Akir's recent activity
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Comment on Boycotting palm oil in general is actually bad for the environment in ~enviro
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Comment on A philosopher’s one-word theory to explain why the world feels so weird: uni-context in ~humanities
Akir LinkI like this framework and I think it's a good way to understand the current state of global society, but at the same time I think I have to reject the idea that it's the cause of society's woes,...I like this framework and I think it's a good way to understand the current state of global society, but at the same time I think I have to reject the idea that it's the cause of society's woes, for the pure and simple reason that Callard doesn't seem to have a good construction of why we seek the uni-context. She establishes that it began sometime around the dawn of the 20th century and that it coincided with Modernism, but I think that in order to understand the question at hand, we need to understand the context in which the uni-context came into being.
Modernism is a rather nebulous term in my opinion, but generally speaking we're talking about the malaise caused by the erosion of traditional foundations, most notably the church and the family, both of which have continued to deteriorate since the dawn of modernity. Churches in particular are practically unrecognizable in comparison to the structure and scale they used to hold.
So if we want to understand why we are in the uni-context, we have to understand the causes of modernism. Philosophers generally attribute modernism to the rise of individualism leading to rejection of social norms. I actually thought that it was salient to bring up Simmel's paper on "market psychology" in the interview because the growth of capitalism as a social force is another common reasoning for the growth of modernism.
The way I think of this is that the uni-context is something we desire because of individualism. I appreciate Individualism because I think it has righted a number of systemic wrongs as @chocobean establishes. But I also think that the social drive to embrace individualism is something of a sickness. If we are in a society that is strongly individualistic, then we are lonely. The internet appears to be a way to solve people's natural need to connect with people while still maintaining a strong sense of individualism. You have to police your words, yes, but modern media algorithms don't force you to live in the society around you, it creates a world that conforms to you instead. It replaces friends with numbers and the psychology of seeing those numbers going up. A post getting ten thousand likes will give you a great dopamine hit even though 10,000 people is a number that we literally cannot fully comprehend.
There is one aspect that I think is particularly important to the creation of the uni-context, and that is my personal belief that, in spite of a strong social emphasis on individualism, people are generally afraid of introspection. I think that, by itself, is a good answer to the question of why people are having a hard time stopping themselves from comparing themselves to others. It's because they essentially don't know who they are on a fundamental level. As someone who has spent countless hours doing introspection as part of my background as a victim of childhood psychological abuse, I don't find much value in comparing myself to others. The fear of introspection is also an answer as to why people are so obsessed with distraction; if they aren't distracted, the thing they are most likely to think about is their own lives and the choices they've made.
The problem with today's hyper-individualism is that it's fundamentally a lie. We aren't just a collection of individuals, we are societies, communities, and neighborhoods. None of us would be able to live our peaceful lives if it weren't for others, who are responsible for growing, harvesting, and preparing our food, building our houses, generating our electricity, and maintaining our internet. More importantly, we are biologically built to be social creatures; avoiding people is actually bad for our brains and shortens our lifespans. We are focused so intensely on being alone that we are marching towards a premature death, and that's a fundamentally harmful thing.
While I do think that individualism is a good thing, it has to be balanced with a person's social and communal needs as well, and these online places that try to compress the world into an individualized abstract space are fundamentally unhealthy and inhumane. That's one of the reasons why I like Tildes so much. It matches me but I don't have any control over it other than the power of my voice - the same kind of power one would have in a church group or a family. It is a human-sized social network that respects both the individual and the community.
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
Akir Link ParentYou have very seriously misconstrued what I was saying. I used the alt right as an example of how jokes can be taken seriously, and that’s why I said we shouldn’t be joking about this. Jokes are...You have very seriously misconstrued what I was saying. I used the alt right as an example of how jokes can be taken seriously, and that’s why I said we shouldn’t be joking about this. Jokes are jokes until the moment they aren’t.
Did you not see the person I was responding to said we should be considering these ideas? If you were looking for a line in the sand, that was a pretty clear example. I was responding exactly to who I was upset with in that example.
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
Akir Link ParentThe concept that a nation should go murder people in another country, murdering many innocent noncombatants in the process of getting rid of their socially undesirable people, really isn’t an idea...The concept that a nation should go murder people in another country, murdering many innocent noncombatants in the process of getting rid of their socially undesirable people, really isn’t an idea that deserves any thought whatsoever. It’s a morally abhorrent idea that should not be considered and I shame anyone who thinks it’s an appropriate response to anything.
I understand that people may have brought up the concept as a jaded look back to historical issues, but the fact that we are having this discussion proves my point on why it’s bad that that topic was inappropriate; it may have been brought up in jest, but it lead to people being absolutely serious about it. This is just like the alt-right using memes to smuggle in fascist ideas among the populace. It’s a joke until it isn’t.
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Comment on Share your fav environmentally-friendly building tech! in ~enviro
Akir LinkHempcrete! Basically concrete with hemp and lime added to it. It’s added to the point that the concrete is less sturdy but it makes it into a carbon sink and more importantly it reduces sound and...Hempcrete! Basically concrete with hemp and lime added to it. It’s added to the point that the concrete is less sturdy but it makes it into a carbon sink and more importantly it reduces sound and heat transfer, meaning it’s a great way to insulate a house.
Aircrete is another interesting innovation in concrete. It basically adds soap foam in place of an aggregate. It has somewhat similar properties to hempcrete but it’s not quite as environmentally sound.
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Comment on Blog owners, do you write under your real name, or under a pseudonym? in ~hobbies
Akir Link ParentHonestly, this is one of two reasons why I am in the process of changing out of the teaching career once again. Me and my husband were pretty cloistered before, but a few months ago we decided to...Honestly, this is one of two reasons why I am in the process of changing out of the teaching career once again. Me and my husband were pretty cloistered before, but a few months ago we decided to open up our relationship and that means participating much more in the gay community.
The problem is that I'm effectively closeted at work. I don't have anyone I can relate my life to while I'm there. A week or two ago I had a student who likes to joke around and he was filling a field in a program with things he shouldn't as a joke - dumb things like "six seven" - and at one point he wrote the word "gay" and immediately erased it like it was a pejorative. I suppose that's coming back in style. I wanted to say that it wasn't appropriate to use that word that way, or that it was OK to be gay, or something constructive. But instead, I just threw it back to him as a joke - "Oh, I didn't know you were". I failed to make the world a better place.
The other reason is that I made about $500 last month because of summer break slowdowns and shitty scheduling preventing me from taking more classes. It's barely enough money to pay for my food for the month, let alone to continue perusing a degree to access better teaching opportunities. It's a financial dead end, and I'm tired of being a burden on my husband.
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
Akir LinkI really hate this topic. It’s toxic on just about every side it seems. The Chinese Manosphere people are disgusting of course. The fact that there is a gender imbalance of 119:100 is really not...I really hate this topic. It’s toxic on just about every side it seems.
The Chinese Manosphere people are disgusting of course. The fact that there is a gender imbalance of 119:100 is really not an excuse for behaving that way. That’s, what, a 9% difference? Even if it were a 90% difference, that doesn’t mean that men have some divine right to a woman’s body. It is fine that they feel lonely and they should be approached with compassion but the misogyny needs to be handled sternly because it’s unacceptable.
But worse than that is how many people here are openly toying with the idea that we should send these men out to die in a war. That’s just disgusting and I am deeply disappointed. These people may be childish and even dangerous to society, but they are still human beings and their lives have value. Saying “women suck” should not equate to a death sentence.
I have limited understanding of Chinese culture, having never even been there, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that their society will survive this “ordeal”. Their families will not fall apart. And even if they did, they might just remember that they are theoretically communists and come up with a government mandated support system.
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Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women
Akir LinkHonestly a gift certificate for a fabric store. Fabric be expensive! Other than that you could get her some of the accessories for her sewing machines if she doesn’t have them, but you’d have to...Honestly a gift certificate for a fabric store. Fabric be expensive!
Other than that you could get her some of the accessories for her sewing machines if she doesn’t have them, but you’d have to know what model she has and what accessories she already has. I don’t think most starter machines come with the various more specialized feet, for instance.
Most things that you need for sewing are consumables and are usually pretty cheap. Things like fabrics and even thread are something to be picked on a project by project basis.
Another option is some good scissors. Unfortunately I lack the vocabulary to describe which ones to get, though! One thing I would get would be some thread scissors of the type that are spring loaded in the open position. But a good pair of dedicated fabric scissors with long blades is also indispensable.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
Akir Link ParentOf course they don’t have anything to do with the cost of the game. That was the point of my comment. Money is a thing without objective value. It is a thing that people are given as a fraction of...Of course they don’t have anything to do with the cost of the game. That was the point of my comment. Money is a thing without objective value. It is a thing that people are given as a fraction of the actual value they generate on an extremely subjective basis.
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Comment on Emmy nominations 2026: ‘The Pitt’ and ‘Hacks’ lead drama and comedy, followed by ‘Widow’s Bay’ and ‘Pluribus’ in ~tv
Akir Link ParentFor some reason it feels like TV critics seem to occasionally be unable to tell the difference between comedy and drama. I remember people talking up This is Us as a comedy in spite of it not...For some reason it feels like TV critics seem to occasionally be unable to tell the difference between comedy and drama. I remember people talking up This is Us as a comedy in spite of it not being even remotely funny and 100% of the runtime being really forced melodrama.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
Akir Link ParentFrankly I find it strange that people even spend $60 on video games. I've almost never bought a game for that price. The few times I had, I ended up being disappointed. Video games, once digital,...- Exemplary
Frankly I find it strange that people even spend $60 on video games. I've almost never bought a game for that price. The few times I had, I ended up being disappointed.
Video games, once digital, are a class of good that doesn't really "exist" and therefore has "no monetary value" because it's not a tangible object that you can put in your hands. In the best case, it's just data that can be copied forever for free, and in the worst case, it's locked down to a DRM scheme that prevents it from being sold even if it did have value. There is no in-between in which digital video games have value. Heck, the earliest PC games had the problem of being sold against simple copies of the floppy disks for little more than the cost of the disk itself.
So I don't see why it's hard to understand why people are so price sensitive. Any price you put on a video game is essentially arbitrary, and different people will be willing to pay for a game depending on what price is on it. There are many who will refuse to purchase at any price.
If I may be frank, the comments you and the person you were responding to both smell like financial privilege to me. My income has dried up over the summer break, and my total income for the last month will barely cover the cost of electricity and my other monthly expenses, and I'm worried that I may not have budget for food. We live in a world of vast wealth inequality, so not everyone is able to afford to pay for "full price" games regardless of the exact number they choose for it.
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Comment on Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery? in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI don’t have any old friends on it but if I did and they refused to communicate with me any other way I wouldn’t want to be friends with them. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that if someone...I don’t have any old friends on it but if I did and they refused to communicate with me any other way I wouldn’t want to be friends with them. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that if someone makes an ethical decision that people who don’t respect that decision aren’t good friends! I would call that outright hostile.
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Comment on Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery? in ~tech
Akir LinkApp downloaded from the devil does nefarious things? Who would have figured? WhatsApp and all the other meta products are things that I would rather lose friends over than download. Meta is one of...App downloaded from the devil does nefarious things? Who would have figured?
WhatsApp and all the other meta products are things that I would rather lose friends over than download. Meta is one of the major players that have made the society as shit as it is today. They spy on you and manipulate politics. Calling them the devil might have been an understatement.
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
Akir Link ParentWhy not invest in a steam machine then? SteamOS is pretty easy to deal with updates - it's fairly seamless on the steam deck and updates pretty much the same way as the games do, which is...Why not invest in a steam machine then? SteamOS is pretty easy to deal with updates - it's fairly seamless on the steam deck and updates pretty much the same way as the games do, which is automated. Updates will require a restart but it's lightning fast compared to Windows. These days Proton can play just about everything, the only exception being games that have kernel-level anti-cheat. But even then it seems like developers are looking into making those systems work on Linux, so that may end up being a temporary setback.
You don't even need to buy a steam machine; you can install SteamOS on any machine, so long as you use it's handful of unofficially supported hardware (in particular, not using an nVidia GPU).
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
Akir Link ParentThat's a moot point though. There are countless PS1 and Xbox 360 games that came on multiple discs. If a game exceeds what can be put on a single disc, they merely need to ship a second disc. I...That's a moot point though. There are countless PS1 and Xbox 360 games that came on multiple discs. If a game exceeds what can be put on a single disc, they merely need to ship a second disc.
I would also argue that AAA gaming is kind of in a downward spiral so the probability of any given game is over 100GB is likely going to go down. Forgetting the trend and just focusing on the now, there are precious few games that do that in terms of all games being sold.
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
Akir Link ParentIt was plenty useful! It let you run much more complicated MMORPG alongside online patches, and more importantly there was an official Linux distribution that required it.It was plenty useful! It let you run much more complicated MMORPG alongside online patches, and more importantly there was an official Linux distribution that required it.
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Comment on The world has an anchovy supply problem in ~food
Akir Link ParentOut of curiosity (simply because you haven’t mentioned it), have you talked to a registered dietitian about this issue? There may be things they could suggest that would help you get the minerals...Out of curiosity (simply because you haven’t mentioned it), have you talked to a registered dietitian about this issue? There may be things they could suggest that would help you get the minerals that you have difficulty getting from non-animal forms.
(I feel I may have asked you this in the past so I apologize if I did; I have bad memory)
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
Akir Link ParentThose are all completely reasonable alternatives to me and I find it strange that they aren’t to others. I don’t know how old you personally are but weren’t you around when those things weren’t...Those are all completely reasonable alternatives to me and I find it strange that they aren’t to others. I don’t know how old you personally are but weren’t you around when those things weren’t normalized?
Here in the US and many other rich countries dealing with these tech companies, it’s pretty normal to drive so rideshare wouldn’t help. In places where driving is less common in lieu of public transit employers seem generally more lenient to clock in times when there is an issue with it.
If you are trying to join a club where people are unable and unwilling to communicate with you, it sounds like you are trying to join a shitty club. Communicating with people is the entire point of joining a club and being unwilling to do anything but a Facebook post seems like the opposite of caring and inclusiveness, especially in an era where these companies are distrusted.
Yes, go around and actually shop for things you need. They may not have super niche or uncommon things but those things you can usually get from alternative online retailers. Online shopping for groceries in particular seems to be really stupid because you are paying extra for a service in which you will get people who don’t care about picking a quality choice for fresh foods, and it still requires you to be available to take delivery to deal with refrigeration anyways so you need to have availability for a longer and less predictable amount of time.
I completely understand that you and others feel helpless but I have two things to say about that. Number one is that it’s a learned feeling. You don’t have to be dependent on these services if you don’t want to.
But perhaps more importantly we should be aware of how dependence on these companies and services are forcing society at large to be dependent on them. Employers in particular are almost universally guilty of forcing workers to work harder and longer, and to contribute more of themselves, often citing these app services as acceptable things to help preserve the time and energy that they are skimming from you bit by bit. If you are feeling helpless, this type of phenomena is likely the true culprit.
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Comment on The world has an anchovy supply problem in ~food
Akir Link ParentFrom what I understand fish farms are pretty disturbing for fish life. They are packed into small areas leading to contaminated water and they often get sick. Even if you’re just considering the...From what I understand fish farms are pretty disturbing for fish life. They are packed into small areas leading to contaminated water and they often get sick. Even if you’re just considering the quality of their meat it’s basically like they are rotting while they are still alive.
I really think fish is something that, on a global scale at least, we should seriously reduce. Fish being one of the few animals we majority produce from wildlife means that we aren’t really doing a good job of protecting underwater ecosystems (to put things extremely lightly!) and are risking potential extinction.
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
Akir Link ParentAOSP does not require a proprietary license, but the operating system called Android which is full of Google’s proprietary software, absolutely does.AOSP does not require a proprietary license, but the operating system called Android which is full of Google’s proprietary software, absolutely does.
I don’t think this is as simple as palm oil is good or bad. Yes, you are right that you can produce more yield per acre with oil palms, but while some organizations do say that you shouldn’t boycott it, there is plenty of disagreement.
In actuality, palm oil is filling the market demand of oil in general, and the problem is that that has been ballooning for decades at this point. If you are concerned about vegetable oil production, your best option is to limit how much you consume in general. But frankly if agricultural land use is a problem for you then the number one thing you should be reducing is meat and animal products, which consume the greatest amount of land and water.