papasquat's recent activity
-
Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc
-
Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentYes I know, I was reiterating the point that atmospheric pressure changes are detectable by certain people. Sorry if that was a little unclear.Yes I know, I was reiterating the point that atmospheric pressure changes are detectable by certain people. Sorry if that was a little unclear.
-
Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc
papasquat Link ParentOur economies being entangled is one of the things that has historically kept relations between the two countries, if not warm, at least somewhat manageable. The more we decouple from them, the...Our economies being entangled is one of the things that has historically kept relations between the two countries, if not warm, at least somewhat manageable.
The more we decouple from them, the more we create the conditions for a new cold war against a bloc that's bigger, wealthier, and more technologically advanced as compared to the west than the USSR ever was.
Globalization has historically been a major factor in the reduction of large scare warfare in the 20th century (along with MAD, but that didn't prevent the cold war).
The more decoupled we become, the less there is keeping us from open hostilities, and not to be dramatic, but we barely averted complete annihilation of human civilization as we know it far too many times during the last cold war. I don't like the idea of having to throw those dice again in the next one.
-
Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentIt's been rigorously tested in the past, without any evidence found. There are a lot of ways that your friends could have unconsciously found the pipe, ranging from your friend unconsciously...It's been rigorously tested in the past, without any evidence found.
There are a lot of ways that your friends could have unconsciously found the pipe, ranging from your friend unconsciously cluing the testers in, hearing or feeling the turbulent flow of water in the pipe below you, just being generally aware of the general location of where a pipe would be and so forth. It's a really really hard thing to control properly, and being able to find water by any of those means doesn't constitute dowsing.
If you're interested, the Munich dowsing experiment is probably the most well funded, comprehensive study of this, and reading the controls involved are pretty interesting.
-
Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentYes, that's exactly right, you could. Aquifers aren't tiny little pools or streams of water. They're giant underground reservoirs that fill volumes of gravel, sand and permiable rock. Many of them...Yes, that's exactly right, you could. Aquifers aren't tiny little pools or streams of water. They're giant underground reservoirs that fill volumes of gravel, sand and permiable rock. Many of them are hundreds or thousands of square miles wide.
Chances are, if your neighbor has a working well, if you dig to the same depth anywhere on your property, you will too.
Shallow wells are even more reliable.
I live in Florida, and basically anywhere in the state, if you dig 25 feet down, you'll hit groundwater. No rods or expertise required.
-
Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentIt's pretty well documented that certain people (especially people with disorders like arthritis) can detect air pressure changes. Like anything, those sensory inputs are learned and tuned over...It's pretty well documented that certain people (especially people with disorders like arthritis) can detect air pressure changes. Like anything, those sensory inputs are learned and tuned over time so that the brain automatically interprets them as a signal to the outcome. So there are definitely people that can intuitively feel when it's about to rain, since their joints tell them when the air pressure is low, and rain almost always follows.
EMF sensitivity, however, is psuedoscience. People claim to be able to tell when wifi or 5g or radio waves are on near them, but there's no mechanism or evidence of that being true.
The electromagnetic wave changes by being near water or being above power lines buried 3 feet under ground are far lower, and there's no mechanism or evidence of human beings being able to detect them.
-
Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentYep, I was about to say just this. If you have a well that's run dry, the solution is to dig a deeper well some distance away from it. You don't need to find some tiny special area that has water....Yep, I was about to say just this. If you have a well that's run dry, the solution is to dig a deeper well some distance away from it. You don't need to find some tiny special area that has water. The water table is going to be roughly the same for most of the local area.
Dowsing "works" because picking any random spot in a field that has a working well will also work.
-
Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets
papasquat Link ParentI'm fully willing to accept that. Although anecdotally, I've talked to a lot of people who were creeped out by character mascots as kids and whose parents thought it was funny to put them in front...I'm fully willing to accept that. Although anecdotally, I've talked to a lot of people who were creeped out by character mascots as kids and whose parents thought it was funny to put them in front of them all the time anyway though. (Not that mine did that, they just learned that it wasn't my thing, just like roller coasters weren't my sister's thing)
-
Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets
papasquat Link ParentI mean... yes. A lot of parents aren't really involved enough with their kids to know that they creep them out, especially ones that spend enough time working to afford to hire them for private...I mean... yes. A lot of parents aren't really involved enough with their kids to know that they creep them out, especially ones that spend enough time working to afford to hire them for private session.
I fully accept that I'm the outlier here and lots of people think mascots are fun for whatever reason. I definitely have met a lot of other people that were weirded out by them as kids though.
-
Comment on I gave up meat and gained so much more | A tale of one person's life, culture, and growing up in ~life
papasquat Link ParentWell, I'm not speaking of wild animals in captivity, I'm primarily speaking about domesticated animals raised for meat. I also don't mean to speak in defense of the factory farming industry,...Well, I'm not speaking of wild animals in captivity, I'm primarily speaking about domesticated animals raised for meat. I also don't mean to speak in defense of the factory farming industry, because I don't think there are many defenses that can be made for it.
I'm just speaking about the act of killing another animal for food.
It's of course impossible to know the actual, subjective experience of an animal. Is a rabbit actually constantly and suffering every moment of it's life, or does it get some sort of enjoyable thrill from running away from a wolf? Who knows. All we know is subjective human experience as applied to stress, and most people find stress uncomfortable or painful, and we know the rabbit is stressed from brain scans and chemical analysis and such.
We can fairly definitely say that a domesticated animals that are well cared for and given plenty of space live a generally less stressful life than most prey animals in the wild, but we don't know if that means their lives are happier or not, all we can do is try to apply human emotion to those situations.
I also don't mean to say that we should raze all of nature. Morality and what we ought to do is too complex to reduce to simple utilitarian arithmetic, and I think there's value in life existing for life's sake.
What I mean to say that is that the vegan argument made in a vaccum that the sole fact that a human hand does not directly cause the death of an animal does not necessarily mean that animal suffering is reduced. All actions have a moral weight, including inaction. So it wouldn't make sense to morally consider killing an animal for meat without considering the alternative.
-
Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets
papasquat Link ParentI think it's creepy in the park also. Ive always been creeped out by mascot characters. It's just creepier in a private setting because you can't just walk past them and pretend they're not there....I think it's creepy in the park also. Ive always been creeped out by mascot characters. It's just creepier in a private setting because you can't just walk past them and pretend they're not there. They're devoting all of their energy into creeping your kids, and only your kids out.
Same reason why an insane person opening their trenchcoat and flashing you is creepy on a crowded subway, but way creepier in your living room.
-
Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentGenetics doesn't really work like that. In a population as large as humanity, it's really not possible for us to ever be racially homogenous. There will always be observable phenotype differences...-
Genetics doesn't really work like that. In a population as large as humanity, it's really not possible for us to ever be racially homogenous. There will always be observable phenotype differences among populations of people, no matter how close we are genetically, which brings me to point
-
Race is a social construct. It's loosely based on phenotypes that are correlated with genetic markers, but races change with the times. If white people started looking more like black people, the definition of what a white person is would shift to compensate. Races are largely about dividing people into groups, so as long as phenotype differences exist, "race" will exist without a massive upheavel in society, not genetics.
And finally,
- Even if it were possible to make people "racially homogenous" (again, such a thing isn't possible via breeding because race is only tangentally related to genetics), the function of race would be replaced with something else. The function of race is to provide categories and hierarchies. That function would just be replaced by some other identifiable physical marker. Eye color, height, ear size, whatever.
Racism doesn't exist because races exist. Races exist because racism exists.
-
-
Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentDamn, I hate billboards more than almost any of those. They're so hideous, trashy looking, and dangerous. No idea why it's legal to put things on the sides of highways intentionally designed to...Damn, I hate billboards more than almost any of those. They're so hideous, trashy looking, and dangerous.
No idea why it's legal to put things on the sides of highways intentionally designed to distract people.
-
Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentThis seems like a position common amongst people with some sort of depressive disorder. Curious if this is you. Personally, I'm very happy that I exist and am glad my parents decided to have me,...This seems like a position common amongst people with some sort of depressive disorder. Curious if this is you.
Personally, I'm very happy that I exist and am glad my parents decided to have me, and most other people I know feel (I think) the same way? So maybe it's just the people I hang out with, but from my standpoint most people seem glad to exist.
-
Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets
papasquat Link ParentBecause it sounds like the most creepy, awkward and uncomfortable thing in the universe to pay a bunch of adults to dress up in cartoon character outfits to interact with your family in a private...but at that point why not?
Because it sounds like the most creepy, awkward and uncomfortable thing in the universe to pay a bunch of adults to dress up in cartoon character outfits to interact with your family in a private session. Different strokes for rich folks I guess though.
-
Comment on Inside the surreal world of $20,000 pet portraits (gifted link) in ~life.pets
papasquat Link ParentIt's understandable. Crafts are hard to price. If you're offering things at cost, people are going to (correctly) assume you're not a professional, and most people don't want things made by an...It's understandable. Crafts are hard to price. If you're offering things at cost, people are going to (correctly) assume you're not a professional, and most people don't want things made by an amateur.
-
Comment on Some observations about some of the conversations here in ~tildes
papasquat Link ParentThe status quo defense also has another driver; namely that on some level, the way we've set up (Western) society works. People generally do not starve in the streets, there aren't large scale...The status quo defense also has another driver; namely that on some level, the way we've set up (Western) society works.
People generally do not starve in the streets, there aren't large scale wars and violence, there aren't regular revolutions or government oppression, and before anyone comments to the contrary, I'm speaking relatively here, compared to past human societies.
Because of that, despite there being massive, massive cases of inequality, suffering, persecution in some areas, this isn't the case for most people, so to most people, the systems we have in place work. They could be better, sure, but there are justified reasons for why we do most things we do.
If someone is somewhat uninformed on a topic, and they bring up a perceived flaw, chances are, someone with more knowledge will show up to explain exactly why that system is the way it is, and even though it may be suboptimal, it's not actually a flaw, and was actually well reasoned, thought out, and implemented within constraints that the people doing the reasoning, thinking, and implementation must work within.
That can be taken as status quo defense, when in reality it's just having real world experience and the knowledge for why things must be the way they are in a certain situation.
There are areas where the status quo isn't great, but we just haven't been able to come up with any better ideas, and in those areas, saying "this is the best we've got" is defending the status quo, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
-
Comment on I gave up meat and gained so much more | A tale of one person's life, culture, and growing up in ~life
papasquat Link ParentI also detest factory farming, and I think most people in the west have far too much meat in their diet. That level of meat consumption is only economically viable because it's encouraged by a...I also detest factory farming, and I think most people in the west have far too much meat in their diet. That level of meat consumption is only economically viable because it's encouraged by a ridiculously efficient factory farming system that's been directly and indirectly subsidized by taxpayers by ignoring animal suffering, negative climate externalities, land usage, and dozens of other considerations. Strong protection for animal welfare and an end to those subsidies so that meat costs what it truly costs most of us would make it probibative for most people to eat multiple times a day like it is now.
My biggest reason for not swearing off meat entirely is considering the alternatives for animals. Being a wild animal is defined by suffering.
If a human being had to live the life of the average rabbit or fox, they'd develop severe mental issues very quickly. Their lives are always on edge, always afraid and on the lookout for being someone's next meal, or starving to death. Their deaths almost universally come via starvation or being violently ripped to shreds while still conscious. The methods of killing even in most factory farms are humane in comparison.Far from being the idyllic, peaceful sanctuary that many people think of when they think of the wild, in actuality, nature is a constant state of fear, desperation, warfare and violence.
In comparison, a pig that spends its life on a small farm, enjoying scraps, being around others or it's kind, and finally meeting a swift, humane end is paradise in comparison to its wild counterparts.
There's not much humanity can do to end the suffering that animals experience in the wild. I'm not sure if there's much we should do even if we could either. Therefore, if some land is used for human, small scale meat farming instead of being allowed to support more wild animals, we're not actually increasing any sort of suffering present in the animal world.
-
Comment on I gave up meat and gained so much more | A tale of one person's life, culture, and growing up in ~life
papasquat (edited )Link ParentI don't think they were saying that because animals act in sociopathic ways, we hold them to different standards. They were saying that we hold animals to different standards, thus we don't have...I don't think they were saying that because animals act in sociopathic ways, we hold them to different standards. They were saying that we hold animals to different standards, thus we don't have an issue with them behaving in ways that would be considered sociopathic if they were human.
We don't put animals in jail for murdering other animals in the wild, for instance. They're not saying we don't treat them differently because they're murderers. They're saying that we don't consider them murderers, due to the fact that we hold them to different standards.
-
Comment on Seattle’s law mandating higher pay for food delivery workers is a case study in backfire economics in ~finance
papasquat Link ParentYeah, that's fair. I've used it in similar situations, and in other weird extenuating circumstances, like I'm working from home, no food in the house, and someone schedules an urgent meeting...Yeah, that's fair. I've used it in similar situations, and in other weird extenuating circumstances, like I'm working from home, no food in the house, and someone schedules an urgent meeting during my lunch break.
It's a great option in circumstances like that, but anecdotally, from people I know, most of their business just comes from people who just don't feel like getting into the car to pick up food, which is a mindset I just cannot empathize with at all. (I mean I can, I feel lazy all the time, but the way I'd feel about myself for paying that much solely to avoid a 15 minute car ride is completely not worth it to me)
Russia's decision to invade Ukraine wasn't made without considering those economic impacts. It was weighed and for whatever reason, the calculus came out to the benefits outweighing the perceived cost.
Now that their economy is almost completely decoupled from the west, trade impact is no longer a significant factor, and truly the only thing keeping them from doing it again is conventional military power and nuclear weapons. It's one less factor for them to consider when doing the next cost benefit analysis.
Unfortunately, a stronger alliance with China greatly bolsters their ability to withstand and overcome that conventional military power, especially in non NATO nations. which leaves MAD as the one true thing keeping them from gobbling up more land.
That's a particularly dangerous situation to be in, because it requires both parties to have their fingers on the (proverbial and actual) red buttons. Regardless of actual intent, if someone holding their finger above one of those buttons slips, it's the end of human life on earth in any form we recognize.
I feel like the threat of nuclear war is not a real consideration for most people post 90s, but that threat never went away, and every time we become more isolated and consolidated into major competing power blocs, that threat becomes more dangerous.