solarbabies

solarbabies, 4 days ago

The “people are selfish” take is an outdated one at best, ignorant at worst.

Desperate people with major problems are often highly motivated to solve those problems, which often leads them, paradoxically, to seek out distractions that make their problems disappear, albeit temporarily. Psychologically this satisfies the brain the same as if the problems were actually solved; in other words, it’s a shortcut to the emotional end goal of satisfaction.

Is it selfish? Partly yes, but it’s not any more selfish than actually working to solve one’s problems in more permanent ways. Therefore it’s awfully reductive to ascribe this behavior to mere selfishness.

Thanks to centuries of research on human behavior & mental health that was done after Juvenal in Ancient Rome, it’s obvious that desperate & stressed people seek out distractions to self-soothe, so they can avoid burnout and continue being functioning members of society. Therefore to some extent this behavior can also be seen as selfless.

The idea of “Bread and circuses” as lavish distractions from reality is valuable insofar as it reveals the primary mechanisms deployed by governments and corporations to control the attention of the population.

By providing highly palatable mass-produced foods and entertainment, they take advantage of workers’ need to rest, recover and feel some amount of satisfaction in their daily lives. This sustains the working population just enough to put up with going to work day after day. And I haven’t even touched on how food and media are used to keep us going to the doctor and to influence our thoughts.

solarbabies, 12 days ago

yeah this video was helpful to understand the complexity in manufacturing AAVs, namely the raw size of the proteins manufacturers need to create & interweave.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/8a922c04-207b-436a-96ce-6abd50bbc607.png

👆 that little dot in the lower left corner is Aspirin (timestamp 12:00)

solarbabies, 12 days ago

for real, I’m pro trans rights and I still sometimes accidentally deadname Elliot Page because I have dyscalculia. if you ban me for that aren’t you being ableist?

also yes context is very important.

if I say “when Caitlyn went by the name [X], and she used [Y] pronoun, [Z] thing happened to [Y]”, I assume I will still get banned for deadnaming even though I’m innocently adding clarity to a conversation.

to make things worse, if someone is trans and gender fluid, and I call them by a name or pronoun they used last time I knew about them, now I’ve committed a crime of which I had no knowledge.

this blanket condemnation of deadnaming is just dumb. it requires nuance.

solarbabies, 12 days ago

wow aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.

what does that have to do with deadnaming people?

I guess you’re the expert here since you Googled a condition & now you know everything there is to know about it, right?

let me break it down. over 12 years ago when I was diagnosed, among the better-known symptoms like mixing up numbers, “misremembering names” (especially those that start with the same letter/sound) was a frequently published symptom of dyscalculia (and dyslexia, FWIW):

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b509d703-bca8-4d1d-91d8-b9e466b204a3.png

fast forward to 2013, in the DSM-5 they changed the definition of dyslexia and dyscalculia, removed them as diagnoses and instead replaced them with a more general diagnosis: “Specific Learning Disorder”, which among other things now requires that a person is “unable to perform academically at a level appropriate to their intelligence and age.”

in my opinion, and this is just my non-professional opinion:

1. if I tell someone I have a “Specific Learning Disorder” they’ll generally have no idea what I’m talking about. it’s easier and feels more self-consistent to tell them the name of the condition I was diagnosed with, even if it’s outdated.
2. the new DSM-5 diagnosis doesn’t account for people like me who were able to excel academically despite difficulty with numbers and names. did I have to read numbers 10+ times to make sure I knew I had the right one? yes. do I still struggle immensely to do basic arithmetic in my head? absolutely. am I also a software engineer who sometimes has to work with numbers? yes. did I get straight A’s in all my math classes? yes. people with dyslexia and dyscalculia excel all the time by discovering and using their own coping mechanisms, so this diagnosis seems overly reductive to me.

again, I’m not a professional. is it possible that my symptoms which were previously attributed to dyscalculia are just a part of my ASD? sure. but I’m pretty sure if I said I have trouble remembering Elliot Page’s name because I’m autistic, people still wouldn’t know what I was talking about, and I’d have an even harder time explaining it. so there you go.

solarbabies, 16 days ago

what do you mean Telecoms companies aren’t allowed to add E2EE? there is no such regulation I’m aware of.

besides, how would Apple have been supporting E2EE in iMessage for so long if Telecoms companies weren’t allowed?

could be a motivation issue, but not a regulation issue.

solarbabies, 16 days ago

yes I know Apple isn’t a Telecoms company but you need a SIM from a Telecoms company to use iMessage. RCS runs over the Internet too, yet you also need a SIM card for that. Also Telecoms companies aren’t designing message protocols anymore. I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.

solarbabies, 18 days ago

this! don’t get me wrong, I like a nice man butt as much as the next pansexual guy, but if I’m gonna look at someone’s backside for a 40 hour campaign, I’d rather it be a woman’s.

solarbabies, 19 days ago

Yes, and as linear algebra teaches, to convert a vector from direction and magnitude to a list of numbers (components), follow these steps:

1. Let the magnitude of the vector be represented by the symbol |A| or A.
2. Let the direction of the vector be represented by the angle θ, which is measured counterclockwise from the positive x-axis.
3. The x-component of the vector is given by: Ax = |A| cos(θ)
4. The y-component of the vector is given by: Ay = |A| sin(θ)

The vector can now be represented as a list of numbers: A = (Ax, Ay)

For example, if a vector has a magnitude of 5 units and a direction of 30° counterclockwise from the positive x-axis, its components would be:

Ax = 5 cos(30°) ≈ 4.33 units Ay = 5 sin(30°) ≈ 2.50 units

The vector can now be written as A = (4.33, 2.50)

source

solarbabies, 1 month ago

and what’s the legal definition of “recklessly” in this context? who knows, leave it up to corrupt judges to decide…

solarbabies, 1 month ago

they outlawed are trying & succeeding to make illegal (already passed the state legislature) the “intentional or reckless” spread of the virus without defining what “reckless” means

solarbabies, 1 month ago

not recently, the law was passed 160 years ago and this month the state supreme court has now decided to enact it… is there any meaningful difference or do you just like to hear yourself talk?

solarbabies, 1 month ago

ktul.com/…/house-bill-criminalizing-common-stis-c…

solarbabies, 1 month ago

lmao

solarbabies, 1 month ago

keep in mind there is no such thing as an HPV test for AMABs (it doesn’t exist), so how do they expect to enforce it for anyone but women/AFABs? hard to deny that they are being targeted here

solarbabies, 1 month ago

I haven’t actively used Facebook since I was in high school, and recently scrolling through my feed it’s not even softcore it’s straight up p*rn!

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/41b9a4b5-1bcc-4b18-845f-14791ed7cc21.png

I keep hiding these posts & they don’t stop appearing… I wish I could tell Facebook I’m not a perpetually online horny teenager anymore. ¯⁠\⁠⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠⁠/⁠¯

solarbabies, 1 month ago

curious, has SimCity predicted anything correctly up to now?

solarbabies, 1 month ago

exactly 💯 and then when I realize I forgot the thing it’s like what was all the mental preparation for?

solarbabies, 1 month ago

if someone tells me we’re leaving tomorrow I’m like nuh uh I’m gonna need that in writing and delivered at least 2 weeks in advance sir, otherwise I may perish b/c I’ll forget to bring anything to sustain life other than the clothes on my body

solarbabies, 1 month ago

this was a helpful starter list thank you lmao! I’m usually a single-carryon dude myself, but this time I’m going camping so I have to bring a checked bag with stuff I never usually think about like a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent (which I put up last weekend to make sure I have all the parts & I’m not freaking out in the rain), eclipse glasses, etc

solarbabies, 1 month ago

“procrastination” can be seen as avoiding tasks, but IMO we need a different word to describe it for tasks you want to do (which eventually get done) and those you don’t (which may not).

seems to me capitalists favor using that word for the former case as an explanation of why people with ADHD take so long to do tasks; they want us to see mental and emotional pre-processing as “wasted time”

solarbabies, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

🤣 you got me

solarbabies, 1 month ago

I appreciate your honesty, I can relate b/c I’ve been there at points in my life too, including the weed. three things helped me kick/reduce all those habits:

1. stop expecting perfection from myself by giving myself lots of internal validation every day & replacing self-loathing thoughts with gratitude
2. break apart overwhelming tasks into stupidly small tasks like "write the first word of the first paragraph, then the next word, etc"
3. be my own parent & stop using weed, other substances and addictions like videogames to distract from the present by deciding to take short breaks (e.g. 1 day/1 week/1 month) & telling myself I’ll keep going if I feel good after

I can recommend a book called Don’t Believe Everything You Think, it’s a short & easy read that reminds you why it’s good to be in the present & that all the answers you need are already within you if you’re honest enough with yourself to ask & answer those questions. good luck!

solarbabies, 1 month ago

Right, and that couldn’t have anything to do with separation being a healthy response to relationships when they stop working out; much better to keep it a social taboo equivalent to adultery in the eyes of the church & state.