@futurebird@sauropods.win
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

futurebird

@futurebird@sauropods.win

pro-ant propaganda, building electronics, writing sci-fi teaching mathematics & CS. I live in NYC.

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futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

“We see you haven’t voted yet. Your voting record is public,” a recent mailer to Texas Republicans says. “Your neighbors are watching and will know if you miss this critical runoff election. We will notify President Trump if you don’t vote. You can’t afford to have that on your record.”

The thing about a "strong" "leader"? Eventually you'll be the one targeted when things get desperate enough. No matter how much you think you are the kind of person who wouldn't be.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-supporters-are-now-sending-threatening-letters-to-get-people-to-vote-for-him/ar-BB1mV1XP

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

The whole mentality behind this speaks to some notion that Trump supporters have about being rewarded, or favored by participating in the movement?

Maybe that's why some participate in rallies and advertise their allegiance?

futurebird, (edited ) to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I don't know, pick one:

A. You have an excellent education, the means to answer questions: building a consistent understanding of the world. You are hard to trick. That said, you live in a society where the powerful can't be criticized. Many things you know cannot be said.

B. You freely and loudly express your ideas. But, you have very little education, formal or otherwise. You have been tricked before & know you could be again. You just don't have the best tools to prevent this.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I don't think this split mirrors any political divide. "The powerful can't be criticized" is always true to some degree.

I do think we are in danger of losing the gains that have made people harder to trick over the past few hundred years. And I think there are too many people who know they will be tricked and sort of accept it as inevitable which is disturbing.

When you tell them that need not happen they just don't believe you.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@nowan

Maybe that's the trick. These people live in the same world.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@mmby

Neither of these are stable situations. They are both highly unstable ... but in different ways I think.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@mattmcirvin

They know they have been tricked. They are trying not to be tricked again by simply rejecting "the common wisdom"

But that's just being contrary... that's not how you really avoid being tricked.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

The decisions and policy that have the most profound impacts on the greatest number of human lives often aren't the ones talked about most often in political discourse.

What is the biggest difference between life in this era and say... European feudalism?

I would argue it's near universal literacy. And along with simply having access to the written word, the highest percentage of a population armed with some scraps of what you might call a "liberal arts education"

The ability to self-teach.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

To be clear. I don't think "workers need to be more educated for the modern world"

I don't care about producing "workers" for anyone. It is a basic human need to know about the world. To ask questions, find answers and (more importantly) to ask questions & find more questions.

To cut people off from this aspect of their humanity is cruel.

If you think people should have "freedoms" that's meaningless if they don't have the information and intellectual tools to make anything of that freedom.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I think that's why AI, is such a seductive technology for these people. What if you didn't need to have workers smart enough to make good decisions? What if you could have a machine, which you could own and control take care of those choices?

Then the workers could be functionally illiterate, with minds full of fear and superstitions. Easy to manipulate, and no one would ever threaten your place at the top, raise your taxes, or write mean articles about you in the newspapers no one could read.

futurebird, (edited )
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

It's clear that AI can't do even a tenth of what it promises, but they keep grasping that dream of not really needing to have smart people to work with... because the problem with smart people who are good at their jobs, who have bright ideas that make your project even better... the problem with such people is they see themselves as collaborators ... they won't just do the thing, then let you take the credit and then forget about it.

They want to shape the future with you. It's intolerable!

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Remember the old refrain of "workers must be more educated for the modern world" ... it's starting to slip away. I think that's because some people have come to see it as a mistake.

It's really sad to watch. Really disappointing. I guess it's not surprising that some wealthy and powerful people feel threatened by the idea of "the masses" thinking.

But have they forgotten that there is no technological progress without it?

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Ant Insults
(inter-colony)

  • Your queen's egg production is FALLING
  • Six-Sister (implying the other ant comes from a tiny colony and only has six sisters)
  • Termite
  • Your majors can't follow a six thick trail.
  • Doodle Bug Offering
  • Ladybirder (implies aphid rustling)
  • frass face
futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

If you lean down close to the ground and listen you can sometimes hear tiny angry little voices.

https://www.tumblr.com/futurebird/751486007661248512/video-description-on-a-bit-of-sidewalk-near-the?source=share

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Are you living in your home or apartment, living your own life...

OR

...do you run a bed and breakfast for your cat?

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@LordCaramac

Tokuhiro Kawai's paintings of cats live in my head rent free every day.

Another painting of the same round headed cat. Being crowned and being fed a dish of cream poured by flying cherubs with strategically placed modesty clouds.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@LordCaramac

You can see it too... right?

Look at her!

https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/112481600160154952

Lucia, to random
@Lucia@eldritch.cafe avatar

The best thing about Linux is that it guarantees you will never have to wait on phone line for Windows customer support ever again 😂

Just enter your problem in your browser and it has probably already been solved and explained by a bunch of nerds on a forum somewhere who are getting impatient about solving such mundane problems for us less experienced folx.

But... Back before smartphones were invented (unless you count Blackberry) and my problem was no internet connectivity, solving problems was much harder lol.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@Lucia

Alternately simply write a confident post on here explaining how to fix your problem in a condescending and INCORRECT (second part is key) way-- you will have the correct solution in milliseconds.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Just two amazing women hanging out. Absolute legends. Have to love it.

(Impulse Ants is one of the strangest antkeepers online. They have a bewildering collection of exotic queens. Dozens of videos comparing the size. At first I thought they were fight videos & was very angry. But Impulse claims they are just helpful for learning morphology. I wish they'd use a better camera if they are going to stress the girls out like this. These two seem delightfully indifferent.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ticy2U6g0

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Thing is you show me a link to a video where I can see two queens of species I've read about side by side and I'm clicking on that... it is helpful.

Maybe I just need to get over my initial anger when I thought these were fights. Maybe it's just that lingering suspicion.

Maybe I'm mad I'll never keep any of these species LOL. The exotic pet world always makes me uneasy.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Increasing the Social Security cap is not "communism" and never will be "communism."

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Herodotocy: Made up "facts" and "history" that is exaggerated, vague, or just totally wrong.

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