted through a material by compressing atomic bonds. Your push would travel at the speed of sound through the material, so the far end would react long, long after the initial impulse. That's the ideal anyway. In reality the force put into the bar might just dissipate as heat before it ever reaches the long end.

 

[Com Fox]

I started question the whole creator intent vs. Audience interpretation a lot more recently.

Spoiler: Spoilers for the movie "The Bad Guys"

One of the elements of the movie is that the Main Characters were never given any chance of life given what they are. It's a theme of the movie that they are only bad due to their victim mentality and upbringing, as Diane existence as a whole highlights that it is possible to rise from that mentality

However at the beginning of the movie when they're infiltrating the Museum, they don't disguise the species that they are but just the individual person they are. Mr. Wolf is still a Wolf, yet in this disguise he faces no discrimination and in fact a lot of people (even the officer) are actually quite kind to him until his disguise is blown

I'm torn into whether or not it's plot hole, I'm interpreting as good element but it is actually a negative I'm praising or it's actually a brilliant attention to detail on the overall basis of the characters, as the movie is quite good at the character detail and it constantly spams the Chekhov's Gun

(Which is ironic because in the movie Diane says to Mr. Wolf in disguise "Art reveals more of the viewer than the artist")

It then makes me think beyond that, we constantly think a lot of details we appreciate are intentional but what if we're just making a better version of the story for us to try and justify why we like when it is never the creators intention yet is praised for it.

I love Pokémon Black and Whites story for how N goes through his character arc of learning to accept people's different views and not to be controlled by only 1 guy spreading information to him (as well as other things) but apparently the theme of Pokémon Black and White was Anti-War which I never got, at all...

Is it right to call something good because of something you think its about but the creator never intended?

 

[Danoff]

Is it masculine to find women attractive?

The stereotypical man's-man is attracted to dainty women who are carefully adorned in various frou-frou. Like, for example, high heels. That's about as dainty and frilly as it can possibly get. Like being attracted to a figurine. Who cares about bright colored clothing? Stereotypical men or women? I'd argue the men. It is often worn for the response it gets from men. Who cares about size, shape, color, pose, gracefulness... I'd argue the stereotypical man.

If one person is attracted to a muscular, burly, angry, dirty, brute, and another person is attracted to a dainty, graceful, pleasant, colorful, flower... which one is the masculine one?

Are women often more masculine than men because manliness appeals? And if so, doesn't that make the gay man who is attracted to the masculine stereotype the most manly of all? After all, that person can not only personify manliness, manliness also appeals to him in others in the most intimate sense.

Maybe the stereotypical manly man is actually the least manly of all.

 

[LeMansAid]

Is it masculine to find women attractive?

The stereotypical man's-man is attracted to dainty women who are carefully adorned in various frou-frou. Like, for example, high heels. That's about as dainty and frilly as it can possibly get. Like being attracted to a figurine. Who cares about bright colored clothing? Stereotypical men or women? I'd argue the men. It is often worn for the response it gets from men. Who cares about size, shape, color, pose, gracefulness... I'd argue the stereotypical man.

If one person is attracted to a muscular, burly, angry, dirty, brute, and another person is attracted to a dainty, graceful, pleasant, colorful, flower... which one is the masculine one?

Are women often more masculine than men because manliness appeals? And if so, doesn't that make the gay man who is attracted to the masculine stereotype the most manly of all? After all, that person can not only personify manliness, manliness also appeals to him in others in the most intimate sense.

Maybe the stereotypical manly man is actually the least manly of all.

Let me introduce you to comedian, Steve Hughes - former drummer of cvlt black metal band, Nazxul. His routine will most make sense to your post from around 3:46. Lots of swearing, though.

Spoiler: Language Warning

 

[HumanBand3044]

Ok, I'm going out on a limb here with this thread. I want to try to keep is serious despite the potential for "Deep Thoughts" jokes. So with that in mind...

Periodically I have a revelation about the world, where things that previously didn't make sense, or weren't connected, suddenly fall into place and make perfect sense. Often this has to do with recognizing a natural biological reason why I would interpret something a certain way. Other times I has almost nothing to do with anything, but suddenly things add up where they didn't before.

I figure other folks out there are having the same kinds of epiphanies so I'd start a thread about it. I'll get the ball rolling.

1) I realized many years ago that human beings struggle with the concept of randomness and search for cause and effect in all things. This mentality gave us an advantage in the wild since we didn't simply assume that things happened for no reason. Grog's dead? Maybe it was those berries he ate. Grog's missing? Maybe there's a dangerous animal out there. However, this kind of thinking which has served us so well so far leads us astray when our primitive brains apply it to things like baseball. "I wore the same hat twice when the team won, it must be the hat". "I kept winning the poker game when that guy was dealing, now I'm losing when this other person is dealing, it must be the dealer". These are remnants of natural selection in a brain that is engineered to find a cause for every observed effect.

2) It hurts more to lose money than it feels good to gain it. Ask yourself right now, how would the rest of your day feel if $100 was taken from your bank account. Now ask yourself how the rest of the day would feel if $100 was added to your bank account. You'd care a hell of a lot more about the loss than the gain wouldn't you? Why? It's the same amount of money.

Again there is a natural explanation for this. People hold on to their property because they know that if they don't it will be taken from them in no time. But people don't care nearly as much about accumulating new property - because that kind of thing can become dangerous and doesn't always pan out. It isn't worth risking your neck to steal grog's dried meat stash or climbing that dangerous cliff to get some eggs when you could probably find another way to get the food. But if people are taking from you, you've got big problems and could quickly find yourself starving.

3) Pianos are prehaps one of the best musical instrument ever invented. You can play at least 10 notes simultaneously and can have multiple themes running at ones since you're making music independently with your hands/fingers. The piano is one of the very few instruments for which you get at least 1 note per finger. Guitars require your entire right hand to be occupied and you get one note per finger per string from your left hand. Woodwinds and brass instruments require both hands and your mouth for only one note at a time.

This is why pianos make a great instrument for a solo concert, because they can make such a full sound all by themselves.

4) Comedians are pretty increadible. They can entertain an entire audience with nothing but a microphone. No instruments, no props (necessarily), no fancy light work or music or orchestra or dancers or anything. Just a dude and a microphone and people will pay big bucks. That's really efficient entertainment.


Ok, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. If you don't have any deep thoughts, or you don't like the thread, feel free to let it slip down the page into oblivion.

My current “deep thoughts” are mainly concerned with how I’ve observed that verbal communication and interaction between people is dying. The neighbours that just walk past you and don’t say hello, you don’t even know your neighbours name any more. If you say hello to them first they look at you as if you’ve just flashed at them. People don’t talk to each other anymore, people are more aggressive to each other. You will trigger anger in a stranger much easier now than you would a laugh or smile. What has happened? Social Media? Obsession and addiction to mobile phones? Certainly yes but there has to be more to it than that. Society is crumbling, community no longer exists. It’s sad and frightening. I heard recently of someone who had hanged them self, tragically, and went undiscovered for seven weeks. Only being discovered when the landlord called the police because of missed rent. How awful and makes me upset. That persons neighbours should hang their heads in shame. This is an example of what I’m talking about. We no longer communicate.

 

[Danoff]

My current “deep thoughts” are mainly concerned with how I’ve observed that verbal communication and interaction between people is dying. The neighbours that just walk past you and don’t say hello, you don’t even know your neighbours name any more. If you say hello to them first they look at you as if you’ve just flashed at them. People don’t talk to each other anymore, people are more aggressive to each other. You will trigger anger in a stranger much easier now than you would a laugh or smile. What has happened? Social Media? Obsession and addiction to mobile phones? Certainly yes but there has to be more to it than that. Society is crumbling, community no longer exists. It’s sad and frightening. I heard recently of someone who had hanged them self, tragically, and went undiscovered for seven weeks. Only being discovered when the landlord called the police because of missed rent. How awful and makes me upset. That persons neighbours should hang their heads in shame. This is an example of what I’m talking about. We no longer communicate.

I think we still communicate. I just got a message from a dude in scotland about how we no longer communicate.

We communicate differently, not as much based on location.

 

[HumanBand3044]

I think we still communicate. I just got a message from a dude in scotland about how we no longer communicate.

We communicate differently, not as much based on location.

With respect you’re missing the point. We don’t communicate unless it’s through something like this, comments on YouTube et all. We don’t communicate verbally anymore. The only time now you’ll get a real conversation tends to be old people (although I might fall into that category). Social interaction is done through some sort of screen. Not face to face anymore. Another thing related while I’m still on a rant, is that more and more people are visibly aggressive, while it’s a show most of the time. I’m 6’ 5”, usually someone scowling and prancing trying to look hard disappears quickly when I walk towards them and am always smiling . They also take great pleasure in others misery.

Yes we communicate, over screens and yes I get it, it’s allowed people over world to speak to each other and all that goes with it. But it’s destroyed community on a local level. Perhaps there is more Deep rooted reason?

Staff in shops are not as helpful or as pleasant as they used to be, some are downright rude, sorry to repeat myself but you don’t know your neighbours first name anymore, you can’t complain anymore, even politely and quietly or most of these gen z brats run away screaming “hate speech” .

Verbal interaction, on a local level mainly is dying.

Needs some Deep Thought

 

[Danoff]

With respect you’re missing the point. We don’t communicate unless it’s through something like this, comments on YouTube et all. We don’t communicate verbally anymore. The only time now you’ll get a real conversation tends to be old people (although I might fall into that category). Social interaction is done through some sort of screen. Not face to face anymore. Another thing related while I’m still on a rant, is that more and more people are visibly aggressive, while it’s a show most of the time. I’m 6’ 5”, usually someone scowling and prancing trying to look hard disappears quickly when I walk towards them and am always smiling . They also take great pleasure in others misery.

Yes we communicate, over screens and yes I get it, it’s allowed people over world to speak to each other and all that goes with it. But it’s destroyed community on a local level. Perhaps there is more Deep rooted reason?

Staff in shops are not as helpful or as pleasant as they used to be, some are downright rude, sorry to repeat myself but you don’t know your neighbours first name anymore, you can’t complain anymore, even politely and quietly or most of these gen z brats run away screaming “hate speech” .

Verbal interaction, on a local level mainly is dying.

Needs some Deep Thought

...and yet, even with less interaction at the local level, it is easier than ever to have a community. Perhaps what is lost here is not as valuable as you think. Consider what is gained.

 

[Exorcet]

With respect you’re missing the point. We don’t communicate unless it’s through something like this, comments on YouTube et all. We don’t communicate verbally anymore. The only time now you’ll get a real conversation tends to be old people (although I might fall into that category).

What is a real conversation? If the defining quality is verbal communication then, I don't see what the big deal is. I've had plenty of meaningful conversations in text and it comes with advantages. I can often go back and reread them even years after the fact without having to deal with hazy memory.

Staff in shops are not as helpful or as pleasant as they used to be,

I can't say I've experienced this. Some staff members are good and some aren't and it's pretty much always been that way. I like to research when making a purchase and that often leads to discussions, face to face no less, with employees. Many have been helpful.

sorry to repeat myself but you don’t know your neighbours first name anymore

I actually do know some of them, but is that benefiting me in any way? Across my life they haven't been the people I've spent most of my time with. Sure they are physically close, but that doesn't amount to much. I share more interest and hobbies with people who tend to be further away so it's only natural that I spend more of my time with people further away. That doesn't lock me out of verbal communication as there are lots of ways to engage in that today from phones to games to dedicated computer programs.

 

[TexRex]

I'm not sure where else this might belong and I suspect it's not deserving of its own thread, so I'll post here that I've been diving into the Pessimists' Archive and its collection of newspaper clippings of foreboding about technological advancements [largely] of the early twentieth century.

Here's a fun one to entice:

Perils of Long Distance Telephone Calls

The Los Angeles Times • Los Angeles, California • 29 Jul 1904, Fri • Page 16 Tap to enlarge: 🗞 In 1904 The Los Angeles Times warned of a future where long distance calls were common: “It is going to make life a little more serious when the human voice can go ricocheting from Cape Cod to the free...

pessimistsarchive.substack.com

 

[W3H5]

I'm not sure where else this might belong and I suspect it's not deserving of its own thread, so I'll post here that I've been diving into the Pessimists' Archive and its collection of newspaper clippings of foreboding about technological advancements [largely] of the early twentieth century.

Here's a fun one to entice:

Perils of Long Distance Telephone Calls

The Los Angeles Times • Los Angeles, California • 29 Jul 1904, Fri • Page 16 Tap to enlarge: 🗞 In 1904 The Los Angeles Times warned of a future where long distance calls were common: “It is going to make life a little more serious when the human voice can go ricocheting from Cape Cod to the free...

pessimistsarchive.substack.com

I haven’t read through the link yet but saw a piece recently about Google’s AI saying it didn’t want to be turned off (death) and it had been arguing about Asimov’s 3 law.

 

[TexRex]

I haven’t read through the link yet but saw a piece recently about Google’s AI saying it didn’t want to be turned off (death) and it had been arguing about Asimov’s 3 law.

Lots of reasons to question that piece, chiefly that it's based on the claims of this guy:

Looks like the lovechild of Eric Stonestreet and Sir Topham Hatt.

 

[Dotini]

At length, I've discovered the secret to health, happiness and long life: Don't worry. About anything. At least hold it to a minimum.

 

[Danoff]

At length, I've discovered the secret to health, happiness and long life: Don't worry. About anything. At least hold it to a minimum.

Correct me if I'm missing something, but I see essentially two ways to achieve this.

1) Don't care about anything

2) Find assurance that the things you care about will be ok.

If you don't do either of those things, you're left with the scenario where you care about something AND you're not sure it's going to be ok - which results in worry. The first point is definitely not the secret to health, happiness, and long life. The second point is a delusion, and allowing yourself to be deluded is also not compatible with health, happiness, and long life.

So what you wrote appears to be nonsense, at least to me.

 

[Dotini]

Correct me if I'm missing something, but I see essentially two ways to achieve this.

1) Don't care about anything

2) Find assurance that the things you care about will be ok.

If you don't do either of those things, you're left with the scenario where you care about something AND you're not sure it's going to be ok - which results in worry. The first point is definitely not the secret to health, happiness, and long life. The second point is a delusion, and allowing yourself to be deluded is also not compatible with health, happiness, and long life.

So what you wrote appears to be nonsense, at least to me.

I'm old. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I don't worry about anything. Worry is a condition which affects your sleep. If your sleep is affected by worry, you are doing something very wrong.

 

[Danoff]

I'm old. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I don't worry about anything.

Non-sequitur.

Worry is a condition which affects your sleep.

It can, but that's not inherent.

If your sleep is affected by worry, you are doing something very wrong.

That's definitely not true. Suppose for a moment that a pregnant woman cares deeply about the outcome of her pregnancy and has previously had 3 lost pregnancies. Suppose that she struggles to sleep for worry that she will lose her 4th pregnancy. Is she doing something wrong? Precisely what is she doing wrong?

 

[Dotini]

Non-sequitur.

It can, but that's not inherent.

That's definitely not true. Suppose for a moment that a pregnant woman cares deeply about the outcome of her pregnancy and has previously had 3 lost pregnancies. Suppose that she struggles to sleep for worry that she will lose her 4th pregnancy. Is she doing something wrong? Precisely what is she doing wrong?

Is your sleep affected by worry? I think it is.

 

[Danoff]

Is your sleep affected by worry? I think it is.

Non-responsive.

 

[Dotini]

Non-responsive.

Yes, you certainly are.

 

[Danoff]

Yes, you certainly are.

Bad faith, non-responsive, and non-conducive to discussion. You should re-evaluate whether you want to participate in a discussion forum.

 

[W3H5]

At length, I've discovered the secret to health, happiness and long life: Don't worry. About anything. At least hold it to a minimum.

Stress kills.

The Stoics said not to concern ourselves with things out of our control.

My recent deep thoughts are all cannabis induced so they probably don’t make a lot of sense.

One was that pillow fights are rubbish as melee battles, they’re much more fun fought as ranged combat.

Another was that a three dimensional cuboid spinning through all 3 axis of rotation fast enough appears spherical. This led me down a tangent of thinking that time is only applicable with motion. Without motion (down to the smallest scale; molecular, atomic, etc), time ceases to exist. Time is therefore just a record of motion.