Many birth defects are rare, and require 2 copies of a defective gene to show up. Most “normal” people will be carrying a few defective genes (out of thousands of pairs), but are fine because they have a good copy still working.
Family members tend to have similar genes.
The chances of you and a family member having the SAME defective gene are massively greater than you and some random stranger.
Thus any child would also have a massively greater chance of inheriting 2 identical copies of the defect.
“Animals don’t behave like men,’ he said. ‘If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill they kill. But they don’t sit down and set their wits to work to devise ways of spoiling other creatures’ lives and hurting them. They have dignity and animality.”― Richard Adams, Watership Down
That book does a really good job of presenting just how shitty humans are pretty much throughout, without coming across as being preachy or sanctimonious, and I like that.
Richard Adams wrote it based on his military time. Certain features of the book are clearly informed by his experience, like how they're constantly talking about how fatigued or rested they are, based on the speed they've been traveling or working and how long they've been at it.
He said he based particular characters on particular people he knew. The seagull was a big explosives guy, Bigwig was a tough-as-hell officer that he really liked working with, and so on.
Yeah Animorphs as a kid had a darkness that Goosebumps couldn’t touch. The first one for me was realizing that one of the party members was forever stuck as a fucking bird, and they had whole chapters of his perspective getting used to the fact that his former life is gone. That was unheard of at the time.
Rachel becoming a fucked up person who only knew how to live in war was also great.
Tomorrow when the war began was another childhood fave of mine.
I wouldn’t say that sort of stuff was unheard of. My mum gave me some super tragic books about Polish kids during the war, there was loads of stuff with like thawing dead soldiers enough to steal boots etc. My mum’s Polish so fed me a lot of grim stuff to read to help understand her parents and their experiences. Idk if you’re usaian? maybe popular stuff was a bit more sanitised because of moral majority stuff?
Yeah I’m American and we had mostly Scholastic book fairs and the school library to count on for books. Animorphs, being published under them, was heavily advertised at the fairs.
Considering myself to be an “advanced” reader I’d stick to the young adult books, but mostly sci-fi (Dune) and fantasy (Dhampir). For 5th or 6th grade me, though, Animorphs was engaging enough until a new book came out and was constantly checked out at the library.
we are also probably the only species that has members that sympathise with other species above ourselves
I don’t buy that for a second, and neither would you if you’ve ever had a beloved pet. These little furry guys treat you like their bff, I can honestly see why some humans refer to them as fur babies.
And it’s not just cats, dogs, and crows. If you know where to look (shoutouts to the BigBoye subreddit, for example), you can find evidence of all sorts of animal species befriending humans or other species outside their own.
Cats: torture their prey to death as a form of play.
“Play” isn’t just an idle pursuit. It’s also a form of safe practice of one’s life pursuit. In the case of cats, they evolved to be almost 100% carnivores, so it’s natural for them to live, breath, and yes practice / play at honing their pursuit and kill skills. It is literally their fundamental job that separates them from dying off.
Dolphins: you dont want to know.
Let’s not forget two things here: 1) much of the rapey stuff (as with ducks) also serves the fundamental life model of reproduction being one of the highest natural priorities, however its accomplished; 2) dolphins are hella smart, just like us, and if anything, it goes to show that smart species with idle time can devise some pretty wild pastimes.
If a person did half the stuff animals do, no one could look at them the same again.
To compare the lifestyles of a single animal species (humans) with all the others is a fool’s mission. In fact, most animals live fairly predictable, innocuous lives. They have their classic interactions with the world and don’t tend to bother other species-- mainly because it’s not worth their time.
People do some awful things but we are also probably the only species that has members that sympathise with other species above ourselves.
Nonsense. Pretty much all higher social / tribal animals can pretty easily sympathise / empathise with other species, such as our fellow apes, dogs, cetaceans, corvids, elephants, parrots, and even domestic cats.
It’s also a form of safe practice of one’s life pursuit. In the case of cats,
much of the rapey stuff (as with ducks) also serves the fundamental life model of reproduction
That doesn’t refute the poster above. Humans have evolutionary imperatives too.
They have their classic interactions with the world and don’t tend to bother other species-- mainly because it’s not worth their time.
That’s not nobility as the original Watership quote implies but a simple lack of capacity to conceive and implement evil. The original quote could equally wax poetic about how rocks don’t try to spoil other creatures lives.
I agree that animals can also sympathize with other species. Intelligence is a spectrum.
That doesn’t refute the poster above. Humans have evolutionary imperatives too.
It does when you put it in context, tho, that being that the poster above did not refute Adams’ point in any meaningful way. Specifically-- rape isn’t ordinary in terms of two-sex species, and is likely a poorer long-term survival mechanism compared to courtship species.
That’s not nobility as the original Watership quote implies but a simple lack of capacity to conceive and implement evil. The original quote could equally wax poetic about how rocks don’t try to spoil other creatures lives.
That’s not correct. Higher animals certainly possess more self-awareness than rocks, and have (as you say) a spectrum of capacity for self-awareness, for reflection, and for modifying one’s behavior.
The real point is this-- unlike all known animals, we collectively have the information available to us of how terribly our existence and practices are fueling one of the greatest extinction events in Earth history… on track with causing civilisation to collapse, likely causing most of humanity to soon die out, if not go entirely extinct. We have not just that info based on the science, facts & reality, but the average mental capacity to understood and take necessary action to prevent all this. Or at least, we “had.” Instead we’ve collectively chosen to pursue our individual lives and let things sort themselves out. Well, good luck with that.
poorer long-term survival mechanism compared to courtship species.
Evolution doesn’t care about ideal mechanics- only good enough. Rape was common in the ancient world. Rape happens today despite the long term survival favoring long term pairs.
Higher animals certainly possess more self-awareness than rocks
I was relating the spectrum of intelligence. That is human is to animal as animal is to rock. I didn’t claim that animals have no awareness but that they are less than humans. So attributing nobility to what is really a lack of ability is like attributing nobility to a rock.
A rooster would plot and murder its neighbors if it had the intelligence and opposable thumbs to make weapons.
Evolution doesn’t care about ideal mechanics- only good enough. Rape was common in the ancient world. Rape happens today despite the long term survival favoring long term pairs.
There’s certainly some facts & reality there, professor, but that still doesn’t change the fundamental point which Adams’ made, and I defended. It’s like you’re freely swinging from ‘matters of proportion’ to binary values in order to fit your argument.
So attributing nobility to what is really a lack of ability is like attributing nobility to a rock.
Which was a poor analogy from day one, considering the many permutations.
Also-- that’s a pretty weird, tight-ass understanding of what Adams meant by “nobility.”
Like, seriously…?
A rooster would plot and murder its neighbors if it had the intelligence and opposable thumbs to make weapons.
Okay, you win on that one-- I fear you’re exactly right there; ala chickens being such unnecessary assholes towards each other and other creatures.
Tell you what, though-- feel free to have the last reply.
It’s like you dance around a smidgen of a circuitous argument, but can never actually figure out what you’re actually trying to say. (or think) Good luck, you.
but that still doesn’t change the fundamental point
A poster pointed out that animals aren’t better than humans and will do anything they can get away with just like humans. You attempted to appeal to evolution which I refuted. The refutation means Adams is wrong. Animals are like humans because humans are animals too.
It’s like you dance around a smidgen of a circuitous argument
People are not automatons that are obligated to no longer think a behavior is fucked up just because that behavior benefited these animals in terms of increasing the liklihood of them passing down their genes.
As for one species empathising with another, that is a far cry from empathising more with another species than your own or being willing to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of another species. I WAS NOT saying that no species empathises with another.
People are not automatons that are obligated to no longer think a behavior is fucked up just because that behavior benefited these animals in terms of increasing the liklihood of them passing down their genes.
Sure, that’s fine. Label and condemn as you like.
My point is, that’s not a relevant rebuttal to Adams’ quote, as most sexually dimorphic animals do not behave that way. I.e., females generally select their partners, and are not commonly raped. Indeed, that’s part of the whole long-term survival point-- that ‘courtship’ species have better chances for genetic diversity & fitness for their environs.
As for one species empathising with another, that is a far cry from empathising more with another species than your own or being willing to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of another species. I WAS NOT saying that no species empathises with another.
shrug
Okay, if you say so. It sure sounded like it, but maybe I misread.
Sure, but they don’t consciously choose to do it. Fungus doesn’t decide that it’s going to make life miserable for the plant it’s growing on, a tall shade tree doesn’t decide to starve the smaller plants beneath it of sunlight. We’re unique in our capacity to see a possible course of action, do an in-depth analysis of the effects that it will have, see every foreseeable shitty outcome, and decide, consciously, to do it anyway.
It is a geeky pun, 1e100 is scientific notation for 1 followed by a hundred zeroes. This number is called a googol, which is similar sounding to google.
You’re going to get a LOT of reductive and low effort answers from Lemmy radicals. But this is a super complex question, and there’s not a 5-second ELI5 answer if you really want to understand.
Also, when the radicals scream at you, there’s going to be a core of truth. They’re going to yell about colonization and empires. That’s a major factor, but not an exclusive one. However, for getting radical and rabidly furious its all they’ll bother posting to you.
Things to investigate, because answering this for yourself in a meaningful way is going to take a while and require study. Here are some topics but NOT an exhaustive list:
Colonization
Resources (natural and otherwise)
Schooling, education, etc.
Stability, politically and otherwise (note this will have overlap with colonial and non-colonial powers destabilizing things intentionally for geopolitical gain)
Medicine as regionally practiced, traditional vs based on the the scientific method.
Geopolitics (isolationism, etc)
Geography (i.e. the US’s greatest asset is its location, it neighbors no enemies and its main enemies are separated by an ocean. One of the key reasons the US focuses on the ability to project force)
Religion
Corruption (politically and non politically)
Crime and non-military/nation based violence (also could get grouped under personal safety and security)
And again, honestly, a lot of these topics will overlap, but that’s what I mean by there isn’t a quick, easy answer.
And the reductive stupid answer is just yelling colonialism.
There’s a reason people get PhDs in this subject. It’s not a quick, easy question.
And the reductive stupid answer is just yelling colonialism.
Most of those reasons, that are very real, are explicitly derived of colonialism.
For instance:
2 (resources) is the cause that the US promotes puppet right-wing governments or directly destroys countries to pillage them.
3 (education) is systematically destroyed in many countries because they want to make public education disappear so it’s for profit. Again, following the US model and most likely benefiting US companies (for instance “educational” campaigns to teach proprietary products created by US companies, e.g. Microsoft)
4 (stability) is directly threatened by the US foreign policy of destroying every country that is ideologically or economically inconvenient for the unimpeded proliferation of unbridled, savage capitalism.
6: in many developing countries public health has been destroyed to follow for-profit schemes based in the US model, to benefit either US companies or US-backed right-wing politicians.
11: Crime is worst in countries reduces to poverty, in many cases by US-backed lending policies sending countries into misery.
All this, of course, is supported by years of colonial teachings after which the people in the “developing” countries despise themselves and look up to the powerful countries as inherently superior, even morally.
Not just the US. Cambridge Analytica is trying to manipulate our politics through scummy means such as misinformation campaigns. And our country is being fucked by the effects of Climate Change while western countries are celebrating because “it’s more sunny and warm now! :D”, and “finally more viable real estate!”
Many of the issues CAN be and are linked to colonialism, reread what I wrote.
Yes, your points are pertinent and support problems that colonialism is relevant to, I did not claim otherwise.
However, you’re clearly focused on negatives and crimes (in many cases rightfully so) the US has caused. But the question wasn’t exclusive to the US and is not exclusive to the US.
For the OPs question, trying to exclusively link everything to or overstate the colonial influence is an example of what I was saying as well.
It’s comforting to pretend that we just say one word “colonialism” and think that now we’re experts on the subject. But there’s so much more than colonialism, which again is a big factor (the first I listed), and overemphasis of it while disregarding the other real issues and nuances is counterproductive to learning.
Many of these issues can be also be related to the fact that the citizens of powerful countries are entitled assholes who vote their countries to continue the exploitation of other countries.
Your membership in one of those citizen groups is, of course, completely conjectural, but I have a strong opinion about it.
I’m not convinced, considering the US and many other countries with high standard of living are also leading the world in external debt (both total and per capita).
Maybe you mean debt to GDP+wealth ratio? Or more specifically, bad credit with international banks.
I’m not an economist though, so I’d be curious to hear if there is more explanation for why you consider debt to be “the main reason.”
I am aware that some countries have been “screwed over” by large banks that had specific detrimental stipulations for debt forgiveness though. For example, look at the Latin American Debt Crisis.
…the Fed convened an emergency meeting of central bankers from around the world to provide a bridge loan to Mexico. Fed officials also encouraged US banks to participate in a program to reschedule Mexico’s loans (Aggarwal 2000). As the crisis spread beyond Mexico, the United States took the lead in organizing an “international lender of last resort,” a cooperative rescue effort among commercial banks, central banks, and the IMF. Under the program, commercial banks agreed to restructure the countries’ debt, and the IMF and other official agencies lent the LDCs sufficient funds to pay the interest, but not principal, on their loans. In return, the LDCs agreed to undertake structural reforms of their economies and to eliminate budget deficits. The hope was that these reforms would enable the LDCs to increase exports and generate the trade surpluses and dollars necessary to pay down their external debt (Devlin and Ffrench-Davis 1995). Although this program averted an immediate crisis, it allowed the problem to fester. Instead of eliminating subsidies to state-owned enterprises, many LDC countries instead cut spending on infrastructure, health, and education, and froze wages or laid off state employees. The result was high unemployment, steep declines in per capita income, and stagnant or negative growth—hence the term the “lost decade” (Carrasco 1999).
Thought debt could go into some of the other categories. Calling it out individually or under a broader umbrella of economics would be fine, too. It’s just a suggestion list for OP to research.
Actually, you’re just reducing complex issue of exercising power over other countries to “colonialism” than trying to criticize people correctly recognizing this issue as “radicals”. Most of what you listed can be directly linked to western countries destabilizing other regions by military or covert actions, installing puppet governments, using their influence to steal resources and keeping other economies in check so that they don’t develop into competitors. No one thinks that it’s all because some country was a colony 200 years ago. Western influence never really ended in most of those countries and that’s what is keeping them down.
Colonialism has done really bad things in the African and Middle Eastern continent. When they withdrew they irresponsibly drew the borders and now civil wars happen all the fucking time
Yes, but OP was asking for more than a single high-level example. And, again, exclusively answering colonialism would be disingenuous if we implied that was THE answer instead of part of it.
Kamala Harris becomes President, VP office is empty until she nominates a replacement and they’re confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress, which likely does not happen.
DNC needs to figure out how to select a new candidate, likely using a process they’ve created already but never tested.
RNC already had primaries scheduled, and they’ll remove Trump from ballots where possible, as he’d be ineligible on account of having died, and they continue their primary process. It’s probably between Haley and Desantis in the end, seeing who can pick up more Trump voters. Ramaswami probably becomes a bit more relevant, but still loses.
The media loses their minds, and the people of the Internet make so many references to Death Note.
You forgot the part where millions of people still write in Donald Trump based on the widespread conspiracy that he's still alive, and we get to figure out what happens when a state tries to elect a dead man.
Disagree. I fully support this conspiracy theory and I am quite certain the GOP would do it if they had the chance. It’s better than running ads for a 3rd party candidate to splitthe vote. Just get on #chan and speculate or report sightings of him.
This would mean nothing because the electoral college exists. Likely all the red states would opt for the Republican candidate and blue for the Democratic candidate.
This happened in Missouri in 2000 for a senate seat. The governor appointed his widow to the senate seat which she lost in the special election shortly afterwards.
Defederating Beehaw would not only weaken it as an instance, but remove its positive influence from the wider fediverse. The big platforms wield so much power and influence and money, the smaller upstarts need to connect as much as possible to stand a chance at relevance as a credible alternative. We’re all better together. I really hope you reconsider.
IIRC there’s some evidence that cold temperatures weaken the immune system. Assuming it’s valid, that does mean that cold could be the deciding factor between contracting a cold or fighting if off.
Now obviously germ theory is correct and it takes external infection to catch a cold, but it’s a pretty safe bet you’re being more or less constantly exposed to COVID and the flu whenever you’re in an indoor public space.
While being cold isn’t the cause of a cold there are some links between being cold and transmission of the flu even beyond people huddling together inside.
The lipids the viruses attach to become more durable hence resilient, and multiple studies have shown that cold temperatures have a suppressive effect on the immune system.
Most of what people believe about America’s history is post WWII mythmaking and revision. It’s a shame because the labor movement in America has a fascinating history, and we’re about to relive it.
Not even that. Politicians in even just the generation after Washington deified the framers of the Constitution, even when the remaining alive ones protested against it.
Quick reminder that “Europe” is a mosaic of countries, and that there is a huge difference between let’s say, Portugal, Austria and Latvia.
I don’t really think there is a country which would be so liberal regarding marriage that you could get married by Elvis or a Machine on short notice amd drunk just to get laid (on the other hand, most European cultures stopped caring about marriage, and donxt need it to get laid or have kids)
The US is a huge mosaic of states, and there’s a huge difference between say California and the Deep South.
That being said, their question still stands as they were just curious about possibilities in a region. The US is just as large and diverse, so it’s possible something like that exists in Europe, and if so, what.
It isn’t bullshit. I don’t what else to tell you. 50 states, each with their own cultures and dialects. If you don’t want to believe it, that’s your business, but that’s the way it is.
I can’t even be bothered arguing. Your level of stupid has been proven time and again to be immune to facts and reason. It’s very obvious you’ve never been to either of those fucking countries though otherwise you wouldn’t say what you did.
If you say so. Doesn’t help that you jumped straight to calling me stupid for trying to tell you how it is. You don’t bother arguing because you don’t know what you’re talking about to begin with. Go back to reddit. You fit in better there.
If I thought you were amenable to changing your mind I’d consider arguing my point, but I’ve yet to see an American with such a brain-dead opinion change their mind. It would be like trying to convince a MAGAt that Donnie is unfit to be President.
I live in California. I’ve been to Alabama, Portugal, and Latvia (just this year for the Baltics, great places). I disagree.
Parts of the deep south are just fucking alien in a way I’ve never felt anywhere else.
Different places in Europe are, of course, different. But different in a way you can wrap your head around with an undercurrent of commonality. The same things being done in interestingly different ways by normal people.
The sense of dislocation and strangeness I feel in certain (not all) places in the deep south is far beyond anything I’ve experienced, not just in Europe, but also Asia, South America, and North Africa.
Naw, that’s more like LA vs SF when talking about Californians. Different beliefs, social behavior, dialects, history, architecture, etc.
You guys really need to get away from lumping Americans in the same bin in conversation. The US is huge and covers more diverse cultures in a single state than most people understand. We’re friends with Europeans, regardless of what country you’re from. We love you guys! Stop falling victim to propaganda and remember that we are allies.
Dang…6 day old response and I just got the notification. Sorry!
They are not tiny by comparison, which is what I’m trying to convey. For one, we have every culture in the world fully represented here across multiple regions. If that isn’t enough to convince you, take a trip that includes maybe LA, Seattle, Idaho, Minnesota or anything adjacent, NYC, south Florida, Alabama or Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. I doubt this will convince you, but I have to at least try. It really bothers me when people say shit like “Americans are x,” completely discounting the fact that we are a federation of 50 different countries, each with it’s own unique laws and cultures.
It’s beyond bizarre to me that you’d think the differences between states in the US would be comparable to that of countries in Europe. Think of the language alone.
Yes, and not even that stands. Every language you have, we have here as well. Just because English is our primary language doesn’t mean everyone here speaks it, either. Is it so hard to believe a nation of immigrants from around the globe is somehow more culturally diverse than Europe? Tell me where you’re from and I’ll take you to a community here that has everything you have there down to the floor tiles.
Just wait until they get caught targeting people in recovery for these liquor ads at the optimal time for them to cave and make an order. You know that shit’s going to be a scandal sometime in the next few years.
My buddy’s dad is an alcoholic with a ton of health issues. He had a stroke a while back and had to quit drinking as a result. He can’t drive anymore or even really leave the house. Well, his wife recently passed away, and someone showed him door dash and Uber eats was a thing to help him get food delivered. He saw they had alcohol on it, and now he regularly gets beer delivered. Like, the guy’s old AF n lost his wife, so who am I to judge him wanting to get liquored up, but he probably wouldn’t be drinking right now if this all happened 10 years ago.
The people most confident in their competence tend to be the least competent in practice.
The Dunning–Kruger effect.
Self-cheerleaders tend to be morons, the most intelligent people by their nature tend to second guess their own abilities. Idiots just stroll through life taking whatever credit they can grab.
“The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and i am no quite sure that i know that.”
-Socrates
"Throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.’
-Donald Trump
See the difference? By genuinely doubting, aka examining your abilities, you are in more competent company.
more people oughta read about and pay attention to philosophy shit is actually pretty interesting. if nothing else just to see how predictable the uneducated monkey brain is.
I’ve always considered the “why” to be the most important question for me.
In our society, the answer is almost always money, which is a means and not an end, and so western culture seems to be miserably grinding itself into the dirt, usually without ever looking up and asking what the deeper point is.
I feel like I’ve invited everyone in my family to go on a great, grand vacation away and I’m the only one who’s packed.
From their perspective, you’re the fringe idealist who wants to move to a strange, remote place because of nebulous political ideology they neither understand nor wish to understand. And you are proposing that they uproot all of their preexisting social connections, support infrastructure, comfort, and familiarity to come live with you out in the middle of your scary, unfamiliar dystopia. Or, at least, force them to book a redeye flight and stay at a suspect hotel every time they want to visit you.
And honestly, you really are the fringe idealist here. Look at where you are posting this. Look at how few of us there are. Look at how many hoops you needed to jump through to set up what you have now. I certainly don’t think you’re wrong to champion privacy-focused ideals, but it absolutely is, strictly speaking in a populist context, extremely weird. It is weird to want to understand computerized tech, to know what it actually does, and to make bold, against-the-grain choices based on that knowledge. This is the unfortunate reality, and you have to make your peace with it.
I really do think your option is binary here. Join 'em, or cut 'em. Once you’ve shot your shot to convince someone to be more consciencious of their privacy and to take action to better secure it, and they frustratingly decline, that’s it. They are not coming with you. Further pressing the issue will just drive a wedge between the two of you. At that point, the choice is yours. What’s stronger, your willingness to stay conected, or your principles? Are you so rigidly disciplined that you’re willling to cut ties (at least, through these channels) just to keep it? If so, I guess that’s just a reflection of how much your principles really mean to you. If not, well, it’s SMS/RCS and Google Docs for you.
Until about halfway into my teens, no one told me that periods were painful, or involved behavior altering hormone releases. I thought my sisters were becoming moody & rude for no reason. I was generally aware of the concept of periods, but not of the broader effects. I feel I might have been much more sympathetic had I known.
Well, it’s a spectrum. I worked with a woman that was spending the whole time in our office laying on the floor during her period because how painful it was. But I’m also married with a woman that doesn’t have any symptoms at all and when asked about she said the only annoyance was having tampons ready.
And finally: “Did the popup and the massive media attention to it cause an increase in overall adblocker usage that will do more harm in the long run to Google/Alphabet than they could ever recoup from Youtube whitelisting or Premium sales.”
Yep, good addition and probably the really important one.
Personally I think they are going to find that the people who use add blockers will never view adds on youtube.
They will either find a workaround or stop using it all together.
If the publicity around this action causes more people to move in the direction of using addblockers it could be really counter productive for youtube.
If the publicity around this action causes more people to move in the direction of using addblockers it could be really counter productive for youtube.
That all depends on if the revenue loss from an increase in ablocker use is more than the revenue gain from people either disabling adblockers or purchasing a plan.
Pretty sure most corporations aren’t operating with this in mind at all. It’s not about long term anything, it’s just about how many ads the human brain can withstand before they stop feeding at the content trough.
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